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Topic Review
Modulation of the Nrf2 pathways
The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor that acts through antioxidant-responsive elements (ARE) in the promoter region of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and it transcriptionally promotes the expression of Phase 2 metabolism/antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione S-transferase (GST), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate)  (NAD(P)H) quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO-1), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1).  The Nrf2-mediated pathway is now recognized to occupy a central position in cell defense mechanisms. Here, we discuss the historical discovery of Nrf2 and the regulatory mechanism of the Nrf2-mediated pathway, focusing on the interacting proteins and post-translational modifications. 
  • 3.1K
  • 06 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Human–Environment Relationships: Culture and Pedagogy
Human culture can be regarded as the general context where the human–environment relationships take place and develop. Interestingly, studies on human culture and cultural evolution have been enriched with some novel perspectives that appear to dovetail with recent developments in evolutionary biology. All this allows a fresh and promising understanding of the fundamentals of human-environment interaction, according to which the environment can be shown to exert a pedagogical role for humanity, and humanity can be understood as a species modifying the environment to the aim of modifying itself.
  • 3.1K
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
1998–99 Ecuador Economic Crisis
The 1998–99 Ecuador economic crisis was a period of economic instability that resulted from a combined inflationary-currency crisis, financial crisis, fiscal crisis, and sovereign debt crisis. Severe inflation and devaluation of the Ecuadorian sucre lead to President Jamil Mahuad announcing on January 9, 2000 that the US dollar would be adopted as the national currency. Poor economic conditions and subsequent protests against the government resulted in the 2000 Ecuadoran coup d’état in which Jamil Mahuad was forced to resign and was replaced by his Vice President, Gustavo Noboa.
  • 3.1K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Helleborus
Commonly known as hellebores (/ˈhɛlɪbɔːrz/), the Eurasian genus Helleborus consists of approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. Despite names such as "winter rose", "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae). Many hellebore species are poisonous.
  • 3.1K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Natural products as Ras inhibitors
RAS genes encode signaling proteins, which, in mammalian cells, act as molecular switches regulating critical cellular processes as proliferation, growth, differentiation, survival, motility, and metabolism in response to specific stimuli. Deregulation of Ras functions has a high impact on human health: gain-of-function point mutations in RAS genes are found in some developmental disorders and thirty percent of all human cancers, including the deadliest. For this reason, the pathogenic Ras variants represent important clinical targets against which to develop novel, effective, and possibly selective pharmacological inhibitors.  Few druggable sites have been identified for wild type and some oncogenic Ras mutants, and few natural compounds able to attenuate Ras signaling have been identified so far. Natural products represent a virtually unlimited resource of structurally different compounds from which one could draw on for this purpose, given the improvements in the isolation and screening of active molecules from complex sources, which can now be exploited for the selection of potential Ras inhibitors from natural sources. 
  • 3.1K
  • 09 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Bentazone-Tolerant Soybean
Bentazone is an herbicide that selectively kills broadleaf weeds by inhibiting photosynthesis. It is widespread in soybean-cultivating areas including genetically modified organism (GMO) and GMO-free regions all around the world. This herbicide carries a double-edged sword since it can also incur damage to crops upon application. The challenge, therefore, lies in the deliberate selection of bentazone-tolerant cultivars.
  • 3.1K
  • 26 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Secondary Metabolite Production by Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria are naturally capable of producing valuable secondary metabolites through photosynthesis. These photosynthetic bacteria can be further improved via engineering to produce more in terms of diversity and yield. Recent advances in systems and synthetic biology approaches are being adopted in the cyanobacterial engineering field to push the industrial capabilities even further.
  • 3.1K
  • 11 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Drama Therapy
Drama therapy is the use of theatre techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote mental health. Drama therapy is used in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, mental health centers, prisons, and businesses. Drama therapy, as a modality of the creative arts therapies, exists in many forms and can apply to individuals, couples, families, and various groups.
  • 3.1K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Addressing, Assessing and Improving Water Security
Water security is about managing too much, too little and/or too polluted water. Water security is about the increasing importance of sustainable management of water resources, drinking water and human well-being and protection of life and property from water-related disasters. Water security is about the health of ecosystems and economic development.  A groundwork of this broad and multi-faceted concept is presented to facilitate understanding, measuring and improving water security. 
  • 3.1K
  • 25 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Wheat
Wheat is a valuable source of essential nutrients, providing carbohydrate-based energy and fiber, protein, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and iron. In low and medium-income countries, grain-based foods still make up the central part of the diet. The wheat seed can be ground into flour or semolina, for example, which form the essential ingredients of bread, pasta, noodles, and other food products, essentially the primary source of nutrients for most of the world population.
  • 3.1K
  • 21 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Medical Applications of Hybrid Hydrogels Containing Natural Polymers
Hybrid hydrogels definition is still debatable. They are defined either as a complex composed  chemically or physically cross-linking structures, or it refers to systems combining different polymers and/or with nanoparticles, such as plasmonic, magnetic, and carbonaceous nanoparticles, among others, or they are constituted by chemically, functionally, and morphologically distinct features from at least two different classes of molecules, which can include biologically active polymers as polysaccharides and/or proteins, peptides, or nano/microstructures, interconnected via physical or chemical means.
  • 3.1K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
The Importance of Capsules in Dry Powder Inhalers
Capsule-based dry powder inhalers (cDPI) use a hard capsule that contains a powder formulation which consists of a mixture of a micronized drug and a carrier usually the lactose, known for its good lung tolerance. The capsule is either inserted into the device during manufacturer or by the patient prior to use. After perforating, opening or cut the capsule in the device, patients take a deep and rapid breath to inhale the powder, using air as the vector of drug displacement. The system is simple, relatively cheap and characterized by a lower carbon footprint than that of pressurized metered dose inhalers. 
  • 3.1K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Gaseous and Liquid Fuel Cook-Stove
Clean and efficient cook-stoves and fuels are essential to address energy demand and ensure safe cooking for billions of people across the globe. Currently, nearly 2651 million people in developing countries (Africa—910 million, Asia—1674 million, Central and South America—57 million, and Middle East—10 million) are without clean cooking facilities.
  • 3.1K
  • 03 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Amino Acid
α-Amino acids find widespread applications in various areas of life and physical sciences. Their syntheses are carried out by a multitude of protocols, of which Petasis and Strecker reactions have emerged as the most straightforward and most widely used.
  • 3.1K
  • 04 Feb 2022
Topic Review
The Polyethylene Terephthalate
The chemical recycling of PET is reviewed, such as pyrolysis, hydrolysis, methanolysis, glycolysis, ionic-liquid, phase-transfer catalysis and combination of glycolysis–hydrolysis, glycolysis–methanolysis and methanolysis–hydrolysis. 
  • 3.1K
  • 08 May 2021
Topic Review
Adverse Possession
Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights",[lower-alpha 1] is a legal principle that applies when a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land (real property)—attempts to claim legal ownership based upon a history of possession or occupation of the land without the permission of its legal owner. In general, a property owner has the right to recover possession of their property from unauthorized possessors through legal action such as ejectment. However, in the English common law tradition, courts have long ruled that when someone occupies a piece of property without permission and the property's owner does not exercise their right to recover their property for a significant period of time, not only is the original owner prevented from exercising their right to exclude, but an entirely new title to the property springs up in the adverse possessor. In effect, the adverse possessor becomes the property's new owner.[lower-alpha 2] Over time, legislatures have created statutes of limitations that specify the length of time that owners have to recover possession of their property from adverse possessors. In the United States, for example, these time limits vary widely between individual states, ranging from as low as five years to as many as 40 years. Although the elements of an adverse possession action are different in every jurisdiction, a person claiming adverse possession is usually required to prove non-permissive use of the property that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, adverse, and continuous for the statutory period.[lower-alpha 3] Personal property, traditionally known as "chattel", may also be adversely possessed, but owing to the differences in the nature of real and chattel property, the rules governing such claims are rather more stringent, and favor the legal owner rather than the adverse possessor. Claims for adverse possession of chattel often involve works of art.
  • 3.1K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Universal Medicine
Universal Medicine (UniMed) (UM) is a socially harmful cult founded and led by Serge Benhayon, a former bankrupt tennis coach from New South Wales (NSW) Australia who has no medical qualifications. It sells "Esoteric healing" products, music, publications, workshops and courses. None of the healing modalities are evidence based or have been proven effective by scientific research. Uruguayan-born Benhayon founded the group in 1999 after receiving what he described as an "energetic impress" while on the toilet. A NSW Supreme Court jury found it was true to say that he leads a "socially dangerous" and "socially harmful cult", "intentionally indecently touched" clients and "is a charlatan who makes fraudulent medical claims". In a British court ruling, UM was found to be "a cult with some potentially harmful and sinister elements". The organisation and unregulated health service provider is principally located in Goonellabah and Wollongbar, near Lismore, NSW, Australia. Its European headquarters are known as "The Lighthouse" and is situated between Tytherington and Frome, Somerset, England. The signature treatments practised and taught by Universal Medicine are "esoteric breast massage", "esoteric healing", "ovarian readings", "chakra-puncture", "esoteric connective tissue therapy" and "esoteric ovary massage". All treatments were devised by non-registered health practitioner Serge Benhayon, who has claimed the business grosses at least AUD$2 million a year from courses and retreats. The followers of its doctrine "The Way of the Livingness" are known collectively as "The Student Body". "The Teachings" are classified into meditation, self-care, nutrition, exercise, music, reincarnation, psychological wellbeing and the esoteric, and are supported by audio, books, and online lectures. Serge Benhayon describes himself as a "seer", calls himself the "Ascended Master", and followers call him the "new Messiah". They also believe he "was the one sent from (the mythical kingdom of) Shambhala to awaken us all", is the only human to have achieved the "highest level of initiation" on earth and claim the NSW Supreme Court ruling against him is "totally untrue". In the British court ruling, the doctrine was said to be one of "erroneous and malign beliefs". While Benhayon has denied engaging in unethical practices, significant evidence to the contrary has been documented.
  • 3.1K
  • 30 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Forensic Toxicology
Forensic toxicology is the use of toxicology and disciplines such as analytical chemistry, pharmacology and clinical chemistry to aid medical or legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use. The primary concern for forensic toxicology is not the legal outcome of the toxicological investigation or the technology utilized, but rather the obtainment and interpretation of results. A toxicological analysis can be done to various kinds of samples. A forensic toxicologist must consider the context of an investigation, in particular any physical symptoms recorded, and any evidence collected at a crime scene that may narrow the search, such as pill bottles, powders, trace residue, and any available chemicals. Provided with this information and samples with which to work, the forensic toxicologist must determine which toxic substances are present, in what concentrations, and the probable effect of those chemicals on the person. In the United States, forensic toxicology can be separated into 3 disciplines: Postmortem toxicology, human performance toxicology, and forensic drug testing (FDT). Postmortem toxicology includes the analysis of biological specimens taken from an autopsy to identify the effect of drugs, alcohol, and poisons. A wide range of biological specimens may be analyzed including blood, urine, gastric contents, oral fluids, hair, tissues, and more. The forensic toxicologist works with pathologists, medical examiners, and coroners to help determine the cause and manner of death. In human performance toxicology, a dose-response relationship between a drug(s) present in the body and the effects on the body are examined. This field of forensic toxicology is responsible for building and implementing laws such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Lastly, forensic drug testing (FDT) is the detection of drug use among individuals in the workplace, sport doping, drug-related probation, and new job applicant screenings. Determining the substance ingested is often complicated by the body's natural processes (see ADME), as it is rare for a chemical to remain in its original form once in the body. For example: heroin is almost immediately metabolised into another substance and further to morphine, making detailed investigation into factors such as injection marks and chemical purity necessary to confirm diagnosis. The substance may also have been diluted by its dispersal through the body; while a pill or other regulated dose of a drug may have grams or milligrams of the active constituent, an individual sample under investigation may only contain micrograms or nanograms.
  • 3.1K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
GIS Applications
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data. GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results of all these operations. GIS (more commonly GIScience) sometimes refers to geographic information science (GIScience), the science underlying geographic concepts, applications, and systems. Since the mid-1980s, geographic information systems have become valuable tool used to support a variety of city and regional planning functions. GIS can refer to a number of different technologies, processes, techniques and methods. It is attached to many operations and has many applications related to engineering, planning, management, transport/logistics, insurance, telecommunications, and business. For that reason, GIS and location intelligence applications can be the foundation for many location-enabled services that rely on analysis and visualization. GIS can relate unrelated information by using location as the key index variable. Locations or extents in the Earth space–time may be recorded as dates/times of occurrence, and x, y, and z coordinates representing, longitude, latitude, and elevation, respectively. All Earth-based spatial–temporal location and extent references should be relatable to one another and ultimately to a "real" physical location or extent. This key characteristic of GIS has begun to open new avenues of scientific inquiry.
  • 3.1K
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Philo
Philo of Alexandria (/ˈfaɪloʊ/; Ancient Greek:; Hebrew: יְדִידְיָה הַכֹּהֵן‎, romanized: Yedidia (Jedediah) HaCohen; c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo used philosophical allegory to harmonize Jewish scripture, mainly the Torah, with Greek philosophy. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoic philosophy. His allegorical exegesis was important for some Christian Church Fathers, but he had very little reception history within the Rabbinic Judaism. He adopted allegorical instead of literal interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars hold that his concept of the Logos as God's creative principle influenced early Christology. Other scholars deny direct influence but say that Philo and Early Christianity borrow from a common source. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his participation in the embassy to Rome in 40 CE. He represented the Alexandrian Jews in a delegation to the Roman Emperor Gaius (Caligula) following civil strife between the Alexandrian Jewish and Greek communities. The story of this event, and a few other biographical details, are found in Josephus and in Philo's own works, especially in Legatio ad Gaium (Embassy to Gaius) of which only two of the original five volumes survive. The thought of Philo was largely inspired by Aristobulus of Paneas and the Alexandrian School, concerning his work "Wisdom of Solomon" and the occupations of the Therapeutæ and the Essenes.
  • 3.1K
  • 04 Nov 2022
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