الصفحة 6
الصفحة 6
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins : From Local to Systemic Therapeutics
Tissue engineering is gaining interest as it is applied for regeneration of organs to attain their lost function. Although resorbable scaffolds and progenitor cell types are required principles to engineer a functional tissue locally, the inductive signal is a prerequisite to trigger the growth and differentiation of responding cells in space and time. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), also called growth and differentiation factors (GDFs), originally identified from bone have been successfully used to regenerate the bone in humans. Most recent preclinical data suggests that BMPs have a potential to provide protection against inflammation and fibrosis in acute and chronic injury of parenchymal tissues when applied systemically to sustain the function of kidney and liver. The application of BMPs from a local to systemic utility is a rapidly growing field, gaining interest among researchers and biotech entrepreneurs.
Biometric systems : Technology, design and performance evaluation
The use of computers to recognize humans from physical and behavioral traits dates back to the digital computer evolution of the 1960s. But even after decades of research and hundreds of major deployments, the field of biometrics remains fresh and exciting as new technologies are developed andoldtechnologiesareimprovedandfieldedinnewapplications.Wor- wide over the past few years,there has been a marked increase in both g- ernment and private sector interest in large-scale biometric deployments for accelerating human–machine processes, efficiently delivering human services, fighting identity fraud and even combating terrorism. The p- pose of this book is to explore the current state of the art in biometrics- tems and it is the system aspect that we have wished to emphasize. By their nature, biometric technologies sit at the exact boundary of the human–machineinterface.Butlikealltechnologies,bythemselvestheycan provide no value until deployed in a system with support hardware, n- work connections, computers, policies and procedures, all tuned together to work withpeople to improve some real business process within a social structure.
Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements in Arid Environments
Global warming has worsened the water resource crisis in many arid zones worldwide, from Africa to Asia, affecting millions of people and putting them at risk of hunger. Effective management of arid zone resources, including understanding the risks of toxic trace and heavy elements to humans, coupled with the need to produce more food to feed the world’s growing population, has thus become increasingly important. This very timely book, the only one of its kind on the market, fills the gap of our knowledge of trace elements in these regions. This book begins by introducing the nature and properties of arid zone soil, followed by an updated overview and comprehensive coverage of the major aspects of the trace elements and heavy metals of most concern in the world’s arid and semi-arid soils. These aspects include: - content and distribution - solution chemistry - solid-phase chemistry - selective sequential dissolution techniques - transfer fluxes - bioavailability - pollution and remediation In order to illustrate the themes, a comprehensive and focused case study on transfer fluxes of trace elements in Israeli arid soils is presented. Finally it closes with the global perspectives on anthropogenic interferences in the natural trace elements’ distribution.
Banking on (artificial) intelligence : Navigating the realities of ai in financial services
Provides a tailored overview of what AI specifically means for financial services, a highly regulated yet also disrupted industry. it investigates the current state of AI applications in financial services today along with the state of funding and partnerships between tech and banking industries. it also examines the key pillars of responsible AI and the importance of keeping humans in the loop. the book takes a deep dive into the use cases in the financial services industry, the challenges and opportunities, and the fragmented regulatory landscape. how can we effectively assess risks, and balance innovation and customer centricity with trust in AI in financial services? can smaller organizations reap the benefits of the technology? how can institutions deploy AI responsibly and securely, and promote a fairer and more equitable future for more people?
Bacteriophage therapy : a potential solution for antibiotic resistance crisis
For many years, humans have been fighting with bacteria, in a matter of fact, bacteria have been winning for the last decade, becoming resistant to every weapon we have; The antibiotics. In order to win the fight humans had to think of alternative ways, like viruses. There is a special type of viruses that have been in a war with bacteria for millenniums, Bacteriophages. Bacteriophages (or phages), the most abundant viral entity of the planet. On the basis of their unique characteristics and anti-bacterial property, phages are being the freshly evaluated taxonomically. Phages replicate inside the host either by lytic or lysogenic mode after infecting and using the cellular machinery of a bacterium. Phage became an important agent for combating pathogenic bacteria in clinical treatments and its related research gained momentum. However, due to recent rise of bacterial resistance on antibiotics, applications of phage (phage therapy) become an unavoidable option of research. In this dissertation, the advantage and limitations of Bacteriophages for use in humans will be discussed. Furthermore, this dissertation deals with recent development of its application in the areas of biotechnology.
Authoritative communities : The scientific case for nurturing the whole child
Authoritative Communities: The Scientific Case for Nurturing the Whole Child introduces innovative solutions based firmly in the children’s mental health and resilience literature and in the hypothesis that humans are "hardwired to connect." These "authoritative communities" consist of such individuals and institutions as parents, teachers, coaches, elders, and a variety of organizations that are committed to each other’s well-being over the long-term and who instill children with prosocial values such as empathy and compassion. Living within these communities enables children and youth to develop a consistent sense of purpose and meaning, so that they, in turn, are able to grow up to be responsible, productive, and nurturing adults.
Auditory Perception of Sound Sources
Auditory Perception of Sound Sources covers higher-level auditory processes that are perceptual processes. The chapters describe how humans and other animals perceive the sounds that they receive from the many sound sources existing in the world. This book will provide an overview of areas of current research involved with understanding how sound-source determination processes operate. This book will focus on psychophysics and perception as well as being relevant to basic auditory research.
Artificial intelligence in pharmacy
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with the problem-solving by the aid of symbolic programming. It has greatly evolved into a science of problem-solving with huge applications in business, health care, and engineering. One of the pivotal applications of AI is the development of the expert system. With the advent of big data and Al, robots are now becoming more trustworthy for doctors, and a large number of institutions are now employing robots along with human supervision to carry out activities that were previously done by humans...
Architecture and agriculture : A rural design guide
Presents architectural guidelines for buildings designed and constructed in rural landscapes by emphasizing their connections with function, culture, climate, and place. Following on from the author’s first book Rural Design, the book discusses in detail the buildings that humans construct in support of agriculture. By examining case studies from around the world including Australia, China, Japan, Norway, Poland, Japan, Portugal, North America, Africa and the Southeast Asia it informs readers about the potentials, opportunities, and values of rural architecture, and how they have been developed to create sustainable landscapes and sustainable buildings for rapidly changing rural futures.
Architect : The evolving story of a profession
From Ancient Egypt, where architects were members of the ruling class, tied into the running of the empire, to the 21st century when questions are being raised about the future of the profession, this book, with its engaging narrative, explores the constant threads that remain as the profession adapts. While architects are no longer deified, their ability to imagine a new impending reality in built form implies a visionary dimension to their work. By focusing on both the practicalities of the profession and the more intangible motivations behind design – humans’ need to make a mark upon their surroundings – this volume provides a critical overview of over 3000 years of practice and education.
Arabic talking heads
The need for someone to talk to about what is going on inside us while ensuring privacy has become a necessary requirement, especially since some people in our Arab societies judge people who visit a psychiatrist as mentally ill. Therefore, in this project, we propose a solution to the previous problem, where an Arabic-speaking robot, through an interactive chat application can mitigate the psychological and negative effects that humans are exposed to in various cases.
Apitherapy and therapeutic properties
Apitherapy is an alternate therapy that relies on the usage of honeybee products, most importantly bee venom for the treatment of many human diseases. Bee venom contains several active molecules such as peptides and enzymes that have advantageous potential in treating inflammation and central nervous system diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease and autoimmume diseases like reumatic and atherosclerosis .Bee venom (BV) is usually associated with pain since, when humans are stung by bees,local inflammation and even an allergic reaction can be produced. It also consists of a mixture of proteins and peptides, including enzymes such as Melittin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) are the most abundant and studied compounds of BV Stings of hymenoptera can induce IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions in venom-allergic patients, ranging from local up to severe systemic reactions and even fatal anaphylaxis. skin is larger than any other organ in humans.
Antiangiogenic Agents in Cancer Therapy
Antiangiogenesis remains a dynamic and evolving field in oncology. New therapeutic targets continue to emerge followed by the rapid development of new therapeutic agents to be investigated in clinical trials. Optimizing the therapeutic potential of antiangiogenic agents in combination with the other therapies in the armamentarium to fight cancer will be an on-going challenge. Antiangiogenic Agents in Cancer Therapy, Second Edition provides a current, up-dated perspective on the state of the art of angiogenesis and therapy with a compendium of scientific findings and approaches to the study of angiogenesis in cancer. Leaders in the field present chapters on such topics as the environmental influences and the genetic and physiologic abnormalities that mediate angiogenesis and its role in the progression of malignant disease, working models of tumor angiogenesis, and the role of angiogenesis inhibition in the therapy of malignant disease in humans. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Antiangiogenic Agents in Cancer Therapy, Second Edition is an ideal, valuable guide to the most recent advances in the field, and a collection that will be useful for many years to come.
Analysis and Modelling of Faces and Gestures ; 2nd International workshop, AMFG 2005, Beijing, China, October 16, 2005, Proceedings
During the last 30 years, face recognition and related problems such as face detection/tracking and facial expression recognition have attracted researchers from both the engineering and psychology communities. In addition, extensive research has been carried out to study hand and body gestures. The understanding of how humans perceive these important cues has significant scientific value and extensive applications. this one-day workshop (AMFG 2005) provided a focused international forum to bring together well-known researchers and research groups to review the status of recognition, analysis and modeling of faces and gestures, to discuss the challenges that we are facing, and to explore future directions. Overall, 30 papers were selected from 90 submitted manuscripts. The topics of these papers range from feature representation, robust recognition, learning, and 3D modeling to psychology.
Agent Computing and Multi-Agent Systems ; 9th Pacific Rim International Workshop on Multi-Agents, PRIMA 2006, Guilin, China, August 7-8, 2006, Proceedings
PRIMA is a series of workshops on agent computing and multi-agent systems, integrating the activities in Asia and Pacific Rim countries. Agent computing and multi-agent systems are computational systems in which several autonomous or se- autonomous agents interact with each other or work together to perform some set of tasks or satisfy some set of goals. These systems may involve computational agents that are homogeneous or heterogeneous, they may involve activities on the part of agents having common or distinct goals, and they may involve participation on the part of humans and intelligent agents. The aim of PRIMA 2006 was to bring together Asian and Pacific Rim researchers and developers from academia and industry to report on the latest technical advances or domain applications and to discuss and explore scientific and practical problems as raised by the participants. PRIMA 2006 received 203 submitted papers.
Affective computing and intelligent interaction ; 1st international conference, ACII 2005, Beijing, China, October 22-24, 2005, Proceedings
Traditionally, the machine end of human–machine interaction has been very passive, and certainly has had no means of recognizing or expressing a?ective information. But without the ability to process such information, computers cannot be expected to communicate with humans in a natural way. The ability to recognize and express a?ect is one of the most important features of - man beings. We therefore expect that computers will eventually have to have the ability to process a?ect and to interact with human users in ways that are similar to those in which humans interact with each other. A?ective computing and intelligent interaction is a key emerging technology that focuses on m- iad aspects of the recognition, understanding, and expression of a?ective and emotional states by computers.
Advances in Urban Ecology : Integrating Humans and Ecological Processes in Urban Ecosystems
The future of Earth’s ecosystems is increasingly influenced by the pace and patterns of urbanization. One of the greatest challenges for natural and social scientists is to understand how urbanizing regions evolve through the complex interactions between humans and ecological processes. Questions and methods of inquiry specific to our traditional disciplinary domains yield partial views that reflect different epistemologies and understandings of the world. In order to achieve the level of synthesis required to see the urban ecosystem as a whole we must change the way we pose questions and search for answers. Cities are the result of human and ecological processes occurring simultaneously in time and in space and the legacy of the simultaneous processes of the past. Urban ecology is the study of the co-evolution of human-ecological systems. Scholars of both urban systems and ecology must challenge the assumptions and world views within their disciplines and work towards a hybrid theory that builds on multiple world views.
Advances in plant and animal boron nutrition ; Proceedings of the 3rd International symposium on all aspects of plant and animal boron nutrition
Reviews all aspects of boron research in recent years and is based on the Third International Symposium on all Aspects of Plant and Animal Boron Nutrition which was held in Wuhan, P.R. China. The following issues are discussed: Boron sorption mechanisms in soils / Deficiency and toxicity of boron / Boron fertilizer application / Basic research on the physiology and molecular biology of plant boron nutrition / The nutritional function of boron in animals and humans
Advances in pervasive computing and networking
"Pervasive Computing and Networking aim at providing ubiquitous, ever-present, adaptable, smart, enveloping and immersive environments in which computing components and humans can interact regardless of the location. The combination of an abundance of computational power of the processors and the communication bandwidth provided by the wireless and mobile networking everywhere and all the time makes such environments within the reach of current technology. Yet, to realize the full potential of such environments, many technical and economical challenges needs to be overcome. These challenges and the perspective on the seminal directions of the research in this area were the subject of the Workshop for Pervasive Computing and Networking at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
Advances in Human-Robot Interaction
The book addresses key issues of human-robot interaction concerned with perception, modelling, control, planning and cognition, covering a wide spectrum of applications. This includes interaction and communication with robots in manufacturing environments and the collaboration and co-existence with assistive robots in domestic environments. Among the presented examples are a robotic bartender, a new programming paradigm for a cleaning robot, or an approach to interactive teaching of a robot assistant in manufacturing environment. This carefully edited book reports on contributions from leading German academic institutions and industrial companies brought together within MORPHA, a 4 year project on interaction and communication between humans and anthropomorphic robot assistants
