Advances in Biology. Volume 4

This volume contains twelve chapters that detail advances in biology. Chapter One discusses non-surgical treatment for periodontal diseases. Chapter Two develops a comprehensive understanding of the influence of metal pollution on ecosystem disturbance. In Chapter Three transcriptome analyses were conducted using the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 exposed to severe salinity and antibiotic stresses. Chapter Four presents a description of plant lectins, in relation to structure, localization, heterologous expression, detection and purification methods, biological activity, and biotechnological applications. Chapter Five discusses the use of methods of multivariate statistics in order to identify significant differences between the histochemical activity of enzymes of the skin glands of laboratory and wild rats. Chapter Six proposes fucoidan as a promising nutraceutical to improve gastrointestinal function. Chapter Seven discusses functions of a-SMA in HSC activation and its potential as a therapeutic target for antifibrotic therapy. Chapter Eight describes the audiovestibular disorders in children with Cytomegalovirus. Chapter Nine explains loop-mediated isothermal amplification. Chapter Ten studies the effect of short-term liquid nitrogen storage of seeds on the germination, phenotypic characteristics, phenolics compounds, soluble sugar and protein contents in L. leucocephala. Chapter Eleven reviews the biological properties of Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and summarizes the current knowledge of the function of S1P in macrophage biology. Lastly, Chapter Twelve explains the structure of the neutrino halo of a chicken egg.