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Topic Review
Causes of Dyslexia
Theories have been presented to explain the nature of dyslexia, but the causes of dyslexia remained unclear. Although the investigation of the causes of dyslexia presupposes a clear understanding of the concept of cause, such an understanding is missing. The causes of impaired reading include: an incorrect fixation location, too short a fixation time, the attempt to recognize too many letters simultaneously, too large saccade amplitudes, and too short verbal reaction times. It is assumed that a longer required fixation time in dyslexic readers results from a functional impairment of areas V1, V2, and V3 that require more time to complete temporal summation. These areas and areas that receive input from them, such as the fusiform gyrus, are assumed to be impaired in their ability to simultaneously process a string of letters. When these impairments are compensated by a new reading strategy, reading ability improves immediately.
  • 964
  • 13 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Induced Nephron Progenitor-like Cells from Human Urine-Derived Cells
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a major public health concern due to its prevalence in 7–12% of the population worldwide, progression to irreversible end-stage renal disease (ESRD), impaired quality of life, associations with high social and financial costs, and high rates of associated morbidity and mortality (an 82% increase in CKD epidemic over the past two decades). The current treatment options for kidney failure involve lifelong dialysis and whole kidney transplantation. Although kidney transplantation undoubtedly offers a better quality of life and life expectancy than dialytic treatment, it is limited by the scarcity of available organs and the huge gap between supply and demand. Furthermore, considering that the average life expectancy of dialysis patients is barely a decade, alternative strategies for preventing or delaying the progression to ESRD are urgently needed. In this context, regenerative medicine strategies employing nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) are a viable approach that is worthy of substantial consideration as a promising cell source for kidney diseases. However, the generation of induced nephron progenitor-like cells (iNPCs) from human somatic cells remains a major challenge.
  • 951
  • 24 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Targeting GH and IGF-1 in Management of Obesity
Obesity is a prevalent health condition associated with an increased risk of developing several chronic illnesses, including dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. Obesity is a complex condition caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors, including diet, physical activity, and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. It is characterized by an excess accumulation of body fat resulting from an ongoing positive energy balance (a higher intake of calories than expenditure) and insufficient physical activity, which disrupts the energy balance and normal physiological homeostasis. Growth hormone (GH), also referred to as the “master hormone”, exerts regulatory control over metabolic homeostasis and exerts multifaceted effects on numerous physiological processes.
  • 943
  • 29 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Iron Deficiency Anemia
Iron deficiency (ID) anemia is the foremost micronutrient deficiency worldwide, affecting around 40% of pregnant women and young children. ID during the prenatal and early postnatal periods has a pronounced effect on neurodevelopment, resulting in long-term effects such as cognitive impairment and increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. Treatment of ID has been complicated as it does not always resolve the long-lasting neurodevelopmental deficits. A better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is needed in order to develop more effective treatments.
  • 926
  • 21 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Tafazzin in Mitochondrial Function, Development and Disease
Tafazzin, an enzyme associated with the rare inherited x-linked disorder Barth Syndrome, is a nuclear encoded mitochondrial transacylase that is highly conserved across multiple species and plays an important role in mitochondrial function. 
  • 920
  • 15 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Genetic Mechanisms of Zebrafish Renal Multiciliated Cell Development
Cilia are microtubule-based organelles that project from the cell surface. In humans and other vertebrates, possession of a single cilium structure enables an assortment of cellular processes ranging from mechanosensation to fluid propulsion and locomotion. Interestingly, cells can possess a single cilium or many more, where so-called multiciliated cells (MCCs) possess apical membrane complexes with several dozen or even hundreds of motile cilia that beat in a coordinated fashion. Development of MCCs is, therefore, integral to control fluid flow and/or cellular movement in various physiological processes
  • 915
  • 09 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Toxicological Impact of Rare Earth Elements (REEs)
Scientific evidence shows that exposure to lanthanides triggers a wide variety of toxic insults from reproductive performance to fertilization, redox metabolism, embryogenesis and regulation of embryonic gene expression. This was thoroughly demonstrated for gadolinium, the most widespread lanthanide widely used in diagnostic medicine, whose uptake in sea urchin embryos occurs in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, correlates with decreased calcium absorption and primarily affects skeletal growth, with incorrect regulation of the skeletal gene regulatory network. The results collected on sea urchin embryos demonstrate a variable sensitivity of the early life stages of different species, highlighting the importance of testing the effects of pollution in different species.
  • 911
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Periconceptional Folic Acid Supplementation on Neurodevelopment of Offspring
Folate, also known as vitamin B9, facilitates the transfer of methyl groups among molecules, which is crucial for amino acid metabolism and nucleotide synthesis. Adequate maternal folate supplementation has been widely acknowledged for its pivotal role in promoting cell proliferation and preventing neural tube defects. 
  • 891
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Crude Oil Bioremediation
Crude oil is one of the major pollutants present. Its extraction and processing generate processing waters contaminated by hydrocarbons which are harmful to both human health and the flora and fauna that come into contact with it. Hydrocarbon contamination can involve soil and water, and several technologies are used for recovery. The most used techniques for the recovery of spilt oil involve chemical-physical methods that can remove most of the pollutants. Among these, must consider the bioremediation by microorganisms, mostly bacterial capable of degrading many of the toxic compounds contained within the petroleum. Microalgae participate in bioremediation indirectly, supporting the growth of degrading bacteria, and directly acting on contaminants. Their direct contribution is based on the activation of various mechanisms ranging from the production of enzymes capable of degrading hydrocarbons, such as lipoxygenases, to the attack through the liberation of free radicals. 
  • 882
  • 28 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Extracellular Vesicles and Membrane Protrusions in Development
Evidence is accumulating that extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are well defined in cell culture and cancer, offer a crucial means of communication in embryos. Moreover, the release and/or reception of EVs is often facilitated by fine cellular protrusions, which have a history of study in development.
  • 881
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Rare Neurological Disorders in Zebrafish
Rare diseases are those which affect a small number of people compared to the general population. However, many patients with a rare disease remain undiagnosed, and a large majority of rare diseases still have no form of viable treatment. Approximately 40% of rare diseases include neurologic and neurodevelopmental disorders. In order to understand the characteristics of rare neurological disorders and identify causative genes, various model organisms have been utilized extensively.
  • 878
  • 08 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Plant Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 and Its Interactors
Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is arguably the best-known plant complex of the Polycomb Group (PcG) pathway, formed by a group of proteins that epigenetically represses gene expression. PRC2-mediated deposition of H3K27me3 has amply been studied in Arabidopsis and, more recently, data from other plant model species has also been published, allowing for an increasing knowledge of PRC2 activities and target genes. How PRC2 molecular functions are regulated and how PRC2 is recruited to discrete chromatin regions are questions that have brought more attention in recent years. A mechanism to modulate PRC2-mediated activity is through its interaction with other protein partners or accessory proteins. Current evidence for PRC2 interactors has demonstrated the complexity of its protein network and how far people are from fully understanding the impact of these interactions on the activities of PRC2 core subunits and on the formation of new PRC2 versions.
  • 876
  • 25 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Ubiquitin-Proteasome System in Spermatogenesis
Spermatogenesis is a prolonged and highly ordered physiological process that produces haploid male germ cells through more than 40 steps and experiences dramatic morphological and cellular transformations. The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) plays central roles in the precise control of protein homeostasis to ensure the effectiveness of certain protein groups at a given stage and the inactivation of them after this stage. Many UPS components have been demonstrated to regulate the progression of spermatogenesis at different levels. Especially in recent years, novel testis-specific proteasome isoforms have been identified to be essential and unique for spermatogenesis. 
  • 869
  • 08 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Hydrogen Sulfide in Root Development
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is regarded as a “New Warrior” for managing plant stress. Hydrogen sulfide has a concentration-dependent effect on the regulation of root growth. 
  • 845
  • 11 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Sex-specific ncRNAs Expression in Placenta
The placenta is a temporary and sex-specific endocrine organ that regulates maternal–fetal exchanges, with a central role in fetal growth and development. Sex differences in placenta become evident from the beginning of pregnancy. Specifically, a male fetus grows faster than a female fetus, and it invests more in fetal than placental development. Consequently, male placentas are smaller in size and more vulnerable to adverse events during pregnancy than female placentas. In this context, an increasing number of placental noncoding RNAs contributes to fetal development and pregnancy progression, by regulating gene expression in a sexual dimorphic manner. 
  • 842
  • 08 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Fragile X Syndrome (FXS)
Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, is caused by a developmentally regulated silencing of the FMR1 gene, but its effect on human neuronal network development and function is not fully understood. 
  • 836
  • 01 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Notch Signaling in HSC Emergence
The Notch signaling pathway controls cell fate decisions during embryonic development and is highly conserved in metazoan.
  • 821
  • 30 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Alternative Polyadenylation in Plants
The polyadenylation (poly(A)) tail of mRNA is an essential feature that is required to mediate its nuclear export, stability, translation efficiency, and subcellular localization. Most genes have at least two mRNA isoforms via alternative splicing (AS) or alternative polyadenylation (APA), which increases the diversity of transcriptome and proteome. 
  • 814
  • 24 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Dendrimers-Based Drug Delivery System in Addressing Parkinson’s Disease
Dendrimers are potential drug delivery systems to cross blood brain barrier. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by the loss of dopamine. Since dopamine has trouble entering the blood–brain barrier, the utilization of dendrimers and other nanomaterials is considered for conjugating the neurotransmitter and other PD drugs. Dendrimers are three-dimensional, hyper-branched structures that are categorized into several generations. Alpha-synuclein (ASN) is the protein involved in regulating dopaminergic functions and is the main aggregate found inside Lewy bodies. Different types of dendrimers have shown efficacy in disrupting the formation of unstable beta structures of ASN and fibrillation. The conjugation of PD drugs into nanomaterials has elicited a prolonged duration of action and sustained release of the drugs inside the BBB. The objectives of this study are to review the applications of a dendrimer-based drug delivery system in addressing the root cause of Parkinson’s disease and to emphasize the delivery of anti-Parkinson’s drugs such as rotigotine, pramipexole and dopamine using routes of administration other than oral and intravenous. 
  • 812
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Maternal Distress in Fetal and Child Development
The entry presents an important topic, and that is the influence of maternal distress on the child's psychophysiological development. After defining that specific changes in fetal brain morphology and abnormalities in the functioning of the central nervous system may be affected by maternal distress, the long-term consequences for child development are also described. We believe that the topic is extremely important considering the COVID-19 pandemic, during which a higher frequency of maternal psychological disorders was observed. In that sense, the entry imposes the need for further interdisciplinary research on the relationship between maternal mental health and child development, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to improve maternal and child wellbeing.
  • 812
  • 15 Dec 2022
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