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Topic Review
Progress on Plant-Inspired Soft Robotics
Millions of years’ evolution has imparted life on earth with excellent environment adaptability. Of particular interest to scientists are some plants capable of macroscopically and reversibly altering their morphological and mechanical properties in response to external stimuli from the surrounding environment. These intriguing natural phenomena and underlying actuation mechanisms have provided important design guidance and principles for man-made soft robotic systems. Constructing bio-inspired soft robotic systems with effective actuation requires the efficient supply of mechanical energy generated from external inputs, such as temperature, light, and electricity. By combining bio-inspired designs with stimuli-responsive materials, various intelligent soft robotic systems that demonstrate promising and exciting results have been developed. As one of the building materials for soft robotics, hydrogels are gaining increasing attention owing to their advantageous properties, such as ultra-tunable modulus, high compliance, varying stimuli-responsiveness, good biocompatibility, and high transparency. In this review article, we summarize the recent progress on plant-inspired soft robotics assembled by stimuli-responsive hydrogels with a particular focus on their actuation mechanisms, fabrication, and application. Meanwhile, some critical challenges and problems associated with current hydrogel-based soft robotics are briefly introduced, and possible solutions are proposed. We expect that this review would provide elementary tutorial guidelines to audiences who are interested in the study on nature-inspired soft robotics, especially hydrogel-based intelligent soft robotic systems. 
  • 1.3K
  • 03 Jun 2021
Topic Review
HOXA9 Transcription Factor in AML
HOXA9 (Homeobox A9) is a homeotic transcription factor known for more than two decades to be associated with leukemia. The expression of HOXA9 homeoprotein is associated with anterior–posterior patterning during embryonic development, and its expression is then abolished in most adult cells, with the exception of hematopoietic progenitor cells. The oncogenic function of HOXA9 was first assessed in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), particularly in the mixed-phenotype associated lineage leukemia (MPAL) subtype. HOXA9 expression in AML is associated with aggressiveness and a poor prognosis. Since then, HOXA9 has been involved in other hematopoietic malignancies and an increasing number of solid tumors. Despite this, HOXA9 was for a long time not targeted to treat cancer, mainly since, as a transcription factor, it belongs to a class of protein long considered to be an “undruggable” target; however, things have now evolved.
  • 1.3K
  • 09 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Cleft Lip Palate Patient
Cleft lip and palate (CLP) are craniofacial dysmorphisms that fall within the anomalies of the developmental jaws as they are congenital malformations characterized by the arrested development of the homonymous regions of the maxillofacial district. Orofacial clefts occur due to failure of migration or fusion in the embryonic period of intrauterine life; craniofacial skeletal structures, hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity are particularly involved. The cause of cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) is thought to be multifactorial, namely through genetic or environmental factors.
  • 1.3K
  • 23 Sep 2021
Topic Review
The Formation of Subsequent Entrepreneurial Intention
Subsequent entrepreneurial intention is a good predictor of serial entrepreneurial endeavors which facilitate the sustainability of economic growth. 
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Physical Properties of Succinoglycan
Succinoglycan is a type of bacterial anionic exopolysaccharide produced from Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and other soil bacteria. The exact structure of succinoglycan depends in part on the type of bacterial strain, and the final production yield also depends on the medium composition, culture conditions, and genotype of each strain. Various bacterial polysaccharides, such as cellulose, xanthan, gellan, and pullulan, that can be mass-produced for biotechnology are being actively studied.
  • 1.3K
  • 24 Jan 2022
Topic Review
MG-RAST
MG-RAST is an open-source web application server that suggests automatic phylogenetic and functional analysis of metagenomes. It is also one of the biggest repositories for metagenomic data. The name is an abbreviation of Metagenomic Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology. The pipeline automatically produces functional assignments to the sequences that belong to the metagenome by performing sequence comparisons to databases in both nucleotide and amino-acid levels. The applications supplies phylogenetic and functional assignments of the metagenome being analysed, as well as tools for comparing different metagenomes. It also provides a RESTful API for programmatic access. The server was created and maintained by Argonne National Laboratory from the University of Chicago. In December 29 of 2016, the system had analyzed 60 terabase-pairs of data from more than 150,000 data sets. Among the analyzed data sets, more than 23,000 are available to the public. Currently, the computational resources are provided by the DOE Magellan cloud at Argonne National Laboratory, Amazon EC2 Web services, and a number of traditional clusters.
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Anting (Bird Activity)
Anting is a maintenance behaviour during which birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin. The bird may pick up the insects in its bill and rub them on the body (active anting), or the bird may lie in an area of high density of the insects and perform dust bathing-like movements (passive anting). The insects secrete liquids containing chemicals such as formic acid, which can act as an insecticide, miticide, fungicide, or bactericide. Alternatively, anting could make the insects edible by removing the distasteful acid, or, possibly supplement the bird's own preen oil. Instead of ants, birds can also use millipedes. More than 200 species of bird are known to ant. A possibly related behaviour, self-anointing, is seen in many mammals.
  • 1.3K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Transport Layer Security Security
This article discusses the security of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) internet protocol.
  • 1.3K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Marikana Killings
The Marikana massacre, which took place on 16 August 2012, was the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since 1976. The shootings have been described as a massacre in the South African media and have been compared to the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. The incident took place on the 25-year anniversary of a nationwide South African miners' strike. The killings took place at two locations, roughly 500 metres away from each other, with 17 people fatally wounded at each of these locations. The vast majority of those killed were killed by fire from the R5 assault rifle used by the South African Police Service (SAPS). The official figure for strikers injured during the shooting is 78. The strike was considered a seminal event in modern South African history, and was followed by similar strikes at other mines across South Africa, events which collectively made 2012 the most protest-filled year in the country since the end of apartheid. The Marikana massacre started as a wildcat strike at a mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa in 2012. The event garnered international attention following a series of violent incidents between the South African Police Service, Lonmin security and members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on the one side and strikers themselves on the other. The first incidents of violence were reported to have started on 11 August after NUM leaders opened fire on NUM members who were on strike. Initial reports indicated that it was widely believed that two strikers died that day; however, it later turned out that two strikers were seriously wounded, but not killed, in the shooting by NUM members. During the period from Sunday 12 August to Tuesday 14 August, 10 people were killed including 6 mine workers, 2 Lonmin security guards and 2 SAPS members. Three of the mine workers, and the two SAPS members, were killed in a clash between strikers and SAPS members on the afternoon of 13 August. The remaining 5 people are also known to or believed to have been killed by strikers. In response to the Lonmin strikers, there were a wave of wildcat strikes across the South African mining sector.
  • 1.3K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Multimodality Imaging in Detection Women's Ischemic Heart Disease
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability, accounting for approximately one in three deaths worldwide. It is the leading cause of death in the United States; coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) remain the leading causes of death attributable to cardiovascular disease in men and women. The incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is increasing due to an increase in cardiac risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia in addition to an aging population. However, age-adjusted mortality rates are decreasing, likely due to improved medical therapies allowing patients to live longer with IHD. Although cardiovascular disease is more common in men, women with CAD have a worse short and long-term prognosis. In addition, women with symptoms of angina or who have had an abnormal cardiac stress test are less likely to be referred for additional diagnostic testing and initiated on guideline directed medical therapies.
  • 1.3K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Price Stability Properties and Volatility of Precious Metals
It was recognized that stock markets can be impacted by shocks in financial market uncertainties, while precious metal markets are steadier secure resources that will not be highly impacted by outside shocks. Herein, the focus of the present research is on the price stability properties of precious metals during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis, and 2010 Eurozone Crisis. 
  • 1.3K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
San Antonio Independent School District V. Rodriguez
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that San Antonio Independent School District's financing system, which was based on local property taxes, was not an unconstitutional violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. The majority opinion, reversing the District Court, stated that the appellees did not sufficiently prove a textual basis, within the US Constitution, supporting the principle that education is a fundamental right. Urging that the school financing system led to wealth-based discrimination, the plaintiffs had argued that the fundamental right to education should be applied to the States, through the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court found that there was no such fundamental right and that the unequal school financing system was not subject to strict scrutiny.
  • 1.3K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Hybridoma Technology
Hybridoma technology is a method for producing large numbers of identical antibodies (also called monoclonal antibodies). This process starts by injecting a mouse (or other mammal) with an antigen that provokes an immune response. A type of white blood cell, the B cell, produces antibodies that bind to the injected antigen. These antibody producing B-cells are then harvested from the mouse and, in turn, fused with immortal B cell cancer cells, a myeloma,[clarification needed] to produce a hybrid cell line called a hybridoma, which has both the antibody-producing ability of the B-cell and the longevity and reproductivity of the myeloma. The hybridomas can be grown in culture, each culture starting with one viable hybridoma cell, producing cultures each of which consists of genetically identical hybridomas which produce one antibody per culture (monoclonal) rather than mixtures of different antibodies (polyclonal). The myeloma cell line that is used in this process is selected for its ability to grow in tissue culture and for an absence of antibody synthesis. In contrast to polyclonal antibodies, which are mixtures of many different antibody molecules, the monoclonal antibodies produced by each hybridoma line are all chemically identical. The production of monoclonal antibodies was invented by César Milstein and Georges J. F. Köhler in 1975. They shared the Nobel Prize of 1984 for Medicine and Physiology with Niels Kaj Jerne, who made other contributions to immunology. The term hybridoma was coined by Leonard Herzenberg during his sabbatical in César Milstein's laboratory in 1976–1977.
  • 1.3K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Sewage Sludge Management
One of the most pressing environmental problems worldwide is sewage sludge (SS) management. Every year, wastewater volume increases and thus, the amount of SS produced increases as well. The disposal of SS in landfills, as practiced in many countries, is not a sustainable solution. Instead, SS, rich in organic matter and other nutrients, can be used as an alternative soil additive or fertilizer. The properties of these materials depend on their chemical composition and the method of treatment. Experience from a number of countries, such as the US and Europe, has shown that SS can be transformed from waste into a valuable resource, provided that the final product fulfils the relevant regulatory standards. 
  • 1.3K
  • 06 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Heat Stress on Meat Quality Status
Heat stress is one of the most stressful events in livestock life, negatively impacting animal health, productivity, and product quality. 
  • 1.3K
  • 08 May 2023
Topic Review
The Association between Music and Language in Children
Music and language are two complex systems that specifically characterize the human communication toolkit.
  • 1.3K
  • 05 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Specialized Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediators
Resolvins (Rvs), Maresins (MaRs), Protectins (PDs), and Lipoxins (LXs), belong to a large group of molecules known as The Specialized Pro-resolving Lipid Mediators (SPMs). These compounds have been well-characterized since their identification as potent modulators of the immune response and for their effects on inflammation resolution. Furthermore, they have a potential effect on anti-tumor immunity.
  • 1.3K
  • 17 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Ni-Based Catalysts for Biogas Dry Reforming
Biogas is mainly composed of methane (CH4) (45–75%) and carbon dioxide (CO2) (25–55%), produced by anaerobic digestion of organic compounds, and can be used to produce renewable hydrogen by dry reforming.
  • 1.3K
  • 21 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Ribosome Protection Proteins
Ribosome is one of the most conserved and sophisticated macromolecular machines that carries out the essential process of protein synthesis in cells. Given the essential function of ribosome as well as difference of bacterial and eukaryotic ribosome, it has been an active target for over half clinically used antibiotics.
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Phenolic Compounds as Modulators of Nrf2 in Neuroprotection
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a diverse group of pathologies characterized by a gradual loss in neuron number and function. These pathologies are primarily caused by the accumulation of misfolded proteins, as seen in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease, and are associated with a decline in cognitive abilities and movement disorders. There has been an increase in the study of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway and the natural products that positively regulate it to reduce oxidative damage to the nervous system, both in in vitro models with neurons and microglia subjected to stress factors and in vivo models using mainly murine models. Quercetin, curcumin, anthocyanins, tea polyphenols, and other less studied phenolic compounds such as kaempferol, hesperetin, and icariin can also modulate Nrf2 by regulating several Nrf2 upstream activators.
  • 1.3K
  • 01 Mar 2023
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