The field of microbial endocrinology is expressly devoted to understanding the mechanisms by which the microbiota (bacteria within the microbiome) interact with the host ("us"). This interaction is a two-way street and the driving force that governs these interactions are the neuroendocrine products of both the host and the microbiota. Chapters include neuroendocrine hormone-induced changes in gene expression and microbial endocrinology and probiotics. This is the first in a series of books dedicated to understanding how bi-directional communication between host and bacteria represents the cutting edge of translational medical research, and hopefully identifies new ways to understand the mechanisms that determine health and disease.

The book comprehensively discusses the mechanisms of pathogenesis and drug resistance; current diagnostics landscape of four key human pathogens; bacterial, fungal, protozoans and viral which are the causes of major infectious diseases. It also assesses the emerging technologies for the detection and quantification of these pathogens. Further, it discusses the novel opportunities to fight against these infectious diseases and to identify pertinent drug targets with novel methodologies. It also reviews the current and future insights into the control, elimination, and eradication of these infectious diseases. Importantly, the book discusses the epidemiological characteristics and various challenges in combating Ebola and Influenza diseases. Finally, the book highlights the growing role of nanotechnology and bioinformatics resources for combating the infectious diseases. In summary, the book provides the mechanistic insight of the pathogenicity, drug-resistance, therapeutic strategies and identification of the novel drug targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Plasmodium, Candida, Hepatitis C and emerging viral infections.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of pertussis - also known as whooping cough. The first part discusses the evolution the genus Bordetellae and the molecular epidemiology of B. pertussis, while the following chapters focus on the role of B. pertussis virulence factors in infection and disease and on the mechanisms of the immune response to infection and vaccination. The book also explores the prevention and control of the disease as well as its clinical management, with the finally section addressing vaccination, from improved immunization strategies to novel vaccines. Pertussis remains one of the most poorly controlled vaccine-preventable diseases around the globe. Universal vaccination has dramatically reduced its incidence but has failed to bring it completely under control. In recent decades, changes in pertussis epidemiology have been noted, likely related to the use of acellular pertussis vaccines, which in many countries have replaced older-generation, whole-cell pertussis vaccines. Several years after their introduction, it is becoming apparent that immunity conferred by acellular vaccines wanes more rapidly than expected. Unlike whole-cell vaccines, acellular vaccines, while protecting against the disease, do not seem to prevent colonization and transmission. Increasing incidence among adolescents and adults makes them a reservoir for transmission to unimmunized infants, who in turn are at risk of severe disease and death. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians in the field of medical microbiology, vaccine research and infectious diseases.

With an estimated 1.3 million new cases and causing more than 20,000 deaths every year, Leishmaniasis continues to be a menace in countries across the globe. The absence of an anti-Leishmania vaccine, the toxicity of current anti-parasite drugs, coupled with the rapid emergence of drug resistant Leishmania strains remain significant challenges for disease control. This has spurred a plethora of research initiatives into the parasite biology, parasite-host interaction, mechanisms of disease pathogenesis, drug development and molecular mechanism of drug resistance. Insights obtained from various such studies are essential for the development of novel anti-Leishmania treatment strategies. In this timely book respected Leismania experts distil the important current research highlighting the most insightful discoveries in the field. Topics covered include: modulation of host miRNA; heat shock proteins; Iron in the Leishmania-macrophage interaction; oxidative and nitrosative stress response; cell death; strategies for immune evasion; STAT signalling; parasite modulation of toll-like receptors in macrophages; T cells in Leishmania infection; vaccine biology; inhibitors of Leishmania DNA topoisomerases; and mechanism of drug resistance in visceral Leishmaniasis. An essential text for everyone in the Leishmania community and recommended for researchers working in related fields.

Scientists and clinicians attending the last "New Directions in Antiviral Therapy" conference in late 1994 could hardly have predicted the revolution in the management of patients with HIV infection that has occurred since. Two new classes of antiretrovirals have been licensed, the second-site RT inhibitors and the protease inhibitors; the long in cubation period of active HIV infection, when the infection is clinically latent, is now un derstood to be a period of intense viral replication and turnover of CD4 lymphocytes; measurements of HI V RNA concentration in plasma have been shown to be essential tools for monitoring the course of HIV infection, deciding when to treat, and assessing the re sults of treatment; and finally, combinations of antiretrovirals, particularly combinations including protease inhibitors, have been shown to have dramatically beneficial effects on patients with HIV infection. These advances, coupled with new drugs for the management of herpesvirus infections, have made dramatic differences in the quality and length of life of HIV-infected patients. Additional advances have been made since 1994 in the prevention or management of influenza virus (zanamavir), respiratory syncytial virus (palvizumab), hepatitis B virus (lamivudine and famciclovir), and enterovirus infections (pleconaril). It is difficult to re member that only slightly more than a decade ago there were only a handful of antiviral agents available (none of which were antiretrovirals), and a number of those were either highly toxic, of dubious efficacy, or both."

In this book, outstanding researchers from the US and Japan review recent progress in Epstein-Barr virus research. Most people carry EBV in memory B-cells in a latent stage. Many malignancies such as T/NK cell lymphoma, AIDS-associated B-cell lymphoma, gastric carcinoma and Hodgkin's disease have been causally linked to EBV. The development of molecular biology technique has allowed us to study the roles of individual EBV genes that act in the maintenance and disruption of EBV latency.

Advances in Applied Microbiology continues to be one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in microbiology, containing comprehensive reviews of the most current research in applied microbiology. Users will find invaluable references and information on a variety of areas, including protozoan grazing of freshwater biofilms, metals in yeast fermentation processes, the interpretation of host-pathogen dialogue through microarrays, and the role of polyamines in bacterial growth and biofilm formation. Eclectic volumes are supplemented by thematic volumes on various topics, including Archaea and sick building syndrome.

The Advances in Applied Microbiology series, first published in 1959, continues to be one of the most widely read and authoritative review sources in microbiology. The series contains comprehensive reviews of the most current research in applied microbiology and includes recent research on the role staphylococcus aureus aggregation and coagulation mechanisms, along with analysis of microbial communities in the deep biosphere.

This Series will provide microbiologists, hygienists, epidemiologists and infectious diseases specialists with well-chosen contributed volumes containing updated information in the areas of basic and applied microbiology involving relevant issues for public health, including bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections, zoonoses and anthropozoonoses, environmental and food microbiology. The increasing threat of the multidrug-resistant microorganisms and the related host immune response, the new strategies for the treatment of biofilm-based, acute and chronic microbial infections, as well as the development of new vaccines and more efficacious antimicrobial drugs to prevent and treat human and animal infections will be also reviewed in this series in the light of the most recent achievements in these fields. Special attention will be devoted to the fast diffusion worldwide of the new findings of the most advanced translational researches carried out in the different fields of microbiological sciences, with the aim to promote a prompt validation and transfer at clinical level of the most promising experimental results.

Host-Microbe Interactions, the latest volume in the Progress in Molecular Biology series, provides a forum for the discussion of new discoveries, approaches, and ideas in molecular biology. It contains contributions from leaders in their respective fields, along with abundant references. This volume is dedicated to the subject of host-microbe interactions.

The Vaccine Book, Second Edition provides comprehensive information on the current and future state of vaccines. It reveals the scientific opportunities and potential impact of vaccines, including economic and ethical challenges, problems encountered when producing vaccines, how clinical vaccine trials are designed, and how to introduce vaccines into widespread use. Although vaccines are now available for many diseases, there are still challenges ahead for major diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. This book is designed for students, researchers, public health officials, and all others interested in increasing their understanding of vaccines. It answers common questions regarding the use of vaccines in the context of a rapidly expanding anti-vaccine environment. This new edition is completely updated and revised with new and unique topics, including new vaccines, problems of declining immunization rates, trust in vaccines, the vaccine hesitancy, and the social value of vaccines for the community vs. the individual child's risk.

Statistical Aspects of the Microbiological Examination of Foods, Third Edition, updates some important statistical procedures following intensive collaborative work by many experts in microbiology and statistics, and corrects typographic and other errors present in the previous edition. Following a brief introduction to the subject, basic statistical concepts and procedures are described including both theoretical and actual frequency distributions that are associated with the occurrence of microorganisms in foods. This leads into a discussion of the methods for examination of foods and the sources of statistical and practical errors associated with the methods. Such errors are important in understanding the principles of measurement uncertainty as applied to microbiological data and the approaches to determination of uncertainty. The ways in which the concept of statistical process control developed many years ago to improve commercial manufacturing processes can be applied to microbiological examination in the laboratory. This is important in ensuring that laboratory results reflect, as precisely as possible, the microbiological status of manufactured products through the concept and practice of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing. The use of properly validated standard methods of testing and the verification of 'in house' methods against internationally validated methods is of increasing importance in ensuring that laboratory results are meaningful in relation to development of and compliance with established microbiological criteria for foods. The final chapter of the book reviews the uses of such criteria in relation to the development of and compliance with food safety objectives. Throughout the book the theoretical concepts are illustrated in worked examples using real data obtained in the examination of foods and in research studies concerned with food safety.

Skin Diseases of Cattle in the Tropics: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment is a clinical and practical guide to help animal scientists, field veterinarians, veterinary students, and technicians make appropriate and differential diagnoses. It features quizzes of clinical cases, along with multiple images of characteristic lesions and laboratory findings of major skin diseases (and diseases with skin manifestations) that are prevalent in tropical areas, notably the Sub-Saharan African countries. This self-learning and easy-to-use instructional guide, a unique offering in the field of animal science and veterinary medicine, provides essential and foundational information about relevant skin conditions that are followed by illustrated flow charts of laboratory diagnoses and summaries of respective diseases. This title makes the subject accessible for practicing veterinarians and animal scientists, and is particularly useful for those who have neither seen nor had the chance to see these diseases in the field or clinics. Such diseases are important not only in the tropics, but may be encountered in many countries in subtropical and temperate zones.

Endotoxin detection and control is a dynamic area of applied science that touches a vast number of complex subjects. The intersection of test activities includes the use of an ancient blood system from an odd "living fossil" (Limulus). It is used to detect remnants of the most primitive and destructive forms of life (prokaryotes) as contaminants of complex modern systems (mammalian and Pharma). Recent challenges in the field include those associated with the application of traditional methods to new types of molecules and manufacturing processes. The advent of "at will" production of biologics in lieu of harvesting animal proteins has revolutionized the treatment of disease. While the fruits of the biotechnology revolution are widely acknowledged, the realization of the differences in the means of production and changes in the manner of control of potential impurities and contaminants in regard to the new versus the old are less widely appreciated. Endotoxin as an ancient, dynamic interface between lifeforms, provides a singular perspective from which to view the parallel development of ancient and modern organisms as well as the progress of man in deciphering the complexity of their interactions in his efforts to overcome disease.

This book series focuses on current progress in the broad field of medical microbiology, and covers both basic and applied topics related to the study of microbes, their interactions with human and animals, and emerging issues relevant for public health. Original research and review articles present and discuss multidisciplinary findings and developments on various aspects of microbiology, infectious diseases, and their diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

In October, 1987, smallpox became the first disease of humans to have been deliberately eradicated. Since then, global eradication campaigns against dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) and poliomyelitis have nearly reached their goals, and initial steps have been taken to stimulate similar programs to eradicate lymphatic filariasis and measles. Other successful efforts are expected to follow these. In 1993, an International Task Force for Disease Eradication evaluated over 80 potential candidate diseases and made recommendations. However, little has been done to develop the science of eradication systematically. This book reports the findings of a multidisciplinary workshop on the eradication of infectious diseases. It reviews the history of eradication efforts and lessons from previous campaigns and distinguishes among eradication, elimination, and control programs and extinction of an etiologic agent. It addresses a wide range of related issues, including biological and socio-political criteria for eradication, costs and benefits of eradication campaigns, opportunities for strengthening primary health care in the course of eradication efforts, and other aspects of planning and implementing eradication programs. Finally, it stresses the importance of global mechanisms for formulating and implementing such programs. Goal of this Dahlem Workshop: to identify the biological/epidemiological, cost/benefit, and societal/political criteria for the eradication of infectious diseases.

Ebola Virus Disease: From Origins to Outbreak covers Ebola virus disease in its entirety from its origins through major outbreaks in the past to the present day outbreak. It contains information on the West Saharan response to Ebola as well as highlights from the field in West Africa from Dr. Qureshi and Dr. Chughtai, helping to solve the primary question of what's next and aiding in formulating a path forward. With a growing awareness of the devastating effects of this viral disease and an influx of topical research, this book provides the information the global community of researchers, clinicians and students need to better inform their research and study of Ebola virus disease.

The second volume of Arenaviruses deals with the biology and the pathogenesis of arenaviruses primarily through the study of LCMV. Interestingly and appropriately, the fundamental observation of MHC restriction and CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing derived initially from studies with LCMV in the mouse has been expanded to studies of most human pathogens, viral, bacterial, parasitic, as well as events in cancer. The scope and importance of this observation was recognized by awarding the Nobel Prize in 1996 to Rolf Zinkernagel and Peter Doherty, long-time workers in the field of LCMV and arenavirus biology. Over the last 14 years many of the principles for understanding viral pathogenesis and biology of animal viruses have been defined, in great part from the lessons learned by studying LCMV. Those lessons and their implications are the subject of this second volume on the arenaviruses.

Microbial infection is increasingly seen as a problem as we begin to run out of antibiotics. Understanding how microbes cause disease is essential. In recent years it has begun to emerge that bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses can use their cell stress proteins to cause infection. This volume brings together the world's leading experts in the study of the microbial and human cell stress proteins that are involved in enabling microorganisms to infect humans and cause serious disease.

Man has moved rapidly from the hunter-gatherer environment to the living conditions of the rich industrialised countries. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that the resulting changed and reduced pattern of exposure to micro-organisms has led to disordered regulation of the immune system, and hence to increases in certain chronic inflammatory disorders. The concept began with the allergic disorders, but there are now good reasons for extending it to autoimmunity, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, depression associated with raised inflammatory cytokines, some cancers and perhaps neuroinflammatory disorders such as Alzheimer s and Parkinson s. This book discusses the evidence for and against in the context of Darwinian medicine, which uses knowledge of evolution to cast light on human diseases. It is the first book to consider the broader implications of the hygiene hypothesis in areas of medicine where it has not previously been applied. The approach is interdisciplinary, looking at man s microbiological history, at the biology of the effects of microorganisms on the immune system, and at the implications for chronic inflammatory disorders in multiple organ systems. Finally, the authors describe progress in the exploitation of microorganisms or their components as novel prophylactics and treatments in several branches of medicine."

The interest of investigators across a broad spectrum of scientific dis- plines has been steadily stimulated by the field of bacterial toxin research, an area that makes use of a large variety of biological, chemical, physicochemical, and medically oriented approaches. Researchers studying bacterial toxins need to be acquainted with all these disciplines in order to work effectively in the field. To date, there has been no published collection offering detailed descr- tions of the techniques and methods needed by researchers operating across the field'sdiverse areas. The present volume Bacterial Toxins: Methods and Pro- cols, is intended to fill this gap. Bacterial Toxins: Methods and Protocols consists of two sections: one on protein toxins (15 chapters) and one on endotoxins (5 chapters). Each s- tion is introduced by an overview article (Chapters 1 and 16). The protocols collected represent state-of-the-art techniques that each have high impact on future bacterial toxin research. All methods are described by authors who have regularly been using the protocol in their own laboratories. Included in each chapter is a brief introduction to the method being described.

This book intends to report the new progress of pseudotyped viruses, including the construction of pseudotyped viruses with different strategies or vectors for most important viruses. Especially for emerging viruses, optimization of the condition and parameters for assay development based on the pseudotyped viruses and widely application as surrogate of authentic virus to study the biological functions of virus, detection of neutralizing antibody, screening viral entry inhibiters, and others. It includes most pseudotyped viruses that have the protein of the target virus on the surface of the parent virus with incomplete genome. The book is likely to be of interest to all researchers in the field of virology, vaccine, and anti-viral drug development and evaluation.

Volume Allergic Diseases is a comprehensive, multi-authored reference work, offering a broad appeal to microbiologists, immunologists, and infectious disease specialists. The volume explores all aspects of allergic diseases, body systems and vaccines. Emphasis is placed on genetics, physiology, metabolism, pathogenesis, and applied microbiology. Under the leadership of some of the most world renowned names in the field, the encyclopedia brings together an outstanding collection of contributions by top scientists in a variety of fields. The entries are listed alphabetically and provide full references. The volume covers the following topics: * Food Allergy and gastrointestinal Allergic Diseases * Insect Allergy * Allergy Diagnosis and Testing * Allergy Treatment: Pharmacotherapy * Asthma and Other Allergic Lower Respiratory Disease * Biology of IgE, Mast Cells and Eosinophils * Specific Allergens Causing Human Disease * Atopic Dermatitis, Urticaria and Dermatologic Allergy * Allergy Treatment: Immunotherapy, Immunomodulator Therapy and Allergen Avoidance

This book explores a new challenge in virology: to understand how physical properties of virus particles (virions) and viruses (infected cells) affect the course of an infection. Insights from the emerging field of physical virology will contribute to understanding of the physical nature of viruses and cells, and will open new ways for anti-viral interference. Nine chapters and an editorial written by physicists, chemists, biologists and computational experts describe how virions serve as trail blazers in uncharted territory of cells. The authors outline how particles change in composition as they interact with host cells. Such virus dynamics are crucial for virus entry into cells and infection. It influences the modern concepts of virus-host interactions, viral lineages and evolution. The volume gives numerous up-to-date examples of modern virology and provides a fascinating read for researchers, clinicians and students in the field of infectious diseases.

Freshwater Fishes of the Eastern Himalayas provides a guide to describe the internationally accepted methods used in the accurate identification of fishes, morphometry, i.e., body proportions, meristics, i.e., counts of countable characters, viz., scales, fin rays, pores, vertebrae etc., characters of bones wherever necessary, special characters, viz., serrations of fin spines, axillary lobes, lobes, color patterns, etc. All the available taxa of the region are covered, making this an essential reference that provides the original description of genera and species. Diagnostic characters in the book can be easily examined by an unaided eye or by a binocular dissecting microscope with transmitted light.