The pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is complex, and the resulting disease manifestations are heterogeneous. Cytokine dysregulation is pervasive, and their protein and gene expression profiles may serve as markers of disease activity and severity. Importantly, biologic agents that target specific cytokines may represent novel therapies for SLE. Four cytokines (IL-6, TNFα, IFNα...

The diagnosis of cancer relies primarily on invasive tissue biopsy, as noninvasive diagnostic tests are generally insufficient to define a disease process of cancer. The conventional histopathology based on light microscopy, however, has recently been complemented with ultrastructure, immunohistochemistry and molecular diagnostics. Molecular medicine has led to the discovery and application of ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The purpose of this paper is to review the most recent medical literature pertaining to neuroblastoma. Clinically, progress continues to be made on the refinement of radiographic staging and risk stratification-based treatment. RECENT FINDINGS Meanwhile, experimental efforts focus on the continued search for biologic prognostic markers and the development of novel therapies ...

An 8-year-old patient with genetically confirmed chronic infantile neurological cutaneous and articular syndrome was treated with interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, anakinra. She initially presented with recurrent episodes of fever, rash, chronic fatigue, frequent headaches, ocular involvement (corneal infiltrate and papillary edema), and permanent increased biologic inflammatory markers. Follo...

In this paper we explore the boundary between biology and the study of formal systems (logic).

The loss of plant genetic resources has made necessary the development of new ex situ conservation methods. Advances in biotechnology provide new methods for plant germplasm conservation and evaluation. Biotechnological tools like in vitro culture, cryopreservation, and molecular markers offer a valuable alternative to plant diversity studies, management of genetic resources and ultimately cons...

Sponges, ubiquitously occurring organisms, have many characteristics that indicate their potential as biomonitors. Since it is very important to find the most wide range of organisms that can act as early warners of pollution, we investigated the presence of the biomarker acetylcholinesterase in the cosmopolitan sponge Cliona celata Grant, 1826. Specimens of C. celata were collected from pre-se...

Spring mounds on Earth and on Mars could represent optimal niches of life development. If life ever occurred on Mars, ancient spring deposits would be excellent localities to search for morphological or chemical remnants of an ancient biosphere. In this work, we investigate models of formation and activity of well-exposed spring mounds in the Mechertate-Chrita-Sidi El Hani (MCSH) system, easter...

DNA sequences extracted from preserved remains can add considerable resolution to inference of past population dynamics. For example, coalescent-based methods have been used to correlate declines in some arctic megafauna populations with habitat fragmentation during the last ice age. These methods, however, often fail to detect population declines preceding extinction, most likely owing to a co...