An in-depth look at the latest research, methods, and applications in the field of protein bioinformatics This book presents the latest developments in protein bioinformatics, introducing for the first time cutting-edge research results alongside novel algorithmic and AI methods for the analysis of protein data. In one complete, self-contained volume, Algorithmic and Artificial Intelligence Methods for Protein Bioinformatics addresses key challenges facing both computer scientists and biologists, arming readers with tools and techniques for analyzing and interpreting protein data and solving a variety of biological problems. Featuring a collection of authoritative articles by leaders in the field, this work focuses on the analysis of protein sequences, structures, and interaction networks using both traditional algorithms and AI methods. It also examines, in great detail, data preparation, simulation, experiments, evaluation methods, and applications. Algorithmic and Artificial Intelligence Methods for Protein Bioinformatics: * Highlights protein analysis applications such as protein-related drug activity comparison * Incorporates salient case studies illustrating how to apply the methods outlined in the book * Tackles the complex relationship between proteins from a systems biology point of view * Relates the topic to other emerging technologies such as data mining and visualization * Includes many tables and illustrations demonstrating concepts and performance figures Algorithmic and Artificial Intelligence Methods for Protein Bioinformatics is an essential reference for bioinformatics specialists in research and industry, and for anyone wishing to better understand the rich field of protein bioinformatics.

IR spectroscopy has become without any doubt a key technique to answer questions raised when studying the interaction of proteins or peptides with solid surfaces for a fundamental point of view as well as for technological applications.

Principle, experimental set ups, parameters and interpretation rules of several advanced IR-based techniques; application to biointerface characterisation through the presentation of recent examples, will be given in this book. It will describe how to characterise amino acids, protein or bacterial strain interactions with metal and oxide surfaces, by using infrared spectroscopy, in vacuum, in the air or in an aqueous medium. Results will highlight the performances and perspectives of the technique.
Description of the principles, expermental setups and parameter interpretation, and the theory for several advanced IR-based techniques for interface characterisationContains examples which demonstrate the capacity, potential and limits of the IR techniquesHelps finding the most adequate mode of analysisContains examplesContains a glossary by techniques and by keywords

This book explores how nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy may be used for spatial structural elucidation of novel compounds from fungal and synthetic sources. Readers will discover the exciting world of NOE (nuclear Overhauser effect), RDC (residual dipolar coupling) and J-coupling constants, both short- and long range. With emphasis on obtaining structural knowledge from these NMR observables, focus is moved from solving a static 3D structure to solving the structural space inhabited by small organic molecules. The book outlines the development and implementation of two Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation-type NMR experiments, and the 3D structural elucidation of multiple known and novel compounds. In addition, a new method of back-calculating RDCs (allowing for more flexible structures to be investigated), and the synthesis and evaluation of novel chiral alignment media for ab initio determination of absolute stereochemistry of small molecules using RDCs are also included. Challenges that 3D structural generation of small compounds face are also covered in this work.

This book effectively links the latest scientific advances to current technological applications of polymers, mainly focusing on biodegradable polymers obtained from biomass. The individual chapters were written by academic and industry researchers alike, introducing readers to topics that have received little attention in the literature to date. Key topics covered include polymers used in various areas such as food packaging, pharmaceuticals, energy production and the cosmetics industry, as well as the treatment of aqueous effluents.

Research of the past ten years has made it increasingly clear that domestic animals and wild animals differ in their nutritional requirements. Nutritional management, beneficial to domestic animals, may actually be life-threatening to wild ones. This new edition of Wildlife Feeding and Nutrition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent insights, especially with regard to wildlife nutrition essential to successful management either in the wild or in captivity.
Zoological garden and laboratory personnel, wildlife biologists, ecologists, animal nutritionists, and veterinarians will benefit from this new edition.

With numerous methods available for the quantification of nitric oxide (NO), this detailed book explores their advantages and disadvantages in order to provide a foundation for further research in plant nitric oxide. After providing a useful practical guide to choosing a technique for measuring NO from plant materials, the book continues with chapters on chemiluminescence, diaminofluorescence (DAF), EPR spectroscopy, a laser-based method, as well as many other topics. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory methods, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and authoritative, Plant Nitric Oxide: Methods and Protocols serves as a valuable guide to all researchers working and intending to work in the field of plant nitric oxide research.

Why a Second Edition?
The Second Edition provides practical answers to the general question, "How can I obtain useful sequence information from my protein or peptide?" rather than the more specific question asked in the first edition, "How can I obtain the N-terminal sequence?" Important new methods include ways of dealing with blocked N termini, computer analysis of protein sequences, and the recent revolution in mass spectrometry.
Key Features
Highlights of the Second Edition:
* Mass spectrophotometric characterization of proteins and peptides
* N-terminal sequencing of proteins with blocked N termini
* Internal amino acid sequence analysis after protease digestion in-gel and on-blot
* Improved microscale peptide purification methods
* Computer analysis of protein sequences
* New protocols tested and refined through everyday use in authors' laboratories
* Updated reference chapter covering all aspects of protein microsequencing

This book covers the latest development in the biotechnological application of extremophiles. Along with this the impact of climate change and environmental pollution on loss of diversity of extremophiles is also discussed. This is crucial as the loss of this diversity is related with the loss of many bioactive compounds and bacteria of ecological importance. This volume outlines applications of extremophiles in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and bioremediation.

Lipid Membrane Organization and Molecular Partitions: Determination of Lipid Asymmetry and Exchange in Model Membrane Systems (C. Tilcock et al.). Role of Macromolecules on Membrane Interaction: Pegylation of Membrane Surfaces (D. Fisher). Influence of Polar Polymers on the Aggregation and Fusion of Membranes (K. Arnold et al.). Role of Lipids and Proteins on Membrane Adhesion and Fusion: AnnexinPhospholipid Interactions in Membrane Fusion (P. Meers et al.). Evidence for Multiple Steps in Enveloped Virus Binding (A.M. Haywood). Physical Basis Underlying Membrane Adhesion and Fusion: Red Blood Cell Interaction with a Glass Surface (J.K. Angarska et al.). PhysicoChemical Factors Underlying Membrane Adhesion and Fusion (S. Ohki). Nine additional articles. Index.

This fully revised and updated new edition provides a comprehensive look at nitrite and nitrate and their effect on human health and disease. The first section describes the biochemical analysis of nitrite and nitrate and its role in human physiology. The book then shifts to sources of human exposure of nitrite and nitrate, including environmental and dietary. Finally, the last section discusses nitric oxide-based therapeutics and how nitrite and nitrate biochemistry can be safely harnessed to improve human health. Each chapter provides a balanced, evidence-based view and heavily cites the most recent published literature. They follow a strict chapter format which includes keywords, key points, a conclusion highlighting major findings, and extensive references. The second edition contains new chapters on nitrite and nitrate in age medicine, nitrite and nitrate as a treatment for hypertension, and nitrite and nitrate in exercise performance. Additionally, the editors have expanded the biochemistry section to include chapters on nitrate reducing oral bacteria, nitrite mediated S-Nitrosation, epigenetics and the regulation of nitric oxide, and nitrite control of mitochondrial function. Nitrate and Nitrite in Human Health and Disease, 2e, will be of interest to health professionals, nutritionists, dieticians, biomedical scientists, and food scientists.

This detailed volume explores numerous histochemical techniques through a series of lab-tested protocols for the detection of specific molecules or metabolic processes, both at light and electron microscopy. More in detail, the book is divided into six sections covering a variety of chemical targets. It begins with a section on vital histochemistry and continues with chapters on histochemistry as it relates to lectins, proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA, as well as plants. The volume also contains four overview chapters on vital histochemistry, lectin histochemistry, and DNA fluorochromes. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, 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. Authoritative and practical, Histochemistry of Single Molecules: Methods and Protocols aims to effectively help scientists in very different research fields to elucidate biological issues though a unique approach to molecular biology in situ.

Volume 22, entitled Metal Ions in Bio-Imaging Techniques, of the series Metal Ions in Life Sciences deals with metal ions as tools in imaging. This dates back to the first half of the past century, when barium sulfate was orally given to patients undergoing X-ray examination. The use of contrast agents has since developed into a large interdisciplinary field encompassing not only medicine, but also chemistry, material sciences, physics, biology, engineering, and computer sciences. MILS-22 provides deep and current insights in 17 stimulating chapters on the new research frontiers of this fast growing field on bio-imaging ... and beyond. For example, adding bio-sensing yields theranostic agents, meaning diagnosis and therapy linked in the same molecule; ions of Gd, Mn, Fe, Co, Ir, 99mTc, etc., are involved. Other important topics are, e.g., metal complexes in paramagnetic Chemical Exchange Transfer (paraCEST), radiometals for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, or paramagnetic metal ion probes for 19F magnetic resonance imaging. MILS-22 is written by 57 internationally recognized experts from 12 countries, that is, from the US via Europe to China. The impact of this vibrant research area is manifested by more than 2300 references and nearly 120 figures, mostly in color, and several informative tables. To conclude, Metal Ions in Bio-Imaging Techniques is an essential resource for scientists working in the wide range from material sciences, enzymology, analytic, organic, and inorganic biochemistry all the way through to medicine including the clinic ... not forgetting that also excellent information for teaching is provided.

Natural toxins form a major component of the molecular tools used increasingly frequently by the ever growing number of laboratories of various kinds. Evidence for this is provided not only by the increasing number of firms including such toxins in their catalogues but also by the large number of demands received by those who discover new toxins. Twenty chapters survey important aspects of toxin origin, their structure and molecular mechanism, and their cellular and pathogenic effects. In addition, the text provides comprehensive and specific methodology for the application of these toxins in the research laboratory. This begins with the description of the method of extraction, biochemical and pharmacological characterization, and assessment of purity, and continues with methods for chemical modification, e.g. labelling, and eventually describes applications in pharmacological studies in vivo and/or in vitro. The length of this book has been kept reasonable by concentrating on animal toxins,...

Proteomics, like other post-genomics tools, has been growing at a rapid pace and has important applications in numerous fields of science. While its use in animal and veterinary sciences is still limited, there have been considerable advances in this field in recent years, in areas as diverse as physiology, nutrition and food of animal origin processing. This is mainly as a consequence of a wider availability and better understanding of proteomics methodologies by animal and veterinary researchers. This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art account of the status of farm-animal proteomics research, focusing on the principles behind proteomics methodologies and its specific applications and offering clear example.

This is the third volume in a series on membrane protein transfer. Membrane protein transport underlies the topological disposition of many proteins within cells and it is this disposition that allows for the co-ordination of the central cellular processes, such as metabolism.

This book aims at providing a brief but broad overview of biosignatures. The topics addressed range from prebiotic signatures in extraterrestrial materials to the signatures characterising extant life as well as fossilised life, biosignatures related to space, and space flight instrumentation to detect biosignatures either in situ or from orbit. The book ends with philosophical reflections on the implications of life elsewhere. In the 15 chapters written by an interdisciplinary team of experts, it provides both detailed explanations on the nature of biosignatures as well as useful case studies showing how they are used and identified in ancient rocks, for example. One case study addresses the controversial finding of traces of fossil life in a meteorite from Mars. The book will be of interest not only to astrobiologists but also to terrestrial paleontologists as well as any reader interested in the prospects of finding a second example of life on another planet.

Nature, by dint of its constitution, harbors many unassuming mysteries broadly manifested by its constituent cohorts. If physics is the pivot that holds nature and chemistry provides reasons for its existence, then the rest is just manifestation. Nanoscience and technology harbor the congruence of these two core subjects, whereby many phenomenon may be studied in the same perspective. That nature operates at nanoscale-obeying the principles of thermodynamics and supramolecular chemistry-is a well understood fact manifested in a variety of life processes: bones are restored after a fracture; clots potentially leading to cerebral strokes can be dissolved. The regeneration of new structures in our system follows a bottom-up approach. Be it a microbe (benign or pathogenic), plant (lower or higher), plant parts/organs, food beneficiaries, animal (lower), higher animal processing wastes, these all are found to deliver nanomaterials under amenable processing conditions. Identically, the molecules also seem to obey the thermodynamic principles once they get dissociated/ionized and the energy captured in the form of bonding helps in the synthesis of a myriad of nanomaterials. This edited volume explores the various green sources of nanomaterial synthesis and evaluates their industrial and biomedical applications with a scope of scaling up. It provides useful information to researchers involved in the green synthesis of nanomaterials in fields ranging from medicine to integrated agricultural management.

Bioremediation refers to the clean-up of pollution in soil, groundwater, surface water, and air using typically microbiological processes. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade, transform or detoxify hazardous substances to human health or the environment. For bioremediation to be effective, microorganisms must enzymatically attack the pollutants and convert them to harmless products. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and action, its application often involves the management of ecological factors to allow microbial growth and degradation to continue at a faster rate. Like other technologies, bioremediation has its limitations. Some contaminants, such as chlorinated organic or high aromatic hydrocarbons, are resistant to microbial attack. They are degraded either gradually or not at all, hence, it is not easy to envisage the rates of clean-up for bioremediation implementation. Bioremediation represents a field of great expansion due to the important development of new technologies. Among them, several decades on metagenomics expansion has led to the detection of autochthonous microbiota that plays a key role during transformation. Transcriptomic guides us to know the expression of key genes and proteomics allow the characterization of proteins that conduct specific reactions. In this book we show specific technologies applied in bioremediation of main interest for research in the field, with special attention on fungi, which have been poorly studied microorganisms. Finally, new approaches in the field, such as CRISPR-CAS9, are also discussed. Lastly, it introduces management strategies, such as bioremediation application for managing affected environment and bioremediation approaches. Examples of successful bioremediation applications are illustrated in radionuclide entrapment and retardation, soil stabilization and remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, plastics or fluorinated compounds. Other emerging bioremediation methods include electro bioremediation, microbe-availed phytoremediation, genetic recombinant technologies in enhancing plants in accumulation of inorganic metals, and metalloids as well as degradation of organic pollutants, protein-metabolic engineering to increase bioremediation efficiency, including nanotechnology applications are also discussed.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the microbiological fundamentals and biotechnological applications of methanotrophs: aerobic proteobacteria that can utilize methane as their sole carbon and energy source. It highlights methanotrophs' pivotal role in the global carbon cycle, in which they remove methane generated geothermally and by methanogens. Readers will learn how methanotrophs have been employed as biocatalysts for mitigating methane gas and remediating halogenated hydrocarbons in soil and underground water. Recently, methane has also attracted considerable attention as a potential next-generation carbon feedstock for industrial biotechnology, because of its abundance and low price. Methanotrophs can be used as biocatalysts for the production of fuels, chemicals and biomaterials including methanobactin from methane under environmentally benign production conditions. Sharing these and other cutting-edge insights, the book offers a fascinating read for all scientists and students of microbiology and biotechnology.

The book illustrates theories of sustainable development from physical, chemical and biological aspects, and then introduces technologies to prevent pollution of water, air, solid waste and noise, finally concludes with ecological environmental protection and restoration techniques. With interdisciplinary features and abundant case studies, it is an essential reference for researchers and industrial engineers.

Immunology is a nodal subject that links many areas of biology. It permeates the biosciences, and also plays crucial roles in diagnosis and therapy in areas of clinical medicine ranging from the control of infectious and autoimmune diseases to tumour therapy. Monoclonal antibodies and small molecule modulators of immunity are major factors in the pharmaceutical industry and now constitute a multi billion dollar business. Students in these diverse areas are frequently daunted by the complexity of immunology and the astonishing array of unusual mechanisms that go to make it up. Starting from Dobzhansky's famous slogan, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution", this book will serve to illuminate how evolutionary forces shaped immunity and thus provide an explanation for how many of its counter intuitive oddities arose. By doing so it will provide a conceptual framework on which students may organise the rapidly growing flood of immunological knowledge.

A look at the methods and algorithms used to predict protein structure

A thorough knowledge of the function and structure of proteins is critical for the advancement of biology and the life sciences as well as the development of better drugs, higher-yield crops, and even synthetic bio-fuels. To that end, this reference sheds light on the methods used for protein structure prediction and reveals the key applications of modeled structures. This indispensable book covers the applications of modeled protein structures and unravels the relationship between pure sequence information and three-dimensional structure, which continues to be one of the greatest challenges in molecular biology.

With this resource, readers will find an all-encompassing examination of the problems, methods, tools, servers, databases, and applications of protein structure prediction and they will acquire unique insight into the future applications of the modeled protein structures. The book begins with a thorough introduction to the protein structure prediction problem and is divided into four themes: a background on structure prediction, the prediction of structural elements, tertiary structure prediction, and functional insights. Within those four sections, the following topics are covered: Databases and resources that are commonly used for protein structure predictionThe structure prediction flagship assessment (CASP) and the protein structure initiative (PSI)Definitions of recurring substructures and the computational approaches used for solving sequence problemsDifficulties with contact map prediction and how sophisticated machine learning methods can solve those problemsStructure prediction methods that rely on homology modeling, threading, and fragment assemblyHybrid methods that achieve high-resolution protein structuresParts of the protein structure that may be conserved and used to interact with other biomoleculesHow the loop prediction problem can be used for refinement of the modeled structuresThe computational model that detects the differences between protein structure and its modeled mutant

Whether working in the field of bioinformatics or molecular biology research or taking courses in protein modeling, readers will find the content in this book invaluable.