Replacement of a failing hip joint or other defective organs in the human body by artificial 'spare parts' has significantly improved our quality of life. These spare parts have to meet a wide spectrum of mechanical, chemical and design requirements. In this book, the properties and selection of materials for such `spare parts' are deduced from case studies at the start of each chapter. Hard tissue replacements (joints, long bones, dental), soft tissue (heart valves) and tissue engineering are included. The chapters also detail the three generic classes of materials: alloys (including shape memory alloys), ceramics & glasses and polymers. Separate chapters are devoted to the toxicity of implants, the metals zirconium(-zirconium oxide), tantalum, niobium and metallic glasses, soluble metals and Rapid Prototyping techniques for the fabrication of custom made prostheses. The book concludes by a chapter on water as water is always 'there' and conditions the interaction between body and implant. Water is the very matrix of life on earth. A peculiarity of the book is its 'perspective view', meaning that the authors looked behind the present biomaterials' decor and included historical backgrounds (real and mythological), future developments, and the relation to nature (plants and geology).

This thesis addresses two of the central processes which underpin the formation of galaxies: the formation of stars and the injection of energy into the interstellar medium from supernovae, called feedback. In her work Claudia Lagos has completely overhauled the treatment of these processes in simulations of galaxy formation. Her thesis makes two major breakthroughs, and represents the first major steps forward in these areas in more than a decade. Her work has enabled, for the first time, predictions to be made which can be compared against new observations which probe the neutral gas content of galaxies, opening up a completely novel way to constrain the models. The treatment of feedback from supernovae, and how this removes material from the interstellar medium, is also likely to have a lasting impact on the field. Claudia Lagos Ph.D. thesis was nominated by the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University as an outstanding Ph.D. thesis 2012.

oltage-gated calcium channels are essential mediators of a range of physiological functions, including the communication between nerve Vcells, the regulation of heart beat, muscle contraction, and secretion of hormones such as insulin. Consequently, these channels are critical phar macological targets in the treatment of a variety of disorders, such as epi lepsy, hypertension, and pain. Voltage-gated calcium channels have there fore been subject to intense study by numerous investigators over the past few decades, and an immense body of work has accumulated. In this book, we provide the first comprehensive overview of our current state of knowl edge concerning this exciting field of research. Leading off with a general review of calcium signaling and techniques to measure calcium channel ac tivity, the book delves into a provocative overview of the history of the cal cium channel field, contributed by one of the key pioneers in the field. Dr. Richard Tsien. This is followed by an in depth review of the biochemical and molecular biological characterization of calcium channel genes by Drs. Catterall and Snutch whose research has resulted in major advances in the calcium channel field. A number of chapters are dedicated towards various aspects of calcium channel structure and function, including channel gat ing, permeation, modulation and interactions with members of the exo- totic machinery-contributed by both established leaders and rising stars in the field."

Cold atmospheric plasma is an auspicious new candidate in cancer treatment. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a partially ionized gas in which the ion temperature is close to room temperature. It contains electrons, charged particles, radicals, various excited molecules and UV photons. These various compositional elements have the potential to inhibit cancer cell activity whilst doing no harm to healthy cells. Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal primary brain tumor in adults; treatment including surgery, radio- and chemotherapy remains palliative for most patients as a cure remains elusive. The successful combination of the standard chemotherapeutic temozolomide (TMZ) and CAP treatment features synergistic effects even in resistant glioma cells. In particular in glioma therapy, CAP could offer an innovative approach allowing specific cancer cell / tumor tissue inhibition without damaging healthy cells. Thus CAP is a promising candidate for combination therapy especially for patients suffering from GBMs showing TMZ resistance.

Infrared spectroscopy is a new and innovative technology to study protein folding/misfolding events in the broad arsenal of techniques conventionally used in this field. The progress in understanding protein folding and misfolding is primarily due to the development of biophysical methods which permit to probe conformational changes with high kinetic and structural resolution. The most commonly used approaches rely on rapid mixing methods to initiate the folding event via a sudden change in solvent conditions. Traditionally, techniques such as fluorescence, circular dichroism or visible absorption are applied to probe the process. In contrast to these techniques, infrared spectroscopy came into play only very recently, and the progress made in this field up to date which now permits to probe folding events over the time scale from picoseconds to minutes has not yet been discussed in a book. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the developments as seen by some of the main contributors to the field. The chapters are not intended to give exhaustive reviews of the literature but, instead to illustrate examples demonstrating the sort of information, which infrared techniques can provide and how this information can be extracted from the experimental data. By discussing the strengths and limitations of the infrared approaches for the investigation of folding and misfolding mechanisms this book helps the reader to evaluate whether a particular system is appropriate for studies by infrared spectroscopy and which specific advantages the techniques offer to solve specific problems.

Star clusters are at the heart of astronomy, being key objects for our understanding of stellar evolution and galactic structure. Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and other modern equipment have revealed fascinating new facts about these galactic building blocks. This book provides two comprehensive and up-to-date, pedagogically designed reviews on star clusters by two well-known experts in the field. Bruce Carney presents our current knowledge of the relative and absolute ages of globular clusters and the chemical history of our Galaxy. Bill Harris addresses globular clusters in external galaxies and their use as tracers of galaxy formation and cosmic distance indicators. The book is written for graduate students as well as professionals in astronomy and astrophysics.

This book highlights the overview of the COVID-19 pandemic from both the scientific and the social perspectives. The scientific part presents key facts of COVID-19, including the structure of the virus and the techniques for the diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development against the disease, covering state-of-the-art findings and achievements worldwide. The social part is written by WHO professionals who worked on the frontier of the fight against the disease. It covers the global security situation during the pandemic, the WHO and governmental-level risk management measures, and the estimated impact that COVID-19 will eventually create on social life after it is globally controlled.

This book introduces the use of industrial CMOS processes to produce arrays of nanomechanical cantilever transducers with on-chip driving and signal conditioning circuitry. These cantilevers are familiar from Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) and allow the sensitive detection of physical quantities such as forces and mass changes. The book is divided into three parts. First fabrication aspects and the mechanisms of cantilever resonators are introduced. Of the possible driving and sensing mechanisms, electrothermal and magnetic excitation, as well as piezoresistive detection and the use of MOS transistors for the deflection detection are introduced. This is followed by two application examples: The use of resonant cantilevers for the mass-sensitive detection of volatile organic compounds, and force sensor arrays for parallel Scanning Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) of large areas.

The Earth's atmosphere is often portrayed as a thin and finite blanket covering our planet, separate from the emptiness of outer space. In reality, the transition is gradual and a tiny fraction of the atmophere gases is still present at the altitude of low orbiting satellites. The very high velocities of these satellites ensure that their orbital motion can still be considerably affected by air density and wind. This influence can be measured using accelerometers and satellite tracking techniques. The opening chapters of this thesis provide an excellent introduction to the various disciplines that are involved in the interpretation of these observations: orbital mechanics, satellite aerodynamics and upper atmospheric physics. A subsequent chapter, at the heart of this work, covers advances in the algorithms used for processing satellite accelerometry and Two-Line Element (TLE) orbit data. The closing chapters provide an elaborate analysis of the resulting density and wind products, which are generating many opportunities for further research, to improve the modelling and understanding of the thermosphere system and its interactions with the lower atmosphere, the ionosphere-magnetosphere system and the Sun.

The transduction of signals from the extracellular space across the plasma membrane into the interior of cells and ultimately to the nucleus, where in - sponse to such external signals the transcription of the genetic code is inf- enced,belongs to the most fundamental and important events in the regulation of the life cycle of cells. During recent years several signal transduction cascades have been elucidated which regulate,for instance,the growth and the prolife- tion of organisms as diverse as mammals, flies, worms and yeast. The general picture which emerged from these investigations is that nature employs a c- bination of non-covalent ligand/protein and protein/protein interactions together with a set of covalent protein modifications to generate the signals and transduce them to their destinations. The ligands which are recognized may be low molecular weight compounds like lipids, inositol derivatives, steroids or microbial products like cyclosporin. They may be proteins like, for instance, growth factors or intracellular adaptor proteins which carry SH2 or SH3 domains, and they may be specific DNA stretches which are selectively rec- nized by transcription factors. These and other aspects of biological signal transduction provide an open and rewarding field for investigations by scientists from various different dis- plines of biology,medical research and chemistry working in academic research institutions or in industry.

This volume contains a comprehensive treatment of X-ray spectroscopy, as applied in astrophysics. It is presented in the form of extensive notes of lectures given by seven distinguished scientists at the Tenth Summer School of the European Astrophysics Doctoral Network. The subjects covered are: basic line and continuum radiation processes in X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy; atomic physics of collision- and radiation-dominated plasmas; X-ray spectroscopic observations with ASCA and BeppoSAX; future X-ray spectroscopy missions; X-ray optics, and X-ray spectroscopy instrumentation. The book, which will appeal to both researchers and graduate students, is timely in view of the scheduled launches of the big X-ray observatories AXAF and XMM in 1999.

A collection of sixteen coordinated reviews on the origins of large-scale magnetic fields in the Universe, this book discusses magnetic fields in all relevant astrophysical contexts, from the interstellar medium to the scales of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Magnetic fields are described in their very diverse environments, from stellar winds to galactic haloes and astrophysical jets; together with the roles they play in forming the structures and shaping the dynamics of these objects. Both observational evidence and its theoretical interpretations are covered up to the largest scales in the Universe. The authors are all leading scientists in their fields, making this book an authoritative, up-to-date and enduring contribution to astrophysics. This volume is aimed at graduate students and researchers in astrophysics. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 166/1-4 and Vol. 169/1-4, 2012.

This book offers an in-depth study of two well-known models of "avalanche" dynamics, modified minimally by the inclusion of relaxation. Many complex systems respond to continuous inputs of energy by accumulation of stress over time, interrupted by sudden energy releases called avalanches. The first model studied is the viscoelastic interface driven over disorder, which is shown to display the fundamental features of friction. In the mean-field limit, the friction force derived semi-analytically is compatible with laboratory experiments (displaying both velocity weakening and contact aging). In two dimensions, large-scale numerical simulations are in good agreement with the basic features of real earthquakes (Gutenberg-Richter Law, aftershock migration). The second model is a non-Markovian variant of Directed Percolation, in which we observe that the universality class is only partly modified by relaxation, a promising finding with respect to our first model.

Expanding on the concept of the authors' previous book "Electroweak Processes in External Electromagnetic Fields," this new book systematically describes the investigation methods for the effects of external active media, both strong electromagnetic fields and hot dense plasma, in quantum processes. Solving the solar neutrino puzzle in a unique experiment conducted with the help of the heavy-water detector at the Sudbery Neutrino Observatory, along with another neutrino experiments, brings to the fore electroweak physics in an active external medium. It is effectively demonstrated that processes of neutrino interactions with active media of astrophysical objects may lead, under some physical conditions, to such interesting effects as neutrino-driven shockwave revival in a supernova explosion, a "cherry stone shooting" mechanism for pulsar natal kick, and a neutrino pulsar. It is also shown how poor estimates of particle dispersion in external active media sometimes lead to confusion. The book will appeal to graduate and post-graduate students of theoretical physics with a prior understanding of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) and the Standard Model of Electroweak Interactions, as well as to specialists in QFT who want to know more about the problems of quantum phenomena in hot dense plasma and external electromagnetic fields.

Der bekannte Astronom Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916) gilt als der Begr}nder der Astrophysik und als hervorragender Forscher mit einer erstaunlichen Bandbreite seiner Interessen. Arbeiten zur Himmelsmechanik, Elektrodynamik und Relativit{tstheorie weisen ihn als vorz}glichen Mathematiker und Physiker seiner Zeit aus. Untersuchungen zur Photographischen Photometrie, Optik und Spektroskopie zeigen den versierten Beobachter, der sein Me instrument beherrscht. Schlie lich arbeitete Schwarzschild als Astrophysiker und an Sternatmosph{ren, Kometen, Struktur und Dynamikvon Sternsystemen. Die in seinem kurzen Leben entstandene F}lle von wissenschafltichen Arbeiten ist in drei B{nden der Gesamtausgabe gesammelt, erg{nzt durch biographisches Material und ein Essay des Nobelpreistr{gers S. Chandrasekhar und Annotationen von Fachleuten in jedem der drei B{nde.

This collection of papers will address the question "What is the Magnetospheric Cusp?" and what is its role in the coupling of the solar wind to the magnetosphere as well as its role in the processes of particle transport and energization within the magnetosphere. The cusps have traditionally been described as narrow funnel-shaped regions that provide a focus of the Chapman-Ferraro currents that flow on the magnetopause, a boundary between the cavity dominated by the geomagnetic field (i.e., the magnetosphere) and the external region of the interplanetary medium. Measurements from a number of recent satellite programs have shown that the cusp is not confined to a narrow region near local noon but appears to encompass a large portion of the dayside high-latitude magnetosphere. It appears that the cusp is a major source region for the production of energetic charged particles for the magnetosphere. This book will be of great interest to scientists in Space Physics as well as to those working in research organizations in governments and industries, university departments of physics, astronomy, space physics, and geophysics. Part of this book has already been published in a journal.

This state-of-the-art book contains all results and papers of the International Workshop on Multiscale and Multiphysics Processes in Geomechanics at Stanford University Campus, June 23-25, 2010.

All living matter is comprised of cells, small compartments isolated from the environment by a cell membrane and filled with concentrated solutions of various organic and inorganic compounds. Some organisms are single-cell, where all life functions are performed by that cell. Others have groups of cells, or entire organs, specializing in one particular function. The survival of the entire organism depends on all of its cells and organs fulfilling their roles.While the cells are studied by different sciences, they are seen differently by biologists, chemists, or physicists. Biologists concentrate their attention on cell structure and function. What does the cell consist of? Where are its organelles? What function does each organelle fulfil? From a chemists' point of view, a cell is a complex chemical reaction chamber where various molecules are synthesized or degraded. The main question is how these, sometimes very complicated chains of reactions are controlled. Finally, from a physics standpoint, one of the main questions is the physical movement of all these molecules between organelles within the cell, as well as their exchange with the extracellular medium. The aim of this book is to look into the basic physical phenomena occurring in cells. These physical transport processes facilitate chemical reactions in the cell and that in turn leads to the biological functions necessary for the cell to satisfy its role in the mother organism. Ultimately, the goals of every cell are to stay alive and to fulfil its function as a part of a larger organ or organism. This book is an inventory of physical transport processes occurring in cells while the second volume will be a closer look at how complex biological and physiological cell phenomena result from these very basic physical processes.

The reader has been introduced to a number of topics, taken from Toka- mak research, in order to trace the the development of applications of spec- troscopy in controlled fusion research over the last 35 years, from the early toroidal devices like ZETA to present-day Tokamaks. The subject of plasma spectroscopy has grown in sophistication in terms of the expansion of the atomic processes which have to be considered and their associated data base, the complexity of the experimental techniques and the wide range of diag- nostic applications. Plasma spectroscopy has increased our appreciation of the subtle role of impurities in determining much of the plasma behaviour. Control of impurities, by techniques such as wall conditioning, magnetic divertors, pellet or atomic beam injection and radiation mantles, offers a wealth of future investigations. Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge the help and inspiration he has derived from his students past and present in writing this article. In particular he is indebted toM O'Mullane for his technical help in preparing the manuscript and whose research work is featured in the sections on MARFEs and ion transport. References Abbey, A. F., Barnsley, R., Dunn, J., Lea, S. N. and Peacock, N.J.: 1993, UVand X-ray Spectroscopy of Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas. (editors, E Silver and S. Khan) Cambridge University Press, 493. Afrosimov, V. V., Gordeev, Y.S. et al.: 1979, J.E. T.P. Lett. 28, 501. Alper, B.: 1995, p.r.ivate communication, JET.

This book assembles chapters from experts in the Biophysics of RNA to provide a broadly accessible snapshot of the current status of this rapidly expanding field. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the discoverers of RNA interference, highlighting just one example of a large number of non-protein coding RNAs. Because non-protein coding RNAs outnumber protein coding genes in mammals and other higher eukaryotes, it is now thought that the complexity of organisms is correlated with the fraction of their genome that encodes non-protein coding RNAs. Essential biological processes as diverse as cell differentiation, suppression of infecting viruses and parasitic transposons, higher-level organization of eukaryotic chromosomes, and gene expression itself are found to largely be directed by non-protein coding RNAs. The biophysical study of these RNAs employs X-ray crystallography, NMR, ensemble and single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, optical tweezers, cryo-electron microscopy, and other quantitative tools. This emerging field has begun to unravel the molecular underpinnings of how RNAs fulfill their multitude of roles in sustaining cellular life. The physical and chemical understanding of RNA biology that results from biophysical studies is critical to our ability to harness RNAs for use in biotechnology and human therapy, a prospect that has recently spawned a multi-billion dollar industry.

[the text below needs editing and we must be careful not to say things about Dan Brown's book that could get Springer in legal trouble] Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, was first published in 2003; its sales have reached 40 million worldwide. The book mixes a small spice of fact into a large dollop of fiction to create an entertaining novel of intrigue, adventure, romance, danger and conspiracy, which have been imaginatively worked together to cook up the successful bestseller. Most interest in the book's origins has centred on the sensational religious aspects. Dan Brown has written: 'All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact.' This gives an air of authenticity to the book. Brown has, however, made up the religious doctrines, or based them on questionable accounts by others. The locations of the actions of The Da Vinci Code are not, however, made up. The present book is the scientific story behind the scene of several of the book's actions that take place on the axis of France that passes through Paris. The Paris Meridian is the name of this location. It is the line running north-south through the astronomical observatory in Paris. One of the original intentions behind the founding of the Paris Observatory was to determine and measure this line. The French government financed the Paris Academy of Sciences to do so in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. It employed both astronomers - people who study and measure the stars - and geodesists - people who study and measure the Earth. This book is about what they did and why. It is a true story behind Dan Brown's fiction. This is the first English language presentation of this historical material. It is attractively written and it features the story of the community of scientists who created the Paris Meridian. They knew each other well - some were members of the same families, in one case of four generations. Like scientists everywhere they collaborated and formed alliances; they also split into warring factions and squabbled. They travelled to foreign countries, somehow transcending the national and political disputes, as scientists do now, their eyes fixed on ideas of accuracy, truth and objective, enduring values - save where the reception given to their own work is concerned, when some became blind to high ideals and descended into petty politics. To establish the Paris Meridian, the scientists endured hardship, survived danger and gloried in amazing adventures during a time of turmoil in Europe, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic War between France and Spain. Some were accused of witchcraft. Some of their associates lost their heads on the guillotine. Some died of disease. Some won honour and fame. One became the Head of State in France, albeit for no more than a few weeks. Some found dangerous love in foreign countries. One scientist killed in self defence when attacked by a jealous lover, another was himself killed by a jealous lover, a third brought back a woman to France and then jilted her, whereupon she joined a convent. The scientists worked on practical problems of interest to the government and to the people. They also worked on one of the important intellectual problems of the time, a problem of great interest to their fellow scientists all over the world, nothing less than the theory of universal gravitation. They succeeded in their intellectual work, while touching politics and the affairs of state. Their endeavours have left their marks on the landscape, in art and in literature.

This book leads directly to the most modern numerical techniques for compressible fluid flow, with special consideration given to astrophysical applications. Emphasis is put on high-resolution shock-capturing finite-volume schemes based on Riemann solvers. The applications of such schemes, in particular the PPM method, are given and include large-scale simulations of supernova explosions by core collapse and thermonuclear burning and astrophysical jets. Parts two and three treat radiation hydrodynamics. The power of adaptive (moving) grids is demonstrated with a number of stellar-physical simulations showing very crispy shock-front structures.