Convening for a Thriving Future: Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Asian American Community

On October 1, 2022, Portland State University (PSU) held the Convening for a Thriving Future for Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Asian American (PIAA) Communities at the university’s Native American Student Community Center (NASCC). This event was part of a series of BIPOC-centered and -led community convenings by PSU’s Global Diversity & Inclusion as one of our action items in the Time to Act Plan for Equity & Racial Justice. PSU contracted with Roxanna Bautista of Rise Up Solutions to support the planning, development, and coordination of this convening, in addition to providing facilitation and contributing to this convening report. In addition, PSU partnered with PIAA communitybased organizations to hold this convening. Those community partners were: API Forward, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition (OPIC), Filipino Bayanihan Center, and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)-Pacific Islander Asian Family Center. The convening was organized into morning and afternoon sessions and breakfast and lunch were provided by Asian owned businesses, Phat Cart and Khao Niew Lao Street Food. The morning sessions consisted of remarks and presentations on data and PSU history from PSU leadership and Global Diversity & Inclusion. After these presentations, the next session featured a panel of PIAA community-based organizations and leaders who responded to discussion prompts, including what they would say a thriving future looks like for PIAA communities. After lunch, the afternoon sessions were composed of four breakout groups, where facilitators guided the discussion through various prompts. The convening wrapped up with report backs from those breakout groups and completion of evaluations. Related Materials: Five affinity-based convenings: Latiné Futures Convening Convening on the Future of Black Thriving & Joy Convening for a Thriving Future for Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Asian American Communities (PIAA) Convening for a Prosperous Future for Middle East, North African and South Asian Community (MENASA) Native Leaders Roundtable Time to Act Events:The Future and Thriving of BIPOC Communities: A Time to Act Macroconvening(Affinity groups met in-person November 2022)Time 2 Act: Continuing Action for a Just and Equitable PSU(Video - Winter Symposium 2021) Time to Act: Envisioning and Creating a Just and Equitable PSU(Video - Virtual Equity Summit, October 30, 2020) Equity Plan: Time to Act: Plan for Equity & Racial Justice 2021 - 2024 (PDF - Report, 2021

Phytoconstituents from Alpinia purpurata and their in vitro inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Alpinia purpurata or red ginger was studied for its phytochemical constituents as part of our growing interest on Philippine Zingiberaceae plants that may exhibit antimycobacterial activity. The hexane and dichloromethane subextracts of the leaves were fractionated and purified using silica gel chromatography to afford a mixture of C28–C32 fatty alcohols, a 3-methoxyflavone and two steroidal glycosides. The two latter metabolites were spectroscopically identified as kumatakenin (1), sitosteryl-3-O-6-palmitoyl-β-D-glucoside (2) and b-sitosteryl galactoside (3) using ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), electron impact mass spectrometer (EIMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, and by comparison with literature data. This study demonstrates for the first time the isolation of these constituents from A. purpurata. In addition to the purported anti-inflammatory activity, its phytomedicinal potential to treat tuberculosis is also described

Synthesis, Characterization, and Molecular Docking Studies of N-Acylated Butyro and Valerolactam Derivatives with Antiproliferative and Cytotoxic Activities

Background: Electrophilic compounds bearing Michael acceptors present great promise in anticancer drug discovery. Methods: Drawing inspirations from cytotoxic Piper lactam alkaloids, twelve N-acylated butyro- and valerolactams were prepared and evaluated for antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against the normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), chronic human myeloid leukemia cells (K-5 62), and Henrietta Lacks (HeLa) cells used as model cell lines. Molecular docking of bioactive derivatives was performed against tyrosine kinase. Results: Results of the MTT assay showed the crotonylated (5) and nitro-containing cinnamoyl (8) butyrolactams, and, the crotonylated (10), trifluoromethylated (13), and chlorinated (14) cinnamoyl valerolactam derivatives as the most antiproliferative against human myeloid leukemia cells. The trifluoromethylated cinnamoyl valerolactam (13) displayed the best selectivity on K-562 cells. Molecular docking studies of 13 against tyrosine kinase provided evidence as tyrosine kinase inhibitor, having comparable binding energy and receptor interaction with imatinib. Conclusion: The presence of electrophilic N- acrylic moieties contributes to the potential of a compound as inspiration to develop anti-leukemia drugs

Flavonoids from Uvaria alba attenuate LPS-induced inflammatory responses by suppressing NF-κB activation in RAW 264.7 macrophages: In silico and in vitro perspectives

Hyperreactive inflammatory response occurs when there is excessive activation of NF-κB leading to a pathologic cascade of inflammatory reactions. Thus, we investigated the inflammatory modulating potentials of the Philippine medicinal endemic plant Uvaria alba. ELISA was initially performed to measure levels of proinflammatory mediators (NO and PGE 2 ) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6), followed by RT-PCR and western blotting to determine mRNA and protein expression, respectively. Using immunofluorescence staining combined with western blot analysis, the activation of NF-κB was further investigated. Putative flavonoids from the bioactive butanol subextract (UaB) were identified using high resolution LC-MS and subjected to in silico screening against COX-1/2, iNOS, TNF-α, TACE, and IKK via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations at 140 ns. UaB abrogated protein and mRNA expressions of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 by suppressing the production of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines. Furthermore, UaB attenuated NF-κB activation by inhibiting the nuclear translocation of the transcription factor p65. LC-MS analysis with UaB revealed the presence of flavonol aglycones — quercetin (4) and kaempferol (6) — and their glycosylated derivatives — quercitrin (3), rutin (5), and kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside (7). Molecular docking analysis suggests that the major flavonol aglycones exhibited high affinity towards COX-2 NSAID-binding site, TNF-α and TACE, while the glycosylated flavonoids showed high affinity towards iNOS and IKK. The top protein-ligand complexes were found to be dynamically stable as shown by molecular dynamics simulations. This is the first report highlighting the mechanistic in silico and in vitro anti-inflammatory potential of U. alba

Attenuation of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses through Inhibition of the NF-κB Pathway and the Increased NRF2 Level by a Flavonol-Enriched n-Butanol Fraction from Uvaria alba

Pathologic hyperreactive inflammatory responses occur when there is excessive activation of a proinflammatory NF-kappa B pathway and a reduced cytoprotective NRF2 cascade. The noncytotoxic, highly selective COX-2 inhibitory flavonol-enriched butanol fraction (UaB) from Uvaria alba (U. alba) was investigated for its inflammatory modulating potential by targeting NF-kappa B activation and NRF2 activity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was initially performed to measure levels of proinflammatory mediators [nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)] and cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1 beta, and IL-6], followed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting to determine mRNA and protein expression, respectively. Using immunofluorescence staining combined with western blot analysis, the activation of NF-kappa B was further investigated. NRF2 activity was also measured using a luciferase reporter assay. UaB abrogated protein and mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), COX-2, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 macrophages, thereby suppressing the production of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines. This was further validated when a concentration-dependent decrease in NO and ROS production was observed in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae. UaB also increased NRF2 activity in HaCaT/ARE cell line and attenuated NF-kappa B activation by inhibiting the nuclear translocation of transcription factor p65 in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Nontargeted LC- MS analysis of UaB revealed the presence of the flavonols quercitrin (1), quercetin (2), rutin (3), kaempferol (4), and kaempferol 3O-rutinoside (5). Molecular docking indicates that major flavonol aglycones have high affinity toward COX-2 NSAID-binding sites, TNF-alpha, and TNF-alpha converting enzyme, while the glycosylated flavonoids showed strong binding toward iNOS and IKK-all possessing dynamic stability when performing molecular dynamics simulations at 140 ns. This is the first report to have elucidated the mechanistic anti-inflammatory potential of the Philippine endemic plant U. alba