Nicotine and Other Tobacco Compounds in Neurodegenerative and Psychiatric Diseases: Epidemiological Data on Smoking and Preclinical and Clinical Data on Nicotine provides a comprehensive summary of the epidemiological data on smoking and several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Tourette's syndrome, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and ADHD, as well as preclinical and clinical data on the effects of nicotine. Despite the obvious and undisputed harmful nature of smoking, evidence suggests that some tobacco and tobacco smoke-derived constituents may offer neuroprotective effects, possibly in combinations, rather than individually. This unprecedented book describes the complex relationships between smoking and neurological disease and the bioactive compounds found in tobacco. It provides a comprehensive review of nicotine and other compounds found in tobacco plant, with scientific evidence of neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects that may act in conjunction with nicotine to exert neuroprotective effects observed in smokers. By presenting findings beyond harmful cigarette smoke effects, attention can be drawn to individual compounds of tobacco that may serve as inspiration for further therapy development.

Evolutionary ecology includes aspects of community structure, trophic interactions, life-history tactics, and reproductive modes, analyzed from an evolutionary perspective. Freshwater environments often impose spatial structure on populations, e.g. within large lakes or among habitat patches, facilitating genetic and phenotypic divergence. Traditionally, freshwater systems have featured prominently in ecological research and population biology.

This book brings together information on diverse freshwater taxa, with a mix of critical review, synthesis, and case studies. Using examples from bryozoans, rotifers, cladocerans, molluscs, teleosts and others, the authors cover current conceptual issues of evolutionary ecology in considerable depth.

The book can serve as a source of critically evaluated ideas, detailed case studies, and open problems in the field of evolutionary ecology. It is recommended for students and researchers in ecology, limnology, population biology, and evolutionary biology.

This internationally authored volume presents major findings, concepts, and methods of behavioral neuroscience coordinated with their simulation via neural networks. A central theme is that biobehaviorally constrained simulations provide a rigorous means to explore the implications of relatively simple processes for the understanding of cognition (complex behavior). Neural networks are held to serve the same function for behavioral neuroscience as population genetics for evolutionary science. The volume is divided into six sections, each of which includes both experimental and simulation research: (1) neurodevelopment and genetic algorithms, (2) synaptic plasticity (LTP), (3) sensory/hippocampal systems, (4) motor systems, (5) plasticity in large neural systems (reinforcement learning), and (6) neural imaging and language. The volume also includes an integrated reference section and a comprehensive index.

White biotechnology, or industrial biotechnology as it is also known, refers to the use of living cells and/or their enzymes to create industrial products that are more easily degradable, require less energy, create less waste during production and sometimes perform better than products created using traditional chemical processes. Over the last decade considerable progress has been made in white biotechnology research, and further major scientific and technological breakthroughs are expected in the future. Fungi are ubiquitous in nature and have been sorted out from different habitats, including extreme environments (high temperature, low temperature, salinity and pH), and may be associated with plants (epiphytic, endophytic and rhizospheric). The fungal strains are beneficial as well as harmful for human beings. The beneficial fungal strains may play important roles in the agricultural, industrial, and medical sectors. The fungal strains and their products (enzymes, bioactive compounds, and secondary metabolites) are very useful for industry (e.g., the discovery of penicillin from Penicillium chrysogenum). This discovery was a milestone in the development of white biotechnology as the industrial production of penicillin and antibiotics using fungi moved industrial biotechnology into the modern era, transforming it into a global industrial technology. Since then, white biotechnology has steadily developed and now plays a key role in several industrial sectors, providing both high value nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. The fungal strains and bioactive compounds also play an important role in environmental cleaning. This volume covers the latest developments and research in white biotechnology with a focus on diversity and enzymes.

This is the first detailed assessment of the development and implementation of social policy to deal with the problem of the `mentally deficient' in Britain between 1870 and 1959. Mathew Thomson analyses all the factors involved in the policy-making process, beginning with the politics of the legislature and showing how the demands of central government were interpreted by local authorities, resulting in a wide and varied distribution of medical, institutional, and community care in different parts of the country. The efforts of health professionals, voluntary organizations and the families themselves are considered, alongside questions about the influence of changing concepts of class, gender, and citizenship. The author queries the belief that the policy of segregation was largely unsuccessful, and reveals a hitherto unrecognized system of care in the community. He reframes our understanding of the campaign for sterilization and examines why British policy-makers avoided extremist measures such as the compulsory sterilization introduced in Germany and parts of the US during this period. Thomson shows that the problem of mental deficiency cannot be understood simply in terms of eugenics but must also be considered as part of the process of adjusting to democracy in the twentieth century.

A TIMES ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 'The ideal guide to what is not just a fiendishly complex area of science but also an ethical minefield' Mail on Sunday A new gene editing technology, invented just seven years ago, has turned humanity into gods. Enabling us to manipulate the genes in virtually any organism with exquisite precision, CRISPR has given scientists a degree of control that was undreamt of even in science fiction. But CRISPR is just the latest, giant leap in a long journey to master genetics. The Genetic Age shows the astonishing, world-changing potential of the new genetics and the possible threats it poses, sifting between fantasy and the reality when it comes to both benefits and dangers. By placing each phase of discovery, anticipation and fear in the context of over fifty years of attempts to master the natural world, Matthew Cobb, the Baillie-Gifford-shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain, weaves the stories of science, history and culture to shed new light on our future. With the powers now at our disposal, it is a future that is almost impossible to imagine - but it is one we will create ourselves.

DNA Repair Enzymes, Part A, Volume 591 is the latest volume in the Methods in Enzymology series and the first part of a thematic that focuses on DNA repair enzymes. Topics in this new release include chapters on the Optimization of Native and Formaldehyde iPOND Techniques for Use in Suspension Cells, the Proteomic Analyses of the Eukaryotic Replication Machinery, DNA Fiber Analysis: Mind the Gap!, Comet-FISH for Ultrasensitive Strand-Specific Detection of DNA Damage in Single Cells, Examining DNA Double-Strand Break Repair in a Cell Cycle-Dependent Manner, Base Excision Repair Variants in Cancer, and Fluorescence-Based Reporters for Detection of Mutagenesis in E. coli.

Brain Research in Addiction, Volume 235, the latest volume in this groundbreaking series on addiction, presents the neurobiological, pathological, cognitive and evolutionary aspects of addiction, with new chapters covering the Neurobiology of drug intake escalation, the Role of the orexinergic system in reward, Mental time travel and addictive behaviors, An evolutionary perspective on addiction- Addiction is the price we pay for innovation and adaptability, and how Cocaine exposure affects object-place recognition memory in non-human primates. Chapters in this serial are presented by leading researchers from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, who present addiction research from the bottom up, including how addiction evolved, basic research on animal models, and the psychiatric, psychological and cognitive characteristics of addictive behaviors in humans.

This book provides information about the nontarget nature of selected soil enzymes which are implicated in soil fertility and health and the methods for their assay. It also shows how these soil enzymes are affected by two different pesticides, buprofezin and acephate, used both extensively and intensively in modern agriculture.

This book presents a compilation of case studies from different countries on achieving agricultural sustainability. The book stresses that, in order to meet the needs of our rapidly growing population, it is imperative to increase agricultural productivity. If global food production is to keep pace with an increasing population, while formulating new food production strategies for developing countries, the great challenge for modern societies is to boost agricultural productivity. Today, the application of chemicals to enhance plant growth or induced resistance in plants is limited due to the negative effects of chemical treatment and the difficulty of determining the optimal concentrations to benefit the plant. In the search for alternative means to solve these problems, biological applications have been extensively studied. Naturally occurring plant-microbe-environment interactions are utilized in many ways to enhance plant productivity. As such, a greater understanding of how plants and microbes coexist and benefit one another can yield new strategies to improve plant productivity in the most sustainable way. Developing sustainable agricultural practices requires understanding both the basic and applied aspects of agriculturally important microorganisms, with a focus on transforming agricultural systems from being nutrient-deficient to nutrient-rich. This work is divided into two volumes, the aim being to provide a comprehensive description and to highlight a holistic approach, respectively. Taken together, the two volumes address the fundamentals, applications, research trends and new prospects of agricultural sustainability.  Volume one consists of two sections, with the first addressing the role of microbes in sustainability, and the second exploring beneficial soil microbe interaction in several economically important crops. Section I elucidates various mechanisms and beneficial natural processes that enhance soil fertility and create rhizospheric conditions favourable for high fertility and sustainable soil flora. It examines the mechanism of action and importance of rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal associations in soil. In turn, section II presents selected case studies involving economically important crops. This section explains how agriculturally beneficial microbes have been utilized in sustainable cultivation with high productivity. Sustainable food production without degrading the soil and environmental quality is a major priority throughout the world, making this book a timely addition. It offers a comprehensive collection of information that will benefit students and researchers working in the field of rhizospheric mechanisms, agricultural microbiology, biotechnology, agronomy and sustainable agriculture, as well as policymakers in the area of food security and sustainable agriculture.

Medicine, Power, and the Law demonstrates that criminal and civil justice interact with medicine and public health more than is presently understood. The book focuses on the role of healthcare practitioners and an array of other professionals across industries in identifying wrongdoers, reporting behavior, and testifying on behalf of the state or government agencies. It also covers circumstances in which law enforcement relies on medicine for evidence or support in ways that compromise medical ethics. By reporting or testifying as experts, a range of people, from specialist pediatricians to flight attendants, can have a life-changing impact on individuals in the name of public health or medicine. People who work in hospitals, social work settings, and even airlines, often contribute to wrongful and aggressive criminal and civil actions against society's most vulnerable people, including parents, older adults, and people living with poverty. The book explores a number of examples, including police use of medicine as a restraint or the collection of blood as evidence and the risks of opting out of certain scientific discoveries, such as pharmaceuticals. It describes the harms that may come to those who engage in suboptimal but generally heretofore legal child-raising behaviors, and people opting to live independently as older adults. These can lead to civil and criminal charges when noticed by those in a position of power. Medicine, Power, and the Law is an important contribution for researchers and practitioners in medicine, the law, and the expanding field of bioethics.

Functional Neural Transplantation IV: Translation to Clinical Application, Volume 230 provides the current status of cell transplantation in the nervous system, with a focus on the conditions for achieving structural repair and functional recovery after brain damage or in neurodegenerative disease. New to this release are chapters that delve into the Mechanisms and Use of Neural Transplants for Brain Repair, Reprogramming of Somatic Cells: iPS and iN Cells, Brain Repair from Intrinsic Cell Sources: Turning Reactive Glia into Neurons, and Ex Vivo Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Neurological Disorders, Preparation, Characterization and Banking of Clinical-grade Cells for Neural Transplantation. As the fourth in a periodic series of updates at 5-7 year intervals, this volume highlights recent developments related to the application of advances in cellular and molecular science, providing an understanding of the fundamental principles of neuroplasticity and regeneration in the brain and spinal cord, and also addressing the topic of the power of pluripotent stem cells to generate new sources of precisely specified neurons for utilization in brain repair.

This book encompasses the body of available scientific information on the notothenioid fish Pleuragramma antarctica commonly known as Antarctic silverfish. This plankton-feeder of the intermediate trophic level is the most abundant fish in the coastal regions of high Antarctica, and plays a pivotal ecological role as the main prey of top predators like seals, penguins, whales and Antarctic toothfish. Broad circum-polar distribution, a key role in the Antarctic shelf pelagic ecosystem, and adaptations makes understanding the species' likely response to environmental change relevant to foresee the potential responses at the local ecosystem level. Additionally, a detailed understanding of the abundance and trophic interactions of such a dominant keystone species is a vital element of informing the development of marine spatial planning and marine protected areas in the Antarctic continental shelf region. Experts in the field provide here unique insights into the evolutionary adaptation, eco-physiology, trophic ecology, reproductive and population ecology of the Antarctic silverfish and provide new clues about its vulnerability in facing the challenges of the ongoing environmental changes.

The use of models has been important to the historical and contemporary study of the human brain, yet very little study by social scientists has been dedicated to how the brain sciences develop and use models to better understand what brains are and how they work, including the complex entanglements between brains, bodies and their environments. Vital Models: The Making and Use of Models in the Brain Sciences explores the history and use of brain models from clinical psychiatry to psychopharmacology and cybernetics, as well as developments in digital brain modeling, simulation, imaging and connectomics. This timely volume helps both scientists and students better understand the variety, strengths, weaknesses and applicability of models in neuroscience.

Advances in Agronomy, Volume 144, the newest release in a serial that continues to be recognized as a leading reference and first-rate source for the latest research in agronomy presents new information on the following topics: An Important Tool with No Instruction Manual: A Review of Gypsum Use in Agriculture, Preventive Weed Management in Direct-Seeded Rice: Targeting the Weed Seedbank, Current Approaches and Future Trends in Compost Quality Criteria for Agronomic, Environmental and Human Health Benefits, and Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems. This highly regarded series contains an eclectic group of reviews by leading scientists throughout the world. As always, the subjects covered are rich, varied and comprehensively covered.

Non-motor Parkinson's: The Hidden Face, Volume 133, the first part of the latest volume in the International Review of Neurobiology series, is an up-to-date, comprehensive textbook addressing the non-motor aspects of Parkinson's disease, a key unmet need. Chapters in this new release include topics such as The hidden face of Parkinson's, JP and non-motor symptoms, Parkinson's: a complex non-motor disease, Neuropathology of NMS of PD, Neurophysiology and animal models related to NMS in PD, Epidemiology of NMS in PD (cohort studies), Genes and NMS in PD, NMS in genetic forms of PD, and Imaging the NMS in PD. Including practical tips for non-specialists and clinical algorithms, this book contains contributions from over 40 opinion leaders in the field of movement disorders, covering the topic from laboratory, to bedside, to caregiver.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a ubiquitous and important messenger in the nervous system, with a wide range of physiological roles. It is involved in the body energy balance and is one of the most potent stimuli of food intake known. NPY also acts to regulate central and peripheral autonomic functions.
This book, written by academic and industrial experts in the field, links the most recent basic experimental knowledge about NPY and its receptors with areas of clinical importance.
This book will be of interest to those working in all areas of research affected by NPY, such as food intake and energy homeostasis, cardiovascular regulation and G-protein-coupled receptors, as well as those interested in the development of drugs as NPY targets.
Key Features
* The hypothalamic role of NPY and its relationship with eating disorders and diabetes
* The sympathetic nervous system role of NPY and its involvement in cardiovascular disorders
* Characterization of NPY receptor types and their brain distribution, molecular biology and pharmacology
* Development of peptide and non-peptide receptor antagonists