Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology: A New Epoch for Toxicology Research

Systems biology and synthetic biology are emerging disciplines which are becoming increasingly utilised in several areas of bioscience. Toxicology is beginning to benefit from systems biology and we suggest in the future that is will also benefit from synthetic biology. Thus, a new era is on the horizon. This review illustrates how a suite of innovative techniques and tools can be applied to understanding complex health and toxicology issues. We review limitations confronted by the traditional computational approaches to toxicology and epidemiology research, using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their effects on adverse birth outcomes as an illustrative example. We introduce how systems toxicology (and their subdisciplines, genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic toxicology) will help to overcome such limitations. In particular, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mathematical frameworks that computationally represent biological systems. Finally, we discuss the nascent discipline of synthetic biology and highlight relevant toxicological centred applications of this technique, including improvements in personalised medicine. We conclude this review by presenting a number of opportunities and challenges that could shape the future of these rapidly evolving disciplines.

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Digital Photography of the Larynx

Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology ◽

10.1177/000348940211100707 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 111 (7) ◽

pp. 603-608 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bruce Benjamin

Keyword(s):

Digital Photography ◽

Medical Documentation ◽

New Era ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Single Lens ◽

The Future ◽

Rigid Rod ◽

The Way

Digital photographic technology has ushered in a new era in medical documentation. The author's method of still digital photography for direct and indirect laryngeal photodocumentation using a single-lens-reflex camera and rigid rod-lens telescopes is described, and the results are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of different systems using still or video photography are discussed, and the importance of storing the archival image securely is emphasized. It is concluded that digital photography is convenient and versatile and gives good-quality images. It is the way of the future.

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Future Trends for In Situ Monitoring of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water Sources: The Role of Immunosensing Techniques

Biosensors ◽

10.3390/bios9040142 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 142 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shifa Felemban ◽

Patricia Vazquez ◽

Eric Moore

Keyword(s):

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽

Surface Functionalization ◽

Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽

Water Samples ◽

In Situ Monitoring ◽

Great Promise ◽

Detection Techniques ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous environmental pollutants found in water, soil, and air. Exposure to this family of chemicals presents a danger to human health, and as a result, it is imperative to design methods that are able to detect PAHs in the environment, thus improving the quality of drinking water and agricultural soils. This review presents emerging immunoassay techniques used for in situ detection of PAH in water samples and how they compare to common-place techniques. It will discuss their advantages and disadvantages and why it is required to find new solutions to analyze water samples. These techniques are effective in reducing detection times and complexity of measurements. Immunoassay methods presented here are able to provide in situ analysis of PAH concentrations in a water sample, which can be a great complement to existing laboratory techniques due to their real-time screening and portability for immunoassay techniques. The discussion shows in detail the most relevant state-of-the-art surface functionalization techniques used in the field of immunosensors, with the aim to improve PAH detection capabilities. Specifically, three surface functionalization techniques are key approaches to improve the detection of PAHs, namely, substrate surface reaction, layer-by-layer technique, and redox-active probes. These techniques have shown promising improvements in the detection of PAHs in water samples, since they show a wider linear range and high level of sensitivity compared to traditional PAH detection techniques. This review explores the various methods used in the detection of PAH in water environments. It provides extra knowledge to scientists on the possible solutions that can be used to save time and resources. The combination of the solutions presented here shows great promise in the development of portable solutions that will be able to analyze a sample in a matter of minutes on the field.

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Can trust become a factor of economic growth? Dynamic changes in the level of trust of Russian youth

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2020-7-92-107 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 92-107 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. I. Bakhtigaraeva ◽

A. A. Stavinskaya

Keyword(s):

Institutional Environment ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Dynamic Changes ◽

Generalized Trust ◽

Level Of Education ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

The Future ◽

Analysis Of Dynamics

The article considers the role of trust in the economy, the mechanisms of its accumulation and the possibility of using it as one of the growth factors in the future. The advantages and disadvantages of measuring the level of generalized trust using two alternative questions — about trusting people in general and trusting strangers — are analyzed. The results of the analysis of dynamics of the level of generalized trust among Russian youth, obtained within the study of the Institute for National Projects in 10 regions of Russia, are presented. It is shown that there are no significant changes in trust in people in general during the study at university. At the same time, the level of trust in strangers falls, which can negatively affect the level of trust in the country as a whole, and as a result have negative effects on the development of the economy in the future. Possible causes of the observed trends and the role of universities are discussed. Also the question about the connection between the level of education and generalized trust in countries with different quality of the institutional environment is raised.

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284. Dermal Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Among Finnish Coke Oven Workers

10.3320/1.2763625 ◽

2000 ◽

Author(s):

L. Pyy ◽

M. Makela

Keyword(s):

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽

Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽

Coke Oven ◽

Dermal Exposure ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic ◽

Coke Oven Workers

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Editor’s Pick: Regulatory and Ethical Issues in the New Era of Radiomics and Radiogenomics

EMJ Radiology ◽

10.33590/emjradiol/19-00165 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Filippo Pesapane

Keyword(s):

Ethical Issues ◽

Medical Images ◽

Practical Significance ◽

Innovative Technology ◽

New Era ◽

Naked Eye ◽

Disease Characteristics ◽

The Future ◽

Using Data ◽

The Relationship

Radiomics is a science that investigates a large number of features from medical images using data-characterisation algorithms, with the aim to analyse disease characteristics that are indistinguishable to the naked eye. Radiogenomics attempts to establish and examine the relationship between tumour genomic characteristics and their radiologic appearance. Although there is certainly a lot to learn from these relationships, one could ask the question: what is the practical significance of radiogenomic discoveries? This increasing interest in such applications inevitably raises numerous legal and ethical questions. In an environment such as the technology field, which changes quickly and unpredictably, regulations need to be timely in order to be relevant. In this paper, issues that must be solved to make the future applications of this innovative technology safe and useful are analysed.

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