Development Of Taxonomy Research Articles

Non-verbal Aspects of Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: a CSCW Taxonomy-development Proposal Integrating the Presence Dimension

Virtual worlds, particularly those able to provide a three-dimensional physical space, have features that make them suitable to support collaborative activities. These features distinguish virtual worlds from other collaboration tools, but current taxonomies of the field of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work do not account for several distinctive features of virtual worlds, namely those related with non-verbal communication. We intended to find out how the use of an avatar, gestures, spatial sounds, etc., influence collaboration in order to be able to include non-verbal communication in taxonomies of the field Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Several cases of collaboration in virtual worlds are analysed, to find the impact of these non-verbal characteristics of virtual worlds. We proposed adding the concept of Presence to taxonomies of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and contribute with guidance for future taxonomy development that includes it as a new dimension. This new dimension of Presence is subdivided into "avatar" and "physical space" subdimensions. In turn, these are divided into "physical appearance", "gestures, sounds and animations" and "focus, nimbus and aura"; "environment" and "objects / artefacts". This new taxonomy-development proposal may contribute to inform better design of virtual worlds in support of cooperative work.

The development of tick taxonomy and systematics in Australia and Papua New Guinea through the works of five late 20th century contributors and with comments on the place of Australasia in the study of the phylogeny and evolution of the ticks

The largely unique fauna of ticks in Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been studied for 250 years. Here, we briefly review the early stages of tick taxonomy in the region, then focus on the activities of five people who contributed much to our knowledge of ticks in Australasia during the second half of the 20th century: F.H.S Roberts, David H. Kemp, Douglas E. Moorhouse, Nixon Wilson and Harry Hoogstraal. We provide biographical notes on each and collated publication lists for Roberts, Kemp and Moorhouse. We recognize three eras of tick taxonomy in Australia. First, an era that we refer to as “colonial tick taxonomy”, where ticks were sent from the European colonies to taxonomists in Europe. Second, a brief but significant era that we refer to as “endemic tick taxonomy” defined by the works of F.H.S. Roberts. Thirdly, a final phase of “colonial taxonomy” where ticks were described by workers in the USA. In PNG there has been no phase of endemic tick taxonomy and, while Australian workers are once again describing new tick species, in PNG the USA continues to make the most significant contributions. Through this work, we now see Australasia as one of the “theatres of evolution” of Bothriocroton and Archaeocroton, the Amblyomma-like ticks without eyes. We briefly discuss the current hypotheses for the theatre of evolution of the Ixodida, consider the 22 genus and subgenus-level entities of the Prostriata (Ixodinae) as provisional biological entities, and provide observations on tick phylogenetics and future research. Finally, we outline additional genetic evidence, from a recent whole-transcriptome study, for the two clades of the subfamily Ixodinae (Prostriata), the Australasian Ixodes and all other Ixodes.

Conversational Agents for Health and Well-being Across the Life Course: Protocol for an Evidence Map.

BackgroundConversational agents, which we defined as computer programs that are designed to simulate two-way human conversation by using language and are potentially supplemented with nonlanguage modalities, offer promising avenues for health interventions for different populations across the life course. There is a lack of open-access and user-friendly resources for identifying research trends and gaps and pinpointing expertise across international centers.ObjectiveOur aim is to provide an overview of all relevant evidence on conversational agents for health and well-being across the life course. Specifically, our objectives are to identify, categorize, and synthesize—through visual formats and a searchable database—primary studies and reviews in this research field.MethodsAn evidence map was selected as the type of literature review to be conducted, as it optimally corresponded to our aim. We systematically searched 8 databases (MEDLINE; CINAHL; Web of Science; Scopus; the Cochrane, ACM, IEEE, and Joanna Briggs Institute databases; and Google Scholar). We will perform backward citation searching on all included studies. The first stage of a double-stage screening procedure, which was based on abstracts and titles only, was conducted by using predetermined eligibility criteria for primary studies and reviews. An operational screening procedure was developed for streamlined and consistent screening across the team. Double data extraction will be performed with previously piloted data collection forms. We will appraise systematic reviews by using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2. Primary studies and reviews will be assessed separately in the analysis. Data will be synthesized through descriptive statistics, bivariate statistics, and subgroup analysis (if appropriate) and through high-level maps such as scatter and bubble charts. The development of the searchable database will be informed by the research questions and data extraction forms.ResultsAs of April 2021, the literature search in the eight databases was concluded, yielding a total of 16,351 records. The first stage of screening, which was based on abstracts and titles only, resulted in the selection of 1282 records of primary studies and 151 records of reviews. These will be subjected to second-stage screening. A glossary with operational definitions for supporting the study selection and data extraction stages was drafted. The anticipated completion date is October 2021.ConclusionsOur wider definition of a conversational agent and the broad scope of our evidence map will explicate trends and gaps in this field of research. Additionally, our evidence map and searchable database of studies will help researchers to avoid fragmented research efforts and wasteful redundancies. Finally, as part of the Harnessing the Power of Conversational e-Coaches for Health and Well-being Through Swiss-Portuguese Collaboration project, our work will also inform the development of an international taxonomy on conversational agents for health and well-being, thereby contributing to terminology standardization and categorization.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/26680

Development of a Unified Taxonomy for HVAC System Faults

Detecting and diagnosing HVAC faults is critical for maintaining building operation performance, reducing energy waste, and ensuring indoor comfort. An increasing deployment of commercial fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) software tools in commercial buildings in the past decade has significantly increased buildings’ operational reliability and reduced energy consumption. A massive amount of data has been generated by the FDD software tools. However, efficiently utilizing FDD data for ‘big data’ analytics, algorithm improvement, and other data-driven applications is challenging because the format and naming conventions of those data are very customized, unstructured, and hard to interpret. This paper presents the development of a unified taxonomy for HVAC faults. A taxonomy is an orderly classification of HVAC faults according to their characteristics and causal relations. The taxonomy includes fault categorization, physical hierarchy, fault library, relation model, and naming/tagging scheme. The taxonomy employs both a physical hierarchy of HVAC equipment and a cause-effect relationship model to reveal the root causes of faults in HVAC systems. A structured and standardized vocabulary library is developed to increase data representability and interpretability. The developed fault taxonomy can be used for HVAC system ‘big data’ analytics such as HVAC system fault prevalence analysis or the development of an HVAC FDD software standard. A common type of HVAC equipment-packaged rooftop unit (RTU) is used as an example to demonstrate the application of the developed fault taxonomy. Two RTU FDD software tools are used to show that after mapping FDD data according to the taxonomy, the meta-analysis of the multiple FDD reports is possible and efficient.

The INSTRUCTION OF SCIENCE IN RURAL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

The teacher is an essential component of learning. Learning that is often focused by the government is learning in urban schools. Even though rural schools also have the same right to consider. Longer distances and access to schools that are more difficult to reach causes a lack of attention in rural areas schools. Learning in rural areas also requires attention to improve the quality of teaching. Knowing learning activities in rural schools is very important because it will understand what learning needs to be improved. The purpose of the research is to find out how teaching science in rural schools. This research uses mixed methods with the Taxonomy Development Model research design. The phase of QUAL is carried out to identify important variables. The development of a taxonomy or classification system, the development of theories that are not yet stable, and supporting it is a test in the phase of QUAN to obtain more thorough study results. The findings of this study illustrate that learning begins with answering questions, so students are enthusiastic. The next learning activity showing films about the reproduction of students was very excited about learning. The obstacle found in learning is the lack of preparation in the learning that is done so that time is wasted to condition the video playback.

Towards a global list of accepted species IV: Overcoming fragmentation in the governance of taxonomic lists

Governance is the act of governing or organizing, that is a system of rules, norms, or shared strategies to guide or regulate the actions of the governed. Since the initial development of Linnaean taxonomy, a diversity of approaches have been adopted for critical taxonomic decisions, introducing pluralism to taxonomic principles and resulting in disagreements about the development of species lists. These disagreements are in part a product of the fragmented governance structure that has developed for the creation of taxonomic lists. To address these challenges and achieve the goal of a single, accepted list of life on Earth, a new governance structure for the development of taxonomic lists is needed. Here, we introduce three high-level categories of governance structure—fragmentation, monocentric governance, and polycentric governance—which differ in the way decision-making power is distributed and coordinated. We then show the problems caused by the fragmented governance structure currently in place for the development of taxonomic lists and consider the potential for a new approach grounded in either monocentric or polycentric governance. Both monocentric and polycentric approaches have the potential to address the problems inherent in the existing fragmented system. Ultimately, the best governance system for taxonomic lists will be the one that the taxonomic community is prepared to accept.

Development of a behavioral taxonomy of agility in the workplace

PurposeThe concept of workforce agility has become increasingly popular in recent years. However, defining it has sparked much discussion and ambiguity. Recognizing this ambiguity, this paper aims to inductively develop a behavioral taxonomy of workforce agility.Design/methodology/approachThe authors interviewed 36 experts in the field of agility and used concept mapping and the critical incident technique to create a behavioral taxonomy.FindingsThe authors identified a behavioral taxonomy consisting of ten dimensions: (1) accepting changes, (2) decision making, (3) creating transparency, (4) collaboration, (5) reflection, (6) user centricity, (7) iteration, (8) testing, (9) self-organization, and (10) learning.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ research contributes to the literature in that it offers an inductively developed behavioral taxonomy of workforce agility with ten dimensions. It further adds to the literature by tying the notion of workforce agility to the performance literature.Practical implicationsThe authors’ results suggest that it might be beneficial for companies to take all workforce agility dimensions into account when creating an agile culture, starting agile projects, integrating agility into hiring decisions or evaluating employee performance.Originality/valueThis paper uses an inductive approach to define workforce agility as a set of behavioral dimensions, integrating the scientific as well as the practitioner literature on agility.

Development and Validation of a Useful Taxonomy of Patient Portals Based on Characteristics of Patient Engagement.

Objective Taxonomies are classification systems used to reduce complexity and better understand a domain. The present research aims to develop a useful taxonomy for health information managers to classify and compare patient portals based on characteristics appropriate to promote patient engagement. As a result, the taxonomy should contribute to understanding the differences and similarities of the portals. Further, the taxonomy shall support health information managers to more easily define which general type and functionalities of patient portals they need and to select the most suitable solution offered on the market. Methods We followed the formal taxonomy-building method proposed by Nickerson et al. Based on a literature review, we created a preliminary taxonomy following the conceptional approach of the model. We then evaluated each taxa's appropriateness by analyzing and classifying 17 patient portals offered by software vendors and 11 patient portals offered by health care providers. After each iteration, we examined the achievement of the determined objective and subjective ending conditions. Results After two conceptional approaches to create our taxonomy, and two empirical approaches to evaluate it, the final taxonomy consists of 20 dimensions and 49 characteristics. To make the taxonomy easy to comprehend, we assigned to the dimensions seven aspects related to patient engagement. These aspects are (1) portal design, (2) management, (3) communication, (4) instruction, (5) self-management, (6) self-determination, and (7) data management. The taxonomy is considered finished and useful after all ending conditions that defined beforehand have been fulfilled. We demonstrated that the taxonomy serves to understand the differences and similarities by comparing patient portals. We call our taxonomy “Taxonomy of Patient Portals based on Characteristics of Patient Engagement (TOPCOP).” Conclusion We developed the first useful taxonomy for health information managers to classify and compare patient portals. The taxonomy is based on characteristics promoting patient engagement. With 20 dimensions and 49 characteristics, our taxonomy is particularly suitable to discriminate among patient portals and can easily be applied to compare portals. The TOPCOP taxonomy enables health information managers to better understand the differences and similarities of patient portals. Further, the taxonomy may help them to define the type and general functionalities needed. But it also supports them in searching and comparing patient portals offered on the market to select the most suitable solution.

WHO Digital Intelligence Analysis for Tracking Narratives and Information Voids in the COVID-19 Infodemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the first to unfold in the highly digitalized society of the 21st century and is therefore the first pandemic to benefit from and be threatened by a thriving real-time digital information ecosystem. For this reason, the response to the infodemic required development of a public health social listening taxonomy, a structure that can simplify the chaotic information ecosystem to enable an adaptable monitoring infrastructure that detects signals of fertile ground for misinformation and guides trusted sources of verified information to fill in information voids in a timely manner. A weekly analysis of public online conversations since 23 March 2020 has enabled the quantification of running shifts of public interest in public health-related topics concerning the pandemic and has demonstrated the frequent resumption of information voids relevant for public health interventions and risk communication in an emergency response setting.

Deconstructing Multiteam System Action: Development and Content Validation of a Multilevel Multiteam System Action Taxonomy

ABSTRACT Current theories of goal-directed action in networks of closely collaborating teams, have yet to provide a framework that can assist in identifying specific points of multiteam system (MTS) action that led to performance breakdowns. Expanding upon previous frameworks, we develop an MTS action taxonomy detailing 29 within-team alignment and between-team behaviors that occur during the action phase of MTS performance. The taxonomy is built upon our model of MTS action subphases which delineates MTS action into three interrelated, multilevel phases: acting, monitoring, and recalibrating. We evaluate the content validity of the taxonomy using subject matter expert interviews and case studies within a US Navy context. We discuss implications regarding the applicability of the MTS action subphase framework and associated taxonomy for diagnostic and training purposes.

Taxonomy for Developing Undergraduate Research Experiences as High-Impact Practices

The call to increase student participation in high-impact practices (HIPs) to improve student learning, satisfaction, and retention is being answered in a multitude of ways. Faculty and staff involved in undergraduate research see this as validation of their efforts, which it is. However, Kuh & O’Donnell’s (2013) work challenges research mentors to reevaluate their efforts in order to intentionally provide an even richer and more engaging research experience. Making undergraduate research a high-impact practice requires thinking inclusively about how the research experience can be scaled across the curriculum, adjusted to increase student engagement, and adapted to student preparation and desired learning outcomes. This article presents the work of a statewide multi-disciplinary faculty team that developed a scalable taxonomy for incorporating high-impact practices into student learning experiences and to serve as a roadmap for designing and assessing undergraduate research experiences. The authors offer a layered taxonomy, with milestones of increasing engagement, that establishes what sets a HIP undergraduate research experience apart from other HIP experiences and what distinguishes good practices from high-impact teaching. Aligning undergraduate research experiences with best practices across disciplines, types of research opportunities, and student achievement level was a key goal in the taxonomy development. We present cases where the taxonomy was applied to research opportunities embedded in general education courses across disciplines and different modalities. In these vignettes, the utility of the taxonomy as a tool for assessing course design and teaching effectiveness is examined and common challenges in development, implementation, and assessment of student learning experiences are also explored.

Mental disorder as a natural cataclysm: boundaries of а psychopathological landscape

The main obstacle to the development of a reliable taxonomy of mental disorders is an incorrectly formulated problem: natural classification requires discrete elements, while the clinical picture of diseases does not meet this requirement. An alternative project is proposed, the essence of which is to create a map of the psychopathological landscape based on discrete landscape-forming factors, by analogy with models successfully used in climatology.

Understanding How Relational Health Effects Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among Low-Income, Black, Indigenous, Men of Color Exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences: An Exploratory Study.

Relational health has emerged as a consistent factor that can mitigate the effects of trauma among children; however, less is known about relational health with adults, particularly related to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among racially and socioeconomically marginalized men. The Exploratory Sequential Design, Taxonomy Development Model was used. Semi-structured interviews (N = 11) and narrative analysis were conducted in Phase I. In Phase II, variables approximating the key themes that emerged in Phase I were selected from an existing dataset (N = 67), and relationships were examined using bivariate associations. The sample consisted of low-income Black, Indigenous, men of color (BIMOC) in a batterer intervention program (BIP). Adverse life experiences shaped participants’ world view via mistrust in others, stifling emotions and vulnerability, and a sense of personal guilt and shame. These orientations were then carried into adult relationships where men coped using social isolation to manage challenges, negatively affecting intimate relationships. For some men, mental health exacerbated these circumstances. Significant bivariate and multivariate associations supported this narrative. This study lays the foundation for future research to examine the potential effects of social support on IPV perpetration. BIPs should consider augmenting programming to enhance men’s social networks to support their use of nonviolence after program completion.

When the tail wags the dog? Digitalisation and corporate reporting

To facilitate digital corporate reporting and enable computers to ‘read’ accounting information, standard-setters must construct a taxonomy to assign contextual ‘metadata’ that codifies disclosures arising from accounting concepts, standards and practices. But digitalisation poses a problem for corporate reporting. Within internationally accepted accounting practice, ‘principles-based’ standards give companies significant discretion in deciding what they disclose and how they report accounts of their activity. How would the principles-based nature of corporate reporting be influenced by the construction of a taxonomy that seeks to specify all accounting disclosures? Drawing on literature examining the constitutive potential of classification and formal representation, we use our case study of the digitalisation project undertaken by the global standard-setter, the IASB, to understand how digitalisation intervenes on standard-setting and reporting practice despite the intentions of standard-setters. Our results detail how standard-setters sought to minimise the impact of digitalisation by modelling the taxonomy only on disclosures explicitly required by accounting standards. We reveal the circumstances that led the IASB to change its taxonomy design by seeking to capture not only what should be reported (as prescribed in extant accounting standards) but also what was being reported (as prescribed in a new classification called ‘Common Practices’). We analyse the process by which international accounting disclosure practices were judged to be ‘common’, and demonstrate how the ‘Common Practices’ classification was perceived by early users of the taxonomy. When interpreting the IASB’s Common Practices (what is) as disclosure standards (what should be), digitalisation generates a self-validating feedback loop that can generate more homogenous corporate reporting and push International Financial Reporting Standards beyond the principles-based approach they were designed to engender. Although standard-setters became increasingly aware of the influence of the digital (machine-readable) ‘tail’ on the traditional reporting (human-readable) ‘dog’, their attempts to take tighter control of the taxonomy development process strengthened user perceptions that the taxonomy and its ‘Common Practices’ represented an authoritative view of what should be reported. Our results reveal the process by which digital reporting both represents and intervenes in accounting, and how digitalisation impacts key accounting debates. As digitalisation attempts to provide a universal codification of reporting disclosures, it valorises comprehensive machine-friendly disclosure rules over principles, which offer standardised comparability over entity-specific communication. Our study also offers a perspective on the relations between information representation and intervention that moves beyond a study of passive, ‘reactive’ conformance to consider how representations can intervene despite the intentions of those generating the representation. In doing so, we reveal the constitutive potential of digital representations in generating ‘non-passive’ conformance.

The Business Process Design Space for exploring process redesign alternatives

PurposeProcess redesign refers to the intentional change of business processes. While process redesign methods provide structure to redesign projects, they provide limited support during the actual creation of to-be processes. More specifically, existing approaches hardly develop an ontological perspective on what can be changed from a process design point of view, and they provide limited procedural guidance on how to derive possible process design alternatives. This paper aims to provide structured guidance during the to-be process creation.Design/methodology/approachUsing design space exploration as a theoretical lens, the authors develop a conceptual model of the design space for business processes, which facilitates the systematic exploration of design alternatives along different dimensions. The authors utilized an established method for taxonomy development for constructing the conceptual model. First, the authors derived design dimensions for business processes and underlying characteristics through a literature review. Second, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with professional process experts. Third, the authors evaluated their artifact through three real-world applications.FindingsThe authors identified 19 business process design dimensions that are grouped into different layers and specified by underlying characteristics. Guiding questions and illustrative real-world examples help to deploy these design dimensions in practice. Taken together, the design dimensions form the “Business Process Design Space” (BPD-Space).Research limitations/implicationsPractitioners can use the BPD-Space to explore, question and rethink business processes in various respects.Originality/valueThe BPD-Space complements existing approaches by explicating process design dimensions. It abstracts from specific process flows and representations of processes and supports an unconstrained exploration of various alternative process designs.

Biology and conservation of the unique and diverse halophilic macroinvertebrates of Australian salt lakes

This study synthesises information on the biology of the unique and diverse halophilic macroinvertebrates of Australian salt lakes, focusing on gastropods and crustaceans. This information is needed to evaluate and manage the threats posed to these invertebrates by increased periods of drought and secondary salinisation. Most of these species are endemic to Australian salt lakes, and some have adapted to extreme conditions (e.g. salinities >100 g L–1 and pH <5). This study identifies key general findings regarding the taxonomy, ecology and life histories of these invertebrates, such as that many ‘new’ species have been uncovered in the past 20 years, with more likely to come. The study also identifies critical knowledge gaps, such as the need to elucidate the abiotic and biological drivers of the field distributions of species, including why some species are widespread and common whereas other congeneric species are rare or have narrow distributions. Those species that are either restricted to low salinity environments or survive dry periods as aestivating adults (as opposed to desiccation-resistant eggs) are probably the most vulnerable to increasing salinisation and drought. Future work should prioritise the development of a sound taxonomy for all groups, because this is needed to underpin all other biological research.

Genomics and precision medicine in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most frequent malignant disease in the pediatric population, accounting for about 25% of childhood cancers. Drastic therapeutic improvements have been made for pediatric ALL since the early 1960s, marking the most successful treatment paradigm in pediatric oncology. The clinical success derived from refined risk-adapted therapy based on presenting features, cytogenetics and minimal residual disease, prevention of central nervous system relapse, and improvement of supportive care measures. With contemporary therapies, survival of children with ALL now exceeds 90%. However, ALL represents one of leading causes of cancer-related death, as 15%-20% of patients continue to relapse and outcomes post-relapse remain poor. Since the early 2000s, large-scale genomic studies of ALL, greatly facilitated by the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS), have enabled the development of a novel taxonomy for ALL in the molecular era. The access to NGS technologies identifies novel ALL subsets characterized by “driver” oncogenic alterations, previously cryptic on conventional karyotyping methods. With genomic characterization, the group of formerly unclassified B-lineage ALL reduces from 25% to a marginal 5% of ALL. The revised molecular classification of ALL confers prognostic significance and describes the predilection of unfavorable ALL subtypes with increasing age, partially elucidating the worst outcome of adolescents and young adults with ALL. Large-scale genomic analysis also reveals inherited alterations predisposing to ALL occurrence or to different drugs’ sensitivities. Most importantly, the genomic portrait of ALL uncovers novel therapeutic vulnerabilities, paving the way towards precision medicine opportunities in ALL.

<i>Corrigendum to</i>: Biology and conservation of the unique and diverse halophilic macroinvertebrates of Australian salt lakes

This study synthesises information on the biology of the unique and diverse halophilic macroinvertebrates of Australian salt lakes, focusing on gastropods and crustaceans. This information is needed to evaluate and manage the threats posed to these invertebrates by increased periods of drought and secondary salinisation. Most of these species are endemic to Australian salt lakes, and some have adapted to extreme conditions (e.g. salinities >100gL<sup>–1</sup> and pH <5). This study identifies key general findings regarding the taxonomy, ecology and life histories of these invertebrates, such as that many ‘new’ species have been uncovered in the past 20 years, with more likely to come. The study also identifies critical knowledge gaps, such as the need to elucidate the abiotic and biological drivers of the field distributions of species, including why some species are widespread and common whereas other congeneric species are rare or have narrow distributions. Those species that are either restricted to low salinity environments or survive dry periods as aestivating adults (as opposed to desiccation-resistant eggs) are probably the most vulnerable to increasing salinisation and drought. Future work should prioritise the development of a sound taxonomy for all groups, because this is needed to underpin all other biological research.

From Plant to Patient: Thapsigargin, a Tool for Understanding Natural Product Chemistry, Total Syntheses, Biosynthesis, Taxonomy, ATPases, Cell Death, and Drug Development.

Thapsigargin, the first representative of the hexaoxygenated guaianolides, was isolated 40 years ago in order to understand the skin-irritant principles of the resin of the umbelliferous plant Thapsia garganica. The pronounced cytotoxicity of thapsigargin is caused by highly selective inhibition of the intracellular sarco-endoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) situated on the membrane of the endo- or sarcoplasmic reticulum. Thapsigargin is selective to the SERCA pump and to a minor extent the secretory pathway Ca2+/Mn2+ ATPase (SPCA) pump. Thapsigargin has become a tool for investigation of the importance of SERCA in intracellular calcium homeostasis. In addition, complex formation of thapsigargin with SERCA has enabled crystallization and structure determination of calcium-free states by X-ray crystallography. These results led to descriptions of the mechanism of action and kinetic properties of SERCA and other ATPases. Inhibition of SERCA depletes Ca2+ from the sarco- and endoplasmic reticulum provoking the unfolded protein response, and thereby has enabled new studies on the mechanism of cell death. Development of protocols for selective transformation of thapsigargin disclosed the chemistry and facilitated total synthesis of the molecule. Conversion of trilobolide into thapsigargin offered an economically feasible sustainable source of thapsigargin, which enables a future drug production. Principles for prodrug development were used by conjugating a payload derived from thapsigargin with a hydrophilic peptide selectively cleaved by proteases in the tumor. Mipsagargin was developed in order to obtain a drug for treatment of cancer diseases characterized by the presence of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in the neovascular tissue of the tumors. Even though mipsagargin showed interesting clinical effects the results did not encourage funding and consequently the attempt to register the drug has been abandoned. In spite of this disappointing fact, the research performed to develop the drug has resulted in important scientific discoveries concerning the chemistry, biosynthesis and biochemistry of sesquiterpene lactones, the mechanism of action of ATPases including SERCA, mechanisms for cell death caused by the unfolded protein response, and the use of prodrugs for cancer-targeting cytotoxins. The presence of toxins in only some species belonging to Thapsia also led to a major revision of the taxonomy of the genus.

Чек-лист синтаксонов Российской Арктики: текущее состояние классификации растительности

Чек-лист синтаксонов Российской Арктики: текущее состояние классификации растительности