The first section of this volume corresponds to courses on the cytoskeleton, its various structures and its dynamics, especially during the cell cycle. The reductionist approach is favoured in this field and considerable effort is spent on finding out how these structures are built up from their component molecules, how they grow or decrease in size, how they interact with each other and with other cell components. The second section describes the endo membrane system of a eukaryotic cell and the regulated protein traffic that flows through it. Part III deals with the onset of higher levels of organization. Topics covered include the development of the central nervous system, the role of time in biology and theoretical models to describe biochemical and cellular oscillations. The volume concludes with a reflection on physics and biology and the author shares some of his thoughts on the different ways in which physicists and biologists tackle problems in their respective fields.

Up to 40 volumes are planned for this concise monograph series, which focuses on the implementation of various engineering principles in the conception, design, development, analysis and operation of biomedical, biotechnological and nanotechnology systems and applications. The smartness of nano-materials is attributed to their nanoscale and subsequently unique physicochemical properties and their use in glucose sensing has been aimed at improving performance, reducing cost and miniaturizing the sensor and its associated instrumentation. So far, portable (handheld) glucose analysers were introduced for hospital wards, emergency rooms and physicians' offices; single-use strip systems achieved nanolitre sampling for painless and accurate home glucose monitoring; advanced continuous monitoring devices having 2 to 7 days operating life are in clinical and home use; and continued research efforts are being made to develop and introduce increasingly advanced glucose monitoring systems for health as well as food, biotechnology, cell and tissue culture industries. Nanomaterials have touched every aspect of biosensor design and this chapter reviews their role in the development of advanced technologies for glucose sensing, and especially for diabetes. Research shows that overall, nanomaterials help address the problems with conventional optical and electrochemical biosensors, by enhancing the preferential detection of glucose or its oxidation products through better electron transfer kinetics, sensitivity and response time, while lowering the operating over-voltages for energy efficiency and avoid interference. The reproducible production of nano-materials and nano-structures at low cost is vital for the successful development of nano-technologies for glucose sensing. Several products, especially, home glucose monitoring devices, use nano-materials, but the need for reliable long-term CGM is still unmet. Nano-materials and nano-technologies have an important role in achieving the long-awaited CGM technology.

This comprehensive reference illustrates optimal preparation methods in biological electron microscopy compared with common methodological problems. Not only will the basic methodologies of transmission electron microscopy like fixation, microtomy, and microscopy be presented, but the authors also endeavor to illustrate more specialized techniques such as negative staining, autoradiography, cytochemistry, immunoelectron microscopy, and computer-assisted image analysis.
Key Features
* Authored by the key leaders in the biological electron microscopy field
* Illustrates both optimal and suboptimal or artifactual results in a variety of electron microscopy disciplines
* Introduces students on how to read and interpret electron micrographs

This doctoral thesis reports on an innovative data repository offering adaptive metadata management to maximise information sharing and comprehension in multidisciplinary and geographically distributed collaborations. It approaches metadata as a fluid, loosely structured and dynamical process rather than a fixed product, and describes the development of a novel data management platform based on a schemaless JSON data model, which represents the first fully JSON-based metadata repository designed for the biomedical sciences. Results obtained in various application scenarios (e.g. integrated biobanking, functional genomics and computational neuroscience) and corresponding performance tests are reported on in detail. Last but not least, the book offers a systematic overview of data platforms commonly used in the biomedical sciences, together with a fresh perspective on the role of and tools for data sharing and heterogeneous data integration in contemporary biomedical research.

Myocardial tissue engineering (MTE), a strategy that uses materials or material/cell constructs to prolong patients' life after cardiac damage by supporting or restoring heart function, is continuously improving. Common MTE strategies include an engineered vehicle', which may be a porous scaffold or a dense substrate or patch, made of either natural or synthetic polymeric materials. The function of the substrate is to aid transportation of cells into the diseased region of the heart and support their integration. This book, which contains chapters written by leading experts in MTE, gives a complete analysis of the area and presents the latest advances in the field. The chapters cover all relevant aspects of MTE strategies, including cell sources, specific TE techniques and biomaterials used. Many different cell types have been suggested for cell therapy in the framework of MTE, including autologous bone marrow-derived or cardiac progenitors, as well as embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells, each having their particular advantages and disadvantages. The book also considers a complete range of biomaterials, examining different aspects of their application in MTE, such as biocompatibility with cardiac cells, mechanical capability and compatibility with the mechanical properties of the native myocardium as well as degradation behaviour in vivo and in vitro. Although a great deal of research is being carried out in the field, this book also addresses many questions that still remain unanswered and highlights those areas in which further research efforts are required. The book will also give an insight into clinical trials and possible novel cell sources for cell therapy in MTE.

This book addresses patient-specific modeling. It integrates computational modeling, experimental procedures, imagine clinical segmentation and mesh generation with the finite element method (FEM) to solve problems in computational biomedicine and bioengineering. Specific areas of interest include cardiovascular problems, ocular and muscular systems and soft tissue modeling. Patient-specific modeling has been the subject of serious research over the last seven years and interest in the area is continually growing and this area is expected to further develop in the near future.

Sensors and Actuators using polymeric systems is one of the most promising fields of "Intelligent Polymers", which is becoming more and more important associating with artificial sensing and actuating systems in living organisms. Some practical applications have now started to test in industry. The book covers optical, gas, taste, and other sensing systems using various kinds of polymers. Soft and wet actuating systems using polymer gels and networks are another field which caused excitation in the last year. The contributors are all pioneers in the field, and were selected from world-wide level. They provide the necessary background information and science to develop a basic understanding of the field, its supporting technologies and current applications. Besides, the overviews will provide a sense of how these supporting technologies can be combined to meet the requirements of advanced systems. Finally, the readers will learn about potential future developments.

This critical volume focuses on the use of medical imaging, medical robotics, simulation, and information technology in surgery. Part I discusses computational surgery and disease management and specifically breast conservative therapy, abdominal surgery for cancer, vascular occlusive disease and trauma medicine. Part II covers the role of image processing and visualization in surgical intervention with a focus on case studies. Part III presents the important role of robotics in image driven intervention. Part IV provides a road map for modeling, simulation and experimental data. Part V deals specifically with the importance of training in the computational surgery area.

A major use of practical predictive analytics in medicine has been in the diagnosis of current diseases, particularly through medical imaging. Now there is sufficient improvement in AI, IoT and data analytics to deal with real time problems with an increased focus on early prediction using machine learning and deep learning algorithms. With the power of artificial intelligence alongside the internet of 'medical' things, these algorithms can input the characteristics/data of their patients and get predictions of future diagnoses, classifications, treatment and costs. Evolving Predictive Analytics in Healthcare: New AI techniques for real-time interventions discusses deep learning algorithms in medical diagnosis, including applications such as Covid-19 detection, dementia detection, and predicting chemotherapy outcomes on breast cancer tumours. Smart healthcare monitoring frameworks using IoT with big data analytics are explored and the latest trends in predictive technology for solving real-time health care problems are examined. By using real-time data inputs to build predictive models, this new technology can literally 'see' your future health and allow clinicians to intervene as needed. This book is suitable reading for researchers interested in healthcare technology, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Swamy Laxminarayan was an outstanding researcher active in many diverse fields of science and technology. He was one of the most prominent biomedical scientists and his ideas influenced the Biomedical Technology substantially. This book tries to provide an overview on the multiple achievements of Swamy Laxminarayan. It presents a collection of his most outstanding publications and an overview on his outstanding life. This Volume is the second part of the liber amicorum in Memory of Swamy Laxminarayan.

This book presents important recent developments in mathematical and computational methods used in impedance imaging and the theory of composite materials. By augmenting the theory with interesting practical examples and numerical illustrations, the exposition brings simplicity to the advanced material. An introductory chapter covers the necessary basics. An extensive bibliography and open problems at the end of each chapter enhance the text.

Semantic Models in IoT and eHealth Applications explores the key role of semantic web modeling in eHealth technologies, including remote monitoring, mobile health, cloud data and biomedical ontologies. The book explores different challenges and issues through the lens of various case studies of healthcare systems currently adopting these technologies. Chapters introduce the concepts of semantic interoperability within a healthcare model setting and explore how semantic representation is key to classifying, analyzing and understanding the massive amounts of biomedical data being generated by connected medical devices. Continuous health monitoring is a strong solution which can provide eHealth services to a community through the use of IoT-based devices that collect sensor data for efficient health diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. All of this collected data needs to be represented in the form of ontologies which are considered the cornerstone of the Semantic Web for knowledge sharing, information integration and information extraction.

Computational Models in Biomedical Engineering: Finite Element Models Based on Smeared Physical Fields: Theory, Solutions, and Software discusses novel computational methodologies developed by the authors that address a variety of topics in biomedicine, with concepts that rely on the so-called smeared physical field built into the finite element method. A new and straightforward methodology is represented by their Kojic Transport Model (KTM), where a composite smeared finite element (CSFE) as a FE formulation contains different fields (e.g., drug concentration, electrical potential) in a composite medium, such as tissue, which includes the capillary and lymphatic system, different cell groups and organelles. The continuum domains participate in the overall model according to their volumetric fractions. The governing laws and material parameters are assigned to each of the domains. Furthermore, the continuum fields are coupled at each FE node by connectivity elements which take into account biological barriers such as vessel walls and cells.

Contents. List of Contributors. Brian Henderson and Gerry Higgs: Targets for modulating cytokine responses in inflammatory and infectious diseases. Mary Lee MacKichan and Anthony L. DeFranco: Cell signalling and cytokine induction by lipopolysaccharide. Rodger A. Allen and Stephen E. Rapecki: Regulation of cytokine production by inhibitors of cell signalling. Stanley T. Crooke: Oligonucleotide-based drugs in the control of cytokine synthesis. Peter I. Croucher, Ingunn Holen and Philip G. Hargreaves: Inhibiting cytokine-processing enzymes. Amanda Suitters and Roly Foulkes: Cytokine-neutralizing therapeutic antibodies. Ravinder N. Maini: The debut of anti-TNF therapy of rheumatoid arthritis in the clinic. Anthony Meager: Blockade of cytokine activity by soluble cytokine receptors. Michael F. Smith Jr.: Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. Raymond J. Owens and Simon Lumb: Therapeutic regulation of cytokine signalling by inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Christian Bogdan, Yoram Vodovotz and John Letterio: TGF-ss and IL-10: inhibitory cytokines regulating immunity and the response to infection. Brian Henderson: Therapeutic control of cytokines: lessons from microorganisms. Index

This book presents the latest research findings and reviews in the field of medical imaging technology, covering ultrasound diagnostics approaches for detecting osteoarthritis, breast carcinoma and cardiovascular conditions, image guided biopsy and segmentation techniques for detecting lung cancer, image fusion, and simulating fluid flows for cardiovascular applications. It offers a useful guide for students, lecturers and professional researchers in the fields of biomedical engineering and image processing.

Healthcare systems are now experiencing a variety of challenges with the integration of mobile and ubiquitous technology. ""Mobile Health Solutions for Biomedical Applications"" provides an international perspective on the benefits of mobile health technology and describes different examples and applications implemented in global healthcare. This book presents research on the emergence of pervasive computing and health care systems that provide quality patient care services. Phillip Olla is the endowed Phillips Chair of Management and Professor of MIS at the school of business at Madonna University in Michigan USA, and he is also a Visiting Research Fellow at Brunel University, London, UK. His research interests include Knowledge Management, Mobile telecommunication, and health informatics. In addition to University level teaching, Dr. Phillip Olla is also a Chartered Engineer and has over 10 years experience as an independent Consultant and has worked in the telecommunications, space, financial and healthcare sectors. He was contracted to perform a variety of roles including Chief Technical Architect, Program Manager, and Director. Dr Olla is the Associate Editor for the ""Journal of Information Technology Research"" and the Software/Book Review Editor for the ""International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics"", and is also a member of the Editorial Advisory & Review Board for the ""Journal of Knowledge Management Practice"". Dr. Phillip Olla has a PhD in Mobile Telecommunications from Brunel University in the UK. He is an accredited Press member of the British Association of Journalism, Chartered IT Professional with the British Computing Society and a member of the IEEE society. Joseph Tan, Dip., B.A., M.S., Ph.D., holds a professional diploma in civil engineering from Singapore Polytechnic, an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Wartburg College, IA, a Masters Degree in Industrial & Management Engineering from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of British Columbia (UBC). He has been a tenured associate professor, teaching in the Department of HealthCare & Epidemiology at UBC for many years prior to serving as Professor and Head of Information System and Manufacturing (ISM) department, School of Business, Wayne State University. Joseph publishes widely in numerous computing, ergonomics, information systems, health informatics, health education, e-health and e-business journals and has served as guest editor and member of various journal editorial boards. He sits on key organizing committees for local, national, and international meetings and conferences. Professor Tan's research, which has enjoyed significant support in the last several years from local, national and international funding agencies and other sources, has also been widely cited and applied across a number of major disciplines, including healthcare informatics and clinical decision support, health technology management research, human processing of graphical representations, ergonomics, health administration education, telehealth, mobile health, and e-health promotion programming.

Design and Use of Assistive Technology assesses major hurdles in the design and use of assistive technologies, while also providing guidelines and recommendations to improve these technologies. This volume takes an interdisciplinary approach to solving the major issues surrounding designing and using assistive technologies for the physically impaired by blending engineering, computer science and medicine. The most difficult problems in assistive technologies, such as privacy concerns in data gathering and analysis, inherent heterogeneity of the user population, knowledge transfer of novel technologies and incorporation of the user perspective into the design process are all addressed. The book also: -Presents theories on assistive technology through the lens of fields ranging from engineering and computer science to occupational therapy and neurology -Discusses assistive technologies in a broad scope that presents designs and theories that are universally applicable Design and Use of Assistive Technology features contributions from experts in their subject areas who discuss specific methods and mechanisms to integrate the user's experience into design and clinical evaluation in order to both create academic outreach through practical service models and improve knowledge transfer.

Less than twenty years ago photolithography and medicine were total strangers to one another. They had not yet met, and not even looking each other up in the classi?eds. And then, nucleic acid chips, micro?uidics and microarrays entered the scene, and rapidly these strangers became indispensable partners in biomedicine. Asrecentlyastenyearsagothenotionofapplyingnanotechnologytothe?ghtagainstd- ease was dominantly the province of the ?ction writers. Thoughts of nanoparticle-vehicled deliveryoftherapeuticalstodiseasedsiteswereanexerciseinscienti?csolitude,andgrounds for questioning one's ability to think "like an established scientist". And today we have nanoparticulate paclitaxel as the prime option against metastatic breast cancer, proteomic pro?lingdiagnostictoolsbasedontargetsurfacenanotexturing,nanoparticlecontrastagents for all radiological modalities, nanotechnologies embedded in high-distribution laboratory equipment, and no less than 152 novel nanomedical entities in the regulatory pipeline in the US alone. Thisisatransformingimpact,byanymeasure,withclearevidenceoffurtheracceleration, supported by very vigorous investments by the public and private sectors throughout the world. Even joining the dots in a most conservative, linear fashion, it is easy to envision scenarios of personalized medicine such as the following: patient-speci?c prevention supplanting gross, faceless intervention strategies; early detection protocols identifying signs of developing disease at the time when the disease is most easily subdued; personally tailored intervention strategies that are so routinely and inexpensively realized, that access to them can be secured by everyone; technologies allowing for long lives in the company of disease, as good neighbors, without impairment of the quality of life itself.

Over the past ten years, a number of cytokines and growth factors have proven to be as effective therapeutics. While these products have certainly established recombinant biologics as a major pharmaceutical growth sector, the continued interest in this class of drugs arises from the fact that today we have a far better understanding of the human immune response, both at a cellular and molecular level. This has resulted in a more methodical characterisation of these factors which has given clinical researchers an opportunity to plan Phase 1 clinical trials that can provide substantial information on the activity of the cytokine in humans. Currently, a great deal of effort is also being channelled into identifying cytokines from the various DNA databases. Our major objective for this book is to profile cytokines that have been recently identified. The therapeutic potential of these cytokines based on their known properties will be discussed by the authors. The main aim of this book is to provide...

This book introduces readers to industrially important enzymes and discusses in detail their structures and functions, as well as their manifold applications. Due to their selective biocatalytic capabilities, enzymes are used in a broad range of industries and processes. The book highlights selected enzymes and their applications in agriculture, food processing and discoloration, as well as their role in biomedicine. In turn, it discusses biochemical engineering strategies such as enzyme immobilization, metabolic engineering, and cross-linkage of enzyme aggregates, and critically weighs their pros and cons. Offering a wealth of information, and stimulating further research by presenting new concepts on enzymatic catalytic functions in basic and applied contexts, the book represents a valuable asset for researchers from academia and industry who are engaged in biochemical engineering, microbiology and biotechnology.

This special issue of the Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology presents much of the research described at the recent 2nd International Tissue Engineering Conference held in Crete in May 2005. The conference brought together over 150 researchers from around the world to examine the emerging and most advanced aspects of their particular field. The chapters reflect a diverse group of authors, including both clinicians and academicians.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Predictive and Analytical Rendering in Edge Computing focuses on the role of AI and machine learning as it impacts and works alongside Edge Computing. Sections cover the growing number of devices and applications in diversified domains of industry, including gaming, speech recognition, medical diagnostics, robotics and computer vision and how they are being driven by Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and distributed computing, may it be Cloud Computing or the evolving Fog and Edge Computing paradigms. Challenges covered include remote storage and computing, bandwidth overload due to transportation of data from End nodes to Cloud leading in latency issues, security issues in transporting sensitive medical and financial information across larger gaps in points of data generation and computing, as well as design features of Edge nodes to store and run AI/ML algorithms for effective rendering.

Contemporary approaches to the synthesis of chemically modified biomacromolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates) not only require efficient means to control conjugation and the specific site of attachment of the conjugated moiety but also the effective use of recent developments in the fields of pharmaceutical chemistry, biomolecular/polymer engineering, and nanobiotechnology. In this second edition of "Bioconjugation Protocols: Strategies and Methods," expert researchers update the classic methods and introduce valuable new approaches that go beyond basic conjugation techniques to include elements from advanced organic synthesis, molecular biology, surface biotechnology, materials science, and nanobioscience/engineering. These readily reproducible methods cover the preparation of biomolecular conjugates using a variety of labeling techniques and semisynthetic approaches. Additional chapters address the biofunctionalization of surface structures, including organic/inorganic thin films, as well as various types of nanostructures (magnetic nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and silicon nanowire devices). All the protocols follow the successful "Methods in Molecular Biology"TM series format, each one offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principle behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Cutting-edge and highly practical, "Bioconjugation Protocols: Strategies and Methods, Second Edition" offers both novice and experienced researchers access to the broad array of techniques needed to carry out the semisynthesis of functional biomolecular reagents and/or the biofunctionalization of surfaces and structures of unique interest for a wide variety of applications, ranging from novel biomedical diagnostics to powerful new therapeutics to advanced biomaterials."

How and why to write a movement? Who is the writer? Who is the reader? They may be choreographers working with dancers. They may be roboticists programming robots. They may be artists designing cartoons in computer animation. In all such fields the purpose is to express an intention about a dance, a specific motion or an action to perform, in terms of intelligible sequences of elementary movements, as a music score that would be devoted to motion representation. Unfortunately there is no universal language to write a motion. Motion languages live together in a Babel tower populated by biomechanists, dance notators, neuroscientists, computer scientists, choreographers, roboticists. Each community handles its own concepts and speaks its own language. The book accounts for this diversity. Its origin is a unique workshop held at LAAS-CNRS in Toulouse in 2014. Worldwide representatives of various communities met there. Their challenge was to reach a mutual understanding allowing a choreographer to access robotics concepts, or a computer scientist to understand the subtleties of dance notation. The liveliness of this multidisciplinary meeting is reflected by the book thank to the willingness of authors to share their own experiences with others.