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Topic Review
Biography
Topic Review
Innovative Uses of Polyhydroxyalkanoates
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a biodegradable polymer obtained from microorganisms and plants, have been widely used in biomedical applications and devices, such as sutures, cardiac valves, bone scaffold, and drug delivery of compounds with pharmaceutical interests, as well as in food packaging. The novel applications are based on the production and composition of the polymer, which can be modified by genetic engineering, a semi-synthetic approach, by changing feeding carbon sources and/or supplement addition, among others. The future of PHA is promising, and despite its production costs being higher than petroleum-based plastics, tools given by synthetic biology, bioinformatics, and machine learning, among others, have allowed for great production yields, monomer and polymer functionalization, stability, and versatility, a key feature to increase the uses of this interesting family of polymers.
1.3K
13 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Therapeutic Pathways
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe disease characterized by the loss and obstructive remodeling of the pulmonary arterial wall, causing a rise in pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, which is responsible for right heart failure, functional decline, and death. The main molecular pathways involved in drugs are available for the treatment PAH involve nitric oxide, endothelin 1 and prostacyclin. Although, this condition continues to be life-threatening, and its long-term treatment is expensive.
1.3K
21 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Froth Nesting
This entry provides information regarding the proposed functions of the anuran froth nest as a mucous-based solution to the environmental challenges offspring face during development, with consideration of the functions of froth nest breakdown and communal froth nesting, as well. The adults of several anuran amphibian species deposit their eggs externally in mucus secretions that are purposely aerated to produce a froth nest. This type of clutch structure has evolved independently several times in this group and has been proposed to serve a variety and often simultaneous adaptive functions associated with protecting offspring from sub-optimal conditions during embryogenesis and later stages after hatching has occurred. These functions range from buffering offspring from sub-optimal temperatures and desiccation, to defending against predation and improving oxygenation. This versatility has likely helped facilitate the reduced reliance of egg development on water and thus the penetration of anurans into environments where permanent aquatic systems are not always available.
1.3K
03 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Gender of the Human Host to Fungal Infection
Host sex or gender influences the incidence of some fungal infections in humans such as aspergillosis, cryptococcosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, dermatophytosis, and candidiasis due to differences in immune response, behavior, and awareness for early detection and treatment. The dimensions of sex and gender are important determinants throughout the fungal infection process and in approaches to prevent or treat these infections, as well as in development of antifungal drugs. Failure to consider sex and gender may be detrimental to the holistic understanding of the processes involved in fungal infection.
1.3K
17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Tannins
There are diverse challenges in the poultry production industry that decrease the productivity and efficiency of poultry production, impair animal welfare, and pose issues to public health. Furthermore, the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in feed, which have been used to improve the growth performance and gut health of chickens, has been restricted in many countries. Tannins, polyphenolic compounds that precipitate proteins, are considered as alternatives for AGP in feed and provide solutions to mitigate challenges in poultry production due to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and gut health promoting effects. However, because high dosages of tannins have antinutritional effects when fed to poultry, determining appropriate dosages of supplemental tannins is critical for their potential implementation as a solution for the challenges faced in poultry production.
1.3K
11 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Plant-Derived Pesticides
Pests and diseases are responsible for most of the losses related to agricultural crops, either in the field or in storage. Moreover, due to indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides over the years, several issues have come along, such as pest resistance and contamination of important planet sources, such as water, air and soil. Therefore, in order to improve efficiency of crop production and reduce food crisis in a sustainable manner, while preserving consumer’s health, plant-derived pesticides may be a green alternative to synthetic ones.
1.3K
16 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Abiotic Stress Response in Cereal Crops
Cereals have evolved various tolerance mechanisms to cope with abiotic stress. Understanding the abiotic stress response mechanism of cereal crops at the molecular level offers a path to high-yielding and stress-tolerant cultivars to sustain food and nutritional security. In this regard, enormous progress has been made in the omics field in the areas of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Omics approaches generate a massive amount of data, and adequate advancements in computational tools have been achieved for effective analysis.
1.3K
09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Field Robots for Intelligent Farms
Field robots for use in intelligent farms can be of two types: mobile robots, capable of moving throughout the working field, and manipulators, normally attached to mobile robots and capable of performing some types of actions on crops. Mobile robots can be unmanned ground robots or unmanned aerial robots, whereas manipulators can follow diverse techniques that provide different characteristics: (1) rigid manipulators; (2) soft manipulators; (3) parallel robots; (4) dual-arm manipulators; (5) redundant, hyperredundant, or continuum manipulators; etc
1.3K
20 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Antagonistic Yeasts
Antagonistic yeasts (also known as biocontrol yeasts) are promising substitutes for chemical fungicides in the control of postharvest decay owing to their widespread distribution, antagonistic ability, environmentally friendly nature, and safety for humans.
1.3K
26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Microbial Fermentation Technology
Fermentation is one of the earliest biotechnological methods of food preservation and processing to be extensively applied in the world: foods (fermented food, food additives, functional materials and live probiotics); intestines (aids digestion and promotes absorption, synthetic bioactive substances, inhibits harmful bacteria, diabetes, cardiopathy and allergy); and industry (energy, soil transformation and sewage treatment). The current trends in fermented-based vegetable foods are growing. Fermentation has been used for ages as a safe technique for food preservation, and it uses minimal resources. Fermentation is related to a wide range of catabolic biochemical procedures in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Yeasts are eukaryotes; they can use oxygen while also having the ability to live without oxygen. The lactate fermentation process consists of glycolysis and some alternative steps.
1.3K
27 Dec 2022
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