Natural Polyphenols Selectively Inhibit β‐Carbonic Anhydrase from the Dandruff‐Producing Fungus Malassezia globosa: Activity and Modeling Studies

Around 50 % of the worldwide population is affected by dandruff, which is triggered by a variety of factors. The yeast Malassezia globosa has been labeled as the most probable causative agent for the onset of dandruff. The β‐carbonic anhydrase (CA) of MgCA was recently validated as an anti‐dandruff target, with its inhibition being responsible for in vivo growth defects in the fungus. As classical CA inhibitors of the sulfonamide type give rise to permeability problems through biological membranes, finding non‐sulfonamide alternatives for MgCA inhibition is of considerable interest in the cosmetic field. We recently screened a large library of human (h) CA inhibitors for MgCA inhibition, including different chemotypes, such as monothiocarbamates, dithiocarbamates, phenols, and benzoxaboroles. Herein, we expanded the research toward new MgCA inhibitors by considering a set of natural polyphenols (including flavones, flavonols, flavanones, flavanols, isoflavones, and depsides) that exhibited MgCA inhibitory activity in the micromolar range, as well as selectivity for the fungal isozyme over off‐target human isoforms. The binding mode of representative derivatives within the MgCA catalytic cleft was investigated by docking studies using a homology‐built model.     

The DiamondCandy LRnLA algorithm: raising efficiency of the 3D cross-stencil schemes

The Journal of Supercomputing - The parallel efficiency is raised by increasing the locality of calculation. With the locally recursive non-locally asynchronous algorithms method, we have...     

Sparse CCA using a Lasso with positivity constraints

Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) describes the relationship between two sets of variables by finding linear combinations of the variables with maximal correlation. A sparse version of CCA is proposed that reduces the chance of including unimportant variables in the canonical variates and thus improves their interpretation. A version of the Lasso algorithm incorporating positivity constraints is implemented in tandem with alternating least squares (ALS), to obtain sparse canonical variates. The proposed method is demonstrated on simulation studies and a data set from market basket analysis.     

Biobehavioral approaches to the treatment of essential hypertension.

Despite recent advances in the medical management of hypertension, chronically elevated blood pressure remains a major health problem in the United States, affecting almost 50 million Americans. It is widely recognized that lifestyle factors contribute to the development and maintenance of elevated blood pressure. This article critically reviews current approaches to the nonpharmacological treatment of high blood pressure and highlights outcome studies of exercise, weight loss and dietary modification, and stress management and relaxation therapies. Methodological issues in the assessment and treatment of hypertension are discussed, along with possible mechanisms by which lifestyle modification may reduce elevated blood pressure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquiring writing revision and self-regulatory skill through observation and emulation.

The influences of modeling and social feedback on the acquisition of writing revision were studied with 72 college students. Students watching a coping female model gradually improving her writing technique on a sentence-combining task were hypothesized to surpass students observing a mastery model perform the technique flawlessly on a writing-skill measure and an array of self-regulatory measures, such as self-satisfaction reactions, self-efficacy perceptions, and intrinsic interest in the task. Students observing a mastery model were expected, in turn, to surpass those learning without the benefit of modeling on these same measures. Support for both hypotheses was found. Social feedback during enactive performance assisted learners from all modeling groups in acquiring writing and self-regulatory skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

COVID-19 crisis impact on the stability between parties in crowdfunding and crowdsourcing

This research reviews challenges in building sustainable relationships between the parties involved in the crowdfunding and crowdsourcing projects, which are running in extreme situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to solve problems that generate the crowdsourcing concerns and to find better alternatives to increase trust for crowdfunding among donors, as this impacts their strategic sustainability in the conditions of turbulence and COVID-induced financial crisis. It was found that factors influence donor decisions in different ways, yet the common tendency for donor activity is non-monotonicity. Future development in the field of sustainable relationships should focus on creating a donor classification system.

     

Structure and development of causal€xperimental thought: From early adolescence to youth.

Investigated the structure and development of causal–experimental thought. 260 Ss (aged 12–16 yrs) were examined by 3 test batteries. The batteries involved items addressing combinatorial, hypothesis handling, experimentation, and model construction abilities. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that these abilities, although distinct from each other, do share a common functional core, and they are organized in a higher order causal–experimental specialized structural system. Rasch scaling indicated that these 4 kinds of abilities follow overlapping developmental trajectories. Saltus modeling suggested that development is continuous rather than discontinuous. Individual differences were found in the rate of acquisition but not in the structure of abilities. A model of synergic developmental causality was proposed to account for this pattern of development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crack redirection with thermal secondary loading

In the current paper crack redirection due to a strategic placing of a heat source in the vicinity of a crack tip is studied. Analysis suggests that for PMMA and considered temperature range the only factor responsible for the deviation of crack trajectory is thermal stress. The simulation of crack growth in PMMA under external tension and secondary heat loading shows that a moving heat source in the vicinity of a crack tip can serve as a pointer for the crack trajectory. In highly conductive materials, redirection can be possibly effected with low-power thermal dipoles.