Originally published in 1915, Government by Natural Selection looks at the historical advancement of government through the lens of the Darwinian theory of natural selection. The book examines the history of government and its formation, right up until the early 20th century, when the book was first published. The book suggests that there is a link between Darwinian theory and the development of humans in societies, and that this in turn affected the formation of government over the course of history. The book uses not only Darwinian theory to examine history and the formation of government, but philosophers from both antiquity and the 19th century. This book provides a fascinating examination of politics and history through the application of science, and will be of interest to anthropologists, historians and academics of politics alike.

This book highlights the contributions of leading forensic science practitioners, iconic figures who have been integral in both establishing current scientific and medicolegal practices and innovative evidence collection, testing, and analysis methods. Such professionals include Henry Lee, Michael Baden, William Bass, Jay Siegel, John Butler, Cyril Wecht, Vincent Di Maio, Marcella Fierro, Barry Fisher, and more. Previously unpublished interviews with these pioneers in the field, expressly undertaken for the purposes this book, examine the last 30 years-past trends that have shaped the field-as well as current and emerging trends that have, and will shape, the future of forensic science.

Objective establishment of the truth is the goal of any good crime scene investigator. This demands a consideration of all evidence available using proven scientific methodologies to establish objective snapshots of the crime. The majority of forensic disciplines shed light on the "who" of a crime, bloodstain pattern analysis is one of the most important disciplines to address "what" happened. Understanding the discipline, its underlying scientific basis, and how best to apply this knowledge is crucial in the investigator's quest for the truth. Internationally known experts in crime scene analysis, Tom Bevel and Ross M. Gardner explore bloodstain pattern analysis in depth, explaining what it is, how it is used, and the practical methodologies employed to achieve defensible results. Bloodstain Pattern Analysis with an Introduction to Crime Scene Reconstruction, Third Edition: Presents a specific and detailed taxonomy of bloodstain pattern characteristics Offers a full-color fold-out Decision Map to guide analysts through the classification process Uses full-color photos and diagrams to illustrate concepts Describes the theory, principles, and methodology for crime scene reconstruction Details proven, applicable scientific methodologies Emphasizes observable and reproducible results to mitigate accusations of subjectivity in evidence and testimony Provides more than 60% new or significantly revised information Offering practical advice and tips for novices and experienced professionals, this book employs clear, lucid, and reasoned scientific arguments to provide the tools to guide and focus any investigative effort. Captain Tom Bevel is a 27-year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department, retiring in 1996 as Commander of the Homicide, Robbery, Missing Persons, and Unsolved Homicide units. He is held in high esteem as a qualified expert in crime scene reconstruction and bloodstain pattern analysis in state, federal, and foreign courts. His knowledge and expertise as a crime scene consultant has been sought after in 45 US states and 11 foreign countries. He owns a forensic education and consulting company in his home state of Oklahoma. Ross M. Gardner retired as a Command Sergeant Major and Special Agent in 1999 after serving a total of 24 years in US Army law enforcement. Certified by the International Association for Identification as a Senior Crime Analyst for the past 16 years, Gardner is an active instructor and consultant throughout the United States in crime scene analysis, bloodstain pattern analysis, and crime scene investigation.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Providing a nuanced study of the connections between sleep, circadian rhythms, and metabolis, this informative book examines how circadian actions affect the liver and adipose tissue, the brain, and metabolism. This important book introduces the reader to circadian rhythms in the body and the external cues that set them, discusses on a molecular and organ level how disrupting these clocks results in metabolic and sleep disorders, and looks at the clinical applications of circadian rhythms, with a focus on sleep. The book covers a variety of important research in the field, including: * The power of computational biology to uncover new nodes in the network of circadian rhythms * Circadian rhythms as they relates to obesity * How late-night shift conditions impair the body's ability to keep time and promote metabolic diseases and how this can be mitigated by strategic planning of feeding times * The relationship between the suprachiasmatic nuclei and orexin neurons, demonstrating the elegant interplay between our biological clocks and wakefulness * How sleep disorders can result from irregular circadian rhythms and potential ways to diagnose this in individuals * How sleeping behaviors can disturb the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the repercussions of this disruption on female reproduction * How disruption of sleep can be clinically beneficial for depressed patients * How mental state is influenced by circadian rhythm

This new book, Plant- and Marine- Based Phytochemicals for Human Health: Attributes, Potential, and Use, provides insight with scientific evidence on the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of certain diseases. It describes bioactive compounds of marine and plant origin that have been discovered to be advantageous for human health, shedding new light on the potential of phytochemicals on human health and contributing to the ocean of knowledge on phytochemistry and pharmaceutical biology. In addition, the role of plant-based pharmaceuticals is also discussed as an example of innovative uses of plant product. This book addresses the importance of phytochemicals from plants and marine life. It divided in four parts: Bioactive compounds in medicinal plants: status and potential Plant-based pharmaceuticals in human health: review Therapeutic attributes of mushroom, cereal grains, and legumes Innovative use of medicinal plants This compendium will be useful for the students and researchers as well as for industry professionals working in the food, nutraceuticals, and herbal industries.

Mankind now faces even more challenging environment- and health-related problems than ever before. Readily available transportation systems facilitate the swift spread of diseases as large populations migrate from one part of the world to another. Studies on the spread of the communicable diseases are very important. This book, Mathematical Population Dynamics and Epidemiology in Temporal and Spatio-Temporal Domains, provides a useful experimental tool for making practical predictions, building and testing theories, answering specific questions, determining sensitivities of the parameters, forming control strategies, and much more. This volume focuses on the study of population dynamics with special emphasis on the migration of populations and the spreading of epidemics among human and animal populations. It also provides the background needed to interpret, construct, and analyze a wide variety of mathematical models. Most of the techniques presented in the book can be readily applied to model other phenomena, in biology as well as in other disciplines.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Pharmaceutical technology deals with the discovery, production, processing, and safe and effective delivery of medications to patients. Technologies involved include computer modeling for research, bioengineering for research instrumentation, processes and methods for increasing production, and computing technology and biosystematics for the management and analysis of data. This new book covers a wide range of important topics on today's pharmaceutical technology, such as in vitro drug release and controlled drug delivery, the use of nanotechnology in pharmaceuticals, quantum dot imaging, assessment and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, and much more.

This forward-looking book focuses on the recent advances in nanomedicine and drug delivery. It outlines the extraordinary new tools that have become available in nanomedicine and presents an integrated set of perspectives that describe where we are now and where we should be headed to put nanomedicine devices into applications as quickly as possible, while also considering the possible dangers of nanomedicine. The book considers the full range of nanomedicinal applications that employ molecular nanotechnology inside the human body, from the perspective of a future practitioner in an era of widely available nanomedicine. Written by some of the most innnovative minds in medicine and engineering, this unique volume will help professionals understand cutting-edge and futuristic areas of research that can have tremendous payoff in terms of improving human health. Readers will find insightful discussions of nanostructured intelligent materials and devices that are considered technically feasible and which have a high potential to produce advances in medicine in the near future. Topics include: Health benefits of phytochemicals and the application of colloidal delivery systems Study of non-covalent attachment of recombinant targeting proteins to polymer-modified Adenoviral gene delivery vectors The role of nanoparticles as adjuvants for mucosal vaccine delivery Poly(amido-amine)s as delivery styems for biologically active substances Antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles Nanomedicine in the use of cancer treatment Dendrimers, capsules based on lipid vesicles for drug delivery Many other recent achievements

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Nutrition is not only a basic need that all humans have to sustain life, but it is also critical to successful early development. This research compendium lends deeper insights into the links between nutrition and healthy brain function-and from the reverse perspective, between nutrition and neurocognitive disorders. This well-organized and accessible compendium offers a vital research context for policymakers, educators, medical providers, and families. It underlines our urgent responsibility to give children a strong start by improving prenatal and early childhood nutrition.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has increased worldwide in recent decades. Obesity in childhood is associated with a wide range of serious health complications and an increased risk of premature illness and death later in life. This book presents childhood obesity trends across multiple demographics and discusses the contributing genetic and environmental factors. It demonstrates the adverse health consequences of childhood obesity both as they relate to childhood and as they last into adulthood and presents multiple methods for obesity treatment included community and family-based intervention, pharmacotherapy, and surgical procedures.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. This new book presents a variety of important research on functional foods-foods that have another role related to disease prevention or health. The first section of the book includes chapters on the complicated relationships between nutrition, physical and mental health, and disease. Section two focuses on the connection between health science and food, and presents a number of case studies on the possible uses of functional foods. The book discusses important methods for nutritional interventions in relation to diseases such as obesity and other prominent health concerns in modern society. Topics include: Nutrigenetics and metabolic diseases Nutrition intervention strategies to improve health Nutrition consumption timing around exercise sessions Nutritional therapies for mental disorders Health benefits of particular foods, such as eggs, milk, cereal, garlic, cinnamon, nuts, blueberries, etc. Mineral- and protein-enriched foods

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Advances in information technology and next generation sequencing have propelled the use of bioinformatics in agriculture, especially in the area of crop improvement. An extremely large amount of genomics data is available from plants and animals due to tremendous improvements in the field. This book acquaints readers with state-of-the-art sequencing technologies, recent developments in computing algorithms, and certain biological perspectives that influence development of bioinformatics tools by giving specific examples from model plant species. The challenge is now to make sense and use of this wealth of data.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The field of clinical nutrition as a whole seeks to consider the nutrition of patients within the healthcare system, paying attention to the interactions between diet, nutrition, and disease. To that end, this book discusses nutrition as both a contributing and managing factor in relation to diseases such as obesity and diabetes. It also presents malnutrition as a contributing factor to such diseases and considers the efficacy of micronutrient supplementation. It ends by looking at some of the recent developments and future trends in the field of clinical nutrition.

Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of biotechnology, this book covers the role of targeted delivery of polymeric nanodrugs to cancer cells, microbial detoxifying enzymes in bioremediation and bacterial plasmids in antimicrobial resistance. It addresses modern trends such as pharmacogenomics, evaluation of gene expression, recombinant proteins from methylotrophic yeast, identification of novel fermentation inhibitors of bioethanol production, and polyhydroxyalkanoate based biomaterials. The book highlights the practical utility of biotechnology and bioinformatics for bioenergy, production of high value biochemicals, modeling molecular interactions, drug discovery, and personalized medicine.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The book provides a comprehensive perspective on the subject of obesity epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of obesity. The chapters provide a better understanding of obesity and obesity-related diseases and offer an integrative framework for individualized dietary and exercise programs, behavior modification, pharmaceutical approaches, surgery, and population interventions to reduce the growing epidemic of obesity.

This contemporary book covers significant new knowledge that has emerged during the last two decades and, thus, provides novel antibody phylogenetic perspectives relevant to development of new antibody-based therapeutics and vaccines. It fills a much-needed niche in the area of immunoglobulin genetics across species from a comparative perspective. New insights and perspectives from immunoglobulin genetics from species such as sea lamprey, cattle, marsupial, bat, rat, rabbit, and swine-other species than the traditional subjects of mice and humans-are relevant to antibody design and engineering. These new perspectives find direct application in the cutting-edge areas of antibody design, engineering and therapeutics, antibody-drug conjugates, and novel antibody-based vaccines. This book fills the need to provide updated knowledge of this newly exploded area that is finding applications in new drug development. No other competing books on the topic are available in the market. The book will be of great interest to immunologists, immunology researchers, immunogeneticists, researchers in pharmaceutical science, those involved in the infectious disease and antibody therapeutics areas, and many others.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The book introduces bioinformatic and statistical methodology and shows approaches to bias correction and error estimation. It also presents quantitative methods for genome and proteome analysis.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Child obesity is a serious condition that affects children around the world in growing numbers. With obesity comes an increased risk of other chronic diseases as well, making it even more important to understand and treat this condition from a variety of angles. This current volume seeks to understand the phenomenon of child obesity and presents a range of viewpoints on its prevalence, causes, and treatments. The different sections contained within explore the following topics: * The worldwide prevalence of childhood obesity and its growing effect on children * The causes of childhood obesity and the complex interactions of genetic, environmental, social, and medical factors that contribute to its development * Proposed treatments, some intervention-based and others that aim to change how food is marketed and sold to youth This reference volume offers a comprehensive and thorough guide to a field that is rapidly expanding and points to new directions in research and public policy. Edited by a doctor with extensive experience as a researcher, writer, and medical practitioner, The Childhood Obesity Epidemic is an authoritative and easy-to-use reference that provides resources for researchers in the field, students, and anyone who wishes to gain an overview to this important field of study.

This volume addresses efforts to overcome the shortcomings of conventional dosage forms by exploiting the principles of nanoscience to deliver drugs for medical treatment. Nanodispersions are an important aspect because they possess globules/particles in sizes usually below 1000 nm in which the drug is dispersed in a continuous medium employing surface-active agents as stabilizers. With chapters written by experienced scientists and researchers in the field, this volume provides an abundance of information on various aspects of nanodispersions for drug delivery. The book is divided into several sections: nanoemulsions, nanosuspensions, and diverse dispersed systems. The chapters detail what nanodispersions have demonstrated in the past and what they are expoected to continue to do in the future as the technology further evolves. Key features: * Provides an overview of nanoemulsions for drug delivery * Introduces the general principles, classification, and methods of preparation of nanoemulsion-based drug delivery systems * Presents information relevant to specific routes of applications of nanoemulsions * Looks at the various aspects of nanosuspensions, including their formulation components, preparation methods, unique features, methods of characterization, and applications in various routes of administration * Explores nanomicellar approaches for drug delivery * Discusses the preparation, applications, and clinical considerations of nanogels for drug delivery

Down from the Trees: Man's Amazing Transition from Tree-Dwelling Ape Ancestors covers the evolution of man from tree-dwelling ape to Homo sapiens as he is today. Using easy-to-read language, the author takes complex, jargon-filled material and extracts the essence of the topic and coveys it in a clear and engaging manner. He approaches the subject of human evolution from three different disciplines: fossil evidence and its interpretation, evolutionary theory and its applicability, and genetic evidence and its ability to unlock prehistoric information. The third discipline has advanced unbelievably in the last few years, and this book includes the most up-to-date research. There is nothing more interesting to humans than the story of their origins. The evolutionary process of a tree-dwelling ape becoming a walking, talking man who has developed the technology to walk on the moon, transplant hearts, or modify living things is no trivial story. This book provides a fascinating and comprehensive view of what science has learned of human evolution.

This volume presents a thought-provoking state-of-the-art picture of how volatile compounds are used in metabolomics, currently a hot topic in the metabolomics field. It provides a thorough description of what volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are, why they are important in biomedicine, and what the analytical platforms are used. It also looks at multivariate analysis and databases needs. Because VOCs are end-up compounds of metabolic processes, volatiles can be linked to different diseases or pathologies for both diagnosis and prognosis. The authors provide authoritative information and guidance on the analytical and statistical techniques used and how to identify, and they review the main current areas of application, which include breath metabolomics, cancer diagnosis, and microbial volatiles. Key Features: Presents a thorough overview of volatile research in biomedical applications Examines both gold standard techniques (metabolomics based) and artificial olfactory systems Reviews all aspects of volatile metabolites in biomedicine research, from origin to detection platforms Describes relevant diseases diagnosis and prognosis achievements, including cancer

Applied Natural Science: Environmental Issues and Global Perspectives provides the reader with a complete insight into the natural-scientific pattern of the world, covering the most important historical stages of the development of various areas of science, methods of natural-scientific research, general scientific and philosophical concepts, and the fundamental laws of nature. The book analyzes the main scientific trends and developments of modern natural science and also discusses important aspects of environmental protection. Topics include: The problem of "the two cultures": the mathematization of natural sciences and the informatization of society The non-linear nature of the processes occurring in nature and society Application of the second law of thermodynamics to describe the development of biological systems Global problems of the biosphere Theory and practice of stable organic paramagnetic materials Polymers and the natural environment Key features include: An interdisciplinary approach in considering scientific and technical problems A discussion of general scientific trends in modern natural science, including globalization challenges in nature and society, the organic chemistry of stable paramagnetic materials, the fundamentals of the environmental chemistry of polymeric materials, etc. A justification of applying classical (non-equilibrium) thermodynamics to studying the behavior of open (including biological) systems Of particular importance in the book is the discussion of some problems associated with the place of man in the biosphere, issues of the globalization of science and technology, new ideas about the universe, and the concept of universal evolutionism. At the same time, the book discusses more specific issues related to solving major global and regional environmental problems (particularities of organic paramagnetic materials, the influence of polymers on the man and environment, etc). All this leads to the fundamental conclusion of the unity of animate and inanimate nature, as well as improvement of the process of cognition of the real world, which consists in objective and natural changing of world views. The book is intended for professors, teachers, and students of classical and technological universities who are interested in the development of the foundations of modern natural sciences, as well as for professionals working in the field of chemical physics and applied ecology.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Sarcopenia-the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with advancing age-is a major health challenge, particularly in North America, Europe, and Japan, which have large aging populations. This compendium volume is a valuable addition to the existing literature, providing state-of-the-art information on the most effective prevention and treatment options. Included are research articles on nutrition management and the prevention of sarcopenia; protein therapy for sarcopenia; effect of exercise on sarcopenia; and other therapeutic strategies, including antioxidants and steroids.

This valuable new book offers a new perspective on dendrimers that bridges the gap between basic research and applied nanomedicine. It explores the ultimate effectiveness of dendrimers in theranostics, a promising field that combines therapeutics and diagnostics into single multifunctional formulations used to affect therapy or treatment of a disease state. The authors examine the potential uses of dendrimers, which have proven their capabilities in local/systemic drug delivery, physical stabilization of the drug, solubility enhancement of the poorly soluble drugs, and gene delivery.

This new volume provides exhaustive knowledge on a wide range of natural products and holistic concepts that have provided promising in the treatment of leishmaniasis. Including the major natural therapies as well as traditional formulations, over 300 medicinal plants and 150 isolated compounds that are reported to have beneficial results in the treatment of the disease are explored in this comprehensive work. This book also acts as an important resource on various anti-inflammatory plants used to treat various inflammatory conditions of the disease.