Topic Review
Flowering Plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (/ˌændʒiəˈspɜːrmiː/), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words angeion ('container, vessel') and sperma ('seed'), and refers to those plants that produce their seeds enclosed within a fruit. They are by far the most diverse group of land plants with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species. Angiosperms were formerly called Magnoliophyta (/mæɡˌnoʊliˈɒfətə, -əˈfaɪtə/). Like gymnosperms, angiosperms are seed-producing plants. They are distinguished from gymnosperms by characteristics including flowers, endosperm within their seeds, and the production of fruits that contain the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from the common ancestor of all living gymnosperms during the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago, according to some genetic analyses but there is no fossil evidence for this. The closest fossil relatives of flowering plants are uncertain and contentious. The earliest angiosperm fossils are in the form of pollen around 134 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous. Over the course of the Cretaceous, angiosperms explosively diversified, becoming the dominant group of plants across the planet by the end of the period, corresponding with the decline and extinction of previously widespread gymnosperm groups. The origin and diversification of the angiosperms is often known as "Darwin's abominable mystery".
  • 1.4K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Lists of Elm Trees
Many elm (Ulmus) trees of various kinds have attained great size or otherwise become particularly noteworthy; among these are the following.
  • 1.4K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Food Neophobia
Food neophobia is the tendency to reject or be reluctant to try new and unfamiliar foods. Due to the period of its occurrence, which falls in the years of early childhood, it can significantly affect the child’s food choices, shape taste preferences, and significantly influence the quality of the child’s diet. 
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Medicinal Plants against SARS-CoV
SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) is in focus over all known human diseases, because it is destroying the world economy and social life, with increased mortality rate each day. To date, there is no specific medicine or vaccine available against this pandemic disease. However, the presence of medicinal plants and their bioactive molecules with antiviral properties might also be a successful strategy in order to develop therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The identification of novel antiviral compounds is of critical significance, and medicinal plant based natural compounds are a good source for such discoveries. In depth search and analysis revealed several medicinal plants with excellent efficacy against SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, which are well-known to act on ACE-2 receptor, 3CLpro and other viral protein targets. It has consolidated the data of several medicinal plants and their natural bioactive metabolites, which have promising antiviral activities against coronaviruses with detailed modes of action/mechanism. It is concluded that this topics will be useful for researchers worldwide and highly recommended for the development of naturally safe and effective therapeutic drugs/agents against SARS-CoV-2 infection, which might be used in therapeutic protocols alone or in combination with chemically synthetized drugs.
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  • 01 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Cecropins Gene Expression
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are naturally occurring molecules that are utilized as an innate immune response in a variety of organisms. AMPs can be constitutively expressed, and/or their transcription may be upregulated following pathogenic infection. Cecropins (Cecs) are insect AMPs, generally active against Gram-negative bacteria and to a lesser extent, Gram-positive bacteria. Some have been demonstrated to also exhibit an antifungal activity as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. Cecs function by associating their N- and C-terminal helices to the cellular membrane. Polar residues interact with the lipid phosphates while the non-polar residues burrow into the membrane. At high concentrations, Cecs form carpet-like structures with detergent-like properties that result in cell death. At low concentrations, Cecs organize into oligomers that form pores through the cellular phospholipid layer, resulting in an electrolyte imbalance that causes cell death. 
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  • 30 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Tumor Necrosis Factor in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex and heterogenous disease; what differentiates patients with RA are the number of affected joints, antibodies and serum cytokines levels, and the severity of joint destruction. TNF (tumor necrosis factor) is a proinflammatory cytokine which exerts multiple biological activities in RA. Blocking TNF with antibodies became a standard of modern RA therapy in patients not responding to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), e.g., methotrexate.
  • 1.4K
  • 15 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Coronavirus Diseases
At the end of 2019 a novel virus, SARS-Cov-2, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome has expanded from Wuhan, China. In March 2020 the World Health Organization declared the SARS-Cov-2 virus a global pandemic. We performed a narrative review to describe existing literature with regard to COVID-19 epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, management and future perspective. MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus databases were searched for relevant articles.Although only when the pandemic will end it will be possible to assess the health, social and economic impact of this global disaster, this review represents a picture of the current state of the art. In particular, we focus on public health impact, pathophysiology and clinical manifestations, diagnosis, case management, emergency response and preparedness.
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  • 07 May 2021
Topic Review
Breast cancer cell growth/motility is influenced by metal compounds
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a  highly "aggressive" malignant neoplasm with limited treatment options due to the lack of expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER2/neu. In search of novel molecules displaying anti-TNBC activities, the TNBC cell line MDA-MB231 was exposed to cadmium chloride and/or manganese chloride, and a biological characterization of the effect observed was performed. The data obtained demonstrate a cytotoxic effect exerted by cadmium chloride with drastic changes affecting gene expressions and production of reactive oxygen species. Conversely, manganese chloride was effective in increasing cell number and promoting cell invasive ability.  Such effect was reverted by coexposure with cadmium chloride. Thus, metal compounds appear to be able to modulate the biological behavior of TNBC cells, although addressing them to different fates. The data obtained suggest that high environmental pollution with manganese chloride might increase the risk of breast tumorigenesis. On the other hand, the restraining modulatory property of cadmium chloride looks promising and deserves a more detailed mechanistic study aimed to the identification of possible molecular targets instrumental in inhibiting the expansion of malignant breast cancer.
  • 1.4K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Cat Behavior and Cat–Human Interactions: Brief Introduction
This entry summarised what is known about domestic cat behaviour and cat-human relations and what still needs to be examined, listing unanswered questions and hypotheses. Below is a selection of the topics covered in the original review. An English version of reference "50" (in French) may be requested and e-mailed legally (by contract) from the author by individuals as long as the original reference will be cited in French.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Quinoa
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is native to the Andean region and has attracted a global growing interest due its unique nutritional value. The protein content of quinoa grains is higher than other cereals while it has better distribution of essential amino acids. It can be used as an alternative to milk proteins. Additionally, quinoa contains a high amount of essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, and carbohydrates with beneficial hypoglycemic effects while being gluten-free. Furthermore, the quinoa plant is resistant to cold, salt, and drought, which leaves no doubt as to why it has been called the “golden grain”. On that account, production of quinoa and its products followed an increasing trend that gained attraction in 2013, as it was proclaimed to be the international year of quinoa. In this respect, this review provides an overview of the published results regarding the nutritional and biological properties of quinoa that have been cultivated in different parts of the world during the last two decades.
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  • 27 Oct 2020
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