Topic Review
Mechanobiology of Chondrocytes
This entry is associated with a review article, published in MDPI Applied Sciences on 23 April 2020, about the current knowledge on the mechanical stimulation of mesenchymal stem cells for cartilage regeneration. Loading stresses, physiologically experienced by chondrocytes, regulate the production of glycosaminoglycan and collagen, as well as promote and preserve cell viability. Therefore, there is a rising interest in the development of devices that impose mechanical stimuli, such as compression and shear stress, on mesenchymal stem cells. The mentioned review will analyze the dynamics within the joint, the physiological stimuli experienced by the chondrocytes, and how the biomechanical stimulation can be applied to a stem cell culture in order to induce chondrogenesis. In addition to that, paper lists some of the current applications in the field.
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Documented Skeletal Collections in the United States
In the US, documented skeletal collections are a collective of human skeletons that originated (mostly) from body donations, human taphonomy facilities (e.g., the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection), and anatomical dissections (e.g., Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection). These collections are a major asset in the testing and development of methods used to infer the biological profile of human remains.
  • 1.1K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Age-at-Death Estimation by Dental Means
Age-at-death is one of the most valuable pieces of information in a biological profile, and is an important step in identifying remains. Age-at-death estimation by dental means is performed by forensic odontologists and forensic anthropologists in their daily casework tasks. Osteological and dental methods of age estimation rely on developmental changes in younger individuals and on degenerative changes in older individuals. Skeletal methods based on developmental changes are highly reliable, while methods based on degenerative or post-formation changes show higher variability. From all skeletal methods, those relying on tooth formation and development are the most accurate to assess an individual’s age. Dental methods of age estimation can be implemented in the skeletal analysis of juvenile and adult remains, representing an additional indicator of age.
  • 1.0K
  • 07 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Fluorescence Microscopy to Aanalyze Lignin
Lignin is one of the most studied and analyzed materials due to its importance in cell structure and in lignocellulosic biomass. Because lignin exhibits autofluorescence, fluorescence microscopy methods have been developed that allow it to be analyzed and characterized directly in plant tissue and in samples of lignocellulose fibers. Compared to destructive and costly analytical techniques, fluorescence microscopy presents suitable alternatives for the analysis of lignin autofluorescence. The existing qualitative methods are Epifluorescence and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy; however, other semi-qualitative methods have been developed that allow fluorescence measurements and to quantify the differences in the structural composition of lignin. The methods are fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy, two-photon microscopy, Föster resonance energy transfer, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, total internal reflection fluorescence, and stimulated emission depletion. With these methods, it is possible to analyze the transport and polymerization of lignin monomers, distribution of lignin of the syringyl or guaiacyl type in the tissues of various plant species, and changes in the degradation of wood by pulping and biopulping treatments as well as identify the purity of cellulose nanofibers through lignocellulosic biomass.
  • 980
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster
The Hox gene cluster, responsible for patterning of the head–tail axis, is an ancestral feature of all bilaterally symmetrical animals (the Bilateria) that remains intact in a wide range of species.
  • 970
  • 20 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Combined Scientific and Artistic Approach
The main objective of this study was to propose a novel methodology to approach challenges in molecular biology. Akirin/Subolesin (AKR/SUB) are vaccine protective antigens and a model for the study of the interactome due to its conserved function in the regulation of different biological processes such as immunity and development throughout the metazoan. Herein, three visual artists and a music professor collaborated with scientists for the functional characterization of the AKR2 interactome in the regulation of the NF-kB pathway in human placenta cells. The results served as a methodological proof-of-concept to advance this research area. The results showed new perspectives on unexplored characteristics of AKR2 with functional implications. These results included protein dimerization, the physical interactions with different proteins simultaneously to regulate various biological processes defined by cell type-specific AKR-protein interactions and how these interactions positively or negatively regulate the Nuclear Factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) signaling pathway in a biological context-dependent manner. These results suggested that AKR2 interacting proteins might constitute suitable secondary transcription factors for cell and stimulus-specific regulation of NF-kB. Musical perspective supported AKR/SUB evolutionary conservation in different species and provided new mechanistic insights into the AKR2 interactome. The combined scientific and artistic perspectives resulted in a multidisciplinary approach advancing our knowledge on AKR/SUB interactome and provided new insights into the function of AKR2-protein interactions in the regulation of the NF-kB pathway. Additionally, herein we proposed an algorithm for quantum vaccinomics by focusing on the model proteins AKR/SUB. This study was recently accepted for publication in Vaccines (Artigas-Jerónimo, S., Pastor Comín, J.J., Villar, M., Contreras, M., Alberdi, P., León Viera, I., Soto, L., Cordero, R., Valdés, J.J., Cabezas-Cruz, A., Estrada-Peña, A., de la Fuente, J. 2020. A novel combined scientific and artistic approach for advanced characterization of interactomes: the Akiri/Subolesinn model. Vaccines 8, 77)
  • 951
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
CD44
CD44, a non-kinase cell surface transmembrane glycoprotein, has been widely implicated as a cancer stem cell (CSC) marker in several cancers. Cells overexpressing CD44 possess several CSC traits, such as self-renewal and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) capability, as well as a resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy.
  • 921
  • 28 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Bradoriids and the Cambrian Diversification
Bradoriids, among the earliest arthropods to appear in the fossil record, are extinct, ostracod-like bivalved forms that ranged from the early Cambrian to the Middle Ordovician. Bradoriids are notable for having appeared in the Cambrian fossil record before the earliest trilobites, and considering their rapid ascent to high genus-level diversity, provide key data for our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the Cambrian Explosion. This paper presents a broad review of bradoriid paleobiology. 
  • 899
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Anatomical Variations of the External Jugular Vein
The external jugular vein (EJV) descends superficially to the sternocleidomastoid muscle and drains into the subclavian vein after penetrating the deep cervical fascia. Numerous morphological possibilities of the EJV could occur and should be carefully interpreted. These include fenestrations and double fenestrations, true or false duplications, triplication, absence, aberrant origin or course, bifurcation, or the internal jugular vein termination of the EJV. 
  • 896
  • 31 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Surfactant and the Glycocalyx
Gas exchange in the lung takes place via the air-blood barrier in the septal walls of alveoli. The tissue elements that oxygen molecules have to cross are the alveolar epithelium, the interstitium and the capillary endothelium. The epithelium that lines the alveolar surface is covered by a thin and continuous liquid lining layer. Pulmonary surfactant acts at this air-liquid interface. By virtue of its biophysical and immunomodulatory functions, surfactant keeps alveoli open, dry and clean. What needs to be added to this picture is the glycocalyx of the alveolar epithelium. Here, we briefly review what is known about this glycocalyx and how it can be visualized using electron microscopy. The application of colloidal thorium dioxide as a staining agent reveals differences in the staining pattern between type I and type II alveolar epithelial cells and shows close associations of the glycocalyx with intraalveolar surfactant subtypes such as tubular myelin. These morphological findings indicate that specific spatial interactions between components of the surfactant system and those of the alveolar epithelial glycocalyx exist which may contribute to the maintenance of alveolar homeostasis, in particular to alveolar micromechanics, to the functional integrity of the air-blood barrier, to the regulation of the thickness and viscosity of the alveolar lining layer, and to the defence against inhaled pathogens. Exploring the alveolar epithelial glycocalyx in conjunction with the surfactant system opens novel physiological perspectives of potential clinical relevance for future research.
  • 888
  • 03 May 2021
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