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Topic Review
Morphological Plasticity of Leaves
Plants adapt to environmental changes by regulating their development and growth. As an important interface between plants and their environment, leaf morphogenesis varies between species, populations, or even shows plasticity within individuals. Leaf growth is dependent on many environmental factors, such as light, temperature, and submergence. Phytohormones play key functions in leaf development and can act as molecular regulatory elements in response to environmental signals. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge on the effects of different environmental factors and phytohormone pathways on morphological plasticity and intend to summarize the advances in leaf development. In addition, we detail the molecular mechanisms of heterophylly, the representative of leaf plasticity, providing novel insights into phytohormones and the environmental adaptation in plants.
  • 1.8K
  • 19 May 2021
Topic Review
Self-sterilizing Properties of Copper
It is confirmed that copper is a self-sanitising metal, acting on human pathogens in a way that does not let them survive exposure to copper or copper alloy surfaces for any reasonable length of time. Regarding the efficacy of copper surfaces, testing in an independent microbiology laboratory has led to 300 various copper surfaces being registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 2008. The registration includes the following statement: “When cleaned regularly, the antimicrobial copper alloy surface kills greater than 99.9% of bacteria within two hours and continues to kill more than 99% of bacteria even after repeated contamination”. This claim acknowledges that copper and its alloys brass and bronze can kill potentially deadly bacteria, and sometime later, it was further understood that copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) and laser textured copper also show enhanced antimicrobial activity.
  • 1.8K
  • 06 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors in Antidiabetic Treatment
Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) enzyme is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein, expressed ubiquitously in many tissues, including the immune cells, kidney, liver, pancreas, fat cells, and presents as a soluble form in the circulation. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 is a serine protease, can cleave and inactivate incretin hormones, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), neuropeptides, and chemokines. In addition, DPP4 has been shown to have a direct pro-inflammatory role in lymphocytes, macrophages, and smooth muscle cell.
  • 1.8K
  • 25 May 2022
Topic Review
AIE-Active Photosensitizers
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a non-invasive approach for tumor elimination that is attracting more and more attention due to the advantages of minimal side effects and high precision. In typical PDT, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from photosensitizers play the pivotal role, determining the efficiency of PDT. However, applications of traditional PDT were usually limited by the aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect of the photosensitizers employed. Fortunately, photosensitizers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE-active photosensitizers) have been developed with biocompatibility, effective ROS generation, and superior absorption, bringing about great interest for applications in oncotherapy.
  • 1.8K
  • 27 May 2022
Topic Review
Fear Appeal Theory in Climate Change Communication
Although loss frames are strictly defined by their linguistic structure (i.e., conditional propositions with the structure “if not-then [undesired outcome]”) while fear appeals are more defined by their effects (i.e., the fear and perceived threat they elicit), the definitions of loss frames and fear appeals may largely be emphasizing different aspects of the same persuasive message, which may be understood with the same theory. If correct, fear appeal theory may offer an established and well-evidenced framework to guide goal-framing research and explain goal-framing effects in the sustainability domain.
  • 1.8K
  • 04 Jul 2022
Topic Review
OPV AIDS Hypothesis
The oral polio vaccine (OPV) AIDS hypothesis posits that the AIDS pandemic originated from live polio vaccines prepared in chimpanzee tissue cultures and then administered to up to one million Africans between 1957 and 1960 in experimental mass vaccination campaigns. Data analyses in molecular biology and phylogenetic studies contradict the OPV AIDS hypothesis; consequently, scientific consensus regards the hypothesis as disproven. The journal Nature has described the hypothesis as "refuted".
  • 1.8K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Perovskia Atriplicifolia
Perovskia atriplicifolia (/pəˈrɒvskiə ætrɪplɪsɪˈfoʊliə/), commonly called Russian sage, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant and subshrub. Although not a member of Salvia, the genus of other plants commonly called sage, it is closely related to them. It has an upright habit, typically reaching 0.5–1.2 m tall (1.6–3.9 ft), with square stems and grey-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. It is best known for its flowers. Its flowering season extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched panicles. It is native to the steppes and hills of southwestern and central Asia. Successful over a wide range of climate and soil conditions, it has since become popular and widely planted. Several cultivars have been developed, differing primarily in leaf shape and overall height; 'Blue Spire' is the most common. This variation has been widely used in gardens and landscaping. P. atriplicifolia was the Perennial Plant Association's 1995 Plant of the Year, and the 'Blue Spire' cultivar received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. The species has a long history of use in traditional medicine in its native range, where it is employed as a treatment for a variety of ailments. This has led to the investigation of its phytochemistry. Its flowers can be eaten in salads or crushed for dyemaking, and the plant has been considered for potential use in the phytoremediation of contaminated soil.
  • 1.8K
  • 01 Nov 2022
Biography
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (28 March 1911 in Esslingen am Neckar – 16 December 2000 in Allensbach) was a Germany physicist.[1] He made contributions to nuclear spectroscopy, coincidence measurement techniques, radioactive tracers for biochemistry and medicine, and neutron optics. He was an influential educator and an advisor to the Federal Republic of Germany on nuclear programs. During World War I
  • 1.8K
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Advancement of the Multi-Action Plan Model
The Multi-Action Plan (MAP) model presents as an action-focused, sport-specific, mixed methods intervention model. MAP research characterized four Performance Types (PTs). Each PT operates on an affective, cognitive, behavioral, and psychophysiological level—across performance contexts. The authors propose three areas on how MAP could be extended: First, researchers argue that a better understanding of the phasing/timing of transitions between mental states during performance would greatly expand the MAP framework on a conceptual and applied level. Second,  the authors offer ideas on the role of socio-environmental precursors acting as cues for such transition processes. Third, the authors propose to clarify the role of effort and reward perception post-transition, particularly in relation to micro and macro timeframes.
  • 1.8K
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Semi-Closed Oxy–Fuel Combustion Power Cycles with CO2 Recirculation
With the increases in organic fuel prices and growing legislative restrictions aimed at increasing environmental safety and reducing the carbon footprint, the task of increasing thermal power plant efficiency is becoming more and more topical. Transforming combusting fuel thermal energy into electric power more efficiently will allow the reduction of the fuel cost fraction in the cost structure and decrease harmful emissions, especially greenhouse gases, as less fuel will be consumed. There are traditional ways of improving thermal power plant energy efficiency: increasing turbine inlet temperature and utilizing exhaust heat. An alternative way to improve energy efficiency is the use of supercritical CO2 power cycles, which have a number of advantages over traditional ones due to carbon dioxide’s thermophysical properties. In particular, the use of carbon dioxide allows increasing efficiency by reducing compression and friction losses in the wheel spaces of the turbines; in addition, it is known that CO2 turbomachinery has smaller dimensions compared to traditional steam and gas turbines of similar capacity.
  • 1.8K
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Duckweeds for Remediating Water Contaminated with Organic Compounds
Tiny aquatic plants from the Lemnaceae family, commonly known as duckweeds, are often regarded as detrimental to the environment because of their ability to quickly populate and cover the surfaces of bodies of water. Due to their rapid vegetative propagation, duckweeds have one of the fastest growth rates among flowering plants and can accumulate large amounts of biomass in relatively short time periods. Due to the high yield of valuable biomass and ease of harvest, duckweeds can be used as feedstock for biofuels, animal feed, and other applications. Thanks to their efficient absorption of nitrogen- and phosphate-containing pollutants, duckweeds play an important role in the restorative ecology of water reservoirs. The global distribution of duckweeds and their tolerance of ammonia, heavy metals, other pollutants, and stresses are the major factors highlighting their potential for use in purifying agricultural, municipal, and some industrial wastewater. In summary, duckweeds are a powerful tool for bioremediation that can reduce anthropogenic pollution in aquatic ecosystems and prevent water eutrophication in a simple, inexpensive ecologically friendly way.
  • 1.8K
  • 06 May 2023
Topic Review
cGAS–Sting Signaling in Alzheimer’s Disease
There is mounting evidence that the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) interacts extensively with immunological processes in the brain and extends beyond the neuronal compartment. Accumulation of misfolded proteins can activate an innate immune response that releases inflammatory mediators and increases the severity and course of the disease. It is widely known that type-I interferon-driven neuroinflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) accelerates the development of numerous acute and chronic CNS diseases. It is becoming better understood how the cyclic GMP–AMP synthase (cGAS) and its adaptor protein Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) triggers type-I IFN-mediated neuroinflammation.
  • 1.8K
  • 10 May 2023
Topic Review
Symmetry Perception and Psychedelic Experience
Neuroscientific studies on symmetry perception have accumulated in the last 20 years. Functional MRI and EEG experiments have conclusively shown that regular visual arrangements, such as reflectional symmetry, Glass patterns, and the 17 wallpaper groups all activate the extrastriate visual cortex. This activation generates an event-related potential (ERP) called sustained posterior negativity (SPN).
  • 1.8K
  • 18 Jul 2023
Topic Review
EMT Program in Breast cancer
Notch signaling is a primitive signaling pathway having various roles in the normal origin and development of each multicellular organisms. Therefore, any aberration in the pathway will inevitably lead to deadly outcomes such as cancer. It has now been more than two decades since Notch was acknowledged as an oncogene in mouse mammary tumor virus-infected mice. Since that discovery, activated Notch signaling and consequent up-regulation of tumor-promoting Notch target genes have been observed in human breast cancer. Moreover, consistent over-expression of Notch ligands and receptors has been shown to correlate with poor prognosis in human breast cancer. Notch regulates a number of key processes during breast carcinogenesis, of which, one key phenomenon is epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is a key process for large-scale cell movement during morphogenesis at the time of embryonic development. Cancer cells aided by transcription factors usurp this developmental program to execute the multi-step process of tumorigenesis and metastasis. In this review, we recapitulate recent progress in breast cancer research that has provided new perceptions into the molecular mechanisms behind Notch-mediated EMT regulation during breast tumorigenesis.
  • 1.8K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Infant Gut Microbiota
Evidence is accumulating which shows that maternal transmission of microbes to the infant gut occurs prenatally, in utero. However, the first big wave of microbial colonization occurs after birth. Gut microbial dysbiosis in infant increase the risk of subsequent asthma through a number of perinatal factors such as diet, delivery mode, antibiotic exposure, maternal asthma during pregnancy and pre-gestational body mass index. Nutrition plays a fundamental role as a potent modifiable factor influencing the human gut microbiota composition, which provides new insights into therapeutic strategies aimed at manipulating the gut microbiota through dietary modification. There is very little evidence to date linking maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy with alterations in the infant gut microbiota. The effect of maternal dietary nutrient intake causes alterations in breast milk microbiota composition. There is however a paucity of human data examining the effects and underlying mechanisms of maternal diet on the infant gut microbiota shaping through the alteration of milk microbiota composition. Further long-term cohort studies are needed where the effect of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation on the infant gut microbiota composition are studied in further detail in context of asthma development and may provide useful insights into potential mechanisms that could potentially reduce the risk of asthma.
  • 1.8K
  • 31 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Microbial Cell-Cell Chemical Communication Systems
The microbial cell–cell chemical communication systems include QS and host–pathogen communication systems. In 1994, Fuqua et al., coined the term of “quorum sensing” to describe an environmental sensing system that monitors the population density to coordinate the social behaviors of microorganisms. QS regulatory systems are characterized by the fact that microorganisms produce and release to the surrounding environment a diffffusible autoinducer or QS signal, which accumulates along with bacterial growth and induces target gene transcriptional expression when reaching a threshold concentration. Typically, a QS system contains a signal synthase, which produces QS signals, and a signal receptor that detect and response to QS signal in a population-dependent manner. In addition, microbial pathogens can also exploit the chemical molecules produced by host organisms as cross-kingdom signals to regulate virulence gene expression.
  • 1.8K
  • 18 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Proteomics in Forensic Analysis
Proteomics is in the early stages of development for forensic applications. It has been used in forensics for identification of tissue and body fluid, identification and quantification of protein toxins, human individualization, detection of protein drugs and hormones in sports, and estimation of post-mortem intervals.
  • 1.8K
  • 19 Apr 2021
Topic Review
MRGPRX2
Mas-related G-protein coupled receptor member X2 (MRGPRX2) is a class A GPCR expressed on mast cells. Mast cells are granulated tissue-resident cells known for host cell response, allergic response, and vascular homeostasis.
  • 1.8K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Review of Ionic Liquids Toxicity
Ionic liquids (more accurately room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs)) can be defined as materials composed of organic or inorganic cations (like imidazolium or pyridinium) and anions (e.g., nitrate, acetate, tetrafluoroborate, dicyanamide, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and lactate) that are liquid at or below 100 °C. The number of possible combinations of a cation and anion is estimated to reach 106, making it theoretically possible to synthesize an IL targeted for a specific application or property.
  • 1.8K
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War I)
Script error: No such module "Infobox military conflict". The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign in the Mediterranean Sea was fought by Austria-Hungary and German Empire (with some support by the Ottoman Empire) against the Allies during World War I. It was characterised by the ability of the Central Powers to raid with near impunity during the first years of the war, causing substantial shipping losses, until the introduction of the convoy system allowed the Allies to drastically cut their losses from 1917 on.
  • 1.8K
  • 18 Oct 2022
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