Hematopathology: Genomic Mechanisms of Neoplastic Diseases will keep physicians abreast of the rapid and complex changes in genomic medicine, as exemplified by the molecular pathology of hematologic malignancies. This timely volume will update physicians on the complexities of genomic lesions, as well as offer an integrated framework encompassing molecular diagnosis, the new WHO classification of hematologic neoplasms with focus on molecular pathology, prognostic value of molecular tests, and molecular monitoring of response to gene-targeted therapy. As such, it will be of great value to hematologists, oncologists, pathologists, internal medicine and pediatric specialists, as well as bioscientific staff and laboratorians in private hospitals and academic institutions.

The field of microRNA biology is really emerging in the last couple of years. Several investigators highlighted the importance of miRNAs in cancer. Although there is so much literature on microRNAs exist, a comprehensive book is still not available. Thus this book will be a great use to the scientists in the field of cancer biology. In addition, this book will be a good source of information for undergraduate, graduate students who want to develop their research careers in cancer biology.

Folding for the Synapse addresses the current view on how protein folding and misfolding, controlled by molecular chaperones, contribute to synapse function and dysfunction. Molecular chaperones have been studied in relation to de novo protein folding, but there is increasing awareness that chaperone function is required for the regulation of protein dynamics when functioning physiologically as an isolated moiety or part of a protein complex. This book will introduce both important concepts of folding machineries and give examples of the biological relevance of further chaperone functions.

Surgical Research: Basic Principles and Clinical Practice, Third Edition is an excellent source book for the young surgical investigator as well as the senior investigator in surgery. It is divided into nine sections: The Surgeon as Investigator, Reading and Writing, Speaking and Listening, Design and Methods, Funding, Implementation, Analyzing Outcomes, Ethical Issues and Perspectives. The Third Edition has been updated and added to with 43 new chapters. This book is of special interest to those surgeons interested in doing research. However, it also has many very interesting chapters that would help all surgeons in approaching their practice in a more scientific way. With many of the foremost surgical investigators contributing, this book is an excellent collection of chapters covering the entire gamut of surgical research.

The authors of this book analyze the influence of specific everyday life situations and contexts on the emotional state of people and the ways in which this can impact measurements of user experience. The book anticipates a future in which products and machines know how we feel and adapt to the feelings they sense (music systems that effectively enhance our current mood with a personalized choice of music, computer dialogues that avoid upcoming frustration, and photo cameras that take pictures whenever we're excited). In all these situations, knowledge of the emotional state of the user is prime information. A previous book published in the Philips Research Book Series, "Probing Experience," illustrated ways to evaluate the user experience through behavioural and physiological parameters. The present book focuses on the influence of context in these measurements. The everyday-life contexts of future products and machines will be always specific, especially in comparison to the standard laboratory situation. Context can impact the experience measurements and influence the occurrence and characteristics of certain signals. On the other hand, independent knowledge of the context could be very valuable for the interpretation of experience measurements. This book provides an overview of the present knowledge on the impact of context, and advocates the need for a joint understanding of its role in the measurement of experience. The authors comprise many experienced researchers on this topic with a wide variety of backgrounds, including business and academia, covering a broad range of context situations.

Protein conversion from a water-soluble native conformation to the insoluble aggregates and fibrils, which can deposit in amyloid plaques, underlies more than 20 human diseases, representing a major public health problem and a scientific challenge. Such a conversion is called protein misfolding. Protein misfolding can also involve errors in the topology of the folded proteins and their assembly in lipid membranes. Lipids are found in nearly all amyloid deposits in vivo, and can critically influence protein misfolding in vitro and in vivo in many different ways. This book focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the role of lipids in modulating the misfolding of various proteins. The main emphasis is on the basic biophysical studies that address molecular basis of protein misfolding and amyloid formation, and the role of lipids in this complex process.

This volume will detail the current state and perspectives of autophagy-based cancer therapy. Covering a wide range of topics, it will include an overview of autophagy as a therapeutic target in cancer, autophagy modulators as cancer therapeutic agents, implications of micro-RNA-regulated autophagy in cancer therapy, modulation of autophagy through targeting PI3 kinase in cancer therapy, targeting autophagy in cancer stem cells, and roles of autophagy in cancer immunotherapy. In addition, the volume will review applications of system biology and bioinformatics approaches to discovering cancer therapeutic targets in the autophagy regulatory network. The volume will be beneficial for a variety of basic and clinical scientists, including cancer biologists, autophagy researchers, pharmacologists, and clinical oncologists who wish to delve more deeply into this field of cancer research. This volume will be the first book to focus solely on autophagy as a target in cancer therapy. As well, it will comprehensively discuss the roles of autophagy in most currently available cancer treatments.

This book summarizes all the important aspects of CRLs (Cullin-RING E3 Ubiquitin Ligases), while providing details of mechanistic specifics that go beyond protein ubiquitination and neddylation. Ubiquitin ligases, including the CRLs, which are activated by neddylation, play an important role in diverse biological processes and are involved in various human diseases, particularly cancer. The book covers various topics, such as CRL structure, biology, genetics, its regulation by neddylation, its pivotal role in human disease, and its potential in drug discovery and targeted therapies. The book appeals to biochemists and biologists working in other fields, and, given the importance of CRLs in all aspects of cell biology and the great promise of targeting these complexes for therapy, is a valuable resource anyone interested in modern biology or medicine.

Bioinformatics is growing by leaps and bounds; theories/algorithms/statistical techniques are constantly evolving. Nevertheless, a core body of algorithmic ideas have emerged and researchers are beginning to adopt a "problem solving" approach to bioinformatics, wherein they use solutions to well-abstracted problems as building blocks to solve larger scope problems.

"Problem Solving Handbook for Computational Biology" and Bioinformatics is an edited volume contributed by world renowned leaders in this field. This comprehensive handbook with problem solving emphasis, covers all relevant areas of computational biology and bioinformatics. Web resources and related themes are highlighted at every opportunity in this central easy-to-read reference.

Designed for advanced-level students, researchers and professors in computer science and bioengineering as a reference or secondary text, this handbook is also suitable for professionals working in this industry.

In keeping with the style of the Handbook of Modern Biophysics, this fourth volume, Application of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Biomedicine, balances the need for physical science/mathematics formalism with a demand for biomedical perspectives. Each chapter divides the presentation into two major parts: the first establishes the conceptual framework and describes the instrumentation or technique, while the second illustrates current applications in addressing complex biology questions. With the additional sections on further reading, problems, and references, the interested reader can explore some chapter ideas more widely.

For a virus to invade a host cell it needs to penetrate the physical barrier imposed by the plasma membrane. Viruses have evolved specialized surface proteins to meet this challenge. These proteins facilitate delivery of the viral genetic information into the host cell by either fusing the viral envelope with a host cell membrane or by forming membrane pores. Membrane fusion and pore formation critically depend on the engagement of host cell receptors and receptor choice is a key determinant of viral tropism. The multi-faceted interplay between viral and cellular factors during virus entry is a fascinating field of study, which can provide important insight into viral pathogenesis and define new targets for intervention. This book provides a comprehensive overview of this exciting field of research.

How many citizens take part in moral and political decisions concerning the results obtained by the contemporary life sciences? Should they blindly follow skilled demagogues or false and deceptive leaders? Should they adhere to the voice of the majority, or should they take a different decisional path? Deliberative democracy answers these questions, but what is deliberative democracy? Can we really deliberate if we are completely ignorant of the relevant issue? What about ethical or political expertise, is it strictly necessary? Finally, and most significantly, can a deliberative process take place if we ignore the techniques governing it; that is, the techniques required to be minimally skilled in rational argumentation?

Giovanni Boniolo goes back to the historical and theoretical foundations of deliberation showing us, with some irony, that deliberation is a matter of competence, and not just a matter of a right to decide. His conclusion might not delight everyone: "anyone who is not sufficiently acquainted with the subject matter or lacks the sufficient deliberative competence ought not be admitted to deliberative discussions. This restriction makes both good deliberation and a proper deliberative democracy possible, otherwise debate degenerates into demagogy and hypocrisy."

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This volume details basic principles of experimental and computational methods for the study of microRNAs in cancer research and, therefore, provides a firm grounding for those who wish to develop further applications. 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, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, MicroRNA and Cancer: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field

This book focuses on host-pathogen interactions at the metabolic level. It explores the metabolic requirements of the infectious agents, the microbial metabolic pathways that are dedicated to circumvent host immune mechanisms as well as the molecular mechanisms by which pathogens hijack host cell metabolism for their own benefit. Finally, it provides insights on the possible clinical and immunotherapeutic applications, as well as on the available experimental and analytical methods. The contributions break new ground in understanding the metabolic crosstalk between host and pathogen.

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.

Diverse molecular, cellular, and environmental events must all come together to allow the successful formation of secondary cancers, metastases. The second edition of Metastasis Research Protocols, brings together the most up to date versions of the seminal techniques that were presented in the first edition and also includes new techniques that have recently been shown to be important in illuminating the processes underlying this important area of biology. Presented by top scientists, the collection includes a wide spectrum of articles encompassing important key methods and to introduce new methods which are making an impact in the area of metastasis research. Volume 1 includes key cellular and molecular techniques relevant to the exploration of cancer cells and tissues, the focus is on the tools that have been shown to be helpful in unravelling the molecular processes important in cancer metastasis. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Metastasis Research Protocols, Second Edition seeks to aid scientists in the further study of new methods in the area of metastasis research.

For many years, the ethical discussion surrounding human embryonic stem cell research has focused on the moral status of the embryo. This text takes a wider moral berth and focuses on numerous ethical, legal and social aspects involved in translating the results of stem cell research into diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Translational Stem Cell Research is broken into ten sections. It opens with an overview of the latest in stem cell research, focusing on specific diseases and the treatment of burn victims. Part II discusses the issues involved in the many steps from bench to bedside, ranging from first research in vitro to clinical trials. Part III covers scientific, regulatory and ethical challenges to basic research, and Part IV details issues regarding stem cell banks. Part V explores ethical, economic and strategic issues involved in collaboration between universities and industry, and Part VI addresses legal problems raised by patents on human stem-cell based inventions plus the extent to which there can be technological solutions to a moral dilemma. Part VII presents imaginative ways of communicating research to the general public and how to create conditions for a constructive dialogue. Part VIII probes psychosocial and cultural factors affecting judgment and decisions about translational stem cell research, and Part IX explores problems and procedures raised by an examination of the evaluation of stem cell research projects in research ethics committees. The book closes with a look into the future of translational stem cell research and stem cell-based therapeutic applications.

Over the past decade, we have made great advances in the field of multiple sclerosis (MS) research, and this book focuses on those advances in MS pathogenesis and treatment. While some of these advances have been through new approaches and ideas that have emerged in the last decade such as the newly identified protective role that amyloid proteins may play in MS or the use of helminths to treat autoimmune diseases, others have evolved from previous theories and ideas that have only now gained momentum and a deeper understanding such as the role of HLA or gender in MS susceptibility. This book covers these emerging and evolving topics and highlights the substantial advancements made in elucidation of the factors regulating susceptibility or disease progression, identification of new ways to monitor or predict MS pathology, and development of new strategies for treating MS.

Volume 47 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains eight reviews and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the connection with the previous volumes. The articles in this volume deal with inotropic steroids, with chemokines and their involvement in a wide range of inflam matory diseases, with the subclassification and nomenclature of ul- and Uz-adrenoceptors, with Chinese traditional medicine, with drug targets in the molecular pathogenesis of asthma, with cytokines and their therapeutic application in immunosuppression and immunostimulation, with alter native medicine and with the potential use of calcium blockers in psy chiatry. These reviews and the quotations of original articles provide the reader with valuable information on several new developments in the world-wide search for new and better medicines. In 1959, when the Editor started this series of monographs, it was his intention to help disseminate informa tion on the vast and fast growing domain of drug research. Already at that time,it was not possible to follow the major individual publications in this field, and the reader was thereby provided with a tool to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends. This goal remained unchanged over the last 37 years, and I believe that the reviews in PDR are useful to the non-specialist who can obtain an overview of a particular field of drug research in a relatively short time.

Kidney Development and Disease brings together established and young investigators who are leading authorities in nephrology to describe recent advances in three primary areas of research. The first section describes the use of animal models as powerful tools for the discovery of numerous molecular mechanisms regulating kidney development. The second section focuses on nephric cell renewal and differentiation, which lead to diverse cell fates within the developing kidney, and discusses diseases resulting from the aberrant regulation of the balance between cell fate decisions. The final section concentrates on morphogenesis of the developing kidney and its maintenance after formation as well as the diseases resulting from failures in these processes. Kidney form and function have been extensively studied for centuries, leading to discoveries related to their development and disease. Recent scientific advances in molecular and imaging techniques have broadened our understanding of nephron development and maintenance as well as the diseases related to these processes.

Over the past few decades the role of statistics in the evaluation and interpretation of clinical data has become of paramount importance. As a result the standards of clinical study design, conduct and interpretation have undergone substantial improvement. This book describes various ways of approaching and interpreting the data produced by clinical trial studies, with a special emphasis on the essential role that biostatistics plays in clinical trials. The book includes 18 carefully reviewed chapters on recent developments in clinical trials and their statistical evaluation, with each chapter providing one or more examples involving typical data sets, enabling readers to apply the proposed procedures. The chapters employ a uniform style to enhance comparability between the approaches.

Engineered antibodies currently represent over 30% of biopharmaceuticals in clinical trials and their total worldwide sales continue to increase significantly. The importance of antibody applications is reflected in their increasing clinical and industrial applications as well as in the progression of established and emerging production strategies. This volume provides detailed coverage of the generation, optimization, characterization, production and applications of antibody. It provides the necessary theoretical background and description of methods for the expression of antibody in microbial and animal cell cultures and in transgenic animals and plants. There is a strong focus on those issues related to the production of intrabodies, bispecific antibody and antibody fragments and also to novel applications in cancer immunotherapy.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Every year, about 33,700 people in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and over 32,000 patients will die from the disease. The median survival of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is about 6-months. This dismal picture of pancreatic cancer is mainly due to the lack of early diagnosis and effective treatment for patients with advanced disease. To increase the survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients, better tumor markers for diagnosis and new molecular targets for drug development are desperately needed. A lot of effort has been made in searching for pancreatic cancer-causing genes or genes associated with progression of malignant behavior in pancreatic cancer. As a result, alterations in the expression of several cancer-related genes have been identified in pancreatic tumors. The identification and characterization of these cancer-related genes have significantly increased our understanding of pancreatic cancer development, but unfortunately the treatment of pancreatic cancer has not advanced as much in the past 20 years.

Over the past decade, tremendous advances have been made in the field of cancer drug discovery, particularly, in the area of molecular and genetic models and technologies. Many of those advanced models and technologies have been applied to the drug discovery processes for pancreatic cancer. In this book, a team of experts will describe the latest development in the application of these models and technologies in pancreatic cancer. The authors include basic researchers as well as clinicians who work in the front-line of the war against pancreatic cancer and have the first-hand experience on these cutting-edge tools and techniques. The book can be divided into two general areas: 1) model systems and 2) genomics and proteomics tools. In recent years there have been a lot of advances in the model systems for pancreatic cancer, including the further characterization of normal and cancerous pancreatic cell lines, the establishment of transgenic mouse models that recapitulate the initiation and progression of human pancreatic cancer, the development of a new xenograft model system for the evaluation of novel agents, and the establishment of a zebrafish pancreatic cancer model. The first four chapters of the book will be devoted to these models. The advances in genomics and proteomics research have made a major impact in cancer drug discovery. A number of these omics-based tools and techniques have been applied in the pancreatic cancer drug discovery. Chapters 5-9 of the book will discuss techniques for genome-wide examination of gene expression, copy number, methylation, function and regulation. Chapters 10-11 will discuss in situ techniques for studying chromosomal and gene copy number abnormalities as well protein expression changes in cancer samples. Chapters 12-14 will focus on techniques for global examination of protein expression levels in biospecimens obtained from pancreatic cancer patients. Cancer drug discovery has become more and more target-centric. "

The title "Nano Biotechnology for Biomedical and Diagnostics Research" will address research aspects related to nanomaterial in imaging and biological research, nanomaterials as a biosensing tool, DNA nanotechnology, nanomaterials for drug delivery, medicinal and therapeutic application and cytotoxicity of nanomaterials. These topics will be covered by 16 different manuscripts. Amongst the authors that will contribute to the book are major scientific leaders such as S. Weiss - UCLA, I. Willner, and G. Golomb -- HUJI, S. Esener - UCSD, E.C. Simmel - Tech. Univ. Munchen, I. Medintz -- NRL, N. Hildebrandt - Universit Paris and more. The manuscripts in the book intend to present specifically biological, diagnostics and medical problems with their potential solution by nano technology or materials. In this respect this book is unique, since it would arise from the biological problems to the nano technology possible solution and not vice versa.

This volume comprehensively covers the multiplicity and diversity of mechanisms underlying patient resistance to currently approved anti-cancer drugs, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, blockers of growth factor receptors and their downstream pathways, which play essential functions in cancer progression. Each chapter will cover a specific group of targets and the cognate drugs, along with molecular modes of innate and evolving resistance.