This detailed volume explores fibrous proteins widely present in different biological tissues or biological structural materials. The book begins by introducing the structure of representative fibrous proteins, including animal silks, collagen, elastin, resilin, and keratin, and it then continues by providing detailed experimental protocols for the synthesis, assembly, and characterization of natural, regenerated, and recombinant fibrous proteins. 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, Fibrous Proteins: Design, Synthesis, and Assembly is an ideal guide for researchers aiming to master fibrous protein preparations with the aid of this broad and interdisciplinary perspective on understanding the structure-property-function relationships of natural and reconstituted fibrous proteins.

Johannes Klumpers Biotechnologies, such as genetic engineering, cloning and biodiversity, raise many legal and ethical concerns, so it is important that people understand these issues and feel able to express their opinions. This is why the European Commission has been, for a number of years, supporting actions to improve communication among scientists in these diverse areas. The project 'Women in Biotechnology' (WONBIT), financed under the 6th Framework programme of the European Commission, is an excellent example of what can be done to target opinion-formers such as scientists, economists and lawyers in bottom-up activities, and to encourage a debate on gender issues triggered by developments in the life sciences. WONBIT gave rise to a successful international conference highlighting the importance of adopting good practices and ethical considerations in parallel with the rapid pace of progress in biotechnology - from a woman's point of view. In particular, the conference addressed women in decision-making positions in b- technology with specific reference to scientific excellence, social competencies and management qualities as well as issues relating to environment, society and the younger generation. But it did not stop there: a key part of the conference was dedicated to stimulating public debate among non-specialists, which has led to a number of recommen- tions to policy-makers on better communication in biotechnology, on taking better account of the gender aspects of research, and on involving more women in the decision-making process that surrounds developments in biotechnology.

Due to the huge quantity and diverse nature of their metabolic pathways, fungi have great potential to be used for the production of different biofuels such as bioethanol, biobutanol, and biodiesel. This book presents recent advances, as well as challenges and promises, of fungal applications in biofuel production, subsequently discussing plant pathogenic fungi for bioethanol and biodiesel production, including their mechanisms of action. Additionally, this book reviews biofuel production using plant endophytic fungi, wood-rotting fungi, fungal biocontrol agents, and gut fungi, and it investigates highly efficient fungi for biofuel production and process design in fungal-based biofuel production systems. Finally, life cycle assessment of fungal-based biofuel production systems are discussed in this volume.

This book joins an international and interdisciplinary group of leading experts on the biomedical, energy and environmental applications of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). The resulting overview covers everything from the environmentally friendly and scale up synthesis of MOFs, their application in green energy generation and storage, and water purification to their use as drug delivery systems, biosensors, and their association with relevant macromolecules (genes, enzymes). This book is focused on the interest of MOFs in applications such as the leading -edge environmental (energy-related) and biomedical fields. The potential of MOFs in these areas is currently progressing at a fast pace, since the wide possibilities that MOFs offer in terms of composition, topology, incorporation of active species (in their porosity, on their external surface or within the framework), and post-synthetic modifications, among others. The aim here is to provide future research goals that emphasize relevant nuances to this class of materials as a whole.

This book presents improved numerical techniques and applied computer-aided simulations as a part of emerging trends in mechatronics in all areas related to complex fluids, with particular focus on using a combination of modeling, theory, and simulation to study systems that are complex due to the rheology of fluids (i.e., ceramic pastes, polymer solutions and melts, colloidal suspensions, emulsions, foams, micro-/nanofluids, etc.) and multiphysics phenomena in which the interactions of various effects (thermal, chemical, electric, magnetic, or mechanical) lead to complex dynamics. The areas of applications span materials processing, manufacturing, and biology.

This book consists of 10 Chapters in 4 Parts. The first Part is an introduction and contains Chapter 1 to introduce the book chapters to the audiences. The second Part consists of two chapters under the name, Impact of Climate Change on Crop Production and the Physiological and Biochemical Basis for Crops Tolerance. The Chapter 2 focus on critical periods of crop plants to stress conditions and the expected impacts of climate changes mainly on the productivity and quality of field crops. While, Chapter 3 highlights the foundations of crop tolerance to environmental stress and plant traits relevant to stress tolerance. It is devoted to explain and discuss mechanisms of adaptation to environmental stress conditions and addresses various plant traits related to stress environmental tolerance i.e. phenological, morpho-physiological and biochemical traits which could be used as selection criteria for crops improvement. The third Part consists of 5 Chapters under the theme "Improve Crop Adaptability and Stability to Climate Change and Modern Technology". Chapter 4 highlights the most important strategic food grain crop (wheat), Chapter 5 focuses the important staple food crop (rice), while Chapter 6 deals with one of the most important food legume crops (faba bean). Chapter 7 and 8 discuss two important oil crops (sesame and sunflower). However, Chapter 9 focuses on cotton as one of the most important fiber crops. The author addresses these crops under the following headings: genotype x environment interaction and its relation to climatic change on yield production, performance of genotypes in response to environmental changes, adaptability and yield stability to environmental conditions, additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model, gene action, genetic behavior and heritability for traits related to environmental stress tolerance, role of recent approaches, biotechnology and nanotechnology. This is besides how can measure sensitivity of genotypes to environmental stress, and finally the appropriate agricultural practices to mitigate environmental stress on crops under attention. The book ends with Chapter No. 10 where the author presents an update of the book topics, present the most important conclusions and recommendations from all chapters. This book has been prepared and supported by recent references and statistics with coloured tables and illustrations for audiences interested in crop science,environment, plant breeding, genetics and biotechnology, as well as postgraduate students and researchers in universities and research centres.

Much research has focused on the basic cellular and molecular biological aspects of stem cells. Much of this research has been fueled by their potential for use in regenerative medicine applications, which has in turn spurred growing numbers of translational and clinical studies. However, more work is needed if the potential is to be realized for improvement of the lives and well-being of patients with numerous diseases and conditions. This book series 'Cell Biology and Translational Medicine (CBTMED)' as part of SpringerNature's longstanding and very successful Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology book series, has the goal to accelerate advances by timely information exchange. Emerging areas of regenerative medicine and translational aspects of stem cells are covered in each volume. Outstanding researchers are recruited to highlight developments and remaining challenges in both the basic research and clinical arenas. This current book is the eight volume of a continuing series.

This singular text aims to strengthen the scientific understanding of food product design and engineering, and to stimulate and accelerate the development of innovative, complex and highly structured products and suitable production processes. By gathering an interdisciplinary team of scientists from the research areas of food engineering, biophysics, applied soft matter, food technology and applied human nutrition, this book contributes to an integrated process and product design approach for creating innovative, multi-phase structured foods delivering functionality. Delivering functionality in foods: from structure design to product engineering serves as an important reference for food engineers, food technologists and nutritionists, covering all aspects of the design of food structures and their application in the development of functional food products. From the delivery of health-related functionalities to process and product engineering for delivery of multiple food properties, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge, processes and technologies required for the design of functional foods.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of FDA (Federal Drug Administration) procedures. It simplifies the complexities involved in getting FDA clearance by using an integrated approach of clinical, engineering, and business aspects. It includes both medical devices and drug development. This involves understanding the structure of the FDA, its purpose, and its initiatives. This book also examines what is needed for designing clinical trials and addressing recalls and failures. It uses case studies to further illustrate the integrated method stressed throughout this work.

This textbook provides a thorough introduction and overview of the design and engineering of state-of-the-art prosthetics and assistive technologies. Innovations in prosthetics are increasingly made by cross-disciplinary thinking, and the author introduces the application of biomedical, mechanical, electrical, computer, and materials engineering principles to the design of artificial limbs. Coverage includes the fundamentals of biomechanics, biomechanical modeling and measurements, the basics of anatomy and physiology of limb defects, and the historical development of prosthetic design. This book stimulates the innovative thinking necessary for advancing limb restoration, and will be essential reading for students, as well as researchers, professional engineers, and prosthetists involved in the design and manufacture of artificial limbs. Learning enhanced by the exercises, including physical modeling with MATLAB and Simulink; Includes appendices with relevant equations and parameters for reference; Introduction to the design and engineering of prosthetics and assistive technologies.

This book presents abiotic stresses that cause crop damage in the range of 6-20%. Understanding the interaction of crop plants to the abiotic stresses caused by heat, cold, drought, flooding, submergence, salinity, acidity, etc., is important to develop resistant crop varieties. Knowledge on the advanced genetic and genomic crop improvement strategies including molecular breeding, transgenics, genomic-assisted breeding, and the recently emerging genome editing for developing resistant varieties in cereal crops is imperative for addressing FPNEE (food, health, nutrition, energy, and environment) security. Whole genome sequencing of these crops followed by genotyping-by-sequencing has facilitated precise information about the genes conferring resistance useful for gene discovery, allele mining, and shuttle breeding which in turn opened up the scope for 'designing' crop genomes with resistance to abiotic stresses. The nine chapters each dedicated to a cereal crop in this volume are deliberate on different types of abiotic stresses and their effects on and interaction with crop plants; enumerate on the available genetic diversity with regard to abiotic stress resistance among available cultivars; illuminate on the potential gene pools for utilization in interspecific gene transfer; are brief on the classical genetics of stress resistance and traditional breeding for transferring them to their cultivated counterparts; elucidate on the success stories of genetic engineering for developing abiotic stress-resistant crop varieties; discuss on molecular mapping of genes and QTLs underlying stress resistance and their marker-assisted introgression into elite varieties; enunciate on different emerging genomics-aided techniques including genomic selection, allele mining, gene discovery, and gene pyramiding for developing adaptive crop varieties with higher quantity and quality, and also elaborate some case studies on genome editing focusing on specific genes for generating abiotic stress-resistant crops.

The shift of weather patterns has affected the incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases, including mycoses. Mycoses have remained neglected due to a lack of training and recognition within the medical community. Nonetheless, these diseases remain common worldwide while frequently being underdiagnosed. Climate change affects the distribution of fungal communities, provoking outbreaks in locations where these mycoses were absent or in low frequencies. Moreover, the reports of clinical cases related to new fungal pathogens have increased due to the description of new fungal species or due to the ability of some species to shift to new hosts. Thus, this book, The Impact of Climate Change on Fungal Diseases, is a contribution to the knowledge of a global environmental phenomenon and its relation to these diseases, and it serves as a guide for health professionals to dive deep into the repercussions of climate change and how they can implement measures for the prevention and control of fungal infections.

This book covers state-of-the-art development in microfluidics-enabled soft manufacturing (MESM), ranging from fundamentals to applications. The book addresses the long-standing challenge in the manufacture of simultaneously achieving both precise control over nano-/micro-scale structures and large-scale fabrication of materials for pragmatic use, with microfluidics-enabled soft manufacture to fill the gap between the widely-varied length scales involved. It offers a comprehensive insight into the microfluidic generation of fluid systems as liquid templates, such as droplets, bubbles, jets, emulsions, and foams, which are categorized into individual templates, one-dimensional arrays, and two-/three-dimensional assemblies for the modular fabrication of microparticles, microfibers, and porous materials, respectively. MESM enriches the compositional and structural diversity of engineered materials for well-tailored properties and functionalities, markedly broadening the application horizons across interdisciplinary fields, including engineering, environment, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. This book aims to systematize this emerging yet versatile and powerful technology, with the hope of aiding the realization of its full potential. Microfluidics-Enabled Soft Manufacture will be an invaluable reference for graduate students, postgraduates, researchers, and practitioners/professionals working in micro and nanofabrication, materials science, surface science, fluid dynamics, and engineering.

This is a comprehensive textbook addressing the unique aspects of drug development for ophthalmic use. Beginning with a perspective on anatomy and physiology of the eye, the book provides a critical appraisal of principles that underlie ocular drug product development. The coverage encompasses topical and intraocular formulations, small molecules and biologics (including protein and gene therapies), conventional formulations (including solutions, suspensions, and emulsions), novel formulations (including nanoparticles, microparticles, and hydrogels), devices, and specialty products. Critical elements such as pharmacokinetics, influence of formulation technologies and ingredients, as well as impact of disease conditions on products development are addressed. Products intended for both the front and the back of the eye are discussed with an eye towards future advances.

A behind-the-scenes look at the most lucrative discipline within biotechnology
Bioinformatics represents a new area of opportunity for investors and industry participants. Companies are spending billions on the potentially lucrative products that will come from bioinformatics. This book looks at what companies like Merck, Glaxo SmithKline Beecham, and Celera, and hospitals are doing to maneuver themselves to leadership positions in this area. Filled with in-depth insights and surprising revelations, Digital Code of Life examines the personalities who have brought bioinformatics to life and explores the commercial applications and investment opportunities of the most lucrative discipline within genomics.
Glyn Moody (London, UK) has published numerous articles in Wired magazine. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Rebel Code.

Agriculture is one of the oldest and most global human enterprises, and as the world struggles with sustainable practices and policies, agricultural chemistry has a clear role to play. This book highlights the ways in which science in agriculture is helping to achieve global sustainability in the 21st century, and demonstrates that this science can and should be a leading contributor in discussion on environmental science and chemistry. The four drivers of this subject are presented, those being economic, environmental, regulatory and scientific, and help showcase agricultural chemistry as a dynamic subject that is contributing to this necessity of global sustainability in the 21st century.

Genetic engineering is a powerful tool for crop improvement. The status of crop biotechnology before 2001 was reviewed in Transgenic Crops I-III, but recent advances in plant cell and molecular biology have prompted the need for new volumes. Following Transgenic Crops IV (2007) on cereals, vegetables, root crops, herbs, and spices, and Transgenic Crops V (2007) on fruits, trees, and beverage crops, this volume, Transgenic Crops VI, contains the following sections: Oils and Fibers, Medicinal Crops, Ornamental Crops, Forages and Grains, Regulatory and Intellectual Property of Genetically Manipulated Plants. It is an invaluable reference for plant breeders, researchers and graduate students in the fields of plant biotechnology, agronomy, horticulture, forestry, genetics, and both plant cell and molecular biology.

The 'Advances in Plant Biopesticides' comprises 19 chapters on different important issues of developing biopesticides from promising botanicals and its phytomolecules based on the research reviews in the area concern. The book is written by reputed scientists and professors of both developed and developing countries namely Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Kenya, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and USA represented by almost 53 contributors. The book is organized and presented in such a form that the readers can acquire and enhance their knowledge in plant biopesticide bioresources, its application in different areas to manage pests and diseases of field crops, stored products with status of exploring in Africa, non-target effects on beneficial arthropods, control of arthropods of veterinary and vectors of communicable diseases, efficacy in controlling honeybee mite pests, prospect of applying new tools to enhance the efficacy of plant biopesticides through use of nanotechnology, most important plant derived active principle as source of biopesticides, possible mode of action of phytochemicals against arthropods, limitation, production status, consumption, formulation, registration and quality regulation of plant biopesticides and have been cited by important scientific references. Most importantly, the book also highlights a unique example for developing biopesticides based on the research on Annonaceae as potential source of plant biopesticide, exploiting phytochemicals for developing green technology for sustainable crop protection strategies to withstand climate change with example in Africa, and overview in developing insect resistance to plant biopesticides. Most of the chapter contributing authors are internationally reputed researchers and possess experiences of more than three to four decades in the area of plant biopesticides. The contributing and corresponding authors of the book - Advances in Plant Biopesticides proposed and identified by the editor (Dwijendra Singh) include distinguished professors and reputed scientists from different continents of the world namely MB Isman (Canada), Nadia Z Dimetry (Egypt), Zeaur R Khan (Kenya), John A Pickett (UK), Gadi VP Reddy (USA), S Gopalakrishnan (India), Anand Prakash (India), Chirantan Chattopadyay (India), Christos G Athanassiou (Greece), Philip C. Stevenson (UK), S Raguraman (India), S Ghosh (India), Mir S Mulla (USA), Apiwat Tawatsin (Thailand), Dwijendra Singh (India), K Sahayaraj (India), Suresh Walia (India), T Shivanandappa (India), Roman Pavela (Czeck Republic), Errol Hasan (Australia), Ayhan Gokce (Turkey), SK Raza (India), and their colleague co-contributors. This book would certainly provide the updated knowledge to global readers on plant biopesticides as one of the important reference source and would stimulate to present and future researchers, scientists, student, teachers, entrepreneurs, and government & non-government policy makers interested to develop new & novel environmentally safe plant biopesticides world over.

Advances in Polymeric Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications examines advanced polymer synthetic strategies for developing novel biomaterials for use in medicine. With a strong focus on fundamentals and structure, the authors also explore their fabrication, along with their current and potential biomedical applications. The book begins with a look at the fundamentals of polymeric nanomaterials and their properties and then discusses the design of biomaterials and their applications in drug delivery. Further chapters explore important applications, such as imaging and regenerative medicine, including current challenges and future trends. This valuable resource is especially useful for materials and polymer scientists, and bioengineers wishing to broaden their knowledge of polymeric nanobiomaterials.

Nanotechnology is expected to bring revolutionary changes in a variety of fields. This volume describes nanoparticles and their biomedical applications, and covers metal nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, rare earth based nanoparticles and graphene oxide nanoparticles. It elaborates on a number of biomedical applications, including therapeutic applications. It addresses the topic of green synthesis, in view of increasing health and environmental concerns.

Discovered in the 20th century, biomaterials have contributed to many of the incredible scientific and technological advancements made in recent decades. This book introduces and details the tenets of biomaterials, their relevance in a various fields, practical applications of their products, and potential advancements of the years to come. A comprehensive resource, the text covers the reasons that certain properties of biomaterials contribute to specific applications, and students and researchers will appreciate this exhaustive textbook.

This review series covers trends in modern biotechnology.
All aspects of this interdisciplinary technology, where knowledge, methods and expertise are required from chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, chemical engineering and computer science, are treated. Electronic version available at http: //link.springer.de/series/abe/

Gellan Gum as a Biomedical Polymer details key topics and fundamental aspects of gellan gum and its biomedical applications in drug delivery, proteins and peptides delivery, cell delivery, tissue engineering, wound dressings and enzyme immobilizations in developing high quality products. Sections introduce gellan gum, its source, production and gelation mechanism, discuss biomedical materials, and provides ways it can be used for biomedical applications. The book also examines the used of gellan gum as pharmaceutical excipients for drug delivery. Future developments and challenges round out the book’s coverage. With contributions for an international group of experts, this book is a useful reference for scientists, researchers and those in industry engaged in biomedical product development using natural polysaccharides.