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Topic Review
Pragmatic Language Impairment
Pragmatic language impairment (PLI), or social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SCD), is an impairment in understanding pragmatic aspects of language. This type of impairment was previously called semantic-pragmatic disorder (SPD). People with these impairments have special challenges with the semantic aspect of language (the meaning of what is being said) and the pragmatics of language (using language appropriately in social situations). It is assumed that those with autism have difficulty with "the meaning of what is being said" due to different ways of responding to social situations. PLI is now a diagnosis in DSM-5, and is called social (pragmatic) communication disorder. Communication problems are also part of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, the latter also show a restricted pattern of behavior, according to behavioral psychology. The diagnosis SCD can only be given if ASD has been ruled out.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Acute Myocardial Infarction in COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has quickly become a worldwide health crisis. Although respiratory disease remains the main cause of morbidity and mortality in COVID patients, myocardial damage is a common finding. Many possible biological pathways may explain the relationship between COVID-19 and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Increased immune and inflammatory responses, and procoagulant profile have characterized COVID patients. All these responses may induce endothelial dysfunction, myocardial injury, plaque instability, and AMI. Disease severity and mortality are increased by cardiovascular comorbidities. However, a marked fall in AMI admissions has been observed during lockdown, likely due, almost in part, to fear of in-hospital infection. Thus, attention should be also directed to psychological distress and fear, as COVID19 indirect effects on no-COVID diseases can be more harmful than the infection itself.
  • 1.3K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Cutaneous Reactions to Antidiabetic Agents
Diabetes is a common and complex disease affecting multiple organ systems throughout the body. With a consensus in care guidelines emphasizing the importance of glycemic control in determining the disease progression, people with diabetes worldwide have been placed on medication regimens targeting glucose stability from a variety of pathophysiologic pathways. Each of these medications also possesses its own potential for adverse events. 
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Effects of Stress on Memory
The effects of stress on memory include interference with a person's capacity to encode memory and the ability to retrieve information. During times of stress, the body reacts by secreting stress hormones into the bloodstream. Stress can cause acute and chronic changes in certain brain areas which can cause long-term damage. Over-secretion of stress hormones most frequently impairs long-term delayed recall memory, but can enhance short-term, immediate recall memory. This enhancement is particularly relative in emotional memory. In particular, the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and the amygdala are affected. One class of stress hormone responsible for negatively affecting long-term, delayed recall memory is the glucocorticoids (GCs), the most notable of which is cortisol. Glucocorticoids facilitate and impair the actions of stress in the brain memory process. Cortisol is a known biomarker for stress. Under normal circumstances, the hippocampus regulates the production of cortisol through negative feedback because it has many receptors that are sensitive to these stress hormones. However, an excess of cortisol can impair the ability of the hippocampus to both encode and recall memories. These stress hormones are also hindering the hippocampus from receiving enough energy by diverting glucose levels to surrounding muscles. Stress affects many memory functions and cognitive functioning of the brain. There are different levels of stress and the high levels can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic stress level is triggered by a cognitive challenge whereas extrinsic can be triggered by a condition not related to a cognitive task. Intrinsic stress can be acutely and chronically experienced by a person. The varying effects of stress on performance or stress hormones are often compared to or known as "inverted-u" which induce areas in learning, memory and plasticity. Chronic stress can affect the brain structure and cognition. Studies considered the effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic stress on memory functions, using for both of them Pavlovian conditioning and spatial learning. In regard to intrinsic memory functions, the study evaluated how stress affected memory functions that was triggered by a learning challenge. In regard to extrinsic stress, the study focused on stress that was not related to cognitive task but was elicited by other situations. The results determined that intrinsic stress was facilitated by memory consolidation process and extrinsic stress was determined to be heterogeneous in regard to memory consolidation.[clarification needed] Researchers found that high stress conditions were a good representative of the effect that extrinsic stress can cause on memory functioning.[clarification needed] It was also proven that extrinsic stress does affect spatial learning whereas acute extrinsic stress does not.[clarification needed]
  • 1.3K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Adjustment Disorder
Adjustment disorder (AjD) is a mental and behavioral disorder, which is a maladaptive response to a psychosocial stressor that occurs when an individual has significant difficulty adjusting to or coping with a stressful psychosocial event. The maladaptive response usually involves otherwise normal emotional and behavioral reactions that manifest more intensely than usual (taking into account contextual and cultural factors), causing marked distress, preoccupation with the stressor and its consequences, and functional impairment. Diagnosis of AjD is quite common; there is an estimated incidence of 5–21% among psychiatric consultation services for adults. Adult women are diagnosed twice as often as are adult men. Among children and adolescents, girls and boys are equally likely to receive this diagnosis.:681 AjD was introduced into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980. Prior to that, it was called "transient situational disturbance."
  • 1.3K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Oxidative Stress in CKD
Oxidative stress is important in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Many pathways and molecules are involved in the induction of oxidative stress in DN. The identification of biomarkers of oxidative stress contibutes to our understanding of development and progression of DN towards end-stage reanal disease.
  • 1.3K
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Tissue Chips and Microphysiological Systems
Tissue Chips (TCs) and Microphysiological Systems (MPSs) that incorporate human cells are novel platforms to model disease and screen drugs and provide an alternative to traditional animal studies. This review highlights the basic definitions of TCs and MPSs, examines four major organs/tissues, identifies critical parameters for organization and function (tissue organization, blood flow, and physical stresses), reviews current microfluidic approaches to recreate tissues, and discusses current shortcomings and future directions for the development and application of these technologies. The organs emphasized are those involved in the metabolism or excretion of drugs (hepatic and renal systems) and organs sensitive to drug toxicity (cardiovascular system). This article examines the microfluidic/microfabrication approaches for each organ individually and identifies specific examples of TCs. This review will provide an excellent starting point for understanding, designing, and constructing novel TCs for possible integration within MPS.
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Brain Natriuretic Peptide
Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), also known as B-type natriuretic peptide, is a hormone secreted by cardiomyocytes in the heart ventricles in response to stretching caused by increased ventricular blood volume. BNP is named as such because it was originally identified in extracts of pig brain. The 32-amino acid polypeptide BNP is secreted attached to a 76–amino acid N-terminal fragment in the prohormone called NT-proBNP (BNPT), which is biologically inactive. Once released, BNP binds to and activates the atrial natriuretic factor receptor NPRA, and to a lesser extent NPRB, in a fashion similar to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) but with 10-fold lower affinity. The biological half-life of BNP, however, is twice as long as that of ANP, and that of NT-proBNP is even longer, making these peptides better targets than ANP for diagnostic blood testing. The physiologic actions of BNP are similar to those of ANP and include decrease in systemic vascular resistance and central venous pressure as well as an increase in natriuresis. The net effect of these peptides is a decrease in blood pressure due to the decrease in systemic vascular resistance and, thus, afterload. Additionally, the actions of both BNP and ANP result in a decrease in cardiac output due to an overall decrease in central venous pressure and preload as a result of the reduction in blood volume that follows natriuresis and diuresis.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Hemagglutinin (Influenza)
Influenza hemagglutinin (HA) or haemagglutinin[p] (British English) is a glycoprotein found on the surface of influenza viruses. Being a class I fusion protein, it is responsible for binding the virus to cells with sialic acid on the membranes, such as cells in the upper respiratory tract or erythrocytes. It is also responsible for the fusion of the viral envelope with the endosome membrane, after the pH has been reduced. The name "hemagglutinin" comes from the protein's ability to cause red blood cells (erythrocytes) to clump together ("agglutinate") in vitro.
  • 1.3K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
EAPCRN
The East Asian Primary Care Research Network (EAPCRN), initially proposed by Professor Jae-Ho Lee who is the Chairman of the Korean Primary Care Research Group, was officially established during the 22nd World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) World Conference – "Primary Care in the Future: Professional Excellence" during 17-21 October 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. The EAPCRN inauguration seminar at WONCA Seoul 2018 was convened by Jae-Ho Lee (Korean Primary Care Research Group; The Catholic University of Korea) and co-convened by Harry H.X. Wang (Sun Yat-Sen University), Takuya Aoki (Kyoto University), and Chyi-Feng Jan (National Taiwan University).
  • 1.3K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Inflammation in TGFβ-Dependent EMT
Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex cellular program known to be a crucial driver in the context of embryonic development, wound healing and tumour progression.
  • 1.3K
  • 03 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Burn Size Assessment
In burn medicine, the percentage of the burned body surface area (TBSA-B) to the total body surface area (TBSA) is a crucial parameter to ensure adequate treatment and therapy. Inaccurate estimations of the burn extent can lead to wrong medical decisions resulting in considerable consequences for patients. These include, for instance, over-resuscitation, complications due to fluid aggregation from burn edema, or non-optimal distribution of patients. Due to the frequent inaccurate TBSA-B estimation in practice, objective methods allowing for precise assessments are required. 
  • 1.3K
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
MT1-MMP in Cancer Progression
For over 20 years, membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) has been recognized as a key component in cancer progression. Initially, the primary roles assigned to MT1-MMP were the activation of proMMP-2 and degradation of fibrillar collagen. Proteomics has revealed a great array of MT1-MMP substrates, and MT1-MMP selective inhibitors have allowed for a more complete mapping of MT1-MMP biological functions. MT1-MMP has extensive sheddase activities, is both a positive and negative regulator of angiogenesis, can act intracellularly and as a transcription factor, and modulates immune responses. We presently examine the multi-faceted role of MT1-MMP in cancer, with a consideration of how the diversity of MT1-MMP behaviors impacts the application of MT1-MMP inhibitors.
  • 1.3K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Multidrug Resistance
Multidrug resistance (MDR) transporters belonging to either the ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) or Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) groups are major determinants of clinical drug resistance in fungi. The overproduction of these proteins enables the extrusion of incoming drugs at rates that prevent lethal effects. The promiscuity of these proteins is intriguing because they export a wide range of structurally unrelated molecules. Research in the last two decades has used multiple approaches to dissect the molecular basis of the polyspecificity of multidrug transporters. With large numbers of drug transporters potentially involved in clinical drug resistance in pathogenic yeasts, this review focuses on the drug transporters of the important pathogen Candida albicans. This organism harbors many such proteins, several of which have been shown to actively export antifungal drugs. Of these, the ABC protein CaCdr1 and the MFS protein CaMdr1 are the two most prominent and have thus been subjected to intense site-directed mutagenesis and suppressor genetics-based analysis. Numerous results point to a common theme underlying the strategy of promiscuity adopted by both CaCdr1 and CaMdr1. 
  • 1.3K
  • 03 Feb 2021
Topic Review
CRAFFT Screening Test
The CRAFFT Screening Test is a short clinical assessment tool designed to screen for substance-related risks and problems in adolescents. CRAFFT stands for the key words of the 6 items in the second section of the assessment - Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble. As of 2016, an updated version of the CRAFFT known as the “CRAFFT 2.0” has been released. The older version of the questionnaire contains 9 items in total, answered in a "yes" or "no" format. The first three items (Part A) evaluate alcohol and drug use over the past year and the other six (Part B) ask about situations in which the respondent used drugs or alcohol and any consequences of the usage. The CRAFFT 2.0 screening tool begins with past-12-month frequency items (Part A), rather than the previous “yes/no” question for any use over the past year and the other six (Part B) ask about situations in which the respondent used drugs or alcohol and any consequences of usage. The CRAFFT can function as a self-report questionnaire or an interview to be administered by a clinician. Both employ a skip pattern: those whose Part A score is "0" (no use) answer the Car question only of Part B, while those who report any use in Part A also answer Part B's five CRAFFT questions. Each "yes" answer is scored as "1" point and a CRAFFT total score of two or higher identifies "high risk" for a substance use disorder and warrants further assessment.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Thymoma Classification
Thymomas are considered one of the most prevalent types of mediastinal epithelial tumors, which frequently develop in the anterior mediastinum.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Pathophysiological Perspective of Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most well-known disease among the geriatric and the main cause of significant disability in daily living. It has a multifactorial aetiology and characterized by pathological changes of knee joint structure including cartilage erosion, synovial inflammation and subchondral sclerosis with osteophyte formation. To date, no efficient treatment is capable of altering the pathological progression of OA. This topic described significant mediators such as cytokines, proteolytic enzymes, and nitric oxide, that trigger the loss of the normal homeostasis and structural changes in the articular cartilage during the progression of OA.
  • 1.3K
  • 02 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Dual-Energy Computed Tomography of Liver
Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) is an imaging technique based on data acquisition at two different energy settings. Recent advances in CT have allowed data acquisitions and simultaneous analyses of X-rays at two energy levels, and have resulted in novel developments in the field of abdominal imaging. The use of low and high X-ray tube voltages in DECT provide fused images that improve the detection of liver tumors owing to the higher contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the tumor compared with the liver. The use of contrast agents in CT scanning improves image quality by enhancing the CNR and signal-to-noise ratio while reducing beam-hardening artifacts. DECT can improve detection and characterization of hepatic abnormalities, including mass lesions. The technique can also be used for the diagnosis of steatosis and iron overload.
  • 1.3K
  • 12 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Muscle-Related Plectinopathies
Plectin is a giant cytoskeletal crosslinker and intermediate filament stabilizing protein. Mutations in the human plectin gene (PLEC) cause several rare diseases that are grouped under the term plectinopathies. The most common disorder is autosomal recessive disease epidermolysis bullosa simplex with muscular dystrophy (EBS-MD), which is characterized by skin blistering and progressive muscle weakness. Besides EBS-MD, PLEC mutations lead to EBS with nail dystrophy, EBS-MD with a myasthenic syndrome, EBS with pyloric atresia, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type R17, or EBS-Ogna.
  • 1.3K
  • 08 Apr 2022
Topic Review
TKS4 and TKS5 Scaffold Proteins
Scaffold proteins are typically thought of as multi-domain “bridging molecules.” They serve as crucial regulators of key signaling events by simultaneously binding multiple participants involved in specific signaling pathways. In the case of epidermal growth factor (EGF)-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) binding, the activated EGFR contacts cytosolic SRC tyrosine-kinase, which then becomes activated. This process leads to the phosphorylation of SRC-substrates, including the tyrosine kinase substrates (TKS) scaffold proteins. The TKS proteins serve as a platform for the recruitment of key players in EGFR signal transduction, promoting cell spreading and migration. The TKS4 and the TKS5 scaffold proteins are tyrosine kinase substrates with four or five SH3 domains, respectively. Their structural features allow them to recruit and bind a variety of signaling proteins and to anchor them to the cytoplasmic surface of the cell membrane. TKS4 and TKS5 had been recognized for their involvement in cellular motility, reactive oxygen species-dependent processes, and embryonic development. Furthermore, TKS4 has also been implicated in the regulation of homeostasis of mature adipose and bone tissue.
  • 1.3K
  • 19 Jan 2021
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