The current book describes the chemical and physical behaviour of polymers and biopolymers that form highly associating structures in equilibrium solution. It summons the established results known of polymer complexes in solution, taking into account also the recent developments in biotechnology concerning this topic, in technological applications of polymer-protein interactions, in fluorescence and scattering techniques for the study of intra- and interpolymer association and in the study of ionomers in solution. The book covers the whole range from synthesis and fundamental aspects to applications and technology of associated polymers.

This book offers a comprehensive review on biomass resources, examples of biorefineries and corresponding products. The first part of this book covers topics such as different biorefinery resources from agriculture, wood processing residues and transport logistics of plant biomass. In the second part, expert contributors present biorefinery concepts of different biomass feedstocks, including vegetable-oils, sugarcane, starch, lignocellulose and microalgae. Readers will find here a summary of the syngas utilization and the bio-oil characterization and potential use as an alternative renewable fuel and source for chemical feedstocks. Particular attention is also given to the anaerobic digestion-based and Organosolv biorefineries. The last part of the book examines relevant products and components such as alcohols, hydrocarbons, bioplastics and lignin, and offers a sustainability evaluation of biorefineries.

The scope of the field of biotechnological processes is very wide, covering such processes as fermentations for production of high-valued specialist chemicals (e.g. pharmaceuticals), high-volume production of foods and feeds (e.g. yoghurt, cheese, beer), as well as biological waste treatment, handling solid (composting), liquid (activated sludge) and gaseous wastes (biofilters). Compared to other engineering disciplines, the introduction of modern optimization and control strategies is lagging behind. Two main reasons can be identified. First, the living organisms (or part thereof) that are central to these processes make the mathematical modeling of the processes a difficult task, and, since models are central to the development of control systems, the on-line control problem is also complex. The other difficulty stems from the absence, in most cases, of cheap and reliable instrumentation suited to real-time monitoring. In this book a number of advanced techniques is introduced to deal with these problems. In the first part modern on-line hardware sensors are discussed in detail (FIA, viable biomass measurement, membrane inlet mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, microcalorimetry). In the second part, novel model-based process diagnosis and control techniques are dealt with, including advances in bioprocess modeling and identification, data processing, software sensor design, and on-line control algorithms. The book is directed at engineers, researchers, and students in the field of process control and systems theory as applied to industrial biotechnological processes, as well as at bioengineers who have some background in control engineering and wish to increase their understanding ofhow advanced control theory applies to biological processes.

The Springer Handbook of Enzymes provides concise data on some 5,000 enzymes sufficiently well characterized - and here is the second, updated edition. Their application in analytical, synthetic and biotechnology processes as well as in food industry, and for medicinal treatments is added. Data sheets are arranged in their EC-Number sequence. The new edition reflects considerable progress in enzymology: the total material has more than doubled, and the complete 2nd edition consists of 39 volumes plus Synonym Index. Starting in 2009, all newly classified enzymes are treated in Supplement Volumes.

The debate over genetic manipulation and its use in plant improvement and protection has led to an increased demand for developing methods for detecting and characterizing genetic manipulation in plants and plant products such as seeds and foods. This book is unique in presenting all relevant methods together in one volume: those for using and determining markers retained in genetically manipulated products as well as methods for eliminating marker genes and procedures for characterizing chromosomal aberrations in genetically manipulated plants.

All important aspects of thermophilic moulds such as systematics, ecology, physiology and biochemistry, production of extracellular and intracellular enzymes, their role in spoilage of stores products and solid and liquid waste management, and general and molecular genetics have been dealt with comprehensively by experts in this book which covers progress in the field over the last 30 years since the seminal book Thermophilic Fungi published by Cooney and Emerson in 1964. The experts have reviewed extensive literature on all aspects of thermophilic moulds in a very comprehensive manner. This book will be useful for graduates as well as post-graduate students of life sciences, mycology, microbiology and biotechnology, and as a reference book for researchers.

Additive manufacturing (AM) and subtractive manufacturing (SM) offer numerous advantages in the production of single and multiple components. They provide incomparable design independence and are used to fabricate products in several industries, e.g.: aeronautic, automotive, biomedical, etc. The book presents recent results of processes including 3D printing, SLS (selective laser sintering), EBM (electron beam melting) and Precise Cutting and Drilling.

"This monograph contains recent studies in eco-informatics, promising ideas "

"and new challenges in information management for supporting sustainability in"

"companies and other organization. The scope of this book includes sets of"

"solutions which show different stakeholders viewpoints on sustainability. ""In individual chapters, authors discuss the role which Environmental"

"Information Systems (EIS) play in the environmental conscious functioning of"

"enterprise. New models, methods and tools supporting sustainability are"

"presented. Emphasis is placed on the innovative approach to eco-friendly"

"organization and coordination of transport, logistics processes and operations"

"management. The information management and decision making in"

"manufacturing and service organizations is highlighted."

"The scope of this monograph also encompasses topics related to the modeling"

"and monitoring of climate change.""

"

Plants have to manage a series of environmental stresses throughout their entire lifespan. Among these, abiotic stress is the most detrimental; one that is responsible for nearly 50% of crop yield reduction and appears to be a potential threat to global food security in coming decades. Plant growth and development reduces drastically due to adverse effects of abiotic stresses. It has been estimated that crop can exhibit only 30% of their genetic potentiality under abiotic stress condition. So, this is a fundamental need to understand the stress responses to facilitate breeders to develop stress resistant and stress tolerant cultivars along with good management practices to withstand abiotic stresses. Also, a holistic approach to understanding the molecular and biochemical interactions of plants is important to implement the knowledge of resistance mechanisms under abiotic stresses. Agronomic practices like selecting cultivars that is tolerant to wide range of climatic condition, planting date, irrigation scheduling, fertilizer management could be some of the effective short-term adaptive tools to fight against abiotic stresses. In addition, "system biology" and "omics approaches" in recent studies offer a long-term opportunity at the molecular level in dealing with abiotic stresses. The genetic approach, for example, selection and identification of major conditioning genes by linkage mapping and quantitative trait loci (QTL), production of mutant genes and transgenic introduction of novel genes, has imparted some tolerant characteristics in crop varieties from their wild ancestors. Recently research has revealed the interactions between micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and plant stress responses exposed to salinity, freezing stress and dehydration. Accordingly transgenic approaches to generate stress-tolerant plant are one of the most interesting researches to date. This book presents the recent development of agronomic and molecular approaches in conferring plant abiotic stress tolerance in an organized way. The present volume will be of great interest among research students and teaching community, and can also be used as reference material by professional researchers.

In 1992, a group of scientists including molecular biologists, microbiologists, population biolo gists, ecologists, human geneticists, moral philosophers and others met discussing the state of affairs regarding the deliberate or unintentional release of genetically modified organisms. The proceedings of this meeting were subsequently published by Birkhauser Verlag as Transgenic Organisms: Risk Assessment of Deliberate Release (K. Wohrmann and J. Tomiuk). Since then we have gained many new insights that are also worthy of discussion. And although other equally important scientific views on the release of genetically modified organisms exist, we have mainly concentrated on aspects of population biology and evolution. The results of a second meeting in 1995 are summarized here. We are grateful to colleagues and friends for their help in the translation, correction and review of the authors' contributions. We especially want to thank Jutta Bachmann, Donna Devine, Diana von Finck, Friedrich Laplace, Volker Loeschcke, Rolf Lorenz, Dave Parker and Trevor Petney. A grant (BMFT N' 0311035) from the Ministerium fUr Forschung und Technologie der Bundesrepublik Deutschland again made possible the continuation of this cooperative endeavour."

Advances in Applied Microbiology, Volume 120 continues the comprehensive reach of this widely read and authoritative review source in microbiology, providing invaluable references and information on a variety of areas relating to the topics of microbiology.

Since its first systematic application during the 1970s, bioremediation, or the exploitation of a biological system's degradative potential to combat toxic pollutants such as heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), cyanides, and radioactive material, has proven itself over time, and the many advances in molecular techniques have only amplified its utility. In Bioremediation: Methods and Protocols, experts in the field explore imaginative and ambitious multidisciplinary techniques that will enable more predictable removal of pollutants from a variety of environments. The easy-to-follow volume addresses some of the broader issues such as the effect of the environment in determining the availability and fate of organic and inorganic compounds and how choices around the most appropriate bioremediation process can be arrived at, as well as detailed complementary techniques that support the effective deployment and monitoring of a bioremediation approach. 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 protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and cutting-edge, Bioremediation: Methods and Protocols offers researchers a series of invaluable techniques certain to enhance their work with environmental contamination."

Wind Turbine Airfoils and Blades introduces new ideas in the design of wind turbine airfoils and blades based on functional integral theory and the finite element method, accompanied by results from wind tunnel testing. The authors also discuss the optimization of wind turbine blades as well as results from aerodynamic analysis. This book is suitable for researchers and engineers in aeronautics and can be used as a textbook for graduate students.

Industrial and Process Furnaces: Principles, Design and Operation, Third Editioncontinues to provide comprehensive coverage on all aspects of furnace operation and design, including topics essential for process engineers and operators to better understand furnaces. New to this edition are sections on production, handling and utilization of alternative fuels such as biomass, hydrogen and various wastes, modeling of the process, combustion and heat transfer, their benefits, advantages and limitations, mitigation and removal of CO2 , the role of solar and other renewable energy, recent research, and the practical approach of the Whyalla steelworks for harnessing solar energy for sustainable steelmaking, hydrogen and as a "clean fuel". The book also includes a discussion on the limitations of hydrogen supply owing to fresh water supply constraints, the difficulty of storing and transporting hydrogen, and the current sociopolitical impetus of CO2.

The purpose of this book is to provide a balanced introduction to process control and management, aimed at the general process engineer. Rapid changes have occurred in process control over the past decade, mainly because of the deployment of robust and effective digital control equipment, and the development of the models which underpin the area. Historically, process control was seen as simply the maintenance of particular process variables at appropriate setpoints. This very narrow view has been superseded by the view that process control involves the regulation of any given process, in the context of a complete processing plant, to maximise the economic return from the plant. This wider definition brings into play a range of control regimes, from basic regulatory control, through advanced regulatory control, to complex process management. The organization of the book reflects this hierarchy, and is thus split into 3 parts, covering basic regulatory control, advanced process control and finally process management. The book is completed by the inclusion of several useful appendices, covering mathematical modelling, process optimisation and simulation.

This book contains complete information on Capsicum genetic resources, diversity, evolution, history and advances in capsicum improvement from classical breeding to whole genome sequencing, genomics, databases and its impact on next generation pepper breeding. Capsicum is one of the most important Solanaceae crops grown worldwide as vegetables and spices. Due to its high economic value and to meet the demands of enormous population growth amid biotic and abiotic stresses, there has been an ongoing breeding program utilizing available genetic resources with desired traits to increase the sustainable productivity of this crop for several decades. However, the precision breeding of this crop for desired traits only started with the advent of molecular markers. The recent advances in high-throughput genome sequencing technologies helped in the quick decoding of transcriptome, epigenome, nuclear and organeller genomes, thereby enhancing our understanding of the structure and function of the Capsicum genome, and helping in genomics assisted breeding. These advanced technologies coupled with conventional mapping have greatly contributed towards dissection and manipulation of economically important traits more precisely and made less time consuming.

The first volume in a series which aims to focus on advances in computational biology. This volume discusses such topics as: fluctuations in the shape of flexible macromolecules; the hydration of carbohydrates as seen by computer simulation; and studies of salt-peptide solutions.

In dealing with recent advances in biological engineering and human reproduction, we are confronted with legal, ethical, and religious questions for which there are no precedents. Warren Freedman undertakes a comprehensive examination of this topic. Sorting through the tangle of issues surrounding artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, and other aspects of contemporary reproduction trends, Freedman attempts to clarify the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families, and society in the face of these new developments.

The author begins with a survey of the legal implications of nontraditional approaches to conception and birth. Separate chapters are devoted to artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood; and new concepts such as cryo-preservation, in-vitro fertilization, banking of sperms and eggs, and patentable new organisms are also discussed in detail. The author addresses questions of rights and liabilities as they apply to fetuses, donors, and adoptive parents, as well as the role of physicians and parenthood organizations, researchers, corporations, and government. Following a review of existing statutes, policies, and contracts that attempt to deal with these issues both here and abroad, he presents proposals that may aid in achieving equitable, uniform solutions. Freedman's book will be of interest to any citizen, group, or government agency concerned with these vital questions, and to professionals in law, government, medicine, human services, and industry.

A particular issue for biopharmaceuticals that has not been addressed comprehensively in any book, is the potential of an immune response to the biopharmaceutical product. That is, the human body marks the drug as a foreign body, and develops antibodies against the drug. These antibodies may be relatively harmless, but may also cross-react with the endogenous compound, causing autoimmunogenicity. Recent adverse experiences in Europe with Janssen-Ortho's blockbuster product Eprex has increased the attention towards potential immunogenicity of biopharmaceuticals, above all from the regulatory agencies. This book is intended to give a broad overview of the current state-of-the-art regarding the immune response to biopharmaceuticals. The chapters range from an overview of the immune system and factors that may trigger the immune system, via detection of antibodies and clinical implications, to various case examples and the regulatory view on immunogenicity.

This volume presents 12 comprehensive and timely review articles on some of the new tools and applications of biochemical engineering and biotechnology. The tools range from screening methods for novel biocatalysts and products, fluorescence spectroscopy and mass spectrometry for monitoring and analysis of cellular processes via mathematical models and protein expression systems for metabolic engineering to new bioreaction and separation devices. The applications cover the uses of animal and tissue cultures, insect cells, recombinant and marine microorganisms for the production of a variety of important bioproducts.

For Senior-level and graduate courses in Biochemical Engineering, and for programs in Agricultural and Biological Engineering or Bioengineering. This concise yet comprehensive text introduces the essential concepts of bioprocessing-internal structure and functions of different types of microorganisms, major metabolic pathways, enzymes, microbial genetics, kinetics and stoichiometry of growth and product information-to traditional chemical engineers and those in related disciplines. It explores the engineering principles necessary for bioprocess synthesis and design, and illustrates the application of these principles to modern biotechnology for production of pharmaceuticals and biologics, solution of environmental problems, production of commodities, and medical applications.

These Proceedings evolved from the OECD Co-operative Research Programme workshop on "Potential ecological impact of transgenic plants expressing viral sequencies," held at the Agricultural Biotechnology Center in Godollo, Hungary on 24-26 April 1997. The OECD Co-operative Research Programme At the Directorate for Agrieulture of the Organisation for Economie Co-operation and Development (OECD) a co-operative research programme for "Biological Resource Management" has existed since 1990. It foeuses on work in four specific topie areas, one of whieh is "Ecology and utilisation of new organisms" (Theme 3). The activities promoted by this programme are post-doctoral fellowships (announced annually), and the organisation of expert workshops (1-2 workshops per Theme per year). The 26 OECD member countries participating in this programme are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, ltaly, Korea, Japan, the NetherIands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, SwitzerIand, Turkey, the UK, and the USA."