The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates: Dentitions for Form, Function, and Feeding, Second Edition is devoted to the teeth and dentitions of living fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. This book presents a comprehensive survey of the wide variety of tooth forms among non-mammalian vertebrates, based on descriptions of approximately 450 species belonging to about 170 families.This latest edition discusses the functional morphology of feeding, the attachment of teeth, and the relationship of tooth form to function, with each chapter accompanied by a comprehensive, up-to-date reference list. Following the descriptions of the teeth and dentitions in each class, four chapters review current topics with considerable research activity: tooth development; tooth replacement; and the structure, formation, and evolution of the dental hard tissues. The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates: Dentitions for Form, Function, and Feeding, Second Edition is authored by internationally recognized teachers and researchers in the field. This new edition reflects the resurgence of interest in the dentitions of non-mammalian vertebrates as experimental systems to help understand genetic changes in evolution of teeth and jaws.

Hormonal Cross-Talk, Plant Defense and Development: Plant Biology, Sustainability and Climate Change focuses specifically on plants and their interaction to auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, abscisic acid, jasmonates, brassinosteroids, strigolactones, and the potential those interactions offer for improved plant health and production. Plant hormones (auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, abscisic acid, jasmonates, brassinosteroids, salicylic acid, strigolactones etc.) regulate numerous aspects of plant growth and developmental processes. Each hormone initiates a specific molecular pathway, with each pathway integrated in a complex network of synergistic, antagonistic and additive interactions. This is a valuable reference for those seeking to understand and improve plant health using natural processes. The cross-talks of auxins - abscisic acid, auxins - brassinosteroids, brassinosteroids- abscisic acid, ethylene - abscisic acid, brassinosteroids - ethylene, cytokinins - abscisic acid, brassinosteroids - jasmonates, brassinosteroids - salicylic acid, and gibberellins - jasmonates - strigolactones have been shown to regulate a number of biological processes in plant system. The cross-talk provides robustness to the plant immune system but also drives specificity of induced defense responses against the plethora of biotic and abiotic interactions.

In this comprehensive updated introduction to animal ethics, Lori Gruen weaves together poignant and provocative case studies with discussions of ethical theory, urging readers to engage critically and reflect empathetically on our relationships with other animals. In clear and accessible language, Gruen discusses a range of issues central to human-animal relations and offers a reasoned new perspective on key debates in the field. She analyses and explains a range of theoretical positions and poses challenging questions that directly encourage readers to hone their ethical reasoning skills and to develop a defensible position about their own practices. Her book will be an invaluable resource for students in a wide range of disciplines including ethics, environmental studies, veterinary science, gender studies, and the emerging field of animal studies. The book is an engaging account of animal ethics for readers with no prior background in philosophy.

Biomechanical Mapping of the Female Pelvic Floor explores new technological advances in women's healthcare intended to improve pelvic floor characterization, diagnosis and prediction of treatment outcomes. The book describes biomechanical approaches and clinical examples to demonstrate how one can evaluate the changes in the pelvic floor to gain a better understanding of an individual patient's pelvic floor dysfunctions, such as prolapse, incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, and even conditions leading to spontaneous preterm delivery and predicting maternal birth trauma. This book is a valuable resource for researchers focused on gynecology, urogynecology or obstetrics, clinicians, graduate students and biomedical scientists and bioengineers who need to better understand the technological advances in biomechanical characterization and how they can be used not only for diagnosis but also for monitoring several OBGYN-related conditions.

This collaboration of two physiologists and a gastroenterologist provides medical and graduate students, medical and surgical residents, and subspecialty fellows a comprehensive summary of digestive system physiology and addresses the pathophysiological processes that underlie some GI diseases. The textual approach proceeds by organ instead of the traditional organization followed by other GI textbooks. This approach lets the reader track the food bolus as it courses through the GI tract, learning on the way each organ's physiologic functions as the bolus directly or indirectly contacts it. The book is divided into three parts: (1) Chapters 1-3 include coverage of basic concepts that pertain to all (or most) organs of the digestive system, salivation, chewing, swallowing, and esophageal function, (2) Chapters 4-6 are focused on the major secretory organs (stomach, pancreas, liver) that assist in the assimilation of a meal, and (3) Chapters 7 and 8 address the motor, transport, and digestive functions of the small and large intestines. Each chapter includes its own pathophysiology and clinical correlation section that underscores the importance of the organ's normal function.

The Comprehensive Guide to Hepatitis Advances provides the most up-to-date information on all types of hepatitis in one resource. Coverage spans hepatitis in all forms (viral, alcoholic, metabolic, drug, autoimmune, etc.), showing the implications of current research in clinical practice and discussing future research directions. Discussions focus on the scientific advancements in understanding the disease process and in the treatment of different groups of hepatitis. This reference is perfect for basic science researchers in the field of hepatology; practicing gastroenterologists and hepatologists as well as primary care physicians attending to liver disease; and medical residents undergoing specialist training in gastroenterology and hepatology.

Overcoming Resistance to EGFR Inhibitors in EGFR Mutant NSCLC presents updated information on how EGFR mutant lung cancers evolve to evade EGFR inhibitors, clinical strategies that identify these mechanisms, and how to implement newer therapeutic strategies to combat resistance and improve patient survival. As resistance to EGFR inhibitors is often through re-activation of MEK/ERK and PI3K pathways, or through loss of cell death responses, there is much overlap with resistance to targeted therapies in other paradigms, such as BRAF inhibitors in BRAF mutant melanoma, and HER2 inhibitors in HER2 amplified breast cancer. This book is a valuable resource for cancer researchers, clinicians, graduate students and other members of the biomedical field who are interested in promising treatments for lung cancer.

Handbook of Animal Models in Neurological Disorders will better readers' understanding of a large variety of animal models and their applicability in studying a number of neurological disorders. Featuring sections on brain injury, stroke and neuroinflammation, this volume discusses in detail the utility, success and pitfalls of multiple models for each condition. Multiple disorders are covered, ranging from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS, to multiple sclerosis, headache, migraine, and others. With expert authors, this book has applicability for anyone pursuing neuroscience or biomedical research working to better understand, study and ultimately treat neurological dysfunction.

Intellectually Impaired People: The Ongoing Battle addresses challenges against the background of history, changing societal environments, and current intellectual approaches and attitudes toward persons with disabilities. The book discusses national and international conventions, societal attitudes, sheltered workshops, the right of intellectually impaired persons for self-responsibility and its limitations, and the place of mentally impaired persons in the public image. Additionally, the book attempts to capture the forces that drive the changes of our conceptual frameworks. The US Tuskegee study which withheld antibiotics from black men with syphilis was not ended by scientific criticism but by a courageous man, press reports, and a changed social perception. The non-hiding of handicapped children is not the result of government orders, there are many non-resolvable dilemmas and tension between supporting, understanding, and patronizing a complex situation with many potential future avenues.

Since its introduction in 2012, cell-free (cf) DNA based Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) has been employed to test for fetal chromosome abnormalities, and gene mutations that lead to a variety of genetic conditions, by millions of pregnant women, in more than 90 countries worldwide. With Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): Applied Genomics in Prenatal Screening and Diagnosis, Dr Lieve Page-Christiaens and Dr Hanns-Georg Klein have compiled the first authoritative volume on cfDNA NIPT methods and their clinical implementation.

Neuroimaging in Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders discusses the advances of molecular, structural and functional neuroimaging techniques associated with the etiology, pathophysiology, effects and complications of novel therapies in Parkinson's and related disorders. With new neuroimaging methodologies emerging over the past five years, this book provides a comprehensive overview of new technologies and research. Sections discuss the biomarker value of neuroimaging of the brain to understand disease progression in vivo in actual patients with Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Readers will be updated on in vivo pathology and pathophysiology in Parkinson's disease and in a number of related disorders. Also discussed is the association between clinical symptoms, clinical progression, and molecular, structural, and functional changes in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease and related disorders.

Liquid Biopsy: New Challenges in the era of Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology aims to describe links between cancer, precision oncology, and liquid biopsy, focusing on their participation to immunotherapy management. The book provides updated information on the main applications of liquid biopsy and immunotherapy as well as interesting aspects useful for planning basic and translational research activities. It helps readers understand the central aspects of precision medicine in oncology, including the use of new generation technologies for translational and diagnostic settings and the main clinical trials in this area that may be useful during their research. The book is a valuable source for cancer researchers, oncologists and other members of the medical and biomedical field who are interested in learning more about recent developments in liquid biopsy and its relationship with precision medicine and immunotherapy.

Advances in Resting-State Functional MRI: Methods, Interpretation, and Applications gives readers with basic neuroimaging experience an up-to-date and in-depth understanding of the methods, opportunities, and challenges in rs-fMRI. The book covers current knowledge gaps in rs-fMRI, including "what are biologically plausible brain networks," "how to tell what part is noise," "how to perform quality assurance on the data," "what are the spatial and temporal limits of our ability to resolve FC," and "how to best identify network features related to individual differences or disease state". This book is an ideal reference for neuroscientists, computational neuroscientists, psychologists, biomedical engineers, physicists and medical physicists. Both new and more advanced researchers alike will be able to discover new information distilled from the past decade of research to become well-versed in rs-fMRI-related topics.