Functional Prediction of Biological Profile During Eutrophication in Marine Environment

In the marine environment, coastal nutrient pollution and algal blooms are increasing in many coral reefs and surface waters around the world, leading to higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and sulfur (S) compounds. The adaptation of the marine microbiota to this stress involves evolutionary processes through mutations that can provide selective phenotypes. The aim of this in silico analysis is to elucidate the potential candidate hub proteins, biological processes, and key metabolic pathways involved in the pathogenicity of bacterioplankton during excess of nutrients. The analysis was carried out on the model organism Escherichia coli K-12, by adopting an analysis pipeline consisting of a set of packages from the Cystoscape platform. The results obtained show that the metabolism of carbon and sugars generally are the 2 driving mechanisms for the expression of virulence factors.

The Unidentified Skeletal Collection of Capuchos Cemetery (Santarém) housed at the University of Coimbra

The aim of this article is to present to the scientific and academic community the Unidentified Skeletal Collection of the Capuchos Cemetery. The skeletons, of contemporary individuals, were collected from the same cemetery as those of the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection, but their identification is unknown. The collection is composed of 73 individuals, of which 68 are adults of both sexes (34 females, 33 males, and one individual of unknown sex) and five are non-adults. The skeletons are reasonably preserved although several are incomplete as result of taphonomic changes during inhumations, but also due to the experimental research made so far. Most of the adult individuals present nonmetric characters, being the scapular notch the most frequent. Regarding the osteopathology, it was observed that the majority of adult individuals have pathological changes, with degenerative pathology being the most frequent. In addition, some individual exhibit medical devices and/or signs of chirurgical procedures. The Unidentified Skeletal Collection of the Capuchos Cemetery is an osteological collection that, although not containing individual biographical data, has contributed to teaching and research in Biological and Forensic Anthropology in subjects such as osteology, morphology, biological profile, paleopathology, cremains, and the development of new methods.

Estimation of Stature from Tibia Length for Romanian Adult Population

The estimation of stature from bones plays an important role in identifying unknown bodies, body parts, or skeletal remains, as it is an important component of the biological profile in forensic identification. The objective of this study is to enhance the development of forensic anthropology in Romania by creating a new regression formula for stature estimation. This can be accomplished from the length of the tibia, taking into account sex and age, for the Romanian adult population. A total of 137 cases from a delimited territory of Romania were included in the study. The length of the tibia and the stature of the individuals were measured before autopsy. Statistical analysis was carried using (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) SPSS 23. Tibia length showed a high correlation with stature for males, females, and the total sample. Four regression formulae were created for stature estimation of Romanian males, females, and unknown sex. The results of the analysis are impressive and have a good applicability in a forensic anthropological context. The data used in this paper provide reliable results with a large applicability in the future for estimating stature from the tibia length for the Romanian adult population.

EDUCATIONAL MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS TO STUDY BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOL AND LYCEUM OF BIOLOGICAL PROFILE

The article considers the issues of educational motivation, in particular the motivation to study biology in secondary and specialized public schools. The paper examines types of learning motivation: internal and external (Derbeniova, 2012), social motives to learn (Bozhovych, 2001), motivation as a personal trait (Leontiev, 2002). Issues with low involvement of high school students to take an external examination in biology were also in focus. Some scholars argue, that secondaryschools are mainly focused on maintaining external motivation in the form of tests, orders and requirements, which has a detrimental effect on internal motivation and leads to a gradual decrease in students' interest in learning (Makovetska, 2015), while specialised high school, in particular in the natural sciences, creates motivating learning environments, like innovative forms and methods of teaching, which build stronger student conscious motivation for learning and facilitate cognitive activity, which promotes the development of abilities and talents, needs and skills for self-improvement. future training (Moroz, 2006). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of student motivation to study biology in secondary school and in the lyceum of biological profile. The phenomenon of motivation and learning motivation of secondary school students and specialized medical education institutions by surveying high school students using the methods of O. Okuneva, L. Vasilieva and additional questions on motivation to study biology. According to the method by O. Okuneva, L. Vasilieva, the level of development of learning motivation, type of motivation and motivation indicator as an indicator of success and avoidance of failures were revealed, factors influencing student learning were analysed. It is established that all blocks of the motivational structure have higher scores among the respondents of the specialised institution of secondary education. The largest statistical difference was observed in students of the two institutions in block 2, the formation of the ability to set goals. Students of the profile institution have a higher individual focus on learning, better formed internal incentives, as well as greater self-confidence and independence from other members of the group, whichhelps to choose a future profession. As a result of the survey, organizational forms of education and types of tasks that should be used in the educational process in order to strengthen the learning motivation of high school students are identified.

An infant burial from Arma Veirana in northwestern Italy provides insights into funerary practices and female personhood in early Mesolithic Europe

The evolution and development of human mortuary behaviors is of enormous cultural significance. Here we report a richly-decorated young infant burial (AVH-1) from Arma Veirana (Liguria, northwestern Italy) that is directly dated to 10,211–9910 cal BP (95.4% probability), placing it within the early Holocene and therefore attributable to the early Mesolithic, a cultural period from which well-documented burials are exceedingly rare. Virtual dental histology, proteomics, and aDNA indicate that the infant was a 40–50 days old female. Associated artifacts indicate significant material and emotional investment in the child’s interment. The detailed biological profile of AVH-1 establishes the child as the earliest European near-neonate documented to be female. The Arma Veirana burial thus provides insight into sex/gender-based social status, funerary treatment, and the attribution of personhood to the youngest individuals among prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups and adds substantially to the scant data on mortuary practices from an important period in prehistory shortly following the end of the last Ice Age.

Repurposing the Trypanosomatidic GSK Kinetobox for the Inhibition of Parasitic Pteridine and Dihydrofolate Reductases

Three open-source anti-kinetoplastid chemical boxes derived from a whole-cell phenotypic screening by GlaxoSmithKline (Tres Cantos Anti-Kinetoplastid Screening, TCAKS) were exploited for the discovery of a novel core structure inspiring new treatments of parasitic diseases targeting the trypansosmatidic pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) enzymes. In total, 592 compounds were tested through medium-throughput screening assays. A subset of 14 compounds successfully inhibited the enzyme activity in the low micromolar range of at least one of the enzymes from both Trypanosoma brucei and Lesihmania major parasites (pan-inhibitors), or from both PTR1 and DHFR-TS of the same parasite (dual inhibitors). Molecular docking studies of the protein–ligand interaction focused on new scaffolds not reproducing the well-known antifolate core clearly explaining the experimental data. TCMDC-143249, classified as a benzenesulfonamide derivative by the QikProp descriptor tool, showed selective inhibition of PTR1 and growth inhibition of the kinetoplastid parasites in the 5 μM range. In our work, we enlarged the biological profile of the GSK Kinetobox and identified new core structures inhibiting selectively PTR1, effective against the kinetoplastid infectious protozoans. In perspective, we foresee the development of selective PTR1 and DHFR inhibitors for studies of drug combinations.

Xanthine: Synthetic Strategy And Biological Activity

Xanthine and its derivatives belong to the class of purine alkaloids. They are natural bases holding nitrogen atoms within the molecular structure, and they have an effective pharmacological alteration in both animals and human beings. Substituted xanthine, theophylline/caffeine being prototype, is one of the derivatives which have shown prominent binding to adenosine receptors as agonist or antagonist. Various mechanistic approaches are involved in exerting bronchospasmolytic, neuroprotective, hypoglycemic, MAO modulatory, along cardiac effects. Mostly, xanthine derivatives reduce inflammation and bronchospasm in asthmatic conditions. Other therapeutics effects are in the management of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, vasoconstriction, and also possess excellent central nervous system-penetration ability; thus, they can also be used as stimulants and anti-depressants. Their actions are relatively very weak, but their pharmacological effects are also associated with snarl-up adenosine-mediated functions. An assortment of the biological profile of the xanthine scaffold attracted many research groups over the years to explore this nucleus vividly. The present review is aimed to cover every aspect of the xanthine moiety reported in the earlier years. This review covers all the major biological roles and various synthetic strategies adopted to synthesize xanthine moiety and its derivatives.