Antivirals for monkeypox virus: Proposing an effective machine/deep learning framework.

Monkeypox (MPXV) is one of the infectious viruses which caused morbidity and mortality problems in these years. Despite its danger to public health, there is no approved drug to stand and handle MPXV. On the other hand, drug repurposing is a promising screening method for the low-cost introduction of approved drugs for emerging diseases and viruses which utilizes computational methods. Therefore, drug repurposing is a promising approach to suggesting approved drugs for the MPXV. This paper proposes a computational framework for MPXV antiviral prediction. To do this, we have generated a new virus-antiviral dataset. Moreover, we applied several machine learning and one deep learning method for virus-antiviral prediction. The suggested drugs by the learning methods have been investigated using docking studies. The target protein structure is modeled using homology modeling and, then, refined and validated. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first work to study deep learning methods for the prediction of MPXV antivirals. The screening results confirm that Tilorone, Valacyclovir, Ribavirin, Favipiravir, and Baloxavir marboxil are effective drugs for MPXV treatment.

Promoter DNA Methylation Frequency and Clinicopathological Role of miR-129-2 Gene in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by the accumulation of apparently mature B-type lymphocytes in the lymphohematopoietic organs. Methylation in promoters of tumor suppressor genes is one of the mechanisms that causes blood malignancy. In this study, we evaluated the promoter DNA methylation status of miR-129-2 tumor suppressor gene and its association with clinical and laboratory parameters of patients with CLL. METHODS: We studied the promoter DNA methylation frequency of the miR-129-2 gene in 50 patients with CLL and 50 healthy controls using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction methods. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS-18 software, and a p-value < 0.050 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The frequency of promoter DNA methylation of the miR-129-2 gene was significantly higher in the CLL group compared with control group (38.0% vs. 0.0%, p < 0.001; χ2 = 23.457). The promoter DNA methylation frequency of miR-129-2 gene was not significantly different between the two sexes (p = 0.236). A significant but weak correlation was seen between the methylated state of the miR-129-2 gene and organomegaly (p = 0.019, r = 0.330) as well as hemoglobin levels (p = 0.020, r = -0.233). However, binary logistic regression analysis indicated organomegaly as the only clinical biomarker with a statistically significant association with the hypermethylated miR-129-2 gene state (p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of promoter DNA methylation of the miR-129-2 gene in the CLL group compared to the control group, as well as its significant association with organomegaly, suggests the importance of this epigenetic biomarker in the pathogenesis and prognosis of CLL disease.

An Evaluation of Ultrasound Features of Breast Fibroadenoma.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is among the most common cancers in the world. Ultrasound evaluations of breast have come into attention as an alternative route. Ultrasound features of benign lesions such as fibroadenoma can be overlapping with those in a malignant tumor. Here, we assessed the reports of breast ultrasound in patients with pathologic diagnosis of fibroadenoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study and enrolled female patients with confirmed histologic diagnosis of fibroadenoma. Ultrasound studies were performed on the participants to see which sonographic patterns are more frequent in such lesions. RESULTS: In 92 patients with 40.4 ± 9.2 years of age, all participants were classified as stage 4 on Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System scale. The mean ± standard deviation of size for the lesions was 167.4 ± 101.4 mm2. Upper outer quadrants in the breasts had the most number of lesions. Almost lesions were round with only 2.2% were oval. When assessed for the margin definition, 57.8% were circumscribed. Noncircumscribed masses were reported in 21.7%. About 91.3% of cases were hypoechoic in the ultrasound evaluation. Lobulated masses were in 28.3% of the cases. 8.7% of the masses were spongy whereas 9.8% and 2.2% of them had calcification and heterogenic appearance, respectively. CONCLUSION: The most frequent features include a hypoechoic mass with a circumscribed border; however, complex presentations that overlap malignant masses are also detectable including noncircumscribed margin, lobulation, presence of a posterior shadow, heterogenicity, and micro calcification.