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Topic Review
Gut-Brain Axis in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex behavioral syndrome that is characterized by speech and language disorders, intellectual impairment, learning and motor dysfunctions. Several genetic and environmental factors are suspected to affect the ASD phenotype including air pollution, exposure to pesticides, maternal infections, inflammatory conditions, dietary factors or consumption of antibiotics during pregnancy.  Many children with ASD shows abnormalities in gastrointestinal (GI) physiology, including increased intestinal permeability, overall microbiota alterations, and gut infection. Moreover, they are “picky eaters” and the existence of specific sensory patterns in ASD patients could represent one of the main aspects in hampering feeding. GI disorders are associated with an altered composition of the gut microbiota. Gut microbiome is able to communicate with brain activities through microbiota-derived signaling molecules, immune mediators, gut hormones as well as vagal and spinal afferent neurons. Since the diet induces changes in the intestinal microbiota and in the production of molecules, such as the SCFA, we wanted to investigate the role that nutritional intervention can have on GI microbiota composition and thus on its influence on behavior, GI symptoms and microbiota composition and report which are the beneficial effect on ASD condition.
  • 1.4K
  • 23 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Pandemrix
Pandemrix is an influenza vaccine for influenza pandemics, such as the 2009 flu pandemic. The vaccine was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and patented in September 2006. The vaccine was one of the H1N1 vaccines approved for use by the European Commission in September 2009, upon the recommendations of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The vaccine is only approved for use when an H1N1 influenza pandemic has been officially declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) or European Union (EU). The vaccine was initially developed as a pandemic mock-up vaccine using an H5N1 strain. Pandemrix was found to be associated with an increased risk of narcolepsy following investigations by Swedish and Finnish health authorities and had higher rates of adverse events than other vaccines for H1N1. This resulted in several legal cases. Stanford University studies suggested that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease and that it appears to be triggered by upper airway respiratory infections.
  • 1.4K
  • 06 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Resuscitation of Viable but Nonculturable Bacteria
The viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state is a survival strategy for bacteria when encountered with unfavorable conditions. Under favorable environments such as nutrient supplementation, external stress elimination, or supplementation with resuscitation-promoting substances, bacteria will recover from the VBNC state, which is termed “resuscitation”.
  • 1.4K
  • 03 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Peptides Synergy with Vancomycin
There is an urgent and imminent need to develop new antimicrobials to fight against antibiotic-resistant bacterial and fungal strains. In this study, a checkerboard method was used to evaluate the synergistic effects of the antimicrobial peptide P-113 and its bulky non-nature amino acid substituted derivatives with vancomycin against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, and wild-type Escherichia coli. Boron-dipyrro-methene (BODIPY) labeled vancomycin was used to characterize the interactions between the peptides, vancomycin, and bacterial strains. Moreover, neutralization of antibiotic-induced releasing of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. coli by the peptides was obtained. Among these peptides, Bip-P-113 demonstrated the best minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs), antibiotics synergism, bacterial membrane permeabilization, and supernatant LPS neutralizing activities against the bacteria studied. These results could help in developing antimicrobial peptides that have synergistic activity with large size glycopeptides such as vancomycin in therapeutic applications.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Host Defense and Pathogenesis in Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a versatile pathogen known to cause hospital- and community-acquired, foodborne, and zoonotic infections. As a multi-faceted pathogen, it is essential to consolidate the knowledge on its pathogenesis, including the mechanisms of virulence regulation, development of antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation, to make it more amenable to classical and novel therapeutic strategies such as those based on nanomaterials.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Fermentative Foods
Fermented foods identify cultures and civilizations. History, climate and the particulars of local production of raw materials have urged humanity to exploit various pathways of fermentation to produce a wide variety of traditional edible products which represent adaptations to specific conditions.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Genital Tract Microbiome of Cattle
The term microbiota refers to the entire population of microorganisms that colonizes a particular location and includes not just bacteria, but also other microbes such as fungi, archaea, viruses, and protozoans. Cows have bacteria inhabiting the uterus even before calving and establish a unique endometrial microbiome within 20 min of calving where the microbiome is similar between cows that develop metritis and cows without endometritis until at least the second day postpartum.
  • 1.4K
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Quorum-Sensing Inhibitors from Probiotics
Experience-based knowledge has shown that bacteria can communicate with each other through a cell-density-dependent mechanism called quorum sensing (QS). QS controls specific bacterial phenotypes, such as sporulation, virulence and pathogenesis, the production of degrading enzymes, bioluminescence, swarming motility, and biofilm formation. The expression of these phenotypes in food spoiling and pathogenic bacteria, which may occur in food, can have dramatic consequences on food production, the economy, and health.
  • 1.4K
  • 23 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities
The Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities are self-supporting assemblages of phototrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms, including bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta and both free-living and lichen-forming fungi. These are among the most stress-resistant organisms known to date, constantly living to the edge of their physiological adaptability.
  • 1.4K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Resistance of VBNC Bacteria
 Antimicrobial Resistance of VBNC Bacteria means the bacteria that enter the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, either through unfavorable environmental conditions or through potentially lethal stress, lose their ability to grow on standard enrichment media, but show a drastically increased tolerance against antimicrobials including antibiotics.
  • 1.4K
  • 16 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Prebiotics for Pregnancy and Its Complications
The term “prebiotics” was first coined by professors Emeritus Marcel Roberfroid and Glenn Gibson in a 1995 publication, where they explained the selective growth of colonic bifidobacterials boosted by the intact fibrous oligosaccharide inulin. They explained prebiotics as “nondigestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacterial species already resident in the colon, and thus attempt to improve host health”.
  • 1.4K
  • 22 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Bacterial Laccases as Biocatalysts for Environmental Toxic Pollutants
Laccases are the potential enzymes for oxidoreductases (a broad group of enzymes that catalyze electron transfers from one molecule to another), which are widely distributed in nature in plants, bacteria, fungi, and insects. They are suitable for green catalysis, organic synthesis, and the biodegradation of environmental xenobiotics due to their high efficiency and sustainable applications. A wide variety of organic compounds can be oxidized by laccase, and they can be widely applied in the biodegradation of pollutants for detoxification of environments, such as delignification and pulp-bleaching, treatment of textile dyes, wastewater treatment, and treatment of other environmental xenobiotics.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
L. reuteri in Human Gut
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (L. reuteri) is a probiotic that can colonize different human body sites, including primarily the gastrointestinal tract, but also the urinary tract, the skin, and breast milk. Literature data showed that the administration of L. reuteri can be beneficial to human health. 
  • 1.4K
  • 13 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Amino-Acid Metabolism in Apicomplexan Parasites
The review covers the current knowledge on the presence of amino acid biosynthesis and uptake within the Apicomplexa phylum, focusing on human-infecting pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum. Given the complex multi-host lifecycle of these pathogens, we hypothesize that amino acids are made, rather than acquired, depending on the host niche. We summarize the stage-specificities of the biosynthesis enzymes, the role of amini acid transporters and the relevance of amino acids for parasite pathogenesis in vivo.
  • 1.4K
  • 12 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Beehive Products as Antibacterial Agents
Apitherapy is a branch of unconventional medicine that relies on the usage of bee products which consist of honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom (BV). Besides having high nutritional importance and health benefits, honey showed antifungal, antiviral, antiseptic, anticancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and cardio protective activities. As for the BV, despite its possible adverse effects like the allergic reactions that might occur after the bee sting, one cannot disregard its various therapeutic effects. BV exerts anticancer, antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial effects, it is also used for the treatment of many neurodegenerative diseases. Regarding propolis, it has the capacity to fight against cancer and many microorganisms. Moreover, pollen possesses antioxidant, anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory properties. Also, royal jelly exhibits several interesting biological activities including antioxidant, anti-aging, antitumor anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and neurotrophic activities. Hence, this review aims to highlight one of the most important and commonly shared biological activity of all of the above-mentioned beehive products, which is the antibacterial activity.
  • 1.4K
  • 12 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Lactococcus lactis
Gram-positive cocci known as Lactococcus are found solely in pairs or in chains. They are catalase-negative, and facultatively anaerobic L-lactic acid is the main byproduct of the fermentation of glucose during the glycolytic pathway of L. lactis.
  • 1.4K
  • 05 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Pathogenicity and Immunogenicity of Adenovirus
Adenovirus is formed of an icosahedral protein shell measuring 90 nm and harboring linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) that belongs to the genus Mastadenovirus of the Adenoviridae family. Most people have been infected by adenovirus, leading to lifelong immunity.
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Sustainable Development Goals in the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, close the gender gap, protect the planet, and improve the lives of people around the world. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 17 goals as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which sets out a plan to achieve the goals in 15 years. However, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has been a turning point in the achievement of these goals, due to all its consequences at the political, economic, and socio-cultural levels.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Herpes Simplex Type 1
Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus that infects the peripheral and central nervous systems. Primary infection takes place in epithelial cells and the virus is transmitted to new hosts via saliva. In this stage, HSV-1 typically causes labial and oral lesions. After primary infection in epithelial cells, HSV-1 spreads retrogradely to the peripheral nervous system (PNS), where it establishes a latent infection in the trigeminal ganglia (TG). The virus can reactivate from latency, traveling anterogradely along the axon and replicating in the local surrounding tissue. Occasionally, HSV-1 may spread trans-synaptically from the TG to the brainstem, from where it may disseminate to higher areas of the central nervous system (CNS). HSV-1 can cause severe pathologies such as encephalitis or keratoconjunctivitis. Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) mostly affects the frontal and temporal lobes and the limbic system. It is not completely understood how HSV-1 reaches the CNS, although the most accepted idea is retrograde transport through the trigeminal or olfactory tracts. Once in the CNS, HSV-1 may induce demyelination, either as a direct trigger or as a risk factor, modulating processes such as remyelination, regulation of endogenous retroviruses, or molecular mimicry.
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Avian Influenza
Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.[note 1] The type with the greatest risk is highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Bird flu is similar to swine flu, dog flu, horse flu and human flu as an illness caused by strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. Out of the three types of influenza viruses (A, B, and C), influenza A virus is a zoonotic infection with a natural reservoir almost entirely in birds. Avian influenza, for most purposes, refers to the influenza A virus. Though influenza A is adapted to birds, it can also stably adapt and sustain person-to-person transmission. Recent influenza research into the genes of the Spanish flu virus shows it to have genes adapted from both human and avian strains. Pigs can also be infected with human, avian, and swine influenza viruses, allowing for mixtures of genes (reassortment) to create a new virus, which can cause an antigenic shift to a new influenza A virus subtype which most people have little to no immune protection against. Avian influenza strains are divided into two types based on their pathogenicity: high pathogenicity (HP) or low pathogenicity (LP). The most well-known HPAI strain, H5N1, was first isolated from a farmed goose in Guangdong Province, China in 1996, and also has low pathogenic strains found in North America. Companion birds in captivity are unlikely to contract the virus and there has been no report of a companion bird with avian influenza since 2003. Pigeons can contract avian strains, but rarely become ill and are incapable of transmitting the virus efficiently to humans or other animals. Between early 2013 and early 2017, 916 lab-confirmed human cases of H7N9 were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). On 9 January 2017, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China reported to WHO 106 cases of H7N9 which occurred from late November through late December, including 35 deaths, 2 potential cases of human-to-human transmission, and 80 of these 106 persons stating that they have visited live poultry markets. The cases are reported from Jiangsu (52), Zhejiang (21), Anhui (14), Guangdong (14), Shanghai (2), Fujian (2) and Hunan (1). Similar sudden increases in the number of human cases of H7N9 have occurred in previous years during December and January.
  • 1.4K
  • 11 Nov 2022
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