scholarly journals Situated Expert Judgement

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-174
Author(s):  
Brice Laurent ◽  
Francois Thoreau

In this paper we discuss the kind of expert judgement demanded by the development of a particular class of models known as “Quantitative Structure-Activities Relationship” (QSAR) models, used to predict the toxicity of chemical substances, for regulatory and other purposes. We analyse the production of these models, and attempts at standardizing them. We show that neither a technical nor a procedural standardization is possible. As a consequence, QSAR models cannot ground a production of knowledge along the lines of “mechanical objectivity” or “regulatory objectivity”. Instead, QSAR models imply that expert judgement is situated, re-worked for each new case, and implies an active intervention of the individual expert. This has important consequences for risk governance based on models. It makes transparency a central concern. It also means that new asymmetries emerge, between companies developing sophisticated models and individual experts in regulatory agencies in charge of assessing these models.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengguo Cai ◽  
Martina Zafferani ◽  
Olanrewaju Akande ◽  
Amanda Hargrove

The diversity of RNA structural elements and their documented role in human diseases make RNA an attractive therapeutic target. However, progress in drug discovery and development has been hindered by challenges in the determination of high-resolution RNA structures and a limited understanding of the parameters that drive RNA recognition by small molecules, including a lack of validated quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). Herein, we developed QSAR models that quantitatively predict both thermodynamic and kinetic-based binding parameters of small molecules and the HIV-1 TAR model RNA system. A set of small molecules bearing diverse scaffolds was screened against the HIV-1-TAR construct using surface plasmon resonance, which provided the binding kinetics and affinities. The data was then analyzed using multiple linear regression (MLR) combined with feature selection to afford robust models for binding of diverse RNA-targeted scaffolds. The predictivity of the model was validated on untested small molecules. The QSAR models presented herein represent the first application of validated and predictive 2D-QSAR using multiple scaffolds against an RNA target. We expect the workflow to be generally applicable to other RNA structures, ultimately providing essential insight into the small molecule descriptors that drive selective binding interactions and, consequently, providing a platform that can exponentially increase the efficiency of ligand design and optimization without the need for high-resolution RNA structures.



2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-431
Author(s):  
Francisco Bombillar

This section updates readers on the latest developments in pharmaceutical law, giving information on legislation and case law on various matters (such as clinical and pre-clinical trials, drug approval and marketing authorisation, the role of regulatory agencies) and providing analysis on how and to what extent they might affect health and security of the individual as well as in industry.



Foods ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Perestrelo ◽  
Catarina Silva ◽  
Miguel X. Fernandes ◽  
José S. Câmara

Terpenoids, including monoterpenoids (C10), norisoprenoids (C13), and sesquiterpenoids (C15), constitute a large group of plant-derived naturally occurring secondary metabolites with highly diverse chemical structures. A quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) model to predict terpenoid toxicity and to evaluate the influence of their chemical structures was developed in this study by assessing in real time the toxicity of 27 terpenoid standards using the Gram-negative bioluminescent Vibrio fischeri. Under the test conditions, at a concentration of 1 µM, the terpenoids showed a toxicity level lower than 5%, with the exception of geraniol, citral, (S)-citronellal, geranic acid, (±)-α-terpinyl acetate, and geranyl acetone. Moreover, the standards tested displayed a toxicity level higher than 30% at concentrations of 50–100 µM, with the exception of (+)-valencene, eucalyptol, (+)-borneol, guaiazulene, β-caryophellene, and linalool oxide. Regarding the functional group, terpenoid toxicity was observed in the following order: alcohol > aldehyde ~ ketone > ester > hydrocarbons. The CODESSA software was employed to develop QSAR models based on the correlation of terpenoid toxicity and a pool of descriptors related to each chemical structure. The QSAR models, based on t-test values, showed that terpenoid toxicity was mainly attributed to geometric (e.g., asphericity) and electronic (e.g., maximum partial charge for a carbon (C) atom (Zefirov’s partial charge (PC)) descriptors. Statistically, the most significant overall correlation was the four-parameter equation with a training coefficient and test coefficient correlation higher than 0.810 and 0.535, respectively, and a square coefficient of cross-validation (Q2) higher than 0.689. According to the obtained data, the QSAR models are suitable and rapid tools to predict terpenoid toxicity in a diversity of food products.



2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1931-1938
Author(s):  
Shanshan Zheng ◽  
Chao Li ◽  
Gaoliang Wei

Two quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models to predict keaq− of diverse organic compounds were developed and the impact of molecular structural features on eaq− reactivity was investigated.



2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 1550040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuradha Sharma ◽  
Poonam Piplani

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in old aged people and clinically used drugs for treatment are associated with side effects. Thus, there is a current demand for the discovery and development of new potential molecules. However, the recent advances in drug therapy have challenged the predominance of the disease. In this manuscript, an attempt has been made to develop the 2D and 3D quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models for a series of rutaecarpine, quinazolines and 7,8-dehydrorutaecarpine derivatives to obtain insights to Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. Five different QSAR models have been generated and validated using a set of 52 compounds comprising of varying scaffolds with IC50 values ranging from 11,000 nM to 0.6 nM. These AChE-specific prediction models (M1–M5) adequately reflect the structure–activity relationship of the existing AChE inhibitors. Out of all developed models, QSAR model generated using ADME properties has been found to be the best with satisfactory statistical significance (regression (r2) of 0.9309 and regression adjusted coefficient of variation [Formula: see text] of 0.9194). The QSAR models highlight the importance of aromatic moiety as their presence in the structure influence the biological activity. Additional insights on the compounds show that acyclic amines attached to side chain have lower activity than cyclic amines. The QSAR models pinpointing structural basis for the AChEIs suggest new guidelines for the design of novel molecules.



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