Computational modeling approaches have lately been earning their place as viable tools in drug discovery. Research efforts more often include computational component and the usage of the scientific software is commonplace at more stages of the drug discovery pipeline. However, as software takes on more responsibility and the computational methods grow more involved, the gap grows between research entities that have the means to maintain the necessary computational infrastructure and those that lack the technical expertise or financial means to obtain and include computational component in their scientific efforts. To fill this gap and to meet the need of many, mainly academic, labs numerous community contributions collectively known as open source projects play an increasingly important role. This work describes design, implementation and application of a set of drug discovery workflows based on the CHARMMing (CHARMM interface and graphics) web-server. The protocols described herein include docking, virtual target screening, de novo drug design, SAR/QSAR modeling as well as chemical education. The performance of the newly developed workflows is evaluated by applying them to a number of scientific problems that include reproducibility of crystal poses of small molecules in protein-ligand systems, identification of potential targets of a library of natural compounds as well as elucidating molecular targets of a vitamin. The results of these inquiries show that protocols developed as part of this effort perform comparably to commercial products, are able to produce results consistent with the experimental data and can substantially enrich the research efforts of labs with otherwise little or no computational component.

Ever since the advent of computer-aided drug design (CADD), in silico simulation methods have greatly accelerated the drug discovery process and lead to the discovery of numerous drug candidates. With the exponential growth of computational power, we nowadays simulate biologic systems at a scale unimaginable a decade ago and thus provides perspectives for drug design. In this dissertation research, combining in silico simulation methods like molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with organic synthesis, in vitro/in vivo experiments and clinical data mining, we developed new drug discovery strategies. These strategies were applied in our drug discovery projects and led to the discovery of inhibitors of microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase 1 (mPGES-1) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) as potential drug candidates. Protein mPGES-1 is known as an ideal target for next generation of anti-inflammatory drugs without the side-effects of currently available anti-inflammatory drugs. Unfortunately, almost all the previously reported human mPGES-1 inhibitors are inactive (or possess very low activity) against mouse or rat mPGES-1 that prevents using well-established mouse/rat models of inflammation, pain, and other diseases for preclinical studies. It would be extremely challenging for the mPGES-1-based drug development to follow traditional drug discovery and development route. In order to solve this problem, we developed and applied Drug Repurposing Effort Applying Integrated Modeling-in vitro/vivo-Clinical Data Mining (DREAM-in-CDM) strategy in this project. With molecular dynamics simulation, we observed the process of how mPGES-1 adopts an alternative conformation to control the access of co-factor GSH (glutathione) and its impact on the function of the protein. Based on the simulation results, we not only found an explanation for the difference between the X-ray and CryoEM (cryogenic electron microscopy) structure of mPGES-1 but also used molecular docking method to identify FDA approved drug, lapatinib, as an mPGES-1 inhibitor by virtual screening and the subsequent in vitro experiments. By mining the available clinical trial data, we found solid evidence that lapatinib can be used to relieve various types of pain in cancer patients. Since lapatinib is very well tolerated, we expect lapatinib to be repurposed as a new treatment for cancer-related pain. BChE has been identified as an ideal drug target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and heroin overdose. The selectivity of a therapeutically useful inhibitor for BChE over AChE is very important. Unfortunately, there is no good selective BChE inhibitor. With a robust and virtual screening strategy combining with in vitro experiments, we identified a series of compounds from the NCI compound depository as BChE inhibitors with novel scaffolds, high activity and selectivity at the same time. The most potent compound was re-synthesized and the enantiomers of the compound were separated for the first time. The binding mode of the most potent compound was also analyzed and the origin of its high activity and selectivity was revealed that will guide the development of BChE selective inhibitors in the future. In addition, a new tacrine-based BChE affinity chromatography resin was developed. The developed new resin has enabled us to more conveniently and efficiently purify the BChE proteins with improved high purity. In general, we have successfully developed new drug discovery strategies to identify novel inhibitors of different enzymes. With these newly developed strategies, we expect additional drug discoveries to be made in the foreseeable future.

Esta dissertação aborda o processo de implantação das tecnologias CAD/CADD nos escritórios de arquitetura no Brasil a partir dos anos 80, analisando avaliações já realizadas sobre estes programas, identificando também as necessidades da produção do projeto arquitetônico, estabelecendo critérios mínimos para o arquiteto escolher seu programa CAD/CADD. / To choose the CAD/CADD softwares is one of the gratest dificult that architects hava nodaways. The brazilian architects use these softwares since the 80's, but in the begginings the draws was a crafmanship because the real use of the software was still obscure. Decide for a software, its the real problem that architects have to face. Which one to use, how and way. This process is lone, hard and sometimes expensive. How to introduce the tecnology, analysing the evaluation that have been done about the architecture softwares of CADD and also identify the process, point the basic needs in an architect design is what this master science is about.

Esta dissertação aborda o processo de implantação das tecnologias CAD/CADD nos escritórios de arquitetura no Brasil a partir dos anos 80, analisando avaliações já realizadas sobre estes programas, identificando também as necessidades da produção do projeto arquitetônico, estabelecendo critérios mínimos para o arquiteto escolher seu programa CAD/CADD. / To choose the CAD/CADD softwares is one of the gratest dificult that architects hava nodaways. The brazilian architects use these softwares since the 80's, but in the begginings the draws was a crafmanship because the real use of the software was still obscure. Decide for a software, its the real problem that architects have to face. Which one to use, how and way. This process is lone, hard and sometimes expensive. How to introduce the tecnology, analysing the evaluation that have been done about the architecture softwares of CADD and also identify the process, point the basic needs in an architect design is what this master science is about.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-08-25T11:32:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Arthur de Carvalho e Silva - 2015.pdf: 4860571 bytes, checksum: 89e248888020f7d914c855c172812411 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-08-25T11:33:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Arthur de Carvalho e Silva - 2015.pdf: 4860571 bytes, checksum: 89e248888020f7d914c855c172812411 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-25T11:33:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Arthur de Carvalho e Silva - 2015.pdf: 4860571 bytes, checksum: 89e248888020f7d914c855c172812411 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation as a result of epigenetic changes, genetic mutations and accumulated mutations over the time. Tumor cells can invade other tissues in the body in a process called metastasis, significantly worsening the patient's prognosis. In Brazil, for the biennium 2014/2015 are expected 576,000 new cases and around the world, according to WHO, 27 million new cancer cases are expected in 2030 and 17 million deaths from the disease. The antiapoptotic proteins, members of Bcl-2 family proteins, are essential for the survival of tumor cells, even when there are cell death stimuli. In this study were compiled, integrated and prepared the largest publicly available data sets containing biological activity data against the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL. Robust and predictive pharmacophore models and QSAR models in line with the OECD recommendations were generated. The pharmacophore models discriminated active and inactive structures with a rate of 0.68-0.92 of success and QSAR models discriminated active and inactive structures at a rate of 0.89-0.93 of success. NCI 2014 dataset was carefully prepared to be submitted to the virtual screening process in which the best pharmacophore model was used as molecular filter. Among the 280 thousand compounds in NCI dataset, 1407 compounds passed to the next stage in which the best consensus QSAR model was used to predict their activity. In the end, the top 50 compounds were selected for purchase and proceed to experimental evaluation as potential candidates for antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL inhibitors. / Câncer é um grupo de doenças caracterizadas pela proliferação celular descontrolada como resultado de alterações epigenéticas, genéticas e mutações acumuladas ao longo do tempo. Células tumorais podem invadir outros tecidos no organismo em um processo chamado metástase, agravando consideravelmente o prognóstico do paciente. No Brasil, para o biênio de 2014/2015 são esperados 576 mil novos casos e, em todo o mundo, segundo a OMS, são esperados 27 milhões de novos casos de câncer no ano de 2030 e 17 milhões de mortes pela doença. As proteínas antiapoptóticas da família Bcl-2 são fundamentais para a sobrevida das células tumorais, uma vez que as mantém funcionais mesmo frente a estímulos de morte celular. Neste estudo foram compilados, integrados e preparados os maiores conjuntos de dados disponíveis publicamente contendo registros de atividade biológica contra a proteína antiapoptótica Bcl-xL. Modelos farmacofóricos robustos e preditivos bem como modelos de QSAR em consonância com as recomendações da OECD foram gerados. As taxas de acerto dos modelos farmacofóricos discriminaram estruturas ativas de inativas com taxa de 0,68-0,92 de sucesso e os modelos de QSAR discriminaram estruturas ativas e inativas com taxa de 0,89-0,93 de sucesso. A série de dados NCI 2014 foi preparada cuidadosamente para ser submetida ao processo de triagem virtual, no qual foi usado o melhor modelo farmacofórico como filtro molecular. Dentre os 280 mil compostos presentes na série de dados do NCI, 1407 compostos passaram para a etapa seguinte, na qual o melhor modelo consenso de QSAR foi usado para predizer as atividades dos compostos. Ao final, os 50 melhores compostos foram selecionados para serem adquiridos e prosseguirão para avaliação experimental como potenciais candidatos a inibidores da proteína antiapoptótica Bcl-xL.

This master thesis aims to investigate whether an installation of a High Temperature Low Sag-conductor (HTLS-conductor) could be beneficial for a 130 kV-transmission line owned by the Swedish company Vattenfall. The HTLS-conductors investigated in this thesis were ACCC-conductors and three different models were included: Warsaw, Dublin and Stockholm 3L ACCC-conductors. The aim of an installation was to roughly double the thermal line rating without needing to replace any supporting towers in the line section that was studied.    Simulations were conducted using MATLAB and PLS-CADD Ultralite and included calculations of the thermal line rating as well as conductor sag and tension in the supporting towers. The results showed that all three ACCC-conductors fulfilled Vattenfall’s requirements for increased thermal line rating. However, conductor sag was a problem which required an increase in tension. This increase in tension was only possible for Warsaw and Stockholm 3L ACCC-conductors. The Dublin ACCC-conductor proved too heavy and would have required a replacement of supporting towers if installed in this line section.    Finally, the thesis recommends further studies of the effects of an installation of Warsaw and Stockholm 3L ACCC-conductors and also suggests investigations concerning economic profitability, environmental sustainability and suitability of other types of HTLS-conductors.

Bakgrund: Patienter som blir diagnostiserade med akut leukemi genomgår krävande cytostatikabehandlingar som resulterar i långa vårdtider på sjukhus samt fysiska och psykosociala påfrestningar. Cytostatikabehandlingarna har senaste åren flyttats från slutenvård till öppenvård, och ges inom öppenvården via en förprogrammerad, portabel infusionspump (CADD-pump), och patienten kan vara hemma eller på patienthotellet under tiden som behandlingen ges. Behandlingsmetoden medför ett ökat egenvårdsansvar och ställer krav på patienterna att själva hantera infusionspump och centralvenös infart. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att belysa vilka upplevelser och erfarenheter patienter med akut leukemi har av cytostatikabehandling via CADD pump i hemmet eller på patienthotellet. Metod: Patienter med akut leukemi som behandlats med cytostatika i CADD-pump i hemmet eller på patienthotellet har inkluderats. Tio semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts via telefon, och har analyserats enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Informanternas upplevelser och erfarenheter kunde delas in i två övergripande teman; somatisk och fysisk värld samt psykologisk värld. Under de två övergripande teman identifierades tio olika huvudkategorier: Teknisk funktion, mat, rörlighet, miljö, egenvård, trygghet, känsla av frihet, kunskap, relationer, samt sinne och mentalitet. Slutsats: Att få vara i eget hem eller på patienthotell under pågående pumpbehandling bidrar till ökad självbestämmande, ökad välmående, bättre återhämtning och bättre förutsättningar att hantera psykosociala svårigheter förknippade med sjukdom. Polikliniseringen och den ökade grad av egenvård bidrar till ökad empowerment och kan ses som stärkande faktorer i känslan av sammanhang (KASAM).Noggrann, strukturerat utbildning och information till patienterna samt tydliga kontaktvägar är viktiga förutsättningar för att behandlingen i hemmet eller på patienthotellet ska upplevas tryggt och säkert. Utmaningar finns i omhändertagandet av patienter som har lång resväg till sjukhus.

A síndrome de Waardenburg é uma síndrome geneticamente heterogênea, com uma taxa de penetrância muito alta e expressividade extremamente variável. O objetivo desse estudo foi a caracterização molecular de uma amostra brasileira de pacientes com SW, dando continuidade ao estudo clínico feito em Pardono (2005), por meio do estudo de 48 probandos classificados com a síndrome de Waardenburg tipo 1 ou 2. Foram estudados os genes PAX3, MITF, SOX10, SNAI2, EDN3 e EDNRB, por meio do sequenciamento pelo método de Sanger, e investigadas as microdeleções e microduplicações dos genes PAX3, MITF e SOX10 pela técnica de MLPA (Multiplex Ligationdependent Probe Amplification). Dentre os resultados obtidos, identificou-se 17 mutações potencialmente patogênicas (35,4% dos probandos). Dessas, seis são variações de número de cópias (12,5% dos probandos). Além disso, foi realizado um levantamento na base de dados LOVD (Leiden Open Variation Database), no qual constam 105 mutações não sinônimas exônicas consideradas causativas da SW. Diversos algoritmos foram utilizados para avaliar a possível patogenicidade dessas mutações, os quais levam em conta as frequências das mutações na base de dados do projeto 1000 genomas e 6500 exomas, anotam as previsões dadas pelos programas Polyphen2, MutationTaster, LRT e SIFT e verificam a conservação em mamíferos e primatas. Por meio dessa análise, verificou-se que em 19 mutações desse tipo (18%) faltam evidências de sua patogenicidade, colocando-se em dúvida a sua relação com a síndrome de Waardenburg / Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a genetically heterogeneous syndrome, with a very high penetrance rate and highly variable expressivity. The focus of this study was the molecular characterization of a Brazilian sample of patients with WS (48 probands classified with Waardenburg syndrome type 1 or 2). The analysis of genes PAX3, MITF, SOX10, SNAI2, EDN3 and EDNRB were performed by the Sanger sequencing method. Microduplications and microdeletions in genes PAX3, MITF and SOX10 were investigated by MLPA technique (Multiplex Ligationdependent Probe Amplification). We detected 17 mutations considered as potentially pathogenic in 17 probands of the sample (35,4 % of probands). Among these, six are copy number variations (12,5% of probands). In addition, we performed a survey using the database of LOVD (Leiden Open Variation Database), which contains 105 non-synonymous exonic mutations considered causative of WS. Several algorithms were used to evaluate the possible pathogenicity of these mutations, taking into account the frequency of mutations in the database project in 1000 genomes and 6500 exomes, and using programs : Polyphen2, MutationTaster, LRT and SIFT. These algorithms also verify the conservation of the variations in mammals and primates. Through this analysis, lack of evidence was found for the pathogenicity of 19 non-synonymous mutations (18%) and association of these with Waardenburg syndrome is questioned

A síndrome de Waardenburg é uma síndrome geneticamente heterogênea, com uma taxa de penetrância muito alta e expressividade extremamente variável. O objetivo desse estudo foi a caracterização molecular de uma amostra brasileira de pacientes com SW, dando continuidade ao estudo clínico feito em Pardono (2005), por meio do estudo de 48 probandos classificados com a síndrome de Waardenburg tipo 1 ou 2. Foram estudados os genes PAX3, MITF, SOX10, SNAI2, EDN3 e EDNRB, por meio do sequenciamento pelo método de Sanger, e investigadas as microdeleções e microduplicações dos genes PAX3, MITF e SOX10 pela técnica de MLPA (Multiplex Ligationdependent Probe Amplification). Dentre os resultados obtidos, identificou-se 17 mutações potencialmente patogênicas (35,4% dos probandos). Dessas, seis são variações de número de cópias (12,5% dos probandos). Além disso, foi realizado um levantamento na base de dados LOVD (Leiden Open Variation Database), no qual constam 105 mutações não sinônimas exônicas consideradas causativas da SW. Diversos algoritmos foram utilizados para avaliar a possível patogenicidade dessas mutações, os quais levam em conta as frequências das mutações na base de dados do projeto 1000 genomas e 6500 exomas, anotam as previsões dadas pelos programas Polyphen2, MutationTaster, LRT e SIFT e verificam a conservação em mamíferos e primatas. Por meio dessa análise, verificou-se que em 19 mutações desse tipo (18%) faltam evidências de sua patogenicidade, colocando-se em dúvida a sua relação com a síndrome de Waardenburg / Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a genetically heterogeneous syndrome, with a very high penetrance rate and highly variable expressivity. The focus of this study was the molecular characterization of a Brazilian sample of patients with WS (48 probands classified with Waardenburg syndrome type 1 or 2). The analysis of genes PAX3, MITF, SOX10, SNAI2, EDN3 and EDNRB were performed by the Sanger sequencing method. Microduplications and microdeletions in genes PAX3, MITF and SOX10 were investigated by MLPA technique (Multiplex Ligationdependent Probe Amplification). We detected 17 mutations considered as potentially pathogenic in 17 probands of the sample (35,4 % of probands). Among these, six are copy number variations (12,5% of probands). In addition, we performed a survey using the database of LOVD (Leiden Open Variation Database), which contains 105 non-synonymous exonic mutations considered causative of WS. Several algorithms were used to evaluate the possible pathogenicity of these mutations, taking into account the frequency of mutations in the database project in 1000 genomes and 6500 exomes, and using programs : Polyphen2, MutationTaster, LRT and SIFT. These algorithms also verify the conservation of the variations in mammals and primates. Through this analysis, lack of evidence was found for the pathogenicity of 19 non-synonymous mutations (18%) and association of these with Waardenburg syndrome is questioned

Geschätzt mehr als 6.000 Erkrankungen werden durch Veränderungen im Genom verursacht. Ursachen gibt es viele: Eine genomische Variante kann die Translation eines Proteins stoppen, die Genregulation stören oder das Spleißen der mRNA in eine andere Isoform begünstigen. All diese Prozesse müssen überprüft werden, um die zum beschriebenen Phänotyp passende Variante zu ermitteln. Eine Automatisierung dieses Prozesses sind Varianteneffektmodelle. Mittels maschinellem Lernen und Annotationen aus verschiedenen Quellen bewerten diese Modelle genomische Varianten hinsichtlich ihrer Pathogenität. Die Entwicklung eines Varianteneffektmodells erfordert eine Reihe von Schritten: Annotation der Trainingsdaten, Auswahl von Features, Training verschiedener Modelle und Selektion eines Modells. Hier präsentiere ich ein allgemeines Workflow dieses Prozesses. Dieses ermöglicht es den Prozess zu konfigurieren, Modellmerkmale zu bearbeiten, und verschiedene Annotationen zu testen. Der Workflow umfasst außerdem die Optimierung von Hyperparametern, Validierung und letztlich die Anwendung des Modells durch genomweites Berechnen von Varianten-Scores. Der Workflow wird in der Entwicklung von Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion (CADD), einem Varianteneffektmodell zur genomweiten Bewertung von SNVs und InDels, verwendet. Durch Etablierung des ersten Varianteneffektmodells für das humane Referenzgenome GRCh38 demonstriere ich die gewonnenen Möglichkeiten Annotationen aufzugreifen und neue Modelle zu trainieren. Außerdem zeige ich, wie Deep-Learning-Scores als Feature in einem CADD-Modell die Vorhersage von RNA-Spleißing verbessern. Außerdem werden Varianteneffektmodelle aufgrund eines neuen, auf Allelhäufigkeit basierten, Trainingsdatensatz entwickelt. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der entwickelte Workflow eine skalierbare und flexible Möglichkeit ist, um Varianteneffektmodelle zu entwickeln. Alle entstandenen Scores sind unter cadd.gs.washington.edu und cadd.bihealth.org frei verfügbar. / More than 6,000 diseases are estimated to be caused by genomic variants. This can happen in many possible ways: a variant may stop the translation of a protein, interfere with gene regulation, or alter splicing of the transcribed mRNA into an unwanted isoform. It is necessary to investigate all of these processes in order to evaluate which variant may be causal for the deleterious phenotype. A great help in this regard are variant effect scores. Implemented as machine learning classifiers, they integrate annotations from different resources to rank genomic variants in terms of pathogenicity. Developing a variant effect score requires multiple steps: annotation of the training data, feature selection, model training, benchmarking, and finally deployment for the model's application. Here, I present a generalized workflow of this process. It makes it simple to configure how information is converted into model features, enabling the rapid exploration of different annotations. The workflow further implements hyperparameter optimization, model validation and ultimately deployment of a selected model via genome-wide scoring of genomic variants. The workflow is applied to train Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion (CADD), a variant effect model that is scoring SNVs and InDels genome-wide. I show that the workflow can be quickly adapted to novel annotations by porting CADD to the genome reference GRCh38. Further, I demonstrate the integration of deep-neural network scores as features into a new CADD model, improving the annotation of RNA splicing events. Finally, I apply the workflow to train multiple variant effect models from training data that is based on variants selected by allele frequency. In conclusion, the developed workflow presents a flexible and scalable method to train variant effect scores. All software and developed scores are freely available from cadd.gs.washington.edu and cadd.bihealth.org.