Literature Reviews

Treatment for Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), a case of vaginal microbiome imbalance (dysbiosis) in women, have been limited to antibiotics, which are ineffective against BV recurrence. However, some physicians are beginning to advocate for probiotics to help restore eubiosis in the vaginal microbiome. One promising treatment, Lactin-V, a strain of Lactobacillus crispatus, has been studied as a suppository probiotic, showing promising results thus far. This review will discuss why supplemental Lactobacillus probiotics, with its natural protection and H2O2 production, should be integrated into the standard treatment of antibiotics for women with recurrent BV to combat its negative health impacts.

Kelp forests cover 25% of the world’s coastlines and contain high biodiversity rates around the world. But they have been in decline in recent years, leaving many species without a food source and a home, and resulting in a great shift in the ecosystem. Restoration of these forests has proved to be difficult, as researchers must address the numerous causes driving deforestation while simultaneously attempting to restore kelp populations. This review will discuss recent research on methods taken to restore kelp forests in different areas of the world.

Global crop yields are at their highest in recorded history, but to prioritize higher yields farmers are incentivized to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These can disrupt the crop’s ability to extract micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids from the soil, which ultimately produces a less nutritional crop. A solution developed in recent years has been regenerative farming - a collection of sustainable practices whose primary focus is revitalizing farm soil while maintaining yield. This review will explore the long-term decline in iron, zinc, and copper concentrations for many crops, its implications for the human immune system, and how regenerative farming can alleviate these trends.

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) were the leading causes of death from 1990 to 2015, with an estimated 17.9 million deaths worldwide. Psychosocial studies have uncovered associations between everyday aspects of life and physical health, especially relating to depression and stress. Research has shown that depression is a risk factor for CVDs, but the individual experiences that have a possibility of causing poor mental health were not explored, limiting these findings. This review will cover research on the impacts of socioeconomic status, debt, social dynamics, and ethnicity on cardiovascular health.

As more states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, its use among adolescents is increasing. This is problematic because marijuana's psychoactive component, THC, can act directly on parts of the brain in critical development during adolescence. Current literature proposes long-term cognitive effects based on recurring correlations; however, a lack of consistent and reliable approaches for controlling confounding variables remains an issue. This review will focus on the current state of research on the effects of adolescent marijuana use on cognitive function, its potential long-term consequences, and highlight the inconsistencies in research methodologies.

Boreal forests are warming faster than the rest of the globe, leading to more frequent and severe wildfires. A main component of boreal forest recovery is mycorrhizal fungi, which establish mutualistic symbioses with host plants within the roots and soil. However, this symbiosis may be threatened by high severity fires, which burn the canopy of trees and the soil. This review will evaluate the current literature on high severity wildfire and mycorrhizal fungi in boreal forests.

CRISPR-Cas9 revolutionized the field of genetic engineering but has significant drawbacks, as the double-strand breaks it induces have a relatively high rate of mutations and off-target activity. An emerging alternative is NICER, a technique utilizing an endonuclease called nickase, which has much lower levels of mutagenicity and a high level of specificity that rivals CRISPR-Cas9. This review will survey the various developments made in the nickase pipeline, specifically how they make up for CRISPR’s drawbacks, and its potential for treating genetic disorders with more accuracy and efficiency than current therapeutic tools.

Cervical cancer can be successfully prevented or mitigated through routine cervical cancer screening. However, a significant disparity in screening exists in the Muslim American women population due to societal pressures, healthcare inequities, and a lack of recognition as a disparate community. This review explores these barriers and strategies in addressing them, to ultimately aims raise awareness of the health disparities of Muslim American women.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered a relatively new, but effective treatment for cancer attributed to its minimal invasiveness and versatility for a wide variety of existing cancers. However, PDT is underapplied in clinical settings due to various limitations. Despite the restriction of PDT for cancer treatment, there is increasing research that aims to find solutions to its limitations. This review analyzes the limitations of PDT for oncological use and report current solutions to them.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC) have been a recent area of interest within regenerative medicine. In association with hUC-MSC, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of the rapamycin pathway (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) is a secretory pathway responsible for regulating a variety of cell functions. The processes between the hUC-MSCs and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR are commonly interdependent, but due to their novelty, most of the mechanisms in this relationship are still unknown. This review will discuss the potential of using hUC-MSCs in conjunction with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR for future regenerative treatment.