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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Life sciences: general issues
Arguing About Bioethics is a fresh and exciting collection of essential readings in bioethics, offering a comprehensive introduction to and overview of the field. Influential contributions from established philosophers and bioethicists, such as Peter Singer, Thomas Nagel, Judith Jarvis Thomson and Michael Sandel, are combined with the best recent work in the subject. Organised into clear sections, readings have been chosen that engage with one another, and often take opposing views on the same question, helping students get to grips with the key areas of debate. All the core issues in bioethics are covered, alongside new controversies that are emerging in the field, including:
Each extract selected is clear, stimulating and free from unnecessary jargon. The editor 's accessible and engaging section introductions make Arguing About Bioethics ideal for those studying bioethics for the first time, while more advanced readers will be challenged by the rigorous and thought-provoking arguments presented in the readings.
Coordination compounds have been well-known for their wide variety of applications for over a century, as well as enhancing the researcher's interest and concern in evaluating their action mechanism. It is certainly one of the most intensely discussed research topics. Coordination compounds involve different metal-ion-ligand phenomenon. The involved metal ions play a significant role in structural association and functioning of several processes in the genetic and metabolism system. In recent years, Schiff base ligands have gained significant interest and received a keen interest of many researchers. Schiff's base ligands have been recognized to hold a wide variety of biological and medicinal activities due to the presence of donor atoms. They have proved exceptional pharmalogical actions such as antimicrobial, anti-tuberclosis, antiplatelet, antidiabetic, antiarthritis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, antimalarial, and analgesic. These biologically active Schiff base ligands have also been shown to inhibit enzyme mobilization and, when bound to a metal ion, exhibit enhanced biological activity, making them useful in a number of fields. As a result, metal complexes of Schiff base ligands are gaining popularity due to their unique properties and functionalities. Schiff base complex-based research for educational and industrial purposes is booming, and the number of publications is gradually increasing. Despite these interests, there is currently no detailed book on Schiff base metal complexes that covers the structures, biological activities, and other non-biological perspectives. This book delves into the structures of Schiff base metal complexes, which are critical in assessing the biological viability of any complex. It also highlights their biological significance in pharma and drug discovery like antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritis, anti-diabetic, antioxidants, anti-proliferative, antitumor, anticancer, antiviral. The fundamentals of metal complexes are described, as well as an up-to-date outline of developments in synthesis, characterization methods, properties- chemical, thermal, optical, structural, and applications. This book also discusses the other applications of Schiff base metal complexes: as sensor (luminescent, electrochemical, and biosensor), as pigments in dying and paint industries, as photocatalyst to improve the degradation rate. Features : This book would be useful for academia, researchers and engineers working in the area of Schiff base and their metal complexes. This book will give an in-depth account of the properties of Schiff base and their metal complexes. This book will discuss the details of synthesis methods for Schiff base and their metal complexes. This book will cover emerging trends in the use of Schiff base metal complexes in the industry. This book will provide an overview of the wider biological applications of Schiff base metal complexes
Unique and timely volume as mRNA is a hot area of research making great strides. Covers the full-scale production systems that are needed to develop vaccines as well as elements of data needed to secure the IND approvals. Introduces a commercial-scale manufacturing process using novel techniques like the PCR, in addition to the traditional plasmid DNA. First book that offers commercial technology for developing and large-scale supply of mRNA products. Renowned author and entrepreneur in the field of drug discovery and production.
Evolution: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the history, development and science of the theory of evolution. Beginning pre-Darwin and concluding with the latest research and controversies, readers are introduced to the origins of the idea of evolution, the ways in which it has developed and been adapted over time and the science underpinning it all. Topics addressed include: ? early theories of evolution Evolution: The Basics examines the role of evolution in current debates and discusses the possible future developments in the field. This book is invaluable reading for all students and individuals seeking to understand the wide ranging sphere of evolutionary theory.
* Part of the new Essays in Social Neuroscience series which features cutting-edge research in this growing field * Includes chapters from leading international contributors using social neuroscientific methods to provide a global view of intergroup relations * Ideal for students and researchers examining intergroup relations from a social neuroscientific perspective, or who are using social neuroscience methods for the first time
Provides an introduction to renewable energy for scientists and engineers, addressing the science and technology of all types of renewable energy in detail, as well as nonrenewables. Includes new chapters covering population dynamics and statistics. Self-study problems have been added for each chapter. Incorporates more worked examples. Completely up-to-date, covering such areas as hydraulic fracturing, integration of renewable energy to power grid, and cost.
Discusses the concepts of mechanical, thermal, and thermodynamic equilibrium and their applications. Covers the molecular basis for internal energy, entropy, thermodynamic equilibrium, and reversibility. Enables the reader to model irreversibility and determine the net loss in performance of a thermal system compared to an idealized system and approach an ideal one. Demonstrates entropy as a path independent property by use of reversible heat engines and reversible heat pumps interacting with a process between two states, the environment and the reservoir. Covers the role of reversibility from a thermodynamics standpoint and relates it to other areas, such as gas dynamics, combustion, propulsion, power plant engineering, and engines.
This book challenges the assumption that morphological data are inherently unsuitable for phylogeny reconstruction, argues that both molecular and morphological phylogenies should play a major role in systematics, and provides the most comprehensive review of the comparative anatomy, homologies and evolution of the head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles of primates. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an introduction to the main aims and methodology of the book. Chapters 3 and 4 and Appendices I and II present the data obtained from dissections of the head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles of representative members of all the major primate groups including modern humans, and compare these data with the information available in the literature. Appendices I and II provide detailed textual (attachments, innervation, function, variations and synonyms) and visual (high quality photographs) information about each muscle for the primate taxa included in the cladistic study of Chapter 3, thus providing the first comprehensive and up to date overview of the comparative anatomy of the head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles of primates. The most parsimonious tree obtained from the cladistic analysis of 166 head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscle characters in 18 primate genera, and in representatives of the Scandentia, Dermoptera and Rodentia, is fully congruent with the evolutionary molecular tree of Primates, thus supporting the idea that muscle characters are particularly useful to infer phylogenies. The combined anatomical materials provided in this book point out that modern humans have fewer head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles than most other living primates, but are consistent with the proposal that facial and vocal communication and specialized thumb movements have probably played an important role in recent human evolution. This book will be of interest to primatologists, comparative anatomists, functional morphologists, zoologists, physical anthropologists, and systematicians, as well as to medical students, physicians and researchers interested in understanding the origin, evolution, homology and variations of the muscles of modern humans. Contains 132 color plates.
This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary field of study that involves the science of ecology as well as chemistry. Environmental chemistry covers the basic chemistry and biochemistry that occur naturally in the world around us. It focuses on the air, water, and land. Environmental science normally begins by determining the chemical reactions that are occurring in the environment when all systems are in balance and then goes on the discover how chemistry has changed when there is an imbalance caused by stress or pollution. The field is constantly changing, with new discoveries being made all the time. The availability of new and more sensitive instruments in analytical science is enabling the detection of smaller and smaller concentrations of pollutants in the environment. This new volume deals with a host of important topics in environmental chemistry, such as pesticide-related illnesses in humans and plants, the effects of litterfall in the soil of tropical forests, toxicants in various bodies of water, and much more.
Advanced Porous Biomaterials for Drug Delivery Applications probes cutting-edge progress in the application of advanced porous biomaterials in drug delivery fields. These biomaterials offer promise in improving upon the design, cost, and creation of potent novel drug delivery systems. The book focuses on two categories: nature engineered and synthetic advanced porous biomaterials, with a wide range of low-cost porous biomaterial-based systems that have been used for the delivery of diverse drugs through in vitro/in vivo approaches. Details how advanced porous biomaterial-assisted systems improve essential properties in drug delivery applications Explains how advanced porous biomaterials systems are being used and explored to improve overall performances of drug delivery systems in mitigating a variety of diseases Emphasizes major applications in drug delivery such as controlled release, cancer therapy, and targeted delivery, and with focus on oral, topical, and transdermal applications Focuses on both naturally available and synthetic low-cost advanced porous biomaterials and their role in enhancing important parameters in drug delivery applications Accessible to readers with bio and non-bio backgrounds This book is an ideal reference for academics, researchers, and industry professionals in the interdisciplinary fields of biomedicine and biomedical engineering, pharmaceuticals, materials science, and chemistry.
This book cover wireless communication, security issues, advanced wireless sensor networks, routing protocols of WSNs with cross-layer solutions, emerging trends in the advanced WSNs, power management, distributed sensing and data gathering techniques for WSNs, WSNs Security, applications, research of advanced WSNs with simulation results, and simulation tools for WSNs. Features: Covers technologies supporting advanced wireless communication system, sensor networks and the conceptual development of the subject. Discusses advanced data gathering and sharing/ distributed sensing techniques with its business applicability. Includes numerous worked-out mathematical equations/formulas, and essential principles including figures, illustrations, algorithms, and flow charts are included in the book. Provides pervasive background knowledge including both wireless communications and wireless sensor networks Covers wireless networks as well as sensor network models in detailed. This is aimed at graduate students, researchers and academicians working in the field of computer science, wireless communication technology, and advanced wireless sensor networks.
This text provides an overview of important theory, principles, and concepts in the field of thermodynamics, making this abstract and complex subject easy to comprehend while building practical skills in the process. It enhances understanding of heat transfer, steam tables, energy concepts, power generation, psychrometry, refrigeration cycles, and more. Practical, easily accessible case studies illustrate various thermodynamics principles. Each chapter concludes with a list of questions or problems, with answers at the back of the book.
The notion of matching diet with an individual's genetic makeup is transforming the way the public views nutrition as a means of managing health and preventing disease. To fulfill the promise of nutritional genomics, researchers are beginning to reconcile the diverse properties of dietary factors with our current knowledge of genome structure and gene function. What is emerging is a complex system of interactions that make the human genome exquisitely sensitive to our nutritional environment. Nutritional Genomics: The Impact of Dietary Regulation of Gene Function on Human Disease provides an integrated view of how genomic and epigenetic processes modulate the impact of dietary factors on health. Written as a resource for researchers, nutrition educators, and policy makers, this book contains the latest scientific findings on the mechanisms of action underlying diet-genome interactions. It presents a unique perspective on the fundamentals of nutritional genomics from genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Contributing authors introduce the important areas of cell signaling and transduction, the intricate regulation of gene expression, and alteration of gene-linked chronic diseases, such as obesity-induced inflammation, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The authors detail significant areas of interest within nutritional genomics-including plant-based foods as epigenetic modifiers of gene function and the effects of bioactive phytochemicals on inherited genotype and expressed phenotypes. They also discuss the role of vitamin D in various cancer risks and the gastrointestinal tract as a defense system. Given the key role played by agriculture and the food industry to produce foods to meet personalized health needs, the book also addresses agricultural breeding efforts to enhance nutritional value and the use of technology to increase bioactive ingredients in the food supply. The final chapters discuss manufacturing practices and novel processing techniques for retention of nutrients and bioactive components, as well as the need for regulatory oversight and proper labeling to establish assurance of safety and benefit. An excellent resource for this exciting field, the book identifies future directions for research and opportunities for improving global health and wellness by preventing, delaying, or mitigating chronic diseases with diet.
The follow-up to the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Other Minds A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year A Waterstones Best Book of 2020 The scuba-diving philosopher explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom - the Metazoa - they can teach us about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed book, Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus - the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, he expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of experience with the assistance of far-flung species. Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the first animal body form well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. He charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments - eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment - shaped the lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers these stories together to bridge the gap between matter and mind and address one of the most important philosophical questions: what is the origin of consciousness? Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophy and biology, Metazoa reveals the impossibility of separating the evolution of our minds from the evolution of animals themselves.
This carefully designed, multi-authored textbook covers a broad range of theoretical issues in cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience. With accessible language, a uniform structure, and many pedagogical features, Mind, Cognition, and Neuroscience: A Philosophical Introdution is the best high-level overview of this area for an interdisciplinary readership of students. Written specifically for this volume by experts in their fields who are also experienced teachers, the book's thirty chapters are organized into the following parts: I. Background Knowledge II. Classical Debates III. Consciousness IV. Crossing Boundaries Each chapter starts with relevant key words and definitions and a chapter overview, then presents historical coverage of the topic, explains and analyzes contemporary debates, and ends with a sketch of cutting edge research. A list of suggested readings and helpful discussion topics conclude each chapter. This uniform, student-friendly design makes it possible to teach a cohort of both philosophy and interdisciplinary students without assuming prior understanding of philosophical concepts, cognitive science, or neuroscience. Key Features: Synthesizes the now decades-long explosion of scientifically informed philosophical research in the study of mind. Expands on the offerings of other textbooks by including chapters on language, concepts and non-conceptual content, and animal cognition. Offers the same structure in each chapter, moving the reader through an overview, historical coverage, contemporary debates, and finally cutting-edge research. Packed with pedagogical features, like defined Key Terms, Suggested Readings, and Discussion Questions for each chapter, as well as a General Glossary. Provides readers with clear, chapter-long introductions to Cognitive Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Cognition, Experimental Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Metaphysical Issues, and Epistemic Issues.
- Focuses on a very physical and specific understanding of how humans measure and interpret the measurements of the quantity of time, unlike existing books which explore qualitative, speculative theories currently entertained in physics and philosophy.
Exploring roles critical to environmental toxicology, Modeling and Simulation in Ecotoxicology with Applications in MATLAB (R) and Simulink (R) covers the steps in modeling and simulation from problem conception to validation and simulation analysis. Using the MATLAB and Simulink programming languages, the book presents examples of mathematical functions and simulations, with special emphasis on how to develop mathematical models and run computer simulations of ecotoxicological processes. Designed for students and professionals with little or no experience in modeling, the book includes: General principles of modeling and simulation and an introduction to MATLAB and Simulink Stochastic modeling where variability and uncertainty are acknowledged by making parameters random variables Toxicological processes from the level of the individual organism, with worked examples of process models in either MATLAB or Simulink Toxicological processes at the level of populations, communities, and ecosystems Parameter estimation using least squares regression methods The design of simulation experiments similar to the experimental design applied to laboratory or field experiments Methods of postsimulation analysis, including stability analysis and sensitivity analysis Different levels of model validation and how they are related to the modeling purpose The book also provides three individual case studies. The first involves a model developed to assess the relative risk of mortality following exposure to insecticides in different avian species. The second explores the role of diving behavior on the inhalation and distribution of oil spill naphthalene in bottlenose dolphins. The final case study looks at the dynamics of mercury in Daphnia that are exposed to simulated thermal plumes from a hypothetical power plant cooling system. Presented in a rigorous yet accessible style, the methodology is versatile enough to be readily applicable not only to environmental toxicology but a range of other biological fields.
The first edition of the widely praised Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, published in 2005, led to numerous new marine protected area proposals and a number of notable conservation successes around the world. In this completely revised and expanded second edition, new developments in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Pacific are described, as well as future directions for High Seas protection. New sections show how to design and manage Marine Protected Areas (MPA's) in an ever noisier ocean subject to climate change, increased shipping and hydrocarbon exploration. The process of protected area creation for cetaceans has been accelerated and more than 200 exciting new places are detailed in this edition. This book provides a route map for MPA managers, as well as countries, to meet the ambitious targets for highly protected MPA networks by 2012 and 2020. Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises is a key conservation tool and a springboard for worldwide change in human attitudes toward the world ocean where all life originated and where the majority of life on Earth still lives.
Detection canines have been utilized throughout the world for over a century, and while numerous attempts have been made to replicate the canine's ability to detect substances by mechanical means, none has been as successful. The olfactory system is a highly intricate and sophisticated design for chemical sensing, and the olfactory capacity of many animals, including canines, is considered unmatched by machine due to not only their great sensitivity and superior selectivity but also their trainability and mobility. These unique features have led to the use of such animals as "whole-animal" biosensors. Amplifying the benefits and diminishing the limitations of detection canines' interdisciplinary research is crucial to understanding canine olfaction and detection and enhancing this powerful and complex detector. The past 50 years have produced vast advancements in animal behavior/training technology to develop canines into more proficient and reliable sensors, while scientific research has provided tremendous support to help practitioners better understand how to utilize this powerful sensor. This book assembles a diverse group of authors with expertise in a variety of fields relating to detection canines and the chemical sensing industry, including both research and operational perspectives on detection canines. It illustrates how science enhances our understanding of how canines are employed for solving some of the world's leading detection challenges.
Originally published in 1969, the aim of this book is to tell the story of the major discoveries which have been made and the attitude of the world at large to these discoveries during the ten decades since Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859. For anyone interested in man's past and in understanding the significance of each new discovery relating to human evolution, this reissue will be of great value.
Beneath us lies what Science magazine recently called the true 'final frontier.' A growing array of scientists is exploring life in soils and sediments, uncovering a living world literally alien to our own senses - and yet one whose integrity turns out to be crucial to life above ground.
This Handbook introduces neurosemiotics, a pluralistic framework to reconsider semiosis as an emergent phenomenon at the interface of biology and culture. Across individual and interpersonal settings, meaning is influenced by external and internal processes bridging phenomenological and biological dimensions. Yet, each of these dyads has been segregated into discipline-specific topics, with attempts to chart their intersections proving preliminary at best. Bringing together perspectives from world-leading experts, this volume seeks to overcome these disciplinary divides between the social and the natural sciences at both the empirical and theoretical levels. Its various chapters chart the foundations of neurosemiotics; characterize linguistic and interpersonal dynamics as shaped by neurocognitive, bodily, situational, and societal factors; and examine other daily neurosemiotic occurrences driven by faces, music, tools, and even visceral signals. This comprehensive volume is a state-of the-art resource for students and researchers interested in how humans and other animals construe experience in such fields as cognitive neuroscience, biosemiotics, philosophy of mind, neuropsychology, neurolinguistics, and evolutionary biology.
Travel back in time almost eight million years to explore the roots of the human family tree. Written and authenticated by a team of experts and with a foreword by Professor Alice Roberts, Evolution brings us face to face with our ancestors. Interweaving latest discoveries, maps, and incredible illustrations, it tells the story of our origins and helps us better understand our species, from tree-dwelling primates to modern humans. Renowned Dutch paleoartists the Kennis brothers bring our ancestors to life with their beautiful, accurate reconstructions that visually trace each step in our evolutionary history. Combined with clear prose, this comprehensive yet accessible book provides a rich history of each stage of human evolution, from human anatomy and behaviour to the environment we live in.
The power of gender difference, not gender equality, is a secret source for success. Some smart businesses are starting to wake up to this fact. This book explores why and how. Properly valuing brain gender diversity in the workplace is one of the biggest and largely untapped sources of competitive advantage for modern businesses. Recent advances in neuroscience provide the key to unlocking it. Modern research shows that there are gender-based differences in the brain - it's just not as simple as a binary between a 'male brain' and 'female brain'. In fact, our brains are like a mosaic where many of the tiles are available in thousands of shades on a spectrum between pink and blue. The problem is that our workplaces tend to be governed by structures, processes and cultures that are practically pure blue. All the brains in the business that are elsewhere on the spectrum cannot thrive as they might, so sources of productivity, creativity and agility go untapped. Anyone who manages people needs to understand how the brain works and the impact it has on how people work together as teams. Anyone who wants to unlock the talent and productivity of all of their people needs to understand how recent findings around male- and female-type brains should shape the way they manage. Leading applied neuroscientists and international corporate coaches Kate Lanz and Paul Brown show you why and how to access all the brains in your business.
The Neurobiology of Bipolar Disorder: Road to Novel Therapeutics combines the basic neurobiology of bipolar disorder with discussions of the most recent advances in research, including the interacting pathways implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder, genetic approaches and the pharmacogenomics of bipolar disorder. The basic foundational understanding of the neurobiology underlying the disorder, along with a comprehensive summary of the most recent advances in research combine to aid advanced students and researchers in their understanding of bipolar disorder management using novel and fast-acting pharmaceutical and neuromodulatory approaches. |
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