Topic Review
Bile Acids in Retinal Diseases
Bile acids (BAs) are amphipathic sterols primarily synthesized from cholesterol in the liver and released in the intestinal lumen upon food intake. BAs play important roles in micellination of dietary lipids, stimulating bile flow, promoting biliary phospholipid secretion, and regulating cholesterol synthesis and elimination. Emerging evidence, however, suggests that, aside from their conventional biological function, BAs are also important signaling molecules and therapeutic tools. In the last decade, the therapeutic applications of BAs in the treatment of ocular diseases have gained great interest. 
  • 1.2K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Inclusive Fitness
In evolutionary biology, inclusive fitness is one of two metrics of evolutionary success as defined by W. D. Hamilton in 1964. An individual's own child, who carries one half of the individual's genes, is defined as one offspring equivalent. A sibling's child, who will carry one-quarter of the individual's genes, is 1/2 offspring equivalent. Similarly, a cousin's child, who has 1/16 of the individual's genes, is 1/8 offspring equivalent. From the gene's point of view, evolutionary success ultimately depends on leaving behind the maximum number of copies of itself in the population. Prior to Hamilton's work, it was generally assumed that genes only achieved this through the number of viable offspring produced by the individual organism they occupied. However, this overlooked a wider consideration of a gene's success, most clearly in the case of the social insects where the vast majority of individuals do not produce (their own) offspring.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mobile Computing for Pest and Disease Management
The demand for mobile applications in agriculture is increasing as smartphones are continuously developed and used for many purposes; one of them is managing pests and diseases in crops. Using mobile applications, farmers can detect early infection and improve the specified treatment and precautions to prevent further infection from occurring. Furthermore, farmers can communicate with agricultural authorities to manage their farm from home, and efficiently obtain information such as the spectral signature of crops. Therefore, the spectral signature can be used as a reference to detect pests and diseases with a hyperspectral sensor more efficiently than the conventional method, which takes more time to monitor the entire crop field. 
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Apr 2022
Topic Review
IP6K
Inositol and its phosphate metabolites play a pivotal role in several biochemical pathways and gene expression regulation: inositol pyrophosphates (PP-IPs) have been increasingly appreciated as key signaling modulators. Fluctuations in their intracellular levels hugely impact the transfer of phosphates and the phosphorylation status of several target proteins. Pharmacological modulation of the proteins associated with PP-IP activities has proved to be beneficial in various pathological settings. IP7 has been extensively studied and found to play a key role in pathways associated with PP-IP activities. Three inositol hexakisphosphate kinase (IP6K) isoforms regulate IP7 synthesis in mammals. Genomic deletion or enzymic inhibition of IP6K1 has been shown to reduce cell invasiveness and migration capacity, protecting against chemical-induced carcinogenesis. IP6K1 could therefore be a useful target in anticancer treatment.
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) is the causative agent of Fusarium wilt disease of watermelon; it is the most serious soil-borne pathogen around the globe. 
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Citrus Fruit Loss Caused by Pathogens
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contribute to the improvement of production and consumption systems, hence, assisting in the eradication of hunger and poverty. As a result, there is growing global interest in the direction of economic development to create a zero-waste economy or circular economy. Citrus fruits are a major fruit crop, with annual global production surpassing 100 million tons, while orange and tangerine production alone account for more than half of the overall production. During pre- and postharvest stages of citrus fruit production, it is estimated that more than 20% of fruit biomass is lost, due, primarily, to biotic stresses. Due to substantial changes in fruit characteristics and environmental conditions, some of the most economically significant pathogens infect fruits in the field during the growing season and remain dormant or inactive until they resume growth after harvest. 
  • 1.2K
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
cAMP-Response Element Modulator in Spermatogenesis and Male Fertility
Spermatogenesis is a very complex process with an intricate transcriptional regulation. The transition from the diploid to the haploid state requires the involvement of specialized genes in meiosis, among other specific functions for the formation of the spermatozoon. The transcription factor cAMP-response element modulator (CREM) is a key modulator that triggers the differentiation of the germ cell into the spermatozoon through the modification of gene expression. CREM has multiple repressor and activator isoforms whose expression is tissue-cell-type specific and tightly regulated by various factors at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational level. The activator isoform CREMτ controls the expression of several relevant genes in post-meiotic stages of spermatogenesis. In addition, exposure to xenobiotics negatively affects CREMτ expression, which is linked to male infertility. On the other hand, antioxidants could have a positive effect on CREMτ expression and improve sperm parameters in idiopathically infertile men.
  • 1.2K
  • 01 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Participatory Plant Breeding
Biodiversity in general, and agrobiodiversity in particular are crucial for adaptation to climate change, for resilience and for human health as related to dietary diversity. Plant breeding is a cyclic process during which breeders generate diversity, most commonly by making crosses; select, within the diversity generated during a varying number of years, which depends on the crop, the methodology and the type of variety to be produced; and eventually obtain as a final product a new variety, which in several countries must be distinct, uniform and stable for its seed to be legally commercialized. Participatory plant breeding (PPB) has been promoted for its advantages to increase selection efficiency, variety adoption and farmers’ empowerment, and for being more socially equitable and gender responsive than conventional plant breeding.
  • 1.2K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Potassium Channels in PAH
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare and severe cardiopulmonary disease without curative treatments. PAH is a multifactorial disease that involves genetic predisposition, epigenetic factors, and environmental factors (drugs, toxins, viruses, hypoxia, and inflammation), which contribute to the initiation or development of irreversible remodeling of the pulmonary vessels. The recent identification of loss-of-function mutations in KCNK3 (KCNK3 or TASK-1) and ABCC8 (SUR1), or gain-of-function mutations in ABCC9 (SUR2), as well as polymorphisms in KCNA5 (Kv1.5), which encode two potassium (K+) channels and two K+ channel regulatory subunits, has revived the interest of ion channels in PAH. This entry focuses on KCNK3, SUR1, SUR2, and Kv1.5 channels in pulmonary vasculature and discusses their pathophysiological contribution to and therapeutic potential in PAH.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Tendencies Affecting Growth and Cultivation of Genus Spirulina
Spirulina, a kind of blue-green algae, is one of the Earth’s oldest known forms of life. Spirulina grows best in very alkaline environments, although it may flourish across a wide variety of pH values. There are several techniques for growing Spirulina spp., ranging from open systems such as ponds and lakes, which are vulnerable to contamination by animals and extraterrestrial species, to closed systems such as photovoltaic reactors, which are not. Most contaminated toxins come from other toxic algae species that become mixed up during harvest, necessitating the study of spirulina production processes at home. Lighting, temperature, inoculation volume, stirring speed, dissolved particles, pH, water quality, and overall micronutrient richness are only a few of the environmental parameters influencing spirulina production.
  • 1.2K
  • 08 Dec 2022
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