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Topic Review
Oxidative Stress in Friedreich´s Ataxia
Friedreich´s ataxia is the commonest autosomal recessive ataxia among population of European descent. Despite the huge advances performed in the last decades, a cure still remains elusive. One of the most studied hallmarks of the disease is the increased production of oxidative stress markers in patients and models. This feature has been the motivation to develop treatments that aim to counteract such boost of free radicals and to enhance the production of antioxidant defenses.
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Surface Activation of Polytetrafluoroethylene
Fluorinated polymers are renowned for their chemical inertness and thus poor wettability and adhesion of various coatings. Apart from chemical methods employing somewhat toxic primers, gaseous plasma treatment is a popular method for the modification of surface properties. Different authors have used different plasmas, and the resultant surface finish spans between super-hydrophobic and super-hydrophilic character.
  • 1.2K
  • 19 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Immunotherapy for T-ALL
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a T-cell neoplasia that mainly affects children, is still a medical challenge, especially for refractory patients for whom therapeutic options are scarce. Recent advances in targeted immunotherapies for other hematopoietic neoplasias have engendered unprecedented expectations for the successful treatment of T-ALL patients, with the challenge still pending on establishing protocols for clinical management of associated side effects. This review provides a comprehensive update on the different immunotherapeutic strategies that are being currently applied to T-ALL. We highlight recent progress on the identification of new therapeutic targets showing promising preclinical results, and discuss current challenges and opportunities for developing novel safe and efficacious immunotherapies for T-ALL. Collectively, we conclude that current progress on: 1) the application of universal off-the-shelf CAR T cells that prevent fratricide; 2) the incorporation of suicide genes allowing for CAR T-cell elimination after tumor eradication and T-cell immunodeficiency reversion; and 3) the discovery of increasingly specific molecular targets proved critical for disease progression in preclinical models, has tilted the balance between risks and benefits towards the use of immunotherapy for relapse/refractory T-ALL. Still, avoidance of associated adverse effects demands further efforts for the identification of new unique T-ALL antigens absent on normal T cells that guarantee the safe and effective application of these strategies.
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Radioprotective Effect of Flavonoids
Flavonoids are plant-derived compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and radio-neuro-protective effects. Flavonoids and their metabolites can cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which is made up of capillary endothelial cells and basement membrane, neuroglial membrane and glial podocytes, i.e., projections of astrocytes, and reach brain cells to reduce brain damage and alleviate neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive impairment.
  • 1.2K
  • 09 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Lignin Degradation by ROS
Lignin is a unique renewable aromatic resource in nature. In the past decades, researchers have attempted to breakdown the linkage bonds in lignin to provide aromatic platform chemicals that used to come from the petrochemical industry. In recent years, electrochemical lignin degradation under mild conditions has drawn much attention from the scientific community owing to its potential to scale up and its environmental friendliness. Sustainable electrochemical degradation of lignin consumes less energy and usually requires mild conditions, but low degradation efficiency and insufficient product selectivity are still significant challenges. The method for lignin degradation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated through the water oxidation reaction (WOR) at the anode and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode are more attractive for sustainable electrochemical degradation. The present contribution aims to review advancements in electrochemical degradation of lignin in aqueous or non-aqueous supporting electrolytes, focusing on the regulation of ROS in situ generated on the electrode.
  • 1.2K
  • 22 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Delta133p53 Isoforms of Human TP53
The TP53 gene is a critical tumor suppressor and key determinant of cell fate which regulates numerous cellular functions including DNA repair, cell cycle arrest, cellular senescence, apoptosis, autophagy and metabolism. The delta133p53 isoforms are critical regulators of these biological processes in human physiology and diseases such as cancer.  
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Iron and Anti-Cancer Immune Response
New insights into the field of iron metabolism within the tumor microenvironment have been uncovered in recent years. Iron promotes the production of reactive oxygen species, which may either trigger ferroptosis cell death or contribute to malignant transformation. Once transformed, cancer cells divert tumor-infiltrating immune cells to satisfy their iron demand, thus affecting the tumor immunosurveillance. In this review, we highlight how the bioavailability of this metal shapes complex metabolic pathways within the tumor microenvironment and how this affects both tumor-associated macrophages and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes functions. Furthermore, we discuss the potentials as well as the current clinical controversies surrounding the use of iron metabolism as a target for new anticancer treatments in two opposed conditions: (i) the “hot” tumors, which are usually enriched in immune cells infiltration and are extremely rich in iron availability within the microenvironment, and (ii) the “cold” tumors, which are often very poor in immune cells, mainly due to immune exclusion.
  • 1.2K
  • 06 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Violence Prevention Education in Healthcare
Violence from patients and visitors towards healthcare workers is a serious international issue affecting the safety and health of workers, quality of care, and healthcare system sustainability. The main intervention is violence prevention (VP) education for healthcare workers. Both the healthcare environment and reasons for patient violence are complex, making it challenging to evaluate VP education using traditional methods. An alternative realist evaluation approach offers the ability to understand how, why and for whom VP education is effective to prevent violence and related injuries.
  • 1.2K
  • 27 May 2021
Topic Review
Black Fungi and Hydrocarbons
Environmental pollution with alkylbenzene hydrocarbons such as toluene is a recurring phenomenon. Their toxicity and harmful effect on people and the environment drive the search for sustainable removal techniques such as bioremediation, which is based on the microbial metabolism of xenobiotic compounds.
  • 1.2K
  • 11 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Nanocarrier-Based Ocular Therapeutic System
Many strategies were designed in terms of the therapeutic modality of ocular diseases. The advent of nanotechnology-based therapeutic systems has acquainted the novel facet toward the optimized nanosize particle, which enables minimizing irritation, addressing the poor bioavailability, and improving ocular biocompatibility of therapeutics. 
  • 1.2K
  • 10 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Technology-Based Mental Interventions for Domestic Violence in COVID-19
Domestic violence is a threat to human dignity and public health. Mounting evidence shows that domestic violence erodes personal and public health, spawning issues such as lifelong mental health challenges. To further compound the situation, COVID-19 and societies’ poor response to the pandemic have not only worsened the domestic violence crisis but also disrupted mental health services for domestic violence victims. While technology-based health solutions can overcome physical constraints posed by the pandemic and offer timely support to address domestic violence victims’ mental health issues. 
  • 1.2K
  • 12 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Genetic Engineering for Cannabis sativa L.
Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabis, hemp or marijuana) is an erect annual herb of the Cannabiceae family. Cannabis is considered to be monotypic (occurs as a single species), but arguments for its polytypic nature also exist.
  • 1.2K
  • 20 May 2022
Topic Review
Drugs Targeting the A3 Adenosine Receptor
The A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) is overexpressed in pathological human cells. Piclidenoson and namodenoson are A3AR agonists with high affinity and selectivity to A3AR. Both induce apoptosis of cancer and inflammatory cells via a molecular mechanism entailing deregulation of the Wnt and the NF-κB signaling pathways. 
  • 1.2K
  • 24 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Oilseed Supplementation Improves Fatty Acid Profile of Milk
Milk is the most consumed dairy product in the world and for humans is one of the major sources of beneficial biocomponents. Lipids from oilseeds can be transferred to milk from cows or converted to other biomolecules with nutraceutical effects, resulting in healthier milk.
  • 1.2K
  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Epidemiology of Elizabethkingia spp. Infections in Southeast Asia
Elizabethkingia spp. is a ubiquitous pathogenic bacterium that has been identified as the causal agent for a variety of conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia, necrotizing fasciitis, endophthalmitis, and sepsis and is emerging as a global threat including in Southeast Asia. Elizabethkingia infections tend to be associated with high mortality rates (18.2–41%) and are mostly observed in neonates and immunocompromised patients. Difficulties in precisely identifying Elizabethkingia at the species level by traditional methods have hampered the understanding of this genus in human infections. In Southeast Asian countries, hospital outbreaks have usually been ascribed to E. meningoseptica, whereas in Singapore, E. anophelis was reported as the main Elizabethkingia spp. associated with hospital settings. Misidentification of Elizabethkingia spp. could, however, underestimate the number of cases attributed to the bacterium, as precise identification requires tools such as MALDI-TOF MS, and particularly whole-genome sequencing, which are not available in most hospital laboratories. Elizabethkingia spp. has an unusual antibiotic resistance pattern for a Gram-negative bacterium with a limited number of horizontal gene transfers, which suggests an intrinsic origin for its multidrug resistance.
  • 1.2K
  • 22 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Smart Grid
Traditional power grid models are based on a central system for generating and distributing energy and have undergone significant changes in recent years. The integration of the latest generation of technologies, rare in critical infrastructure such as the Internet of Things (IoT), has facilitated the evolution to a more dynamic and connected power grid model now known as the Smart Grid (SG). SG’s contributions result from introducing a mutual flow of information between manufacturers and customers, from which both can benefit. This flow enables fine-grained consumption measurements reported to each energy service provider in near real-time to provide consumers with up-to-date price data or control a utility that contains the grid’s energy load in real-time according to actual demand, allowing utilities to perform accurate demand response procedures by anticipating high demand peaks, avoiding and mitigating power outages, and distributing the load on available generators. On the other hand, consumers can take part in programs that reduce electricity consumption in the event of rising energy prices while using home-generated (renewable) electricity (such as the so-called microgrid).
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Apr 2024
Topic Review
Compulsive Behavior
Compulsive behavior is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively without it necessarily leading to an actual reward or pleasure. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. The act is usually a small, restricted and repetitive behavior, yet not disturbing in a pathological way. Compulsive behaviors are a need to reduce apprehension caused by internal feelings' a person wants to abstain from or control. A major cause of the compulsive behaviors is said to be obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). "The main idea of compulsive behavior is that the likely excessive activity is not connected to the purpose to which it appears directed." Furthermore, there are many different types of compulsive behaviors including shopping, hoarding, eating, gambling, trichotillomania and picking skin, itching, checking, counting, washing, sex, and more. Also, there are cultural examples of compulsive behavior.
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Media
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) describe a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the DSM-5, used by the American Psychiatric Association. As with many neurodivergent people and conditions, the popular image of autistic people and autism itself is often based on inaccurate media representations. Additionally, media about autism may promote pseudoscience such as vaccine denial or facilitated communication. Since the 1970s, fictional portrayals of people with autism, Asperger syndrome, and other ASCs have become more frequent. Public perception of autism is often based on these fictional portrayals in novels, biographies, movies, and television series. These depictions of autism in media today are often made in a way that brings pity to the public and their concern of the topic, because their viewpoint is never actually shown, leaving the public without knowledge of autism and its diagnosis. Portrayals in the media of characters with atypical abilities (for example, the ability to multiply large numbers without a calculator) may be misinterpreted by viewers as accurate portrayals of all autistic people and of autism itself. James McGrath writes that the stereotype of autistic individuals as successful in math and science, along with disliking fiction, is widely overrepresented in literature.
  • 1.2K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Effect of Anesthetics on Cancer Treatment
Propofol, fentanyl, rocuronium, sugammadex, and dexamethasone are commonly used to induce anesthesia and prevent pain during surgery. The mechanisms of these drugs to induce the state of anesthesia are not yet fully understood, despite their use being considered safe. An association between anesthetic agents and cancer progression has been determined; therefore, it is essential to recognize the effects of all agents during cancer treatment and to evaluate whether the treatment provided to the patients could be more precise. 
  • 1.2K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Solitary Confinement of Women
While studies have shown the effects of solitary confinement to be detrimental to some inmates, solitary confinement of women has particular consequences for women that may differ from the way it affects men. Solitary confinement rates for women in the United States are roughly comparable to those for men and about 20% of prisoners will be in solitary confinement at some point during their prison career.
  • 1.2K
  • 24 Nov 2022
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