There is a high demand for antimicrobials for the treatment of new and emerging microbial diseases. In particular, microbes developing multidrug resistance have created a pressing need to search for a new generation of antimicrobial agents, which are effective, safe and can be used for the cure of multidrug-resistant microbial infections. Nano-antimicrobials offer effective solutions for these challenges; the details of these new technologies are presented here.

The book includes chapters by an international team of experts. Chemical, physical, electrochemical, photochemical and mechanical methods of synthesis are covered. Moreover, biological synthesis using microbes, an option that is both eco-friendly and economically viable, is presented. The antimicrobial potential of different nanoparticles is also covered, bioactivity mechanisms are elaborated on, and several applications are reviewed in separate sections. Lastly, the toxicology of nano-antimicrobials is briefly assessed."

This volume brings together contributions from experts in the field of Pasteurella research. Its covers areas such as comparative genomics, pathogenic mechanisms, bacterial proteomics, as well as a detailed description and analysis of PMT and its interaction with host tissues, cells, immune system, and signalling pathways.

Microsporidia: Pathogens of Opportunity provides a systematic overview of the biology of this important pathogen. Written by leading experts in the field, the book combines background and basic information on microsporidia with descriptive methods and resources for working with the pathogen.Newly revised and updated for its second edition, Microsporidia will continue to be the standard text reference for these pathogenic protists, and is an indispensable research resource for biologists, physicians and parasitologists. The first edition of this book was published in 1999 and was the first systematic review of information that had accumulated on these pathogens since the publication of a 2 monograph series in Comparative Pathobiology in 1977. In the last decade there have been tremendous strides in our understanding of the biology of the Microsporidia. This has included the development of new information on genomics and proteomics of this organism as well as a new understanding of the population biology and genetic diversity of this organism. The new edition of this publication will provide systematic reviews of the biology of this pathogen by leading experts in the field. This will be combined with descriptions of the methods and resources for working with this pathogen.

Dubos's classic biography of Louis Pasteur, originally published in 1960 and for several years out of print is once again made available in this new and expanded hardcover edition. The original work has been enlarged by more than forty illustrations and tables, a new biographical sketch of Dubos, a glossary of technical terms and a chronological outline of Pasteur's career. The book's enduring appeal is a tribute both to its subject and to its author. Few scientists so captured the public imagination as Louis Pasteur, and fewer still had such a dramatic effect on everyday life. Dubos, a Pulitzer prize winner, was a modern biographer almost ideally suited to the task. A distinguished French-born microbiologist of broad culture, Dubos had a deep appreciation for the power and enduring significance of Pasteur's scientific work. To the more personal dimensions of the biographer's task, Dubos brought his keen insight into the wellsprings of human action, behavior, and personality. He thus appreciated the full range of Pasteur's life, including its philosophical, religious, and political dimensions. Finally, Dubos' graceful writing style allowed him to convey the excitement and significance of even the most technical aspects of Pasteur's work.

Bacterial infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. These infections always remained enigmatic due to initial reluctance of cancer researchers in understanding their etiologic potential. Etiological association of bacteria with cancer gained credibility after discovery of carcinogenic potential of Helicobacter pylori. Moreover, other suspected associations including Salmonella typhi and gallbladder cancer, Streptococcus bovis and colon cancer, Chlamydia psittaci and ocular adnexal lymphoma and Chlamydia pneumoniae with lung cancer, etc. are looking for a legitimate appraisal to unravel their etiologic potential without prejudice. In contrary, bacteria also show protective role in certain types of cancer. Certain agents derived from bacteria are successfully in practice for the management of cancer. The integrate association of bacteria and cancer is evident in both positive and negative aspects. The role of bacteria in cancer etiology and treatment is vigorously studied since last few years. Present book tries to provide current status of research undergoing in above direction, with the glimpses of future possibility for using microbiological knowledge in the management of this deadly killer. This book will interest specialists dealing with cancer associated infectious complications, researchers working in the field of cancer biology, teachers and scientists in the field of microbiology, biotechnology, medicine and oncology. The unique coverage of bacteriology and cancer association in both positive and negative way can usher into development of novel thrust area for microbiology students and experts.

Giardia duodenalis (=G. lamblia), Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium parvum and Cyclospora cayetanensis are more than just a mouthful for most who might encounter them. These protozoan parasitic agents contribute significantly to the staggering caseload of diarrheal disease morbidity encountered in developing world nations. Compounding the issue of their mere presence is the fact that standard ova and parasite exams frequently do not detect these infections. Detectable stages may be shed intermittently or require specialized staining procedures. Added to this is the often large number of asymptomatic carriers who serve as reservoirs for infecting others. These parasites are also not strangers to more developed nations, having responsibility for both small and large-scale disease outbreaks. In such settings they may be even more difficult to detect simply because they are frequently overlooked in the grand scheme of disease causing possibilities. They share common features; all are Protozoa, all possess trophic stages that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract, all have the ability to produce disease and in some instances death, and all produce environmentally stable cysts or oocysts, which ensure their transmissibility. In other ways, these organisms are profoundly different. Giardia is a flagellate that inhabits the gut lumen in close association with enterocytes. Entamoeba is an amoeba that preferentially inhabits the mucosal region of the gut lumen, but which may, under certain circumstances, become invasive. Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora are obligate intracellular coccidians, each taking up a unique niche within their respective host enterocytes.

All cellular life-forms can exist in replicating and non-replicating states. Organisms replicate only when the conditions are beneficial, and when not replicating they concentrate on survival of these environmental stresses. Many bacteria, harmful to humans, survive the period of infection in a low growth state. This 2003 book addresses the basic science of microbial dormancy and low growth states, putting this in the context of human medicine. Such fundamental topics as bacterial growth and non-growth, culturability and viability are covered, as well as survival of the host's immune response, and inter-bacterial signalling. Following this introduction, more medically focused topics are discussed, namely antibiotic resistance arising during stationary phase, biofilms, the bacteria which cause gastric ulcers and tuberculosis as the classic persistent bacterial infection. This book will interest graduate students and researchers in medical microbiology, immunology and infectious disease medicine who are interested in bacterial dormancy in relation to disease.

Infectious fungal diseases continue to take their toll in terms of human suffering and enormous economic losses. Invasive infections by opportunistic fungal pathogens are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immuno-compromised individuals. At the same time, plant pathogenic fungi have devastating effects on crop production and human health. New strategies for antifungal control are required to meet the challenges posed by these agents, and such approaches can only be developed through the identification of novel biochemical and molecular targets. However, in contrast to bacterial pathogens, fungi display a wealth of lifestyles and modes of infection. This diversity makes it extremely difficult to identify individual, evolutionarily conserved virulence determinants and represents a major stumbling block in the search for common antifungal targets. In order to activate the infection programme, all fungal pathogens must undergo appropriate developmental transitions that involve cellular differentiation and the introduction of a new morphogenetic programme. How growth, cell cycle progression and morphogenesis are co-ordinately regulated during development has been an active area of research in fungal model systems such as budding and fission yeast. By contrast, we have only limited knowledge of how these developmental processes shape fungal pathogenicity, or of the role of the cell cycle and morphogenesis regulators as true virulence factors. This book combines state-of-the-art expertise from diverse pathogen model systems to update our current understanding of the regulation of fungal morphogenesis as a key determinant of pathogenicity in fungi.

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This Brief describes the concept and realization of gene therapy for HIV from the unique historic perspective and insight of two pioneers of the clinical applications of stem cell gene therapy for HIV. Gerhard Bauer applied ribozyme-anti-HIV and other vectors to manufacture clinical grade, HIV-resistant hematopoietic stem cells for the first patients that received stem cell gene therapy for HIV, including the first child in the world and the first fully marrow-ablated HIV infected patient. Joseph Anderson developed the most recent and most potent combination anti-HIV lentiviral vectors and pluripotent stem cell applications for HIV gene therapy and tested these in the appropriate in vitro and vivo models, paving the way for novel HIV gene therapy approaches to possibly cure patients. In Gene Therapy for HIV, Bauer and Anderson discuss the unique aspects of this therapy, including its limitations and proper safety precautions and outline a path for a possible functional cure for HIV using stem cell gene therapy based on a cure already achieved with a bone marrow stem cell transplantation performed in Germany using donor stem cells with a naturally arising CCR5 mutation. In addition, the Brief provides a thorough and methodical explanation of the basics of gene therapy, gene therapy vector development, in vitro and in vivo models for HIV gene therapy and clinical applications of HIV gene therapy, including Good Manufacturing Practices.

The objective of this" CTMI" volume is to provide readers with a foundation for understanding what ADARs are and how they act to affect gene expression and function. It is becoming increasingly apparent that ADARs may possess roles not only as enzymes that deaminate adenosine to produce inosine in RNA substrates with double-stranded character, but also as proteins independent of their catalytic property. Because A-to-I editing may affect base-pairing and RNA structure, processes including translation, splicing, RNA replication, and miR and siRNA silencing may be affected. Future studies of ADARs no doubt will provide us with additional surprises and new insights into the modulation of biological processes by the ADAR family of proteins. "

Whereas plant and insect infections are commonly caused by fungi, only a small minority of the vast diversity of fungal species is pathogenic to humans. Despite this, fungal infections cause considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. This volume is dedicated to the biology, clinical presentation and management of invasive fungal infections. Major pathogenic fungi are introduced by world-leading experts and the basic principles of fungal virulence are reviewed in the light of new results and experimental technologies that offer unprecedented insights into invasive infections caused by Aspergillus, Candida, Cryptococcus, Pneumocystis and Mucorales. In parallel, the clinical presentation of invasive fungal infections and current approaches to their diagnosis and treatment are summarized to provide an overview of human pathogenic fungi, linking pathogen biology to the clinical presentation of disease.

Thousands of different microbial species colonize the human body, and are essential for our survival. This book presents a review of the current understanding of human microbiomes, the functions that they bring to the host, how we can model them, their role in health and disease and the methods used to explore them. Current research into areas such as the long-term effect of antibiotics makes this a subject of considerable interest. This title is essential reading for researchers and students of microbiology.

The recent rapid advances in our knowledge of immunological and virological mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of viral heart disease makes it difficult for everybody working in this field to keep up with the latest developments. How ever, much of what we know is still circumstantial and only vaguely substained. Interdisciplinary understanding and cooperation thus seems necessary to get a better insight into the mechanisms by which viruses may initiate immunological organ-specific tissue injury and disease! This volume evolved out of an international symposium by the same title held on May 25. -28. , 1988 in Tegernsee, near Munich, of which a wide spectrum ofim munological, virological, diagnostical and clinical problems was covered. Both review articles and new experimental and clinical data are included in this volume to give the reader an up-to-date information about current concepts and future aspects. Chapter I serves as an excellent introduction to the epidemiology and natural history of dilated cardiomyopathy / viral heart disease. Although a definite viral etiology in myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy is often difficult to establish, epidemiological and serological data incriminate a viral etiology underlying many cases of "dilated cardiomyopathy". Chapters II and III describe the current think ing on virological and immunological mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of viral heart disease. Among others virus topism, virus persistance, possible mecha nisms and genetic basis of post-infection autoimmunity, and the virus-interaction with the immune system are discussed.

Since the subject of arenaviruses was visited by "Current " "Topics in Microbiology and Immunology" 14 years ago, enormous advances have been made in this area. The receptor for several arenaviruses, alpha-dystroglycan, was identified, the replication strategy of these viruses was decoded, and application of a reverse genetics system for studying viral gene function and viral biology is well underway.
In addition to reviewing these advances, Volume I includes discussion of arenaviral molecular phylogeny, reservoirs in rodents and clinical diseases caused by both new world and old world arenaviruses.

This book gives a very timely account of recent - partly unpublished - research on the development of gram-positive bacteria as vaccine delivery vehicles for mucosal immunization. The practical and theoretical considerations are discussed and the basic concepts behind the different approaches are compared by giving specific examples of the use of different non-pathogenic bacteria as vaccine vehicles. Thus, a common framework of concepts for a new generation of mucosal vaccines is provided.

As yet, flow cytometry is not used so widely in microbiology as in some other disciplines. This volume presents contributions flow cytometry to study a from research microbiologists who use diverse set of problems. It illustrates the power of the technique, and may persuade others of its usefulness. Most of the con tributors gathered in Cardiff on 23 October 1991, at a meeting organized for the Royal Microscopical Society by Dr. Richard Allman, but the content of their chapters is not limited by the discourse of that meeting, and for balance other experts were invited to write for this book. Flow Cytometry in Microbiology thus represents the first collection of articles specifically devoted to the applications of a technique which promises so much to those investigating the microbial world. Cardiff, 1992 David Lloyd Contents List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1 Flow Cytometry: A Technique Waiting for Microbiologists David Lloyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 The Physical and Biological Basis for Flow Cytometry of Escherichia coli Erik Boye and Harald B. Steen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3 Flow Cytometric Analysis of Heterogeneous Bacterial Populations Richard Allman, Richard Manchee and David Lloyd. . . . 27 4 On the Determination of the Size of Microbial Cells Using Flow Cytometry Hazel M. Davey, Chris L. Davey and Douglas B. Kell . . 49 5 Uses of Membrane Potential Sensitive Dyes with Bacteria David Mason, Richard Allman and David Lloyd . . . . . . .

Parasitic diseases still affect millions of people every year, especially in the tropics, causing considerable morbidity or death. Such infections within livestock are probably an even bigger problem, leading to poorer productivity, condemna tion of infected meat and considerable economic loss. Para sitological research has, however, helped the situation in some cases and the development of novel drugs, vaccines and diagnostics has improved our chances of controlling these diseases. Research into parasitic infections is, therefore, often goal orientated. However, the study of parasites and host/parasite relationships still remains one of the most exciting and in teresting aspects of biology. Scientists, from undergraduate students to research professors, frequently ponder over how endoparasitic organisms can survive within the most alien of environments - inside another organism. The nutritional, reproductive and survival strategies which have evolved within each group of parasites have allowed the development of highly specific host-parasite relationships and allow the successful transmission of the parasite from one host to an other. A considerable amount of research is therefore direc ted at improving our understanding of various aspects of parasite biology."

This book is about mechanisms of intracellular parasitism of Legionella, Listeria and Mycobacterium. The presented data illustrate the hypothesis that one of the ways by which intracellularly multiplying bacteria influence the bactericidal response of phagocytes is by altering signaling cascades in eukaryotes. To achieve this goal bacteria are capable to produce enzymes and other biologically active compounds which misdirect signaling pathways for the benefit of the parasites. The book is composed of two main parts. The first provides general information on signaling cascades in eukaryotic cells. Analysis of Legionella, Listeria and Mycobacterium products possessing regulatory activity toward metabolism of host cells, essentially by affecting signal transduction in eukaryotes, is performed in the second section.

Living in biofilms is the common way of life of microorganisms, transiently immobilized in their matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), interacting in many ways and using the matrix as an external digestion and protection system. This is how they have organized their life in the environment, in the medical context and in technical systems - and has helped make them the oldest, most successful and ubiquitous form of life. In this book, hot spots in current biofilm research are presented in critical and sometimes provocative chapters. This serves a twofold purpose: to provide an overview and to inspire further discussions. Above all, the book seeks to stimulate lateral thinking.

Will address an important, yet underrepresented, topic. The correlation between viruses and atherosclerosis has been a focal point of the authors work, for a number of years. This volume will explore the relationship between different viral strains and atherosclerosis. It will begin by describing the hypothesis and denoting the mechanisms of virus-driven atherosclerosis, then expanding on the subject by focusing on different virus strains from Herpes, to Epstein-Barr, to the triad of Hepatitis viruses, et al on a chapter-by-chapter basis. While there are books, albeit few, that cover particular viral strains and their relationship to cardiovascular diseases, this work will be unique in its scope by considering multiple strains of viruses, making it a repository of information on the topic; a truly comprehensive volume. "