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Topic Review
Mycobacterium avium Complex
Slow-growing mycobacteria, Mycobacterium avium, and rapid-growing mycobacteria, Mycobacterium abscessus, are important emerging human pathogens causing disease in vulnerable populations such as severelyimmunocompromised patients, patients with chronic lung diseases, and others with underlying health conditions. Their incidence is increasing worldwide in industrialized countries and they cause substantial yet underacknowledged burden of disease. An overview of the general characteristics, vulnerable populations most at risk, pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention for infections caused by Mycobacterium avium, in the context of MAC, and M. abscessus are presented in this review.
  • 1.7K
  • 14 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Carotenoids from Fungi and Yeasts
Carotenoids are an essential group of compounds that may be obtained by microbiological synthesis. They are instrumental in various areas of industry, medicine, agriculture, and ecology.
  • 1.7K
  • 08 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Potential of Curcumin
Curcumin is a bioactive compound that is extracted from Curcuma longa and that is known for its antimicrobial properties. Curcuminoids are the main constituents of curcumin that exhibit antioxidant properties. It has a broad spectrum of antibacterial actions against a wide range of bacteria, even those resistant to antibiotics. Curcumin has been shown to be effective against the microorganisms that are responsible for surgical infections and implant-related bone infections, primarily Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The efficacy of curcumin against Helicobacter pylori and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, alone or in combination with other classic antibiotics, is one of its most promising antibacterial effects. Curcumin is known to have antifungal action against numerous fungi that are responsible for a variety of infections, including dermatophytosis. Candidemia and candidiasis caused by Candida species have also been reported to be treated using curcumin. Life-threatening diseases and infections caused by viruses can be counteracted by curcumin, recognizing its antiviral potential.
  • 1.7K
  • 16 Mar 2022
Topic Review
HTLV-1 and Strongyloides stercoralis
Infection with HTLV-1 has been associated with various clinical syndromes including co-infection with Strongyloides stercoralis, which is an intestinal parasitic nematode and the leading cause of strongyloidiasis in humans. Interestingly, HTLV-1 endemic areas coincide with regions citing high prevalence of S. stercoralis infection, making these communities optimal for elucidating the pathogenesis of co-infection and its clinical significance. HTLV-1 co-infection with S. stercoralis has been observed for decades in a number of published patient cases and case series; however, the implications of this co-infection remain elusive. Thus far, data suggest that S. stercoralis increases proviral load in patients co-infected with HTLV-1 compared to HTLV-1 infection alone. Furthermore, co-infection with HTLV-1 has been associated with shifting the immune response from Th2 to Th1, affecting the ability of the immune system to address the helminth infection. Thus, further research is required to fully elucidate the impact of each pathogen in co-infected patients. This review provides an analytical view of studies that have evaluated the variation within HTLV-1 patients in susceptibility to S. stercoralis infection, as well as the effects of strongyloidiasis on HTLV-1 pathogenesis. Further, it provides a compilation of  available clinical reports on the epidemiology and pathology of HTLV-1 with S. stercoralis co-infection, as well as data from mechanistic studies, to facilitate moving this field forward.
  • 1.7K
  • 23 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Basal Parasitic Fungi in Marine Food Webs
Although aquatic and parasitic fungi have been well known for more than 100 years, they have only recently received increased awareness due to their key roles in microbial food webs and biogeochemical cycles. There is growing evidence indicating that fungi inhabit a wide range of marine habitats, from the deep sea all the way to surface waters, and recent advances in molecular tools, in particular metagenome approaches, reveal that their diversity is much greater and their ecological roles more important than previously considered. Parasitism constitutes one of the most widespread ecological interactions in nature, occurring in almost all environments. Despite that, the diversity of fungal parasites, their ecological functions, and, in particular their interactions with other microorganisms remain largely speculative, unexplored and are often missing from current theoretical concepts in marine ecology and biogeochemistry. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent research avenues on parasitic fungi and their ecological potential in marine ecosystems, e.g., the fungal shunt, and emphasize the need for further research.
  • 1.7K
  • 17 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus), mainly transmitted by ticks, belonging to the genus Orthonairovirus (family Nairoviridae, order Bunyavirales). CCHFV causes a potentially severe, or even fatal, human disease, and it is widely distributed in Africa, Asia, eastern Europe and, more recently, in South-western Europe. Until a few years ago, no cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) had been reported in western Europe, with the exception of several travel-associated cases. 
  • 1.6K
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Microbial L-asparaginase Application in Food
L-asparaginase (E.C.3.5.1.1) hydrolyzes L-asparagine to L-aspartic acid and ammonia, which has been widely applied in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Microbes have advantages for L-asparaginase production, and there are several commercially available forms of L-asparaginase, all of which are derived from microbes. Generally, L-asparaginase has an optimum pH range of 5.0–9.0 and an optimum temperature of between 30 and 60 °C. However, the optimum temperature of L-asparaginase from hyperthermophilic archaea is considerable higher (between 85 and 100 °C). The native properties of the enzymes can be enhanced by using immobilization techniques. The stability and recyclability of immobilized enzymes makes them more suitable for food applications. 
  • 1.6K
  • 20 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Mycobacterium Chimaera
Mycobacterium Chimaera (MC) in recent years has shown a high infectious capacity via the aerosol by operating room equipment and represent a new frontier of medico legal aspect of nosocomila infections
  • 1.6K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Autolysis to Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Bioprocess
Bacillus subtilis is a gram-positive bacterium, a promising microorganism due to its strong extracellular protein secretion ability, non-toxic, and relatively mature industrial fermentation technology. With the fast advancement of molecular biology and genetic engineering technology, various advanced procedures and gene editing tools have been used to successfully construct autolysis-resistant B. subtilis chassis cells to manufacture various biological products. 
  • 1.6K
  • 30 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Anoxygenic Photosynthesis in Photolithotrophic Sulfur Bacteria
Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic compound that can affect various groups of water microorganisms. Photolithotrophic sulfur bacteria including Chromatiaceae and Chlorobiaceae are able to convert inorganic substrate (hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide) into organic matter deriving energy from photosynthesis. This process takes place in the absence of molecular oxygen and is referred to as anoxygenic photosynthesis, in which exogenous electron donors are needed. These donors may be reduced sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide. 
  • 1.6K
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Glutathione System from Cyanobacteria to Higher Eukaryotes
From bacteria to plants and humans, the glutathione system plays a pleiotropic role in cell defense against metabolic, oxidative and metal stresses. Glutathione (GSH), the γ-L-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl-glycine nucleophile tri-peptide, is the central player of this system that acts in redox homeostasis, detoxification and iron metabolism in most living organisms. GSH directly scavenges diverse reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as singlet oxygen, superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, nitric oxide and carbon radicals. It also serves as a cofactor for various enzymes, such as glutaredoxins (Grxs), glutathione peroxidases (Gpxs), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), which play crucial roles in cell detoxication.
  • 1.6K
  • 08 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Organic winemaking and its subsets
The wine industry has evolved over time, and more so recently, to encompass many different subsets, one of which is the organic wine market. The organic wine industry has grown in recent years, especially in California. This rapid gain in interest has resulted in the evolution of several subsets, including biodynamic, natural, and clean wine. While biody-namic and natural wine, function more as a fulfillment of niche markets, clean wine may provide benefits for consumers that otherwise suffer from side effects of wine consumption. Low sulfite levels and lack of histamines in clean wine plausibly decrease headaches and adverse effects some consumers experience when drinking wine.
  • 1.6K
  • 21 Jan 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
The Apicomplexan Parasite Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasma gondii  is a ubiquitous zoonotic parasite with an obligatory intracellular lifestyle. It relies on a specialized set of cytoskeletal and secretory organelles for host cell invasion. When infecting its felid definitive host, T. gondii  undergoes sexual reproduction in the intestinal epithelium, producing oocysts that are excreted with the feces and sporulate in the environment. In other hosts and/or tissues, T. gondii  multiplies by asexual reproduction. Rapidly dividing tachyzoites expand through multiple tissues, particularly nervous and muscular tissues, and eventually convert to slowly dividing bradyzoites which produce tissue cysts, structures that evade the immune system and remain infective within the host. Infection normally occurs through ingestion of sporulated oocysts or tissue cysts. While T. gondii  is able to infect virtually all warm-blooded animals, most infections in humans are asymptomatic, with clinical disease occurring most often in immunocompromised hosts or fetuses carried by seronegative mothers that are infected during pregnancy.
  • 1.6K
  • 18 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Akkermansia muciniphila
Akkermansia muciniphila is one of the early occupants (in first year of life) of the intestinal tract with 108 cell/gm or more than 1% of total faecal microbes.
  • 1.6K
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
The Concept of Genus
The genus concept and its implication in classifying pathogenic relevant microorganisms:  The Brucella and Ochrobactrum
  • 1.6K
  • 31 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Biofilms in Space
The impacts of biofilms are well known in the medical, agricultural, commercial, and industrial spaces. It less known that biofilms are undermining many facets of space travel and that their effects need to be understood and addressed for future space missions. Biofilms can damage space crew health and spoil limited food supply. Yet, at the same time, they can benefit plant systems for food growth, nutrient development, and other biological systems that are being explored for use in space travel. Various biofilm removal techniques have been studied to mitigate the hazards posed by biofilm persistence during space travel. Because the presence of biofilms can advance or hinder humanity’s space exploration efforts, an understanding of their impacts over the duration of space flights is of paramount importance. 
  • 1.6K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Multidrug Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria
Antibiotic resistance has increased markedly in Gram-negative bacteria, causing severe infections intractable with traditional drugs and amplifying mortality and healthcare costs. Consequently, to find novel antimicrobial compounds, active on multidrug resistant bacteria, is mandatory. In this regard, cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs)—able to kill pathogens on contact—could represent an appealing solution. However, low selectivity, hemolytic toxicity and cost of manufacturing, hamper their massive clinical application. In the recent years—starting from CAMPs as template molecules—less toxic and lower-cost synthetic mimics of CAMPs, including cationic peptides, polymers and dendrimers, have been developed. Although the pending issue of hemolytic toxicity and biodegradability is still left not completely solved, cationic antimicrobial polymers (CAPs), compared to small drug molecules, thanks to their high molecular weight, own appreciable selectivity, reduced toxicity toward eukaryotic cells, more long-term activity, stability and non-volatility. With this background, an updated overview concerning the state of the art of the main manufactured types of CAPs, active on Gram-negative bacteria, is herein reported, including synthetic procedure and action’s mechanism. Information about the antibacterial activity, advantages and drawbacks of the most appealing compounds was also provided.
  • 1.6K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Bacteroides Dorei
Bacteroides dorei is a species of bacteria within the genus Bacteroides, first isolated in 2006. It is found in the intestinal systems of humans and animals. Research is being conducted to better understand the relationship Bacteroides dorei has on the human intestinal system and the autoimmune disease, Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).
  • 1.6K
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
the Major Facilitator Superfamily
Bacterial pathogens are serious causative agents of infectious disease. Such microorganisms are resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents, thereby compromising the therapeutic efficacy of treatment.  Multidrug-resistant pathogens harbor antimicrobial efflux pumps, many transporters of which are members of the extensive major facilitator superfamily of proteins. These bacterial multidrug efflux pumps are good molecular targets for modulation and possible inhibition.  This entry briefly discusses several current developments for drug efflux pump modulation. 
  • 1.6K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Streptococcus spp. in Bovine Mastitis
The Streptococcus genus belongs to one of the major pathogen groups inducing bovine mastitis. In the dairy industry, mastitis is the most common and costly disease. It not only negatively impacts economic profit due to milk losses and therapy costs, but it is an important animal health and welfare issue as well. 
  • 1.6K
  • 05 Aug 2021
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