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Topic Review
Serendipita indica as a Growth Promoter
Serendipita indica has been found to be a prime beneficial microorganism that improved the growth and development of various plant species under normal and stress conditions. 
  • 1.4K
  • 27 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Non-Photosynthetic Melainabacteria (Cyanobacteria) in Human Gut
Gut microorganisms are comprised of thousands of species and play an important role in the host’s metabolism, overall health status, and risk of disease. Cyanobacteria are the oldest organisms on earth, and their fossil record possibly tracked back to ~3.5 billion years ago. The emergence of the oxygenic photosynthesis of cyanobacteria was associated with the rise of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere (also known as the Great Oxygenation Event) ~2.1 billion years ago.
  • 1.4K
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Cytochrome P450 Aromatase
Aromatase is the cytochrome P450 enzyme converting androgens into estrogen in the last phase of steroidogenesis. As estrogens are crucial in reproductive biology, aromatase is found in vertebrates and the invertebrates of the genus Branchiostoma, where it carries out the aromatization reaction of the A-ring of androgens that produces estrogens.
  • 1.4K
  • 07 May 2021
Topic Review
EPR and Membrane Proteins
Membrane proteins possess a variety of functions essential to the survival of organisms. However, due to their inherent hydrophobic nature, it is extremely difficult to probe the structure and dynamic properties of membrane proteins using traditional biophysical techniques, particularly in their native environments. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in combination with site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) is a very powerful and rapidly growing biophysical technique to study pertinent structural and dynamic properties of membrane proteins with no size restrictions.
  • 1.4K
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Polyphenols and Neuroprotection
Polyphenols are naturally occurring micronutrients that are present in many food sources. Besides being potent antioxidants, these molecules may also possess anti-inflammatory properties. Many studies have highlighted their potential role in the prevention and treatment of various pathological conditions connected to oxidative stress and inflammation (e.g., cancer, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders). Neurodegenerative diseases are globally one of the main causes of death and represent an enormous burden in terms of human suffering, social distress, and economic costs. Recent data expanded on the initial antioxidant-based mechanism of polyphenols’ action by showing that they are also able to modulate several cell-signaling pathways and mediators. The proposed benefits of polyphenols, either as protective/prophylactic substances or as therapeutic molecules, may be achieved by the consumption of a natural polyphenol-enriched diet, by their use as food supplements, or with formulations as pharmaceutical drugs/nutraceuticals.
  • 1.4K
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Peripheral Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen. The causes of AD are complex and are characterized by changes in the brain that lead to the accumulation of two proteins, amyloid beta and tau, forming structures called plaques and tangles, respectively. It is challenging to identify the mechanisms for the initiation and progression of AD. Oxidative stress and inflammation derived from peripheral mitochondrial dysfunction have also been suggested as alternative contributors of AD pathogenesis.
  • 1.4K
  • 04 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Epigenetics in the Uterine Environment
The societal burden of non-communicable disease is closely linked with environmental exposures and lifestyle behaviours, including the adherence to a poor maternal diet from the earliest preimplantation period of the life course onwards. Epigenetic variations caused by a compromised maternal nutritional status can affect embryonic development and offspring health later in life.
  • 1.4K
  • 14 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Aromachology Related to Foods
Smell is the second-most used sense in marketing strategies in the food industry. Sensory marketing appeals to the senses with the aim of creating sensory experiences and converting them into specific emotions associated with a specific product. There is a strong relationship between sensory marketing, aromachology, and neuroscience. In this review, studies were searched on the use of scents in food experiences such as restaurants and food establishments, and a critical evaluation was performed on their aims, target population, place of the study, scents tested, foods tested, and measured parameters, and the main findings were reviewed. Case studies carried out by private companies are also presented.
  • 1.4K
  • 12 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Electrofermentation of Lactic Acid Bacteria
Microbial electrosynthesis is the process of supplying electrons to microorganisms to reduce CO2 and yield industrially relevant products. Such systems are limited by their requirement for high currents, resulting in challenges to cell survival. Electrofermentation is an electron-efficient form of microbial electrosynthesis in which a small cathodic or anodic current is provided to a culture to alter the oxidation–reduction potential of the medium and, in turn, alter microbial metabolism. This approach has been successfully utilised to increase yields of diverse products including biogas, butanediol and lactate. Biomass conversion to lactate is frequently facilitated by ensiling plant biomass with homofermentative lactic acid bacteria. Although most commonly used as a preservative in ensiled animal feed, lactate has diverse industrial applications as a precursor for the production of probiotics, biofuels, bioplastics and platform chemicals. Lactate yields by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are constrained by a number of redox limitations which must be overcome while maintaining profitability and sustainability. 
  • 1.4K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells and Tumor Survival
Precision and organization govern the cell cycle, ensuring normal proliferation. However, some cells may undergo abnormal cell divisions (neosis) or variations of mitotic cycles (endopolyploidy). Consequently, the formation of polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs), critical for tumor survival, resistance, and immortalization, can occur. Newly formed cells end up accessing numerous multicellular and unicellular programs that enable metastasis, drug resistance, tumor recurrence, and self-renewal or diverse clone formation. An integrative literature review was carried out, searching articles in several sites, including: PUBMED, NCBI-PMC, and Google Academic, published in English, indexed in referenced databases and without a publication time filter, but prioritizing articles from the last 3 years, to answer the following questions: (i) “What is the current knowledge about polyploidy in tumors?”; (ii) “What are the applications of computational studies for the understanding of cancer polyploidy?”; and (iii) “How do PGCCs contribute to tumorigenesis?”
  • 1.4K
  • 18 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Anthocyanins and Health
The antioxidant activity of anthocyanins in food is well known. Numerous antioxidant assays have been proposed to measure the capacity of anthocyanins to prevent the oxidation process that naturally occurs. Different solvents, temperatures, and pH levels are applied in each assay, and these factors should be taken into account in order to obtain useful and reproducible results. The concentration and the structure of these compounds are directly related to their antioxidant capacity and their environment. However, the effectiveness of the anthocyanin ingestion against diseases is also influenced by its bioavailability. Novel methodologies that simulate the digestion process have been developed in order to facilitate the current knowledge of anthocyanins bioavailability. Studies highlight the potential synergy effect between parent compounds and their derivatives (metabolites, conjugated products, and microbe-generated metabolites).
  • 1.4K
  • 31 May 2021
Topic Review
Antisense Oligonucleotides for Vaccine Improvement
Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are synthetically prepared short single-stranded deoxynucleotide sequences that have been validated as therapeutic agents and as a valuable tool in molecular driving biology. ASOs can block the expression of specific target genes via complementary hybridization to mRNA. Due to their high specificity and well-known mechanism of action, there has been a growing interest in using them for improving vaccine efficacy. Several studies have shown that ASOs can improve the efficacy of vaccines either by inducing antigen modification such as enhanced expression of immunogenic molecules or by targeting certain components of the host immune system to achieve the desired immune response. However, despite their extended use, some problems such as insufficient stability and low cellular delivery have not been sufficiently resolved to achieve effective and safe ASO-based vaccines.
  • 1.4K
  • 07 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Gram-Negative Bacterial Lysins
Antibiotics have had a profound impact on human society by enabling the eradication of otherwise deadly infections. Unfortunately, antibiotic use and overuse has led to the rapid spread of acquired antibiotic resistance, creating a major threat to public health. Novel therapeutic agents called bacteriophage endolysins (lysins) provide a solution to the worldwide epidemic of antibiotic resistance. Lysins are a class of enzymes produced by bacteriophages during the lytic cycle, which are capable of cleaving bonds in the bacterial cell wall, resulting in the death of the bacteria within seconds after contact. Through evolutionary selection of the phage progeny to be released and spread, these lysins target different critical components in the cell wall, making resistance to these molecules orders of magnitude less likely than conventional antibiotics. Such properties make lysins uniquely suitable for the treatment of multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens. Lysins, either naturally occurring or engineered, have the potential of being developed into fast-acting, narrow-spectrum, biofilm-disrupting antimicrobials that act synergistically with standard of care antibiotics.
  • 1.4K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Quantitative Electroencephalogram
Over many decades, clinical, systemic, and cognitive neuroscience have produced a large and diverse body of evidence for the potential utility of brain activity (measured by electroencephalogram—EEG) for neurology and psychiatry. These data are enormous and essential information often gets buried, leaving many researchers stuck with outdated paradigms.
  • 1.4K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Toxicity of meta-Tyrosine
meta-Tyrosine (m-Tyr) is a non-proteinogenic isomer of p-tyrosine (Tyr) and is an antimetabolite of proteinogenic amino acid phenylalanine (Phe). This compound can be found in animal and plant cells.
  • 1.4K
  • 02 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Mitostasis
Mitostasis refers the mitochondrial dynamics of fusion and fission depending on the cell requirements. Mitostasis also involves mitochondrial traficking and anchoring as need to maintain a functional pool of mitochondria.
  • 1.4K
  • 19 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Hematological Analysis in Fish Toxicology
Hematological analysis is commonly used to assess the physiological state of fish. It includes red blood cell parameters, white blood cell parameters, and the number of thrombocytes per blood volume unit. Hematological analysis is one of the basic tools (often accompanied by biochemical and histopathological analyses) to assess the influence of organic and inorganic substances on fish. It is, therefore, applicable in both ecotoxicology and pharmacotoxicology. 
  • 1.4K
  • 30 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Sigma-1 Receptor
The sigma-1 receptor (S1R) is a 223 amino acid-long transmembrane endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein. The S1R modulates the activity of multiple effector proteins, but its signaling functions are poorly understood. S1R is associated with cholesterol, and in our recent studies we demonstrated that S1R association with cholesterol induces the formation of S1R clusters.
  • 1.4K
  • 13 May 2021
Topic Review
Traditional Management of Cancer
Cancer, a generic term for a large group of diseases, may affect any part of the body. It is one of the world’s most horrifying diseases triggered by uncontrolled cellular proliferation. The development and progression of cancer are caused by an oncogene, the tumor suppressor gene (TSG), and alterations of the microRNA gene.
  • 1.4K
  • 10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Effects of Microbial Feed Additives on Ornamental Fish
Trade of ornamental fish has significantly increased. A rise in demand was observed, especially from top importing countries that contributed majorly to the growth of the market. Thus, there is a need to improve ornamental fish aquaculture, increasing the number of cultured species and limiting wild fish handling and transport stress losses. The use of microbial feed additives such as probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics, could help in improving the immune system and growth as well as increasing reproductive performance in captivity-bred species.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 May 2023
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