Lipids in Health and Disease
Lipids are functionally versatile molecules. They have evolved from relatively simple hydrocarbons that serve as depot storages of metabolites and barriers to the permeation of solutes into complex compounds that perform a variety of signalling functions in higher organisms. This volume is devoted to the polar lipids and their constituents. We have omitted the neutral lipids like fats and oils because their function is generally to act as deposits of metabolizable substrates. The sterols are also outside the scope of the present volume and the reader is referred to volume 28 of this series which is the subject of cholesterol. The polar lipids are comprised of fatty acids attached to either glycerol or sphingosine. The fatty acids themselves constitute an important reservoir of substrates for conversion into families of signalling and modulating molecules including the eicosanoids amongst which are the prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leucotrienes. The way fatty acid metabolism is regulated in the liver and how fatty acids are desaturated are subjects considered in the first part of this volume. This section also deals with the modulation of protein function and inflammation by unsaturated fatty acids and their derivatives. New insights into the role of fatty acid synthesis and eicosenoid function in tumour progression and metastasis are presented.
Landscapes, Genomics and Transgenic Conifers
What is the future of genetically modified (or transgenic) conifer plantations? The content of this edited volume Landscapes, Genomics and Transgenic Conifers addresses this question directly - and indirectly - using language drawn from policy, forest history, genomics, metabolism, pollen dispersal and gene flow, landscape ecology, evolution, economics, technology transfer and regulatory oversight. Although the book takes its title from a Nicholas School Leadership forum held November 17-19, 2004 at Duke University, its de novo contents move past the forum’s deliberations. The result is a trans-disciplinary book composed of 14 chapters written by a total of 31 authors working in North America, South America, Europe and Africa.
Köhlers Invention
This scientific biography commemorates the 10th anniversary of Köhler's untimely death. It describes his scientific and personal biography, based on 10 years of close personal and professional relationship between Eichmann and Köhler, as well as interviews with many colleagues and friends, including his "Doktorvater" and mentor Fritz Melchers. Köhler's scientific achievements are explained in a way to make them understandable for the general public and discussed in the historical context of the immunological research at the time.
Clinical nuclear medicine
Clinical Nuclear Medicine … focuses on the universal state of the art in both diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclide methodology. … This book is easily readable, with presentation of essential points and plentiful references, and the quality of the figures and tables is excellent. … is a useful guide to students, technologists, and practitioners in nuclear medicine and radiology, as well as to general physicians who request nuclear diagnosis or treatment. … will be a welcome contribution to the bookshelf of nuclear medicine or radiology clinics.
Clinical applications of mass spectrometry in drug analysis : Methods and protocols
This fully updated volume describes methods and protocols for a number of drugs and toxins in a stepwise manner. Exploring the versatility and flexibility of mass spectrometry, the book covers the advantages of this technology, which typically include elimination of the need for special reagents such as antibodies, increased sensitivity and specificity, and multi-component analysis enabling the screening of tens to hundreds of compounds in a single assay run. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step and readily reproducible laboratory protocols, as well as tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects the individual, family, and immediate community. Therefore, the goal of allowing the individual with cerebral palsy to live life with the least impact of the disability requires c- plex attention to the individual and the family. Furthermore, society needs to be sensitive and to accommodate individuals with disabilities by limiting architectural impediments and providing accessible public transportation and communication. The educational system provides the key means for helping the individual prepare to function in society to his or her maximum ability. In many ways, the medical care system probably has the least sign- icant role in preparing the child with cerebral palsy to function optimally in society. However, the medical care system is the place where parents first learn that their child has developmental issues outside the expected norm. It is almost universally the place where parents also expect the child to be made normal in our modern society. In earlier times, the parents would expect healing to possibly come from the doctor, but also they would place hope for healing in religion. As this belief in spiritual or miraculous healing has - creased, a significant font of hope has decreased for parents of young ch- dren with disabilities.
Biologie und epidemiologie der hormonersatztherapie : Diskussionen zur postmenopausalen gesundheit = Biology and epidemiology of hormone replacement therapy : Discussions on postmenopausal health
The advantages and disadvantages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are discussed by a group of experts with regard to the epidemiological evidence. However, the focus of the discussion is the problem of breast cancer risk. Among other things, it is shown that the results derived from epidemiological studies do not coincide with the growth characteristics of these tumors, so that further population studies with the inclusion of pathobiological expertise appear necessary. The benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are discussed by a group of experts with a view towards the evidence provided by recent epidemiological studies. Although all aspects of HRT indications and contra-indications are reviewed, the particular emphasis of this discussion is on breast cancer. Among other things, it is shown that the evidence on breast cancer provided in epidemiological studies does not match the growth characteristics of the tumors, and that further population research incorporating pathobiological assessments is required.
Bioethics across the globe : Rebirthing bioethics
This book addresses a variety of issues relating to bioethics, in order to initiate cross-cultural dialogue. Beginning with the history, it introduces various views on bioethics, based on specific experiences from Japan. It describes how Japan has been confronted with Western bioethics and the ethical issues new to this modern age, and how it has found its foothold as it decides where it stands on these issues. In the last chapter, the author proposes discarding the overarching term ‘Global Bioethics’ in favor of the new term, ‘Bioethics Across the Globe (BAG)’, which carries a more universal connotation.
Bioenergetics : Energy conservation and conversion
The present book addresses fundamental questions of biological energy transformation and conservation, with a focus on those processes which can now be understood on a structural basis.Current knowledge of selected examples of the biological energy conservation machinery such as cellular oxygen respiration, light-driven energy converters, and fermentation is reviewed. The machinery is highly variable, particularly that within microorganisms, but all of these devices universally rely on one unique underlying physico-chemical principle. The book is a rich source for specialists interested in recent developments in bioenergetics research and novices in the field alike.
Bioactives and pharmacology of Legumes
A variety of bioactives and therapeutics from the legume family (Fabaceae or Leguminosae) are thoroughly detailed. For each species included in the volume, a brief introduction is given, the plant’s bioactive compounds are listed, and its chemical structures shown, followed by their pharmacological activities. Many of these plants have medicinal activities that include antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective and cardioprotective. The biochemical characteristics of the 37 plants included, such as the type of starch, protein, and fibers, can be exploited as binders, excipients, thickeners, and dispersants in the formulation of various products in the pharmaceutical industry. The published literature on the pharmacological activities on each species is reviewed and presented in a concise and clear manner.
Algal Toxins : Nature, Occurrence, Effect and Detection
This volume contains the lectures and seminars given at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on “Sensor Systems for Biological Threads: The Algal Toxins Case”, held in Pisa, Italy in October, 2007. Algae can form heavy growths in ponds, lakes, reservoirs and sl- moving rivers throughout the world; algae can house toxins which are - ually released into water when the cells rupture or die. Hundreds of toxins have been identified so far. Detection methods, including rapid screening, have been developed to help us learning more about them, especially to find out which toxins are a real threat for people and what conditions encourage their production and accumulation. Early detection of algal toxins is an - portant aspect for public safety and natural environment, and significant efforts are underway to develop effective and reliable tools that can be used for this purpose.
Algal Toxins : Nature, Occurrence, Effect and Detection
This volume contains the lectures and seminars given at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on “Sensor Systems for Biological Threads: The Algal Toxins Case”, held in Pisa, Italy in October, 2007. Algae can form heavy growths in ponds, lakes, reservoirs and sl- moving rivers throughout the world; algae can house toxins which are - ually released into water when the cells rupture or die. Hundreds of toxins have been identified so far. Detection methods, including rapid screening, have been developed to help us learning more about them, especially to find out which toxins are a real threat for people and what conditions encourage their production and accumulation. Early detection of algal toxins is an - portant aspect for public safety and natural environment, and significant efforts are underway to develop effective and reliable tools that can be used for this purpose.
Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments
ALGAE AND CYANOBACTRIA IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS is a unique collection of essays, contributed by leading scientists from around the world, devoted to algae – and some related microbes – observed in unexpected harsh habits, which it seems are an oasis or Garden of Eden for these organisms. This timely book on Extremophilic alga, including its especially impressive micrographs, may provide clues about the edges of life on Earth and possibly elsewhere in the universe. This volume is a must for students of the field of biodiversity, as well as those in Phycology, ecology and general biological research.
Age-related changes of the human Eye
In Age-Related Changes of the Human Eye, the authors review all aspects of human eye aging. In addition to descriptions of age-related changes in almost all the structures of the human eyes, the authors also include interesting accounts of personal experiments and data.
Adaptation to Life at High Salt Concentrations in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya
This book complements “Halophilic Microorganisms”, edited by A. Ventosa and published by Springer-Verlag (2004), “Halophilic Microorganism and their Environments” by A. Oren (2002), published by Kluwer Academic Publishers as volume 5 of “Cellular Origins, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology” (COLE), and “Microbiology and Biogeochemistry of Hypersaline Environments” edited by A. Oren, and published by CRC Press, Boca Raton (1999).
A History of Radionuclide Studies in the UK : 50th Anniversary of the British Nuclear Medicine Society
The British Nuclear Medicine Society celebrates its 50th Anniversary with this booklet, which reflects the research of many of the pioneers in the use of radionuclides for the diagnosis and therapy of human disease. Since 1949 there have been remarkable advances in radionuclide techniques and imaging equipment: from the first devices “home-made” in the many physics departments throughout the UK, to the sophisticated multimodality imagers now in everyday use in Nuclear Medicine. The BNMS has been instrumental in promoting the use of radionuclide techniques in the investigation of pathology by supporting and providing education, research and guidelines on the optimum use of radiation to help patients.
A Changing World : Challenges for Landscape Research
Written primarily for researchers and advanced students in environmental and social sciences, this latest book in Springer’s Landscape Series looks at some of the emerging fields and new challenges in landscape research. These include: the role of value systems in perceiving, appreciating, and managing landscapes the ‘space’ and ‘place’ concept in landscape research GIS and remote sensing techniques for gathering and processing spatially and temporally explicit land cover, vegetation, and land use data methods of landscape history landscape genetics and genetic methods to test landscape connectivity and dispersal of plant and animal species
25 Years of P53 Research
Communication, awareness and access to information: Given the complexity of the field and the fact that data pertaining to each particular aspects of p53 biology or deregulation are scattered in many different publications, it is extremely difficult to access the full scale of relevant information of any specific p53-related topic. This book may help in this task by putting into perspective both general considerations on the p53 pathway and more specific information on various aspects of p53. In the longer term, however, open access to p53 complexity will require the development of knowledge bases accessible through the web and using simple navigation tools to guide users towards the specific information they need. Several efforts are currently being developed in that direction. They need to be strenghtened and better integrated within the rapidly growing galaxy of web-based information sources on molecular and individual variations in cancer. 2. Reference functional assays and structural analysis: Given the huge diversity of cellular and animal models for wild-type or mutant p53 functions, it will be important to set up standard, universally accepted assays to measure critical p53 protein functions.
Community-oriented policing and technological innovations
Presents new approaches and innovative challenges to address bringing technology into community-oriented policing efforts. “Community-oriented policing” is an approach that encourages police to develop and maintain personal relationships with citizens and community organizations. By developing these partnerships, the goal is to enhance trust and legitimacy of police by the community (and vice versa), and focus on engaging the community crime prevention and detection efforts for sustainable, long-term crime reduction. The contributions to this volume emphasize how technological innovations can advance community-oriented policing goals.
Knowledge Representation and the Semantics of Natural Language
This book presents a method for the semantic representation of natural l- guage expressions (texts, sentences, phrases, etc. ) which can be used as a u- versal knowledge representation paradigm in the human sciences, like lingu- tics, cognitive psychology, or philosophy of language, as well as in com- tational linguistics and in arti?cial intelligence. It is also an attempt to close the gap between these disciplines, which to a large extent are still working separately.


















