Matthias Wurl presents two essential steps to implement offline PET monitoring of proton dose delivery at a clinical facility, namely the setting up of an accurate Monte Carlo model of the clinical beamline and the experimental validation of positron emitter production cross-sections. In the first part, the field size dependence of the dose output is described for scanned proton beams. Both the Monte Carlo and an analytical computational beam model were able to accurately predict target dose, while the latter tends to overestimate dose in normal tissue. In the second part, the author presents PET measurements of different phantom materials, which were activated by the proton beam. The results indicate that for an irradiation with a high number of protons for the sake of good statistics, dead time losses of the PET scanner may become important and lead to an underestimation of positron-emitter production yields.

Fluorescence imaging, at macro, micro, and submicro scales, has revolutionized biological science in the past 30 years. Immunolabelling has provided precise targeting of molecules in fixed tissue, while fluorescent proteins have enabled localization in living tissues. Fluorescent indicators enable imaging of dynamic changes in cell metabolism. This book covers, for the first time, imaging at all scales from macro to submicro (superresolution). Its authors include Robert Clegg, legendary teacher and researcher (who, sadly, passed away during the editing); Jim Pawley, editor of several editions of the Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy; the famous and now dispersed New Zealand team of Mark Cannell, Christian Soeller, and David Baddeley; Robert Hoffman, pioneer of whole-animal imaging in cancer research; Andreas Schoenle and Christian Eggeling on STED nanoscopy, and many more famous participants in this field. All the contributors are at the cutting edge of their field.

Interactions between the fields of physics and biology reach back over a century, and some of the most significant developments in biology--from the discovery of DNA's structure to imaging of the human brain--have involved collaboration across this disciplinary boundary. For a new generation of physicists, the phenomena of life pose exciting challenges to physics itself, and biophysics has emerged as an important subfield of this discipline. Here, William Bialek provides the first graduate-level introduction to biophysics aimed at physics students.

Bialek begins by exploring how photon counting in vision offers important lessons about the opportunities for quantitative, physics-style experiments on diverse biological phenomena. He draws from these lessons three general physical principles--the importance of noise, the need to understand the extraordinary performance of living systems without appealing to finely tuned parameters, and the critical role of the representation and flow of information in the business of life. Bialek then applies these principles to a broad range of phenomena, including the control of gene expression, perception and memory, protein folding, the mechanics of the inner ear, the dynamics of biochemical reactions, and pattern formation in developing embryos.

Featuring numerous problems and exercises throughout, "Biophysics" emphasizes the unifying power of abstract physical principles to motivate new and novel experiments on biological systems. Covers a range of biological phenomena from the physicist's perspective Features 200 problems Draws on statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and related mathematical concepts Includes an annotated bibliography and detailed appendixes Instructor's manual (available only to teachers)

Originally published in 1934 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book examines the key principles underlying animal physiology and the study of physiology. Barcroft shows how every natural internal process is affected and supported by other processes and systems, and concludes every chapter with a brief bibliography on the topics covered. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the study of physiology and the functions performed by the organs.

Originally published in 1939 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book details how animals living in water regulate their internal water content. Krough exhaustively surveys animals from protozoa to crustaceans and aquatic birds, as well as examining the osmotic conditions in sensitive eggs and embryos. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in osmosis and the life of aquatic animals.

The 2nd International Multidisciplinary Microscopy and Microanalysis Congress & Exhibition (InterM 2014) was held on 16–19 October 2014 in Oludeniz, Fethiye/ Mugla, Turkey. The aim of the congress was to gather scientists from various branches and discuss the latest improvements in the field of microscopy. The focus of the congress has been widened in an "interdisciplinary" manner, so as to allow all scientists working on several related subjects to participate and present their work. These proceedings include 33 peer-reviewed technical papers, submitted by leading academic and research institutions from over 17 countries and representing some of the most cutting-edge research available. The papers were presented at the congress in the following sessions: ·         Applications of Microscopy in the Physical Sciences ·         Applications of Microscopy in the Biological Sciences

Originally published in 1927 as the third instalment of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book examines the role of hormones in 'co-ordinating the activities of the organism'. Hogben illustrates the text with charts to illustrate key points, as well as photographs of animal specimens to demonstrate the role of certain secretions in processes such as growth and colour development. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science.

Originally published in 1928 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book examines the importance of cilia in the lives of many invertebrate animals. Gray demonstrates how cilia, not muscle fibres, often play the dominant role as organs of contraction and locomotion and explains how ciliated surfaces are co-ordinated. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science.

Originally published in 1932, this book examines how hormones and nervous impulses affect the body, with special reference to animals with colour-changing abilities. Parker gives examples from various areas of the animal kingdom, both vertebrates and invertebrates, to demonstrate how the stimulation of certain sensory organs and nerves can produce very different effects and to draw wider conclusions about the role that 'nervous secretion' can play in other physiological operations. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science and comparative physiology.

Originally published in 1928 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book examines whether all muscular contractions use essentially the same processes regardless of the type of muscle in question. Ritchie uses an isolated muscle from a frog to investigate whether the chemical and physical causes of a simple muscle twitch can be responsible for the movements of all muscles. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science or comparative physiology.

Originally published in 1934 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book discusses the process of tissue differentiation in developing embryos of a variety of species. Huxley and de Beer examine important aspects of development such as symmetry, the mosaic stage of differentiation and the relationship between hereditary factors and differentiation. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science or embryology.

Originally published in 1927 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book examines the composition and function of the heart in a range of animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates. Clark examines subjects such as how the function of the heart differs between members of the same species who are not of the same size, as well as the nervous control of the heart and the differences in heart structure between cold- and warm-blooded animals. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science or cardiology.

Each chapter has three types of learning aides for students: open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, and quantitative problems. There is an average of about 50 per chapter. There are also a number of worked examples in the chapters, averaging over 5 per chapter, and almost 600 photos and line drawings.

This book covers the principles of laser interaction with biological cells and tissues of varying degrees of organization. The problems of biomedical diagnostics are considered. Scattering of laser irradiation of blood cells is modeled for biological structures (dermis, epidermis, vascular plexus). An analytic theory is provided which is based on solving the wave equation for the electromagnetic field. It allows the accurate analysis of interference effects arising from the partial superposition of scattered waves. Treated topics of mathematical modeling are: optical characterization of biological tissue with large-scale and small-scale inhomogeneities in the layers, heating blood vessel under laser irradiation incident on the outer surface of the skin and thermo-chemical denaturation of biological structures at the example of human skin.

This volume contains original submissions on the development and application of molecular imaging computing. The editors invited authors to submit high-quality contributions on a wide range of topics including, but not limited to: • Image Synthesis & Reconstruction of Emission Tomography (PET, SPECT) and other Molecular Imaging Modalities • Molecular Imaging Enhancement • Data Analysis of Clinical & Pre-clinical Molecular Imaging • Multi-Modal Image Processing (PET/CT, PET/MR, SPECT/CT, etc.) • Machine Learning and Data Mining in Molecular Imaging. Molecular imaging is an evolving clinical and research discipline enabling the visualization, characterization and quantification of biological processes taking place at the cellular and subcellular levels within intact living subjects. Computational methods play an important role in the development of molecular imaging, from image synthesis to data analysis and from clinical diagnosis to therapy individualization. This work will bring readers from academia and industry up to date on the most recent developments in this field.

The book set develops a bridge between physiologic mechanisms and diagnostic human engineering. While the first volume is focused on the interface between physiologic mechanisms and the resultant biosignals, this second volume is devoted to the interface between biosignals and biomedical sensors. That is, in the first volume, the physiologic mechanisms determining biosignals are described from the basic cellular level up to their advanced mutual coordination level. This second volume, considers the genesis of acoustic and optic biosignals and the associated sensing technology from a strategic point of view. As a novelty, this book discusses heterogeneous biosignals within a common frame. This frame comprises both the biosignal formation path from the biosignal source at the physiological level to biosignal propagation in the body, and the biosignal sensing path from the biosignal transmission in the sensor applied on the body up to its conversion to a, usually electric, signal. Some biosignals arise in the course of the body’s vital functions while others map these functions that convey physiological data to an observer. It is highly instructive how sound and light beams interact with biological tissues, yielding acoustic and optic biosignals, respectively. Discussed phenomena teach a lot about the physics of sound and physics of light (as engineering sciences), and, on the other hand, biology and physiology (as live sciences). The highly interdisciplinary nature of biosignals and biomedical sensors is obviously a challenge. However, it is a rewarding challenge after it has been coped with in a strategic way, as offered here. The book is intended to have the presence to answer intriguing “Aha!� questions.

This authoritative volume explores advances in the techniques used to measure percutaneous penetration of drugs and chemicals to assess bioavailability and bioequivalence and discusses how they have been used in clinical and scientific investigations. Seven comprehensive sections examine topics including in vitro drug release, topical drugs products, clinical studies, and guidelines and workshop reports, among others. The book also describes how targeted transdermal drug delivery and more sophisticated mathematical modelling can aid in understanding the bioavailability of transdermal drugs. The first edition of this book was an important reference guide for researchers working to define the effectiveness and safety of drugs and chemicals that penetrated the skin. This second edition contains cutting-edge advances in the field and is a key resource to those seeking to define the bioavailability and bioequivalence of percutaneously active compounds to improve scientific and clinical investigation and regulation.

Neural field theory has a long-standing tradition in the mathematical and computational neurosciences. Beginning almost 50 years ago with seminal work by Griffiths and culminating in the 1970ties with the models of Wilson and Cowan, Nunez and Amari, this important research area experienced a renaissance during the 1990ties by the groups of Ermentrout, Robinson, Bressloff, Wright and Haken. Since then, much progress has been made in both, the development of mathematical and numerical techniques and in physiological refinement und understanding. In contrast to large-scale neural network models described by huge connectivity matrices that are computationally expensive in numerical simulations, neural field models described by connectivity kernels allow for analytical treatment by means of methods from functional analysis. Thus, a number of rigorous results on the existence of bump and wave solutions or on inverse kernel construction problems are nowadays available. Moreover, neural fields provide an important interface for the coupling of neural activity to experimentally observable data, such as the electroencephalogram (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). And finally, neural fields over rather abstract feature spaces, also called dynamic fields, found successful applications in the cognitive sciences and in robotics. Up to now, research results in neural field theory have been disseminated across a number of distinct journals from mathematics, computational neuroscience, biophysics, cognitive science and others. There is no comprehensive collection of results or reviews available yet. With our proposed book Neural Field Theory, we aim at filling this gap in the market. We received consent from some of the leading scientists in the field, who are willing to write contributions for the book, among them are two of the founding-fathers of neural field theory: Shun-ichi Amari and Jack Cowan.

This thesis describes novel approaches and implementation of high-resolution microscopy in the extreme ultraviolet light regime. Using coherent ultrafast laser-generated short wavelength radiation for illuminating samples allows imaging beyond the resolution of visible-light microscopes. Michael Zürch gives a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals and techniques involved, starting from the laser-based frequency conversion scheme and its technical implementation as well as general considerations of diffraction-based imaging at nanoscopic spatial resolution. Experiments on digital in-line holography and coherent diffraction imaging of artificial and biologic specimens are demonstrated and discussed in this book. In the field of biologic imaging, a novel award-winning cell classification scheme and its first experimental application for identifying breast cancer cells are introduced. Finally, this book presents a newly developed technique of generating structured illumination by means of so-called optical vortex beams in the extreme ultraviolet regime and proposes its general usability for super-resolution imaging.

This book explores the author's wide-ranging work on muscle research, which spans more than 50 years. It delves into the dogmas of muscle contraction: how the models were constructed and what was overlooked during the process, including their resulting shortcomings. The text stimulates general readers' and researchers' interest, highlights the author's pioneering work on the electron microscopic recording of myosin head power and recovery strokes, and presents a frank discussion on how the original work sometimes tends to be overlooked by competing scientists, who hinder the progress of science.

A variety of biophysical applications (e.g. leaf area index and gross primary productivity) have been derived from measurements of the Earth system obtained remotely by NASA's MODIS sensors and other satellite platforms. In Biophysical Applications of Satellite Remote Sensing, the authors describe major applications of satellite remote sensing for studying Earth's biophysical phenomena. The focus of the book lies on the broad palette of specific applications (metrics) of biophysical activity derived using satellite remote sensing. With in-depth discussions of satellite-derived biophysical metrics that focus specifically on theory, methodology, validation, major findings, and directions of future research, this book provides an excellent resource for remote sensing specialists, ecologists, geographers, biologists, climatologists, and environmental scientists.

This brief is the result of the research the author has performed in recent years covering electrical fluctuations in numerous systems, including molecular electrical fluctuations, ionic fluctuations, ionic dielectric relaxation, spherical and cylindrical polyelectrolytes, ionic polarizability in polyelectrolytes, pH fluctuation in vesicles and electrical fluctuations in proteins. The importance of estimating electrical fluctuations resides in its richness of information and omnipresence in biological systems. In order to understand how these systems work it is vital to know the magnitude of their electrical fluctuations. Electromagnetic fluctuations are the origin of London (Van der Waals) forces between molecules, and Lifshitz forces between macro objects. Protonic fluctuations are the origin of Kirkwood and Shumaker forces between molecules and pH fluctuations. Furthermore, protonic fluctuations could be the cause of the dielectric increment of proteins in solution. Local electrical fluctuations can influence chemical reactions and so on. This book addresses the interplay of these pervasive phenomena. .

This book presents research into chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense and environmental security, exploring practical implications of the research. Contributions from a diverse group of international civilian researchers present the latest work on nanotechnology problems in this area, looking at detection, protective technologies, decontamination and threats to environmental security due to bacteriophages and nanomaterials. Highlights include the potential of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to characterize the nanoscale properties of microbial pathogens, the development of bacteriophage-based therapeutics, prophylactic and diagnostic preparations and their uses in different fields, such as medicine, veterinary, agriculture, food and water safety, amongst others. Readers may also consider an inexpensive bioassay suited for assessing chemical poisoning in the environment such as the presence of pesticides, sensors to detect ultra-trace quantities of the explosive Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) using nanotubes and electrochemical sensors to simultaneously detect and reduce the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) to 2,4,6-triaminotoluene (TAT) in solution. This book shows how cooperative research among NATO countries and NATO partners can make a critical contribution to meeting the opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology problems relevant to chemical and biological defense needs. The papers presented here are representative of contributions made to the Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on September 22-26, 2014 in Antalya, Turkey, to address the NATO SPS Key Priority of Defense against CBRN Agents and Environmental Security.

The purpose and subject of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of all types of phantoms used in medical imaging, therapy, nuclear medicine and health physics. For ionizing radiation, dosimetry with respect to issues of material composition, shape, and motion/position effects are all highlighted. For medical imaging, each type of technology will need specific materials and designs, and the physics and indications will be explored for each type. Health physics phantoms are concerned with some of the same issues such as material heterogeneity, but also unique issues such as organ-specific radiation dose from sources distributed in other organs. Readers will be able to use this book to select the appropriate phantom from a vendor at a clinic, to learn from as a student, to choose materials for custom phantom design, to design dynamic features, and as a reference for a variety of applications. Some of the information enclosed is found in other sources, divided especially along the three categories of imaging, therapy, and health physics. To our knowledge, even though professionally, many medical physicists need to bridge the three catagories described above.

Success or failure of biomaterials, whether tissue engineered constructs, joint and dental implants, vascular grafts, or heart valves, depends on molecular-level events that determine subsequent responses of cells and tissues. This book presents the latest developments and state-of-the-art knowledge regarding protein, cell, and tissue interactions with both conventional and nanophase materials. Insight into these biomaterial surface interactions will play a critical role in further developments in fields such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biocompatibility of implanted materials and devices. With chapters written by leaders in their respective fields, this compendium will be the authoritative source of information for scientists, engineers, and medical researchers seeking not only to understand but also to control tissue-biomaterial interactions.