Identification of Potential Drug Targets Implicated in Parkinson's Disease from Human Genome: Insights of Using Fused Domains in Hypothetical Proteins as Probes

High-throughput genome sequencing has led to data explosion in sequence databanks, with an imbalance of sequence-structure-function relationships, resulting in a substantial fraction of proteins known as hypothetical proteins. Functions of such proteins can be assigned based on the analysis and characterization of the domains that they are made up of. Domains are basic evolutionary units of proteins and most proteins contain multiple domains. A subset of multidomain proteins is fused domains (overlapping domains), wherein sequence overlaps between two or more domains occur. These fused domains are a result of gene fusion events and their implication in diseases is well established. Hence, an attempt has been made in this paper to identify the fused domain containing hypothetical proteins from human genome homologous to parkinsonian targets present in KEGG database. The results of this research identified 18 hypothetical proteins, with domains fused with ubiquitin domains and having homology with targets present in parkinsonian pathway

Infering Air Quality from Traffic Data using Transferable Neural Network Models

This work presents a neural network based model for inferring air quality from traffic measurements. It is important to obtain information on air quality in urban environments in order to meet legislative and policy requirements. Measurement equipment tends to be expensive to purchase and maintain. Therefore, a model based approach capable of accurate determination of pollution levels is highly beneficial. The objective of this study was to develop a neural network model to accurately infer pollution levels from existing data sources in Leicester, UK. Neural Networks are models made of several highly interconnected processing elements. These elements process information by their dynamic state response to inputs. Problems which were not solvable by traditional algorithmic approaches frequently can be solved using neural networks. This paper shows that using a simple neural network with traffic and meteorological data as inputs, the air quality can be estimated with a good level of generalisation and in near real-time. By applying these models to links rather than nodes, this methodology can directly be used to inform traffic engineers and direct traffic management decisions towards enhancing local air quality and traffic management simultaneously.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

RADIOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF FICUS RACEMOSA ETHANOL EXTRACT AGAINST ELECTRON BEAM INDUCED DNA DAMAGE IN VITRO, IN VIVO AND IN SILICO

Objective: To investigate the radioprotective effect of Ficus racemosa (Fr) ethanol stem bark extract against electron beam radiation (EBR) induced DNA damage using in vitro, in vivo and in silico models.Methods: The extract of Fr was tested against radiation induced DNA damage by exposing pBR322 plasmid to different EBR dose rates. Comet assay was conducted using mice which were exposed at 6Gy EBR. In silico study was performed by inhibiting p53 protein C-chain (1TUP C) using phyto chemicals of Fr.Results: The in vitro results revealed that, Fr at lower concentration (50µg) showed inhibitory effect on radiation induced DNA damage compared with control. Exposure of mice to 6Gy EBR increased comet parameters like TL (Tail length), OTM (Olive tail moment) and %T (percentage of DNA in the tail) of blood lymphocytes. Fr ethanol extract given orally prior to irradiation at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight protected the DNA from the radiation damage. The phytochemicals of Fr showed clear interaction with p53 protein chain C, specifically binding to Arginine 248 (ARG248) and Arginine 273 (ARG273) amino acid residues thereby inhibiting the p53 protein-DNA interaction upon radiation.Conclusion: The present study indicates that Fr ethanol extract significantly reduced radiation induced DNA damage in vivo and in vitro. It also showed that the biologically active compounds of Fr have ability to inhibit wild p53 protein which is responsible for apoptosis; these compounds can be used as radioprotectors during chemotherapy to protect normal tissues surrounding cancerous tissue.Â

3D Model Atmospheres of Red Giant Stars

We provide a brief overview of the modelling of the atmospheres of red giant stars with the 3D radiation-hydrodynamics code CO5BOLD. We emphasize aspects where 3D modelling provides additional insight beyond standard hydrostatic 1D models, and comment on present modelling challenges.Comment: Proc. of the workshop "Red Giants as Probes of the Structure and Evolution of the Milky Way" (Roma, 15-17 Nov 2010), Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, ISBN 978-3-642-18417-8 (eds. A. Miglio, J. Montalban, A. Noels). Part of RedGiantsMilkyWay/2011/ proceedings available at http://arxiv.org/html/1108.4406v

Association of sociocultural stressors with bipolar disorder onset in Puerto Rican youth growing up as members of a minoritized ethnic group: results from the Boricua Youth Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND: The development of bipolar disorder is currently explained by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Less is known regarding the influence of sociocultural factors. This study aims to evaluate the incidence and impact of sociocultural factors on bipolar disorder onset in two comparable samples of youth growing up in different social settings. METHODS: We leveraged data from two urban population-based cohorts representative of Puerto Rican children growing up in either San Juan (Puerto Rico) or the South Bronx (NYC) and followed up for 17 years. Bipolar disorder diagnoses were based on retrospective self-reports on the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview. We used a causal inference approach to estimate associations of sociocultural factors with bipolar disorder onset after adjusting for potential confounders. FINDINGS: We found that South Bronx children, who grew up as a minoritized group, had twice the risk of bipolar disorder onset as young adults, with an incidence rate of 2.22 new cases per 1000 person-years compared to 1.08 new cases in San Juan (incidence rate difference, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.09-1.20). After adjusting for potential confounders, South Bronx children had the same lifetime hazard of bipolar disorder onset compared to San Juan children. However, our analysis demonstrated that caregivers' exposure to societal cultural stress partially explained the increased risk of bipolar disorder onset in the South Bronx, in addition to the potential contribution of genetics. INTERPRETATION: Our results provide evidence that societal cultural stress can increase the risk of lifetime bipolar disorder onset in youth growing up as a minoritized group. Addressing stress in minoritized groups might reduce the risk of bipolar disorder onset. FUNDING: The Boricua Youth Study has been supported by the National Institutes of HealthMH56401, MH098374, DA033172, and AA020191. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the article

Agricultural land-use change and ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) colonization in Pyrenean landscapes: an interdisciplinary case study

 ONLINE FIRSTInternational audienceChanges in agricultural land use are responsible for significant modifications in mountain landscapes. This study is part of an interdisciplinary research on the processes and consequences of spontaneous afforestation of Pyrenean landscapes by ash, and the possibilities for its management. We address the relationships between vegetation dynamics and land-use change from the combination of an agricultural study of change in farm management and an ecological study of grassland colonization by ash. In the framework of a village case study, we characterized parcels management and land-use histories, and analyzed the dynamics of the composition of grassland vegetation communities. From a joint analysis of the results obtained in each discipline, we discuss the limitations and comple-mentarities of the two approaches for the interdisciplinary assessment of the afforestation process