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Topic Review
Hydroxytyrosol in Food Products
Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is an amphipathic functional phenol found in the olive tree, both in its leaves and fruits, in free or bound forms, as well as in olive oil and by-products of olive oil manufacture. It is recognized as safe by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has obvious health effect when consumed regularly with the prerequisite to contain at least 5 mg/20 g oil of HT and related compounds. According to the dietary data from the European Union, it is estimated that the mean values of HT consumption in adults is far from the daily recommended intake, which relays the importance of the incorporation of HT in other types of products.
  • 2.6K
  • 23 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Applications of Photosynthetic Systems
       In biological and life science applications photosynthesis is an important process that involves the absorption and transformation of sunlight into chemical energy. During the photosynthesis process, the light photons are captured by the green chlorophyll pigments in their photosynthetic antennae and further funneled to the reaction center. One of the mostimportant light harvesting complexes that are highly important in the study of photosynthesis is the membrane-attached Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex found in the green sulfur bacteria. In this review, we discuss the mathematical formulations and computational modeling of some of the light harvesting complexes including FMO. The most recent research developments in the photosynthetic light harvesting complexes are thoroughly discussed. The theoretical background related to the spectral density, quantum coherence and density functional theory (DFT) has been elaborated.Further, details about the transfer and excitation of energy in different sites of the FMO complex along with other vital photosynthetic light harvesting complexes have also been provided. In particular, we will review recent results on spectral density, quantum coherence, quantum entanglement and excitonic energies of different pigments in the light harvesting complexes. We will also discuss the issues pertinent to the highest occupied orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupiedorbital (LUMO) energies for all the bacteriochlorophyll utilizing the time-dependent DFT. These results would be helpful in studying the excitonic dynamics of the light harvesting complexes among different applications. Finally, we conclude this review by providing the current and potential applications in environmental science, energy, health and medicine, where such mathematical and computational studies of the photosynthesis and the light harvesting complexes can be readily integrated.
  • 2.6K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Purple Tomatoes
Purple tomatoes represent a recent variant of tomato fruits characterized by a purple coloration, not present in the more common red fruited varieties. This peculiar pigmentation is due to the presence of anthocyanins. These are plant secondary metabolites responsible for red, purple and blue colorations of flowers, fruits and leaves in many species. They are usually assumed with the diet, being rich sources mostly represented by red and purple fruits or dark vegetables (e.g., berries, cherries, plums, grapes, black beans, red onions, eggplant, red cabbage, purple sweet potatoes). As other polyphenolic compounds, they can provide many health benefits, and, as a consequence, their consumption can be helpful in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular, metabolic and degenerative or chronic diseases and of certain types of cancer. Tomato fruits are naturally rich of carotenoids, vitamins and polyphenols, but do not contain anthocyanins, due to mutations in their specific biosynthetic pathway. However, in recent years, either through genetic engineering or introgression by breeding of specific gene variants using wild relatives, this biosynthetic block has been overcome. This allowed the production of the new tomatoes’ phenotypes characterized by purple pigmentation localized only on the fruit peel or in both peel and flesh. In purple tomatoes, the high concentrations of anthocyanins that can be achieved, and not to the detriment of other metabolites, represent a real added nutritional value of these fruits.
  • 2.6K
  • 15 Jan 2021
Topic Review
DNA Barcoding
DNA barcoding is a method of species identification using a short section of DNA from a specific gene or genes. The premise of DNA barcoding is that, by comparison with a reference library of such DNA sections (also called "sequences"), an individual sequence can be used to uniquely identify an organism to species, in the same way that a supermarket scanner uses the familiar black stripes of the UPC barcode to identify an item in its stock against its reference database. These "barcodes" are sometimes used in an effort to identify unknown species, parts of an organism, or simply to catalog as many taxa as possible, or to compare with traditional taxonomy in an effort to determine species boundaries. Different gene regions are used to identify the different organismal groups using barcoding. The most commonly used barcode region for animals and some protists is a portion of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI or COX1) gene, found in mitochondrial DNA. Other genes suitable for DNA barcoding are the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA often used for fungi and RuBisCO used for plants. Microorganisms are detected using different gene regions. The 16S rRNA gene for example is widely used in identification of prokaryotes, whereas the 18S rRNA gene is mostly used for detecting microbial eukaryotes. These gene regions are chosen because they have less intraspecific (within species) variation than interspecific (between species) variation, which is known as the "Barcoding Gap". Some applications of DNA barcoding include: identifying plant leaves even when flowers or fruits are not available; identifying pollen collected on the bodies of pollinating animals; identifying insect larvae which may have fewer diagnostic characters than adults; or investigating the diet of an animal based on its stomach content, saliva or feces. When barcoding is used to identify organisms from a sample containing DNA from more than one organism, the term DNA metabarcoding is used, e.g. DNA metabarcoding of diatom communities in rivers and streams, which is used to assess water quality.
  • 2.6K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Halophytes of the Mediterranean Basin
Halophytes represent an ancient and remarkable ecological group of annual or perennial plants with very complex features, whose definition and classification are still not univocal and often controversial. The species belonging to this group are very different from an ecological, morpho–physiological, and taxonomic point of view. Therefore, their definition can be subjective and vary a lot in the literature according to the different interpretations. However, following the most popular definition used in the literature, halophytes can be identified as plants that grow naturally, and complete their life cycle in environments that contain a higher salt content than most plant species can tolerate.
  • 2.6K
  • 23 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Muscle Memory
Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synonymously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed with little to no conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. Muscle memory is found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding bicycles, driving motor vehicles, playing ball sports, typing on keyboards, entering PINs, playing musical instruments, poker, martial arts, and dancing.
  • 2.6K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Vitamin Supplements and Chronic Alcohol Consumption
Alcoholic drinks are extensively consumed worldwide. Drinking alcohol has negative and positive consequences. The health consequences of alcohol intake vary depending on the amount and pattern of consumption.
  • 2.6K
  • 24 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Coffee Cherry Structure and Processing
Coffee bean harvesting incurs various by-products known for their long traditional use. However, they often still end up being a waste instead of being used to their full potential. On the European market, coffee cherry (cascara) products are not yet common, and a novel food approval for beverages made from coffee cherry pulp was issued only recently. 
  • 2.6K
  • 08 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Activity of Kalanchoe pinnata in Cancer
Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam) Pers. (syn. Bryophyllum pinnatum Lam.), belonging to the genus Kalanchoe, is a succulent plant cultivated in gardens, which can be found as a herb or shrub. The bioactive ingredients in Kalanchoe pinnata, a succulent herb with ethnomedical applications for several diseases, including cancer, and reveal its anticancer mechanisms through a molecular approach.
  • 2.6K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Tissues to Implant Abutments
This entry is based on the fact that physical or biomechanical phenomena can cause biologic results. Implant-abutment connection structures determine the stability of soft tissue attachment to abutments. The bone responses to the strain that the stress is converted to, not the stress itself. Some implant-abutment materials and connection designs prevent the marginal bone loss by converting the stress to the strain stimulating bone apposition properly. These biomechanical interpretation of soft tissue seal and bone stimulation should be understood for the clinical long-term success of dental implants.
  • 2.6K
  • 27 Oct 2020
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