Immunogenetics of Autoimmune Disease
Utoimmunity is the downstream outcome of a rather extensive and coordinated series of events that include loss of self-tolerance, peripheral lymphocyte Aactivation, disruption of the blood-systems barriers, cellular infiltration into the target organs and local inflammation. Cytokines, adhesion molecules, growth factors, antibodies, and other molecules induce and regulate critical cell functions that perpetuate inflammation, leading to tissue injury and clinical phenotype. The nature and intensity of this response as well as the physiological ability to restore homeostasis are to a large extent conditioned by the unique amino acid sequences that define allelic variants on each of the numerous participating mol ecules. Therefore, the coding genes in their germline configuration play a primary role in determining who is at risk for developing such disorders, how the disease progresses, and how someone responds to therapy. Although genetic components in these diseases are clearly present, the lack of obvious and homogeneous modes of transmission has slowed progress by prevent ing the full exploitation of classical genetic epidemiologic techniques. Furthermore, autoimmune diseases are characterized by modest disease risk heritability and m- tifaceted interactions with environmental influences. Yet, several recent discoveries have dramatically changed our ability to examine genetic variation as it relates to human disease. In addition to the development of large-scale laboratory methods and tools to efficiently recognize and catalog DNA diversity, over the past few years there has been real progress in the application of new analytical and data-manage ment approaches
Imaging of Parasitic Diseases
This book provides an overview of the imaging findings of parasitic diseases using modern imaging equipment. The chapters consist of short descriptions of causative pathogens, epidemiology, modes of transmission, pathology, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, and imaging findings.
Ifo Survey Data in Business Cycle and Monetary Policy Analysis
The business surveys of the Ifo Institute (short for Information and Forschung) are internationally renowned. Every month close to 7,000 enterprises are questioned on their short-term planning and their appraisals of the actual and future business situation. The confidence indicator frequently referred to as the Ifo Business Climate Index is derived from the responses to this Ifo Business Survey. While the Index attracts a lot of attention by practitioners (especially financial market analysts), the use and empirical exploitation of this and other components of Ifo business surveys is – amongst academics – still relatively scarce. The present volume, based on a conference entitled "The Academic Use of Ifo Survey Data", gives examples of timely research questions which can be addressed by qualitative survey data like the monthly Ifo Business Survey. It shows that this type of real-time data can be very informative when it comes to forecasting real economic activity or exploring monetary policy transmission.
High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) Vision : Microelectronics, Image Processing, Computer Graphics
This first comprehensive account of high-dynamic-range (HDR) vision focusses on HDR real-time, high-speed digital video recording and also systematically presents HDR video transmission and display. The power of the eye-like, logarithmic optoelectronic conversion concept is demonstrated in machine-vision, medical, automotive, surveillance and cinematic applications, and it is extended to HDR sub-retinal implants for the vision impaired. While the book conveys the overall picture of HDR vision, specific knowledge of microelectronics and image processing is not required. It provides a quantitative summary of the major issues to allow the assessment of the state of the art and a glimpse at future developments. Selected experts share their know-how and expectations in this rapidly evolving art related to the single most powerful of our senses.
Heavy-Tail Phenomena : Probabilistic and Statistical Modeling
This comprehensive text gives an interesting and useful blend of the mathematical, probabilistic and statistical tools used in heavy-tail analysis. Heavy tails are characteristic of phenomena where there is a significant probability of a single huge value impacting system behavior. Record-breaking insurance losses, financial returns, sizes of files stored on a server, transmission rates of files are all examples of heavy-tailed phenomena.
Heat transfer : Evolution, design and performance
Covers thermodynamics principles and establishes performance and evolution as fundamental concepts in thermal sciences Demonstrates how principles of physics predict a future with economies of scale, multi-scale design, vascularization, and hierarchical distribution of many small features Explores new work on conduction architecture, convection with nanofluids, boiling and condensation on designed surfaces, and resonance of natural circulation in enclosures
Handbook of neurochemistry and molecular neurobiology : Development and Aging Changes in the Nervous System
In the animal nervous system, a very high metabolic turnover, fragile but steep ionic gradients, and morphological and structural constraints - dictated by the necessity for prompt neuronal transmission of electrical impulses and necessary plasticity - result in a highly fragile organ system. Here, we address a small sampling of major constituents of neural function at the cellular and molecular level that play important roles in development and aging, two endogenous processes that embody features of allostasis or the dynamic shifts in set points for specific homeostatic mechanisms associated with development and aging. These chapters stress the dynamic features of neuronal responses to internal (developmental) cues or the more harmful external events (injury and disease) in a modern perspective.
Handbook of microscopy for nanotechnology
Handbook of Microscopy for Nanotechnology aims to provide an overview of the basics and applications of various microscopy techniques for nanotechnology. This handbook highlights various key microcopic techniques and their applications in this fast-growing field. Topics to be covered include the following: scanning near field optical microscopy, confocal optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, magnetic force microscopy, scanning turning microscopy, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, orientational imaging microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, environmental transmission electron microscopy, quantitative electron diffraction, Lorentz microscopy, electron holography, 3-D transmission electron microscopy, high-spatial resolution quantitative microanalysis, electron-energy-loss spectroscopy and spectral imaging, focused ion beam, secondary ion microscopy, and field ion microscopy.
Glutamate Receptors in Peripheral Tissue : Excitatory Transmission Outside the CNS
The book is divided into three sections— Part I is on general concepts and concentrates on the distribution and cell-specific localiza tion of glutamate receptors, their transporters, and the pharmacology in peripheral tissues and organs. Part II emphasizes the presence and implications of these receptors in specific target tissues, organs, and systems, including liver, lungs, endocrine tissues, bone, immune system, etc. Part III focuses on glutamate receptors in plants to illustrate their presence beyond the animal kingdom.
Global mobile satellite communications : For maritime, Land and aeronautical applications
This book is important for modern shipping, truck, train and aeronautical societies because GMSC in the present millennium provides more effective business and trade, with emphasis on safety and commercial communications. Global Mobile Satellite Communications is written to make bridges between potential readers and current GMSC trends, mobile system concepts and network architecture using a simple mode of style with understandable technical information, characteristics, graphicons, illustrations and mathematics equations
General Concepts in Integrated Pest and Disease Management
The first volume of the Integrated Management of Plant Pests and Diseases book series presents general concepts on integrated pest and disease management, organized in three sections. Section one (modeling, management, environment) includes chapters on infection models, resurgence and replacement. The second section (emerging technologies) includes remote sensing and information technology. In the third section (molecular aspects) the management of insect-borne viruses with transmission interference.
Fuel Cells : From Fundamentals to Applications
Fuel Cells: Fundamentals to Applications is a concise source of the basic electrochemical principles and engineering aspects involved in the development and commercialization of fuel cells. It describes the applications and techno-economic assessment of fuel cell technologies along with an in-depth discussion of conventional and novel approaches pursued for generating energy. This book is divided into four parts. Parts I and II explain basic and applied electrochemistry relevant to an understanding of fuel cells. Part III covers engineering and technology aspects and Part IV, applications and economics. The first part covers, in detail, the electrode kinetics and electrocatalysis of charge-transfer reactions, and leading electrochemical technologies with focus on relevance to fuel cells. The second part addresses the governing principles of fuel cells, electrocatalysis of fuel cell reactions and experimental techniques pertinent to fuel cell research and development. The third part is devoted to modeling of fuel cell systems and a thorough discussion of fuels, fuel processing and fuel storage, transmission, and distribution. The final part deals with the status of the fuel cell technologies, their applications and economics.
Frontiers of Optical Spectroscopy ; Investigating Extreme Physical Conditions with Advanced Optical Techniques
Advanced spectroscopic techniques allow the probing of very small systems and very fast phenomena, conditions that can be considered "extreme" at the present status of our experimentation and knowledge. Quantum dots, nanocrystals and single molecules are examples of the former and events on the femtosecond scale examples of the latter. The purpose of this book is to examine the realm of phenomena of such extreme type and the techniques that permit their investigations. Each author has developed a coherent section of the program starting at a somewhat fundamental level and ultimately reaching the frontier of knowledge in the field in a systematic and didactic fashion. The formal lectures are complemented by additional seminars.
Frontiers in Materials Research
This book covers recent progress in advanced materials research as reviewed by forefront researchers in contributions which would also be suitable for researchers and postgraduates in a related field. It starts with comprehensive reviews of exotic materials for electronic devices, such as wide gap semiconductors and organic materials. They are followed by recent topics on eco- and bio-friendly materials, which attract more and more attention in the materials research community. Atomic scale characterization and control of nanostructured materials are discussed in later chapters that review the general possibilities for precise control of structures and properties in the developments of advanced materials.
Frontiers in Magnetic Materials
Frontiers in Magnetic Materials focuses on the current achievements and state-of-the-art advancements in magnetic materials. Several lines of development- High-Tc Superconductivity, Nanotechnology and refined experimental techniques among them – raised knowledge and interest in magnetic materials remarkably. The book comprises 24 chapters on the most relevant topics written by renowned international experts in the field. It is of central interest to researchers and specialists in Physics and Materials Science, both in academic and industrial research, as well as advanced students.
Food preservation and safety of natural products
Food Preservation and Safety of Natural Products addresses the most common causes of food spoilage that create significant loss to global food production while also discussing how food serves as a vehicle for the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms responsible for mild to debilitating health conditions in humans. The book provides essential information for food safety professionals on issues relating to foodborne diseases and offers potential solutions by presenting various methods of incorporating natural products in food production to prevent the spread of foodborne pathogenic organisms. The demand for green consumerism and consumers general distaste for synthetic food additives poses a serious challenge to food safety and preservation. Natural products are used as green and sustainable source of bioactive compounds that can be applied in various fields including food. The use of plant and other natural products in food preservation is on the rise, hence this book reviews microbial mediated food spoilage, foodborne pathogens and food contamination and offers applications of natural products in food preservation.
Flexible AC Transmission Systems : Modelling and Control
The book presents the modelling of the latest FACTS controllers for power flow control, compensation and power quality (IPFC, GUPF, VSC HVDC and M-VSCHVDC, etc.) in power system analysis. The selection is evaluated by the actual and likely future practical relevance of each. The material is derived mainly from the research and industrial development in which the authors have been heavily involved. The book is timely and of great value to power engineering engineers and students of modelling, simulations and control design of FACTS for a broad practical range of power system operation, planning and control problems.
Fiber-based Dispersion Compensation
Dispersion management is a critical design criterion that characterizes the performance of an optical network, and has impacted almost every aspect of the physical layer of an optical transmission line. The past 10 years have seen an explosion in the variety of device effects exploited to obtain optimal performance from dispersion compensators, and this is the first book that deals exclusively with this technology.
Ferroptosis : Methods and protocols
A comprehensive collection of experimental protocols for investigating ferroptosis in different systems, including cultured cells, animal models, and human tissues. The techniques covered in this book look at various aspects of ferroptosis ranging from the detection of lipid peroxidation to the measurement of glutathione peroxidase activity and the evaluation of mitochondrial morphology. Chapters also discuss basic molecular biology methods such as quantitative PCR and immunoblotting, and advanced imaging techniques such as transmission electron microscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Feedforward Amplifiers for Wideband Communication Systems
Feedforward Amplifiers for Wideband Communication Systems has been possible thanks to the research carried out throughout several years in the field of the linearization techniques applied to digital communication systems, particularly to those with high spectral efficient modulation techniques. This challenge is enshrined in one of the present wideband communication systems, but all the recommended design guidelines are perfectly reusable in the future wideband applications.



















