Chloroplast evolution, structure and functions.
Authors: Jensen PE, Leister D
Abstract
In this review, we consider a selection of recent advances in chloroplast biology. These include new findings concerning chloroplast evolution, such as the identification of Chlamydiae as a third partner in primary endosymbiosis, a second instance of primary endosymbiosis represented by the chromatophores found in amoebae of the genus Paulinella, and a new explanation for the longevity of captured chloroplasts (kleptoplasts) in sacoglossan sea slugs. The controversy surrounding the three-dimensional structure of grana, its recent resolution by tomographic analyses, an...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Management of pediatric uveitis.
Authors: Wentworth BA, Freitas-Neto CA, Foster CS
Abstract
Pediatric uveitis is a topic of special interest not only because of the unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges but also because of the lifetime burden of vision loss if the problem is not adequately treated, as well as the economic and psychological toll on the family. Often, uveitis in children is discovered as part of a routine eye exam; this silent, insidious inflammation can be difficult to treat and can lead to further complications if not handled skillfully. Corticosteroids have long been the mainstay of therapy; however, the significa...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Advances in managing type 2 diabetes: challenging old paradigms and developing new ones.
Authors: Sattar N
Abstract
As is well known, diabetes rates continue to escalate worldwide, adding cost and disease burden to all health-care institutions. Over the last few years, however, a number of diabetes paradigms have been challenged, not least on the best methods to lessen or delay the development of co-morbidities, in particular cardiovascular disease (CVD) (i.e. targeting blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking will do more than intensive glucose control). In addition, recent research has offered some hope to potentially reverse diabetes in motivated individuals, with resultant larger and longe...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Developments in HIV-1 immunotherapy and therapeutic vaccination.
Authors: Smith PL, Tanner H, Dalgleish A
Abstract
Since the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) pandemic began, few prophylactic vaccines have reached phase III trials. Only one has shown partial efficacy in preventing HIV-1 infection. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has had considerable success in controlling infection and reducing transmission but in so doing has changed the nature of HIV-1 infection for those with access to ART. Access, compliance, and toxicity alongside the emergence of serious non-AIDS morbidity and the sometimes poor immune reconstitution in ART-treated patients hav...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Advances in the management of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
In this report, we will discuss recent advances in the management of SCCHN, including new developments in molecular biology, imaging, and treatment.
PMID: 24991421 [PubMed] (Source: F1000 Medicine Reports)
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Management of thrombocytopenia.
Authors: Izak M, Bussel JB
Abstract
Thrombocytopenia is one of the most common hematologic disorders, characterized by an abnormally low number of platelets from multiple causes. The normal count of thrombocytes (platelets) is between 150,000 and 450,000 per microliter. The clinical expression of thrombocytopenia has broad variation from asymptomatic to life-threatening bleeding. Various syndromes and diseases are associated with thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is sometimes a first sign of hematologic malignancies, infectious diseases, thrombotic microangiopathies, and autoimmune disorders, and is also ...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Advances in treating glioblastoma.
Authors: Weathers SP, Gilbert MR
Abstract
Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Optimized standard treatment only confers a modest improvement in progression and overall survival, underscoring the pressing need for the development of novel therapies. Our understanding of glioblastoma (a molecularly heterogeneous disorder) has been accelerated in the setting of large scale genomic analyses, lending insight into potential actionable targets. Antiangiogenic therapies have been used in the treatment of glioblastoma, and our understanding of the means to optimize the...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Advances in influenza vaccination.
Authors: Reperant LA, Rimmelzwaan GF, Osterhaus AD
Abstract
Influenza virus infections yearly cause high morbidity and mortality burdens in humans, and the development of a new influenza pandemic continues to threaten mankind as a Damoclean sword. Influenza vaccines have been produced by using egg-based virus growth and passaging techniques that were developed more than 60 years ago, following the identification of influenza A virus as an etiological agent of seasonal influenza. These vaccines aimed mainly at eliciting neutralizing antibodies targeting antigenically variable regions of the hemagglutinin (H...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Advances in the management of insomnia.
Authors: Pigeon WR, Bishop TM, Marcus JA
Abstract
Insomnia is highly prevalent and associated with considerable morbidity. Several very efficacious treatments, both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic, exist for the management of insomnia. New modes of delivery and new formulations of existing sedative-hypnotic medications have been introduced. Novel agents are still being developed and tested to arrive at a hypnotic that has limited side effects while still being efficacious. Innovations with respect to behavioral interventions, which are drastically under-utilized, have focused mainly on making these int...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Approximate Bayesian inference for complex ecosystems.
Authors: Stumpf MP
Abstract
Mathematical models have been central to ecology for nearly a century. Simple models of population dynamics have allowed us to understand fundamental aspects underlying the dynamics and stability of ecological systems. What has remained a challenge, however, is to meaningfully interpret experimental or observational data in light of mathematical models. Here, we review recent developments, notably in the growing field of approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), that allow us to calibrate mathematical models against available data. Estimating the population demographic parameters ...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Interfering with mineralocorticoid receptor activation: the past, present, and future.
Authors: Dorrance AM
Abstract
Aldosterone is a potent mineralocorticoid produced by the adrenal gland. Aldosterone binds to and activates the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in a plethora of tissues, but the cardiovascular actions of aldosterone are of primary interest clinically. Although MR antagonists were developed as antihypertensive agents, they are now considered to be important therapeutic options for patients with heart failure. Specifically, blocking only the MR has proven to be a difficult task because of its similarity to other steroid receptors, including the androgen and progesterone receptor...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
The evolutionary origins and consequences of self-fertility in nematodes.
Authors: Ellis RE, Lin SY
Abstract
Self-fertile hermaphrodites have evolved from male/female ancestors in many nematode species, and this transition occurred on three independent occasions in the genus Caenorhabditis. Genetic analyses in Caenorhabditis show that the origin of hermaphrodites required two types of changes: alterations to the sex-determination pathway that allowed otherwise female animals to make sperm during larval development, and the production of signals from the gonad that caused these sperm to activate and fertilize oocytes. Comparisons of C. elegans and C. briggsae hermaphrodites show ...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Different yet similar: evolution of imprinting in flowering plants and mammals.
Authors: Pires ND, Grossniklaus U
Abstract
Genomic imprinting refers to a form of epigenetic gene regulation whereby alleles are differentially expressed in a parent-of-origin-dependent manner. Imprinting evolved independently in flowering plants and in therian mammals in association with the elaboration of viviparity and a placental habit. Despite the striking differences in plant and animal reproduction, genomic imprinting shares multiple characteristics between them. In both groups, imprinted expression is controlled, at least in part, by DNA methylation and chromatin modifications in cis-regulatory reg...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Klebsiella: a long way to go towards understanding this enigmatic jet-setter.
Authors: Broberg CA, Palacios M, Miller VL
Abstract
Klebsiella pneumoniae is the causative agent of a variety of diseases, including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, septicemia, and the recently recognized pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA). Renewed efforts to identify and understand the bacterial determinants required to cause disease have come about because of the worldwide increase in the isolation of strains resistant to a broad spectrum of antibiotics. The recent increased isolation of carbapenem-resistant strains further reduces the available treatment options. The rapid geographic spread of the resi...
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
Advances in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Authors: Tausch E, Mertens D, Stilgenbauer S
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent type of leukemia, affects mostly elderly CLL patients, and is incurable without allogeneic transplantation. Although classic chemo(immuno)therapy is still the standard of care for patients in need of treatment, this paradigm might change in the near future with the advent of new therapeutic agents targeting major pathogenic pathways in CLL.
PMID: 25165564 [PubMed] (Source: F1000 Medicine Reports)
Source: F1000 Medicine Reports - December 1, 2014 Category: Biomedical Science Tags: F1000Prime Rep Source Type: research
