The application of methodological approaches and mathematical formalisms proper to Physics and Engineering to investigate and describe biological processes and design biological structures has led to the development of many disciplines in the context of computational biology and biotechnology. The best known applicative domain is tissue engineering and its branches. Recent domains of interest are in the field of biophysics, e.g.: multiscale mechanics of biological membranes and films and filaments; multiscale mechanics of adhesion; biomolecular motors and force generation. Modern hypotheses, models, and tools are currently emerging and resulting from the convergence of the methods and phylosophycal apporaches of the different research areas and disciplines. All these emerging approaches share the purpose of disentangling the complexity of organisms, tissues, and cells and mimiking the function of living systems. The contributions presented in this book are current research highlights of six challenging and representative applicative domains of phyisical, engineering, and computational approaches in medicine and biology, i.e tissue engineering, modelling of molecular structures, cell mechanics and cell adhesion processes, cancer physics, and physico-chemical processes of metabolic interactions. Each chapter presents a compendium or a review of the original results achieved by authors in the last years. Furthermore, the book also wants to pinpoint the questions that are still open and that could propel the future research.

Current radiation protection standards are based upon the application of the linear no-threshold (LNT) assumption, which considers that even very low doses of ionizing radiation can cause cancer. The radiation hormesis hypothesis, by contrast, proposes that low-dose ionizing radiation is beneficial. In this book, the author examines all facets of radiation hormesis in detail, including the history of the concept and mechanisms, and presents comprehensive, up-to-date reviews for major cancer types. It is explained how low-dose radiation can in fact decrease all-cause and all-cancer mortality and help to control metastatic cancer. Attention is also drawn to biases in epidemiological research when using the LNT assumption. The author shows how proponents of the LNT assumption consistently reject, manipulate, and deliberately ignore an overwhelming abundance of published data and falsely claim that no reliable data are available at doses of less than 100 mSv.

In Single Molecule Studies of Proteins, expert researchers discuss the successful application of single-molecule techniques to a wide range of biological events, such as the imaging and mapping of cell surface receptors, the analysis of the unfolding and folding pathways of single proteins, the analysis interaction forces between biomolecules, the study of enzyme catalysis or the visualization of molecular motors in action. The chapters are aimed at established investigators and post-doctoral researchers in the life sciences wanting to pursue research in the various areas in which single-molecule approaches are important; this volume also remains accessible to advanced graduate students seeking similar research goals.

The Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology series has turned several times to the topic of photosynthesis. In the original series, two volumes edited by A. PIRSON and published in 1960 provided a broad overview of the entire field. Although the New Series has devoted three volumes to the same topic, the overall breadth of the coverage has had to be restricted to allow for greater in-depth treatment of three major areas of modern photosynthesis research: I. Photosynthetic Elec tron Transport and Photophosphorylation (Volume 5 edited by A. TREBST and M. AvRON, and published in 1977); II. Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism and Related Processes (Volume 6 edited by M. GIBBS and E. LATZKO, and published in 1979); and III. Photosynthetic Membranes and Light-Harvesting Systems (this volume). As we approached the organization of the current volume, we chose a set of topics for coverage that would complement the earlier volumes, as well as provide updates of areas that have seen major advances in recent years. In addition, we wanted to emphasize the following changes in the study of photo synthetic systems which have become increasingly important since 1977: the trend toward increased integration of biochemical and biophysical approaches to study photosynthetic membranes and light-harvesting systems, and a renewed appreciation of the structural parameters of membrane organization.

Design Automation Methods and Tools for Microfluidics-Based Biochips deals with all aspects of design automation for microfluidics-based biochips. Experts have contributed chapters on many aspects of biochip design automation. Topics covered include: device modeling; adaptation of bioassays for on-chip implementations; numerical methods and simulation tools; architectural synthesis, scheduling and binding of assay operations; physical design and module placement; fault modeling and testing; and reconfiguration methods.

This book is the first to present the mechanism which explains why light is an effective treatment for so many illnesses and diseases. The book not only explains this mechanism, but describes uses for the mechanism, as well as what new work is planned and what changes will be seen in FDA regulations. Extensive papers and coverage on many interesting topics are included.

This book covers the proceedings of the 32nd scientific meeting of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue (ISOTT) in Bari, Italy, August 21-26, 2004. It covers all aspects of oxygen delivery to tissue, including blood flow and its regulation as well as oxygen metabolism. Special emphasis is placed on methods of oxygen measurement in living tissue and application of these technologies to understanding physiological and biochemical basis for pathology related to tissue oxygenation. The event hosted was a multidisciplinary meeting designed to bring together experts and students from a range of research fields.

Since the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity, ionizing radiations have been widely applied in medicine both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The risks associated with radiation exposure and handling led to the parallel development of the field of radiation protection.
Pioneering experiments done by Sanche and co-workers in 2000 showed that low-energy secondary electrons, which are abundantly generated along radiation tracks, are primarily responsible for radiation damage through successive interactions with the molecular constituents of the medium. Apart from ionizing processes, which are usually related to radiation damage, below the ionization level low-energy electrons can induce molecular fragmentation via dissociative processes such as internal excitation and electron attachment. This prompted collaborative projects between different research groups from European countries together with other specialists from Canada, the USA and Australia.
This booksummarizes the advances achieved by these research groups after more than ten years of studies on radiation damage in biomolecular systems.

An extensive Part I deals with recent experimental and theoretical findings on radiation induced damage at the molecular level. It includes many contributions on electron and positroncollisions with biologically relevant molecules. X-ray and ion interactions are also covered. Part II addresses different approaches to radiation damage modelling. In Part III biomedical aspects of radiation effects are treated on different scales. After the physics-oriented focus of the previous parts, there is a gradual transition to biology and medicine with the increasing size of the object studied. Finally, Part IV is dedicated to current trends and novel techniques in radiation reserach and the applications hence arising. It includes new developments in radiotherapy and related cancer therapies, as well as technical optimizations of accelerators and totally new equipment designs, giving a glimpse of the near future of radiation-based medical treatments."

This book explores the potential of multi-functional carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications. It combines contributions from chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, and medicine. The complete overview of the state-of-the-art addresses different synthesis and biofunctionalisation routes and shows the structural and magnetic properties of nanotubes relevant to biomedical applications. Particular emphasis is put on the interaction of carbon nanotubes with biological environments, i.e. toxicity, biocompatibility, cellular uptake, intracellular distribution, interaction with the immune system and environmental impact. The insertion of NMR-active substances allows diagnostic usage as markers and sensors, e.g. for imaging and contactless local temperature sensing. The potential of nanotubes for therapeutic applications is highlighted by studies on chemotherapeutic drug filling and release, targeting and magnetic hyperthermia studies for anti-cancer treatment at the cellular level.

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Leeds, UK, September 11-15, 1989

This collection provides researchers and scientists with advanced analyses and materials design techniques in Biomaterials and presents mechanical studies of biological structures. In 16 contributions well known experts present their research on Stress and Strain Analysis, Material Properties, Fluid and Gas mechanics and they show related problems.

This volume presents the processing of the 15th ICMBE held from 4th to 7th December 2013, Singapore. Biomedical engineering is applied in most aspects of our healthcare ecosystem. From electronic health records to diagnostic tools to therapeutic, rehabilitative and regenerative treatments, the work of biomedical engineers is evident. Biomedical engineers work at the intersection of engineering, life sciences and healthcare. The engineers would use principles from applied science including mechanical, electrical, chemical and computer engineering together with physical sciences including physics, chemistry and mathematics to apply them to biology and medicine. Applying such concepts to the human body is very much the same concepts that go into building and programming a machine. The goal is to better understand, replace or fix a target system to ultimately improve the quality of healthcare. With this understanding, the conference proceedings offer a single platform for individuals and organizations working in the biomedical engineering related field to gather and network with each other in so doing create the catalyst for future development of biomedical engineering in Asia.

Our contemporary understanding of brain function is deeply rooted in the ideas of the nonlinear dynamics of distributed networks. Cognition and motor coordination seem to arise from the interactions of local neuronal networks, which themselves are connected in large scales across the entire brain. The spatial architectures between various scales inevitably influence the dynamics of the brain and thereby its function. But how can we integrate brain connectivity amongst these structural and functional domains? Our Handbook provides an account of the current knowledge on the measurement, analysis and theory of the anatomical and functional connectivity of the brain. All contributors are leading experts in various fields concerning structural and functional brain connectivity. In the first part of the Handbook, the chapters focus on an introduction and discussion of the principles underlying connected neural systems. The second part introduces the currently available non-invasive technologies for measuring structural and functional connectivity in the brain. Part three provides an overview of the analysis techniques currently available and highlights new developments. Part four introduces the application and translation of the concepts of brain connectivity to behavior, cognition and the clinical domain.

This text book will bring together a mix of both internationally known and established senior scientists along side up and coming (but already accomplished) junior scientists that have varying expertise in fundamental and applied nanotechnology to biology and medicine.

There are nearly 100 000 different protein sequences encoded in the human genome, each with its own specific fold. Understanding how a newly formed polypeptide sequence finds its way to the correct fold is one of the greatest challenges in the modern structural biology. The aim of this thesis is to provide novel insights into protein folding by considering the problem from the point of view of statistical mechanics. The thesis starts by investigating the fundamental degrees of freedom in polypeptides that are responsible for the conformational transitions. This knowledge is then applied in the statistical mechanics description of helix coil transitions in polypeptides. Finally, the theoretical formalism is generalized to the case of proteins in an aqueous environment. The major novelty of this work lies in combining (a) a formalism based on fundamental physical properties of the system and (b) the resulting possibility of describing the folding unfolding transitions quantitatively. The clear physical nature of the formalism opens the way to further applications in a large variety of systems and processes.

Proceedings of a workshop held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 24-28, 1994

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

Complexity is a puzzling and important concept in contemporary research in many disciplines. This book addresses the problem of defining complexity by carefully analysing in what sense complexity means measure in such areas as the theory of dynamical systems, condensed matter physics, ecology, immunology and the theory of neural networks. The information content of complexity is studied and similarities and differences in the various concepts of complexity are highlighted, sometimes provocatively. The book could open the way to finding a paradigm of complexity, and should become a standard reference for a wide audience of researchers in the physical and biological sciences.

This book deals primarily with the principal extracellular macromole cules of animal connective tissues. It attempts to answer some general questions about the biological organization of the tissues: What is the nature of this organization at various dimensional levels? What functions does the organization serve? How has it evolved? I have given major emphasis to the structures and properties of the macromolecular components of extracellular matrices from a wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates. In doing so, however, I have treated cursorily many important aspects of connective tissue biology that appeared to be only indirectly relevant to the principal questions asked. On the other hand, I have not hesitated to search for broad biological principles outside the prevailing conceptual boundaries of animal connective tissues and the lower molecular dimensional levels. The numerous speculations presented will, I hope, stimulate the reader to further thought and investigation. Acknowledgements My previously unpublished data that have been included in this volume could not have been obtained without the generous gifts of specimens and other assistance by a number of individuals and institutions. These are Dr. G. BERENSON of Louisiana State University, Drs. W. P. BRAKER and D. ZUMWALD of the Shedd Aquarium, Dr. S. H. CHUANG of the Univer sity of Singapore, Dr. L. G. CLARK and Mr. U. M. VARELA-DIAZ of the University of Pennsylvania, the Government of Nicaragua, Dr. E. CLARK of Cape Haze Marine Laboratories, Mr. C. E."

Biomechanics has a distinguished history extending at least to the 16th Century. However the later half oftbis century has seen an explosion ofthe field with it being viewed as affering exciting challenges for physical scientists and engineers interested in the life sciences, and wonderful opportunities for life scientists eager to collaborate with physical scientists and engineers and to render their scientific work more fundamental. That the field is now weil established and expanding is demonstrated by the formation of a World Committee for Biomechanics and the success and large participation in the 1st and 2nd World Congresses of Biomechanics, held respectively in San Diego in 1990 and in Amsterdam in 1994. With more than 1350 scientific papers delivered at the 2nd World Congress, either within symposia or oral or poster sessions, it would have been out of the question to try to produce comprehensive edited proceedings. Moreover, we are confident that most of the papers have been or will be published in one ofthe excellentjoumals covering the field. But of effort contributed by the plenary lecturers and the tutorial we thought that the large amount and keynote speakers of various symposia deserved tobe recognised in the form of a specific publication, thus also allowing those unable to attend the presentatiops . . tC\ sh?r~ in the findings. Furthermore, we feel that there is now a need to review aspects 'oftlie freld.

Atomic physics has played a central role in the development of modern physics. Progress was based on newly invented scientific methods and experimental tools and today these techniques are successfully employed in a wide variety of highly active areas in modern research, extending from investigations of most fundamental interactions in physics to experiments related to topics in applied sciences and technical aspects. With steadily increasing importance they are found in areas well outside of classical atomic physics in fields such as nuclear and particle physics, metrology, physics of condensed matter and surfaces, physical chemistry, chemistry, medicine and environmental research. This book gives a thorough survey of the methods and techniques in key experiments of interdisciplinary research.

This book treats a new, far-from-fully-developed area of molecular biophysics-enzyme physics. An attempt is made to survey this field, but primary consideration is given tothreeprob lems under investigation in the Polymer Structure Labaratory of the Institue of High-Molecular Compounds, Academy of Seiences ofthe USSR. The first problern is the genetic coding of the biologically fun.ctional structure of proteins. Its solution is based on physical theories of hydrophobic interactions. The second problern is the conformational properties of pro teins as the factor governing enzyme activity. The most direct methods for experimental investigation of questions in this area are optical, principally those involving natural and magnetic rota tion of the plane of polarization. A substantial portion of the book concerns optical activity; the Faraday effect is discussed in an appendix. The third problern is the manifestation of the cooperative properties of enzymes in the kinetics of enzymatic reactions and the solution of complex kinetic problems. This problern is espe cially pressing in connection with research on allosteric enzymes, which are responsible for feedback in metabolic processes. An appendix describes a new method for solving kinetic problems, based on the theory of graphs. This volume extends and details certain of the ideas ex pressed in my previous book, Molecules and Life: An Introduction to Molecular Biophysics, which was published in this series in 1965."

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

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy has shown great promise for imaging live cells and tissues, with applications in basic science, medical research, and tissue engineering. Second Harmonic Generation Imaging offers a complete guide to this optical modality, from basic principles, instrumentation, methods, and image analysis to biomedical applications. The book features contributions by experts in second-harmonic imaging, including many pioneering researchers in the field. Written for researchers at all levels, it takes an in-depth look at the current state of the art and possibilities of SHG microscopy. Organized into three sections, the book: Provides an introduction to the physics of the process, step-by-step instructions on how to build an SHG microscope, and comparisons with related imaging techniques Gives an overview of the capabilities of SHG microscopy for imaging tissues and cells-including cell membranes, muscle, collagen in tissues, and microtubules in live cells-by summarizing experimental and analytical methods Highlights representative biomedical and medical applications in imaging cancer, fibroses, autoimmune diseases, connective tissue disorders, eye pathologies, and cardiovascular disease Historically, clinical imaging at the cellular and tissue level has been performed by pathologists on ex vivo biopsies removed by the surgeon. While histology remains the "gold standard" for pathologists, its interpretation remains highly subjective. Much of SHG research has focused on developing more quantitative, objective metrics. A tutorial for newcomers and an up-to-date review for experts, this book explores how SHG may be used to more precisely image a wide range of pathological conditions and diseases.