Protein Structures: The Cooperative Substructure of Protein Molecules; Y. Bai, S.W. Englander. Protein Folding: Approaches to the Determination of More Accurate Crossrelaxation Rates and the Effects of Improved Distance Constraints on Protein Solution Structures; G.C. Hoogstraten, J.L. Markley. Protein Interactions: How Conventional Antigens and Superantigens Interact with the Human MHC Class II Molecule HLADR1; T. Jardetzky. Nucleic Acids and Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions: Stimulating the Dynamics of the DNA Double Helix in Solution; M. Hirshberg, M. Levitt. Membranes: Applications of Multidimensional Solidstate NMR Spectroscopy to Membrane Proteins; A. Ramamoorthy, et al. Carbohydrate Structure: Conformation, Mobility, and Function of the N-linked Glycan in the Adhesion Domain of Human CD2; G. Wagner, et al. Abstracts from Course: Protein Structures Abstracts: Solution Structure of the ETS-domain from Murine Ets1: A Winged-helix-turn-helix Motif; L.W. Donaldson. Protein Interactions Abstracts: Designing Mutant Hemoglobins; M. Madrid, et al. Nucleic Acids and Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions Abstracts: A Study on the Dynamics of a DNA Binding Protein; L.M. Horstink, et al. Poster Abstracts. 55 additional articles. Index.

This fully revised and updated new edition provides a comprehensive look at nitrite and nitrate and their effect on human health and disease. The first section describes the biochemical analysis of nitrite and nitrate and its role in human physiology. The book then shifts to sources of human exposure of nitrite and nitrate, including environmental and dietary. Finally, the last section discusses nitric oxide-based therapeutics and how nitrite and nitrate biochemistry can be safely harnessed to improve human health. Each chapter provides a balanced, evidence-based view and heavily cites the most recent published literature. They follow a strict chapter format which includes keywords, key points, a conclusion highlighting major findings, and extensive references. The second edition contains new chapters on nitrite and nitrate in age medicine, nitrite and nitrate as a treatment for hypertension, and nitrite and nitrate in exercise performance. Additionally, the editors have expanded the biochemistry section to include chapters on nitrate reducing oral bacteria, nitrite mediated S-Nitrosation, epigenetics and the regulation of nitric oxide, and nitrite control of mitochondrial function. Nitrate and Nitrite in Human Health and Disease, 2e, will be of interest to health professionals, nutritionists, dieticians, biomedical scientists, and food scientists.

This detailed volume explores numerous histochemical techniques through a series of lab-tested protocols for the detection of specific molecules or metabolic processes, both at light and electron microscopy. More in detail, the book is divided into six sections covering a variety of chemical targets. It begins with a section on vital histochemistry and continues with chapters on histochemistry as it relates to lectins, proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA, as well as plants. The volume also contains four overview chapters on vital histochemistry, lectin histochemistry, and DNA fluorochromes. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Histochemistry of Single Molecules: Methods and Protocols aims to effectively help scientists in very different research fields to elucidate biological issues though a unique approach to molecular biology in situ.

Introductory Paper: Fungal Dimorphism (D. Kerridge). Molecular Genetics of Morphogenic Processes: Molecular Control of Conidiogenesis in Aspergillus nidulans (W.E. Timberlake). Physics and Genetic Mapping of Candida albicans (B.B. Magee et al.). Cell Biology and Biochemsitry: Morphological Aspects of Fungal Dimorphism (M. Borgers). Nature and Control of Cell Wall Biosynthesis (M.G. Shepperd, P.K. Gopal). Dimorphism and Pathogenesis: Pathogenicity of Wangiella Dermatitidis (A. Polak, D.M. Dixon). Do Dimorphic Fungi More Easily Escape Host Defences and Treatment? (D.A. Stevens). Diagnosis and Treatment of Mycoses: Diagnosis of Histoplasmosis (J. Wheat). Morphological Aspects of Antifungal Agents (H. Yamaguchi et al.). 28 additional articles. Index.

This book addresses chemical and biological aspects related to sesquiterpene lactones (STLs). Experts in different fields have been invited to contribute on this class of compound's chemistry, isolation and identification, biological activities (antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitrypanosomal, antileishmanial,antiplasmodial, antiproliferative and antiinflammatory), synthesis, biosynthesis, derivatization and QSAR analysis. Taxonomic and chemotaxonomic aspects related to the Asteraceae family are also contributed. The book begins by describing the chemical characteristics of STLs, their classification in different skeleton types, synthesis, distribution in nature and their most important biological properties. An overview of the group's main representatives, based on their importance for human health, as well as an update of the most recently isolated STLs, follow. The authors also provide an overview of the most common methods described in the literature for the extraction, purification, identification and structure elucidation of STLs, while also highlighting more recently developed methods. Furthermore, experts in the field provide an in-depth discussion of the most commonly employed in vitro and in vivo antiprotozoal assays against the different stages of parasites, as well as STLs' properties as anticancer agents in numerous cancer cell lines and animal models. Lastly, the book presents examples of the in vitro and in vivo activity of STLs and their mechanism of antiprotozoal action, together with an analysis of ultrastructural alterations, observed using TEM techniques. The book is aimed at scientists working on natural products: both those investigating this particular group of compounds and those who wish to further explore its potential as new drugs for medical conditions such as protozoal diseases and cancer.

This book offers a thorough review of the scientific research that links the consumption of grapes to better health. The book starts with a basic review of grape biology, including the key families of phytochemicals found in grapes, and where they are found. An overview of the rationale for and subsequent creation of a standardized grape powder for use in basic and clinical research provides insight and understanding regarding its widespread use in grape-specific research today. The remaining chapters each thoroughly examine a key area of health, demonstrating a significant scope of impact on well-being. The book examines the role of grapes in supporting heart health under multiple angles: general cardiovascular effects, as well as specific effects directly linked to atherosclerosis and hypertension. Other emerging and important areas of health are examined, ranging from grapes and cancer, where grape consumption has been shown to protect healthy colon tissue; grapes and inflammation, where grapes have been shown to block inflammatory activity in immune cells of fat tissue; to brain health, where a grape-enriched diet has been shown to protect against neuronal damage due to loss of oxygen in the brain, as well as against oxidative stress-related anxiety and resulting memory loss; to grapes and eye health where grape consumption has been shown to protect the retina from damage.

This book presents a broad perspective on saponins as important natural products with a key role in plant defense. The presence of saponins has been reported in several plant species, and many types of saponins have been found to exhibit significant antifungal activities. In addition to their role in plant defense, saponins are of increasing interest for drug research, as they are active ingredients in several traditional medicines and hold potentially valuable pharmacological properties. In this book, the authors briefly introduce readers to saponin accumulation in various plant organs, with a specific focus on their structure classification and diversity. Readers will find detailed information on the saponin structure-activity relationship and saponins' vital role in sustainable agriculture as a chemical barrier to pathogen attack. The latest techniques for isolating, identifying, and quantifying saponins are also discussed. In the closing chapter, the authors outline the recent metabolic engineering strategies applied to improve saponin glycosides production and their potential applications in plant disease resistance. This book and the companion volume Bioactive Molecules in Plant Defense: Signaling in Growth and Stress offer vital resources for all researchers and students interested in plant pathology, mycology and sustainable agriculture.

This volume provides practical experimental laboratory protocols for a wide range of steroid bioconversions. The chapters in this book cover topics such as bioconversions and chemical synthesis pathways; strain characterization; bioconversion from sterols to androstenedione and androstadienedione; steroid hydroxylations; biocatalysis; and downstream processes to purify steroid intermediates. 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. Comprehensive and thorough, Microbial Steroids: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for laboratory and industrial professionals. It is also useful for graduate students studying biotechnology, microbiology, genetics, and molecular biology.

Rapid progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cell growth and oncogenesis during the past decade. Special attention has been given to the presentation of the frequently neglected close correlation between changes in signal transduction and metabolic pathways during oncogenesis. This book advances the knowledge of mechanisms regulating metabolism and functioning of vitamin A and offers the most recent results of research on the clinical efficiency of retinoids in skin disorders and cancer. The book presents recent findings on the regulation of cell growth in normal and neoplastic tissues by growth factors including hormones, and by the activation and inactivation of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, respectively. It also offers a survey of the molecular and cell biochemistry of retinoids. Basic researchers in biochemistry, pharmacology and cell biology as well as clinicians will find this book very informative and up-to-date. This book advances the knowledge of mechanisms regulating metabolism and functioning of vitamin A and offers the most recent results of research on clinical efficiency of retinoids in skin disorders and cancer. Basic researchers in biochemistry, pharmacology, cell biology, and clinicians will find this book very informative and up-to-date. The chapters, organized in six sections, are contributed by leading scientists who have been working in the retinoid field for decades. Their experience and competence is aknowledged worldwide.

Retinoids have received considerable attention in recent years and due cognizance has been given to their versatility as biological response modifiers, as evidenced by the virtually explosive growth of literature in this field in the past few years. This volume has been designed to give a current state-of-the-art picture of retinoids. The perceived potential of retinoids in the treatment of certain disease stated has initiated attempts at identifying and synthesizing new retinoid derivatives with definable and selective effects on aberrant biological phenomena. Appropriately, therefore, we begin with the chemistry of retinoids and their derivatives together with discussions of their biological activity. Major advances have been made in understanding the mechanisms by which retinoids modulate physiological and phenotypic traits of cells. The transduction of retinoid signaling by the mediation of nuclear receptors of the steroid/thyroid receptor superfamily has now been studied extensively and the cloning and defining the characteristics of these receptors has been a focus of discussion in this volume. Retinoids also markedly modulate the transduction of extracellular signals such as those imparted by growth factors and hormones, and thus actively influence and control cellular proliferative patterns. Retinoids can alter epidermal growth factor receptor expression (Kawaguchi et al., 1994), responsiveness to thyroid hormone (Esfandiari et al., 1994; Pallet et al., 1994), inhibit the proliferative responses of hematopoietic progenitor cells to granulocyte colony stimulating factor (Smeland et al., 1994), and modulate secretion on interleukins by leukaemic cells (Balitrand et al., 1994), among other things. This has obvious implications for pharmacological manipulation of deregulated growth (Dickens and Colletta, 1993; Mulshine et al., 1993). Apoptosis is another component in the regulation of growth control. Apoptotic cell death is influenced by several agents and retinoids may function by interfering with apoptotic pathways of regulation of growth control and quite legitimately, therefore, the importance of this aspect of retinoid function has been duly recognized here.

This up-to-date volume includes protocols that illustrate the broad use of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-related methods in a variety of biological research areas. The collection also includes protocols designed to improve the performance of ChIP for specific applications. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introduction to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, as well as tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation: Methods and Protocols features techniques, including bioinformatic analysis of ChIP data, will be of interest to a very broad research community in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, and biomedicine.

Nature, by dint of its constitution, harbors many unassuming mysteries broadly manifested by its constituent cohorts. If physics is the pivot that holds nature and chemistry provides reasons for its existence, then the rest is just manifestation. Nanoscience and technology harbor the congruence of these two core subjects, whereby many phenomenon may be studied in the same perspective. That nature operates at nanoscale-obeying the principles of thermodynamics and supramolecular chemistry-is a well understood fact manifested in a variety of life processes: bones are restored after a fracture; clots potentially leading to cerebral strokes can be dissolved. The regeneration of new structures in our system follows a bottom-up approach. Be it a microbe (benign or pathogenic), plant (lower or higher), plant parts/organs, food beneficiaries, animal (lower), higher animal processing wastes, these all are found to deliver nanomaterials under amenable processing conditions. Identically, the molecules also seem to obey the thermodynamic principles once they get dissociated/ionized and the energy captured in the form of bonding helps in the synthesis of a myriad of nanomaterials. This edited volume explores the various green sources of nanomaterial synthesis and evaluates their industrial and biomedical applications with a scope of scaling up. It provides useful information to researchers involved in the green synthesis of nanomaterials in fields ranging from medicine to integrated agricultural management.

This book discusses the latest developments in plant-mediated fabrication of metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles, and their characterization by using a variety of modern techniques. It explores in detail the application of nanoparticles in drug delivery, cancer treatment, catalysis, and as antimicrobial agent, antioxidant and the promoter of plant production and protection. Application of these nanoparticles in plant systems has started only recently and information is still scanty about their possible effects on plant growth and development. Accumulation and translocation of nanoparticles in plants, and the consequent growth response and stress modulation are not well understood. Plants exposed to these particles exhibit both positive and negative effects, depending on the concentration, size, and shape of the nanoparticles. The impact on plant growth and yield is often positive at lower concentrations and negative at higher ones. Exposure to some nanoparticles may improve the free-radical scavenging potential and antioxidant enzymatic activities in plants and alter the micro-RNAs expression that regulate the different morphological, physiological and metabolic processes in plant system, leading to improved plant growth and yields. The nanoparticles also carry out genetic reforms by efficient transfer of DNA or complete plastid genome into the respective plant genome due to their miniscule size and improved site-specific penetration. Moreover, controlled application of nanomaterials in the form of nanofertilizer offers a more synchronized nutrient fluidity with the uptake by the plant exposed, ensuring an increased nutrient availability. This book addresses these issues and many more. It covers fabrication of different/specific nanomaterials and their wide-range application in agriculture sector, encompassing the controlled release of nutrients, nutrient-use efficiency, genetic exchange, production of secondary metabolites, defense mechanisms, and the growth and productivity of plants exposed to different manufactured nanomaterials. The role of nanofertilizers and nano-biosensors for improving plant production and protection and the possible toxicities caused by certain nanomaterials, the aspects that are little explored by now, have also been generously elucidated.

Bioremediation refers to the clean-up of pollution in soil, groundwater, surface water, and air using typically microbiological processes. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade, transform or detoxify hazardous substances to human health or the environment. For bioremediation to be effective, microorganisms must enzymatically attack the pollutants and convert them to harmless products. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and action, its application often involves the management of ecological factors to allow microbial growth and degradation to continue at a faster rate. Like other technologies, bioremediation has its limitations. Some contaminants, such as chlorinated organic or high aromatic hydrocarbons, are resistant to microbial attack. They are degraded either gradually or not at all, hence, it is not easy to envisage the rates of clean-up for bioremediation implementation. Bioremediation represents a field of great expansion due to the important development of new technologies. Among them, several decades on metagenomics expansion has led to the detection of autochthonous microbiota that plays a key role during transformation. Transcriptomic guides us to know the expression of key genes and proteomics allow the characterization of proteins that conduct specific reactions. In this book we show specific technologies applied in bioremediation of main interest for research in the field, with special attention on fungi, which have been poorly studied microorganisms. Finally, new approaches in the field, such as CRISPR-CAS9, are also discussed. Lastly, it introduces management strategies, such as bioremediation application for managing affected environment and bioremediation approaches. Examples of successful bioremediation applications are illustrated in radionuclide entrapment and retardation, soil stabilization and remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, plastics or fluorinated compounds. Other emerging bioremediation methods include electro bioremediation, microbe-availed phytoremediation, genetic recombinant technologies in enhancing plants in accumulation of inorganic metals, and metalloids as well as degradation of organic pollutants, protein-metabolic engineering to increase bioremediation efficiency, including nanotechnology applications are also discussed.

The aim of this book is to show how supramolecular complexity of cell organization can dramatically alter the functions of individual macromolecules within a cell. The emergence of new functions which appear as a consequence of supramolecular complexity, is explained in terms of physical chemistry.
The book is interdisciplinary, at the border between cell biochemistry, physics and physical chemistry. This interdisciplinarity does not result in the use of physical techniques but from the use of physical concepts to study biological problems.
In the domain of complexity studies, most works are purely theoretical or based on computer simulation. The present book is partly theoretical, partly experimental and theory is always based on experimental results. Moreover, the book encompasses in a unified manner the dynamic aspects of many different biological fields ranging from dynamics to pattern emergence in a young embryo.
The volume puts emphasis on dynamic physical studies of biological events. It also develops, in a unified perspective, this new interdisciplinary approach of various important problems of cell biology and chemistry, ranging from enzyme dynamics to pattern formation during embryo development, thus paving the way to what may become a central issue of future biology.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the microbiological fundamentals and biotechnological applications of methanotrophs: aerobic proteobacteria that can utilize methane as their sole carbon and energy source. It highlights methanotrophs' pivotal role in the global carbon cycle, in which they remove methane generated geothermally and by methanogens. Readers will learn how methanotrophs have been employed as biocatalysts for mitigating methane gas and remediating halogenated hydrocarbons in soil and underground water. Recently, methane has also attracted considerable attention as a potential next-generation carbon feedstock for industrial biotechnology, because of its abundance and low price. Methanotrophs can be used as biocatalysts for the production of fuels, chemicals and biomaterials including methanobactin from methane under environmentally benign production conditions. Sharing these and other cutting-edge insights, the book offers a fascinating read for all scientists and students of microbiology and biotechnology.

This volume contains refereed manuscripts prepared from presentations made at the 27th annual meeting of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue (ISOTT). The meeting was held in Hanover, NH, USA, at Dartmouth Medical School.

Rice is a vitally important staple food for almost half of the world's population. As the global population increases, the demands for rice are expected to remain high. Since the rice industry will remain sustainable for a long time, the production of rice by-products will remain high. Substantial evidence suggests that rice by-products such as rice husk, rice straw, broken rice, rice germ, rice bran, and brewers' rice may possess beneficial effects against oxidative stress and metabolic disorders. These beneficial effects have been linked to the phytochemicals present in rice by-products such as vitamin E, dietary fiber, -oryzanol, -aminobutyric acid (GABA), and phytosterols. Despite this evidence, the literature pertaining to rice by-products and its derived components has not well been compiled. To this end, Rice By-products: Phytochemicals and Food Products Application provides full coverage of issues pertaining to rice by-products, namely rice demands and rice by-products production, phytonutrients and antioxidant properties of rice by-products, potential health benefits, application in food products, and future prospects. By summarizing all the information in a lucid and comprehensive manner, authors provide a cohesive representation of the literature on the molecular mechanisms involved in the pharmacological effects of the bioactive components that present in rice by-products, as well as plausible means for the prevention of metabolic disorders for readers and allied stakeholders.

This book presents various examples of how advanced fluorescence and spectroscopic analytical methods can be used in combination with computer data processing to address different biochemical questions. The main focus is on evolutionary biochemistry and the description of biochemical and metabolic issues; specifically, the use of pulse amplitude modulated fluorescence (PAM) for the functional analysis of the cellular state, as well as results obtained by means of the derivative spectroscopy method characterizing structural reorganization of a cell under the influence of external factors, are discussed. The topics presented here will be of interest to biologists, geneticists, biophysicists and biochemists, as well as experts in analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry and radio chemistry and radio activation studies with protonen and alpha-particles. It also offers a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in biological, physical and chemical disciplines whose work involves derivative spectrophotometry and PAM-fluorescence.

This volume provides protocol references covering recent developments in the aptamer field. Within the last decade, aptamers have become more and more popular, and their sophisticated biophysical properties together with their ability to be easily modified and, thus, adapted to various regimens makes them a very promising class of compounds. Divided into three sections, the book covers selection, a series of analytical methods to assess biophysical properties of aptamer-target interactions, as well as various applications of aptamers. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and easy to follow, Nucleic Acid Aptamers: Selection, Characterization, and Application provides a state-of-the-art summary of recent developments in the aptamer field and will be a helpful resource for scientists in the life sciences working with aptamers as tools to elucidate biological systems.