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Topic Review
Marine-derived 1,3-Oxazole-Containing Alkaloids
1,3-Oxazole compounds are a unique class of five-membered monocyclic heteroarenes, containing a nitrogen atom and an oxygen. These alkaloids have attracted extensive attention from medicinal chemists and pharmacologists owing to their diverse arrays of chemical structures and biological activities, and a series of 1,3-oxazole derivatives has been developed into therapeutic agents, such as almoxatone, befloxatone, cabotegravir, delpazolid, fenpipalone, haloxazolam, inavolisib. 
  • 913
  • 29 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Intrahepatic Lymphatic System in Liver Cancer Prognosis
The prognostic impact of intrahepatic lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) in liver cancer has rarely been reported. Researchers sought to clarify the prognostic impact of intrahepatic lymphatic system involvement in liver cancer. Tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis reportedly correlates with prognosis after hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) resection. A meta-analysis showed that overall survival was poorer in patients with positive LVI than with negative LVI after resection of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and colorectal liver metastasis. Lymphangiogenesis was also reported to predict unfavorable prognosis in ICC. A few reports showed correlations between LVI/lymphangiogenesis and LNM in liver cancer. LVI and lymphangiogenesis showed worse prognostic impacts for liver cancer than their absence, but further study is needed.
  • 909
  • 25 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Fas/CD95 Signaling Pathway in Damage-Associated Molecular Pattern-Sensing Receptors
Study of the initial steps of the CD95-mediated signaling pathways is a field of intense research and a long list of actors has been described in the literature. Nonetheless, the dynamism of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) occurring in the presence or absence of its natural ligand, CD95L, and the cellular distribution where these PPIs take place render it difficult to predict what will be the cellular outcome associated with the receptor engagement. Accordingly, CD95 stimulation can trigger apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, or pro-inflammatory signaling pathways such as nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K). Recent data suggest that CD95 can also activate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) known to sense damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) such as DNA debris and dead cells. This activation might contribute to the pro-inflammatory role of CD95 and favor cancer development or severity of chronic inflammatory and auto-immune disorders.
  • 908
  • 22 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Leukocytes in Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis in characterized by pulmonary bacterial colonization and hyperinflammation. Lymphocytes, monocytes/macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells of patients with CF express functional CFTR and are directly affected by altered CFTR expression/function, impairing their ability to resolve infections and inflammation. However, the mechanism behind and the contribution of leukocytes in the pathogenesis of CF are still poorly characterized. 
  • 903
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Selected African Medicinal Plants against Multi-Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Antimicrobial resistance is considered a “One-Health” problem, impacting humans, animals, and the environment. The problem of the rapid development and spread of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics is a rising global health threat affecting both rich and poor nations. Low- and middle-income countries are at highest risk, in part due to the lack of innovative research on the surveillance and discovery of novel therapeutic options. Fast and effective drug discovery is crucial towards combatting antimicrobial resistance and reducing the burden of infectious diseases. African medicinal plants have been used for millennia in folk medicine to cure many diseases and ailments. Over 10% of the Southern African vegetation is applied in traditional medicine, with over 15 species being partially or fully commercialized. These include the genera Euclea, Ficus, Aloe, Lippia. And Artemisia, amongst many others. Bioactive compounds from indigenous medicinal plants, alone or in combination with existing antimicrobials, offer promising solutions towards overcoming multi-drug resistance. Secondary metabolites have different mechanisms and modes of action against bacteria, such as the inhibition and disruption of cell wall synthesis; inhibition of DNA replication and ATP synthesis; inhibition of quorum sensing; inhibition of AHL or oligopeptide signal generation, broadcasting, and reception; inhibition of the formation of biofilm; disruption of pathogenicity activities; and generation of reactive oxygen species.
  • 903
  • 17 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara-Based Vaccines
Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is a promising viral vector for vaccine development. MVA is well studied and has been widely used for vaccination against smallpox in Germany. 
  • 902
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Gastrointestinal Problems in COVID-19 Patients
The gastrointestinal tract is the body’s largest interface between the host and the external environment. People infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at higher risk of microbiome alterations and severe diseases. Recent evidence has suggested that the pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms associated with gastrointestinal complicity in SARS-CoV-2 infection could be explained by the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) cell receptors.
  • 901
  • 05 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Eye Tracking Technology in Medicine
Eye tracking provides a quantitative measure of eye movements during different activities. We report the results from a bibliometric analysis to investigate trends in eye tracking research applied to the study of different medical conditions. We conducted a search on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) database and analyzed the dataset of 2456 retrieved articles using VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix R package. The most represented area was psychiatry (503, 20.5%) followed by neuroscience (465, 18.9%) and psychology developmental (337, 13.7%). The annual scientific production growth was 11.14% and showed exponential growth with three main peaks in 2011, 2015 and 2017. Extensive collaboration networks were identified between the three countries with the highest scientific production, the USA (35.3%), the UK (9.5%) and Germany (7.3%). Based on term co-occurrence maps and analyses of sources of articles, we identified autism spectrum disorders as the most investigated condition and conducted specific analyses on 638 articles related to this topic which showed an annual scientific production growth of 16.52%. The majority of studies focused on autism used eye tracking to investigate gaze patterns with regards to stimuli related to social interaction. Our analysis highlights the widespread and increasing use of eye tracking in the study of different neurological and psychiatric conditions. 
  • 900
  • 14 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Heterogeneity Sources in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a slowly progressing disease, beginning with isolated liver steatosis that evolves in a subset of patients to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It was recently proposed to redefine NAFLD to metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in which other known causes of liver disease such as alcohol consumption or viral hepatitis do not need to be excluded. Revised nomenclature envisions speeding up and facilitating anti-MAFLD drug development by means of patient stratification whereby each subgroup would benefit from distinct pharmacological interventions. 
  • 900
  • 24 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Electrochemical Microsensors for Ascorbic Acid Determination
Micro-sized sensors have become a hot topic in electroanalysis. Because of their excellent analytical features, microelectrodes are well-accepted tools for clinical, pharmaceutical, food safety, and environmental applications. Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring water-soluble organic compound with antioxidant properties and its quantitative determination in biological fluids, foods, cosmetics, etc. using electrochemical microsensors is of wide interest. Various electrochemical techniques have been applied to detect ascorbic acid with extremely high sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility and reliability, and apply to in vivo measurements.
  • 900
  • 04 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Simple Models of Pulmonary Artifacts
Nowadays, the diagnostic value of the artefactual information provided by lung ultrasound images is widely recognized by physicians. In particular, the existence of a correlation between the visual characteristics of the vertical artifacts, which arise from the pleura line, and the genesis (pneumogenic or cardiogenic) of a pulmonary disorder is commonly accepted. However, the link between these visual characteristics and the causes which determine them is still unclear. In order to derive further information from the visual inspection of the vertical artifacts the mechanisms which control the artifact formation must be identified. The link between the visual characteristics of the vertical artifacts (the observed effect) and the distribution of the aerated spaces at the pleural level (the cause) must be addressed. Plausible mechanisms should be illustrated through experimental results and through the theoretical analysis of simple models.
  • 899
  • 27 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Pharmacological Effects of Insects of the Family Blattidae
The insects of the family Blattidae have a long history of medicinal application, and some studies have demonstrated their antitumor, tissue repair, antibacterial, antiviral, and other pharmacological effects. The family Blattidae belongs to Arthropoda, Insecta, Pterygota, Blattariae in entomological taxonomy, which has existed on the earth for 320 million years. The species is extremely widely distributed throughout the world and can be found almost anywhere except the poles due to its high reproductive potential and adaptability. This family is well known for its role as a sanitary pest throughout the world.
  • 899
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
COVID-19 Oral Particulate Vaccine
Particulate vaccines can be administered as either oral solutions or in sublingual or buccal film dosage forms. Besides improved patient compliance, the major advantage of oral, sublingual, and buccal routes of administration is that they can elicit mucosal immunity. Mucosal immunity, along with systemic immunity, can be a strong defense against SARS-CoV-2 as the virus enters the system through inhalation or saliva.
  • 898
  • 20 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Antioxidant Intervention and Aging Brain
Both physiological and pathological aging processes induce brain alterations especially affecting the speed of processing, working memory, conceptual reasoning and executive functions. As aging is partly contributed by free radical reactions, it has been proposed that exogenous antioxidants could have a positive impact on both aging and its associated manifestations.
  • 898
  • 03 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Electrospun Coaxial Fibers
Electrospinning is a common method for fabricating drug-loaded fibers. The working fluid is gradually stretched into elongated solid fibers with the help of electrostatic force. Due to the influence of polymers, solvents, and other external conditions, the diameter of fibers usually varies from tens of nanometers to several micrometers. During this process, the drug is immobilized on the homogeneous fiber without destroying its own active molecular structure. Electrospun fibers have several advantages over other drug delivery systems. The high specific surface area of ​​fibers facilitates drug dissolution. The desired drug dissolution process can be tailored according to the composition and structure of the fibers, thereby manipulating the controlled dissolution of the drug.
  • 897
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Biomarkers of Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a disorder that impairs the formation of the relationship between mother and child, and reduces the quality of life for affected women to a functionally significant degree. Studying markers associated with PPD can help in early detection, prevention, or monitoring treatment. 
  • 897
  • 13 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Gut Dysbiosis and Diabetic Foot Ulcer
Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a multifactorial disease and one of the complications of diabetes. The global burden of DFU in the health sector is increasing at a tremendous rate due to its cost management related to hospitalization, medical costs and foot amputation. Hence, to manage DFU/DWs, various attempts have been made, including treating wounds systematically/topically using synthetic drugs, herbal drugs, or tissue engineering based surgical dressings. However, less attention has been paid to the intrinsic factors that are also the leading cause of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. One such factor is gut dysbiosis, which is one of the major causes of enhancing the counts of Gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria produce lipopolysaccharides, which are a major contributing factor toward insulin resistance and inflammation due to the generation of oxidative stress and immunopathy.
  • 894
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Cancer Prevalence in Sphingolipid Storage Disorders
Sphingolipidoses are a subgroup of rare inherited disorders of lipid metabolism, most often due to a lysosomal enzymatic defect affecting sphingolipid catabolism. They are characterized by the accumulation of sphingolipids and their deacylated derivatives, called lysosphingolipids.
  • 892
  • 25 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Vulnerabilities That Spread Systemically to Cause Complications
COVID-19 and long COVID-19 vulnerabilities may be caused indirectly by albumin binding deficiency (ABD), which can be corrected by the correct administration of human serum albumin(HSA). The liver is the primary site of nutrient regulation and fluid volume maintenance; control of both is by changes to albumin concentration. In healthy subjects, the HSA lymphatic nutrient pump(HSALNP) ensures continual pumping of nutrients from the liver and that nutrients are appropriately distributed to organs. Nutrients are delivered to cells according to the availability of binding to HSA.The HSALNP, therefore, maintains the correct nutrient and colloidal pressure balance in all tissues independently. In unhealthy tissues, following COVID-19 infection, the passage of HSA/nutrients through the interstitial spaces and lymph will be impeded. Fluid therapy into the periphery leads to the dilution of essential nutrients attached to the protein carriers such as albumin. The levels of albumin being charged by the liver with nutrients is critical in maintaining immune stability by maintaining nutrient support and colloidal pressure of the cellular structures. The site of HSA binding by the liver is of great importance, and direct infusion of albumin into the hepatic portal vein is the most appropriate method of maintaining colloid pressure and cellular nutrient levels.
  • 888
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Astrocyte Mitochondrial Melatonergic Pathway in Depression Pathophysiology
Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been conceptualized in a wide array of diverse frames of reference over the millennia, including cognitive, psychoanalytic and biological, with a wide array of treatments thereby derived, usually with little more efficacy than placebo. The clinical relevance of this is highlighted by the data showing the high lifetime prevalence of MDD (15–40%), especially as fewer than 50% of MDD patients show full remission from management with current antidepressants. This is further confounded by the data indicating that over 30% of MDD patients show no treatment response, often classed as suffering from treatment-resistant depression. This can have dire consequences given the percentages of people with severe MDD across all age groups that attempt or commit suicide. Here, wide bodies of previously disparate data on MDD pathophysiology are integrated, indicating a significant role for systemic processes, including the gut microbiome/permeability, immunity and platelets, in driving alterations in astrocyte mitochondrial function, leading to changes in neuronal activity, transmitter release and inter-area neuronal communication. Alterations in the interactions of the gut microbiome and amygdala in driving changes in affective regulation of patterned neuronal activity are an important aspect of MDD pathophysiology, with many of these changes arising from alterations in astrocyte mitochondrial function, including from intercellular and systemic processes driving changes in the astrocyte mitochondrial melatonergic pathway. This has significant future research and treatment implications for this common, but still poorly conceptualized condition, with pathophysiological implications as to how MDD interacts with a host of other medical conditions.  
  • 888
  • 09 Jan 2023
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