This second edition presents an up-to-date overview of the current state-of-the-art protocols and aims to miRNomics into a broader perspective. Chapters detail methods and techniques ranging from miRNA biogenesis, their biological function, computational analyses to their medical implications and applications. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, application details for both the expert and non-expert reader and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, miRNomics: MicroRNA Biology and Computational Analysis, Second Edition ensures successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Proceedings of the European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST 825) Symposium on Mammary Gland Biology, held September 16-18, 1999, in Tours, France. It is difficult to overstate the evolutionary and functional significance of mammary tissue in biology. Substantial progress has been made by researchers in various disciplines, particularly over the last fifteen years, towards realizing the potential of this tissue to yield powerful experimental models for morphogenesis and tissue development; for cellular differentiation; for the biosynthesis and secretion of proteins, lipids, small molecules and inorganic salts; and for the coordination and regulation of these processes. More recently, the possibility of exploiting the secretory epithelial cells of mammary tissue as cell factories' has become a reality and the recombinant production by lactating animals of an increasing number of proteins, valuable both in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical' fields, is in progress or under development. Also in this sphere of agricultural production, genetic as well as nutritional technologies are under investigation and exploitation to optimize milk composition for various end-uses - for instance in food process and manufacture. The possibilities of deriving health benefit from the bioactive properties of some of the minor constituents of milk are emerging to counter the highly-publicized negative health impact of excessive consumption of saturated animal fats. In human nutrition and medicine, the mammary gland is both a source of nutrition to the neonate and a potential health threat to the adult female - breast cancer remains the major single cause of female mortality in most developed countries. This volume provides a unique glimpse into our understanding, at the cutting edge of a variety of disciplines, of this versatile and extraordinary tissue, at the birth of the twenty-first century.

This volume details current and new computational methodologies to study peptides. Chapters guide readers through antimicrobial peptides, foldability, amyloid sheet formation, membrane-active peptides, organized peptide assemblies, protein-peptide interfaces, prediction of peptide-MHC complexes, advanced free energy simulations for peptide binding, and methods for high throughput peptide or miniprotein design. Written in the format of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, each chapter includes an introduction to the topic, lists necessary materials, software, and reagents, includes tips on troubleshooting and known pitfalls, and step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Computational Peptides Science: Methods and Protocols aims to provide concepts, methods, and guidelines to help both novices and experienced workers benefit from today's new opportunities and challenges.

Ultraviolet Astronomy and the Quest for the Origin of Life addresses the use of astronomical observations in the ultraviolet range to better understand the generation of complex, life-precursor molecules. The origin of RNA is still under debate but seems to be related to the generation of pools of complex organic molecules submitted to heavy cycles of solution in water and drying. This book investigates whether these cycles require a planetary surface or may occur in space by examining both the theoretical and observational aspects of the role of UV radiation in the origin of life. This book offers the latest advances in these studies for astronomers, astrobiologists and planetary scientists.

Protein Phosphatase Protocols presents a broad range of protocols for the study of protein phosphatases, all written by experts and innovators from phosphatase laboratories around the world. This volume is a compendium of resources for the study of protein phosphatases and their potential as drug targets. Experimental methodologies are taken from proteomics, bioinformatics, genomics, biochemistry, RNAi, and genetics.

This volume provides an overview of well-established methods optimized for diverse archaeal model organisms and is a source of protocols facilitating access to the molecular and cellular biology characterization of these fascinating organisms. Chapters are divided into five parts detailing available genetic tools, molecular and cellular biology methods, strategies to study the ecophysiology of archaea, and classroom protocol. Each main thematic part is also introduced by future-oriented and authoritative primers. Written in the format of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, each chapter includes an introduction to the topic, lists necessary materials and reagents, includes tips on troubleshooting and known pitfalls, and step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Archaea: Methods and Protocols aims to be a foundation for future studies and to be a source of inspiration for new investigations in the field.

This thorough volume explores predicting one-dimensional functional properties, functional sites in particular, from protein sequences, an area which is getting more and more attention. Beginning with secondary structure prediction based on sequence only, the book continues by exploring secondary structure prediction based on evolution information, prediction of solvent accessible surface areas and backbone torsion angles, model building, global structural properties, functional properties, as well as visualizing interior and protruding regions in proteins. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, the chapters include the kind of detail and implementation advice to ensure success in the laboratory. Practical and authoritative, Prediction of Protein Secondary Structure serves as a vital guide to numerous state-of-the-art techniques that are useful for computational and experimental biologists.

Co-chaperones are important mediators of the outcome of chaperone assisted protein homeostasis, which is the dynamic integration of the processes of protein folding, degradation and translocation to ensure that cellular function is finely tuned in space and time. This third edition of the book The Networking of Chaperones by Co-chaperones describes how the function of the major molecular chaperones is regulated by co-chaperones, a diverse cohort of non-client proteins. Since the second edition was released, not only has knowledge deepened on how co-chaperones act as nodes to network and functionalise chaperones, but an understanding of their broader biological function has started to emerge. The third edition provides new and updated chapters highlighting recent developments and emerging themes on co-chaperones, such as their extracellular functions, their role in human disease and their status as putative drug targets. The book is a useful resource for both newcomers and established researchers in the field of cell stress and chaperones, as well as those interested in cross-cutting disciplines such as cellular networks and systems biology.

Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology: Innovations in Big Data Processing provides an interdisciplinary look at state-of-the-art innovations in biomedical signal processing, especially as it applies to large data sets and machine learning. Chapters are presented with detailed mathematics and complete implementation specifics so that readers can completely master these techniques. The book presents tutorials and examples of successful applications and will appeal to a wide range of professionals, researchers, and students interested in applications of signal processing, medicine, and biology at the intersection between healthcare, engineering, and computer science.

In Tiling Arrays: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used to study tiling microarrays in genomic discovery . These include methods and applications for transcriptional regulation, expression, genetic and epigenetic regulation, as well as techniques and skills on tiling microarray data analysis. 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 key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Tiling Arrays: Methods and Protocols seeks to provide scientists with a comprehensive and down to earth approach to maximize results.

The membranes surrounding cells and organelles constitute their interface with the local environment. The functions of membrane proteins include cell/cell and cell/extracellular matrix recognition, the reception and transduction of extracellular signals, and the tra- port of proteins, solutes and water molecules. Abnormal membrane protein expression has profound biological effects and may, for example, underlie phenotypic and functional differences between normal and tumour cells. Moreover the accessibility, particularly of plasma proteins traversing the plasma membrane of cells, makes them of particular ut- ity to the therapeutic intervention in disease. Indeed, it is estimated that of all currently licensed pharmaceuticals, approximately 70% target proteins resident in the plasma m- brane. In theory, unbiased technologies such as proteomics have the power to de?ne patterns of membrane protein expression characteristic of distinct states of cellular development, differentiation or disease, and thereby identify novel markers of, or targets for intervention in, disease. However, although about 25% of open reading frames in fully sequenced genomes are estimated to encode integral membrane proteins, global analysis of membrane protein expression has proved problematic. Membrane protein analysis poses unique challenges at the level of extraction, solubilization, and separation in particular, and to a lesser extent of identi?cation and quantitation. These challenges have, however, fostered creativity, in- vation, and technical advances, many of which are brought together in Membrane P- teomics.

Transport Proteins, Volume 123, provides the latest information on the two major groups of transport proteins, those that carry molecules to different locations within a cell or organism and those that carry molecules across otherwise impermeable membranes. Chapters in the updated release include Biology of Iron Transport: Ferroportin, Transport of transition metals across biological membranes, The effect of sport and physical activity on transport proteins: implications for cancer prevention and control, Structural rearrangement in polyketide synthase for improvement its bio-physicochemical properties, Autophagy Proteins and its Homeostasis in Cellular Environment, and much more.

This book focuses on the design methodologies of various quantum circuits, DNA circuits, DNA-quantum circuits and quantum-DNA circuits. It considers the merits and challenges of multivalued logic circuits in quantum, DNA, quantum-DNA and DNA-quantum computing. Multiple-Valued Computing in Quantum Molecular Biology: Arithmetic and Combinational Circuits is Volume 1 of a two-volume set. From fundamentals to advanced levels, this book discusses different multiple-valued logic DNA-quantum and quantum-DNA circuits. The text consists of four parts. Part I introduces multiple-valued quantum computing and DNA computing. It contains the basic understanding of multiple-valued quantum computing, multiple-valued DNA computing, multiple-valued quantum-DNA computing and multiple-valued DNA-quantum computing. Part II examines heat calculation, speed calculation, heat transfer, data conversion and data management in multi-valued quantum, DNA, quantum-DNA and DNA-quantum computing. Part III discusses multiple-valued logic operations in quantum and DNA computing such as ternary AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, XNOR and multiple-valued arithmetic operations such as adder, multiplier, divider and more. Quantum-DNA and DNA-quantum multiple-valued arithmetic operations are also explained in this section. Part IV explains multiple-valued quantum and DNA combinational circuits such as multiple-valued DNA-quantum and quantum-DNA multiplexer, demultiplexer, encoder and decoder. This book will be of great help to researchers and students in quantum computing, DNA computing, quantum-DNA computing and DNA-quantum computing researchers.

Discusses various design aspects of multiple-valued logic DNA-quantum and quantum-DNA sequential circuits, memory devices, programmable logic devices and nano-processors Presents how multiple-valued quantum, DNA, quantum-DNA and DNA-quantum nano processors are designed with algorithms Examines the architecture and design procedure of memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM) Reviews the designs and algorithms of Multiple-valued quantum, DNA, quantum-DNA and DNA-quantum nano processors.

The alpha herpesviruses are an important group of viruses characterized by a short reproductive cycle, rapid destruction of the host cell, and the ability to replicate in a wide variety of host tissues. A key attribute of these viruses is the ability to establish lifelong latent infection in the peripheral nervous system of the natural host. Research into the molecular and cellular biology of the alpha herpesviruses has advanced greatly in recent years. Written by internationally recognized experts, this book highlights the more provocative and exciting findings in herpesvirus research. Each chapter is a review of a specific area with an emphasis on recent advances and the latest developments. The book examines multifunctional proteins, advances in DNA replication, new information on the regulation of gene expression, the emergence of new technologies, recent technological advances in fluorescent probes, the induction of apoptosis, the disruption of interferon, vaccine development, and

This book is intended to be a working guide to the operation of capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrumentation. Since CE is still a rap idly maturing technique, detailed validated protocols are not widely established. Therefore, extensive experimental procedures are not pro vided for individual analyses. The intention is to provide general guide lines on the principles and practice of CE and to give an overview of the specific technologies and important application areas. Part I provides operating instructions for standard commercially available instruments. Guidelines are included for activities such as changing capillaries, method development, quantitative procedures, optimization of precision and sensitivity, and the validation of meth ods, fraction collection, and troubleshooting, as well as a quick guide to running a separation. The application range of CE is possibly the most diverse of all analytical techniques and ranges from large, complex macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, to small solutes, such as organic drugs and inorganic anions and cations."

• Provides self-Learning about DNA Fingerprinting • Includes sections on how to analyze and interpret DNA fingerprinting • Covers legal and medicolegal issues and case analyses • Teaches novice legal community about DNA fingerprints • Summarizes for a general audience the role of ancestry, DNA and what that means.

Enzyme Active Sites and their Reaction Mechanisms provides a one-stop reference on how enzymes "work." Here, Dr. Harry Morrison, PhD and Professor Emeritus at Purdue University, provides a detailed overview of the origin and function of forty enzymes, the chemical details of their active sites, their mechanisms of action, and associated cofactors. The enzymes featured highlight a step forward, along with possible areas of application, thus supporting new research in academic and industrial labs. Each chapter is written in a clear format, including a brief summary of enzyme function and structure, a detailed description of their mechanisms of action and associated co-factors.

Autophagy Processes and Mechanisms details the process of autophagy and its significance in diseases and aging. It provides insights into autophagy mechanisms and processes to broaden our understanding. By collecting recent progress on several aspects of the autophagy process, it provides a more integrative perspective and serves as a resource that can influence future research initiatives in the field. This new book is appropriate for basic and applied researchers in cell biology, biologists and those working in the pharmaceutical sciences.

Insect Pheromone Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Second Edition, provides an updated and comprehensive review of the biochemistry and molecular biology of insect pheromone biosynthesis and reception. The book ties together historical information with recent discoveries, provides the reader with the current state of the field, and suggests where future research is headed. Written by international experts, many of whom pioneered studies on insect pheromone production and reception, this release updates the 2003 first edition with an emphasis on recent advances in the field. This book will be an important resource for entomologists and molecular biologists studying all areas of insect communication.

Crystallography is an interdisciplinary science covering a wide area, from biology to earth sciences, mathematics and materials science. Its role is growing, owing to the contribution crystallography can offer to the understanding of such diverse fields as biological structures, high-temperature superconductors, mineral properties, and phase transitions. The book describes both the theoretical bases and applications of different areas interacting with crystallography. As with the first and second editions, it is organized as a collection of chapters written by recognized specialists, with all contributions being harmonized into a unified whole. The main text is devoted to the presentation of basics; the appendices deal with specialist aspects. In this third edition topics have been updated so as to document the present state of the art: emphasis is placed upon areas of current research.
To facilitate learning and make teaching more effective, new illustrations have been introduced. As with the second edition, a software package is included via the book's OUP web site: modern graphics will help users to better understand the basics of this science via three-dimensional images, simulation of experiments, and exercises.

Beginning with the Escherichia coli ? protein, or bacterial DNA topoisomerase I, an ever-increasing number of enzymes have been identified that catalyze changes in the linkage of DNA strands. DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous in nature and have been shown to play critical roles in most p- cesses involving DNA, including DNA replication, transcription, and rec- bination. These enzymes further constitute the cellular targets of a number of clinically important antibacterial and anticancer agents. Thus, further studies of DNA topology and DNA topoisomerases are critical to advance our und- standing of the basic biological processes required for cell cycle progression, cell division, genomic stability, and development. In addition, these studies will continue to provide critical insights into the cytotoxic action of drugs that target DNA topoisomerases. Such mechanistic studies have already played an important role in the development and clinical application of antimicrobial and chemotherapeutic agents. The two volumes of DNA Topoisomerase Protocols are designed to help new and established researchers investigate all aspects of DNA topology and the function of these enzymes. The chapters are written by prominent investigators in the field and provide detailed background information and st- by-step experimental protocols. The topics covered in Part I: DNA Topology and Enzymes, range from detailed methods to analyze various aspects of DNA structure, from linking number, knotting/unknotting, site-specific recombi- tion, and decatenation to the overexpression and purification of bacterial and eukaryotic DNA topoisomerases from a variety of cell systems and tissues.

• Provides self-Learning about DNA Fingerprinting • Includes sections on how to analyze and interpret DNA fingerprinting • Covers legal and medicolegal issues and case analyses • Teaches novice legal community about DNA fingerprints • Summarizes for a general audience the role of ancestry, DNA and what that means.

Actin is an extremely abundant protein that comprises a dynamic polymeric network present in all eukaryotic cells, known as the actin cytoskeleton. The structure and function of the actin cytoskeleton, which is modulated by a plethora of actin-binding proteins, performs a diverse range of cellular roles. Well-documented functions for actin include: providing the molecular tracks for cytoplasmic streaming and organelle movements; formation of tethers that guide the cell plate to the division site during cytokinesis; creation of honeycomb-like arrays that enmesh and immobilize plastids in unique subcellular patterns; supporting the vesicle traffic and cytoplasmic organization essential for the directional secretory mechanism that underpins tip growth of certain cells; and coordinating the elaborate cytoplasmic responses to extra- and intracellular signals. The previous two decades have witnessed an immense accumulation of data relating to the cellular, biochemical, and molecular aspects of all these fundamental cellular processes. This prompted the editors to put together a diverse collection of topics, contributed by established international experts, related to the plant actin cytoskeleton. Because the actin cytoskeleton impinges on a multitude of processes critical for plant growth and development, as well as for responses to the environment, the book will be invaluable to any researcher, from the advanced undergraduate to the senior investigator, who is interested in these areas of plant cell biology.

This second edition offers 88 chapters divided among three volumes providing the most comprehensive source of know-how in the wide-ranging field of Mitochondrial Medicine. Volume I guides readers through chapters on QSAR models, DQAsomes, synthesis of Triphenylphosphonium Phospholipid Conjugates, testing of novel isomeric mitochondriotropic derivatives, mTRIP, mitochondria-targeted imaging nanoplatforms, live-cell assessment, mitochondrial coenzyme Q10, rat liver Mitochondrial Lipidome, and Mito-SinCe2. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, application details for both the expert and non-expert reader, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, Mitochondrial Medicine, Second Edition, Volume 1: Targeting Mitochondria aims to be a comprehensive source of know-how in the wide-ranging field of Mitochondrial Medicine.