The inflammasome is a protein complex composed of an intracellular sensor-typically a Nod-like receptor (NLR), the precursor procaspase-1, and the adaptor ASC. Inflammasome activation leads to the maturation of caspase-1 and the processing of its substrates, IL-1 and IL-18. The inflammasome has been implicated numerous diseases, and blockade of inflammasome-derived IL-1 has beneficial effects on several of these diseases. Different books have been edited about the biology of inflammasomes and about methods to study, however, the implication of this complex in the different diseases and pathological conditions show the need of a book about the clinical implications and therapeutic options. This project will show the context where inflammasomes are being studied and the molecular implications in the medical and clinical contexts. Other important topic of the inflammasomes will be the development of pharmacological inhibitors in order to improve new clinical applications. In this sense, we can find new drugs with inhibitory effects or old drugs with an inhibitory potential effect. There is a need for re-establishing the real benefits of the inflammasome inhibitions in pathological situations and the management of the differents diseases where inflammasomes are implicated.

The Handbook of Research on Informatics in Healthcare and Biomedicine is the single authoritative reference source for information on the newest trends and breakthroughs in computer applications applied to healthcare and biomedicine. Innovative technologies in health information systems, medicine, health services, and other areas in biomedicine are explored. The comprehensive chapters contained in this handbook of research have been written by 99 international experts from the field of healthcare and IT. More than 900 references to existing publications and a wide-ranging compendium of over 450 key terms and definitions have been included to provide readers with the ultimate research tool.

This volume presents the latest developments and techniques used to study the physiopathology, diagnosis, and treatment of pre-eclampsia. Written for clinicians, obstetricians, basic scientists, researchers, and students the chapters in this book provide methods to study placental function using in vitro and ex vivo model systems, comprehensive genetic analysis of pre-eclampsia, identifying critical angiogenic factors associated with the development of pre-eclampsia, and controlled experiments that investigate potential therapies. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls, as well as a description of the limitations and advantages of the described techniques. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Pre-Eclampsia: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning more about the critical role of the placenta in the maternal-fetal relationship.

Learn not only how to recognize high-quality research, but how to improve your own research and apply it to patient care. Plus, find out how to start a journal club, write quality case reports and how to most effectively present your research to others. This book is ideal guide for students at both graduate and undergraduate levels who might be having difficulty with research concepts as well as for practiced clinicians interested in a fresh approach to clinical research. * A jargon-free guide to understanding and conducting research * Uses metaphors, visual images, and examples to simplify complex research concepts * Includes easy-to-do computer exercises to help you understand statistical concepts

The Epigenetics of Autoimmunity covers a topic directly related to translational epigenetics. Via epigenetic mechanisms, a number of internal and external environmental risk factors, including smoking, nutrition, viral infection and the exposure to chemicals, could exert their influence on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Such factors could impact the epigenetic mechanisms, which, in turn, build relationship with the regulation of gene expression, and eventually triggering immunologic events that result in instability of immune system. Since epigenetic aberrations are known to play a key role in a long list of human diseases, the translational significance of autoimmunity epigenetics is very high. To bridge the gap between environmental and genetic factors, over the past few years, great progress has been made in identifying detailed epigenetic mechanisms for autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, with rapid advances in technological development, high-throughput screening approaches and other novel technologies support the systematic investigations and facilitate the epigenetic identification. This book covers autoimmunity epigenetics from a disease-oriented perspective and several chapters are presented that provide advances in wide-spread disorders or diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), type 1 diabetes (T1DM), systemic sclerosis (SSc), primary Sjoegren's syndrome (pSS) and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs). These emerging epigenetic studies provide new insights into autoimmune diseases, raising great expectations among researchers and clinicians. This seminal book on this topic comprehensively covers the most recent advances in this exciting and rapidly developing new science. They might reveal not only new clinical biomarkers for diagnosis and disease progression, but also novel targets for potential epigenetic therapeutic treatment.

'I am blown away by the level of detail Phil Cavell brings to his work.' - Elinor Barker MBE, multiple world champion and Olympic gold medallist 'The Midlife Cyclist is a triumph' - Cycling Plus 'An amazing accomplishment... a simple-to-understand precis of your midlife as a cyclist - you won't want to put it down.' - Phil Liggett, TV cycling commentator 'Phil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough.' - Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion Renowned cycling biomechanics pioneer, Phil Cavell, explores the growing trend of middle-aged and older cyclists seeking to achieve high-level performance. Using contributions from leading coaches, ex-professionals and pro-team doctors, he produces the ultimate manifesto for mature riders who want to stay healthy, avoid injury - and maximise their achievement levels. Time's arrow traditionally plots an incremental path into declining strength and speed for all of us. But we are different to every other generation of cyclists in human history. An ever-growing number of us are determined to scale the highest peaks of elite physical fitness into middle-age and beyond. Can the emerging medical and scientific research help us achieve the holy triumvirate of speed and health with age? The Midlife Cyclist offers a gold standard road-map for the mature cyclist who aims to train, perform and even race at the highest possible level.

Health Data Processing: Systemic Approaches focuses on the design of health information systems and touches on the main themes of medical informatics and public health. The book is written for health professionals in practice or training, and is especially useful for decision-makers or future decision-makers in the field of health information systems. Users will find sections on the question of reusing data for other purposes, protection of individual liberties that this data and technologies make more acute, and the irruption of large masses of genetic data and its related problems. This book develops the methodological and conceptual aspects related to these issues.

Aging, Health and Technology takes a problem-centered approach to examine how older adults use technology for health. It examines the many ways in which technology is being used by older adults, focusing on challenges, solutions and perspectives of the older user. Using aging-health technology as a lens, the book examines issues of technology adoption, basic human factors, cognitive aging, mental health, aging and usability, privacy, trust and automation. Each chapter takes a case study approach to summarize lessons learned from unique examples that can be applied to similar projects, while also providing general information about older adults and technology.

Progress in Drug Research is a prestigious book series which provides extensive expert-written reviews on a wide spectrum of highly topical areas in current pharmaceutical and pharmacological research. Founded in 1959 by its current editor, the series has moved from its initial focus on medicinal chemistry to a much wider scope. Today it encompasses all fields concerned with the development of new therapeutic drugs and the elucidation of their mechanisms of action, reflecting the increasingly complex nature of modern drug research. Invited authors present their biological, chemical, biochemical, physiological, immunological, pharmaceutical, toxicological, pharmacological and clinical expertise in carefully written reviews and provide the newcomer and the specialist alike with an up-to-date comprehensive list of prime references. Each volume of Progress in Drug Research contains fully cross-referencing indices which link the books together, forming a virtually encyclopaedic work. The series thus serves as an important, time-saving source of information for researchers concerned with drug research and all those who need to keep abreast of the many recent developments in the quest for new and better medicines.

This key title includes all the information contained in Part I of Linnes Clinical Laboratory Science: The Basics and Routine Techniques 4/eso that students do not have to buy the big volume if they are only interested in Part I of the book. It contains all the general background information necessary for working in a clinical laboratory and performing routine clinical laboratory tests. It covers the fundamentals of safety, collection of specimens, equipment, mathematics and measurements giving the student a thorough understanding of the basic concepts and background material which is an essential base in the practice of clinical laboratory science. * Prepares students for the realities of work in the clinical laboratory with an overview of the field of clinical laboratory science, and includes specifics on basic laboratory procedures. * Prepares the reader for the "real world" of the clinical laboratory with authors who have contributed years of research and experience in a frequently changing field and lend an "in the trenches" view of life to the modern clinical laboratory. * Offers the basic information about working in a clinical laboratory for introductory CLT/MLT or CLS/MT students. * Highlights clinical procedures by placing them in boxes that are easy for students to quickly find. * Chapter 1, Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science, gives students a solid foundation on the fundamentals of clinical lab work. * Includes 59 illustrations to help explain the material and reinforce learning. * Includes Review Questions, Key Terms with definitions, Learning Objectives, Chapter Outlines, and Procedure Boxes, which provide excellent opportunities for group or individual study and reinforce the most important information in each chapter. * Includes a Glossary with key terms and definitions to help students with the new scientific terminology they will encounter in their initial clinical laboratory classes. * Includes an Instructors' Manual with student handouts, guides, exercises and related materials.

Signal Processing for Neuroscientists, Second Edition provides an introduction to signal processing and modeling for those with a modest understanding of algebra, trigonometry and calculus. With a robust modeling component, this book describes modeling from the fundamental level of differential equations all the way up to practical applications in neuronal modeling. It features nine new chapters and an exercise section developed by the author. Since the modeling of systems and signal analysis are closely related, integrated presentation of these topics using identical or similar mathematics presents a didactic advantage and a significant resource for neuroscientists with quantitative interest. Although each of the topics introduced could fill several volumes, this book provides a fundamental and uncluttered background for the non-specialist scientist or engineer to not only get applications started, but also evaluate more advanced literature on signal processing and modeling.

Molecular-Genetic and Statistical Techniques for Behavioral and Neural Research presents the most exciting molecular and recombinant DNA techniques used in the analysis of brain function and behavior, a critical piece of the puzzle for clinicians, scientists, course instructors and advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Chapters examine neuroinformatics, genetic and neurobehavioral databases and data mining, also providing an analysis of natural genetic variation and principles and applications of forward (mutagenesis) and reverse genetics (gene targeting). In addition, the book discusses gene expression and its role in brain function and behavior, along with ethical issues in the use of animals in genetics testing. Written and edited by leading international experts, this book provides a clear presentation of the frontiers of basic research as well as translationally relevant techniques that are used by neurobehavioral geneticists.

The new edition of this practical text presents a clear anatomic approach to locating the needle insertion site for EMG. Succinct descriptions are provided for 71 routinely tested muscles, and each is accompanied by a full-page drawing of the muscle and related anatomy. Many new cross-sectional drawings have been added to further delineate the anatomy. Guidelines have been expanded throughout to include more detail. There are also more pearls, additional tips on avoiding pitfalls, and anatomical and clinical descriptions. Teaching points have been expanded and replace the previous "notes" from the first edition. The text is in outline format and indicates peripheral and nerve root innervations and patient positioning.

Handbook of Animal Models of Infection is a complete revision of a three-volume text that was published in 1986. It incorporates the major advances in the field during the past decade, in particular those concerning molecular biological procedures and new models that have been developed. It focuses on both methods and techniques, which makes it an essential and comprehensive reference as well as a benchtop manual. The Handbook will help investigators save time and effort in formulating an approach to test a new potential therapeutic agent or combination of agents for "in vivo" efficacy and to position the therapy for specific infections where it may have therapeutic promise. The book is divided into five sections; the first covering the general methodologies, followed by sections describing experimental bacterial, mycotic, parasitic, and viral infections.
Key Features
* Discusses ethical and safety aspects in an introductory background section
* Covers principles of animal care and current techniques appropriate for the use of animal models of infection
* Details a wide range of animals including rodents, rabbits, cats, and primates
* Provides hands-on descriptions of how to set up the model
* Discusses the major advantages and limitations of each model
* Ensures full coverage of bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections

This book is specifically designed to serve the community of postgraduates and researchers in the fields of epidemiology, health GIS, medical geography, and health management. It starts with the basic concepts and role of remote sensing, GIS in Kala-azar diseases. The book gives an exhaustive coverage of Satellite data, GPS, GIS, spatial and attribute data modeling, and geospatial analysis of Kala-azar diseases. It also presents the modern trends of remote sensing and GIS in health risk assessment with an illustrated discussion on its numerous applications.

Volume 76 of Advances in Cancer Research continues the series' goal of publishing timely and authoritative reviews in the broad field of cancer research. Ruoslahti begins the volume with a review of fibronectin and its integrin receptors in cancer. Chapter 2 by Ganter and Lipsick discusses Myb and oncogenesis. Biscardi and colleagues present their research on c-Src, receptor tyrosine kinases, and human cancer in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 by Schulz covers epidemiology of Kaposi's sarcoma and associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus 8. The consensus on synergism between cigarette smoke and other environmental carcinogens in the causation of lung cancer is reviewed by Reif and Heeren in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, Breivik and Gaudernack discuss perspectives on carcinogenesis and natural selection in the genetics and epigenetics of colorectal cancer. Chapter 7 by Coulie and co-workers concludes the volume with a discussion of anti-tumor immunity at work in a melanoma patient.

Temporal Sampling and Representation Updating, Volume 236, addresses the gap between laboratory studies using static or predictable stimuli and the more complex change that is a characteristic of the real world. Topics in this new volume include a section on Unfolding the time course of emotion perception, Temporal sampling and representation updating for action in interception and grasping tasks, The influence of Cognitive Control and Attention on Temporal Sampling: Lessons from the Attentional Blink, Synchronizing tracking eye movements with the motion of a visual target, and Sampling feature distributions with visual search in heterogeneous displays.

This book focuses on the state-of-the-art of biosensor research and development for specialists and non-specialists. It introduces the fundamentals of the subject with relevant characteristics of transducer elements, as well as biochemical recognition molecules. This book is ideal for researchers of nanotechnology, materials science and biophysics.

This book highlights the latest research presented at the International Conference on Translational Medicine and Imaging (ICTMI) 2017. This event brought together the world's leading scientists, engineers and clinicians from a wide range of disciplines in the field of medical imaging. Bioimaging has continued to evolve across a wide spectrum of applications from diagnostics and personalized therapy to the mechanistic understanding of biological processes, and as a result there is ever-increasing demand for more robust methods and their integration with clinical and molecular data. This book presents a number of these methods.

The Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing (PSB) 2018 is an international, multidisciplinary conference for the presentation and discussion of current research in the theory and application of computational methods in problems of biological significance. Presentations are rigorously peer reviewed and are published in an archival proceedings volume. PSB 2018 will be held on January 3 - 7, 2018 in Kohala Coast, Hawaii.PSB 2018 will bring together top researchers from the US, the Asian Pacific nations, and around the world to exchange research results and address open issues in all aspects of computational biology. It is a forum for the presentation of work in databases, algorithms, interfaces, visualization, modeling, and other computational methods, as applied to biological problems, with emphasis on applications in data-rich areas of molecular biology.The PSB has been designed to be responsive to the need for critical mass in sub-disciplines within biocomputing. For that reason, it is the only meeting whose sessions are defined dynamically each year in response to specific proposals. PSB sessions are organized by leaders of research in biocomputing's 'hot topics.' In this way, the meeting provides an early forum for serious examination of emerging methods and approaches in this rapidly changing field.

Microdialysis is currently one of the most important in vivo sampling methods in physiology and pharmacology. It is used to determine the chemical components of the fluid in the extracellular space of tissues. The technique is now well established in neuroscience research and is used excessively in behavioral neuroscience to determine the concentrations and identities of molecules in brain tissues, and their change due to behavior, hormonal and transmitter changes in the nervous system. The book provides a detailed comprehensive overview of the technology and its applications, including application in pathology, drug development, and the application in the clinic. The authors are all well known researchers in Neuroscience and experts in the use of Microdialysis.
Organized into two parts of seven sections, the Handbook of Microdialysis critically examines recent developments in the field through a variety of chapters written by an internationally acclaimed group of authors. It is the first comprehensive handbook covering the technology of Microdialysis and its applications in Neuroscience.
* Presents microdialysis methods and interpretation including the technical aspects of microdialysis as a sampling technique followed by the analytical chemical methods
* Discusses the role of microdialysis in pharmacology, drug development and models of CNS
pathology
* Includes clinical applications of microdialysis

Metabolic Bone Disease, Third Edition is the new, expanded edition of the classic text, featuring the latest advancements and research information in this fast-moving field. The Third Edition includes the most up-to-date information on molecular mechanisms, basic biology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis and management strategies of metabolic bone disease.
Key Features
* Edited by "fathers of the field"
* An expanded version of a classic AP text
* Complete coverage of a fast-growing field

This book collects and reviews, for the first time, a wide range of advances in the area of human aging biomarkers. This accumulated data allows researchers to assess the rate of aging processes in various organs and systems, and to individually monitor the effectiveness of therapies intended to slow aging. In an introductory chapter, the editor defines biomarkers of aging as molecular, cellular and physiological parameters that demonstrate reproducible changes - quantitative or qualitative - with age. The introduction recounts a study which aimed to create a universal model of biological age, whose most predictive parameters were albumin and alkaline phosphatase (indication liver function), glucose (metabolic syndrome), erythrocytes (respiratory function) and urea (renal function). The book goes on to describe DNA methylation, known as the "epigenetic clock," as currently the most comprehensive predictor of total mortality. It is also useful for predicting mortality from cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and for analyzing the effects of lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, and education. Individual contributions draw additional insight from research on genetics and epigenetic aging markers, and immunosenescence and inflammaging markers. A concluding chapter outlines the challenge of integrating of biological and clinical markers of aging. Biomarkers of Human Aging is written for professionals and practitioners engaged in the study of aging, and will be useful to both advanced students and researchers.