Biotechnology is a diverse, complex, and rapidly evolving field. Students and experienced researchers alike face the challenges of staying on top of developments in their field of specialty and maintaining a broader overview of the field as a whole. This latest volume of "Biotechnology Annual Review" comprises expert reviews on a diverse range of topics, ranging from gene expression microarray analysis to the use of ethnomedicines and ethnomedicinal phytophores to treat herpes viruses. Such a diverse range of review topics will keep biotechnologists of all levels up-to-date on the latest in the vast field of biotechnology and deepen their understanding of the many facets of the field as a whole.
*More than 150 figures elucidate and reinforce key points
*Inclusion of reviews of such hot-topics as arginine methylation in health and disease
*Wide variety of coverage keeps biotechnologists up-to-date on many facets of the field

This book provides recent developments and future perspectives of pulp and paper processing based on biotechnology to replace conventional environmental unfriendly chemical processes. The use of microorganism and microbial enzymes in various processes such as bleaching, deinking, refining, dissolving pulp, debarking & pitch removal, slime control, wastewater treatment and waste material valorisation are discussed.

Portable Biosensors and Point-of-Care Systems describes the principles, design and applications of a new generation of analytical and diagnostic biomedical devices, characterized by their very small size, ease of use, multi-analytical capabilities and speed to provide handheld and mobile point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. The book is divided in four Parts. Part I is an in-depth analysis of the various technologies upon which portable diagnostic devices and biosensors are built. In Part II, advances in the design and optimization of special components of biosensor systems and handheld devices are presented. In Part III, a wide scope of applications of portable biosensors and handheld POC devices is described, ranging from the support of primary healthcare to food and environmental safety screening. Diverse topics are covered, including counterterrorism, travel medicine and drug development. Finally, Part IV of the book is dedicated to the presentation of commercially available products including a review of the products of point-of-care in-vitro-diagnostics companies, a review of technologies which have achieved a high Technology Readiness Level, and a special market case study of POC infusion systems combined with intelligent patient monitoring. This book is essential reading for researchers and experts in the healthcare diagnostic and analytical sector, and for electronics and material engineers working on portable sensors.

New technologies will have an increasing effect on prospects for development and growth in the world economy. Technology and Innovation in the International Economy contains extensive and detailed assessments of two key areas of technological innovation which present both a threat and an opportunity for developing countries: microelectronics and biotechnology.The two major review essays - Jeffrey James on microelectronic technology and Martin Fransman on biotechnology - assess the impact of these new technologies on production, trade, employment and welfare in developing countries. The introduction by Charles Cooper deals with recent advances in the economics of innovation and diffusion of new technologies, and attempts to build a bridge between the study of technology in the industrial sectors of developed countries and the type of technology policy needed in the developing countries. Policymakers, researchers and students will welcome the clarity and breadth of this important volume which contains much original analysis and detailed information on a major issue confronting developing and developed nations alike.

Nanotechnology for Oral Drug Delivery: From Concept to Applications discusses the current challenges of oral drug delivery, broadly revising the different physicochemical barriers faced by nanotechnolgy-based oral drug delivery systems, and highlighting the challenges of improving intestinal permeability and drug absorption. Oral delivery is the most widely used form of drug administration due to ease of ingestion, cost effectiveness, and versatility, by allowing for the accommodation of different types of drugs, having the highest patient compliance. In this book, a comprehensive overview of the most promising and up-to-date engineered and surface functionalized drug carrier systems, as well as opportunities for the development of novel and robust delivery platforms for oral drug administration are discussed. The relevance of controlling the physicochemical properties of the developed particle formulations, from size and shape to drug release profile are broadly reviewed. Advances in both in vitro and in vivo scenarios are discussed, focusing on the possibilities to study the biological-material interface. The industrial perspective on the production of nanotechnology-based oral drug delivery systems is also covered. Nanotechnology for Oral Drug Delivery: From Concept to Applications is essential reading for researchers, professors, advanced students and industry professionals working in the development, manufacturing and/or commercialization of nanotechnology-based systems for oral drug delivery, targeted drug delivery, controlled drug release, materials science and biomaterials, in vitro and in vivo testing of potential oral drug delivery technologies.

The observation of nature has been the inspiration for many materials, laws, and theories, as well as computational methods. Nature-Inspired computing Design, Development, and Applications covers all the main areas of natural computing, from methods to computationally synthesized natural phenomena, to computing paradigms based on natural materials. This volume is comprised of ideas and research from nature to develop computational systems or materials to perform computation. Researchers, academic educators, and professionals will find a comprehensive view of all aspects of natural computing with emphasis on its main branches.

The Future of Pharmaceutical Product Development and Research examines the latest developments in the pharmaceutical sciences, also highlighting key developments, research and future opportunities. Written by experts in the field, this volume in the Advances in Pharmaceutical Product Development and Research series deepens our understanding of the product development phase of drug discovery and drug development. Each chapter covers fundamental principles, advanced methodologies and technologies employed by pharmaceutical scientists, researchers and the pharmaceutical industry. The book focuses on excipients, radiopharmaceuticals, and how manufacturing should be conducted in an environment that follows Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines. Researchers and students will find this book to be a comprehensive resource for those working in, and studying, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biotechnology, foods and related industries.

This book bridges the communication gap between neuroscientists and engineers through the unifying theme of correlation-based learning

Developing brain-style signal processing or machine learning algorithms has attracted many sharp minds from a range of disciplines. Now, coauthored by four researchers with varying backgrounds in signal processing, neuroscience, psychology, and computer science, Correlative Learning unifies the many cross-fertilized ideas in computational neuroscience and signal processing in a common language that will help engineers understand and appreciate the human brain as a highly sophisticated biosystem for building more intelligent machines.

First, the authors present the necessary neuroscience background for engineers, and then go on to relate the common intrinsic structures of the learning mechanisms of the brain to signal processing, machine learning, kernel learning, complex-valued domains, and the ALOPEX learning paradigm.

This correlation-based approach to building complex, reliable (robust), and adaptive systems is vital for engineers, researchers, and graduate students from various fields of science and engineering. Figures, tables, worked examples, and case studies illustrate how to use computational tools for either helping to understand brain functions or fitting specific engineering applications, and a comprehensive bibliography covering over 1,000 references from major publications is included for further reading.