This book presents established and new approaches to perform calculations of electrostatic interactions at the nanoscale, with particular focus on molecular biology applications. It is based on the proceedings of the Computational Electrostatics for Biological Applications international meeting, which brought together researchers in computational disciplines to discuss and explore diverse methods to improve electrostatic calculations. Fostering an interdisciplinary approach to the description of complex physical and biological problems, this book encompasses contributions originating in the fields of geometry processing, shape modeling, applied mathematics, and computational biology and chemistry. The main topics covered are theoretical and numerical aspects of the solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, surveys and comparison among geometric approaches to the modelling of molecular surfaces and related discretization and computational issues. It also includes a number of contributions addressing applications in biology, biophysics and nanotechnology. The book is primarily intended as a reference for researchers in the computational molecular biology and chemistry fields. As such, it also aims at becoming a key source of information for a wide range of scientists who need to know how modeling and computing at the molecular level may influence the design and interpretation of their experiments.

"Cell and Tissue Engineering" introduces the principles and new approaches in cell and tissue engineering. It includes both the fundamentals and the current trends in cell and tissue engineering, in a way useful both to a novice and an expert in the field. The book is composed of 13 chapters all of which are written by the leading experts. It is organized to gradually assemble an insight in cell and tissue function starting form a molecular nano-level, extending to a cellular micro-level and finishing at the tissue macro-level. In specific, biological, physiological, biophysical, biochemical, medical, and engineering aspects are covered from the standpoint of the development of functional substitutes of biological tissues for potential clinical use. Topics in the area of cell engineering include cell membrane biophysics, structure and function of the cytoskeleton, cell-extracellular matrix interactions, and mechanotransduction. In the area of tissue engineering the focus is on the in vitro cultivation of functional tissue equivalents based on the integrated use of isolated cells, biomaterials, and bioreactors. The book also reviews novel techniques for cell and tissue imaging and characterization, some of which are described in detail such as atomic force microscopy. Finally, mathematical modeling methods are presented as valuable and indispensable tools in cell and tissue engineering. Numerous illustrations enhance the quality and ease of use of the presented material.

This book presents the general concepts of self-organized spatio-temporal ordering processes. These concepts are demonstrated via prototypical examples of recent advances in materials science. Particular emphasis is on nano scale soft matter in physics, chemistry, biology and biomedicine. The questions addressed embrace a broad spectrum of complex nonlinear phenomena, ranging from self-assembling near the thermodynamical equilibrium to dissipative structure formation far from equilibrium. Their mutual interplay gives rise to increasing degrees of hierarchical order. Analogues are pointed out, differences characterized and efforts are made to reveal common features in the mechanistic description of those phenomena.

This book presents an overview of the field of bioelectricity by demonstrating the biological significance of electromagnetic fields, electrical properties of tissue, biological effects of electromagnetic energy, and therapeutic applications and health hazards of electromagnetic energy.

This book provides readers with the necessary background information and advanced concepts in the field of circuits, at the crossroads between physics, mathematics and system theory. It covers various engineering subfields, such as electrical devices and circuits, and their electronic counterparts. Based on the idea that a modern university course should provide students with conceptual tools to understand the behavior of both linear and nonlinear circuits, to approach current problems posed by new, cutting-edge devices and to address future developments and challenges, the book places equal emphasis on linear and nonlinear, two-terminal and multi-terminal, as well as active and passive circuit components. This second volume focuses on dynamical circuits, which are characterized by time evolution and by the concept of state. The content is divided into a set of introductory and a set of advanced-level topics, mirroring the approach used in the previously published volume. Whenever possible, circuits are compared to physical systems of different natures (e.g. mechanical or biological) that exhibit the same dynamical behavior. The book also features a wealth of examples and numerous solved problems. Further topics, such as a more general framing of linear and nonlinear components, will be discussed in volume 3.

This book covers the tremendous progress in the current understanding of the molecular physiology of voltage-gated calcium channels. This book includes unparalleled insights into structural features of calcium channels due to X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM, which in turn yielded critical information into how these channels function under normal and pathophysiological conditions, and how they interact with calcium channel therapeutics. The chapters investigate how, with the advent of high throughput genome sequencing, numerous mutations in various calcium channel genes have been identified in patients with neurological, cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric and other disorders. This is further complemented through a much larger in vivo toolkit such as knock-out and knock-in mice. The chapters further discuss the increased complexity of calcium channel physiology that arises from mRNA editing and splicing. Finally, the book also provides an overview of the updated research on calcium channel inhibitors that can be used both in vivo and in vitro, and which may serve as a spring board for new calcium channel therapeutics for human disease. Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels is useful for academic researchers at all levels in neuroscience, biophysics, cell biology and drug discovery.

This book illustrates the role of randomness and noise in living organisms. Traditionally, the randomness and noise have been used in understanding signal processing in communications. This book is divided into two sections, the first of which introduces readers to the various types and sources of noise and the constructive role of noise in non-linear dynamics. It also analyses the importance of randomness and noise in a variety of science and engineering applications. In turn, the second section discusses in detail the functional role of noise in biological processes for example, in case of brain function at the level of ion channel, synaptic level and even at cognitive level. These are described in various chapters. One of the challenging issue finding the neuronal correlates of various meditative states is to understand how brain controls various types of noise so as to reach a state of synchronized oscillatory state of the brain corresponding to the state of Samadhi. This is described in details in one chapter called Noise, Coherence and meditation. The concept of noise and the role of randomness in living organism raise lot of controversy for last few decades. This is discussed in a separate chapter. Finally, the epistemic and ontic nature of randomness as discussed in physical science are investigated in the context of living organism.

The April 1997 conference held in Prague attracted the cream of primarily European and Russian researchers (with a handful from the US, primarily from the U. of Maryland School of Medicine) to the burgeoning biological and medical applications of innovative optical technology, particularly laser con

The environment is now thoroughly polluted by man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation with frequencies and magnitudes never before present. Man's activities have probably changed the earth's electromagnetic background to a greater degree than they have changed any other natural physical attribute of the earth. The evidence now indicates that the present abnormal electromagnetic environment constitutes a significant health risk. There are also positive aspects of the relationship between electromagnetism and life. Clinical uses of electromagnetic energy are increasing and promise to expand into important areas in the near future. This book synthesizes the various aspects of the role of electricity in biology.

This first book on high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is intended for students and biologists who want to use HS-AFM in their research. It provides straightforward explanations of the principle and techniques of AFM and HS-AFM. Numerous examples of HS-AFM studies on proteins demonstrate how to apply this new form of microscopy to specific biological problems. Several precautions for successful imaging and the preparation of cantilever tips and substrate surfaces will greatly benefit first-time users of HS-AFM. In turn, the instrumentation techniques detailed in Chapter 4 can be skipped, but will be useful for engineers and scientists who want to develop the next generation of high-speed scanning probe microscopes for biology. The book is intended to facilitate the first-time use of this new technique, and to inspire students and researchers to tackle their own specific biological problems by directly observing dynamic events occurring in the nanoscopic world. Microscopy in biology has recently entered a new era with the advent of high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM). Unlike optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and conventional slow AFM, it allows us to directly observe biological molecules in physiological environments. Molecular "movies" created using HS-AFM can directly reveal how molecules behave and operate, without the need for subsequent complex analyses and roundabout interpretations. It also allows us to directly monitor morphological change in live cells, and dynamic molecular events occurring on the surfaces of living bacteria and intracellular organelles. As HS-AFM instruments were recently commercialized, in the near future HS-AFM is expected to become a common tool in biology, and will enhance and accelerate our understanding of biological phenomena.

This book highlights the latest design and development of security issues and various defences to construct safe, secure and trusted Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). In addition, the book presents a detailed analysis of the recent approaches to security solutions and future research directions for large-scale CPS, including its various challenges and significant security requirements. Furthermore, the book provides practical guidance on delivering robust, privacy, and trust-aware CPS at scale. Finally, the book presents a holistic insight into IoT technologies, particularly its latest development in strategic applications in mission-critical systems, including large-scale Industrial IoT, Industry 4.0, and Industrial Control Systems. As such, the book offers an essential reference guide about the latest design and development in CPS for students, engineers, designers, and professional developers.

Biophysics, being an interdisciplinary topic, is of great importance in modern biology. This book addresses the needs of biologists, biochemists, and medical biophysicists for an introduction to the subject. The text is based on a one-semester course offered to graduate students of life sciences, and covers a wide range of topics from quantum mechanics to pre-biotic evolution. To understand the topics, only basic school level mathematics is required.

The first chapter introduces and refreshes the reader's knowledge of physics and chemistry. The next chapters cover various physico-chemical techniques used to study biomolecular structures, followed by treatments of spectroscopy, microscopy, diffraction, and computational techniques.

X-ray crystallography and NMR are dealt with in greater detail. The latter half of the book covers results obtained from applications of the above techniques. Some of the other topics dealt with are energy pathways, biomechanics, and neuro-biophysics.

Advanced Spectroscopic Methods to Study Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics presents the latest emerging technologies in spectroscopy and advances in established spectroscopic methods. The book presents a guide to research methods in biomolecular spectroscopy, providing comprehensive coverage of developments in the spectroscopic techniques used to study protein structure and dynamics. Seventeen chapters from leading researchers cover key aspects of spectroscopic methods, with each chapter covering structure, folding, and dynamics. This title will help researchers keep up-to-date on the latest novel methods and advances in established methods.

This book focuses on energy metabolism and brain functions related to Cortical Spreading Depression of Leao (CSD), an important issue in brain pathophysiology. The first part of the book offers a comprehensive overview of the history and early research on CSD, and then discusses the recent advances in the technology used to map and monitor brain mitochondrial NADH redox state and other physiological functions during CSD. The chapters explore the connection between CSD and mitochondrial function under hypoxia, Ischemia and various drugs treatment, and provide a resource to scientists researching the development of CSD during various brain pathophysiological conditions. This book is essential to scientists and students working in the field of bioenergetics of the brain and various organs and tissues in the body. The use of this technology is also crucial and applicable in the neuroscience field.

Photonics of biopolymers discusses the processes of energy transformation in photoexcited proteins, nucleic acids, membranes and model systems. The author addresses, among other topics: Light absorption, screening and reabsorption; photometric studies of protein; energy transfer mechanics; fluorescent probes; photomodulation of enzymes, and photoactiviation. Much of the information stems from the author's own wide experience in the field.

Applied Biophysics for Drug Discovery is a guide to new techniques and approaches to identifying and characterizing small molecules in early drug discovery. Biophysical methods are reasserting their utility in drug discovery and through a combination of the rise of fragment-based drug discovery and an increased focus on more nuanced characterisation of small molecule binding, these methods are playing an increasing role in discovery campaigns. This text emphasizes practical considerations for selecting and deploying core biophysical method, including but not limited to ITC, SPR, and both ligand-detected and protein-detected NMR. Topics covered include: Design considerations in biophysical-based lead screening Thermodynamic characterization of protein-compound interactions Characterizing targets and screening reagents with HDX-MS Microscale thermophoresis methods (MST) Screening with Weak Affinity Chromatography Methods to assess compound residence time 1D-NMR methods for hit identification Protein-based NMR methods for SAR development Industry case studies integrating multiple biophysical methods This text is ideal for academic investigators and industry scientists planning hit characterization campaigns or designing and optimizing screening strategies.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the structural, nanotribological and nanomechanical properties of skin with and without cream treatment as a function of operating environment. The biophysics of skin as the outer layer covering human or animal body is discussed as a complex biological structure. Skin cream is used to improve skin health and create a smooth, soft, and flexible surface with moist perception by altering the surface roughness, friction, adhesion, elastic modulus, and surface charge of the skin surface.

This book summarizes the recent advancements for biomechanics of injury and prevention in mechanism, application and developing frontiers. Biomechanics plays an important role in achieving safety, health, comfort, and a high quality of life by revealing injury mechanism and providing prevention methods. The book covers injury and prevention to the entire human body, from head to toe, including injury and prevention in sports, traffic, accident, clinic and so on. In addition, bionics prevention method inspired by woodpecker is also introduced. The book provides the reader with not only the mechanism of injury but also the advanced injury diagnosis, treatment, and prevention devices based on biomechanics.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is 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 non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience.Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field.Chapters "Metal Peptide Conjugates in Cell and Tissue Imaging and Biosensing", "Luminescent Metal Complexes as Emerging Tools for Lipid Imaging" and "Determination and Imaging of Small Biomolecules and Ions Using Ruthenium(II) Complex-Based Chemosensors" are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 License via link.springer.com.

The book discusses the potential of higher-order interactions to model real-world relational systems. Over the last decade, networks have emerged as the paradigmatic framework to model complex systems. Yet, as simple collections of nodes and links, they are intrinsically limited to pairwise interactions, limiting our ability to describe, understand, and predict complex phenomena which arise from higher-order interactions. Here we introduce the new modeling framework of higher-order systems, where hypergraphs and simplicial complexes are used to describe complex patterns of interactions among any number of agents. This book is intended both as a first introduction and an overview of the state of the art of this rapidly emerging field, serving as a reference for network scientists interested in better modeling the interconnected world we live in.

The Pumps and Pipes collaboration and conference brings together energy, medicine, and higher education in a unique shared effort, exploring ideas and research common to these important fields and stimulating discussion and sharing technologies that can further the reach and goals of each individual area. The Proceedings explores the common attributes of oil and gas technology, computational sciences and cardiovascular medicine and probe the areas where there is room to cross-fertilize and develop research and commercial programs.

This open access book is only an introduction to show that radiation and radioisotopes (RI) are premier tools to study living plant physiology which leads to new findings. Who had ever imagined that we could see water in a plant? Who had ever imagined that we could see ions moving toward roots in solution? Who had ever imagined that we could see invisible gas (CO2) fixation and movement in a plant? These studies demonstrated for the first time that water, ions and gas can be visualized in living plants, which could be hardly seen by anyone before. This publication summarizes the results obtained by Nakanishi's lab in The Univ. of Tokyo, based on her original concept and her original tools or systems. It is useful for professional scientists, plant physiologist, and those studying plant imaging. The chapters demonstrates the innovative imaging work of the author, using radioactive tracers and neutron beam to follow the absorption and transport manner of water as well as major, minor, and trace elements in plants. Through these studies the author developed a real-time macroscopic and microscopic imaging system able to apply commercially available gamma- and beta-ray emitters. The real-time movement of the elements is now possible by using 14C, 18F, 22Na, 28Mg, 32P, 33P, 35S, 42K, 45Ca, 48V, 54Mn, 55Fe, 59Fe, 65Zn, 86Rb, 109Cd, and 137Cs. The imaging methods was applied to study the effect of 137Cs following 3/11 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident, which has revealed the movements of radiocesium in the contaminated sites.

This textbook explores the fundamental qualitative and quantitative aspects of human physiology. It approaches biological and physiological processes and phenomena from a quantitative perspective, revealing how physiological problems can be mathematically formulated starting from simple laws of physics. The book addresses a broad range of topics, including: the statics and dynamics of circulation; muscle and sarcomere force-length and force-velocity relations, together with their mechanisms and functional consequences; subdivisions and meaning of the heat produced by muscle; locomotion, statics and dynamics of respiration; diffusion of gases and acid base equilibrium; phonation; general functions of the kidney and of the different sections of the nephron; changes in clearance with a substance's plasmatic concentration; pH regulation and the kidney; Donnan's equilibrium and its consequences; and the Nernst equation. The book offers the ideal learning resource for students of human physiology courses in medicine and biomedicine, as well as biomedical engineering and biophysics graduate students. An elementary grasp of mathematics and physics is sufficient to understand the content.

This book reports on advanced theories and methods in three related fields of research: applied physics, system science and computers. It is organized in three parts, the first of which covers applied physics topics, including lasers and accelerators; condensed matter, soft matter and materials science; nanoscience and quantum engineering; atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics; as well as nuclear and high-energy particle physics. It also addresses astrophysics, gravitation, earth and environmental science, as well as medical and biological physics. The second and third parts focus on advances in computers and system science, respectively, and report on automatic circuit control, power systems, computer communication, fluid mechanics, simulation and modeling, software engineering, data structures and applications of artificial intelligence among other areas. Offering a collection of contributions presented at the 2nd International Conference on Applied Physics, System Science and Computers (APSAC), held in Dubrovnik, Croatia on September 27-29, 2017, the book bridges the gap between applied physics and electrical engineering. It not only to presents new methods, but also promotes collaborations between different communities working on related topics at the interface between physics and engineering, with a special focus on communication, data modeling and visualization, quantum information, applied mechanics as well as bio and geophysics.

Quantum Mechanics, Cell-Cell Signaling, and Evolution offers a detailed accounting of the latest research and theorizing on the integration of quantum physics with biological action to produce a novel perspective on evolution. The book advocates for a paradigm shift towards understanding biology and medicine causally as predictive sciences, presenting quantum mechanics and physiology as vertically integrated. The author has taken a unique approach to the question of how and why evolution occurred. The account is based on extensive knowledge of lipid physical chemistry, and its role in the evolution of the lung under the influence of hormonal effects on structure and function. The title arranges lipid biochemistry and biophysics into an integrated explanation, guiding readers from the immersion of lipids in water as the origin of life, to lung surfactant in alveolar homeostasis, and leading to a new understanding of how consciousness interacts with the laws of nature. This volume argues for a novel understanding of evolutionary processes based on fundamental science and positions itself as seeking consilience among research disciplines. Starting from the origins of the cosmos, the author proceeds through nucleosynthesis and Endosymbiosis Theory, to finally describe consciousness in relation to natural law.