The Role of University-Based Incubators in Social Entrepreneurship’s Development: The Capability Approach as an Evaluative Framework

Introduction/Main Objectives: This study evaluates the role of a large university in developing the social entrepreneurship capabilities of its students and fresh graduates through its business incubator; and investigates why tenants choose to be or not to be social entrepreneurs after their incubation process. Background Problems: There are many discussions about university-based incubators for developing entrepreneurship, but the actual mechanism of how these incubators develop social entrepreneurs is still unknown. Novelty: This research explores the development of social entrepreneurship through the university-based incubator program. Hence, it can be used to provide best practices for the program, especially for developing the tenants’ capacity. Research Methods: This study applies a case study approach and adopts Amartya Sen’s capability approach as an evaluative framework. The C-Hub UGM was chosen as a case since it was selected as a good example of a social entrepreneurship incubator by the British Council. This research used three sources of evidence: documents, interviews, and focus group discussions to collect information from 14 of the incubator’s tenants. Finding/Results: The results reveal that the incubator serves as a hub for the resources that enhance the tenants’ personal conversion factors and their performance as agents for change. Subsequently, the incubator improves the tenants’ social entrepreneurship capabilities set; however, it is up to the tenants to choose whether they want to continue as social entrepreneurs or work in other roles as their functioning. Conclusion: This study illuminates the linkages among the concepts of the capability approach, the university-based incubator and social entrepreneurship. It reveals that the university-based incubator serves as a hub for the resources that enhance the tenants’ personal conversion factors; thereby they can be effective social entrepreneurs.

Urinary tract infections in pregnancy

Background. Urinary tract infections (UTI) are the most common infections during pregnancy. The feto-maternal complications linked to this pathology can be severe if untreated and the treatment has been a subject of interest hence the multiple drugs contraindications in pregnancy, the restraint panel of antibiotics that can be used and the antimicrobial resistance that is constantly increasing. The purpose of this article is to review the latest data from literature and guidelines regarding the best management of the urinary tract infections in pregnancy. Methods. It was undertaken a systematic electronic search for articles, reviews and guidelines using Cochrane Date Base, PubMed and the international protocols in use recommended by the Obstetrics and Gynecology societies (ACOG - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, CNGOF – Collège National des Gynécologues et Obstétriciens Français, RCOG – Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). Results and conclusions. Special consideration should be given to urinary tract infections developed during pregnancy because they are related to serious fetal and maternal complications. Routine screening is recommended and the antibiotic therapy properly individualized. Emotional impact on the future mothers is particularly important and non-pharmacologic prophylaxis should always be discussed at the begging of pregnancy. Future research should be focused on finding the actual mechanism of pathogenesis that link UTI and the complications they associate.

Finding inhibitors for PCSK9 using computational methods

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is one of the key targets for atherosclerosis drug development as its binding with low-density lipoprotein receptor leads to atherosclerosis. The protein-ligand interaction helps to understand the actual mechanism for the pharmacological action. This research aims to discover the best inhibitory candidates targeting PCSK9. To start with, reported ACE inhibitors were incorporated into pharmacophore designing using PharmaGist to produce pharmacophore models. Selected models were later screened against the ZINC database using ZINCPHARMER to define potential drug candidates that were docked with the target protein to understand their interactions. Molecular docking revealed the top 10 drug candidates against PCSK9, with binding energies ranging from -9.8 kcal·mol-1 to -8.2 kcal·mol-1, which were analyzed for their pharmacokinetic properties and oral bioavailability. Some compounds were identified as plant-derived compounds like (S)-canadine, hesperetin or labetalol (an antihypertensive drug). Molecular dynamics results showed that these substances formed stable protein-ligand complexes. (S)-canadine-PCSK9 complex was the most stable with the lowest RMSD. It was concluded that (S)-canadine may act as a potential inhibitor against atherosclerosis for the development of new PCSK9 inhibitory drugs in future in vitro research.

On the Investigation of Monthly River Flow Generation Complexity Using the Applicability of Machine Learning Models

Streamflow is associated with several sources on nonstationaries and hence developing machine learning (ML) models is always the motive to provide a reliable methodology to understand the actual mechanism of streamflow. The current research was devoted to generating monthly streamflows from annual streamflow. In this study, three different ML models were applied for this purpose, including Multiple Additive Regression Trees (MART), Group Methods of Data Handling (GMDH), and Gene Expression Programming (GEP). The models were developed based on annual streamflow and monthly time index of three rivers (i.e., Upper Zab, Lower Zab, and Diyala) located in the north region of Iraq. The modeling results indicated an optimistic simulation for generating the monthly streamflow time series from annual streamflow time series. The potential of the MART model was superior to the GMDH and GEP models for Upper Zab River (R2 0.84, 0.64, and 0.47), Lower Zab River (R2 0.75, 0.46, and 0.40), and Diyala River (R2 0.78, 0.42, and 0.5). The results of RMSE were 113, 169, and 208 for Upper Zab River, 95, 149, and 0.5 for Lower Zab River, and 73, 118, and 109 for Diyala River. The results have proved the possibility of changing the timescale in generating streamflow data.

Ecological Mechanistic Research and Modelling

There is a recent literature in philosophy that is about developing a taxonomy of scientific explanations for phenomena, the kinds of models we use, and the research programmes that produce the explanations and models. Roughly, there are two basic research programmes. The first programme takes some capacity of a system, and maps out how it works by breaking it down into various sub-capacities, each with their own distinct characteristics. The end goal is a functional model, a ‘how-possibly’ box-and-arrow type explanation of how a capacity such as memory is organised. The second programme instead focuses on analytically decomposing a proposed mechanism that produces a phenomena into real parts and processes. Empirical work focuses on establishing that the proposed parts are part of the actual mechanism being modelled, and localising where those parts live and how they contribute to implementing the phenomena. The end goal is a dynamical mechanistic model, a ‘how-actually’ explanation in which each model part explicitly represents the dynamics of a real part or process. Mechanistic models, when they are possible to develop, are considered to be the best form of explanation of a phenomena.Ecological psychology has, so far, widely resisted becoming a mechanistic science. This is in part due to our objections to mechanistic, Cartesian ontologies, and more recently because it’s not clear we can meaningfully decompose the systems we study in order to develop such models. I will argue here that both of these concerns are unfounded, that ecological psychology is actually perfectly capable of developing mechanistic models, and that therefore we should do so, in order to gain the benefits.

Tumor-Associated Macrophage Promotes the Survival of Cancer Cells upon Docetaxel Chemotherapy via the CSF1/CSF1R–CXCL12/CXCR4 Axis in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is an advanced stage of prostate cancer that can progress rapidly even in patients treated with castration. Previously, we found that tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) can be recruited by CSF-1 secreted by docetaxel-treated prostate cancer cells and promote the survival of cancer cells in response to chemotherapy. The inhibition of CSF-1R can impede this effect and significantly prolong survival in xenograft mice. However, the actual mechanism of how TAM improves cancer cell survival still remains elusive and controversial. Here, for the first time, we found that the enhanced survival of cancer cells achieved by TAM was mainly mediated by CXCR4 activation from the increased secretion of CXCL12 from CSF-1 activated TAM. This finding helps to clarify the mechanism of chemoresistance for second-line chemotherapy using docetaxel, facilitating the development of novel drugs to overcome immune tolerance in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Transient Excursions to Membrane Core as Determinants of Influenza Virus Fusion Peptide Activity

Fusion of viral and host cell membranes is a critical step in the life cycle of enveloped viruses. In the case of influenza virus, it is mediated by subunit 2 of hemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein whose N-terminal fragments insert into the target membrane and initiate lipid exchange. These isolated fragments, known as fusion peptides (HAfp), already possess own fusogenic activity towards liposomes. Although they have long been studied with the hope to uncover the details of HA-mediated fusion, their actual mechanism of action remains elusive. Here, we use extensive molecular dynamics simulations combined with experimental studies of three HAfp variants to fully characterize their free energy landscape and interaction with lipid bilayer. In addition to customary assumed peptides localization at lipid–water interface, we characterize membrane-spanning configurations, which turn out to be metastable for active HAfps and unstable for the fusion inactive W14A mutant. We show that, while the degree of membrane perturbation by surface peptide configurations is relatively low and does not show any mutation-related differences, the effect of deeply inserted configurations is significant and correlates with insertion depth of the N-terminal amino group which is the highest for the wild type HAfp. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of spontaneous peptide transition to intramembrane location and the critical role of strictly conserved tryptofan residue 14 in this process.

Neural Syntheses

One of Tudor’s last projects used an instrument custom-made for him using the neural network chip that had just been developed. The Neural Synthesizer began as an attempt to build a universal instrument that would synthesize the proliferation of his modular devices. But the actual mechanism of the analog chip, which happened to be an extensive array of amplifiers, shifted the nature of the endeavor, causing a return to the no-input works from the 1970s. In this way, the neural network instrument, used against its usual purpose of extracting patterns from past examples, nonetheless found a strange connection with reminiscences of Tudor’s own past. The analyses of Neural Syntheses and Neural Network Plus, two series of works Tudor made using his new synthesizer, further brings up the issue of memory concerning the performance of his music, which is different every time yet open to revivals, something he tried to capture by setting a number to each performance. This also connects to the problem of how Tudor thought of passing his music on to others so that they could be performed in his absence, a natural concern in the last years of his life, but also something that reflected his lifelong interest in the role of memory and reminiscence in music.

Biogenic synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles and their applications

The current advancements in nanotechnology suggest a sustainable development in the green synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles (BMNPs) through green approaches. Though challenging, nano phyto technology has versatile methods to achieve desired unique properties like optic, electronic, magnetic, therapeutic, and catalytic efficiencies. Bio-inspired, facile synthesis of bifunctional BMNPs is possible using abundant, readily available natural plant sources, bio-mass wastes and microorganisms. Synergistic effects of two different metals on mixing, bring new insight for the vast applications, which is not achievable in using monometallic NPs. By adopting bio-inspired greener approaches for synthesizing NPs, the risk of environmental toxicity caused by conventional physicochemical methods become negligible. This article hopes to provide the significance of cost-effective, one-step, eco-friendly and facile synthesis of noble/transition bimetallic NPs. This review article endows an overview of the bio-mediated synthesis of bimetallic NPs, classifications of BMNPs, current characterization techniques, possible mechanistic aspects for reducing metal ions, and the stability of formed NPs and bio-medical/industrial applications of fabricated NPs. The review also highlights the prospective future direction to improve reliability, reproducibility of biosynthesis methods, its actual mechanism in research works and extensive application of biogenic bimetallic NPs.

Clinico-Pathological Importance of miR-146a in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a well-known malignant tumor of the respiratory tract, which has caused a significant level of damage to human health in the 21st century. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are tiny, non-coding RNA stem-loop structures with a length of roughly 20–25 nucleotides that function as powerful modulators of mRNA and protein products of a gene. miRNAs may modulate many biological processes involving growth, differentiation, proliferation, and cell death and play a key role in the pathogenesis of various types of malignancies. Several accumulating pieces of evidence have proven that miRNA, especially miR-146a, are crucial modulators of innate immune response sequences. A novel and exciting cancer research field has involved miRNA for the detection and suppression of cancer. However, the actual mechanism which is adopted by these miRNA is still unclear. miRNAs have been used as a cancer-associated biomarker in several studies, suggesting their altered expression in various cancers compared to the normal cells. The amount of expression of miRNA can also be used to determine the stage of the disease, aiding in early detection. In breast, pancreatic, and hepatocellular carcinoma, and gastric cancer, cancer cell proliferation and metastasis has been suppressed by miR-146a. Changes in miR-146a expression levels have biomarker importance and possess a high potential as a therapeutic target in lung cancer. It retards epithelial-mesenchymal transition and promotes the therapeutic action of anticancer agents in lung cancer. Studies have also suggested that miR-146a affects gene expression through different signaling pathways viz. TNF-α, NF-κB and MEK-1/2, and JNK-1/2. Further research is required for understanding the molecular mechanisms of miR-146a in lung cancer. The potential role of miR-146a as a diagnostic marker of lung cancer must also be analyzed. This review summarizes the tumor-suppressing, anti-inflammatory, and antichemoresistive nature of miR-146a in lung cancer.