scholarly journals Pleiotropic Effects of MicroRNA in Health and Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-102
Author(s):  
Eduard Alexandru Dumitras ◽  
Manuela Ciocoiu ◽  
Ioana Grigoras

MiRNAs are small, 19-25 nucleotides long strands of RNA that are non-coding and control the effects of messenger RNA. With more than 30.000 miRNAs, their roles are extensive. Since their discovery, it has been demonstrated that they are key elements in many important cellular functions, such as homeostasis, metabolism, development, and senescence. Due to rapid scientific progress, the role of miRNAs and the impact of their dysregulation on major human pathologies are being progressively recognized. Increasing evidence suggests their importance in medicine as potential biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy responsiveness, as well as potential therapeutic targets, making them potentially useful tools for clinical practice. This paper aims to review some of the most important and newest miRNAs interrelation with cardiovascular, neurological, renal, autoimmune, hepatic, infectious diseases, and cancer.

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Kutyakov ◽  
A. V. Salmina

The basic information on the classification, structure, induction and degradation, functions of the protein family – metallothionein (MT), including CNS in health and disease are presented in this review. It was found that four major isoforms of metallothionein perform different biological roles, are localized in dif- ferent tissues. Induction of MT is a universal reaction to the impact of a variety of stress factors. In recent years, understanding of the role of metallothioneins in metal homeostasis in the tissues in normal and pathological conditions have changed significantly. Notes polyfunctionality metallothioneins (transport of metal ions, maintaining redox reactions, tread, signal, modulated and regulatory functions) and their im- pact on basic cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, programmed cell death. Further- more, a special role is shown MT in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and neoplastic disorders.Currently, these molecules are increasingly considered as potential targets for therapy of a wide range of diseases and the development of targeted approaches to the regulation of expression of MT – one of the promising areas of pharmacology and toxicology. Stressed the safety of metallothioneins as therapeutic agents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 408
Author(s):  
Fernando Almeida-García ◽  
Rafael Cortés-Macías ◽  
Krzysztof Parzych

This study analyzes the role of residents in urban tourist destinations affected by the increase in tourist flows, which have generated various problems such as tourism, gentrification and the emergence of tourism as a threat to residents. The role of residents in tourist destinations has not been analyzed regularly during the development process of destinations. We study two cases of historic centers in European cities, with the aim of comparing tourism problems, which are common to most European urban destinations. This study was conducted by administering surveys amongst residents of these historic centers (378 in Málaga, Spain, and 380 in Gdansk, Poland). These cities show a similar demographic size and urban characteristics. This is the first comparative research on tourism-phobia and gentrification in destinations, a field of analysis that is still not studied much. We develop specific scales to measure gentrification and tourism-phobia; moreover, we study the impact of some tourist problems that affect residents (noise, dirt, occupation of public spaces, etc.), and we show the spatial distribution of tourism-phobia. The same analysis instruments are used for both cities. The results of this study show that the tourism-phobia situation is different in the analyzed destinations. It is more intense in the case of Málaga than in Gdansk. The two historic centers are especially affected by the processes of increased tourist flows and the growth of new forms of tourist accommodation. The research results show that the residents’ annoyance caused by tourism gentrification is more intense than tourism-phobia. Both case studies highlight the residents’ complaints regarding the inadequate management of problems by public stakeholders and control measures.


Author(s):  
Amanda Baskwill ◽  
Meredith Vanstone

AbstractBackgroundSocietal expectations around traditional binary gender roles result in some professions being considered “men’s work” or “women’s work”. Massage therapy (MT) is one such profession that, despite being predominantly female, is joined by an increasing number of men with a desire to help others.MethodsThis descriptive phenomenological study asked male massage therapists in Ontario, Canada, about their experience of gender in their professional lives. Fourteen men shared their experiences of practice, which included discriminatory hiring and patient preferences for female practitioners. These issues resulted in difficulty establishing a clinical practice. To create a successful practice, men described the need for professionalism, clear communication, and a comfortable treatment environment.Results and conclusionsResearchers should explore the impact of discrimination on men in MT, patient preferences based on the therapist’s gender, and the role of education in perpetuating societal heterosexual norms. Finally, as with any shift in culture, all levels of organization must take action to remove discrimination and bias within the profession of MT.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam ◽  
S. Jamshid Mousavi

This paper presents basic definitions and challenges/opportunities from different perspectives to study and control water cycle impacts on society and vice versa. The wider and increased interactions and their consequences such as global warming and climate change, and the role of complex institutional- and governance-related socioeconomic-environmental issues bring forth new challenges. Hydrology and integrated water resources management (IWRM from the viewpoint of an engineering planner) do not exclude in their scopes the study of the impact of changes in global hydrology from societal actions and their feedback effects on the local/global hydrology. However, it is useful to have unique emphasis through specialized fields such as hydrosociology (including the society in planning water projects, from the viewpoint of the humanities) and sociohydrology (recognizing the large-scale impacts society has on hydrology, from the viewpoint of science). Global hydrological models have been developed for large-scale hydrology with few parameters to calibrate at local scale, and integrated assessment models have been developed for multiple sectors including water. It is important not to do these studies with a silo mindset, as problems in water and society require highly interdisciplinary skills, but flexibility and acceptance of diverse views will progress these studies and their usefulness to society. To deal with complexities in water and society, systems modeling is likely the only practical approach and is the viewpoint of researchers using coupled human–natural systems (CHNS) models. The focus and the novelty in this paper is to clarify some of these challenges faced in CHNS modeling, such as spatiotemporal scale variations, scaling issues, institutional issues, and suggestions for appropriate mathematical tools for dealing with these issues.


2018 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Folami Y. Ideraabdullah ◽  
Steven H. Zeisel

Epigenetics is the study of heritable mechanisms that can modify gene activity and phenotype without modifying the genetic code. The basis for the concept of epigenetics originated more than 2,000 yr ago as a theory to explain organismal development. However, the definition of epigenetics continues to evolve as we identify more of the components that make up the epigenome and dissect the complex manner by which they regulate and are regulated by cellular functions. A substantial and growing body of research shows that nutrition plays a significant role in regulating the epigenome. Here, we critically assess this diverse body of evidence elucidating the role of nutrition in modulating the epigenome and summarize the impact such changes have on molecular and physiological outcomes with regards to human health.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (Spl) ◽  
pp. 35-37
Author(s):  
Vivek Gupta ◽  
Bhavana Gupta

ABSTRACT Probiotics are live micro-organisms that when administered in adequate amounts confer health benefits upon the host. Although a lot of work has been done regarding the effects of probiotic applications on systemic health particularly gastro-intestinal, the impact of probiotics on oral health is relatively new with lots of research going on; the area of probiotics and periodontal disease is still in its infancy. The present article summarizes the role of probiotics in periodontal health and disease and its effectiveness in periodontal therapy.


Author(s):  
Moritz U.G. Kraemer ◽  
Chia-Hung Yang ◽  
Bernardo Gutierrez ◽  
Chieh-Hsi Wu ◽  
Brennan Klein ◽  
...  

AbstractThe ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has expanded rapidly throughout China. Major behavioral, clinical, and state interventions are underway currently to mitigate the epidemic and prevent the persistence of the virus in human populations in China and worldwide. It remains unclear how these unprecedented interventions, including travel restrictions, have affected COVID-19 spread in China. We use real-time mobility data from Wuhan and detailed case data including travel history to elucidate the role of case importation on transmission in cities across China and ascertain the impact of control measures. Early on, the spatial distribution of COVID-19 cases in China was well explained by human mobility data. Following the implementation of control measures, this correlation dropped and growth rates became negative in most locations, although shifts in the demographics of reported cases are still indicative of local chains of transmission outside Wuhan. This study shows that the drastic control measures implemented in China have substantially mitigated the spread of COVID-19.


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