Despite the social and economic importance of biomedical and health research, it is only fairly recently that the European Community became involved in research and technological development in this research sector. The general goal of the programme is clearly to contribute to a better quality of life by improving health, and its distinctive feature is to strengthen European collaboration in order to achieve this goal. The ultimate goal of the biomedical engineering part of the programme has been to contribute to the improvement of the quality of health care, as well as to the containment of its costs. Health technology assessment has gained further importance in view of the completion of the internal market within the EC. Such assessment may provide essential information for decision making at all levels (i.e. political, health services, medical).

Prominent experimentalists critically review the animal models widely used in developing powerful new therapies for central nervous system diseases. Coverage includes novel uses of animal models of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases, and studies of aging. Techniques that rely heavily on behavioral analyses, as well as models developed from infusions of neurotoxins and from advances in molecular biology, are thoroughly explicated, as are models developed for more acute neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury and stroke. Comprehensive and authoritative, Central Nervous System Diseases: Innovative Animal Models from Lab to Clinic offers neuroscientists, pharmacologists, and interested clinicians a unique survey of the most productive animal models of the leading neurological diseases currently employed to develop today's innovative drug therapies.

This volume contains refereed papers by participants in the two weeks on Clinical Trials and one week on Epidemiology and the Environment held as part of the six weeks workshop on Statistics in the Health Sciences Applications at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) in the summer of 1997. Donald Berry was in charge of the weeks on clinical trials, and Elizabeth Halloran organized the week on epidemiology and the environment. The collection includes a major contribution from Jamie Robins, Andrea Rotnitzky, and Daniel Scharfstein on sensitivity analysis for selection bias and unmeasured confounding in missing data and causal and inference models. In another paper, Jamie Robins presents a new class of causal models called marginal structural models. Alan Hubbard, Mark van der Laan, and Jamie Robins present a methodology for consistent and efficient estimation of treatment-specific survival functions in observational settings. Brian Leroux, Xingye Lei, and Norman Breslow present a new mixed model for spatial dependence for estimating disease rates in small areas. Andrew Lawson and Allan Clark demonstrate Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods for clustering in spatial epidemiology. Colin Chen, David Chock, and Sandra Winkler present a simulation study examining confounding in estimation of the epidemiologic effect of air pollution. Dalene Stangl discusses issues in the use of reference priors and Bayes factors in analyzing clinical trials. Stephen George reviews the role of surrogate endpoints in cancer clinical trials.

This book focuses on a broad range of immunomodulators, including both natural and synthetic ones. It highlights their role in human health. The book discusses nanotechnology-based immunomodulators with special emphasis on different types of formulation to boost the immune system. It highlights the role of immunomodulators against different microbes. This book describes important topics such as Classification and uses of various immunomodulators; Potential role of herbs and spices on immune system; Immune booster activity of prebiotics; Recent advances of nutraceutical and functional foods in Immune health; Antioxidants and immunomodulation; Nanotechnology and immunomodulators in cancer; Immunomodulatory role for the treatment and management of tuberculosis; Immunomodulation in autoimmune disorders; Herbal immunomodulators and COVID-19; Role of Cytokines as Immunomodulators and Immunomodulatory effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals. This book covers various aspects of product innovation, development, and launching of nutritional and pharmaceutical products with reference to immunomodulators. This book is meant for researchers and students in the field of immunology and pharmaceutical sciences.

Nanomedicine-Based Approaches for the Treatment of Dementia explores a wide range of promising approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of dementia. The book begins with introductory sections on dementia and brain ailments that are followed by further chapters that discuss detailed information about challenges of drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier as well as the current status. This book helps readers design and develop novel drug delivery systems and devices for the treatment of dementia that take advantage of recent advances in nanomedical technologies. Numerous drug delivery systems have been developed recently for dementia. Unfortunately, most of them are ineffective since dementia is not a single disease. It is an umbrella term for several neurodegenerative conditions which alter brain functions. Due to this, there is an urgent need for innovative technologies/nano drug delivery systems to improve the targeting and delivery of therapeutic as well as diagnostic agents specifically for treating dementia.

Latest generation sequencing revolutionizes the fields of cancer research and oncology. This follow-up volume focuses more extensively on single cell sequencing of cancer and trials in drug resistance. Another exciting feature is the bioinformatics tools given, that can be used on cancer genome studies. Scientists around the world are attempting to find the root cause of cancer. A reasonable cancer treatment plan and potential cure is more optimistic now with the unfolding of the cancer genome. The collective knowledge of how to leverage next generation sequencing in cancer research is paving the way. The important information provided in this volume will move the field forward in developing novel targeted cancer therapies.

Much research has focused on the basic cellular and molecular biological aspects of stem cells. Much of this research has been fueled by their potential for use in regenerative medicine applications, which has in turn spurred growing numbers of translational and clinical studies. However, more work is needed if the potential is to be realized for improvement of the lives and well-being of patients with numerous diseases and conditions.This book series 'Cell Biology and Translational Medicine (CBTMED)' as part of Springer Nature's longstanding and very successful Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology book series, has the goal to accelerate advances by timely information exchange. Emerging areas of regenerative medicine and translational aspects of stem cells are covered in each volume. Outstanding researchers are recruited to highlight developments and remaining challenges in both the basic research and clinical arenas. This current book is the 14th volume of a continuing series.

This edition includes both updates from the previous book titled Simulation for Designing Clinical Trials and new uses and issues concerning clinical trial simulations (CTS) along with case studies of how clinical trial simulations are being applied in various therapeutic and application areas. Importantly, the book expands on the utility of CTS for informing decisions during drug development and regulatory review. Each chapter was written by esteemed authors who have demonstrated expertise in state-of-the-art application of CTS. The target audience for this book includes not only researchers and scientists who wish to consider use of simulations in the design, analysis, or regulatory review and guidance of clinical trials, but also academic researchers and others working in drug development (e.g., clinicians, senior managers, project planning and regulatory affairs professionals). The focus is more on how the authors have used clinical trial simulation in decision processes instead of illustrating detailed technical aspects. This book is an information source that enables the reader to gain overall knowledge on how clinical trial simulations can be used to improve the efficiency, informativeness, speed and economy of model-based drug development and regulation.

This book discusses in detail various serological tests that are used to identify medical conditions and diseases, from a general overview of each test to the equipment and steps needed to carry them out. The book is aimed specifically at immunology students and professionals who may occasionally need to use these tests, and thus lack training and experience in performing them. The book provides a brief overview of the immune system, including antibodies, antigens, and their interactions. The bulk of the book is comprised of 16 chapters that each explain different serological tests. These chapters start with a general introduction of the test or disease being detected, followed by the test principle, reagents required for the test, procedures and steps to perform the test, and, finally, result interpretation. Both test principles and result interpretation segments include illustrations to aid comprehension. In addition, the book also enables the reader to distinguish between positive and negative results in serological testing.

This volumes presents the proceedings of the FASMI 2020 conference, held at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on November 20-22, 2020. It presents contributions on all aspects of molecular imaging, discovered by leading academic scientists and researchers. It also provides a premier interdisciplinary treatment of recent innovations, trend, and concerns as well as practical challenges and solutions in Molecular Imaging and put an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence applied to Imaging Data. FASMI is the annual meeting of the Federation of Asian Societies for Molecular Imaging

*Provides an overview of statistical and analytic methodologies in real-world evidence to generate insights on healthcare, with a special focus on the pharmaceutical industry *Examines timely topics of high relevance to industry such as bioethical considerations, regulatory standards and compliance requirements *Highlights emerging and current trends, and provides guidelines for best practices *Illustrates methods through examples and use-case studies to demonstrate impact *Provides guidance on software choices and digital applications for successful analytics.

Non-vesicular intracellular cholesterol transport is an important mechanism for maintaining membrane cholesterol homeostasis. Recent reports of studies directed at soluble cholesterol transport proteins indicate that aberrant expression of the START proteins may contribute to disease states associated with disorders in cholesterol homeostasis. This is an exciting new direction in the field and the purpose of this book will be to highlight the current research directed at potential roles for the START family in diabetes, cancer, and atherogenesis. This book also provides a personal and historical perspective of the discovery-to-publication journey that the authors had for their particular START domain family member. The goal will be to provide perspectives to graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and endocrinology fellows on the research discovery process.

This volume explores the latest techniques used to study neurodevelopmental diseases (NDD) that range from molecular aspects to integrated research approaches and brain imaging in living rodents. Chapters in this book cover topics such as protocols to deliver shRNA in vitro and in vivo using lentiviral particles to knock-down specific protein expression; experimental procedures to use recombinant fluorescent probes to visualize endogenous proteins at the mammalian synapse; CRISPR/Cas9 toolkit to assess either gain- or loss-of-gene function in brain organoids; detailed protocols to use in vivo manipulations to correct the behavioral phenotypes in cognitive disorder mouse lines; and experimental approaches to genetically engineer macaque models of NDDs and investigate how genetic predisposition may cause neural and functional alterations. In the Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Cutting-edge and practical, Translational Research Methods in Neurodevelopmental Disorders is a valuable resource for all researchers who want to learn more about this important and developing field.

The areas we deal with in biochemical engineering have expanded to include many various organisms and humans. This book has gathered together the information of these expanded areas in biochemical engineering in Japan. These two volumes are composed of 15 chapters on microbial cultivation techniques, metabolic engineering, recombinant protein production by transgenic avian cells to biomedical engineering including tissue engineering and cancer therapy. Hopefully, these volumes will give readers a glimpse of the past and also a view of what may happen in biochemical engineering in Japan.

This book is focused on marine based biomedical carriers for delivery of therapeutics. Marine biomaterials and bio-based carriers show wide applications in pharmaceutical as well as biomedical fields for delivery of small and large molecules. Biomaterial-based composites, scaffolds or matrix systems are promising systems for controlled and prolonged release of drug in target site and control the premature release of drugs or bioactive compounds. This book discusses the targeted delivery of drugs and therapeutic applications. It also describes the use of marine biopolymers in cancer therapy. Different chapters describe the tissue engineering techniques to develop these carriers. The marine biomaterial-based systems are widely used for tissue engineering, and biomedical imaging. This book is meant for industry experts, students and researchers in the area of pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical engineering and material science and pharmacology.

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is the latest high throughput technology to revolutionize genomic research. NGS generates massive genomic datasets that play a key role in the big data phenomenon that surrounds us today. To extract signals from high-dimensional NGS data and make valid statistical inferences and predictions, novel data analytic and statistical techniques are needed. This book contains 20 chapters written by prominent statisticians working with NGS data. The topics range from basic preprocessing and analysis with NGS data to more complex genomic applications such as copy number variation and isoform expression detection. Research statisticians who want to learn about this growing and exciting area will find this book useful. In addition, many chapters from this book could be included in graduate-level classes in statistical bioinformatics for training future biostatisticians who will be expected to deal with genomic data in basic biomedical research, genomic clinical trials and personalized medicine.

About the editors:

Somnath Datta is Professor and Vice Chair of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics at the University of Louisville. He is Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute. He has contributed to numerous research areas in Statistics, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics.

Dan Nettleton is Professor and Laurence H. Baker Endowed Chair of Biological Statistics in the Department of Statistics at Iowa State University. He is Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has published research on a variety of topics in statistics, biology and bioinformatics."

This volume focuses on the cell biology and physiology of skeletal muscle regeneration. This Book is a collection of classic and cutting edge protocols optimized for mice, but in most cases adaptable to rat or other mammalian models, that will allow an investigator to develop and implement a research study on skeletal muscle regeneration. Chapters address the three major areas of study: provoking regeneration by inducing damage to muscle, analyzing the progenitor cells of skeletal muscle, and quantifying overall muscle function. Subjects discussed include: inducing skeletal muscle injury by eccentric contraction; volumetric muscle loss; single myofiber isolation and culture; satellite cell transplantation; muscle clearing for whole mount immunostaining; luciferase tracking of muscle stem cells; mitochondrial and mitophagy flux analysis; in vivo assessment of muscle contractility; force measurements on single isolated myofibers; and analysis of aerobic respiration in intact skeletal muscle tissue by microplate respirometry. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to each respective topic, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting edge and practical, Skeletal Muscle Regeneration in the Mouse: Methods and Protocols is an essential laboratory reference for research in skeletal muscle growth, damage, repair, degeneration, and regenerative therapy in the mouse model system.

"Research" and "Publishing" are phrases familiar to all neurosurgeons and neuroscientists. Many young neurosurgeons struggle with them on a trial-and-error basis at first, and there are not structured education programs providing information on standard methods. The European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Research Committee has developed a course on research and publication methods for residents in neurosurgery who have not yet completed training. This supplement includes selected contributions from this course and will serve as an essential handbook providing basic tools to guide research and publication work, presenting time-saving advice, and resulting in the most beneficial contributions in experimental and clinical research.

This book, the second volume of Crime Scene Management in Forensic Sciences, reviews the role and impact of forensic evidence in criminal investigations. It also addresses the importance of post mortem examination in criminal cases. The book investigates the use of insects and arthropods to estimate post mortem intervals during forensic investigations. Further, it discusses the physiological effects of xenobiotics at the time of death, based on their concentration and distribution in the body at autopsy. Importantly, it also discusses digital forensic investigation, which can be used for the analysis of digital evidence produced at a court of law. Lastly, it defines the structure and legal framework of these forensic evidences for the effective administration of the criminal justice system. It is an excellent source of information for forensics scientists and legal professionals.

Following many reports that were published in the last two decades on correlations of multiphase structures of the surface of materials with their antithrombogenicity or biocompatibility a research project ''Design of Multiphase Biomedical Materials'' was carried out in Japan between 1982 and 1986. The objective of this research project was to elucidate various aspects of biomedical behaviour of multiphase systems at the interface with living bodies at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels. Multiphase materials studied cover polymers having microphase-separated structures, hydrogels, immobilized enzymes (or cells), ceramics and metallic materials.
The research project was carried out by the following subgroups:
-- Multiphase biomedical materials with microdomain structures
-- Multiphase biomedical materials containing liquid components
-- Hybrid-type multiphase biomedical materials with biological components
-- Inorganic and metallic multiphase biomedical materials
-- Methods for analysis and evaluation of multiphase biomedical materials
This book contains the results of the research project in an edited form and aims to provoke a better understanding about various aspects of cell--material interactions in which the multiphase systems play a crucial role.

This pioneering handbook serves as an essential tool for any biobanking entity to create, implement and continuously improve their Quality Management System (QMS). Written in a concise and highly readable manner all biobanking related QMS aspects, ranging from legal aspects to safety matters, are addressed according to the best knowledge in compliance with the dedicated Biobanks ISO standards. Following a practical approach by making use of FAQ and common practice sections this book guides the readers through this complex field in an easy-to understand way.The guidelines are convergent not only with ISO 20387:2018 Biotechnology - Biobanking - General requirements for biobanking but also with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 19011:2018, ISO 27000:2014, and ISO 27002:2013. Furthermore, they are compatible, among others with the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), IARC, and ISBER Best Practices. Aimed at both biobank employees and other stakeholders (e.g. public bodies, political bodies, hospitals, pharmaceutical industry, funders) at any level of experience the book serves as valuable source for self-education and teaching. The manual complies to the principles of responsibility, openness, and transparency and can be used by any biobanking unit regardless of the biological material the biobank operates with and independent of their associated biobank network. On behalf of a group of specialists and experts in the area of biobanking, regarding Quality Management Systems (QMS), Ethical, Legal and Societal Issues (ELSI) and IT solutions, the authors present with this book a significant achievement based on activities within the project, European Research Infrastructure BBMRI-ERIC "Quality Standards for Polish Biobanks" Handbook (QSPB).

This volume provides a state-of-the-art update on Fc Receptors (FcRs). It is divided into five parts. Part I, Old and New FcRs, deals with the long-sought-after FcR and the recently discovered FCRL family and TRIM21. Part II, FcR Signaling, presents a computational model of Fc RI signaling, novel calcium channels, and the lipid phosphatase SHIP1. Part III, FcR Biology, addresses major physiological functions of FcRs, their glycosylation, how they induce and regulate both adaptive immune responses and inflammation, especially in vivo, FcR humanized mice, and the multifaceted properties of FcRn. Part IV, FcRs and Disease, discusses FcR polymorphism, FcRs in rheumatoid arthritis and whether their FcRs make macaques good models for studying HIV infection. In Part V, FcRs and Therapeutic Antibodies, the roles of various FcRs, including Fc RIIB and Fc RI, in the immunotherapy of cancer and autoimmune diseases using monoclonal antibodies and IVIg are highlighted. All 18 chapters were written by respected experts in their fields, offering an invaluable reference source for scientists and clinicians interested in FcRs and how to better master antibodies for therapeutic purposes.

Much research has focused on the basic cellular and molecular biological aspects of stem cells. Much of this research has been fueled by their potential for use in regenerative medicine applications, which has in turn spurred growing numbers of translational and clinical studies. However, more work is needed if the potential is to be realized for improvement of the lives and well-being of patients with numerous diseases and conditions.This book series 'Cell Biology and Translational Medicine (CBTMED)' as part of Springer Nature's longstanding and very successful Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology book series, has the goal to accelerate advances by timely information exchange. Emerging areas of regenerative medicine and translational aspects of stem cells are covered in each volume. Outstanding researchers are recruited to highlight developments and remaining challenges in both the basic research and clinical arenas. This current book is the 15th volume of a continuing series.

A comprehensive overview of the effects of trichloroethylene toxicity caused by real-life exposure levels highlighting how exposure to trichloroethylene may contribute to the etiology of several idiopathic human diseases. Discussion will focus on different kinds of modeling and how they may be used to predict functional consequences and to dissect the contribution of different mechanistic pathways, including potential mechanisms of action for trichloroethylene toxicity in different organ systems. It will explore the role of epigenetic alterations in trichloroethylene toxicity, this provides important mechanistic information and may also provide the basis for intervention therapy. Chapters will also explain how the risks from trichloroethylene exposure may be greater in certain populations based on genetic predisposition, age of exposure and co-exposure to other chemicals With contributions from international experts in the field, Trichloroethylene: Toxicity and Health Risks is an essential resource for researchers and clinicians in toxicology, immunology, medicine and public health as well as industry and government regulatory scientists involved in safety and health protection and epidemiologists, highlighting the need for interdisciplinary cooperation in solving issues of environmental toxicity.