Lipid-induced alteration in retinoic acid signaling leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in HepG2 and Huh7 cells.

A surfeit of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation serve as obligatory mediators of lipid-associated hepatocellular maladies. While retinoid homeostasis is essential in restoring systemic energy balance, its role in hepatic mitochondrial function remains elusive. The role of lecithin-retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) in maintenance of retinoid homeostasis is appreciated earlier; however, its role in modulating retinoic acid (RA) bioavailability upon lipid-imposition is unexplored. We identified LRAT overexpression in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats and palmitate-treated hepatoma cells. Elevation in LRAT expression depletes RA production and deregulates RA signaling. This altered RA metabolism enhances fat accumulation, accompanied by inflammation that leads to impaired mitochondrial function through enhanced ROS generation. Hence, LRAT inhibition could be a novel approach preventing lipid-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatoma cells.

Leprosy drug clofazimine activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and synergizes with imatinib to inhibit chronic myeloid leukemia cells.

Leukemia stem cells contribute to drug-resistance and relapse in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and BCR-ABL1 inhibitor monotherapy fails to eliminate these cells, thereby necessitating alternate therapeutic strategies for patients CML. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) agonist pioglitazone downregulates signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) and in combination with imatinib induces complete molecular response in imatinib-refractory patients by eroding leukemia stem cells. Thiazolidinediones such as pioglitazone are, however, associated with severe side effects. To identify alternate therapeutic strategies for CML we screened Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs in K562 cells and identified the leprosy drug clofazimine as an inhibitor of viability of these cells. Here we show that clofazimine induced apoptosis of blood mononuclear cells derived from patients with CML, with a particularly robust effect in imatinib-resistant cells. Clofazimine also induced apoptosis of CD34+38- progenitors and quiescent CD34+ cells from CML patients but not of hematopoietic progenitor cells from healthy donors. Mechanistic evaluation revealed that clofazimine, via physical interaction with PPARγ, induced nuclear factor kB-p65 proteasomal degradation, which led to sequential myeloblastoma oncoprotein and peroxiredoxin 1 downregulation and concomitant induction of reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis. Clofazimine also suppressed STAT5 expression and consequently downregulated stem cell maintenance factors hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and -2α and Cbp/P300 interacting transactivator with Glu/Asp-rich carboxy-terminal domain 2 (CITED2). Combining imatinib with clofazimine caused a far superior synergy than that with pioglitazone, with clofazimine reducing the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of imatinib by >4 logs and remarkably eroding quiescent CD34+ cells. In a K562 xenograft study clofazimine and imatinib co-treatment showed more robust efficacy than the individual treatments. We propose clinical evaluation of clofazimine in imatinib-refractory CML.

Small-molecule inhibition of TLR8 through stabilization of its resting state.

Endosomal Toll-like receptors (TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9) are highly analogous sensors for various viral or bacterial RNA and DNA molecular patterns. Nonetheless, few small molecules can selectively modulate these TLRs. In this manuscript, we identified the first human TLR8-specific small-molecule antagonists via a novel inhibition mechanism. Crystal structures of two distinct TLR8-ligand complexes validated a unique binding site on the protein-protein interface of the TLR8 homodimer. Upon binding to this new site, the small-molecule ligands stabilize the preformed TLR8 dimer in its resting state, preventing activation. As a proof of concept of their therapeutic potential, we have demonstrated that these drug-like inhibitors are able to suppress TLR8-mediated proinflammatory signaling in various cell lines, human primary cells, and patient specimens. These results not only suggest a novel strategy for TLR inhibitor design, but also shed critical mechanistic insight into these clinically important immune receptors.

Functionally significant metabolic differences between B and T lymphocyte lineages.

Activation of B and T lymphocytes leads to major remodelling of the metabolic landscape of the cells enabling their post-activation functions. However, naive B and T lymphocytes also show metabolic differences, and the genesis, nature and functional significance of these differences are not yet well understood. Here we show that resting B-cells appeared to have lower energy demands than resting T-cells as they consumed lower levels of glucose and fatty acids and produced less ATP. Resting B-cells are more dependent on OXPHOS, while T-cells show more dependence on aerobic glycolysis. However, despite an apparently higher energy demand, T lineage cells showed lower rates of protein synthesis than equivalent B lineage stages. These metabolic differences between the two lineages were established early during lineage differentiation, and were functionally significant. Higher levels of protein synthesis in B-cells were associated with increased synthesis of MHC class II molecules and other proteins associated with antigen internalization, transport and presentation. The combination of higher energy demand and lower protein synthesis in T-cells was consistent with their higher ATP-dependent motility. Our data provide an integrated perspective of the metabolic differences and their functional implications between the B and T lymphocyte lineages.

Dual PPARα/γ agonist saroglitazar improves liver histopathology and biochemistry in experimental NASH models.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are common clinico-pathological conditions that affect millions of patients worldwide. In this study, the efficacy of saroglitazar, a novel PPARα/γ agonist, was assessed in models of NAFLD/NASH. METHODS & RESULTS: HepG2 cells treated with palmitic acid (PA;0.75 mM) showed decreased expression of various antioxidant biomarkers (SOD1, SOD2, glutathione peroxidase and catalase) and increased expression of inflammatory markers (TNFα, IL1ß and IL6). These effects were blocked by saroglitazar, pioglitazone and fenofibrate (all tested at 10µM concentration). Furthermore, these agents reversed PA-mediated changes in mitochondrial dysfunction, ATP production, NFkB phosphorylation and stellate cell activation in HepG2 and HepG2-LX2 Coculture studies. In mice with choline-deficient high-fat diet-induced NASH, saroglitazar reduced hepatic steatosis, inflammation, ballooning and prevented development of fibrosis. It also reduced serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and expression of inflammatory and fibrosis biomarkers. In this model, the reduction in the overall NAFLD activity score by saroglitazar (3 mg/kg) was significantly more prominent than pioglitazone (25 mg/kg) and fenofibrate (100 mg/kg). Pioglitazone and fenofibrate did not show any improvement in steatosis, but partially improved inflammation and liver function. Antifibrotic effect of saroglitazar (4 mg/kg) was also observed in carbon tetrachloride-induced fibrosis model. CONCLUSIONS: Saroglitazar, a dual PPARα/γ agonist with predominant PPARα activity, shows an overall improvement in NASH. The effects of saroglitazar appear better than pure PPARα agonist, fenofibrate and PPARγ agonist pioglitazone.

Structure of CrgA, a cell division structural and regulatory protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in lipid bilayers.

The 93-residue transmembrane protein CrgA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a central component of the divisome, a large macromolecular machine responsible for cell division. Through interactions with multiple other components including FtsZ, FtsQ, FtsI (PBPB), PBPA, and CwsA, CrgA facilitates the recruitment of the proteins essential for peptidoglycan synthesis to the divisome and stabilizes the divisome. CrgA is predicted to have two transmembrane helices. Here, the structure of CrgA was determined in a liquid-crystalline lipid bilayer environment by solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Oriented-sample data yielded orientational restraints, whereas magic-angle spinning data yielded interhelical distance restraints. These data define a complete structure for the transmembrane domain and provide rich information on the conformational ensembles of the partially disordered N-terminal region and interhelical loop. The structure of the transmembrane domain was refined using restrained molecular dynamics simulations in an all-atom representation of the same lipid bilayer environment as in the NMR samples. The two transmembrane helices form a left-handed packing arrangement with a crossing angle of 24° at the conserved Gly39 residue. This helix pair exposes other conserved glycine and alanine residues to the fatty acyl environment, which are potential sites for binding CrgA's partners such as CwsA and FtsQ. This approach combining oriented-sample and magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy in native-like lipid bilayers with restrained molecular dynamics simulations represents a powerful tool for structural characterization of not only isolated membrane proteins, but their complexes, such as those that form macromolecular machines.

Paclitaxel resistance development is associated with biphasic changes in reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential and autophagy with elevated energy production capacity in lung cancer cells: A chronological study.

Paclitaxel (Tx) is one of the first-line chemotherapeutic drugs used against lung cancer, but acquired resistance to this drug is a major challenge against successful chemotherapy. In this work, we have focused on the chronological changes of various cellular parameters and associated effect on Tx (10 nM) resistance development in A549 cell line. It was observed, at initial stage, the cell death percentage due to drug treatment had increased up to 20 days, and thereafter, it started declining and became completely resistant by 40 days. Expressions of ßIII tubulin and drug efflux pumps also increased over the period of resistance development. Changes in cellular autophagy and reactive oxygen species generation showed a biphasic pattern and increased gradually over the course of upto 20 days, thereafter declined gradually; however, their levels remained higher than untreated cells when resistance was acquired. Increase in extracellular acidification rates and oxygen consumption rates was found to be directly correlated with acquisition of resistance. The depolarisation of mitochondrial membrane potential was also biphasic; first, it increased with increase of cell death up to 20 days, thereafter, it gradually decreased to normal level along with resistance development. Increase in activity of catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione content over these periods may attribute in bringing down the reactive oxygen species levels and normalisation of mitochondrial membrane potential in spite of comparatively higher reactive oxygen species production by the Tx-resistant cells.

Melatonin protects against lipid-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatocytes and inhibits stellate cell activation during hepatic fibrosis in mice.

Lipid generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) in consequence to mitochondrial fission followed by inflammation in propagating hepatic fibrosis. The interaction of SIRT1/Mitofusin2 is critical for maintaining mitochondrial integrity and functioning, which is disrupted upon excess lipid infiltration during the progression of steatohepatitis. The complex interplay between hepatic stellate cells and steatotic hepatocytes is critically regulated by extracellular factors including increased circulating free fatty acids during fibrogenesis. Melatonin, a potent antioxidant, protects against lipid-mediated mitochondrial ROS generation. Lipotoxicity induces disruption of SIRT1 and Mitofusin2 interaction leading to mitochondrial morphological disintegration in hepatocytes. Further, fragmented mitochondria leads to mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and melatonin protects against all these lipotoxicity-mediated dysfunctions. These impaired mitochondrial dynamics also enhances the cellular glycolytic flux and reduces mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate that potentiates ROS production. High glycolytic flux generates metabolically unfavorable milieu in hepatocytes leading to inflammation, which is abrogated by melatonin. The melatonin-mediated protection against mitochondrial dysfunction was also observed in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice through restoration of enzymatic activities associated with respiratory chain and TCA cycle. Subsequently, melatonin reduces hepatic fat deposition and inflammation in HFD-fed mice. Thus, melatonin disrupts the interaction between steatotic hepatocyte and stellate cells, leading to the activation of the latter to abrogate collagen deposition. Altogether, the results of the current study document that the pharmacological intervention with low dose of melatonin could abrogate lipotoxicity-mediated hepatic stellate cell activation and prevent the fibrosis progression.

Thioredoxin interacting protein mediates lipid-induced impairment of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle.

Insulin resistance (IR) is an important determinant of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Free fatty acids (FFAs) induce IR by various mechanisms. A surfeit of circulating FFA leads to intra-myocellular lipid accumulation that induces mitochondrial ROS generation and worsens IR. However, the molecular mechanisms behind are unclear. We identified thioredoxin interacting protein (TxNIP), which is overexpressed in T2DM, to be a promoter of ROS-induced IR. We observed upregulation of TxNIP upon palmitate treatment in skeletal muscle cells that led to ROS generation and Glut-4 downregulation resulting in impaired glucose-uptake. FFA-induced overexpression of TxNIP gene was mediated through the activation of its bona-fide trans activator, ChREBP. Further, Palmitate-induced impairment in AMPK-SIRT-1 pathway resulted in overexpression of ChREBP. While Fenofibrate, abrogated PA-induced TxNIP expression and ROS generation in skeletal muscle cells, Saroglitazar, a dual PPARα/γ-agonist, not only inhibited PA-induced TXNIP expression but also led to greater improvement in glucose uptake. Taken together, TxNIP appears to be an important factor in FFA-induced ROS generation and IR in skeletal muscle cells, which can be modulated for the management of this complex disorder.

Fenofibrate Reverses Palmitate Induced Impairment in Glucose Uptake in Skeletal Muscle Cells by Preventing Cytosolic Ceramide Accumulation.

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: The lipid induced insulin resistance is a major pathophysiologic mechanism underlying glucose intolerance of varying severity. PPARα-agonists are proven as effective hypolipidemic agents. The aim of this study was to see if impaired glucose uptake in palmitate treated myotubes is reversed by fenofibrate. METHODS: Palmitate-treated myotubes were used as a model for insulin resistance, impaired glucose uptake, fatty acid oxidation and ceramide synthesis. mRNA levels of CPT1 and CPT2 were determined by PCR array and Q-PCR. RESULTS: The incubation of myotubes with 750 uM palmitate not only reduced glucose uptake but also impaired fatty acid oxidation and cytosolic ceramide accumulation. Palmitate upregulated CPT1b expression in L6 myotubes, while CPT2 expression level remained unchanged. The altered stoichiometric ratio between the two CPT isoforms led to reduced fatty acid oxidation (FAO), ceramide accumulation and impaired glucose uptake, whereas administration of 200 µM fenofibrate significantly reversed the above abnormalities by increasing CPT2 mRNA levels and restoring CPT1b to CPT2 ratio. CONCLUSION: Palmitate-induced alteration in the stoichiometric ratio of mitochondrial CPT isoforms leads to incomplete FAO and enhanced cytosolic ceramide accumulation that lead to insulin resistance. Fenofibrate ameliorated insulin resistance by restoring the altered stoichiometry by upregulating CPT2 and preventing, cytoplasmic ceramide accumulation.

Solid state NMR strategy for characterizing native membrane protein structures.

Unlike water soluble proteins, the structures of helical transmembrane proteins depend on a very complex environment. These proteins sit in the midst of dramatic electrical and chemical gradients and are often subject to variations in the lateral pressure profile, order parameters, dielectric constant, and other properties. Solid state NMR is a collection of tools that can characterize high resolution membrane protein structure in this environment. Indeed, prior work has shown that this complex environment significantly influences transmembrane protein structure. Therefore, it is important to characterize such structures under conditions that closely resemble its native environment. Researchers have used two approaches to gain protein structural restraints via solid state NMR spectroscopy. The more traditional approach uses magic angle sample spinning to generate isotropic chemical shifts, much like solution NMR. As with solution NMR, researchers can analyze the backbone chemical shifts to obtain torsional restraints. They can also examine nuclear spin interactions between nearby atoms to obtain distances between atomic sites. Unfortunately, for membrane proteins in lipid preparations, the spectral resolution is not adequate to obtain complete resonance assignments. Researchers have developed another approach for gaining structural restraints from membrane proteins: the use of uniformly oriented lipid bilayers, which provides a method for obtaining high resolution orientational restraints. When the bilayers are aligned with respect to the magnetic field of the NMR spectrometer, researchers can obtain orientational restraints in which atomic sites in the protein are restrained relative to the alignment axis. However, this approach does not allow researchers to determine the relative packing between helices. By combining the two approaches, we can take advantage of the information acquired from each technique to minimize the challenges and maximize the quality of the structural results. By combining the distance, torsional, and orientational restraints, we can characterize high resolution membrane protein structure in native-like lipid bilayer environments.

Insights on discovery, efficacy, safety and clinical applications of ghrelin receptor agonist capromorelin in veterinary medicine.

Growth hormone and insulin like growth factor-1 plays an important role in the regulation of body composition and metabolism. Growth Hormone is released from the pituitary through a specific G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) called growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a expressed in the hypothalamus. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone released from the cells in the stomach, which stimulates appetite and food intake in mammals, regulates gut motility, gastric acid secretion, taste sensation, circadian rhythm, learning and memory, oxidative stress, autophagy, glucose metabolism etc. When the release of the endogenous ligand GHSR-1a, i.e., ghrelin is malfunctioned or stopped, external substitutes are administrated to induce the stimulation of growth hormone and appetite. A class of compound known as ghrelin receptor agonists are developed as an external substitute of ghrelin for regulation and stimulation of growth hormone in frailty, for body weight gain, muscle mass gain, prevention of cachexia and for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndromes. Capromorelin [Entyce™ (Aratana Therapeutics, Leawood, KS, USA)] is the only FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved (May 2016) drug used for stimulating appetite in dogs and was marketed in the fall of 2017. In 2020, USFDA approved Capromorelin [Elura™ (Elanco US Inc.)] for the management of weight loss in chronic kidney disease of cats. This article reviews the discovery of the ghrelin receptor agonist capromorelin, its efficacy, safety, clinical applications and aims to delineate its further scope of use in veterinary practice.

Metabolomics in Depression: What We Learn from Preclinical and Clinical Evidences.

Depression is one of the predominant common mental illnesses that affects millions of people of all ages worldwide. Random mood changes, loss of interest in routine activities, and prevalent unpleasant senses often characterize this common depreciated mental illness. Subjects with depressive disorders have a likelihood of developing cardiovascular complications, diabesity, and stroke. The exact genesis and pathogenesis of this disease are still questionable. A significant proportion of subjects with clinical depression display inadequate response to antidepressant therapies. Hence, clinicians often face challenges in predicting the treatment response. Emerging reports have indicated the association of depression with metabolic alterations. Metabolomics is one of the promising approaches that can offer fresh perspectives into the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of depression at the metabolic level. Despite numerous studies exploring metabolite profiles post-pharmacological interventions, a quantitative understanding of consistently altered metabolites is not yet established. The article gives a brief discussion on different biomarkers in depression and the degree to which biomarkers can improve treatment outcomes. In this review article, we have systemically reviewed the role of metabolomics in depression along with current challenges and future perspectives.

The silent threat of plastics along the coastal frontiers of Bangladesh: Are we concerned enough?

Globally plastic pollution is posing a significant threat to the health and integrity of coastal ecosystems. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of plastic pollution in the coastal areas of Bangladesh by examining land-based macroplastic distribution, exploring microplastic (MP) contamination in the coastal aquatic ecosystem and enhancing our understanding of the potential risks associated with MP contamination. Citizen science based monitoring approach using the android application was applied to understand the land-based plastic pollution in the coastal area of Bangladesh. From December 2022 to December 2023, a total of about 3600 photographs of plastic items from 215 citizen scientists were received from the coastal area of Bangladesh covering 580 km long coast line. Polymer Hazard Index (PHI) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were also calculated to understand the risk of plastic pollution in sediment, water, aquatic organism, dried fish and sea salt. A total of 43 land-based plastic items reported from the coastal area of Bangladesh. Among these plastic items single use items contributed 58.2 % while disposable plastic items contributed 41.8 %. A strong spatial variability in the distribution of these plastic items was observed. PHI and PLI values suggested hazard category-I for MP contamination in sediment, sea salt, water, commercial fishery resources and dry fish. This study highlighted that coastal land area, sea salt, dried fish, water, sediment and organisms are contaminated with plastics which might have the potential threats to human health. Findings from this study will serve as reference data and also baseline for future research to combat the plastic pollution.

Discarded fishing net pollution in coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Discarded fishing nets, a major source of marine litter, significantly threaten the marine environment and contribute to plastic pollution due to the synthetic polymers they contain. Though Bangladesh is a maritime country with 0.5 million of fishers dependent on coastal and marine fishing, there have been no studies to date on the plastic pollution impact of fishing nets. This study demonstrates the fishing nets associated with marine litter in two coastal locations of Bangladesh, Charfesson and Cox's Bazar. Fishing net samples were collected from local net shops and semi-structured interviews were taken of the shop owners to gather information about available fishing nets. This was complemented by photo-quadrat surveys to document waste fishing net materials on the shore in both locations. Among the 17 net samples, there were 12 types of gill nets, which showed a wide range of variation in price, material types, and longevity. Through the FTIR analysis, we identified the presence of Nylon 6, Polyethylene, Polyvinyl chloride, Polypropylene and Polyethylene terephthalate in the collected fishing net samples. Photoquadrat surveys found **of fishing net related plastic pollution in coastal areas. This study addressed the knowledge gap regarding the diversity and chemical characteristics of fishing nets and the resulting litter in Bangladesh.

Apigenin-6-C-glucoside ameliorates MASLD in rodent models via selective agonism of adiponectin receptor 2.

Adiponectin plays key roles in energy metabolism and ameliorates inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction via its primary receptors, adiponectin receptors -1 and 2 (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2). Systemic depletion of adiponectin causes various metabolic disorders, including MASLD; however adiponectin supplementation is not yet achievable owing to its large size and oligomerization-associated complexities. Small-molecule AdipoR agonists, thus, may provide viable therapeutic options against metabolic disorders. Using a novel luciferase reporter-based assay here, we have identified Apigenin-6-C-glucoside (ACG), but not apigenin, as a specific agonist for the liver-rich AdipoR isoform, AdipoR2 (EC50: 384 pM) with >10000X preference over AdipoR1. Immunoblot analysis in HEK-293 overexpressing AdipoR2 or HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 liver cell lines revealed rapid AMPK, p38 activation and induction of typical AdipoR targets PGC-1α and PPARα by ACG at a pharmacologically relevant concentration of 100 nM (reported cMax in mouse; 297 nM). ACG-mediated AdipoR2 activation culminated in a favorable modulation of key metabolic events, including decreased inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, de novo lipogenesis, and increased fatty acid ß-oxidation as determined by immunoblotting, QRT-PCR and extracellular flux analysis. AdipoR2 depletion or AMPK/p38 inhibition dampened these effects. The in vitro results were recapitulated in two different murine models of MASLD, where ACG at 10 mg/kg body weight robustly reduced hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, proinflammatory macrophage numbers, and increased hepatic glycogen content. Together, using in vitro experiments and rodent models, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept for AdipoR2 as a therapeutic target for MASLD and provide novel chemicobiological insights for the generation of translation-worthy pharmacological agents.

An integrated coastal ecosystem monitoring strategy: Pilot case in Naf-Saint Martin Peninsula, Bangladesh.

Rapid population growth creating an excessive pressure on the marine environment and thus monitoring of marine ecosystem is essential. However, due to high technical and financial involvement, monitoring of coastal ecosystem is always challenging in developing countries. This study aims to develop an integrated coastal ecosystem monitoring system that combines scientific sampling, numerical model simulation and citizen science observations to monitor the coastal ecosystem of Bangladesh. This concept of integrated monitoring approach was piloted from January 2022 to April 2023 at the South East coastal zone of Bangladesh. Scientific sampling and numerical model simulations were performed for temperature and salinity data collection. Citizen science approach was employed to collect data on environmental conditions, fisheries, plankton, other marine resources, and plastic pollution. Numerical model simulations and citizen scientists observations of temperature and salinity showed good agreement with the scientifically collected data. In addition, citizen scientists observations on fisheries, plankton, other marine resources and plastic pollution were also in line with the existing database and previous studies. The proposed integrated monitoring approach presents a viable technique, creating a new avenue for coastal and marine ecosystem monitoring where infrastructural facilities are limited.

Ectopic Adrenal Rest in Paratubal Region: A Rare Lesion in a Rare Location.

Ectopic adrenal rests (EAT) are rare lesions comprising predominantly adrenocortical tissue in various locations. Here, we report a case of EAT in the paratubal location which was incidentally detected in a salpingo-oophorectomy specimen from a 21-year-old female. The identification of these lesions is extremely essential as it can be associated with hyperplasia and neoplasia.

ReliefChain: A blockchain leveraged post disaster relief allocation system over smartphone-based DTN.

One of the major concerns in any emergency relief operation is appropriate allocation of scarce emergency relief materials to the affected community. Due to several reasons ranging from lack of mechanism to accurately assess demand and utility of relief materials to malicious participation of some of the stakeholders, such allocation may become ad-hoc. Thus, it becomes imperative to have an unchallengeable and globally accessible record of relief requirement vis-à-vis allocation for efficient relief management. Emergency response organizations (e.g. UNICEF) have recommended the adoption of blockchain technology to create such immutable records. However, the usage of blockchain is restricted by the availability of end-to-end internet connection which may not be available in a post-disaster scenario. This paper proposes ReliefChain, a blockchain leveraged post disaster relief allocation system over delay tolerant network that works in such environments. We validate relief requirements to mitigate resource diversion, forecasting the exact demand and enumerating precise utilities of relief items. We design smart contracts for creating new transactions to upload relief requirements and allocations in the blockchain network. The proposed system executes these smart contracts to create an immutable and globally accessible record of relief requirement and allocation. Effectiveness of the proposed system is evaluated through extensive simulation in Ethereum platform. Results substantiate the efficiency of the system over a system using baseline methodologies, in terms of design parameters like shelter specific deficit and average resource deficit while not compromising the blockchain performance in terms of processing time and gas consumption even in presence of malicious forwarders.

Effect of public sentiment on stock market movement prediction during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Forecasting the stock market is one of the most difficult undertakings in the financial industry due to its complex, volatile, noisy, and nonparametric character. However, as computer science advances, an intelligent model can help investors and analysts minimize investment risk. Public opinion on social media and other online portals is an important factor in stock market predictions. The COVID-19 pandemic stimulates online activities since individuals are compelled to remain at home, bringing about a massive quantity of public opinion and emotion. This research focuses on stock market movement prediction with public sentiments using the long short-term memory network (LSTM) during the COVID-19 flare-up. Here, seven different sentiment analysis tools, VADER, logistic regression, Loughran-McDonald, Henry, TextBlob, Linear SVC, and Stanford, are used for sentiment analysis on web scraped data from four online sources: stock-related articles headlines, tweets, financial news from "Economic Times" and Facebook comments. Predictions are made utilizing both feeling scores and authentic stock information for every one of the 28 opinion measures processed. An accuracy of 98.11% is achieved by using linear SVC to calculate sentiment ratings from Facebook comments. Thereafter, the four estimated sentiment scores from each of the seven instruments are integrated with stock data in a step-by-step fashion to determine the overall influence on the stock market. When all four sentiment scores are paired with stock data, the forecast accuracy for five out of seven tools is at its most noteworthy, with linear SVC computed scores assisting stock data to arrive at its most elevated accuracy of 98.32%.