New Perspectives on Early Social-Cognitive Development, Volume 258 in the Progress in Brain Research series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on topics such as Dynamics of Coordinated Attention, Investigating the Role of Neural Body Maps in Early Social-Cognitive Development: New Insights from Infant MEG and EEG, Motion tracking in developmental research: Methodological considerations and social-cognitive developmental applications, Early maturation of the social brain: How brain development provides a platform for the acquisition of social-cognitive competence, Getting a grip on early intention understanding: The role of motor, cognitive, and social factors, and much more.

Placebo Effects in Neurologic Disease, Volume 153, the latest release in the International Review of Neurobiology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on Background and Methods in Placebo, Better than Nothing: A Historical Account of Placebos and Placebo Effects from Modern to Contemporary Medicine, Determinants of PE, Strategies for Minimizing PE in Research, Maximizing placebo response in the clinic, Statistical methods for handling PE, Nocebo and Lessebo effects, Ethics of deception, Pain, Parkinson's Disease, Cognitive impairment, Epilepsy, and much more.

Naturally Occurring Chemicals against Alzheimer's Disease offers a detailed discussion on the roles, molecular mechanisms, structural activity relationships, toxicology and clinical data on phytochemicals in relation to Alzheimer's disease. The book examines the available phytochemicals and plants that are potentially effective, also determining the role and molecular targets of these phytochemicals in combating AD. This comprehensive resource will be helpful to researchers who are working on herbal drugs on AD, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, clinical trials, neuroscience and advancement in formulations.

Policy Issues in Genetically Modified Crops: A Global Perspective contains both theoretical and empirical evidence of a broad range of aspects of GM crop policies throughout the world. Emphasizing world agriculture production and ethics of GM crops, the book balances insights into the various discussions around the use of GM crops including soil health, effects on animals, environmental sustainability impact, and ethical issues. The book presents aspects of GM crop policies and prevailing controversies throughout the world, in 5 sections containing 23 chapters. Beginning with the discussion of the policies related to GM crops, the book dives deep into issues related to food insecurity, agricultural sustainability, food safety, and environmental risks. Section 5 also captures the recent advances in agricultural biotechnology encompassing research trends, the nano-biotech approach to plant genetic engineering, and other transformation techniques in crop development. The contributors of the book represent different backgrounds, providing a holistic overview of diverse approaches and perspectives. Policy Issues in Genetically Modified Crops: A Global Perspective is a valuable resource for researchers in agricultural policy and economics, agricultural biotechnology, soil science, genetic engineering, ethics, environmental management, sustainable development, and NGOs.

Environmental heat stress is associated with a marked decrease in orthostatic tolerance (OT), which is defined as the ability to stand or sit upright without symptoms of dizziness, lightheadedness, presyncope, or fainting. In most healthy humans, the autonomic nervous system makes rapid and balanced adjustments to heart rate and peripheral blood flow, such that most people are able to stand up "successfully" most of the time, in most environments. The goal of this book is to discuss various aspects of the sympathetic neural response to heat stress, how the sympathetic nervous system coordinates the successful integrative physiological response to orthostasis, and what happens when it encounters both challenges simultaneously. We include overviews of mechanisms of thermoregulation and blood pressure regulation in humans, with particular focus on control of cardiac output and neurovascular control mechanisms during heat stress. We discuss the implications that these changes have for distribution of peripheral blood flow and, in particular, for blood flow to the cerebral circulation. The added stressor of dehydration is also discussed, as it so often goes hand in hand with heat stress. We end with a brief presentation of countermeasures against the decreases in OT with heat stress.

Urban Ecology covers the latest theoretical and applied concepts in urban ecological research. This book covers the key environmental issues of urban ecosystems as well as the human-centric issues, particularly those of governance, economics, sociology and human health. The goal of Urban Ecology is to challenge readers' thinking around urban ecology from a resource-based approach to a holistic and applied field for sustainable development. There are seven major themes of the book: emerging urban concepts and urbanization, land use/land cover change, urban social-ecological systems, urban environment, urban material balance, smart, healthy and sustainable cities and sustainable urban design. Within each section, key concepts such as monitoring the urbanization phenomena, land use cover, urban soil fluxes, urban metabolism, pollution and human health and sustainable cities are covered. Urban Ecology serves as a comprehensive and advanced book for students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers in urban ecology and urban environmental research, planning and practice.

Navigating Life Transitions for Meaning explores the central human motivation of meaning making, and its counterpart, meaning disruption. The book describes different types of specific transitions, details how specific transitions affect an individual differently, and provides appropriate clinical approaches. The book examines the effects of life transitions on the component parts of meaning in life, including making sense (coherence), driving life goals (purpose), significance (mattering), and continuity. The book covers a range of transitions, including developmental (e.g., adolescence to adulthood), personal (e.g., illness onset, becoming a parent, and bereavement), and career (e.g., military deployment, downshifting, and retiring). Life transitions are experienced by all persons, and the influence of those transitions are tremendous. It is essential for clinicians to understand how transitions can disrupt life and how to help clients successfully navigate these changes.

Rigor and Reproducibility in Genetics and Genomics: Peer-reviewed, Published, Cited provides a full methodological and statistical overview for researchers, clinicians, students, and post-doctoral fellows conducting genetic and genomic research. Here, active geneticists, clinicians, and bioinformaticists offer practical solutions for a variety of challenges associated with several modern approaches in genetics and genomics, including genotyping, gene expression analysis, epigenetic analysis, GWAS, EWAS, genomic sequencing, and gene editing. Emphasis is placed on rigor and reproducibility throughout, with each section containing laboratory case-studies and classroom activities covering step-by-step protocols, best practices, and common pitfalls. Specific genetic and genomic technologies discussed include microarray analysis, DNA-seq, RNA-seq, Chip-Seq, methyl-seq, CRISPR gene editing, and CRISPR-based genetic analysis. Training exercises, supporting data, and in-depth discussions of rigor, reproducibility, and ethics in research together deliver a solid foundation in research standards for the next generation of genetic and genomic scientists.

Gene Environment Interactions: Nature and Nurture in the Twenty-first Century offers a rare, synergistic view of ongoing revelations in gene environment interaction studies, drawing together key themes from epigenetics, microbiomics, disease etiology, and toxicology to illuminate pathways for clinical translation and the paradigm shift towards precision medicine. Across eleven chapters, Dr. Smith discusses interactions with the environment, human adaptations to environmental stimuli, pathogen encounters across the centuries, epigenetic modulation of gene expression, transgenerational inheritance, the microbiome's intrinsic effects on human health, and the gene-environment etiology of cardiovascular, metabolic, psychiatric, behavioral and monogenic disorders. Later chapters illuminate how our new understanding of gene environment interactions are driving advances in precision medicine and novel treatments. In addition, the book's author shares strategies to support clinical translation of these scientific findings to improve heath literacy among the general population.

Glaucoma: A Pancitopatia of the Retina and Beyond, Volume 257, the latest release in the Progress in Brain Research series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors. Chapters in this volume include the Genetics of glaucoma, Artificial intelligence and deep learning in glaucoma detection and monitoring, The role of commensal microflora-induced T cells responses in glaucoma neurodegeneration, Retinal cell death in experimental glaucoma, Experimental and clinical evidence on the neuroprotective properties of Citicoline in glaucoma, Glaucoma neurodegeneration and myopia, Neuronal regeneration with pluripotent stem cells in glaucoma, and more.

Improving Cereal Productivity through Climate Smart Practices is based on the presentations of the 4th International Group Meeting on "Wheat productivity enhancement through climate smart practices," and moves beyond the presentations to provide additional depth and breadth on this important topic. Focused specifically on wheat, and with chapters contributed by globally renowned pioneers in the field of cereal science, the book helps readers understand climate change and its effects on different aspects of wheat production in different parts of the world. This book will be important for those in research and industry seeking to contribute to the effective feeding of the world's population.

Storing Digital Binary Data into Cellular DNA demonstrates how current digital information storage systems have short longevity and limited capacity, also pointing out that their production and consumption of data exceeds supply. Author Rocky Termanini explains the DNA system and how it encodes vast amounts of data, then presents information on the emergence of DNA as a storage technology for the ever-growing stream of data being produced and consumed. The book will be of interest to a range of readers looking to understand this game-changing technology, including researchers in computer science, biomedical engineers, geneticists, physicians, clinicians, law enforcement and cybersecurity experts.

Plant Life under Changing Environment: Responses and Management presents the latest insights, reflecting the significant progress that has been made in understanding plant responses to various changing environmental impacts, as well as strategies for alleviating their adverse effects, including abiotic stresses. Growing from a focus on plants and their ability to respond, adapt, and survive, Plant Life under Changing Environment: Responses and Management addresses options for mitigating those responses to ensure maximum health and growth. Researchers and advanced students in environmental sciences, plant ecophysiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, nano-pollution climate change, and soil pollution will find this an important foundational resource.

Preclinical Research in Down Syndrome: From Bench to Bedside, Volume 251, the latest release in the Progress in Brain Research series, highlights new advances in the field. Chapters in this updated release include Exploring genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in Dow syndrome, The trisomy paradox: gene expression dysregulation domains, the Influence of allelic differences in mouse models of Down syndrome, Modelling Down syndrome in cells: From stem cells to organoids, Modelling Down syndrome in animals from the early stage to the new generation of models, Mapping behavioral landscapes in Down syndrome animal models, and more.

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Providers and the Clinical Laboratory in Understanding Who Is Vulnerable covers the important aspects that are essential in fighting the opioid epidemic. This succinct reference highlights how the toxicology laboratory can play a vital role in fighting the opioid epidemic by implementing a robust system for drugs of abuse testing as well as drug testing in pain management patients. It targets health care professionals in a technical manner, discussing polymorphisms of important genes that may be associated with increased vulnerability of alcohol and drug addiction to an individual.

The Genomic and Molecular Cardiovascular Medicine largely focuses on pertinent genomic and molecular aspects of cardiovascular medicine relevant to all levels of clinical practice, from primary care to preventive healthcare. The book also focuses on practice applications of translational genomic and molecular developments and advances that impact on cardiovascular system structure and function. Each chapter is evidence-based and comprehensive, with in-depth, cutting-edge knowledge relevant to the practice of clinical cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. The book aims to fill a major gap of knowledge resource focused on genomic and molecular aspects of contemporary cardiovascular medicine and surgery practice. In view of scientific and technical complexities of the field, the book is written by a team of globally acknowledged experts in respective clinical, investigative, therapeutic and preventive aspects. The current practices within cardiovascular medicine and surgery offer excellent opportunity for genomic and molecular applications to achieve the high order effectiveness with maximum efficiency.

Foundations of the Mind, Brain, and Behavioral Relationships: Understanding Physiological Psychology is an engaging introduction into neuroscience, and the portions of the nervous system, perception, and the clinical considerations in physiological psychology. "Clinical Applications" appear throughout the chapters and provide real-world examples of brain–behavior relationships, and how the nervous system interacts with other body systems to create a specific behavior. Creating an interactive experience for learners, this volume connects the study of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology with clinically relevant topics, ranging from stress and eating disorders to substance abuse, major affective disorders, and schizophrenia. Integrating the foundations of neuroscience with disorders encountered in clinical practice serves as a foundation to better understand the clinical bases of these conditions. Coauthored by clinical neuropsychologists, this book is for those interested in learning about the underpinnings of the mind, brain, and human behaviors in normal and divergent functioning.

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and first-rate source for the latest research in agronomy. Each volume contains an eclectic group of reviews by leading scientists throughout the world. As always, the subjects covered are rich, varied and exemplary of the abundant subject matter addressed by this long-running serial.

Sex, Gender, and Epigenetics: From Molecule to Bedside explores the complex interplay of sex and gender-based influences on gene expression via epigenetic mechanisms. The book provides an overview of the field and evidence gathered to-date that is followed by a discussion of epigenetic pathways by which biological sex and the impact of the environment collaborate to regulate genetic function. The book also analyzes the impact of ancestors' environmental experience on subsequent generations and describes the nature of sex-specific transmission of environmentally induced epigenetic modifications. Here, international leaders in the field discuss both sex-specific normal physiology and the experience of disease, with chapters dedicated to fetal programming, microbiome, cancer, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, embryogenesis, and oocyte aging, among other topics.

Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics: Emphasis on Nanotechnological Advances presents the latest information on the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly. Despite remarkable progress in various PD therapeutics, such as microRNAs and brain drug delivery systems, a few limitations impede their success. This book sheds light on the pros and cons of recently developed novel therapeutics. Very few books have highlighted the protective efficacy of natural products, antioxidants, and biomaterial design for other diseases.