Continuing the tradition of International Dyke Conference, this book is largely based on contributions from the IDC7 but also includes some chapters by invitation. It focuses on mafic dyke swarms and related associations: e.g. links with sills, kimberlites, syenites, carbonatites, and volcanics, discussing the following themes: (i) regional maps/reviews of dyke swarms and related units, (ii) the role of giant dyke swarms in the reconstruction of supercontinents/paleocontinents, (iii) mapping of dykes using remote sensing techniques, (iv) geochronology of dyke swarms, (v) petrology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of dykes, (vi) emplacement mechanism of dykes, (vii) dyke swarms and planetary bodies, and (viii) links to mineralization and resources.

Experts from around the world review the current field of the immunobiology of heat shock proteins, and provide a comprehensive account of how these molecules are spearheading efforts in the understanding of various pathways of the immune system. This one-stop resource contains numerous images to both help illustrate the research on heat shock proteins, and better clarify the field for the non-expert. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were discovered in 1962 and were quickly recognized for their role in protecting cells from stress. Twenty years later, the immunogenicity of a select few HSPs was described, and for the past 30 years, these findings have been applied to numerous branches of immunology, including tumor immunology and immunosurveillance, immunotherapy, etiology of autoimmunity, immunotherapy of infectious diseases, and expression of innate receptors. While HSPs can be used to manipulate immune responses by exogenous administration, they appear to be involved in initiation of de novo immune responses to cancer and likely in the maintenance of immune homeostasis.

Metal toxicity and deficiency are both common abiotic problems faced by plants. While metal contamination around the world is a critical issue, the bioavailability of some essential metals like zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) can be seriously low in other locations. The list of metals spread in high concentrations in soil, water and air includes several toxic as well as essential elements, such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), and selenium (Se). The problems for some metals are geographically confined, while for others, they are widespread. For instance, arsenic is an important toxic metalloid whose contamination in Southeast Asia and other parts of world is well documented. Its threats to human health via food consumption have generated immense interest in understanding plants' responses to arsenic stress. Metals constitute crucial components of key enzymes and proteins in plants. They are important for the proper growth and development of plants. In turn, plants serve as sources of essential elements for humans and animals. Studies of their physiological effects on plants metabolism have led to the identification of crucial genes and proteins controlling metal uptake and transport, as well as the sensing and signaling of metal stresses. Plant-Metal Interactions sheds light on the latest development and research in analytical biology with respect to plant physiology. More importantly, it showcases the positive and negative impacts of metals on crop plants growth and productivity.

Computational intelligence techniques have enjoyed growing interest in recent decades among the earth and environmental science research communities for their powerful ability to solve and understand various complex problems and develop novel approaches toward a sustainable earth. This book compiles a collection of recent developments and rigorous applications of computational intelligence in these disciplines. Techniques covered include artificial neural networks, support vector machines, fuzzy logic, decision-making algorithms, supervised and unsupervised classification algorithms, probabilistic computing, hybrid methods and morphic computing. Further topics given treatment in this volume include remote sensing, meteorology, atmospheric and oceanic modeling, climate change, environmental engineering and management, catastrophic natural hazards, air and environmental pollution and water quality. By linking computational intelligence techniques with earth and environmental science oriented problems, this book promotes synergistic activities among scientists and technicians working in areas such as data mining and machine learning. We believe that a diverse group of academics, scientists, environmentalists, meteorologists and computing experts with a common interest in computational intelligence techniques within the earth and environmental sciences will find this book to be of great value.

In vitro and animal studies show that vanadate and other Because most cellular components contain hydroxyl and/or vanadium compounds increase glucose transport activity and phosphate groups, vanadate reacts as shown in eq. 1, and 2 normalize glucose metabolism [1-5]. Furthermore, these with a variety of metabolites. For example, the reaction of insulin-mimetic compounds can be administered orally. Vana- vanadate with the 2'-hydroxyl group of the cofactor NAD date enhances the phosphoprotein formation which is attrib- generates an NADP analog, NADV (path b) [22]. NADV is uted to either the activation of protein kinases or inhibition an excellent cofactor for enzymes such as glucose-6-phos- of protein phosphatases. Despite the interest in document- phate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, ing the effects of vanadate on protein kinases, most reports and alcohol dehydrogenase [22]. The presence ofNADV have used indirect methods and studies with purified kinases could affect the levels of reducing equivalents in the cell, im- show weak, if any, interaction of vanadate with kinases as portant in maintaining a normal glucose metabolism. This a group of enzymes (reviewed in Refs. [6-8]). Vanadate type of mechanism is distinct from the vanadate-induced interacts potently with phosphatases and the inhibition is NADH oxidation by plasma membranes [23]. Organic attributed to a five-coordinate vanadate complex which vanadates have been shown to substitute for organic phos- mimics the transition state of the phosphate ester hydroly- phates in many of the enzymes related to glucose metabolism sis reaction (reviewed in Refs. [7,9]).

Capsaicin is a principal pungent ingredient of red chili peppers, first isolated in the early nineteenth century by Christian Friedrich Bucholz. Widely consumed as a spice in South Asia and Latin America, Capsaicin has been used to treat pain and inflammation associated with a variety of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, post-masectomy pain, cluster headaches, and herpes zoster. Although recent studies have evaluated capsaicin as a novel anti-cancer agent, and mechanisms of capsaicin in preventing cancer have been described sporadically, the literature lacks a comprehensive review of capsaicin as a chemo-preventive agent. Role of Capsaicin in Oxidative Stress and Cancer offers a thorough exploration of the preventive and therapeutic effects of capsaicin in cancer models such as melanoma, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma and glioma. The contributors, all internationally recognized researchers, identify various molecular and cellular targets of capsaicin, and show the critical role of mitochondria in capsaicin-mediated therapeutic effects. Readers will learn how capsaicin prevents or may treat cancer, how different cells respond to capsaicin, how environmental carcinogen-induced carcinogenesis can be prevented by capsaicin and the mechanism of oxidative stress caused by capsaicin. This book will benefit medical students, oncologists and cancer researchers everywhere.

"Remote Sensing Applications in Environmental Research "is the basis for advanced Earth Observation (EO) datasets used in environmental monitoring and research. Now that there are a number of satellites in orbit, EO has become imperative in today s sciences, weather and natural disaster prediction. This highly interdisciplinary reference work brings together diverse studies on remote sensing and GIS, from a theoretical background to its applications, represented through various case studies and the findings of new models. The book offers a comprehensive range of contributions by well-known scientists from around the world and opens a new window for students in presenting interdisciplinary and methodological resources on the latest research. It explores various key aspects and offers state-of-the-art research in a simplified form, describing remote sensing and GIS studies for those who are new to the field, as well as for established researchers."

This volume explores current viewpoints and knowledge gaps in the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The chapters in this book cover topics ranging from development of in vitro and animal TBI models, to diagnostic imaging and disease monitoring in patients. Designing pre-clinical and clinical trials is also discussed. In Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Practical and thorough, Pre-Clinical and Clinical Methods in Brain Trauma Research is a valuable resource for both scientists and clinical researchers interested in learning about important techniques and their applications in the field of TBI.

This book brings together the scattered literature associated with the seemingly unrelated regression equations (SURE) model used by econometricians and others. It focuses on the theoretical statistical results associated with the SURE model.

The main objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive review on stem cells and their role in tissue regeneration, homeostasis and therapy. In addition, the role of cancer stem cells in cancer initiation, progression and drug resistance are discussed. The cell signaling pathways and microRNA regulating stem cell self-renewal, tissue homeostasis and drug resistance are also mentioned. Overall, these reviews will provide a new understanding of the influence of stem cells in tissue regeneration, disease regulation, therapy and drug resistance in several human diseases.

This volume provides comprehensive knowledge on the fundamental techniques and detailed laboratory protocols used in stem cell research and their potential application in the field of neuroscience. The chapters in this book cover detailed descriptions of techniques for isolation, maintenance, differentiation, and characterization of neural stem cells, and the development of in vitro stem cell-based neurological disease model. There are detailed methods on leading techniques for stem cell genetic engineering and intra-organ transplantation for research and therapeutic purposes, in vivo imaging of donor stem cells, and essential requirements for setting up a new stem cell laboratory. Neuromethods series offers chapters with key advice and procedure specifics to empower the readers to successfully achieve their own scientific and experimental goals. Cutting-edge and pragmatic, Stem Cell Technologies in Neuroscience is a valuable resource for academic and translational researchers, industry scientists, biology teachers, and life science graduate students to grasp the vital pulse of the rapidly growing field of stem cell research.

Time is of the essence in the effective management of trauma patients, requiring quick evaluation, immediate lifesaving procedures, and a definitive treatment of a wide variety of injuries. Trauma Surgery Essentials: A Must-Know Guide to Emergency Management has been written and designed to provide need-to-know information in a visually appealing, easy-to-read format. Expert trauma surgeon Dr. Anil K. Srivastava has identified the essential trauma surgery facts and procedures you must know, based on authoritative textbooks, practice guidelines, and current peer-reviewed journals, and compiled all of this information into a handy guide, ideal for quick reference at the point of care. Covers the emergent evaluation and management of trauma patients, as well as the emergency management of specific injuries. Uses an easy-to-digest, bullet-point format to convey information in a way that's easy to follow and understand. Contains dozens of full-color illustrations that focus on surgical anatomy and surgical procedures, as well as numerous algorithms that aid in surgical decision making. A valuable resource for medical students, trainee surgical residents, trauma surgery fellows, general surgeons, trauma surgeons, ER physicians, and midlevel providers, as well as other non-surgical physicians who are interested in the management of trauma patients. An eBook version is included with purchase. The eBook allows you to access all of the text, figures and references, with the ability to search, customize your content, make notes and highlights, and have content read aloud.

This book advances the scientific understanding, development, and application of geospatial technologies related to water resource management. It presents recent developments and applications specifically by utilizing new earth observation datasets such as TRMM/GPM, AMSR E/2, SMOS, SMAP and GCOM in combination with GIS, artificial intelligence, and hybrid techniques. By linking geospatial techniques with new satellite missions for earth and environmental science, the book promotes the synergistic and multidisciplinary activities of scientists and users working in the field of hydrological sciences.

RESILIENCY OF POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS A revolutionary book covering the relevant concepts for resiliency-focused advancements of the distribution power grid Most resiliency and security guidelines for the power industry are focused on power transmission systems. As renewable energy and energy storage increasingly replace fossil-fuel-based power generation over the coming years, geospatially neighboring distributed energy resources will supply a majority of consumers and provide clean power through long transmission lines. These electric power distribution systems—the final stage in the delivery of electric power—carry electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. New distributed devices will be essential to the grid to manage this variable power generation and enhance reliability and resilience while keeping electricity affordable as the world seeks solutions to climate change and threats from extreme events. In Resiliency of Power Distribution Systems, readers are provided with the tools to understand and enhance resiliency of distribution systems—and thereby, the entire power grid. In a shift from the present design and operation of the power system, the book is focused on improving the grid’s ability to predict, adapt, and respond to all hazards and threats. This, then, acts as a guide to ensure that any incident can be mitigated and responded to promptly and adequately. It also highlights the most advanced and applicable methodologies and architecture frameworks that evaluate degradation, advance proactive action, and transform system behavior to maintain normal operation, under extreme operating conditions. Resiliency of Power Distribution Systems readers will also find: Chapter organization that facilitates quick review of distribution fundamental and easy-but-thorough understanding of the importance of resiliency Real-world case studies where resilient power systems could have prevented massive financial and energy losses Frameworks to help mitigate cyber-physical attacks, strategize response on multiple timescales, and optimize operational efficiencies and priorities for the power grid Resiliency of Power Distribution Systems is a valuable reference for power system professionals including electrical engineers, utility operators, distribution system planners and engineers, and manufacturers, as well as members of the research community, energy market experts and policy makers, and graduate students on electrical engineering courses.

This book brings together the scattered literature associated with the seemingly unrelated regression equations (SURE) model used by econometricians and others. It focuses on the theoretical statistical results associated with the SURE model.

The theory of invariance of modules under automorphisms of their envelopes and covers has opened up a whole new direction in the study of module theory. It offers a new perspective on generalizations of injective, pure-injective and flat-cotorsion modules beyond relaxing conditions on liftings of homomorphisms. This has set off a flurry of work in the area, with hundreds of papers using the theory appearing in the last decade. This book gives the first unified treatment of the topic. The authors are real experts in the area, having played a major part in the breakthrough of this new theory and its subsequent applications. The first chapter introduces the basics of ring and module theory needed for the following sections, making it self-contained and suitable for graduate students. The authors go on to develop and explain their tools, enabling researchers to employ them, extend and simplify known results in the literature and to solve longstanding problems in module theory, many of which are discussed at the end of the book.

Chemoprevention of cancer has been the focus of intensive research for more than two decades. Epidemiological evidence has shown a small, but significant association between fruit and vegetable intake and a reduction in cancer risk. Diet may account for about thirty five percent of cancer. Large claims have been made for the effectiveness of particular diets in determining one's risk of developing cancer, ranging from protection against cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. A wide array of dietary components has been demonstrated to be as effective in fighting off cancer. Towards an increased understanding of the nutrition, excercise and diet in preventing cancer or inhibiting its progression has led to the discovery and development of novel and effective drugs that regulate intracellular signaling network in the body. This information will be very useful to explore novel and highly effective chemopreventive strategies for reducing the health burden of cancer. Hippocrates, who proclaimed 25 centuries ago, 'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'. They estimated that one third of all cancer cases could be prevented by a healthier diet; statements which are widely accepted in the scientific literature. This book covers the current state-of-the art knowledge on the impact of nutrition and diet with nutrigenetics, nutritional epigenomics, nutritional transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics approach in cancer prevention and therapy.

Remote Sensing in Precision Agriculture: Transforming Scientific Advancement into Innovation compiles the latest applications of remote sensing in agriculture using spaceborne, airborne and drones’ geospatial data. The book presents case studies, new algorithms and the latest methods surrounding crop sown area estimation, determining crop health status, assessment of vegetation dynamics, crop diseases identification, crop yield estimation, soil properties, drone image analysis for crop damage assessment, and other issues in precision agriculture. This book is ideal for those seeking to explore and implement remote sensing in an effective and efficient manner with its compendium of scientifically and technologically sound information.

GPS and GNSS Technology in Geosciences offers an interdisciplinary approach to applying advances in GPS/GNSS technology for geoscience research and practice. As GPS/GNSS signals can be used to provide useful information about the Earth's surface characteristics and land surface composition, GPS equipment and services for commercial purposes continues to grow, thus resulting in new expectations and demands. This book provides case studies for a deeper understanding of the operation and principles of widely applied approaches and the benefits of the technology in everyday research and activities.

Experts from around the world review the current field of the immunobiology of heat shock proteins, and provide a comprehensive account of how these molecules are spearheading efforts in the understanding of various pathways of the immune system. This one-stop resource contains numerous images to both help illustrate the research on heat shock proteins, and better clarify the field for the non-expert. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were discovered in 1962 and were quickly recognized for their role in protecting cells from stress. Twenty years later, the immunogenicity of a select few HSPs was described, and for the past 30 years, these findings have been applied to numerous branches of immunology, including tumor immunology and immunosurveillance, immunotherapy, etiology of autoimmunity, immunotherapy of infectious diseases, and expression of innate receptors. While HSPs can be used to manipulate immune responses by exogenous administration, they appear to be involved in initiation of de novo immune responses to cancer and likely in the maintenance of immune homeostasis.

Computational intelligence techniques have enjoyed growing interest in recent decades among the earth and environmental science research communities for their powerful ability to solve and understand various complex problems and develop novel approaches toward a sustainable earth. This book compiles a collection of recent developments and rigorous applications of computational intelligence in these disciplines. Techniques covered include artificial neural networks, support vector machines, fuzzy logic, decision-making algorithms, supervised and unsupervised classification algorithms, probabilistic computing, hybrid methods and morphic computing. Further topics given treatment in this volume include remote sensing, meteorology, atmospheric and oceanic modeling, climate change, environmental engineering and management, catastrophic natural hazards, air and environmental pollution and water quality. By linking computational intelligence techniques with earth and environmental science oriented problems, this book promotes synergistic activities among scientists and technicians working in areas such as data mining and machine learning. We believe that a diverse group of academics, scientists, environmentalists, meteorologists and computing experts with a common interest in computational intelligence techniques within the earth and environmental sciences will find this book to be of great value.

Remote Sensing Applications in Environmental Research is the basis for advanced Earth Observation (EO) datasets used in environmental monitoring and research. Now that there are a number of satellites in orbit, EO has become imperative in today's sciences, weather and natural disaster prediction. This highly interdisciplinary reference work brings together diverse studies on remote sensing and GIS, from a theoretical background to its applications, represented through various case studies and the findings of new models. The book offers a comprehensive range of contributions by well-known scientists from around the world and opens a new window for students in presenting interdisciplinary and methodological resources on the latest research. It explores various key aspects and offers state-of-the-art research in a simplified form, describing remote sensing and GIS studies for those who are new to the field, as well as for established researchers.

Signal Transduction in Cardiovascular System Health and Disease highlights the major contributions of different signaling systems in modulating normal cardiovascular functions and how a perturbation in these signaling events leads to abnormal cell functions and cardiovascular disorders. This title is volume 3 in the new Springer series, Advances in Biochemistry in Health and Disease.

Chemoprevention of cancer has been the focus of intensive research for more than two decades. Epidemiological evidence has shown a small, but significant association between fruit and vegetable intake and a reduction in cancer risk. Diet may account for about thirty five percent of cancer. Large claims have been made for the effectiveness of particular diets in determining one's risk of developing cancer, ranging from protection against cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. A wide array of dietary components has been demonstrated to be as effective in fighting off cancer. Towards an increased understanding of the nutrition, excercise and diet in preventing cancer or inhibiting its progression has led to the discovery and development of novel and effective drugs that regulate intracellular signaling network in the body. This information will be very useful to explore novel and highly effective chemopreventive strategies for reducing the health burden of cancer. Hippocrates, who proclaimed 25 centuries ago, 'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'. They estimated that one third of all cancer cases could be prevented by a healthier diet; statements which are widely accepted in the scientific literature. This book covers the current state-of-the art knowledge on the impact of nutrition and diet with nutrigenetics, nutritional epigenomics, nutritional transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics approach in cancer prevention and therapy.