This detailed book explores methods to isolate, characterize, and investigate key lung innate immune cells. Beginning with an overview, the volume then continues with methods for creating in vitro and in vivo model systems to study inflammatory lung diseases. 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, Lung Innate Immunity and Inflammation: Methods and Protocols aims to be a guidebook and will be of value and interest to researchers investigating innate immunity and inflammation in the lung as well as other organs and tissues.

Soft computing encompasses various computational methodologies, which, unlike conventional algorithms, are tolerant of imprecision, uncertainty, and partial truth. Soft computing technologies offer adaptability as a characteristic feature and thus permit the tracking of a problem through a changing environment. Besides some recent developments in areas like rough sets and probabilistic networks, fuzzy logic, evolutionary algorithms, and artificial neural networks are core ingredients of soft computing, which are all bio-inspired and can easily be combined synergetically.This book presents a well-balanced integration of fuzzy logic, evolutionary computing, and neural information processing. The three constituents are introduced to the reader systematically and brought together in differentiated combinations step by step. The text was developed from courses given by the authors and offers numerous illustrations as

The aim of this book is to promote interaction between engineering, finance and insurance, as these three domains have many models and methods of solution in common for solving real-life problems. The authors point out the strict inter-relations that exist among the diffusion models used in engineering, finance and insurance. In each of the three fields, the basic diffusion models are presented and their strong similarities are discussed. Analytical, numerical and Monte Carlo simulation methods are explained with a view to applying them to obtain the solutions to the different problems presented in the book. Advanced topics such as nonlinear problems, Levy processes and semi-Markov models in interactions with the diffusion models are discussed, as well as possible future interactions among engineering, finance and insurance.

Contents

1. Diffusion Phenomena and Models.2. Probabilistic Models of Diffusion Processes.3. Solving Partial Differential Equations of Second Order.4. Problems in Finance.5. Basic PDE in Finance.6. Exotic and American Options Pricing Theory.7. Hitting Times for Diffusion Processes and Stochastic Models in Insurance.8. Numerical Methods.9. Advanced Topics in Engineering: Nonlinear Models.10. Levy Processes.11. Advanced Topics in Insurance: Copula Models and VaR Techniques.12. Advanced Topics in Finance: Semi-Markov Models.13. Monte Carlo Semi-Markov Simulation Methods.

About the Authors

Jacques Janssen is now Honorary Professor at the Solvay Business School (ULB) in Brussels, Belgium, having previously taught at EURIA (Euro-Institut d'Actuariat, University of West Brittany, Brest, France) and Telecom-Bretagne (Brest, France) as well as being a director of Jacan Insurance and Finance Services, a consultancy and training company.Oronzio Manca is Professor of thermal sciences at Seconda Universita degli Studi di Napoli in Italy. He is currently Associate Editor of ASME Journal of Heat Transfer and Journal of Porous Media and a member of the editorial advisory boards for The Open Thermodynamics Journal, Advances in Mechanical Engineering, The Open Fuels & Energy Science Journal.Raimondo Manca is Professor of mathematical methods applied to economics, finance and actuarial science at University of Rome "La Sapienza" in Italy. He is associate editor for the journal Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability. His main research interests are multidimensional linear algebra, computational probability, application of stochastic processes to economics, finance and insurance and simulation models.

Soft computing encompasses various computational methodologies, which, unlike conventional algorithms, are tolerant of imprecision, uncertainty, and partial truth. Soft computing technologies offer adaptability as a characteristic feature and thus permit the tracking of a problem through a changing environment. Besides some recent developments in areas like rough sets and probabilistic networks, fuzzy logic, evolutionary algorithms, and artificial neural networks are core ingredients of soft computing, which are all bio-inspired and can easily be combined synergetically.
This book presents a well-balanced integration of fuzzy logic, evolutionary computing, and neural information processing. The three constituents are introduced to the reader systematically and brought together in differentiated combinations step by step. The text was developed from courses given by the authors and offers numerous illustrations as

The postmodern and secular culture of the West requires a new reflection on God. The Implicit Theology of the Lord's Prayer: A Biblical and Theological Investigation reflects on God on the basis of an original and central expression of the Christian faith: the Lord's Prayer. First, Jan Muis interprets the divine names central to this prayer in their biblical contexts. Next, Muis understands the divine attributes implied by these names from the biblical narrative of God's self-revealing actions, and explains them in a contemporary framework. God's Name indicates his particular personal presence and encounter with human beings. The holiness of God's Name and the justice of his Kingship are more than just aspects of the love of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Creator is not a human blown large; in his companionship with humans, he remains the Exalted who lives both "within" and "beyond" created, temporal reality. In the context of "a secular age," Muis discusses in what sense this God exists.

Many reproductive and developmental health problems are caused by exposure to chemicals that are widely dispersed in our environment. These problems include infertility, miscarriage, poor pregnancy outcomes, abnormal fetal development, early puberty, endometriosis, and diseases and cancers of reproductive organs. The compelling nature of the collective science has resulted in recognition of a new field of environmental reproductive health. Focusing on exposures to environmental contaminants, particularly during critical periods in development and their potential effects on all aspects of future reproductive life-course, this book provides the first comprehensive source of information bringing together the arguments that are spread out among various scientific disciplines in environmental health, clinical and public health fields. It provides a review of the science in key areas of the relationship between environmental contaminants and reproductive health outcomes, and recommendations on efforts toward prevention in clinical care and public policy.

Physiologie und Pathophysiologie der Speiserohre haben erst spat das Interesse der Kliniker gefunden. Unzulangliche Untersuchungs- methoden und berechtigte Furcht vor Gefahren eines operativen Eingriffs haben den thorakalen Abschnitt des Oesophagus fiir lange Zeit zu einem chirurgischen Niemandsland gemacht. Erst die Ent- wicklung von Radiologie und Endoskopie hat den Bann durch- brochen, der die exakte Diagnose von funktionellen und organisch- mechanischen Leiden verhinderte. Erfassung und Registrierung von Tonus und Peristaltik waren die nachsten Schritte, die mit Hilfe der Endomanometrie moglich wurden. Funktionelle Storungen, welche die Oesophagusmuskulatur mit ihrem immer noch problematischen Sphinctermechanismus betreffen, beherrschen heute noch die klini- sche Diskussion. Dieser neue Weg hat eine Chirurgie der Speise- rohre entwicke!t, die fUr aufdringliche und schmerzhafte funktionelle Leiden eine fast ungefahrliche Korrektur ermoglicht. Das vorliegende Buch gibt den heutigen Standort der Pathophy- siologie des Oesophagus in sehen vollendeter Form wieder. Der Chir- urg wird daraus den gleichen Nutzen ziehen wie der Internist. Nur ein Ratse! bleibt unge!ost, das im Beginn der chirurgischen Aera oesophagealer Erkrankungen im V ordergrund stand: das Carcinom und aile der zum Teil gro13artigen Bemtihungen urn eine wahre Radi- kaloperation sind vergeblich geblieben. Wahrscheinlich hilft aber die Anwendung der modernen diagnostischen Methoden zu frtihzeitiger Erkennung des Leidens und damit vielleicht sogar zu besseren chirur- gischen Dauerresultaten.

Das vorliegende Buch behandelt das Thema der Physiologie und Pathophysiologie der Motilitatsvorgange im oberen Gastrointestinaltrakt sowie deren pharmakologische Beeinflussung - insbesondere auf Rezeptorebene - als Grundlage fur eine gezielte Differentialtherapie von Motilitats"storungen." Ein besonderer Aspekt ergibt sich aus der Darstellung neuester Studienergebnisse, die fur die Behandlung der Refluxkrankheit der Speiserohre sowie fur das haufige Reizmagensyndrom klinisch relevant sind."