This book is a collection of full papers based on the peer-reviewed submissions accepted for the ERIDOB 2020 conference (which was cancelled due to COVID-19). ERIDOB brings together researchers in Biology Education from around the world to share and discuss their research work and results. It is the only major international conference on biology education research, and all the papers therefore are written by international researchers from across Europe (and beyond), which present the findings from a range of contemporary biology education research projects. They are all entirely new papers describing new research in the field. The papers are peer-reviewed by experienced international researchers selected by the ERIDOB Academic Committee. The papers reflect the ERIDOB conference strands by covering topics on: Socioscientific issues, Nature of Science and scientific thinking Teaching and learning in biology Perceptions of biology and biology education Textbook analysis Outdoor and environmental education By providing a collection of new research findings from many countries, this book is a great resource for researchers and practitioners such as school, college and university biology teachers' around the world. It is useful for training biology teachers and therefore valuable to teacher training institutions.

"Biomedical Engineering: Health Care Systems, Technology and Techniques" is an edited volume with contributions from world experts. It provides readers with unique contributions related to current research and future healthcare systems. Practitioners and researchers focused on computer science, bioinformatics, engineering and medicine will find this book a valuable reference.

This second edition of Design of Observational Studies is both an introduction to statistical inference in observational studies and a detailed discussion of the principles that guide the design of observational studies. An observational study is an empiric investigation of effects caused by treatments when randomized experimentation is unethical or infeasible. Observational studies are common in most fields that study the effects of treatments on people, including medicine, economics, epidemiology, education, psychology, political science and sociology. The quality and strength of evidence provided by an observational study is determined largely by its design. Design of Observational Studies is organized into five parts. Chapters 2, 3, and 5 of Part I cover concisely many of the ideas discussed in Rosenbaum's Observational Studies (also published by Springer) but in a less technical fashion. Part II discusses the practical aspects of using propensity scores and other tools to create a matched comparison that balances many covariates, and includes an updated chapter on matching in R. In Part III, the concept of design sensitivity is used to appraise the relative ability of competing designs to distinguish treatment effects from biases due to unmeasured covariates. Part IV is new to this edition; it discusses evidence factors and the computerized construction of more than one comparison group. Part V discusses planning the analysis of an observational study, with particular reference to Sir Ronald Fisher's striking advice for observational studies: "make your theories elaborate." This new edition features updated exploration of causal influence, with four new chapters, a new R package DOS2 designed as a companion for the book, and discussion of several of the latest matching packages for R. In particular, DOS2 allows readers to reproduce many analyses from Design of Observational Studies.

Explores a unique topic in physics. Traces the author's search for hypothetical subatomic particles. Both a memoir and a scientific detective story. Employs humor and eliminates jargon wherever possible. Suitable for both general readers and scientists.

This book highlights the multiple ways of telling stories of radiation exposure; they include stories about Japan, Australia, the United States, the Canadian Arctic, and more, and they probe the framing of major incidents such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. All the chapters in this book are written by authors who participated in our work at Oregon State University and have benefited from hearing not only from scientists but also from those whose lives were directly affected by the history of radiation exposure. The question 'What is at stake when researching and narrating the histories of radiation exposure?' is discussed, but the book does not reinforce existing frameworks, such as legal decisions or government policies, but rather highlights what narrative framings accomplish and commit by scrutinizing them with rigorous research, varied approaches, and, above all, listening to those whose lives were most affected by exposure. Previously published in Journal of the History of Biology Volume 54, issue 1, April 2021

Plastid Genome Evolution, Volume 85 provides a summary of recent research on plastid genome variation and evolution across photosynthetic organisms. It covers topics ranging from the causes and consequences of genomic changes, to the phylogenetic utility of plastomes for resolving relationships across the photosynthetic tree of life. This newly released volume presents thorough, up-to-date information on coevolution between the plastid and nuclear genomes, with chapters on plastid autonomy vs. nuclear control over plastid function, establishment and genetic integration of plastids, plastid genomes in alveolate protists, plastid genomes of glaucophytes, the evolution of the plastid genome in chlorophyte and streptophyte green algae, and more.

Climate change is anticipated to have a major impact on concrete structures through increasing rates of deterioration and the impact of extreme weather events. The repair of any damage will be highly labor-intensive and expensive. Self-healing cementitious materials can enable the construction industry to mitigate these effects and move toward greater sustainability, safety, and increased cost savings and efficiency. This book: Examines concrete structures based on various materials with self-repair capability and their implications for future use in sustainable projects. Discusses advantages and design strategies of self-healing concretes. Covers several effective and detailed self-repair methods, with comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Examines the use of various materials, including polymers and nanomaterials. Reviews factors affecting performance, properties, and applications. Delves into future directions and opportunities. Written for researchers, advanced students, and industry professionals, Self-Healing Cementitious Materials: Technologies, Evaluation Methods, and Applications offers a detailed view of an important emerging technology in materials science, civil engineering, and related fields.

This book's aim is to study the mathematical and computational models to analyze the progress, prognosis, prevention, and panacea of breast cancer. The book discusses application of Markov chains and transient mappings, Charlie-Simpson numerical algorithm, models represented by nonlinear reaction-diffusion-type partial differential equations, and related techniques. The book also attempts to design mathematical model of targeted strategic treatments by using Skilled Killer Drugs (SKD1 and SKD2) to suggest the improvisation of future cancer treatments. Both graduate students and researchers of computational biology and oncologists will benefit by studying this book. Researchers of cancer studies and biological sciences will also find this work helpful.

This monograph provides a concise point of research topics and reference for modeling correlated response data with time-dependent covariates, and longitudinal data for the analysis of population-averaged models, highlighting methods by a variety of pioneering scholars. While the models presented in the volume are applied to health and health-related data, they can be used to analyze any kind of data that contain covariates that change over time. The included data are analyzed with the use of both R and SAS, and the data and computing programs are provided to readers so that they can replicate and implement covered methods. It is an excellent resource for scholars of both computational and methodological statistics and biostatistics, particularly in the applied areas of health.

Key features: Organizes a difficult subject into short and clearly written sections. Can be used alongside any introductory physics textbook. Presents clear examples for every problem type discussed in the textbook.

This book provides an introduction to qualitative and quantitative aspects of human physiology. It examines biological and physiological processes and phenomena, including a selection of mathematical models, showing how physiological problems can be mathematically formulated and studied. It also illustrates how a wide range of engineering and physics topics, such as electronics, fluid dynamics, solid mechanics and control theory can be used to describe and understand physiological processes and systems. Throughout the text, there are introductions to measuring and quantifying physiological processes using both signaling and imaging technologies. This new edition includes updated material on pathophysiology, metabolism and the TCA cycle, as well as more advanced worked examples. This book describes the basic structure and models of cellular systems, the structure and function of the cardiovascular system, and the electrical and mechanical activity of the heart, and provides an overview of the structure and function of the respiratory and nervous systems. It also includes an introduction to the basic concepts and applications of reaction kinetics, pharmacokinetic modelling and tracer kinetics. It appeals to final year biomedical engineering undergraduates and graduates alike, as well as to practising engineers new to the fields of bioengineering or medical physics.

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a serious global pandemic in just one year. Nearly every country and territory in the world has been affected by the virus. The virulence and infection rate of the virus are profound, and has required extreme social distancing measures across the globe in order to prevent overwhelming the healthcare services and hospitals. COVID-19 appears to have the greatest effects on elderly individuals and those who have co-morbid diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. As the cases and death rate remain high, there are justified fears of this virus remaining for several months or years to come. To address this, a rapid and unprecedented worldwide mobilization effort has begun to identify effective treatments and develop vaccines. As these begin to be deployed and administered across the globe, many now feel the virus will be brought under control and lives will eventually return to normal. This new volume will increase readers' understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic through a series of chapters that address these concerns. Leading experts will discuss new treatment approaches, vaccine development, mental health aspects of the pandemic, and convey the results of survey studies. The book will be an excellent resource for researchers studying virology, metabolic diseases, respiratory disorders, and clinical scientists, physicians, drug companies, and healthcare services and workers.

During the past decade there has been an explosion in computation and information technology. With it have come vast amounts of data in a variety of fields such as medicine, biology, finance, and marketing. The challenge of understanding these data has led to the development of new tools in the field of statistics, and spawned new areas such as data mining, machine learning, and bioinformatics. Many of these tools have common underpinnings but are often expressed with different terminology. This book describes the important ideas in these areas in a common conceptual framework. While the approach is statistical, the emphasis is on concepts rather than mathematics. Many examples are given, with a liberal use of color graphics. It is a valuable resource for statisticians and anyone interested in data mining in science or industry. The book's coverage is broad, from supervised learning (prediction) to unsupervised learning. The many topics include neural networks, support vector machines, classification trees and boosting---the first comprehensive treatment of this topic in any book.

This major new edition features many topics not covered in the original, including graphical models, random forests, ensemble methods, least angle regression & path algorithms for the lasso, non-negative matrix factorization, and spectral clustering. There is also a chapter on methods for wide'' data (p bigger than n), including multiple testing and false discovery rates.

Trevor Hastie, Robert Tibshirani, and Jerome Friedman are professors of statistics at Stanford University. They are prominent researchers in this area: Hastie and Tibshirani developed generalized additive models and wrote a popular book of that title. Hastie co-developed much of the statistical modeling software and environment in R/S-PLUS and invented principal curves and surfaces. Tibshirani proposed the lasso and is co-author of the very successful An Introduction to the Bootstrap. Friedman is the co-inventor of many data-mining tools including CART, MARS, projection pursuit and gradient boosting.

The primary purpose of this book is to contribute to an overcoming of the traditional separation between humanties and life sciences which, according to the authors, is required today both by the developments of these disciplines and by the social problems they have to face. The volume discusses the theoretical, epistemological and ethical repercussions of the main acquisitions obtained in the last decades from the behavioral sciences. Both the authors are inspired by the concept of a "critical ethology", oriented to archive the nature/culture and human/animal dichotomies. The book proposes a theoretical and methodological restructuring of the comparative study of the animal behavior, learning, and cultures, focused on the fact that thought, culture and language are not exclusively human prerogatives. The proposed analysis includes a critique of speciesism and determinism in the ethical field, and converge with the Numanities, to which the series is dedicated, on a key point: it is necessary to arrive at an education system able to offer scientific, social and ethical skills that are trasversal and transcendent to the traditional humanities/life sciences bipartition. Skills that are indispensable for facing the complex challenges of the contemporary society and promoting a critical reflection of humanity on itself.

Features: • Provides an accessible introduction to the subject. • Up to date with the latest advances in emerging technologies and procedures. • Provides a historical overview of CT technology.

An encyclopedic presentation of the latest research, developments, manufacturing techniques, and clinical applications of synthetic biomaterials (polymers) in the lucrative medical devices and diagnostic products industry. Bridging the gap between medical device and drug, the authors bring into

Bayesian methods are growing more and more popular, finding new practical applications in the fields of health sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, business and economics and social sciences, among others. This book explores the use of Bayesian analysis in the statistical estimation of the unknown phenomenon of interest. The contents demonstrate that where such methods are applicable, they offer the best possible estimate of the unknown. Beyond presenting Bayesian theory and methods of analysis, the text is illustrated with a variety of applications to real world problems.

Choice Recommended Title, August 2019 Read an exclusive interview with Professor Vera Kolb here. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life on Earth. This exciting and significant field of research also investigates the potential existence and search for extra-terrestrial life in the Solar System and beyond. This is the first handbook in this burgeoning and interdisciplinary field. Edited by Vera Kolb, a highly respected astrobiologist, this comprehensive resource captures the history and current state of the field. Rich in information and easy to use, it assumes basic knowledge and provides answers to questions from practitioners and specialists in the field, as well as providing key references for further study. Features: Fills an important gap in the market, providing a comprehensive overview of the field Edited by an authority in the subject, with chapters written by experts in the many diverse areas that comprise astrobiology Contains in-depth and broad coverage of an exciting field that will only grow in importance in the decades ahead

This volume details a comprehensive set of methods and tools for Hi-C data processing, analysis, and interpretation. Chapters cover applications of Hi-C to address a variety of biological problems, with a specific focus on state-of-the-art computational procedures adopted for the data analysis. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, 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 cutting-edge, Hi-C Data Analysis: Methods and Protocols aims to help computational and molecular biologists working in the field of chromatin 3D architecture and transcription regulation.

Ferns are representative of genetic inheritance of great value as they include species of ancient vascular plants, which have direct connection with the evolution of plant life on Earth. This volume brings a selection of chapters covering a range of themes on fern biology, its development and growth, useful protocols for propagation and conservation purposes, genetic diversity, as well as medicinal and environmental applications. The content is organized into four parts: Biotechnology of Ferns Propagation of Ferns Ferns in Medicines Environmental Regulation This wide spectrum of the contributions provides quick access to information on the enormous potential of this plant group. This book brings together most recent research work and novel techniques, which is far from the traditional perspective usually followed. It is of interest to teachers, researchers, and botanists. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, botany, forestry, and ecology.

The book draws on Prof. Perkowitz's career as successful researcher, teacher, and writer and his broad interests to give him unique insights into how science and scientists connect with general culture and society. The book is especially strong in its coverage of science and art, and science in film. Illustrations from Hollywood films and independent and experimental films increase the book's appeal. The book's mix of varied topics in science and technology, and of short and long pieces written in accessible style, will appeal to general readers.

Sustainable development is the key for the survival in 21st century. The natural resources are finite and cannot be used with impunity because we are the custodian of these resources and have responsibility to pass these to the next generation. This monumental task requires several major commitments and most important of them is to arrest population explosion which has already reached seven billion. Natural resources like air to breath, food to eat, and water to drink, and fossil fuel to maintain this life style are being overexploited. Unrestrained consuming culture will accelerate undesired situation. This situation will have more dire consequences in resource limited ecosystems like dry lands. Given the severe scarcity of water, ever increasing population and soil salinization out of the box solutions for the provision of food and clean energy is required to spare meager fresh water resources for conventional agriculture. This volume contains a number of articles dealing with halophyte ecology, bio-geography, ecophysiology, hyper-saline soils, biofuels, biosaline agriculture, biosaline landscaping, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity. It also contains the communication of innovative ideas, such as the research into floating mangroves, seagrass terraces, as well as a World Halophyte Garden containing all known salt-tolerant plant species. It is hoped that the information provided will not only advance vegetation science, but that it will truly generate more interdisciplinarity, networking, awareness, and inspire farmers, and agricultural and landscaping stakeholders to seriously engage in halophyte cash crop production in coastal hyper-saline areas.

MXene, a two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbide, nitride, and carbonitride, was discovered in 2011. MXene has great potential as a cocatalyst in the field of photocatalysis due to its unique properties and structure. MXene-Based Photocatalysts: Fabrication and Applications introduces readers to the fundamentals, preparation, microstructure characterization, and a variety of applications of MXene-based photocatalysts. The book is a comprehensive reference for MXene materials and provides an overview of the current literature on MXene-based photocatalysts. FEATURES Discusses preparation methods of MXenes Describes the morphology and microstructure of MXenes Offers strategies for fabricating MXene-based photocatalysts Details the reaction mechanism of MXene-based photocatalysts Covers applications in photocatalytic water-splitting, photocatalytic CO2 reduction, photocatalytic degradation, photocatalytic nitrogen fixation, and photocatalytic H2O2 production This book serves as an invaluable guide for advanced students, industry professionals, professors, and researchers in the field of materials science and engineering, photocatalysis, energy, and environmental applications.

This third edition provides new and updated chapters detailing a complete introduction to common and emerging procedures for characterizing the interactions of individual proteins with their natural ligands, drugs or other binding partners. Chapters detail natural substrates, potential drug leads, quantitative understanding of the mechanism of interaction, and different techniques. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, 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 accessible, Protein Ligand Interactions: Methods and Applications, Third Edition serves as an ideal guide for researchers new to the field of biophysical characterization of protein interactions.