World Academy of Sciences Journal Special Issues
Title Natural childbirths: how to promote normality at birth with minimal interventions and unmedicated labour
Lead Editor:
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Professor DIMITRIOS PAPOUTSIS
University of Western Macedonia, Greece
Greece
This Special Issue encourages researchers to present the most recent studies regarding their findings in the field of natural births, with a focus on how to promote normality at birth with the least interventions and unmedicated labour. In view of the heavy medicalisation of births in both developed and developing countries with high caesarean section rates worldwide, there is recently a demand to revisit our intrapartum practices and re-introduce normality during labour and birth with minimal interventions and non-pharmacological methods of pain relief. Methods that have been investigated so far in the literature involve the change in the model of maternity care provision with the introduction of birth centres, the use of birthing balls, water immersion during labour and birth (waterbirths), ambulation and upright positions in labour, massage, hypnosis etc. The manuscripts may include original research articles and reviews in order to advance the development of novel methods with the objective of promoting normality at childbirth.
Submission deadline: 16 August 2024
Innovation in pharmaceutical research
Lead Editor:
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Professor Andreea Letitia Arsene
University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, Bucharest, Romania, Faculty of Pharmacy, Head of Pharmaceutical Microbiology
Romania
This Special Issue encourages researchers to present the most recent studies regarding their findings in the pharmaceutical field, with a strong focus on the drugs’ bioavailability and potential effects on the formulation, delivery systems, pharmacokinetics, interactions, and preclinical and clinical significance. The manuscripts may include original research articles and reviews in order to advance the pharmaceutical development.
Submission deadline: 15 August 2024
Natural Products & Phytotherapeutics - Preclinical and Human Studies
Lead Editor:
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Dr Marcello Iriti
Milan State University
Italy
Since ancient times, humanity has used medicinal plants to heal itself and traditional medicine still represents the predominant health care system in many parts of the world. Indeed, the use of natural products and their synthetic derivatives is central to the discovery of new drugs, especially antibacterial and anticancer agents. However, natural product research suffers from some important weaknesses. Despite hundreds of preclinical studies, evidence in human is scanty, due to the paucity of clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of natural products. Poor oral bioavailability is another major issue as phytochemicals are metabolized and eliminated by metabolizing enzymes and efflux mechanisms, similar to xenobiotics. Finally, natural does not always mean safe. The safety of natural products is rarely investigated as well as the phytochemical-drug interactions with possible variations in therapeutic efficacy for some drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. The combination of natural products with conventional drugs, particularly anticancer and antimicrobial drugs, represents another therapeutic approach able to (chemo)sensitize chemoresistant cancer cells and pathogens. The rationale for the use of natural products is based on their multitarget action mechanism of particular interest in the treatment of disorders with multistage pathogenesis. In this very wide context, we invite investigators to submit both original research and review articles that explore all these aspects.
Submission deadline: 06 July 2024
Exosomes and epigenetics in tumor growth and metastasisation
Lead Editor:
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Professor Ciro Isidoro
Università del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro"
Italy
Exosomes (and extracellular vesicles in general) released in the tumor microenvironment play a pivotal role in the cross-talk between cancer and stromal cells, influencing the growth and invasive behavior of the tumor cells and the phenoconversion of fibroblasts, adipocytes, and macrophages. Exosomes contain non-coding RNAs, cytokines, and metabolite intermediates that impinge on the metabolism as well as on the gene expression of the recipient cells. Of relevance for metastasisation is the epigenetic modulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes regulating cell motility and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). This Special Issue will collect review and research articles reporting on the biogenesis, content, release, and role of exosomes in the tumor microenvironment, with a focus on the induction of epigenetic changes associated with the malignant behavior of cancer cells.
Submission deadline: 01 December 2024
COVID-19 and autoimmunity
Lead Editor:
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Professor Dimitrios P. Bogdanos
Division of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly
Greece
COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, is associated with a plethora of immune-mediated and autoimmune phenomena. A great percentage of infected patients develop autoantibodies, even in the case of non severe disease, raising the issue as to whether those autoantibodies are the forerunners of early autoimmune diseases. Also, COVID-19 patients develop de-novo organ and non-organ immune-mediated manifestations, some of which are evolving into full blown autoimmune diseases, which require immunomodulatory treatments. This issue will tackle this topic and will discuss pathogenic and pathophysiological mechanisms which link the virus with autoimmune manifestations which will assist efforts of experimental and translational research to understand the origin of the documented link.
Submission deadline: 30 April 2024
