Heart Cell Coupling and Impulse Propagation in Health and Disease includes an up-to-date review on how heart cells communicate and impulse propagation under normal as well as under pathological conditions. The complexity of intercellular coupling and impulse propagation is discussed, providing the reader with a broad view of the importance of these processes and how they contribute to the generation of cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. The different aspects and intricacies of heart cell communication is discussed by different authors, each one an expert in their own field.
The present publication will be of interest to cardiologists, electrophysiologists, heart physiologists, cardiac pharmacologists, biophysicists, and cell or molecular biologists.

Gasps, sighs, and yawns are recognized by even a casual observer as involuntary expressions of emotion through the "medium" of respiration. In recent years, scientific observation has focused on sensation and behavior as researchers investigate the relation of emotion and stress in disorders such as asthma, hyperventilation, and panic disorder. Until now, however, the interplay of psychological factors and physiological responses has not been approached from the interdisciplinary perspective reported in this book. Brought together here is the work of physiologists, psychologists, and researchers in behavioral medicine, together with - for the first time - specialists and practitioners of traditional Japanese arts and culture. Knowledge of the art and control of breathing, which are essential features of such disciplines as Zen and Noh, opens a new and until now unexplored path for scientists seeking to understand the relation between respiration and emotion.

An enormous amount of research is currently devoted to evaluating the role of nutrition in the aetiology of major human diseases and to clarifying the underlying mechanisms. This resurgent interest reflects the realisation that carcinogens may be generated during the normal cooking of food and that they may play a role in human carcinogenesis. Moreover, during the last decade it has become apparent that naturally occurring chemicals in food, primarily of plant origin, can afford effective protection against human cancer and heart disease. As a result, the need for up-to-date information in this subject area has never been greater. Nutrition and Chemical Toxicity deals in depth with the various toxicants found in food including naturally occurring chemicals, fungal contaminants, products of the cooking process and allergens. Other chapters focus on nutritional modulation of cytochromes P450; interactions between drugs and diet; glutathione, sulphur aminoacids and chemical detoxication; modulation of the carcinogenic response by caloric restriction; and lipotropes and chemical carcinogenesis. Further contributions discuss the expression of chemical toxicity in vitamin deficiency and supplementation; safety evaluation of vitamins and minerals; naturally occurring organosulphur compounds as potential anticarcinogens; cancer chemoprevention by tea polyphenols; and animal diets in safety evaluation studies. This timely book is essential reading for professionals involved in cancer research and the safety evaluation of chemicals, food scientists and toxicologists, nutritionists and those involved with food regulation.

With the invitation to edit this volume, I wanted to take the opportunity to assemble reviews on different aspects of circadian clocks and rhythms. Although most c- tributions in this volume focus on mammalian circadian clocks, the historical int- duction and comparative clocks section illustrate the importance of various other organisms in deciphering the mechanisms and principles of circadian biology. Circadian rhythms have been studied for centuries, but only recently, a mole- lar understanding of this process has emerged. This has taken research on circadian clocks from mystic phenomenology to a mechanistic level; chains of molecular events can describe phenomena with remarkable accuracy. Nevertheless, current models of the functioning of circadian clocks are still rudimentary. This is not due to the faultiness of discovered mechanisms, but due to the lack of undiscovered processes involved in contributing to circadian rhythmicity. We know for example, that the general circadian mechanism is not regulated equally in all tissues of m- mals. Hence, a lot still needs to be discovered to get a full understanding of cir- dian rhythms at the systems level. In this respect, technology has advanced at high speed in the last years and provided us with data illustrating the sheer complexity of regulation of physiological processes in organisms. To handle this information, computer aided integration of the results is of utmost importance in order to d- cover novel concepts that ultimately need to be tested experimentally.

The Springer Handbook of Enzymes provides concise data on some 5,000 enzymes sufficiently well characterized and here is the second, updated edition. Their application in analytical, synthetic and biotechnology processes as well as in food industry, and for medicinal treatments is added. Data sheets are arranged in their EC-Number sequence. The new edition reflects considerable progress in enzymology: the total material has more than doubled, and the complete 2nd edition consists of 39 volumes plus Synonym Index. Starting in 2009, all newly classified enzymes are treated in Supplement Volumes."

Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Closure for Stroke, Myocardial Infarction, Peripheral Embolism, Migraine, and Hypoxemia is a complete reference covering the association between PFO and numerous medical conditions. It provides a background on the topic including embryology, anatomy, and physiology. This book fully examines the diagnosis and imaging assessment of PFO and discusses the data linking PFO to various clinical pathologies. It details technical aspects of PFO closure and includes perspectives on future outlooks and where the field is headed in terms of device closure indications. This is a complete reference book for cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, neurologists, pulmonologists, general practitioners, medical professionals, and researchers who are interested in PFO-associated pathologies, technical aspects, safety, and future outlooks of PFO device closure.

Only recently have we begun to appreciate the role of microbiome in health and disease. Environmental factors and change of life style including diet significantly shape human microbiome that in turn appears to modify gut barrier function affecting nutrient & electrolyte absorption and inflammation. Approaches that can reverse the gut dysbiosis represent as reasonable and novel strategies for restoring the balance between host and microbes. In the book, we offer summary and discussion on the advances in understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms of microbial host interactions in human diseases. We will not only discuss intestinal bacterial community, but also viruses, fungi and oral microbiome. Microbiome studies will facilitate diagnosis, functional studies, drug development and personalized medicine. Thus, this book will further highlight the microbiome in the context of health and disease, focusing on mechanistic concepts that underlie the complex relationships between host and microbes.

Studies of membrane transporters have had a great impact on our understanding of human diseases and the design of effective drugs. In Membrane Transporters in Drug Discovery and Development: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers provide practical methodologies of the ongoing research on membrane transporters, considering applications of transporter technologies in drug discovery and development. Chapters include new and useful fields and methodologies, including pharmacogenomics, nutrigenomics, systems biology, bioinformatics, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), imaging, and quantitative real-time-PCR. Transporter studies in drug discovery and development for various diseases are discussed, including neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, ophthalmic diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Composed in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, each chapter contains a brief introduction, step-by-step methods, a list of necessary materials, and a Notes section which shares tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Wide-ranging and current, Membrane Transporters in Drug Discovery and Development: Methods and Protocols delivers a collection of practical protocols that can be used immediately in the lab, along with critical surveys of key topics by leading researchers in the field.

Cellular proteinases and their physiological role in normal and disease states have been the subject of great interest over recent decades. At present, specific protease inhibitors are exploited both as tools in unraveling the role of individual proteinases in particular cellular processes and for the development of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of various disorders. Proteinase and Peptidase Inhibition presents updated progress reports on the characterization of a wide range of cellular proteinases whose inhibitors may hold the key to the development of new drugs. Introductory chapters deal with the broad enzyme classes, inhibitor types and regulatory mechanisms governing proteinase activity. The target enzymes themselves, together with all aspects of their inhibition and inhibitor design, are comprehensively described. The classification of target enzymes by structural similarity, rather than by pharmacological effects, provides a new and coherent platform for understanding how inhibition of different targets can lead to the same therapeutic outcomes. This is a valuable reference book that will appeal to both academic and industrial researchers in the fields of medicinal chemistry, drug design and development, pharmacology, biochemistry, and molecular and cell biology.

Research has clearly established a link between omega fatty acids and general health, particularly cardiovascular health. Omega Fatty Acids in Brain and Neurological Health, Second Edition, illustrates the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in longevity, cognitive impairment and structure and function of the brain's neurons and also the adverse effects of omega-6 fatty acids on neurological function. This book encompasses some of the most recent research on the links between omega fatty acids and the developing brain, aging, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, including the role of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on hippocampal neurogenesis, substantia nigra modulation, migraine headaches, the developing brain in animals, sleep and neurodegenerative diseases. This completely updated second edition focuses on the counterbalancing dietary and tissue omega-6 fatty acids as well as it studies the effects in pregnancy and early infancy, animal model studies and autoimmune neurological diseases.

Containing all the new as well as classical methodologies used in the investigation of amino acid and protein metabolism in human and animal models, this book is needed because of the dramatic increase in research in this field. There is no other book currently on the market that covers these methods of investigation. Methods for Investigation of Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism explores areas such as amino acid transfer across tissue membranes, past and new applications using stable isotopes, protein synthesis in organs and tissues, and more. Because of the importance of research methods in the field of amino acid and protein nutrition and metabolism, this book facilitates the reader's integration of the concepts involved in these investigative research methods and their corollaries. In addition to helping any nutrition investigator design and conduct appropriate research protocols in this area of nutrition, this book assists students who are planning to investigate amino acid and protein metabolism in humans or laboratory animals.

There has been a marked change in examination strategy over the last five years; EMQs (extended matching questions) are popular with tutors and students alike as they present a more realistic view of a student's ability to apply his or her knowledge in a clinical situation. The new edition of MCQs in Physiology has been subject to a complete overhaul to become MCQs and EMQs in Physiology. This reflects the current methods of examination techniques and will provide the student with a complete revision resource book. Packed with MCQs and EMQs along with clear and simple explanations of each answer, this book covers all the main physiological systems. The questions stretch from basic to applied and interpretative and are written with the modern integrated syllabus firmly in mind. Presented alongside other core revision books such as EMQs in Clinical Medicine this book will soon be seen as a must-have for any medie's shelf.

Fifteen years ago the field of oxygen free radicals was just beginning to launch into a new area of importance in pathology. Since then, oxygen free radicals have been implicated in a number of disease processes, including atherosclerosis and chronic inflammation. Measuring in vivo Oxidative Damage brings together methods by leading experts in the field of oxidative damage and by scientists from clinical biochemistry laboratories who have had much experience with the practical problems of measuring oxidative damage in vivo. Many of the authors are involved in national and international quality assurance programmes and routinely establish these assays in clinical research laboratories. The book is divided into 5 parts:
* Chromatographic procedures
* Measurement of 8-oxo deoxyguanosine
* Cellular-based methods
* Molecular-based assays
* Antioxidant activity.
Each part is designed to help the clinical scientist evaluate the best method for their particular problem in measuring oxidative damage in vivo. The methods represented are the ones most commonly used and are deemed robust and simple enough to apply to clinical material. Measuring in vivo Oxidative Damage is an ideal practical reference work for the clinical scientist and is a must for all laboratories in hospitals and research institutions which are actively involved in analytical work.

This book offers an unparalleled source of information on in vivo assessment of nanoparticle toxicity by using Drosophila as a model organism. Nanoparticles have emerged as an useful tool for wide variety of biomedical, cosmetics, and industrial applications. However, our understanding of nanomaterial-mediated toxicity under in vivo condition remains limited. The book begins with a chapter on synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles used for various biological, medical and commercial purposes. The rest of the chapters deal with the impact of nanoparticles on different biological aspects like behavior, physiology and metabolic homoeostasis using Drosophila as a model organism. Lastly, the book summarizes how proper characterization and evaluation of safe dosage of nanoparticles can be a boon if incorporated in consumer goods and for biomedical applications. Overall, the book pursues an interdisciplinary approach by connecting nanotechnology and biology from various angles using Drosophila as a model system, so as to develop more efficient, safe and effective use of nanoparticles for human beings.

The ability to regulate and manipulate the generation or remodeling of blood vessels is key to the successful treatment of many chronic diseases, both oncological and non-oncological. Several bioactive compounds present in human diets are now known to exert an inhibitive effect on the either the signaling or construction of new blood vessels. The identification and characterization of these anti-angiogenic molecules opens a new avenue for the research and production of functional and medicinal foods with far reaching implications for the food-based treatment of chronic degenerative disease. Drawing from an extensive list of esteemed international contributors, Anti-Angiogenic Functional and Medicinal Foods explores the history and scope of the use of conventional foods, nutraceuticals, and health products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, India, Australia, and New Zealand. Recent advancements in proteomics, genomics, and toxicogenomics give us a far more detailed picture of the molecular basis of nutrition and systems toxicology. Explaining the role of angiogenesis in various chronic diseases, individual chapters consider endothelial cell responses, the mechanism of the angiogenic cascade, and the angiogenic function involved in tumors, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory arthritis, and obesity. A collection of chapters studies specific foods and their functional bioactive compounds such as the effects of edible berry anthocyanins, various Chinese medicinal foods, dietary flavonoids, probiotics, shark cartilage, EPA and DHA, and marine polysaccharides. The book concludes with a discussion of the challenges faced during the development and delivery of anti-angiogenic functional food products. Presenting the current research and state of the science, Anti-Angiogenic Functional and Medicinal Foods provides researchers, scientists, clinical nutritionists, and oncologists with a valuable reference to this important and growing mode of

Featuring practical strategies and exciting experiments, Teaching Innovations in Lipid Science addresses lipid education at a range of levels from the novice to the graduate student and teacher. Peer-reviewed contributions from internationally known specialists, describe several methods and approaches designed to create new lipid courses, modify existing courses, and serve as a basis for pursuing novel avenues of instruction. Divided into two sections, the first focuses on teaching strategies and outlines some of the barriers that lipid science specialists face when transmitting accurate information. It emphasizes the development and implementation of creative programs that foster interest in lipid science, and presents novel problem-solving approaches. It discusses strategies for involving and evaluating independent study students and explains the successful use of sample cards to teach oilseed and cereal processing. This section also provides generalized accounts of biotechnology and crop improvement and isoprenoid biochemistry, including improvement of oilseed crops and tips on explaining DNA science and crop biotechnology. The second section begins with simple demonstrations on the physical properties of lipids suitable for middle- and high school students. It follows with more complex experiments on analyzing lipids in food oils, plasma, and milk utilizing thin layer chromatography, gas chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Contributions include information on convenient enzyme test kits with exercises that can translate to a lab course beginning with chromatographic methods for lipid analysis. The final chapter presents theory and experiments for studying lipid metabolism in the plastid by describing preparation methods, studying metabolite uptake, and pathway analysis.

The advances made in vascular biology in the last 25 years have considerably changed the perception that one could have of the endothelial cells. Once considered as a diffusion barrier preventing the access of the blood cells to the vascular matrix, the endothelium is now recognized as playing a major role in the control of blood fluidity, platelet aggregation, and vascular tone, but also in immunology, inflammation, angiogenesis, and for serving as a metabolizing and an endocrine organ. -- from the preface Cardiovascular diseases, so prevalent in the Western world during the twentieth century, could well become the scourge of the twenty-first century in emerging countries as well as the West. Endothelial dysfunction linked to an imbalance in the synthesis and/or release of contracting and relaxing factors is often evoked to explain the initiation of the cardiovascular pathology or its development and perpetuation. Two decades ago, when nitric oxide was demonstrated to mediate endothelium-dependent relaxations, the vascular world seemed convinced that nitric oxide was the ultimate and sole explanation for such relaxations. However not everyone agreed. EDHF: The Complete Story is the work of two leading researchers who did not accept that simple conclusion, but instead continued to search, along with others, for a deeper understanding of the ways in which endothelial cells communicate with the underlying smooth muscle to signal it to hyperpolarize. Now with most, if not all, of those ways, uncovered, the authors offer this summary as way of bringing closure to the quest. This monograph reports on the work of many researchers. It summarizes the significant recent discoveries concerning endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizations, which are likely to play a much more important role in cardiovascular physiology and pathology than was originally foreseen Extensively illustrated with original diagrams and schematics that su

The Behavioral, Molecular, Pharmacological, and Clinical Basis of the Sleep-Wake Cycle provides the first comprehensive overview on the molecular methodologies used to evaluate sleep while also examining the cellular, biochemical, genetic, and therapeutic aspects of the sleep-wake cycle. There have been profound changes in the landscape of approaches to the study of sleep - mainly in the areas of molecular biology and molecular techniques. With this great focus on using multidisciplinary molecular methods, chapters address significant advances in the molecular mechanisms underlying sleep and the techniques researchers use to study this phenomenon. Written by world-leading experts in the area, this book is of great interest to researchers working in the sleep field and to anyone interested in one of the most mysterious phenomena in science - why we sleep and why we cannot survive without it.

This contributed volume provides a comprehensive assessment of the roles played by 5-HT2B receptors in humans. These receptors have been shown to play an important role is the cardiac, intestinal, and central nervous systems as well as in bone marrow formation and growth. In this book, expert researchers present their findings on molecular and physiological/pathological aspects of 5-HT2B receptors. The molecular section includes a discussion of the genetics of 5-HT2B receptors and impulse control. The physiological section covers their role in many biological systems including the nervous system, the heart, and the lungs.

Physiology Secrets, 2nd Edition is a good balance of basic physiology and clinical applications with comprehensive coverage of physiology. As basic science courses are increasingly becoming problem-based, with an emphasis on clinical applications of basic science principles, the Secrets approach is ideally suited to present this kind of information. In its basic Q & A format, this approach is also especially well suited to focusing on the key information in each area of what can be a difficult subject of study. Concise answers with valuable pearls, tips, memory aids, and "secrets" Includes multiple choice "Final Exam" Q&A Raff now editor of leading undergrad physiology book, Vander's Physiology. Will have increased name recognition. New chapters include Cell Signaling, Physiology of Bone, Endocrine-Metabolic Integration, Endocrine-Immune Interactions, and Physiology of Aging Raff has become an increasingly major name in Physiology and is now on the author team of the Vander Physiology text from McGraw-Hill (competitor to Guyton and Hall) All chapters have been updated and expanded, with special focus on strengthening and expanding the Cardiovascular chapter.

Basic and Applied Bone Biology, Second Edition, provides an overview of skeletal biology, from the molecular level, to the organ level, including cellular control, interaction and response, adaptive responses to various external stimuli, and the interaction of the skeletal system with other metabolic processes in the body. The book includes chapters that address how the skeleton can be evaluated through the use of various imaging technologies, biomechanical testing, histomorphometric analysis, and the use of genetically-modified animal models. Each chapter delves deep into the important details of topics covered to provide a solid understanding of the basics of bone biology. Bone biology researchers who also train undergraduate and graduate students in the lab will use this book constantly to orient new students on the basics of the field and as a background reference for many of the technical aspects of qualification in bone biology (e.g., mechanics, histomorphometry, genetic modification, biochemistry, etc.).

What's with the men in menstruation? This is the question Men in Menstruation: A Social Transaction sets out to answer. From earliest times men have been puzzled and perplexed by the menstrual cycle and have constructed elaborate taboos, superstitions, and practices attempting to explain why women have a periodical emission of a fluid that resembles blood but is not the result of an injury or affliction. In other words, men want to know why it is possible to bleed and not die. In order to understand what goes on between men and women in the presence of menstruation, this book examines a variety of encounters, referred to as "menstrual transactions." From the three women in the Bible who are identified as menstruating to contemporary films, advertising, TV programs and literature, the book explores a wide range of transactions, even including Prince Charles's close encounter of a menstrual kind. The book will appeal to anyone interested in gaining insights into the mystery of menstruation as well as students of gender and women's studies or media theory and history.

What's with the men in menstruation? This is the question Men in Menstruation: A Social Transaction sets out to answer. From earliest times men have been puzzled and perplexed by the menstrual cycle and have constructed elaborate taboos, superstitions, and practices attempting to explain why women have a periodical emission of a fluid that resembles blood but is not the result of an injury or affliction. In other words, men want to know why it is possible to bleed and not die. In order to understand what goes on between men and women in the presence of menstruation, this book examines a variety of encounters, referred to as "menstrual transactions." From the three women in the Bible who are identified as menstruating to contemporary films, advertising, TV programs and literature, the book explores a wide range of transactions, even including Prince Charles's close encounter of a menstrual kind. The book will appeal to anyone interested in gaining insights into the mystery of menstruation as well as students of gender and women's studies or media theory and history.

The Human Body: Linking Structure and Function provides knowledge on the human body's unique structure and how it works. Each chapter is designed to be easily understood, making the reading interesting and approachable. Organized by organ system, this succinct publication presents the functional relevance of developmental studies and integrates anatomical function with structure.

This volume summarizes recent advances in research on mesenchymal cell populations in the bone marrow. It explores how mesenchymal cells create niches for immune cells in extramedullary organs and it discusses new concepts of lympho-hematopoietic microenvironments. Readers are introduced to the fundamentals of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) differentiation to all types of blood cells, including immune cells, in the bone marrow. The book highlights how this process is supported and regulated by the individual microenvironments of stem cells, termed niches. The identity of HSC niches has been subject to longstanding debates. Recent studies identified the population of mesenchymal stem cells as the major cellular component of niches, for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and their candidate developmental origin. Furthermore, candidate cellular niches for immune cells in lymph nodes and adipose and connective tissues were identified. The authors of this volume focus on shared features between those and HSPC niche cells in the bone marrow. Covering latest research results, this book serves as fascinating read for researchers and clinicians in hematology and immunology.