bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Análise comparativa de editoriais nos jornais folha de S.Paulo e Estado de S. Paulo
Authors: Mendes de Oliveira Verônica
Published: June 2020

RESUMO: Esta pesquisa analisa o discurso ideológico de editoriais publicados nos jornais Folha de S.Paulo e O Estado de S. Paulo em 2018. Pretende-se verificar de que forma cada veículo expressa sua opinião por meio dos editoriais, considerando as marcas linguísticas e as abordagens adotadas. A partir daí, espera-se relacionar esse posicionamento à linha ideológica e aos interesses mercadológicos de cada veículo. Para realizar este trabalho, tomou-se como base as teorias de gêneros discursivos de Bakhtin (2003), além de estudos acerca da análise de editoriais. O corpus utilizado foi composto por quatro editoriais publicados no mês de setembro de 2018 e a análise foi dividida em pares, de acordo com o tema abordado nos textos. Espera-se que esse trabalho possa contribuir para ressaltar a importância de uma leitura crítica de exemplares desse gênero, de maneira que o leitor considere também as implicações externas relativas ao texto.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Editorial; jornal; gênero discursivo.
A alternância entre você e cê no sertão da ressaca: um estudo sob as lentes do sociofuncionalismo
Authors: José Campos Rocha Warley , Viana Sousa Valéria
Published: June 2020

Neste artigo, apresentamos o estudo desenvolvido em uma comunidade do Sertão da Ressaca, Vitória da Conquista - BA, com o objetivo de descrever a variação/estratificação entre os pronomes você e cê, em posição pré-verbal, na função de sujeito de orações finitas. Evidenciamos algumas peculiaridades presentes na sócio-história dos itens em foco e, posteriormente, as bases teóricas que ampararam a pesquisa, a partir do Sociofuncionalismo. Em termos metodológicos, a amostra da pesquisa foi composta por 24 entrevistas do Corpus do Português Popular de Vitória da Conquista e do Corpus do Português Culto de Vitória da Conquista e estratificada segundo sexo, idade e escolaridade. Analisamos o total de 788 dados, sendo 56% das ocorrências do pronome você e 44% da forma variante cê. Entre outras ponderações, obtivemos indícios de que, em Vitória da Conquista – BA, a variação entre o pronome você e cê encontra-se em um tipo de mudança em curso, porém em direções opostas, uma vez que, se considerarmos a fala dos informantes mais jovens do Português Popular, a variante cê está em franco aumento de uso, ao passo que os informantes do Português Culto das primeiras faixas etárias demonstram uma atitude linguística mais conservadora, diante da promoção do pronome você.

 

Palavras-chave: Pronome você. Variante cê. Sociofuncionalismo. Variação/Estratificação.
Reflexões sobre letramento crítico nas aulas de língua estrangeira a partir de perspectiva trazida pela base nacional comum curricular
Authors: Daiane Levandovski Thewes Jéssica , Steyer Daiana , De Azevedo Fronza Cátia
Published: June 2020

No atual contexto social, permeado por todos os tipos de veículos comunicativos, por vezes texto e imagem não são correlacionados para a construção do sentido. Nessa perspectiva, não se percebe a experiência de leitura como prática social e, consequentemente, o leitor não adota uma postura crítica frente ao texto. Neste artigo, destaca-se o papel da escola para o desenvolvimento dessas competências. Em vista disso, propõe-se uma reflexão acerca da relevância de atividades de letramento crítico na sala de aula. Busca-se discutir sobre como o letramento crítico e o ensino de língua estrangeira estão imbricados e como são tratados pela Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC, 2017). Valemo-nos dos estudos de Mello e Teixeira (2012), quando se referem aos múltiplos formatos de texto no âmbito tecnológico. Consideramos ainda Pinheiro (2016a; 2016b; 2019), Filho (2003) e Abrahão (2012) para discutir o letramento crítico na sala de aula de língua estrangeira, os estilos e formas de aprendizagem, respectivamente. Coadunamos com a perspectiva sociocultural de Vygotsky, focalizando a relevância da interação para a aprendizagem. Nesta ótica, aspira-se a discutir sobre como a prática pedagógica da cultura digital contribui para a participação mais efetiva e crítica nas atividades contemporâneas de linguagem, em situação escolar. Para as reflexões pretendidas, são considerados dados de conversas e entrevistas realizadas com professoras de escola de surdos da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre e a prática pedagógica de Pinheiro (2016a) com alunos do Ensino Médio. A partir desses dados, faz-se uma reflexão acerca de como impulsionar o desenvolvimento de práticas que promovem o agenciamento crítico dos estudantes para exercício da cidadania ativa. Esta análise reflete que a aprendizagem significativa emerge de atividades conectadas com o contexto dos alunos. Entendemos, assim, que práticas de letramento devem permear a aprendizagem em todas as áreas de conhecimento, não se restringindo ao ensino de línguas.
Escrita na universidade: práticas com gênero Resumo
Authors: GONÇALVES OLIVEIRA FRANCISCO , Ramos de Melo Profa. Dra. Barbara Olímpia
Published: June 2020

Pesquisar a produção escrita, na academia, implica compreender o processo de produção, distribuição e recepção dos gêneros, pois os textos são elaborados para serem compreendidos em certos contextos culturais. As pesquisas de Biasi-Rodrigues (1998 e 2009) e Swales (1990) abordam aspectos como: concepções de gêneros que extrapolam uma perspectiva voltada para uma ‘fórmula’ textual e a inter-relação entre eles. Dessa forma, pretendemos investigar exemplares de resumos, observando a condução, distribuição e organização das informações como elemento indicador do letramento acadêmico dos estudantes de Licenciaturas em Letras/Português e em Matemática. Nossa pesquisa é de natureza exploratório-descritiva, analisando um corpus constituído por dez resumos de monografia. Os resultados demonstram diferenças essenciais nas produções das duas áreas, além de elementos não prototípicos revelados nos exemplares analisados, evidenciando as marcas da cultura disciplinar.
Padrões de recorrência entre resumos e introduções de artigos científicos de alunos de graduação
Authors: Bezerra Benedito , Pradines Kamyla
Published: June 2020

Nas práticas de escrita de um curso de graduação, o estudante precisa lidar com gêneros específicos do ambiente universitário, entre os quais se destaca o artigo científico e, nele, o resumo e a introdução como portas de entrada ao texto principal. É de se esperar que haja uma relação de continuidade entre o resumo e a introdução do artigo, do ponto de vista das informações incluídas e de sua distribuição nos respectivos movimentos retóricos. Diante disso, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar comparativamente, à luz da teoria de gêneros swalesiana, a distribuição das informações entre o resumo e a introdução do artigo científico. Para tanto, foram selecionados 10 artigos produzidos por estudantes do curso de Letras, que foram submetidos à análise de sua organização retórica. Os resultados indicam que os textos mantêm um padrão de parcial continuidade entre o resumo e a introdução, com descontinuidades também notáveis. Do ponto de vista dos letramentos, concluímos que a produção desses gêneros acadêmicos representa uma tarefa significativamente complexa para o graduando.
Produção do /s/ pós-vocálico em São José do Mipibu-RN
Authors: Cunha Carla Maria , Sales Gabriel
Published: June 2020

Este trabalho insere-se na área de Fonética e de Fonologia, mais especificamente na discussão acerca da palatalização do /S/ pós-vocálico. A pesquisa dedica-se ao estudo da fala da comunidade de São José do Mipibu, de onde foram selecionados quatro colaboradores subagrupados conforme o sexo (dois homens e duas mulheres), a idade (dois de faixa etária mais jovem e dois de faixa etária mais velha) e o nível de escolaridade (dois com ensino superior e dois com ensino básico). A metodologia envolve a coleta de dados a partir de narrativa controlada e de questionário fonético-fonológico. A gravação de voz passou por transcrição fonética de oitiva e por tratamento acústico dos dados. A análise respalda-se nas teorias Geometria de Traços (CLEMENTS; HUME, 1995) e na Sociolinguística (LABOV, 1977). Os resultados obtidos foram: 1. linguisticamente, a palatalização do /S/ nessa comunidade é resultado de um processo dissimilatório motivado pelo Princípio de Contorno Obrigatório; 2. a palatalização é categórica diante das consoantes /t/ e /d/, independentemente de variáveis socioculturais; 3. diante de /n/ e de /l/, há flutuação entre as produções [coronal] e palatal.

Palavras-Chave: Palatalização; Fonética e Fonologia; Geometria de Traços; Sociolinguística.
PIBIB e RP: um olhar de professores de espanhol em formação na UFS
Authors: Cristina Vicente da Silva Matos Doris , Dos Anjos Santos Rosa Acassia
Published: June 2020

Este trabalho está situado na área da Linguística Aplicada, com foco na formação de professores de espanhol. Tem como objetivo analisar as impressões dos graduandos dos Cursos de Letras/ Espanhol e Letras Português/ Espanhol da Universidade Federal de Sergipe que tenham experiência de participação nos seguintes projetos de formação inicial de professores: o Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação à Docência e o Programa de Residência Pedagógica. A abordagem metodológica seguida é qualitativo-interpretativa e o corpus de investigação é composto por questionário aplicado a graduandos que participaram do PIBID e participavam, no momento da aplicação, do RP. Como resultados, evidenciamos os motivos que levam os graduandos a participarem dos projetos, bem como quais são as percepções dos futuros professores em relação aos dois programas, além de mensurar o papel que os programas ocupam na graduação e como a aproximação entre teoria e prática se efetiva na realização dos projetos. As conclusões apontam que ambos programas são importantes na formação inicial dos professores, oportunizando experiências docentes em níveis diferentes e convergindo para a melhoria na qualidade da formação de professores ainda na graduação, por meio de uma vivência escolar de uma forma ampla, articulando além da teoria e prática, também a ação da práxis pedagógica (FREIRE, 1970).
Liame vivo: quadros da memória coletiva, genealógica e familiar em espaço terrestre, de Gilvan Lemos
Authors: Santos Anderson Felix
Published: June 2020

O estudo tem como objetivo analisar as memórias genealógica e familiar como elementos estruturantes do enredo no romance Espaço Terrestre (1993), de Gilvan Lemos e sua importância para solidificação do grupo familiar. Para tanto, baseou-se na teoria dos quadros sociais da memória, que indica um conjunto de aspectos mnemônicos coletivos que caracterizam e perpetuam as memórias de um grupo. Os conceitos debatidos pelos teóricos Maurice Halbwachs (2003; 2004), Ecléa Bosi (1994), Myriam Lins de Barros (1987), entre outros, constituíram o arcabouço teórico para compreender o tema explorado. Foi possível verificar que as memórias coletiva, genealógica e familiar são elementos basilares na construção do enredo e na conservação da unidade do grupo.
AMBIENTE FÍSICO E SIGNIFICADO AMBIENTAL NO PROCESSO DE RESTAURAÇÃO DO ESTRESSE EM QUARTOS DE INTERNAÇÃO PEDIÁTRICA
Authors: Felippe Maira , Hodecker Maísa , Zichtl Campos Mariani Pichetti Daniella , Kuhnen Ariane
Published: June 2020

As mensagens comunicadas pelo ambiente físico são consideradas uma fonte de estresse nos hospitais quando não correspondem às expectativas ambientais dos pacientes. No presente estudo, hipotetiza-se que o ambiente físico hospitalar consinta a recuperação a partir do estresse, caso suscite cognições e afetos de valência positiva. Desse modo, buscou-se identificar atributos físicos visuais de quartos de internação pediátricos que comunicam aos pacientes mensagens ambientais ligadas ao processo de restauração afetiva do estresse. Participaram da investigação 50 pacientes, com idade superior aos 8 anos. A pesquisa se deu em quartos de um hospital pediátrico da Região Sul do Brasil, por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas a partir de fotografias. Os resultados indicaram que quartos percebidos pelos pacientes como ambientes restauradores foram vistos caracteristicamente como lugares confortáveis, mas também como ambientes alegres, bonitos, tranquilos e reconfortantes. Ao se estabelecer uma correspondência entre esses significados ambientais e os atributos físicos visuais que os geram, este estudo concluiu que as seguintes características do quarto de internação desempenham um papel na comunicação de mensagens ligadas ao processo restaurador: (a) mobiliário adequado; (b) ambiente colorido; (c) acesso visual ao ambiente exterior; (d) acesso a equipamentos que podem oferecer distração positiva; (e) amplitude; e (f) organização da estrutura hospitalar. O estudo de ambientes restauradores através da análise do significado ambiental mostrou-se pertinente, lançando luz sobre alguns dos aspectos que podem promover o bem-estar do paciente pediátrico.
CENTRO DE CULTURA E ARTE REIS MAGOS
Authors: Medeiros Renato , Sousa Amanda , Linhares Igor , Amado Mateus , Falcão Rafael , Costa Thalia Monise
Published: June 2020

O artigo apresenta a proposta arquitetônica desenvolvida  em nível de estudo preliminar, com o intuito de preservar e integrar o antigo Hotel Reis Magos ao bairro da Praia do Meio e às pessoas que moram no entorno, bem como revitalizar o conjunto edificado sem descaracterizá-lo.  A equipe desenvolveu um estudo que visa transformar as dependências do edifício abandonado no “Centro de Cultura e Arte Reis Magos”, visando atingir um amplo grupo de usuários desde jovens até adultos. A proposta baseia-se em modificar os usos das instalações do imóvel, adequando-o às novas necessidades, sem inserir novos anexos que poderiam impactar a relação de valor patrimonial entre o edifício, o lote e o entorno, transformando-o em um espaço democrático e inclusivo de promoção de arte e cultura para a comunidade.
QUALIFICANDO O DEBATE:
Authors: Silva Cavalcante Eunádia , Do Nascimento José Clewton , Carvalho Manuela Cristina , Ferreira Raíssa Camila , Nobre de Oliveira Lívia
Published: June 2020

O texto apresenta o concurso de ideias “MEMÓRIA DO HOTEL REIS MAGOS”, cujo objetivo foi promover a educação patrimonial através do debate qualificado sobre o tombamento do Hotel Reis Magos e esclarecer a sociedade acerca do seu valor patrimonial e sobre as possibilidades de requalificação e restauração do edifício através de propostas que apontem para novos usos. O concurso foi organizado pelo coletivo [R]existe Reis Magos em parceria com o Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil (IAB/RN) e o Instituto dos Amigos do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Cultural e da Cidadania (IAPHACC) e teve como parâmetros o estudo sobre a importância histórica, simbólica e arquitetônica do Hotel Reis Magos, desenvolvido por sete pesquisadores do Departamento de Arquitetura da UFRN, os dados apresentados nos documentos de caracterização física e socioeconômica da área, e pelos documentos “Seminários Populares: O desenvolvimento da Orla pelas comunidades - Síntese das discussões” e “Reflexões e Caminhos para as Praias do Meio, Forte e Redinha” – produzido pelo Projeto Orla.  De caráter cultural, o concurso premiou as quatro equipes participantes, que apresentaram propostas de um espaço de caráter público/coletivo, com obras de arte e caixas contendo uma seleção de livros.
RUPTURA COM O LUGAR E DESTRUIÇÃO DE IMAGENS ESPACIAIS EM CIDADES REASSENTADAS:
Authors: Moreira Fernando Diniz , Teti Tiburcio Maia Rafaela
Published: June 2020

Este artigo busca contribuir para uma discussão sobre as possíveis consequências de um rompimento do vínculo com o lugar a partir do estudo da realocação de uma cidade, Itacuruba-PE, que existia à beira do Rio São Francisco, devido à construção da hidrelétrica de Itaparica. Hoje Itacuruba é a cidade brasileira que mais usa antidepressivos em termos percentuais, atingindo um percentual de 63% da população com depressão, segundo dados do Conselho Regional de Medicina  (CREMEPE). O artigo objetiva identificar os elementos espaciais que faziam parte da construção da identidade do morador da antiga Itacuruba e expor as rupturas provocadas, que podem ter tido como consequência os impactos à saúde mental. Para tal, foi feito um aprofundamento teórico sobre os temas o rompimento dos vínculos do grupo com o lugar com o qual estava enraizado, buscando-se apoio nos estudos de Mircea Eliade, sobre a atribuição de sagrado por sociedades tradicionais aos lugares onde vivem, e nos de Maurice Halbwachs, sobre memória coletiva e as imagens espaciais que a sustentam. Buscou-se explicar o contexto do nacional-desenvolvimentismo, a construção da hidrelétrica, e as particularidades do processo, por meio de pesquisa documental nos arquivos da CHESF. Para revelar os impactos provocados pelo plano da nova cidade, foram aplicados estudos da morfologia urbana (Panerai, Lynch e Cullen) sobre as formas da velha e nova cidade de Itacuruba, além de visita de campo e aplicação de entrevistas a 15 moradores que passaram pela experiência de realocação.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: realocação de cidade; urbanismo moderno; memória coletiva, morfologia urbana, dessacralização
Targeting Xanthine Oxidase by Natural Products as a Therapeutic Approach for Mental Disorders
Authors: Martorell Miquel , Lucas Xavier , Alarcón-Zapata Pedro , Capó Xavier , Quetglas-Llabrés Maria Magdalena , Tejada Silvia , Sureda Antoni
Published: June 2020

Mental disorders comprise diverse human pathologies, including depression, bipolar affective disorder,
schizophrenia, and dementia that affect millions of people around the world. The causes of mental disorders are
unclear, but growing evidence suggests that oxidative stress and the purine/adenosine system play a key role in
their development and progression. Xanthine oxidase (XO) is a flavoprotein enzyme essential for the catalysis of
the oxidative hydroxylation of purines -hypoxanthine and xanthine- to generate uric acid. As a consequence of the
oxidative reaction of XO, reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide are produced
and, further, contribute to the pathogenesis of mental disorders. Altered XO activity has been associated with free
radical-mediated neurotoxicity inducing cell damage and inflammation. Diverse studies reported a direct association
between an increased activity of XO and diverse mental diseases including depression or schizophrenia.
Small-molecule inhibitors, such as the well-known allopurinol, and dietary flavonoids, can modulate the XO
activity and subsequent ROS production. In the present work, we review the available literature on XO inhibition
by small molecules and their potential therapeutic application in mental disorders. In addition, we discuss the
chemistry and molecular mechanism of XO inhibitors, as well as the use of structure-based and computational
methods to design specific inhibitors with the capability of modulating XO activity.
Potential for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases with Natural Products or Synthetic Compounds that Stabilize Microtubules
Authors: Miller John H. , Das Viswanath
Published: June 2020

No effective therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases exist, despite significant attempts to find drugs that can reduce or rescue the debilitating symptoms of tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Pick’s disease. A number of in vitro and in vivo models exist for studying neurodegenerative diseases, including cell models employing induced-pluripotent stem cells, cerebral organoids, and animal models of disease. Recent research has focused on microtubulestabilizing agents, either natural products or synthetic compounds that can prevent the axonal destruction caused by tau protein pathologies. Although promising results have come from animal model studies using brainpenetrant natural product microtubule-stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel analogs that can access the brain, epothilones B and D, and other synthetic compounds such as davunetide or the triazolopyrimidines, early clinical trials in humans have been disappointing. This review aims to summarize the research that has been carried out in this area and discuss the potential for the future development of an effective microtubule stabilizing drug to treat neurodegenerative disease.
Sumoylation as an Emerging Target in Therapeutics against Cancer
Authors: Liu Sitong , Wang Lichun , Jiang Dongjun , Wei Wei , Nasir Mushyeda Fatima , Khan Muhammad Saad , Yousafi Qudsia , Liu Xintong , Fu Xueqi , Li Xiaomeng , Li Jiang
Published: June 2020

Sumoylation is the Post-translational modification gaining most of the research interest recently. Sumoylation
is involved in various crucial functions of the cell such as regulation of cell cycle, DNA damage repair,
apoptosis, etc. Oncology is advancing in radiotherapy, targeted chemotherapy, various forms of immunotherapy
and targeted gene therapy. Researches are being conducted to prove its connotation with a variety of cancers and
inhibitors are being developed to obstruct the fatal effect caused by misbalance of the SUMO-catalytic cycle. It
has been shown that up-regulation of certain enzymes of Sumoylation correlates with cancer incidence in most of
the cases. However, in some cases, down-regulation also associates with cancer invasion such as underexpression
of UBC9 in initial stage breast cancer. This can aid in future study, treatment, and diagnosis of a variety
of cancers including breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, etc.
Various mechanistic assays are being developed and used to identify potential inhibitors against the dysregulated
proteins of Sumoylation. This review summarizes the normal roles of the enzymes involved in the SUMOcatalytic
cycle, their misbalanced regulation leading to tumorigenesis and nearly all the potent inhibitors identified
to date, while after detailed studied it was observed that ML-792 could be a promising inhibitor in treating
cancers by inhibiting Sumoylation enzymes.
CRISPR Genome Editing Technology and its Application in Genetic Diseases: A Review
Authors: Khatibi Sepideh , Sahebkar Amirhossein , Aghaee-Bakhtiari Seyed H.
Published: June 2020

Gene therapy has been a long lasting goal for scientists, and there are many optimal methods
and tools to correct disease-causing mutations in humans. Recently, the Clustered Regularly Interspaced
Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology has been progressively adopted for the assessment
a treatment of human diseases, including thalassemia, Parkinson's disease, cystic fibrosis,
glaucoma, Huntington’s disease, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). CRISPR sequences belong to the bacterial immune system, which includes the
nuclease Cas enzyme and an RNA sequence. The RNA sequence is unique and pathogen-specific, and
identifies and binds to the DNA of invasive viruses, allowing the nuclease Cas enzyme to cut the identified
DNA and destroy the invasive viruses. This feature provides the possibility to edit mutations in
the DNA sequence of live cells by replacing a specific targeted RNA sequence with the RNA sequence
in the CRISPR system. Previous studies have reported the improvement steps in confrontation with
human diseases caused by single-nucleotide mutations using this system. In this review, we first introduce
CRISPR and its functions and then elaborate on the use of CRISPR in the treatment of human
diseases.
The Research Progress of Taxol in Taxus
Authors: Shao Fenjuan , Wilson Iain W. , Qiu Deyou
Published: June 2020

Background:

Taxus is a valuable woody species with important medicinal value. The bark of Taxus can produce taxol, a natural antineoplastic drug that is widely used in the treatment of breast, ovarian and lung cancers. However, the low content of taxol in the bark of Taxus can not meet the growing clinical demands, so the current research aims at finding ways to increase taxol production.

Objective:

In this review, the research progress of taxol including the factors affecting the taxol content, biosynthesis pathway of taxol, production of taxol in vitro and the application of multi-omics approaches in Taxus as well as future research prospects will be discussed.

Results:

The taxol content is not only dependent on the species, age and tissues but is also affected by light, moisture levels, temperature, soil fertility and microbes. Most of the enzymes in the taxol biosynthesis pathway have been identified and characterized. Total chemical synthesis, semi-synthesis, plant cell culture and biosynthesis in endophytic fungi have been explored to product taxol. Multi-omics have been used to study Taxus and taxol.

Conclusion:

Further efforts in the identification of unknown enzymes in the taxol biosynthesis pathway, establishment of the genetic transformation system in Taxus and the regulatory mechanism of taxol biosynthesis and Taxus cell growth will play a significant role in improving the yield of taxol in Taxus cells and plants.
Transcriptional Factor-Mediated Regulation of Active Component Biosynthesis in Medicinal Plants
Authors: Wang Meizhen , Qiu Xiaoxiao , Pan Xian , Li Caili
Published: June 2020

Plants produce thousands of chemically diverse secondary metabolites, many of which have
valuable pharmaceutical properties. There is much interest in the synthesis of these pharmaceuticallyvaluable
compounds, including the key enzymes and the transcription factors involved. The function
and regulatory mechanism of transcription factors in biotic and abiotic stresses have been studied in
depth. However, their regulatory roles in the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds, especially in medicinal
plants, have only begun. Here, we review what is currently known about how transcription factors
contribute to the synthesis of bioactive compounds (alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids)
in medicinal plants. Recent progress has been made in the cloning and characterization of transcription
factors in medicinal plants on the genome scale. So far, several large transcription factors
have been identified in MYB, WRKY, bHLH, ZIP, AP2/ERF transcription factors. These transcription
factors have been predicted to regulate bioactive compound production. These transcription factors
positively or negatively regulate the expression of multiple genes encoding key enzymes, and thereby
control the metabolic flow through the biosynthetic pathway. Although the research addressing this
niche topic is in its infancy, significant progress has been made, and advances in high-throughput sequencing
technology are expected to accelerate the discovery of key regulatory transcription factors in
medicinal plants. This review is likely to be useful for those interested in the synthesis of pharmaceutically-
valuable plant compounds, especially those aiming to breed or engineer plants that produce
greater yields of these compounds.
Fluoroquinolones: Blessings Or Curses
Authors: Majalekar Priyanka P. , Shirote Pramodkumar J.
Published: June 2020

Fluoroquinolones are one of the world’s most valuable and popularly used categories of antimicrobial
agents. This paper attempts to review the substantial progress of fluoroquinolones from
their discovery to black box warning. Antibiotic drug choice will remain difficult in the presence of
increasing resistance, but the introduction of fluoroquinolones has created a new and exciting era in
antimicrobial treatment. These are a synthetic heterogeneous group of compounds used in both hospital
and community practices to treat numerous severe infections. The era of quinolone antibiotics began
with the serendipitous discovery of the quinolone prototype in 1962. The chronological development
of fluoroquinolone reported that nalidixic acid was the first quinolone that gained popular choice
for the treatment of urinary tract infection. The subsequent agents like levofloxacin, ofloxacin, norfloxacin,
gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin, clinafloxacin, sparfloxacin, and ciprofloxacin were derived
through side chain and nuclear manipulation from basic pharmacophore. The fluoroquinolone motifs
have been found as a milestone, effective in certain infections that are respiratory tract infection, urinary
tract infection, bone disorders, meningococcal and mycobacterial infections, sexually transmitted
diseases, skin infections, etc. Fluoroquinolones are first entirely man-made antibiotics that exhibit antibacterial
activity through the inhibition of topoisomerase II, topoisomerase IV and deoxyribonucleic
acid gyrase, which is vital for chromosome replication and function. The post-marketing surveillance
pointed out the favorable side effects associated with fluoroquinolones such as phototoxicity, QT interval
prolongation and anaphylaxis. The discovery, development and clinical use of fluoroquinolone
antibiotics in the last century contributed to a decline in morbidity and mortality rates.
Berberine Administration in Treatment of Colitis: A Review
Authors: Ashrafizadeh Milad , Najafi Masoud , Mohammadinejad Reza , Farkhondeh Tahereh , Samarghandian Saeed
Published: June 2020

Berberine (Brb) is one of the well-known naturally occurring compounds exclusively found
in Berberis vulgaris and other members of this family, such as Berberis aristata, Berberis aroatica,
and Berberis aquifolium. This plant-derived natural compound has a variety of therapeutic impacts,
including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-tumor. Multiple studies have demonstrated
that Brb has great anti-inflammatory activity and is capable of reducing the levels of proinflammatory
cytokines, while it enhances the concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines, making
it suitable for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease with
chronic nature. Several factors are involved in the development of colitis and it appears that inflammation
and oxidative stress are the most important ones. With respect to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
effects of Brb, its administration seems to be beneficial in the treatment of colitis. In the present
review, the protective effects of Brb in colitis treatment and its impact on molecular pathways are
discussed.
Intravesical Botox for Overactive Bladder: How to Minimize Complications and Manage Failures
Authors: Apostolidis Apostolos , Papaefstathiou Efstathios , Gatsos Sotirios
Published: June 2020

Intravesical Botox has become a widespread treatment for patients with refractory overactive
bladder. Further to its acknowledged efficacy, both physicians and patients must be fully aware of
possible complications, such as urinary tract infections, incomplete bladder emptying or even urinary
retention and the possible need for intermittent self-catheterizations, fatigue, muscle weakness, transient
hematuria and autonomic dysreflexia. Careful patient selection, particularly in terms of comorbidities,
caution with technical aspects of the procedure such as the use of fine specifically designed injection
needles, treatment of baseline UTIs or bacteriuria and avoidance of bladder overfilling could be
the main measures, in addition to rigorous patient follow-up, to minimize the risk of post-Botox UTIs,
hematuria, autonomic dysreflexia, and retention. Management of Botox failures is currently an unchartered
area, starting with the definition of failure per se. Nevertheless, dose increase, particularly in
neurogenic patients, increase of treatment frequency, switch to abobotulinumtoxinA, prolongation of
injection intervals with add-on oral therapy, use of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation or sacral neuromodulation
and alleviation of risk factors for failure such as UTIs may be part of the management
algorithm for Botox failures. As there is little evidence base to support such proposals and as the use
of intravesical Botox is increasingly becoming a part of common urological practice, further research
into the field of Botox failures and complications is needed so that both physicians and patients are
granted with more solid, viable options.
Recent Trends in Drug Design and Discovery
Authors: Velmurugan Devadasan , Pachaiappan R. , Ramakrishnan Chandrasekaran
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Structure-based drug design is a wide area of identification of selective inhibitors of a target of interest. From the time of the availability of three dimensional structure of the drug targets, mostly the proteins, many computational methods had emerged to address the challenges associated with drug design process. Particularly, drug-likeness, druggability of the target protein, specificity, off-target binding, etc., are the important factors to determine the efficacy of new chemical inhibitors.

Objective:

The aim of the present research was to improve the drug design strategies in field of design of novel inhibitors with respect to specific target protein in disease pathology. Recent statistical machine learning methods applied for structural and chemical data analysis had been elaborated in current drug design field.

Methods:

As the size of the biological data shows a continuous growth, new computational algorithms and analytical methods are being developed with different objectives. It covers a wide area, from protein structure prediction to drug toxicity prediction. Moreover, the computational methods are available to analyze the structural data of varying types and sizes of which, most of the semi-empirical force field and quantum mechanics based molecular modeling methods showed a proven accuracy towards analysing small structural data sets while statistics based methods such as machine learning, QSAR and other specific data analytics methods are robust for large scale data analysis.

Results:

In this present study, the background has been reviewed for new drug lead development with respect specific drug targets of interest. Overall approach of both the extreme methods were also used to demonstrate with the plausible outcome.

Conclusion:

In this chapter, we focus on the recent developments in the structure-based drug design using advanced molecular modeling techniques in conjunction with machine learning and other data analytics methods. Natural products based drug discovery is also discussed.
Alzheimer’s Disease: New Concepts on the Role of Autoimmunity and NLRP3 Inflammasome in the Pathogenesis of the Disease
Authors: Severini Cinzia , Barbato Christian , Di Certo Maria Grazia , Gabanella Francesca , Petrella Carla , Di Stadio Arianna , de Vincentiis Marco , Polimeni Antonella , Ralli Massimo , Greco Antonio
Published: June 2020

:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), recognized as the most common neurodegenerative disorder, is clinically characterized by the presence of extracellular beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and by intracellular neurofibrillary tau tangles, accompanied by glial activation and neuroinflammation. Increasing evidence suggests that self-misfolded proteins stimulate an immune response mediated by glial cells, inducing the release of inflammatory mediators and the recruitment of peripheral macrophages into the brain, which in turn aggravate AD pathology.

:

The present review aims to update the current knowledge on the role of autoimmunity and neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of the disease, indicating a new target for therapeutic intervention. We mainly focused on the NLRP3 microglial inflammasome as a critical factor in stimulating innate immune responses, thus sustaining chronic inflammation. Additionally, we discussed the involvement of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the gut-brain axis. Direct targeting of the NLRP3 inflammasome and the associated receptors could be a potential pharmacological strategy since its inhibition would selectively reduce AD neuroinflammation.
Upper Limb Extremity Muscle-Dysfunction in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
Authors: Suhas Kulkarni M. , Alaparthi Gopala K. , Krishnan Shyam K. , Bairapareddy Kalyana C.
Published: June 2020

Background:

Peripheral muscle dysfunction is one of the major comorbidities seen in
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Focusing more on upper extremity, unsupported elevation of
arms results in a change in the recruitment pattern of the respiratory muscles. Over the years, many
tests were developed to assess the upper limb capacity and include them in various rehabilitation
protocol.

Objective:

To review the evidence on mechanism, tests, and rehabilitation protocol for the upper
limb extremity muscle-dysfunction occurring in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Methods:

PubMed and Google scholar databases were searched. Based on the inclusion criteria’s:-
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases patients, any Randomized Controlled or clinical trials,
systematic reviews, explaining upper limb extremity muscle dysfunction, various tests to assess
upper limb functional capacity and different ways of upper limb extremity training, a total of 15
articles were retrieved.

Results:

The mechanism of upper extremity muscle dysfunction is now well understood. Various
tests were designed in order to assess arm strength, arm endurance and functional capacity. All the
studies which included upper limb extremity training as a part of the rehabilitation program, showed
beneficial results in terms of reduction of dyspnoea and arm fatigue, as well as improving the activity
performing capacity.

Conclusion:

This review concluded that the alteration in the upper limb extremity muscles is an
inevitable consequence of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, which can be confirmed by
various upper extremity tests, with patients responding positively to the upper limb training
incorporated during pulmonary rehabilitation protocols.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Brain Metastases in Patients with Breast Cancer According to Molecular Subtypes
Authors: Yurtsever Ismail , Sari Lutfullah , Gultekin Mehmet Ali , Toprak Huseyin , Turk Haci Mehmet , Aliyev Altay , Peker Abdusselim Adil , Yabaci Aysegul , Alkan Alpay
Published: June 2020

Background and Purpose:

Recent studies have shown that diffusion tensor imaging
(DTI) parameters are used to follow the patients with breast cancer and correlate well as a prognostic
parameter of breast cancer. However, as far as we know, there is no data to compare the DTI features
of breast cancer brain metastases according to molecular subtypes in the literature. Our aim is
to evaluate whether there are any differences in DTI parameters of brain metastases in patients
with breast cancer according to molecular subtypes.

Methods:

Twenty-seven patients with breast cancer and 82 metastatic brain lesions were included.
We classified subjects into three subgroups according to their hormone expression; Group 0, triple-
negative (n; 6, 19 lesions), group 1, HER2-positive (n;16, 54 lesions) and group 2, hormone--
positive group (n; 5, 9 lesions). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy
(FA), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) values in DTI were measured and compared
between three groups.

Results:

ADC, AD and RD values of group 2 were significantly lower compared to group 0. No
significant differences were found in FA, ADC, AD and RD values between the group 0 and 1 and
the group 1 and 2.

Conclusion:

Metastasis of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer showed higher ADC values
compared to the less aggressive hormone-positive group. Higher ADC values in brain metastases
of breast cancer may indicate a poor prognosis, so DTI findings could play a role in planning appropriate
treatment.
Management of Immunotherapy Adverse Events in Oncological Patients: Anti-CTLA-4, Anti-PD-1/PD-L1
Authors: Brigida Mattia , Perricelli Alessia , Sposato Fausto , Spadafora Maria Giovanna , Pomillo Angelo , Sisto Milito
Published: June 2020

Background:

The widespread use of immunotherapy drugs in the oncological field has
led to the spread of new toxicities compared to the more common chemotherapy treatments. This is
because immunotherapy with anti-CTLA-4 (Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes-Associated Antigen 4), anti-
PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies has become the standard-of-care in a growing number
of indications. Any organ or tissue can be involved, but more commonly, side effects are reported
regarding skin, colon, endocrine glands, liver, lung and kidney. Other less frequent, but more serious,
adverse events are neurological and myocarditis.

Methods:

We performed an electronic search on PUBMED of the literature concerning immunotherapy-
related toxicities and their management in oncological patients from 2007 to 2020,
with particular attention to the most recent publications.

Aim:

To summarize the different types of immunotherapy-related toxicities, together with their incidence
and diagnosis, and to simplify their management, especially in the emergency setting.

Conclusion:

Usually, for grade I toxicities, it is not recommended to stop immunotherapy; for
most of grade II toxicities, immunotherapy should be postponed to when toxicity will have regressed
to grade I, considering the possibility of corticosteroid treatment for most toxicities. The
majority of grade III and IV require administration of high-dose corticosteroid intravenous therapy
and suspension of immunotherapy.

related to immune checkpoint inhibitors’ toxicity, occurring at a rate of 0.3-1.3%, is well
below fatality rates due to other oncologic interventions and should not discourage the promising
results so far reached by immunotherapy.
Associations of Yersinia Enterocolitica Infection with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zangiabadian Moein , Mirsaeidi Mehdi , Pooyafar Mohammad H. , Goudarzi Mehdi , Nasiri Mohammad J.
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Yersinia enterocolitica infection is reportedly associated with the development of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). However, evidence that such infection can lead to AITD is controversial. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the associations of Y. enterocolitica infection with AITD.

Methods:

A meta-analysis was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane library to identify relevant studies. The odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals [CI] were obtained. Data were analyzed by STATA 13.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA).

Results:

Of 215 articles identified, 8 studies with a total of 1490 participants met the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. There was a significant association between Y. enterocolitica positivity and AITD (OR: 4.31 [CI 95%: 1.81–10.07], P-value: 0.00). According to the subgroup analysis, Y. enterocolitica infection statistically increased the risk of graves' disease (GD) (OR: 6.12, [CI 95%: 3.71-10.10], P-value: 0.00). Likewise, the pooled OR of association between Y. enterocolitica positivity and hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) was 2.84 (CI 95%: 0.71-11.25, P-value: 0.1).

Conclusions:

The current studies suggest that Y. enterocolitica may be associated with the development of AITD. Further study is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms.
Analysis of Orphenadrine Citrate in Various Chiral Stationary Phases: A Comparative Study
Authors: Raikar Prachi , Gurupadayya Bannimath M. , Subramanyam Sripuram , Srinivasu Gunnam
Published: June 2020

Background:

Polysaccharide based chiral stationary phases (CSPs) were used to perform
enantiomeric separation of Orphenadrine Citrate by Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography (UFLC)
technique. Trials were conducted using the polar mode, reverse phase mode and normal phase mode.
Amylose and Cellulose-based CSPs were used for the same.

Materials and Methods:

Eight Amylose-based CSPs and four Cellulose-based CSPs were used in
the reverse phase mode. Five Amylose-based CSPs and two Cellulose-based CSPs were used in polar
mode. The only Cellulose-based CSP used in the normal phase mode could effectively separate
Orphenadrine Citrate enantiomers with a good resolution.

Results and Discussion:

Successful enantioseparation was obtained using Chiralcel OD-H containing
Cellulose tris (3, 5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) as a chiral selector and n-hexane: Ethanol: Diethylamine
(95: 05: 0.1, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The developed method was validated in accordance
with ICH guidelines (Q2R1).

Conclusion:

The proposed objectives were successfully accomplished as the developed method
could effectively resolve Orphenadrine Citrate enantiomers.
Kinetics Studies of Epoxidation and Oxirane Cleavage-Epoxidized Palm Kernel Oil
Authors: Jalil Mohd Jumain , Yamin Aliff Farhan Mohd , Zaini Mohd Saufi Md , Siduru Veronique Gloria V. , Morad Norhashimah , Hadi Abdul , Jalil Mohd
Published: June 2020

Background:

Studies pertaining to the epoxidation of fatty acids, garnered much
interest in recent years due to the rising demand of eco-friendly epoxides derived from vegetable
oils.

Methods:

Epoxide is an important chemical precursor for the production of alcohols, glycols
and polymers, like polyesters and epoxy resin. Epoxidation is the name given to the reaction
when the double bonds are converted into epoxide.

Results:

Temperature at 55oC was used as a reference material in the epoxide process, as it
produces a high yield epoxide being 88%. The kinetic rate of epoxidized palm kernel oil, k
was obtained to be k11= 0.5125, k12= 0.05045, k21= 0.03185, k41= 0.01 and k51= 0.01243.

Conclusion:

Hence, by fitting the result with the experimental work and simulation, the
summation of error being stimulated by I-sight simulation was 0.731116428 and the correlation
between the experimental and simulation data was 0.925544.
Nanoparticles as Budding Trends in Colon Drug Delivery for the Management of Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Singh Amandeep , Kaur Kirandeep , Mandal Uttam Kumar , Narang Raj Kumar
Published: June 2020

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a disorder of the gastrointestinal tract,
which is characterized by Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is
a chronic idiopathic relapsing colon disease distinguishes by the interference of epithelial
wall and colonic site tenderness. For the treatment of ulcerative colitis, various side effects
have been reported, due to the non-specific delivery of the targeted drug of the conventional
system. This review will explain the reader about various considerations for the preparation
of orally administered NPs drug delivery systems for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
Moreover, principles and novel strategies for colon targeting based on the physiology
of colon so that the tract of gastro intestine can be used as the identification marker for a
target site for drugs. Besides this, the role of phytomedicines in controlling and managing
the ulcerative colitis has been discussed. Additionally, the major problem for the smart delivery
of NPs in clinical applications with their difficulties in Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) was also discussed. Finally, this review provides various potential approaches to NPs
for the treatment of UC.
Epigenetic Studies in Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review
Authors: Penadés Rafael , Arias Bárbara , Fatjó-Vilas Mar , González-Vallespí Laura , García-Rizo Clemente , Catalán Rosa , Bernardo Miquel
Published: June 2020

Background:

Epigenetic modifications appear to be dynamic and they might be affected
by environmental factors. The possibility of influencing these processes through psychotherapy has
been suggested.

Objective:

To analyse the impact of psychotherapy on epigenetics when applied to mental disorders.
The main hypothesis is that psychological treatments will produce epigenetic modifications related
to the improvement of treated symptoms.

Methods:

A computerised and systematic search was completed throughout the time period from
1990 to 2019 on the PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus databases.

Results:

In total, 11 studies were selected. The studies were evaluated for the theoretical framework,
genes involved, type of psychotherapy and clinical challenges and perspectives. All studies showed
detectable changes at the epigenetic level, like DNA methylation changes, associated with symptom
improvement after psychotherapy.

Conclusion:

Methylation profiles could be moderating treatment effects of psychotherapy. Beyond
the detected epigenetic changes after psychotherapy, the epigenetic status before the implementation
could act as an effective predictor of response.