Your browser does not fully support modern features. Please upgrade for a smoother experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Signaling Molecules in Endophytic Bacteria and Medicinal Plants
Signaling molecules act as the links and bridges between endophytes and host plants. The recognition of endophytes and host plants, the regulation of host plant growth and development, and the synthesis of secondary metabolites are not separated by the participation of signaling molecules.
  • 956
  • 20 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococci in Animals and Food Products
Staphylococci are Gram-positive bacteria responsible for a wide variety of suppurative infections in humans and animals. Methicillin resistance acquisition is due to the integration of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), which contains the mecA gene conferring β-lactam resistance. Methicillin-resistance in Staphylococci (MRS) pose a specific problem as they are in general more difficult to treat and may eventually result in death. Those MRS are now also increasingly found in different animal species and may compromise animal health as well as human health through the transmission of those MRS from animals to humans. As such it is important to know the situation of  MRS in animals and in foods.
  • 955
  • 07 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome–Related Coronavirus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV or SARS-CoV)[note 1] is a species of virus consisting of many known strains phylogenetically related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) that have been shown to possess the capability to infect humans, bats, and certain other mammals. These enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses enter host cells by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. The SARSr-CoV species is a member of the genus Betacoronavirus and of the subgenus Sarbecovirus (SARS Betacoronavirus). Two strains of the virus have caused outbreaks of severe respiratory diseases in humans: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), which caused the 2002–2004 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is causing the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. There are hundreds of other strains of SARSr-CoV, which are only known to infect non-human species: bats are a major reservoir of many strains of SARSr-CoV; several strains have been identified in palm civets, which were likely ancestors of SARS-CoV-1. The SARS-related coronavirus was one of several viruses identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016 as a likely cause of a future epidemic in a new plan developed after the Ebola epidemic for urgent research and development before and during an epidemic towards diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. This prediction came to pass with the COVID-19 pandemic. Such development, if incorporating "nucleic acids coding for SARS-CoV virulence factors," which is listed on the Federal Select Agents and Toxins List, is expressly illegal in the United States per U.S. Federal Code 7 CFR Part 331, U.S. Federal Code 9 CFR Part 121, U.S. Federal Code 42 CFR Part 73, and 18 U.S. Code Section 178. The Statutes provide a legal remedy of 99 years in federal prison and up to $100,000,000 penalty per felony count. On March 3, 2022 a federal case was filed in the State of Utah seeking clarification of the legal status of Covid-19 gene therapies under these existing statutes, and the case is currently pending.
  • 954
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Bacterial Polyhydroalkanoate in a Sustainable Future
Environmental challenges related to the mismanagement of plastic waste became even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for new solutions regarding the use of plastics came to the forefront again. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have demonstrated their ability to replace conventional plastics, especially in packaging. Its biodegradability and biocompatibility makes this material a sustainable solution. The cost of PHA production and some weak physical properties compared to synthetic polymers remain as the main barriers to its implementation in the industry. The scientific community has been trying to solve these disadvantages associated with PHA.
  • 953
  • 20 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Metals and Metalloids by Actinobacteria
Actinobacteria include high GC bacteria that inhabit a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic ecological niches, where they play essential roles in recycling or transforming organic and inorganic substances. The metal(loid) tolerance and/or resistance of several members of this phylum rely on mechanisms such as biosorption and extracellular sequestration by siderophores and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), bioaccumulation, biotransformation, and metal efflux processes, which overall contribute to maintaining metal homeostasis.
  • 952
  • 08 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Epstein–Barr Virus-Associated Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an uncommon type of malignancy/cancer worldwide. However, NPC is an endemic disease in southeast Asia and southern China and the reasons behind the underlying for such changes are unclear. Even though the Epstein–Barr infection (EBV) has been suggested as an important reason for undistinguishable NPC, the EBV itself is not adequate to source this type of cancer. The risk factors, for example, genetic susceptibility, and environmental factors might be associated with EBV to undertake a part in the NPC carcinogenesis. Normal healthy people have a memory B cell pool where the EBV persists, and any disturbance of this connection leads to virus-associated B cell malignancies. Less is known about the relationship between EBV and epithelial cell tumors, especially the EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (EBVaNPC) and EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC). It is believed that premalignant genetic changes in epithelial cells contribute to the aberrant establishment of viral latency in these tumors. The early and late phases of NPC patients’ survival rates vary significantly. 
  • 951
  • 29 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Caenorhabditis elegans as an In Vivo Model
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) due to the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens is rapidly increasing worldwide, and the identification of new antimicrobial agents with innovative mechanisms of action is urgently required. Medicinal plants that have been utilised for centuries with minor side effects may hold great promise as sources of effective antimicrobial products. The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is an excellent live infection model for the discovery and development of new antimicrobial compounds. However, while C. elegans has widely been utilised to explore the effectiveness and toxicity of synthetic antibiotics, it has not been used to a comparable extent for the analysis of natural products.
  • 951
  • 11 Aug 2023
Topic Review
CRC and Gut Microbiota
The gut microbiota plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis in the human body, and the disruption of these communities can lead to compromised host health and the onset of disease.
  • 949
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Immune Response to Necrotic Enteritis in Broilers
Clostridium perfringens type A and C are the primary etiological agents associated with necrotic enteritis (NE) in poultry. The predisposing factors implicated in the incidence of NE changes the physical properties of the gut, immunological status of birds, and disrupt the gut microbial homeostasis, causing an over-proliferation of C. perfringens. The principal virulence factors contributing to the pathogenesis of NE are the α-toxin, β-toxin, and NetB toxin. The immune response to NE in poultry is mediated by the Th1 pathway or cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. C. perfringens type A and C are also pathogenic in humans, and hence are of public health significance. C. perfringens intoxications are the third most common bacterial foodborne disease after Salmonella and Campylobacter.
  • 949
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Microorganisms in Fermented Mare Milk Products
Mare milk is consumed by approximatively 30 million people in the world. In countries in Asia and East Europe, mare milk is mainly consumed as source of fermented products, called koumiss, airag or chigee, alcoholic beverages obtained by means of a culture of bacteria and lactose-fermenting yeasts. Recent research concerning mare milk and its derivatives deals mainly with their potential employment for human health. 
  • 949
  • 20 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria and Genes in Fermented Foods
Fermented food products are widely consumed for their nutritional and health-promoting properties, earning them a central place in diets around the globe. However, these foods can present a paradox, as they have the potential to harbor not only beneficial probiotics but also antibiotic-resistant (AR) microbes and genes. The impact of AR microbes and genes in fermented foods has far-reaching implications, such as potential effects on human health, repercussions in the food industry, and environmental consequences. 
  • 948
  • 31 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Microsporidian Spore Germination
Microsporidia are a large group of mysterious obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites. The microsporidian spore can survive in the absence of nutrients for years under harsh conditions and germinate within seconds under the stimulation of environmental changes like pH and ions. During germination, microsporidia experience an increase in intrasporal osmotic pressure, which leads to an influx of water into the spore, followed by swelling of the polaroplasts and posterior vacuole, which eventually fires the polar filament (PF). Infectious sporoplasm was transported through the extruded polar tube (PT) and delivered into the host cell. 
  • 948
  • 08 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Antimicrobials and Food-Related Stresses
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation uses physical energy, and it is a non-thermal and non-chemical technology used by the food industry for liquid and solid surface decontamination, to control foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms, as well as viruses and protozoa. UV radiations at short wavelengths, in the range of from 220 to 280 nm, result in physical damage to the nucleic acids and inhibit bacterial replication by induction of the formation of cyclobutene pyrimidine dimers, which blocks DNA replication and transcription, leading to cell death . However, the repair mechanism of UV damage, especially by photoreactivation, is a major disadvantage of UV disinfection .
  • 946
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Avian Reovirus
Avian reoviruses belong to the genus Orthoreovirus, and Reoviridae family. They are non-enveloped viruses that undergo replication in the cytoplasm of infected cells. It has icosahedral symmetry and contains a double-shelled arrangement of surface protein. Virus particles can range between 70–80 nm. Morphologically, the virus is a double stranded RNA virus that is composed of ten segments. The genome and proteins that are encoded by the genome can be separated into three different sizes ranging from small, medium, or large. Of the eleven proteins that are encoded for by the genome, two are nonstructural, while the remaining nine are structural. Avian reoviruses can withstand a pH range of 3.0–9.0. Ambient temperatures are suitable for the survival of these viruses, which become inactive at 56 °C in less than an hour. Common areas where this virus can survive include galvanized metal, glass, rubber, feathers, and wood shavings. Avian reovirus can survive for up to ten days on these common areas in addition to up to ten weeks in water. Cultivation and observation of the effects of avian reovirus is most often performed in chicken embryos. If infected into the yolk sac, the embryo will succumb to death accompanied by hemorrhaging of the embryos and cause the foci on the liver to appear yellowish-green. There are several primary chicken cell cultures/areas that are susceptible to avian reoviruses, which include the lungs, liver, kidney, and fibroblasts of the chick embryo. Of the following susceptible areas, liver cells from the chick embryo have been found to be the most sensitive for primary isolation from clinical material. Typically, the CPE effect of avian reoviruses is the production of syncytia. CPE, or cytopathic effects are the visible changes in a host cell that takes place because of viral infection. Syncytia is a single cell or cytoplasmic mass containing several nuclei, formed by fusion of cells or by division of nuclei.
  • 946
  • 14 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Chaperone-Usher Fimbriae
Chaperone-usher fimbriae (CU) are linear, unbranching, outer-membrane pili secreted by Gram-negative bacteria through the chaperone-usher system rather than through type IV secretion or extracellular nucleation systems. These fimbriae are built up out of modular pilus subunits, which are transported into the periplasm in a Sec dependent manner. Chaperone-usher secreted fimbriae are important pathogenicity factors facilitating host colonisation, localisation and biofilm formation in clinically important species such as UPEC (uropathogenic Escherichia coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
  • 945
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Rhizosphere Microbial Communities and Heavy-Metals
The rhizosphere is a microhabitat where there is an intense chemical dialogue between plants and microorganisms. The two coexist and develop synergistic actions, which can promote plants’ functions and productivity, but also their capacity to respond to stress conditions, including heavy metal (HM) contamination.
  • 944
  • 28 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Microbe-Assisted Remediation of Crude-Oil-Contaminated Environment
Crude oil contamination is an emerging environmental concern on a global scale due to inadvertent oil leakage. Oil spillage and discharges frequently happen as a consequence of explosion incidents during oilfield drilling; leakage from oil and gas pipelines and reservoirs, fuel tankers, and well waxing; and during overhauls of refineries and petrochemical manufacturing equipment. Crude oil and its products damage water and air quality and also reduce soil fertility. Crude oil can harm plants by clogging soil pores, reducing soil aeration and water permeability, which can have both ecological and toxicological effects and disrupt the soil’s natural structure. Aside from these environmental concerns, one of the most serious consequences of such anthropogenic emissions is current global climate change. Crude oil contamination not only impacts different ecosystems but also influences global socio-economic status.
  • 943
  • 25 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Metallophores
The human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) causes several infections, both acute and chronic, mainly in hosts with compromised immunity and in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. The pathogenesis of this bacterium is caused by several factors.
  • 940
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Dietary Fibers and Intestinal Microbiota Affects T2D
Foods contain dietary fibers which can be classified into soluble and insoluble forms. The nutritional composition of fast foods is considered unhealthy because it negatively affects the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Dietary fiber is resistant to digestive enzymes in the gut, which modulates the anaerobic intestinal microbiota (AIM) and fabricates SCFAs. Acetate, butyrate, and propionate are dominant in the gut and are generated via Wood–Ljungdahl and acrylate pathways. In pancreatic dysfunction, the release of insulin/glucagon is impaired, leading to hyperglycemia. SCFAs enhance insulin sensitivity or secretion, beta-cell function, leptin release, mitochondrial function, and intestinal gluconeogenesis in human organs, which positively affects type 2 diabetes (T2D). Research models have shown that SCFAs either enhance the release of peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) from L-cells (entero-endocrine), or promotes the release of leptin hormone in adipose tissues through G-protein receptors GPR-41 and GPR-43. Dietary fiber is a component that influences the production of SCFAs by AIM, which may have beneficial effects on T2D.
  • 937
  • 22 May 2023
Topic Review
Lung Microbiome
The lung microbiome has recently emerged as a major mediator of host inflammation and pathogenesis. Understanding how the lung microbiota exerts its effects on lung cancer and the tumor microenvironment will allow for novel development of therapies.
  • 936
  • 04 Jan 2021
  • Page
  • of
  • 52
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Reprints

>>
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Medieval Royal Iconography
Academic Video Service
Feedback