Biology, Volume 9, Issue 7

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic metals in the environment, and has noxious effects on plant growth and production. Cd-accumulating plants showed reduced growth and productivity. Therefore, remediation of this non-essential and toxic pollutant i...

Achieving high embryo quality following IVF and ICSI procedures is a key factor in increasing fertility outcomes in human infertile couples. While the male factor is known to underlie infertility in about 50% of cases, studies performed in human infe...

The Cucumber aphid (Myzus persicae), a destructive cucumber aphid usually managed by chemical pesticides, is responsible for enormous annual agricultural losses. A protein elicitor, PeBL1, was investigated in the present work for its ability to induc...

Light around twilight provides the primary entrainment signal for circadian rhythms. Here we review the mechanisms and responses of the mouse and human circadian systems to light. Both utilize a network of photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGCs...

In early Alzheimer disease (AD) models synaptic failures and upstreaming aberrant patterns of network synchronous activity result in hippocampal-dependent memory deficits. In such initial stage, soluble forms of Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides have...

Placental mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Since preeclampsia is a hyperandrogenic state, we hypothesized that elevated maternal testosterone levels induce damage to placental mitochondria and decrea...

Edge-to-edge repair for mitral valve regurgitation is being increasingly performed in high-surgical risk patients using minimally invasive mitral clipping devices. Known procedural complications include chordal rupture and mitral leaflet perforation....

The quality of honey bee drone semen is relevant in different contexts, ranging from colony productivity to pathology, toxicology and biodiversity preservation. Despite its importance, considerably less knowledge is available on this subject for the...

At present, De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth is the medium of choice for promoting bacteriocin production. However, this medium is expensive and not applicable for large-scale production. Therefore, a low-cost and high-efficiency culture medium...

Magnetic fields are an unavoidable physical factor affecting living organisms. Lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativa var. cabitat L.) were subjected to various intensities of the static magnetic field (SMF) viz., MF0 (control), SMF1 (0.44 Tesla (T), SMF2 (0....

Although it was already described more than fifty years ago, there is yet no in-depth knowledge regarding the process of osseointegration as far as its mechanism of action is concerned. It could be one of the body’s ways of reacting to a foreig...

The early cellular response to infection has been investigated extensively, generating valuable information regarding the mediators of acute infection response. Various cytokines have been highlighted for their critical roles, and the actions of thes...

Microalgae have a wide industrial potential because of their high metabolic diversity and plasticity. Selection of optimal cultivation methods is important to optimize multi-purpose microalgal biotechnologies. In this research, Chlorella sorokiniana...

Proteolysis degree, biological activities, and water-soluble peptide patterns were evaluated in 12 month-ripened Parmigiano Reggiano (PR) cheeses collected in different dairy farms and showing different salt and fat content. Samples classified in hig...

The study focused on the changes in vegetation and soils on an undeveloped area of coal mine spoil heaps. The process of vegetation changes was evaluated on the basis of historical cartographic materials and fieldwork. Changes of vegetation in nearly...

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are being increasingly recognised as key modulators of various biological mechanisms, including the immune response. Although investigations in teleosts are still lagging behind those conducted in mammals, current resear...

Skeletal muscle dysfunction and reduced physical capacity are characteristic features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the search for a reliable biomarker to assess muscle health in CODP remains elusive. We analyzed the cours...

Matthiola incana (L.) R. Br. (Brassicaceae) is widely cultivated for ornamental purposes and utilized as a medicinal plant. In the present work, the hydroalcoholic extract from the aerial parts of this species has been evaluated in different bioassay...

After the discovery in 1967 of plant glyoxysomes, aconitase, one the five enzymes involved in the glyoxylate cycle, was thought to be present in the organelles, and although this was found not to be the case around 25 years ago, it is still suggested...

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) crossing and brain penetration are really challenging for the delivery of therapeutic agents and imaging probes. The development of new crossing strategies is needed, and a wide range of approaches (invasive or not) have bee...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation potential, and are considered a promising cell population for cell-based therapy and tissue regeneration. MSCs are isolated from various organs includin...

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a leafy green with a short-production cycle that is emerging as a model species among aromatic plants. Modulating the mineral composition of the nutrient solution has proved to be a valuable tool to uncover the me...

MicroRNA-122 (miR-122) has been identified as a marker of various liver injuries, including hepatitis- virus-infection-, alcoholic-, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-induced liver fibrosis. Here, we report that the extracellular miR-122 from...

Chitosan is a polysaccharide commonly used, together with its derivatives, in the preparation of hydrogel formulations, scaffolds and films for tissue engineering applications. Chitosan can be used as such, but it is commonly stabilized by means of c...

Policy decision-making for system resilience to a hazard requires the estimation and prediction of the trends of growth and decline of the impacts of the hazard. With focus on the recent worldwide spread of CoVid-19, we take the infection rate as the...

Diatoms are major contributors to global primary production and their populations in the modern oceans are affected by availability of iron, nitrogen, phosphate, silica, and other trace metals, vitamins, and infochemicals. However, little is known ab...

Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) is a leading cause of death in hospitalized patients worldwide. Despite decades of effort, there is no effective treatment for preventing the serious medical condition. Bee venom has long been used to treat...

Armillaria sinapina, a fungal pathogen of primary timber species of North American forests, causes white root rot disease that ultimately kills the trees. A more detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying this illness will support...

Myogenesis is the biological process by which skeletal muscle tissue forms. Regulation of myogenesis involves a variety of conventional, epigenetic, and epigenomic mechanisms that control chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, histone modification, a...

Amphibian skin secretions are remarkable sources of novel bioactive peptides. Among these, antimicrobial peptides have demonstrated an outstanding efficacy in killing microorganisms via a general membranolytic mechanism, which may offer the prospect...

Serine protease inhibitors are found in plants, animals and microorganisms, where they play important roles in many physiological and pathological processes. Inhibitor scaffolds based on natural proteins and peptides have gradually become the focus o...

Despite intensive research, cancer incidence and mortality continue to rise. Consequently, the necessity to develop effective anti-cancer therapy is apparent. We have recently shown that the gut bacteria of animals living in polluted environments, su...

Hepatic fibrosis is the accumulation of excess collagen as a result of chronic liver injury. If left unabated, hepatic fibrosis can lead to the disruption of the liver architecture, portal hypertension, and increased risk of progression to cirrhosis...

Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is expected to continue rising by 2100, leading to a decrease in ocean pH in a process known as ocean acidification (OA). OA can have a direct impact on calcifying organisms, including on the cuttlebone...

The switch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) family of proteins acts to regulate chromatin accessibility and plays an essential role in multiple cellular processes. A high frequency of mutations has been found in SWI/SNF family subunits by exome seque...

Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, one of the most important vectors and reservoirs of tick-borne diseases in Europe, are widespread in the temperate climate zone and in some localities in the subtropical climate zone of the western Palaearctic region. T...

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is highly expressed in the tumor microenvironment and known to play a multifunctional role in cancer progression. In addition, TGF-β1 promotes metastasis by inducing epithelial–mesenchymal t...

Potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) deficiency are common stresses that can impact on grape yield and quality, but their effects on photosynthesis have received little attention. Understanding the diffusional and biochemical limitations to photosyntheti...

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers among men, and one of the leading causes of cancer death for men. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway is required for several cellular functions, such as survival, proliferation, different...