This book covers all the steps in order to fabricate a lab-on-a-chip device starting from the idea, the design, simulation, fabrication and final evaluation. Additionally, it includes basic theory on microfluidics essential to understand how fluids behave at such reduced scale. Examples of successful histories of lab-on-a-chip systems that made an impact in fields like biomedicine and life sciences are also provided. This book also: * Provides readers with a unique approach and toolset for lab-on-a-chip development in terms of materials, fabrication techniques, and components * Discusses novel materials and techniques, such as paper-based devices and synthesis of chemical compounds on-chip * Covers the four key aspects of development: basic theory, design, fabrication, and testing * Provides readers with a comprehensive list of the most important journals, blogs, forums, and conferences where microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip news, methods, techniques and challenges are presented and discussed, as well as a list of companies providing design and simulation support, components, and/or developing lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic devices.

This book explores why some people become politicians, how they represent citizens in parliaments, and what they think about democracy and its institutions. It analyses the results of the first survey of a representative sample of Spanish MPs (580 cases) and citizens. The study covers areas such as: social profiles; recruitment and selection; women in parliaments; motivation for politics; perception of the representative function and how this is affected by corruption, disaffection and mistrust; national and regional identities; ideology; the functioning of parliamentary groups, and perceptions about the EU. The case of Spain is used to demonstrate how MPs' values, opinions and attitudes conflict and complement with those of the citizens they are supposed to represent. Through a systematic comparison between MPs and citizens, the contributions deal with topics that are key to understanding how democracies work and the role played by MPs.

Self-assembled nanostructures based on peptides and proteins have been investigated and presented as biomaterials with an impressive potential for a broad range of applications such as microfabrication, biosensing platforms, drug delivery systems, bioelectronics and tissue reparation. Through self-assembly peptides can give rise to a range of well-defined nanostructures such as nanotubes, nanofibers, nanoparticles, nanotapes, gels and nanorods. However, there are challenges when trying to integrate these biological nanostructures in the development of sensing devices or drug-delivery systems challenges such as controlling the size during synthesis, the stability in liquid environments and manipulation.

In "Micro and Nanofabrication Using Self-assembled Biological Nanostructures" the options and challenges when using self-assembled peptide nanostructures in micro and nanofabrication are discussed. The publication covers different ways to manipulate, deposit and immobilize on specific locations these biological nanostructures in order to use them in the fabrication of new structures or as part of biosensing platforms. Examples where researchers used biological nanostructures for those types of applications are provided. Finally, future applications are discussed as well as parameters to accelerate and expand the use of these biological building blocks in nano- and micro-fabrication processes by taking advantage of their impressive properties such as low-cost and short synthesis time."

Several micro- and nanomanipulation techniques have emerged in recent decades thanks to advances in micro- and nanofabrication. For instance, the atomic force microscope (AFM) uses a nano-sized tip to image, push, pull, cut, and indent biological material in air, liquid, or vacuum. Using micro- and nanofabrication techniques, scientists can make manipulation tools, such as microgrippers and nanotweezers, on the same length scale as the biological samples. Micro and Nano Techniques for the Handling of Biological Samples reviews the different techniques available to manipulate and integrate biological materials in a controlled manner, either by sliding them along a surface (2-D manipulation), or by gripping and moving them to a new position (3-D manipulation). The advantages and drawbacks are mentioned together with examples that reflect the state-of-the-art in manipulation techniques for biological samples. Thanks to the advances in micro- and nanomanipulation techniques, the integration of biomaterials with physical transducers has been possible, giving rise to new and highly sensitive biosensing devices. Although great progress has been made, challenges are still present. To understand the complex interactions between and inside biological samples, scientists will always be working on improving technologies to manipulate, transport, sort, and integrate samples in different environments. Balanced between simplicity for the beginner and hardcore theory for the more advanced readers, this book is the ideal launching point for sharpening the scientific tools required to address these challenges.

This book explores why some people become politicians, how they represent citizens in parliaments, and what they think about democracy and its institutions. It analyses the results of the first survey of a representative sample of Spanish MPs (580 cases) and citizens. The study covers areas such as: social profiles; recruitment and selection; women in parliaments; motivation for politics; perception of the representative function and how this is affected by corruption, disaffection and mistrust; national and regional identities; ideology; the functioning of parliamentary groups, and perceptions about the EU. The case of Spain is used to demonstrate how MPs' values, opinions and attitudes conflict and complement with those of the citizens they are supposed to represent. Through a systematic comparison between MPs and citizens, the contributions deal with topics that are key to understanding how democracies work and the role played by MPs.

The self-organization of bionanostructures into well-defined functional machineries found in nature has been a priceless source of ideas for researchers. The molecules of life, proteins, DNA, RNA, etc., as well as the structures and forms that these molecules assume serve as rich sources of ideas for scientists or engineers who are interested in developing bio-inspired materials for innovations in biomedical fields. In nature, molecular self-assembly is a process by which complex three-dimensional structures with well-defined functions are constructed, starting from simple building blocks such as proteins and peptides.

This book introduces readers to the theory and mechanisms of peptide self-assembly processes. The authors present the more common peptide self-assembled building blocks and discuss how researchers from different fields can apply self-assembling principles to bionanotechnology applications. The advantages and challenges are mentioned together with examples that reflect the state of the art of the use of self-assembled peptide building blocks in nanotechnology.

Listen up! It's time to change the way you manage your anxiety--by working with it rather than against it. This revolutionary guide provides the key to understanding the root cause of your anxiety, so you can break free from its grip. Let's face it: anxiety can interfere with every single aspect of your life, from work and family to relationships and finances. Left unchecked, the cycle of anxiety reinforces and perpetuates itself over time, and can leave you feeling paralyzed with fear. You've probably attempted to "get rid of" or "outrun" your anxiety, only to find your symptoms growing even stronger. What you need is a new way to deal with anxiety: one that emphasizes listening to what your anxiety is trying to tell you. In What Happened to Make You Anxious?, anxiety expert Jaime Castillo offers a whole new approach; one that focuses less on avoiding or extinguishing anxiety, and more toward understanding and working with it to create a fulfilling, meaningful life. You'll learn how your anxiety is connected to what Castillo refers to as "little 't' traumas"--seemingly small, unhealed traumas from your past that drive your fear and worry, so you can get to the root of your anxiety and start healing. Your anxiety works overtime communicating perceived threats; this book will show you how to listen to anxiety, discern which threats are real, which don't fit the actual facts of the situation, and which are triggered by past events. Once you and your anxiety are on the same page, anxiety will loosen its grip--freeing you up to live with clarity, confidence, and serenity. You've tried managing it on your own. You may have even received treatment. If you're at your wit's end when it comes to your anxiety, this book will show you a new path toward lasting relief.

Selecting candidates for elections is a major goal of political parties and a major function of political regimes in democratic systems. With the negative effects of the economic crisis being seen to translate into changes in voting patterns, and citizens using elections to punish parties in government for their roles in economic mismanagement or lack of response to the global economic crisis, a broad examination is required. This book is presented as the first comparative study of the effects of the political crisis on candidate selection covering a large number of countries. Using an integrated framework and unified strategy, it examines how new relevant political actors are really implementing participative ways of candidate selection, whether they are being innovative in their political environments and the extent to which traditionally mainstream parties are changing selection procedures to have more open and inclusive mechanisms as part of internal, or intra-party, democracy. The book illuminates these issues through empirically driven chapters explaining changes in the way candidates for parliaments are selected in countries where new parties have emerged and consolidated, or where traditional mainstream parties have adopted new mechanisms of selection affecting (if not challenging) traditional politics. Additionally, therefore, this work will serve as a response to some current debates in the discipline on the consequences of the democratization of party life, relating political participation and representation. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of political parties, organizational change, social and political elites and more broadly to comparative politics and sociology.

This volume brings together essays on the nature of political organization of the Moche, a complex pre-Inca society that existed on the north coast of Peru from c. 100 to 800 CE. Since the discovery of the royal tombs of Sipan in 1987, the Moche have become one of the best-known pre-Hispanic cultures of the Americas and the focus of a number of archaeological projects. But the nature of Moche political organization is still debated. Some scholars view the Moche as a monolithic state, others see a clear distinction between a northern and southern Moche polity, and yet others argue that the most accurate model is one in which each valley contained an independent polity. In a presentation of new data and new perspectives, the authors debate these competing theories. Based on a set of papers presented by sixteen international scholars at the Dumbarton Oaks Pre-Columbian Studies symposium held in Lima, Peru, in 2004, this volume marks an important point in the development of Moche archaeology and will be a landmark work in Pre-Columbian studies.