Encyclopedia
Scholarly Community
Encyclopedia
Entry
Video
Image
Journal
Book
News
About
Entry
Entry
Video
Image
Log in/Sign up
Submit
Entry
Video
Image
Subject:
All Disciplines
Arts & Humanities
Biology & Life Sciences
Business & Economics
Chemistry & Materials Science
Computer Science & Mathematics
Engineering
Environmental & Earth Sciences
Medicine & Pharmacology
Physical Sciences
Public Health & Healthcare
Social Sciences
Sort:
Hottest
Latest
Alphabetical (A-Z)
Alphabetical (Z-A)
Type:
All
Topic Review
Biography
Topic Review
Phenolic Compounds from Australian Grown Bananas
Bananas are an essential source of staple food and fruit worldwide and are widely regarded as the world’s largest fruit crop, with more than 100 million tons total annual production. Banana peel, a by-product that represents about 40% of the entire banana’s weight, and pulp are rich in bioactive compounds and have a high antioxidant capacity.
919
22 Oct 2021
Topic Review
The Dual Role of Reactive Oxygen Species
The phrase “reactive oxygen species” (ROS) is commonly used to describe the highly reactive free radicals and molecules originating from molecular oxygen. This so-called bi-radical state of oxygen explains its reactivity: one of its electrons can be paired with an external electron with an antiparallel spin, resulting in the production of the highly reactive superoxide radical (O2·−). Since the superoxide radical is weakly basic and highly soluble in water at physiological pH, cellular membranes are relatively impermeable to it. However, O2·− can be converted into membrane-permeable H2O2 by superoxide dismutase (SOD) or protonated to hydroperoxyl radicals (HOO·). Furthermore, O2·− reacts with H2O2 through the Haber–Weiss reaction using iron catalysis, resulting in the formation of highly reactive and cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (HO·). Furthermore, during the hydroperoxide and polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism, other types of ROS, namely the peroxyl (ROO·) and alkoxyl (RO·) radicals, are formed as intermediates. On the one hand, high amounts of ROS may damage biomolecules due to their high reactivity. On the other hand—at strictly regulated levels—ROS are essential to maintaining the redox homeostasis of the cells, and they are engaged in many cellular signalling pathways, so their total elimination by the antioxidant system is not expedient.
919
13 May 2022
Topic Review
γ-Hydroxybutyric Acid
γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is an endogenous short chain fatty acid that acts as a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator in the mammalian brain. It has often been illegally abused or misused due to its strong anesthetic effect, particularly in drug-facilitated crimes worldwide. However, proving its ingestion is not straightforward because of the difficulty in distinguishing between endogenous and exogenous GHB, as well as its rapid metabolism. Metabolomics and metabolism studies have recently been used to identify potential biomarkers of GHB exposure.
919
04 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Aggression in Dogs
Aggression as a behavior is not always desirable, often ends in abandonment and/or euthanasia. However, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of unwanted aggression in domestic dogs. Aggression is not a fully understood phenomenon. To aim to generalize the dogs’ behavior and understand their behavioral needs, ethograms have been developed. Communication of any kind, including aggression, is a natural part of a dog’s ethogram. An ethogram is a species-specific list of natural behavior. Dog ethograms include affiliate, agonistic, defensive, sedative, sexual, demonstrative, warning, stressful, playful, grooming, exploratory, related to hunting, or related to the reduction of stress.
918
11 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Flow Cytometry and Respiratory Diseases
Flow cytometry (FCM) arises with the design of the cell spectrophotometer, which makes it possible to measure both the content of nucleic acids and the size of the analyzed cells. The subject of the study is not limited to humans, other animal species and bacterias can also be studied. Moreover, FCM allows identify expression of molecules in the membrane, cytoplasm or nucleus, beside soluble proteins (cytokines, chemokines, etc), extracellular vesicles, antibodies, etc.
918
14 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Intra-Organismal Distribution of Tetrodotoxin in Tetrodotoxin-Bearing Animals
Tetrodotoxin (TTX), one of the deadliest natural toxins, has attracted the interest of researchers from various fields for decades. This non-protein, weakly basic, heat-resistant low-molecular-weight toxin selectively blocks voltage-gated sodium channels along the muscle and nerve cells.
918
08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Shea Butter Tree for Nutritional Value
Vitellaria paradoxa (C.F.Gaertn.) is a multi-purpose tree species distributed in a narrow band across sub-Saharan Africa. The species is integrated into cropping and agroforestry systems as a nutritional and economic resource, which provides a range of environmental services. Integration of the species into land-use systems provides an essential source of livelihoods and income for local populations. The economic potential of the shea butter tree derives from its edible products, which also serve cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.
919
20 Dec 2021
Topic Review
FNDC5/Irisin
Irisin is a portion of the cell membrane protein known as FNDC5 (FNDC5 Fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5). FNDC5 consists of a signal peptide, a fibronectin III domain, and a C-terminal domain. FNDC5 comprises 209 amino acid residues, having a signal sequence of 29 amino acids at the N-terminal end, followed by a 94-amino-acid residue fibronectin III (FNIII) 2 domains (irisin domain), a linking peptide comprising 28 amino acid residues, a 19-amino-acid residue transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic domain consisting of 39 amino acid residues.
918
04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Elovl4 genes in Sparus aurata
Very long-chain (˃C24) fatty acids (VLC-FA) play critical roles during early development of vertebrates, since these compounds are accumulated in the rapidly forming neural tissues, ensuring their normal function. However, despite their putative importance, the study of VLC-FA in fish is scarce. Biosynthesis of VLC-FA is carried out by the so-called elongation of very long-chain fatty acid 4 (Elovl4) proteins and, consequently, the complement and function of these enzymes determine the capacity that a given species has for satisfying the physiological demands for VLC-FA, especially during its early development. The present study aimed to characterize elovl4 genes from the marine teleosts Sparus aurata and Solea senegalensis, and determine the function of the corresponding encoded proteins. Moreover, the tissue expression pattern of elovl4 genes was determined. The results confirmed that both fish species possess two distinct Elovl4 proteins termed as Elovl4a and Elovl4b based on their homology to the zebrafish orthologs. Functional assays in yeast denoted that both Elovl4a and Elovl4b from both species had the capability to elongate C20-24 fatty acid precursors to VLC-FA products. However, Elovl4b appeared to have a higher activity than Elovl4a elongating all the polyunsaturated fatty acid substrates assayed to longer chain polyunsaturated products, especially on the n-3 series. Gene expression results indicated that, although elovl4 transcripts were detected in most tissues analyzed, elovl4 genes were more strongly expressed in both species neural tissues such as brain and eyes, which showed the highest expression levels of elovl4a and elovl4b, respectively. These results are consistent with the functions of Elovl4 from other vertebrates. Importantly, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the VLC-FA biosynthetic pathway in marine teleosts, highlighting the crucial role that Elovl4 products carry out for the correct development and maintenance of neurophysiologic functions during early stages of the fish development.
918
28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Cow Milk as Material for Processing
Milk, alongside meat, is one of the basic animal materials of importance in food processing. Most of the world’s milk production is carried out in an intensive system focused on high productivity at the expense of quality. This system is dominant in highly developed countries, while milk production in developing and poorer countries is still carried out in a traditional manner, using silage.
918
22 Oct 2021
Page
of
1814
Featured Entry Collections
>>
Featured Books
>>
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Chief Editor:
Michael McAleer
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Chief Editor:
Stephen Bustin
Encyclopedia of Fungi
Chief Editor:
Luis V. Lopez-Llorca
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Chief Editor:
Sandro Serpa
Entry
Video
Image
Journal
Book
News
About
Log in/Sign up
New Entry
New Video
New Images
About
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Advisory Board
Contact
Partner
Video Production Service
Feedback
Top
Feedback
×
Help Center
Browse our user manual, common Q&A, author guidelines, etc.
Rate your experience
Let us know your experience and what we could improve.
Report an error
Is something wrong? Please let us know!
Other feedback
Other feedback you would like to report.
×
Did you find what you were looking for?
Love
Like
Neutral
Dislike
Hate
0
/500
Email
Do you agree to share your valuable feedback publicly on
Encyclopedia
’s homepage?
Yes, I agree. Encyclopedia can post it.
No, I do not agree. I would not like to post my testimonial.
Webpage
Upload a screenshot
(Max file size 2MB)
Submit
Back
Close
×