bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Repurposing FDA-approved drugs against the “main protease” pivotal enzyme in COVID-19 virus using computer-aided drug design techniques
Authors: Al-Sha'er Mahmoud , Balas Qosay Al 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is considered an unprecedented global pandemic in the modern era, infecting millions of people with an approximately 2% death rate. It emerged in late 2019 and researchers worldwide race time to identify druggable targets where medicinal chemists can design potential inhibitors. Objective: Drug repurposing is one of the most convenient methods available now to find already approved drugs for human use with a potential tendency to cure COVID-19. Method: Within this work, the FDA-approved drug database containing 1281 drugs was employed to extract possible drugs that could have activity against the “main protease” enzyme in this virus. Various computer-aided drug design techniques, such as pharmacophore generation, ligand pharmacophore mapping, molecular docking and filtering techniques, were used to identify potential inhibitors. The cocrystallized ligand inside the main protease enzyme was utilized to generate two structure-based pharmacophores that were used as templates for deletion in the FDA database. To validate the selection of the active hits from pharmacophore mapping, molecular docking via “LibDock” was performed, while the highest scoring candidate was selected. Results: Interestingly, three antiviral drugs (lopinavir, saquinavir and remdesivir) were qualified to be potential main protease inhibitors. Conclusion: The researchers in this work recommend clinically investigating the possibility of these drugs as preliminary therapies until selective drugs for COVID-19 virus are approved.
Viral Causes of Acute Febrile Jaundice in Selected Provinces of Zambia
Authors: Kabungo Boniface , Takada AaroAyato , Kajihara Masahiro , Mori Akina , Changula Katendi , Mulemena John Amos , Kamvuma Kingsley , Hamooya Benson M. 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background

Following the yellow fever (YF) risk assessment conducted in 2013, Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO successfully implemented YF case based surveillance among the YF suspects in the high risk areas of Zambia. To date, none of the patients has been confirmed as a case of YF and the epidemiology of flavi-viruses has not been comprehensively investigated in Zambia. As YF may be hardly distinguished clinically from other febrile diseases, because early in the clinical course YF may appear similar to other diseases but YF will diverge clinically as the disease course progresses. This study was designed to investigate the viral causes of febrile jaundice among YF suspects in selected provinces of Zambia.
Method

We conducted a retrospective study on 93 archived serum samples previously collected from patients meeting a case definition of YF suspect from January 2014 to July 2015 presented in selected health facilities. Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, West Nile, pan Flavivirus, and Hepatitis A viruses were tested by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT_PCR) and Hepatitis B virus using PCR, while Hepatitis C and Hepatitis E viruses were tested by nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). Samples were also tested for YF and dengue fever (DF) antibodies using in-house immunoglobulin M enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (Ig M ELISA) and immunoglobulin M rapid test respectively. STATA version 12 was used for data analysis.
Results

Fourteen percent (13/93) of the serum samples were identified as YF IgM positive. None of the samples tested positive for DF IgM ELISA. All 93 serum samples tested negative for the flaviviruses by RT-PCR. However, 8.6% (8/93) showed acute Hepatitis A and 2/20 (10%) of pooled sera tested positive for HBV. The median age of patients with Hepatitis A was 9.5 years old and for those without evidence of HAV infection was 19 years old. Approximately 85 (91.4%) of patients had acute diseases of unknown origin.
Conclusion

The study revealed that YF IgM was prevalent among study participants. However, the causes of fever and jaundice in Zambia may include viral hepatitis and needs to be considered if flaviviral diseases are suspected.
Spatial Ecology of Crested Porcupine in a Metropolitan Landscape
Authors: Mori Emiliano , Molteni Riccardo , Ancillotto Leonardo , Ficetola Gentile Francesco , Falaschi Mattia 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Human settlements, including cities, may provide wildlife with new ecological niches, in terms of habitat types and food availability, thus requiring plasticity for adaptation. The crested porcupine Hystrix cristata is a habitat-generalist, large-sized rodent, also recorded in some suburban areas, but no information is available on its habitat use in metropolitan landscapes. Thus, we studied land-use factors influencing the presence of crested porcupines in a metropolitan area of Central Italy. We collected data on the occurrence of crested porcupines from the metropolitan area of Rome following an observer-oriented approach to record occurrences and estimate pseudo-absences. We then related the presence/absence of H. cristata to the landscape composition. Occupancy models showed that cultivations and scrubland were positively correlated with porcupine presence, most likely as providing this species with clumped food resources and shelter sites, respectively. Although the crested porcupine has been confirmed as a “generalist” species in terms of habitat selection, a strong preference for areas limiting the risk of being killed and providing enough food and shelter was observed. We therefore suggest that the crested porcupine may adapt to deeply modified landscapes such as large cities by selecting specific favourable land-use types.
Screening Programs for Common Maternal Mental Health Disorders Among Perinatal Women: Report of the Systematic Review of Evidence
Authors: Waqas Ahmed , Kokab Ahmreen , Meraj Hafsa , Dua Tarun , Chowdhary Neerja , Fatima Batool , Rahman Atif 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Postpartum depression and anxiety are highly prevalent worldwide. Fisher et al., estimated the prevalence of depression and anxiety at 15.6% during the antenatal and 19.8% during the postpartum period. Their impact on maternal and child health is well-recognized among the public health community, accounting for high societal costs. The public health impact of these conditions has highlighted the need to focus on the development and provision of effective prevention and treatment strategies.In recent decades, some advances have been made in development of effective universal and targeted screening programmes for perinatal depression and anxiety disorders. Recent research has shown potential benefits of universal and targeted screening for perinatal depression, to identify and treat undiagnosed cases, and help thwart its deleterious consequences. Ethical implications, however, for these screening programmes, without the provision of treatment have often been emphasized.The present mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to collate evidence pertaining to screening programmes for perinatal depression and anxiety. It aims to answer following questions, in a global context: For women in the perinatal period, do screening programmes for perinatal depression and anxiety compared with no screening improve maternal mental health and infant outcomes?A series of meta-analyses reveal a reduction in perinatal depression and anxiety among perinatal women undergoing screening programmes. For the outcome of depressive disorder, meta-analysis indicates a positive impact in favour of the intervention group (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.66, n = 9,009), with a moderate quality of evidence. A significant improvement (high quality) was also observed in symptoms of anxiety among perinatal women (SMD= -0.18, 95% CI: -0.25 to -0.12, n = 3654).
Lithium Administered to Pregnant, Lactating and Neonatal Rats: Entry Into Developing Brain
Authors: Chiou Shene Yi-Shiuan , Kysenius Kai , Huang Yifan , Habgood Mark David , Koehn Liam , Qiu Fiona , Crouch Peter , Varshney Swati , Ganio Katherine , Dziegielewska Katarzyna Magdalena , Saunders Norman Ruthven 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
BackgroundLittle is known about the extent of drug entry into developing brain, when administered to pregnant and lactating women. Lithium is commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder. Here we studied transfer of lithium given to dams, into blood, brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in embryonic and postnatal animals as well as adults.MethodsLithium chloride in a clinically relevant dose (3.2mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally into pregnant (E15-18) and lactating dams (birth-P16/17) or directly into postnatal pups (P0-P16/17). Acute treatment involved a single injection; long-term treatment involved twice daily injections for the duration of the experiment. Following terminal anaesthesia blood plasma, CSF and brains were collected. Lithium levels and brain distribution were measured using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and total lithium levels were confirmed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Results Lithium was detected in blood, CSF and brain of all fetal and postnatal pups following lithium treatment of dams. Its concentration in pups’ blood was consistently below that in maternal blood (30-35%) indicating significant protection by the placenta and breast tissue. However, much of the lithium that reached the fetus entered its brain. Levels of lithium in plasma fluctuated in different treatment groups but its concentration in CSF was stable at all ages, in agreement with known stable levels of endogenous ions in CSF. There was no significant increase of lithium transfer into CSF following application of Na+/K+ ATPase inhibitor (Digoxin) in vivo, indicating that lithium transfer across choroid plexus epithelium is not likely to be via the Na+/K+ ATPase mechanism, at least early in development. Comparison with passive permeability markers suggested that in acute experiments lithium permeability was less than expected for diffusion but similar in long-term experiments at P2. ConclusionsInformation obtained on the distribution of lithium in developing brain provides a basis for studying possible deleterious effects on brain development and behaviour in offspring of mothers undergoing lithium therapy.
Automatic Identification of Harmful Algae Based On Multiple Convolutional Neural Networks and Transfer Learning
Authors: Yang Mengyu , Wang Wensi , Gao Qiang , Zhao Chen , Li Caole , Yang Xiangfei , Li Jiaxi , Li Xiaoguang , Cui Jianglong , Zhang Liting , Ji Yanping , Geng Shuqin 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
The monitoring of harmful algae is very important for the maintenance of the aquatic ecological environment. Traditional algae monitoring methods require professionals with substantial experience in algae species, which are time-consuming, expensive and limited in practice. The automatic classification of algae cell images and the identification of harmful algae images were realized by the combination of multiple Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and deep learning techniques based on transfer learning in this work. 11 common harmful and 31 harmless algae genera were collected as input samples, the five CNNs classification models of AlexNet, VGG16, GoogLeNet, ResNet50, and MobileNetV2 were fine-tuned to automatically classify algae images, and the average accuracy was improved 11.9% when compared to models without fine-tuning. In order to monitor harmful algae which can cause red tides or produce toxins severely polluting drinking water, a new identification method of harmful algae which combines the recognition results of five CNN models was proposed, and the recall rate reached 98.0%. The experimental results validate that the recognition performance of harmful algae could be significantly improved by transfer learning, and the proposed identification method is effective in the preliminary screening of harmful algae and greatly reduces the workload of professional personnel.
Comparison of PSMA PET/CT With Fluoride PET/CT for Detection of Bone Metastatic Disease in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Regula Naresh Kumar , Kostaras Vasileios , Johansson Silvia , Trampal Carlos , Lindström Elin , Lubberink Mark , Iyer Victor , Velikyan Irina , Sörensen Jens 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
18F-NaF positron emission tomography/computed tomography (fluoride PET/CT) is considered the most sensitive technique to detect bone metastasis in prostate cancer (PCa). 68Ga-PSMA-11 (PSMA) PET/CT is increasingly used for staging of PCa. This study primarily aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of fluoride PET/CT and Gallium based PSMA PET/CT in identifying bone metastasis followed by a comparison of PSMA PET/CT with contrast-enhanced CT (CE-CT) in identifying soft tissue lesions as a secondary objective. Methods: Twenty-eight PCa patients with high suspicion of disseminated disease following curative treatment were prospectively evaluated. PET/CT examinations using fluoride and PSMA were performed. All suspicious bone lesions were counted, and the tracer uptake was measured as standardized uptake values (SUV) for both tracers. In patients with multiple findings, ten bone lesions with highest SUVmax were selected from which identical lesions from both scans were considered for direct comparison of SUVmax. Soft tissue findings of local and lymph node lesions from CE-CT were compared with PSMA PET/CT. Results: Both scans were negative for bone lesions in 7 patients (25%). Of 699 lesions consistent with skeletal metastasis in 21 patients on fluoride PET/CT, PSMA PET/CT identified 579 lesions (83%). In 69 identical bone lesions fluoride PET/CT showed significantly higher uptake (mean SUVmax: 73.1±36.8) compared to PSMA PET/CT (34.5±31.4; p<0.001). Compared to CE-CT, PSMA PET/CT showed better diagnostic performance in locating local (96% vs 61%, p=0.004) and lymph node (94% vs 46%, p<0.001) metastasis. Conclusion: In this prospective comparative study PSMA PET/CT detected the majority of bone lesions that were positive on fluoride PET/CT. Further, this study indicates better diagnostic performance of PSMA PET/CT to locate soft tissue lesions compared to CE-CT.
Feasibility And Acceptability of Virtual Reality for Cancer Pain in People Receiving Palliative Care: A Randomised Cross-Over Study
Authors: Austin Philip , Siddall Philip , Lovell Melanie 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
ContextCancer pain is common and frequently undertreated; the development of innovative therapeutic options is needed. Objectives To determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness for larger randomised controlled trials of 3D head-mounted (HMD) virtual reality (VR) compared with 2D screens for managing cancer pain in adults.MethodsThirteen people receiving palliative and supportive care participated in a single-session randomised cross-over trial, after which they completed a qualitative semi-structured interview. We also compared the effects of 3D HMD VR and 2D screen applications on cancer pain intensity and levels of perceived presence. Feasibility was assessed with recruitment, completion rates and time required to recruit target sample. ResultsAlthough recruitment was slow, completion rate was high (93%). Participants reported the intervention was acceptable and caused few side-effects. Although participants reported significantly reduced cancer pain intensity after 3D HMD VR (1.9 ± 1.8, P=.003) and 2D screen applications (1.5 ± 1.6, P = .007), no significant differences were found between interventions (-.38 ± 1.2, 95% CI: -1.1-.29, P=.23). Participants reported significantly higher levels of presence with the 3D HMD VR compared to 2D screen (60.7 ± SD 12.4 versus 34.3 ± SD 17.1, mean 95% CI: 16.4-40.7, P=.001). Increased presence was associated with significantly lower pain intensity (mean 95% CI: -.04- -0.01, P = 0.02). ConclusionsWe conclude that using HMD VR in palliative care pain settings is feasible and acceptable. In addition, virtual experiences provide relief of cancer pain. Further research is required to confirm the analgesic effects of VR in larger samples against appropriate control groups.
Artemisia-derived Actinobacteria Producing Inhibitors of Spodoptera Littoralis via Molecular Modeling Studies
Authors: Diab Mohamed K. , Mead Hala M. , Khedr Mohamad A. , Nafie Mohamed S. , Abu-Elsaoud Abdelghafar M. , El-Shatoury Sahar Ahmed 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Insecticide resistance in agricultural pests has prompted the need to discover novel compounds with new modes of action. We investigated the potency of secondary metabolites from seventy endophytic actinobacteria against laboratory and field strains of Spodoptera littoralis (4th instar), comparable to spinetoram (Radiant® 12% SC). Endophytes from Artemisia herba-alba (syn. Seriphidium herba-alba) and Artemisia judaica were highly effective. Chemical profiling of the most potent metabolite was investigated using LC-QTOF-MS-MS technique, and the activity was validated through molecular docking studies. Metabolic extracts from seven actinobacteria (belonging to Streptomyces, Nocardioides, Kitasatospora and Pseudonocardia) have shown lethality to the 4th instar larvae. The metabolite ES2, from Kitasatospora sp., caused significant histopathological and inhibitory effects on 4th instar larvae. Additionally, ES2 caused lesions in the body wall cuticle, indicating a different mode of action than that of spinetoram. Chemical profiling of ES2 have shown presence of cyromazine (molt inhibitor), 4-nitrophenol and diazinon as key constituents. In conclusion, these findings suggest that, secondary metabolites from endophytic actinobacteria inhabiting wild medicinal plants are sustainable source for promising natural biocontrol agents. This is the first illustration of insecticidal activity of the Artemisia spp. microbiome, and the first report on a natural cyromazine synthesized by actinobacteria.
PELO Facilitates PLK1- Induced the Ubiquitination and Degradation of Smad4 and Promotes the Progression of Prostate Cancer
Authors: Gao Ping , Hao Jinglan , Xie Qianwen , Han Guiqin , Xu Binbing , Hu Hang , Sa Naer , Dong Xiaoming 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
PLK1 and Smad4 are two important factors in prostate cancer initiation and progression. They have been reported to play the opposite role in Pten-deleted mouse, one is an oncogene, the other is a tumor suppressor. Moreover, they could reversely regulate the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and the activation of MYC. However, the connections between PLK1 and Smad4 have never been studied. Here, we showed that PLK1 could interact with Smad4 and promote the ubiquitination and degradation of Smad4 in PCa cells. PLK1 and PELO could bind to different domain of Smad4 and formed a protein complex. PELO facilitated the degradation of Smad4 through cooperating with PLK1, thereby resulting in proliferation and metastasis of prostate cancer cell. Changes in protein levels of Smad4 led to the alteration of biological function that caused by PLK1 in prostate cancer cells. Further studies showed that PELO upregulation was positively associated with high grade PCa and knockdown of PELO expression significantly decreased PCa cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro and vivo. PELO knockdown in PCa cells could enhance the tumor suppressive role of PLK1 inhibitor. In addition, blocking the interaction between PELO and Smad4 by using specific peptide could effectively inhibit PCa cell metastasis ability in vitro and vivo. Overall, these findings identified a novel regulatory relationship among PLK1, Smad4 and PELO, and provided a potential therapeutic strategy for advanced PCa therapy by co-targeting PLK1 and PELO.
Chlorpyrifos and Dichlorvos in Combined Exposure Reveals Antagonistic Interaction to Freshwater Fish Mrigal, Cirrhinus Mrigala
Authors: Kunwar Prabesh Singh , Sapkota Bhawani , Badu Samikshya , Parajuli Kusum , Sinha Amit , De Boeck Gudrun , Sapkota Kumar 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Toxicity imposed by organophosphate pesticides to the freshwater cultivable fish species mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) was assessed under laboratory conditions. Healthy juveniles were exposed to chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, and their equitoxic mixture in geometric series. Median lethal concentrations of chlorpyrifos were found to be 0.906 (0.689–1.179), 0.527 (0.433–0.633), 0.435 (0.366–0.517) and 0.380 (0.319–0.450) mg/L and dichlorvos were found to be 38.432 (33.625–47.866), 22.477 (19.047–26.646), 12.442 (9.619–14.196) and 11.367 (9.496–13.536) mg/L after 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h of exposure respectively. Surprisingly, the joint toxicity of these organophosphates in the binary mixture was less than additive during most of the exposure periods. Behavioral changes exhibited by pesticide exposed fish were elevated opercular beatings, loss of equilibrium, loss of schooling behavior, aggregating at corners of the test chamber, slight color changes, surplus mucus secretion, and sudden and rapid body movements before death. Such behavioral studies can be applied as a non-invasive bio-monitoring tool for water quality assessment for fish growth and development. Despite the same mode of action of both pesticides, the antagonistic action in the binary mixture is an interesting outcome of this research that requires further investigation for a lucid understanding of the joint toxicity mechanism of such pesticides.
Improving Datacenter Utilization Through Containerized Service-Based Architecture
Authors: Mulahuwaish Aos , Korbel Shane , Qolomany Basheer 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
The modern datacenter's computing capabilities have far outstripped the applications running within and have become a hidden cost of doing business due to how software is architected and deployed. Resources are over-allocated to monolithic applications that sit idle for large parts of the day. If applications were architected and deployed differently, shared services could be used for multiple applications as needed. When combined with powerful orchestration software, containerized microservices can both deploy and dynamically scale applications from very small to very large within moments—scaling the application not only across a single datacenter but across all datacenters where the application(s) are deployed. In this paper, we analyze data from an application(s) deployed both as a single monolithic codebase and as a containerized application using microservice-based architecture to calculate the performance and computing resource waste are both architected and deployed. A modern approach is offered as a solution as a path from how to go from a monolithic codebase to a more efficient, reliable, scalable, and less costly deployment model.
Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) for Roll Stabilization of a Heavy Vehicle
Authors: Ünker Faruk 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
In this research, a moment propagated by a flywheel gyroscope is analysed as a control moment gyro (CMG) to prevent vehicle rollover. When the torque of the rotating flywheel is controlled, specific sinusoidal motion occurs. It is observed that the sinusoidal gimbal motion causes to be a smallish vibration amplitude in the upright position of the sprung mass. Therefore, CMG maintains the rollover stability of the sprung mass with a steady motion. Besides, there is a simulation model using a CAE software (RecurDyn), which is built to validate the equations of motion.