Lhasa Limited | General Information about Derek Nexus

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General Information about Derek Nexus

On this page
Derek 2011 Interim Knowledge Base Release Derek Nexus: The New and Improved Derek for Windows What is an Expert Knowledge Base System? How Does Derek Nexus Work? How are new knowledge and program features prioritised? Ensuring an Absence of Statistical Anomalies: Development of Expert Knowledge Rules in Derek Nexus: Derek Nexus Highlights Replacement for Derek for Windows New functionality to date, compared with Derek for Windows Stand-alone Product User-Centered Design One Simple User Interface Lhasas New Knowledge and Data House Capability to Integrate with other Prediction Systems Derek Nexus is an expert knowledge base system that predicts whether a chemical is toxic in humans, other mammals and bacteria. The application is a high throughput screen for multiple endpoints.

Derek 2011 Interim Knowledge Base Release

Lhasa Limited will released an interim update to the Derek knowledge base in May 2011. This release gives members early access to newly developed knowledge. The interim release contains: all the December 2010 knowledge 64 new Rapid Prototype Alerts covering multiple endpoints 5 existing Rapid Prototype Alerts which have been modified following member feedback Rapid Prototype Alerts covering the following endpoints: Bladder disorders, Blood in urine, Bone marrow toxicity, Bradycardia, Chromosome damage in vitro, Hepatotoxicity, Kidney disorders, Mitochondrial toxicity, Nephrotoxicity, Splenotoxicity, Thyroid toxicity We really value feedback from our members. After downloading the update, please contact us to let us know about your Rapid Prototype Alert predictions. Here at Lhasa Limited, we pride ourselves on the accuracy of our data, so it is crucial that you let us know about any unexpected results so they can be fully investigated. Please email our dedicated Customer Support team at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your comments. Click here to find out more about the interim knowledge release.

Derek Nexus: The New and Improved Derek for Windows

Derek for Windows (DfW) was the leading tool in toxicity prediction over its ten year life time. To maintain this leading position it has undergone exciting redevelopments taking into account the latest advances in software design and the ways that our users wish to use the tool now and in the future. Derek Nexus, a brand new version of Derek for Windows was released in December 2009.

https://www.lhasalimited.org/derek_nexus/

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Lhasa Limited | General Information about Derek Nexus

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In fact, all Lhasa Limiteds software is being redesigned under a common interface and Derek Nexus was the first of a series of releases of Nexus products.

What is an Expert Knowledge Base System?

Expert knowledge base systems are sometimes confused with database management systems such as Vitic Nexus. In fact the two types of applications are very different. In toxicology: A database is a large set of structured toxicology data and a database management system is a computer program designed to manage a database. An expert knowledge base system is a computer program that contains expert knowledge rules in toxicology and applies the rules to make predictions about the toxicity of chemicals, usually when no experimental data is available.

How Does Derek Nexus Work?

Molecular structures are entered into the program, either via a chemical editor program or by importing Molfiles, .skc, or SDfiles. The program applies structure-activity relationships ((Q)SARs) and other expert knowledge rules to derive a reasoned prediction about the potential toxicity of the query chemical. Results are supported by evidence in the form of literary citations, examples and comments allowing: Formation of a judgement about whether you agree with the prediction from Derek for Windows. Consideration of ways the chemical structure could be redesigned to make it less toxic. More extensive bibliographic search if this is required. Information about externally run validation studies is also provided for all alerts predicting Ames test mutagenicity. Members may purchase a license for the program alone, or choose to also have access to the editor, allowing them to add their own knowledge and comments.

How are new knowledge and program features prioritised?

To find out how Lhasa Limited identifies and prioritises the new science and software functionality to be added for each program release please download this presentation.

Ensuring an Absence of Statistical Anomalies:

The knowledge rules and relationships used by Derek Nexus are based on empirical observations backedup by an understanding of the mechanism of toxicity or by vigorous vetting. This means that the system is not prone to statistical anomalies.

https://www.lhasalimited.org/derek_nexus/

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Lhasa Limited | General Information about Derek Nexus

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Development of Expert Knowledge Rules in Derek Nexus:

Derek Nexus benefits from well developed expert knowledge rules which are the result of a productive ongoing collaboration between scientists working at Lhasa Limited and scientists who use the program. For example, periodically users test how well the program can predict toxicity by comparing its predictions to actual toxicity results from in-house proprietary data sets. Careful analysis of the results of these studies reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the expert knowledge rules in Derek Nexus. These insights are shared with Lhasa Limited to improve the expert knowledge rules in the program.

Derek Nexus Highlights

Replacement for Derek for Windows The first phase release of Derek Nexus, which will eventually replace the existing Derek for Windows application, became available in December 2009. Derek Nexus will be gradually adopted by users with a view to fully replacing Derek for Windows by 2012. New functionality to date, compared with Derek for Windows 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Stand-alone Product Derek Nexus will be supplied as a stand-alone product and will be available as such throughout its lifetime. User-Centered Design To ensure that member needs and wants are addressed by Derek Nexus we enlisted specialist support from Amberlight, a London based Human-Computer Interaction Consultancy with expertise in conducting usercentered research. Several users of Derek for Windows volunteered their time, allowing us to watch them operating the current system, and to talk to us about their requirements and preferences for future Derek product development. This kind of input from users is vital in helping us to ensure that Derek Nexus meets our members needs. The option to open several prediction windows at one time The ability to see alert information, references and examples from a single interface Improved report generation and formats The ability to select which reasoning level to process against e.g. equivocal and above Hyperlinks have been added to many references Batch processing and editor features. A link to Meteor so that compounds processed in Derek Nexus can be sent to Meteor for processing.

https://www.lhasalimited.org/derek_nexus/

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One Simple User Interface This system will combine results and give improved predictions and information via a simplified user interface. Lhasas New Knowledge and Data House Lhasa Limiteds products are being made compatible with a larger system, also under development, which will allow all Lhasa Limited applications to interact to share data and knowledge via one single interface. Capability to Integrate with other Prediction Systems In addition, the development of the Lhasa Limited Knowledge and Data House system is focused on integration with other data sources and even other prediction systems. There is potential for in silico tools and databases developed by third parties to be plugged into the system. This would allow users to process results from various tools simultaneously and create reports for comparison and further analysis, all through one, simple interface. Derek 2011 Interim KB Release Features and Benefits of Derek Nexus Information about Derek Nexus for IT Professionals FDA CRADA Data

On this page
Derek 2011 Interim Knowledge Base Release Derek Nexus: The New and Improved Derek for Windows What is an Expert Knowledge Base System? How Does Derek Nexus Work? How are new knowledge and program features prioritised? Ensuring an Absence of Statistical Anomalies: Development of Expert Knowledge Rules in Derek Nexus: Derek Nexus Highlights Replacement for Derek for Windows New functionality to date, compared with Derek for Windows Stand-alone Product User-Centered Design One Simple User Interface Lhasas New Knowledge and Data House Capability to Integrate with other Prediction Systems 2011 Lhasa Limited | Registered office: 22-23 Blenheim Terrace, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9HD, UK Tel: +44 (0) 113 394 6020 VAT number 396 8737 77 | Contact

https://www.lhasalimited.org/derek_nexus/

8/23/2011