Bacteriocins : Ecology and Evolution
Microbes produce an extraordinary array of defense systems. These include bacteriocins, a class of antimicrobial molecules with narrow killing spectra, produced by bacteria. The book describes the diversity and ecological role of bacteriocins of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, presenting a new classification scheme for the former and a state-of-the-art look at the role of bacteriocins in bacterial communication. It discusses the molecular evolution of colicins and colicin-like bacteriocins, and provides a contemporary overview of archaeocins, bacteriocin-like antimicrobials produced by archaebacteria. Furthermore, various modeling (in silico) studies elucidate the role of bacteriocins in microbial community dynamics and fitness, delving into rock-paper-scissors competition and the counter-intuitive survival of the weakest. The book makes compelling reading for a multi-faceted scientific audience, including those working in the fields of biodiversity and biotechnology, notably in the human and animal health domain.
Application of muscle/nerve stimulation in health and disease
The first evidence that electrical changes can cause muscles to contract was p- vided by Galvani (1791). Thus, elect- cal activity graduated from a simple mechanism that is used to elicit muscle c- traction, to a system that could induce permanent changes in muscles and modify most of its characteristic properties.
Assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines in the health domain
The field of healthcare is constantly evolving and advancing with new technologies and innovations. Among these, assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines are rapidly gaining ground as powerful tools to improve the quality of care and enhance patient outcomes. From wearable devices that monitor vital signs to surgical robots that assist in complex procedures, these technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we deliver healthcare. The development and the integration of assistive technologies, care robots, and automated machines are strategic both as single components, when paired together, and when interconnected in the health domain.This reprint explores the latest developments in assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines in the health domain, providing a comprehensive overview of their applications and potential impact. The reprint is for the benefit of healthcare professionals, researchers, engineers, and students interested in these rapidly evolving fields.
Kuby Immunology
Presents an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to the principles and findings of immunology. It contains full-colour illustrations, study questions, study aids and much more
Martens and Fishers (Martes) in human-altered environments : An international perspective
Examines the conditions where humans and martens are compatible and incompatible, and promotes land use practices that allow Martes to be representatively distributed and viable. All Martes have been documented to use forested habitats and 6 species (excluding the stone marten) are generally considered to require complex mid- to late-successional forests throughout much of their geographic ranges. All species in the genus require complex horizontal and vertical structure to provide escape cover protection from predators, habitat for their prey, access to food resources, and protection from the elements. Martens and the fisher have high metabolic rates, have large spatial requirements, have high surface area to volume ratios for animals that often inhabit high latitudes, and often require among the largest home range areas per unit body weight of any group of mammals. Resulting from these unique life history characteristics, this genus is particularly sensitive to human influences on their habitats, including habitat loss, stand-scale simplification of forest structure via some forms of logging, and landscape-scale effects of habitat fragmentation. Given their strong associations with structural complexity in forests, martens and the fisher are often considered as useful barometers of forest health and have been used as ecological indicators, flagship, and umbrella species in different parts of the world. Thus, efforts to successfully conserve and manage martens and fishers are associated with the ecological fates of other forest dependent species and can greatly influence ecosystem integrity within forests that are increasingly shared among wildlife and humans.We have made great strides in our fundamental understanding of how animals with these unique life history traits perceive and utilize habitats, respond to habitat change, and how their populations function and perform under different forms of human management and mismanagement.
Malaria : Genetic and Evolutionary Aspects
This book was originally conceived at a conference at the University of Turin in Italy. The conference was organized to examine the so-called “Malaria Hypothesis”, that is to say, the higher fitness of t- lassemia heterozygotes in a malarial environment, and to pay tribute to the proponent of that hypothesis, J.B.S. Haldane. Contributors to this book examine certain genetic and evolutionary aspects of malaria which is a major killer of human populations, especially in Africa and Asia. There were attempts to discredit Haldane’s contribution from two directions: (a) it has been suggested that the “Malaria Hypothesis” was known long before Haldane and that there was nothing original about his idea (Lederberg 1999), and that (b) the hypothesis of heterozygote su- riority was first suggested by the Italian biologist Giuseppe Montalenti who communicated his idea to Haldane (Allison 2004).
Circular Migration and the Rights of Migrant Workers in Central and Eastern Europe : The EU Promise of a Triple Win Solution
This book adopts a rights-based approach to shed light on the different legal and policy instruments that have been developed to implement circular migration policies in the EU, and their consequences for the rights of migrant workers.






