Search results for "design."
showing 10 items of 5715 documents
An overview of recent molecular dynamics applications as medicinal chemistry tools for the undruggable site challenge
2018
Molecular dynamics (MD) has become increasingly popular due to the development of hardware and software solutions and the improvement in algorithms, which allowed researchers to scale up calculations in order to speed them up. MD simulations are usually used to address protein folding issues or protein-ligand complex stability through energy profile analysis over time. In recent years, the development of new tools able to deeply explore a potential energy surface (PES) has allowed researchers to focus on the dynamic nature of the binding recognition process and binding-induced protein conformational changes. Moreover, modern approaches have been demonstrated to be effective and reliable in …
Effectiveness of flossing loops in the control of the gingival health
2017
Reference Number: 53858 Background: One of the key factor in the good condition of periodontal tissues is their daily hygiene. Oral hygiene techniques such brushing and a good interdental hygiene by correct flossing are very important. The aim of this study is to compare the use of dental floss in a loop vs traditional floss in the control of Loe-Silness Gingival In- dex (IG), Turesky ́s Plaque Index (IPT), Gingival Bleeding Index (IS) and the values of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 8 (IL-8). Material and Methods: A comparative study of 40 patients in which each patient was his own control, using during 45 days each one of the devices (new loop floss and conventional floss) of interd…
Prospective Evaluation of Free Energy Calculations for the Prioritization of Cathepsin L Inhibitors.
2017
Improving the binding affinity of a chemical series by systematically probing one of its exit vectors is a medicinal chemistry activity that can benefit from molecular modeling input. Herein, we compare the effectiveness of four approaches in prioritizing building blocks with better potency: selection by a medicinal chemist, manual modeling, docking followed by manual filtering, and free energy calculations (FEP). Our study focused on identifying novel substituents for the apolar S2 pocket of cathepsin L and was conducted entirely in a prospective manner with synthesis and activity determination of 36 novel compounds. We found that FEP selected compounds with improved affinity for 8 out of …
How to deal with context? A context-mapping tool for quality and safety in nursing homes and homecare (SAFE-LEAD Context)
2019
Abstract Objective The objective of this paper is to develop a context-mapping tool (SAFE-LEAD Context) adapted to the nursing home and homecare setting. These two contexts represent a substantial variability, but studies focusing on the types and roles of contextual factors in quality and safety in these care settings are lacking. Results We conducted a step-wise collaborative design process consisting of mapping of key contextual factors as perceived by managers in Norwegian nursing homes and homecare, then created a draft tool discussed in a consortium workshop with co-researchers, and ran an international cross-country comparison. The SAFE-LEAD Context tool is inspired by the Consolidat…
Ferroptosis and Its Potential Role in Human Diseases
2020
Ferroptosis is a novel regulated cell death pattern discovered when studying the mechanism of erastin-killing RAS mutant tumor cells in 2012. It is an iron-dependent programmed cell death pathway mainly caused by an increased redox imbalance but with distinct biological and morphology characteristics when compared to other known cell death patterns. Ferroptosis is associated with various diseases including acute kidney injury, cancer, and cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and hepatic diseases. Moreover, activation or inhibition of ferroptosis using a variety of ferroptosis initiators and inhibitors can modulate disease progression in animal models. In this review, we provide a comprehensiv…
Discovery and Biological Evaluation of Potent and Selective N-Methylene Saccharin-Derived Inhibitors for Rhomboid Intramembrane Proteases
2017
Rhomboids are intramembrane serine proteases and belong to the group of structurally and biochemically most comprehensively characterized membrane proteins. They are highly conserved and ubiquitously distributed in all kingdoms of life and function in a wide range of biological processes, including epidermal growth factor signaling, mitochondrial dynamics, and apoptosis. Importantly, rhomboids have been associated with multiple diseases, including Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, and malaria. However, despite a thorough understanding of many structural and functional aspects of rhomboids, potent and selective inhibitors of these intramembrane proteases are still not available. In this …
Evaluating the stability of pharmacophore features using molecular dynamics simulations.
2016
Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations of twelve protein—ligand systems were used to derive a single, structure based pharmacophore model for each system. These merged models combine the information from the initial experimental structure and from all snapshots saved during the simulation. We compared the merged pharmacophore models with the corresponding PDB pharmacophore models, i.e., the static models generated from an experimental structure in the usual manner. The frequency of individual features, of feature types and the occurrence of features not present in the static model derived from the experimental structure were analyzed. We observed both pharmacophore features not visible in …
Recent advances on CDK inhibitors: An insight by means of in silico methods
2017
The cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) are a small family of serine/threonine protein kinases that can act as a potential therapeutic target in several proliferative diseases, including cancer. This short review is a survey on the more recent research progresses in the field achieved by using in silico methods. All the "armamentarium" available to the medicinal chemists (docking protocols and molecular dynamics, fragment-based, de novo design, virtual screening, and QSAR) has been employed to the discovery of new, potent, and selective inhibitors of cyclin dependent kinases. The results cited herein can be useful to understand the nature of the inhibitor-target interactions, and furnish an ins…
Expectation or Sensorial Reality? An Empirical Investigation of the Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers.
2017
International audience; The study's aim was to investigate a central tenet of biodynamic philosophy as applied to wine tasting, namely that wines taste different in systematic ways on days determined by the lunar cycle. Nineteen New Zealand wine professionals tasted blind 12 Pinot noir wines at times determined within the biodynamic calendar for wine drinkers as being favourable (Fruit day) and unfavourable (Root day) for wine tasting. Tasters rated each wine four times, twice on a Fruit day and twice on a Root day, using 20 experimenter-provided descriptors. Wine descriptors spanned a range of varietal-relevant aroma, taste, and mouthfeel characteristics, and were selected with the aim of …
The TeRiFiQ project: Combining technologies to achieve significant binary reductions in sodium, fat and sugar content in everyday foods whilst optimi…
2017
International audience; Most developed countries are confronted with rising rates of diseases related to unhealthy eating habits, particularly the excessive consumption of salt, saturated fat and free sugars. However, fat, sugars and salt in food influence not only its nutritional qualities but also its sensory properties, safety (e.g. shelf life) and affordability. The main challenge is to formulate healthier foods that are acceptable to consumers. In this context, the overall objective of TeRiFiQ was to achieve significant binary reductions in the salt-fat and sugar-fat contents of frequently consumed food products around Europe, while, at the same time, ensuring the products’ nutritional…