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Current Themes in Theoretical Biology : A Dutch Perspective
The present volume originated in 2001 when we, together with our publishing editors at (then) Kluwer Academic Publishers, realized that the th following year the 50 volume of our journal Acta Biotheoretica would see the light. We felt that this milestone should not pass unnoticed and that the appropriate way to mark it would be the publication of a special volume of papers on theoretical biology. While editing this book during 2003 and early 2004, we realized that another milestone was not far off: in 2005 it will be 70 years ago that the journal was founded. We hope that the book lying before you will serve well to mark both events. The papers collected here have been written on invitation by representatives of the theoretical biology community in The Netherlands. They are intended to reflect the entire spectrum of topics on which Acta Biotheoretica publishes, ranging from philosophy of biology on one end to mathematical biology on the other. All chapters (except our own introductory one) have been peer reviewed according to the standards that are maintained with respect to regular submissions to Acta Biotheoretica.
Ctenophores : Methods and protocols
Explores emerging approaches and methods inspired by recent research using ctenophores or placozoans, facilitating the study of these enigmatic species and ancient animal lineages. Practical protocols are integrated with introductory chapters about general biology, summarizing the diversity, evolution, genomics, development, and neurobiology of these organisms. Special chapters outline strategies and applications for culturing, microscopy, physiology, electrical synapses, and bioluminescence, molecular and single-cell biology, transcription factors, as well as gene and protein expression analyses. The book also contains bioinformatics and computational chapters covering peptidomics and epigenomics. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include detailed implementation advice that leads to dependable results in the laboratory.
Critical Points for the Organisation of Test Performance Studies in Microbiology : Plant Pathogens as a Case Study
This book in the field of plant pest detection shows a constant demand in development and improvement of fast and reliable detection tools, especially for high-priority pests. This open access book describes and summarizes the whole process of the organization of test performance study (TPS) for these tools. The outcome of TPS, obtained through the evaluation of the performance of one or more diagnostic tests by several laboratories on defined samples, is the finding of the best performing test/s for particular pest and for specific uses.
Critical Phenomena in Natural Sciences : Chaos, Fractals, Selforganization and Disorder : Concepts and Tools
Concepts, methods and techniques of statistical physics in the study of correlated, as well as uncorrelated, phenomena are being applied ever increasingly in the natural sciences, biology and economics in an attempt to understand and model the large variability and risks of phenomena. This is the first textbook written by a well-known expert that provides a modern up-to-date introduction for workers outside statistical physics. The emphasis of the book is on a clear understanding of concepts and methods, while it also provides the tools that can be of immediate use in applications. Although this book evolved out of a course for graduate students, it will be of great interest to researchers and engineers, as well as to post-docs in geophysics and meteorology.
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever : A Global Perspective
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne disease associated with severe hemorrhagic manifestations. CCHF has been referred to as the "Asian Ebola." However, in fact, the disease is one of the most widely distributed tick-borne diseases in the world, occurring in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. This volume covers major aspects of this important disease and the virus which causes it. Chapters are written by leading experts in their fields and detail historical, public health, epidemiological, and clinical aspects of CCHF and the genetics and molecular biology of the virus. Additional chapters focus on disease control, tick vectors and infection among animals, both natural and experimental.
COVID-19 in Alzheimer's disease and dementia
COVID-19 in Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia crucially summarizes the current status of the coronavirus in patients suffering from these conditions, describing why they are a common cause of morbidity among those with COVID-19. The first section includes chapters that provide a general description of COVID-19, including SARS-CoV-2 structure, function, and biology, and its impact on the elderly with chronic conditions include hypertension, diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, respiratory illnesses, and infectious diseases. Also discussed are effects of the virus on the immune system. The second section shifts to the impact of COVID-19 on those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, with special emphasis on age, gender, ethnic background, and lifestyle.
Coronaviruses with Special Emphasis on First Insights Concerning SARS
This book series focuses on relevant and trending topics in microbiology and infectious diseases with emphasis on emerging pathogens and related diseases.This interdisciplinary series presents latest advances and new approaches in molecular biology as well as insights into human and veterinary clinical medicine. Furthermore, matters in epidemiology, disease management, hygiene and prevention of infectious diseases are discussed. Emerging or novel pathogens are a grand challenge in medical science. Therefore, we focused the first volume of this series on the outbreak of SARS. The advent of SARS is a threat for people around the globe. Our modern technologies in communication and mobility have figuratively transformed the world into a village. This traffic, however, reprensents a new opportunity to spread diseases, particularly such of infectious nature from tiny villages throughout the entire world. In-depth knowledge of a novel pathogen's characteristics will help to manage or event prevent pandemias.
Coronaviruses : Methods and Protocols
Aims to describe a variety of techniques that reflects the wide range of research currently performed in the field of coronavirology, and begins with an overview of current understandings of coronavirus replication and pathogenesis to introduce specialists and non-specialists to the field. The rest of the book is divided into several sections of chapters beginning with those that describe identification, diagnosis, and study of the evolution of coronaviruses. The next few chapters discuss the preparation of cells and organ cultures useful in propagating coronaviruses and titration techniques, as well as techniques for analyzing virus functions that require purification of the viruses. The next chapters describe two commonly used reverse genetics techniques for coronaviruses, and techniques detailing identification of cellular receptors, binding profiles of viral attachment proteins, and virus-cell fusion. The final chapters cover a broad spectrum of techniques to identify virus-host protein-protein interactions, confirm the functional role of these proteins in virus replication, study host cell responses through genome-wide or pathway-specific approaches, and visualize virus replication complexes. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, the chapters include the kind of detailed description and implementation advice that is crucial for getting optimal results in the laboratory.
Coronavirus therapeutics ; Vol. I : Basic science and therapy development
Provides the most comprehensive review on contemporary knowledge on the origin and structural biology and molecular aspects of Coronaviruses. This also describes the etiology and pathogeny and therapeutic targets including vaccine drug candidates against Coronaviruses in the light of current scientific knowledge. Using an integrative approach to the understanding of Coronaviruses structure, function and immunobiology, the contributors provide a synopsis of novel mechanisms by which Coronaviruses can be treated.
Coral Reefs of the USA
This book will therefore be of broad general interest. For the first time, complete scholarly reviews are given for the geology, geomorphology and the biology of reefs encompassing a vast area stretching from the Mariana Islands in the west, Samoa in the south, Hawaii in the north and the Virgin Islands in the east.
Control Theory in Physics and other Fields of Science : Concepts, Tools, and Applications
This book covers systematically and in a simple language the mathematical and physical foundations of controlling deterministic and stochastic evolutionary processes in systems with a high degree of complexity. Strong emphasis is placed on concepts, methods and techniques for modelling, assessment and the solution or estimation of control problems in an attempt to understand the large variability of these problems in several branches of physics, chemistry and biology as well as in technology and economics. The main focus of the book is on a clear physical and mathematical understanding of the dynamics and kinetics behind several kinds of control problems and their relation to self-organizing principles in complex systems. The book is a modern introduction and a helpful tool for researchers, engineers as well as post-docs and graduate students interested in an application oriented control theory and related topics.
Contrast Agents III : Radiopharmaceuticals - From Diagnostics to Therapeutics
The series Topics in Current Chemistry presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in modern chemical research. The scope of coverage includes all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the nonspecialist reader, whether at the university or in industry, a comprehensive overview of an area where new insights are emerging that are of interest to a larger scientific audience.This volume on radiopharmaceutical contrast agents, which also covers new developments on radiopharmaceuticals used as therapeutic drugs is the third of a series on diagnostics following a volume that was exclusively dedicated to magnetic resonance imaging and a “mixed” volume on optical, ultrasound, X-ray and radiopharmaceutical agents
Continental Philosophy of Technoscience
This text draws upon continental authors such as Hegel, Engels, Heidegger, Bachelard and Lacan (and their fields of dialectics, phenomenology and psychoanalysis) in developing a coherent message around the technicity of science or rather, “technoscience”. Within technoscience, the focus will be on recent developments in life sciences research, such as genomics, post-genomics, synthetic biology and global ecology. This book uniquely presents continental perspectives that tend to be underrepresented in mainstream philosophy of science, yet entail crucial insights for coming to terms with technoscience as it is evolving on a global scale today.
Contemporary Sociological Theory : An Integrated Multi-Level Approach
This book covers the major theoretical orientations that have been influential in American sociology since the mid-twentieth century. These include symbolic interaction, phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodology, social exchange and rational choice theories, sociology of emotions, functionalism and neofunctionalism, conflict and critical theory, selected feminist theories, structuration theory, systems theory, sociobiology, selected sociology of culture perspectives, and major themes from postmodern orientations.
Contemporary Accounts in Drug Discovery and Development
Drug discovery is a lengthy and complex process that typically involves identifying an unmet medical need, determining a biological target, chemical library screening to identify a lead, chemical optimization, preclinical studies and clinical trials. This process often takes many years to complete, and relies on practitioners’ knowledge of chemistry and biology, but also—and perhaps more importantly—on experience. Improving the success rate in discovery and development through a thorough knowledge of drug discovery principles and advances in technology is critical for advancement in the field.
Consumer perception of food attributes
Objectives of this book is to summarize recent empirical findings from scholarly works on how consumers value food credence attributes. Such knowledge would benefit producers, processors, retailers, and policy makers. Another objective of this book is to discuss the effectiveness of the programs that have been introduced to strengthen the relationship between producers and consumers. Many programs have been developed to more effectively inform consumers regarding food production processes.
Conservation Biology : Foundations, Concepts, Applications
Fred Van Dyke’s new textbook, Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications, 2nd Edition represents a major new text for anyone interested in conservation. Drawing on his experience as a conservation biologist, college teacher, and successful textbook author, Van Dyke’s organizational clarity and readable style make this book an invaluable resource for students in conservation around the globe.Presenting key information and well-selected examples, this student-friendly volume carefully integrates the science of conservation biology with its implications for ethics, law, policy and economics. In addition to rigorous examination of the scientific theory supporting conservation biology and its applications, this unique book includes a number of features which set it apart from others. These include its chapters on aquatic conservation, landscape ecology, and ecosystem management, and its direct explanation and invitation to students on how to enter the work of conservation as a professional and personal vocation.
Conceptual Ecology and Invasion Biology : Reciprocal Approaches to Nature
In this edited volume, global experts in ecology and evolutionary biology explore how theories in ecology elucidate the invasion processes while also examining how specific invasions informs ecological theory. This reciprocal benefit is highlighted in a number of scales of organization: population, community and biogeographic, while employing example invaders in all major groups of organisms and from a number of regions around the globe. The chapters in this volume utilize many of the cutting edge observational, experimental, analytical and computational methods used in modern ecology. Through merging conceptual ecology and invasion biology we can obtain a better understanding of the invasion process while also developing a better understanding of how ecological systems function.
Computing the Electrical Activity in the Heart
This book describes mathematical models and numerical techniques for simulating the electrical activity in the heart. The book gives an introduction to the most important models of the field, followed by a detailed description of numerical techniques for the models. Particular focus is on efficient numerical methods for large scale simulations on both scalar and parallel computers.
Computing and Combinatorics ; Vol. 4112 ; 12th Annual International Conference, COCOON 2006, Taipei, Taiwan, August 15-18, 2006, Proceedings
The papers are organized in topical sections on computational economics, finance, and management, graph algorithms, computational complexity and computability, quantum computing, computational biology and medicine, computational geometry, graph theory, and more.
