The human pathogens Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are exquisitely adapted to life within the human mucosa, their only natural niche. N. meningitidis is the causative agent of rapidly transmissible meningitis and septic shock. Vaccines developed to control this pathogen can be rendered ineffective by the pathogen's ability to undergo antigenic variation. In contrast, there are no current vaccination prospects for N. gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of sexually transmitted gonorrhoea. Historically, infections caused by N. gonorrhoeae were treated with antibiotics. However, the recent advent of new strains with resistance to all known antibiotics is causing such treatment regimes to fail, necessitating the need for new and more effective control strategies. In this book, leading Neisseria authorities review the most important research on pathogenic Neisseria to provide a timely overview of the field. The topics covered include: the link between pathogenesis and important metabolic pathways * vaccine development * antibiotic resistance * transcriptomics of regulatory networks * regulatory small RNAs * interactions with neutrophils * advances in humanized mouse models. An essential guide for research scientists, advanced students, clinicians, and other professionals working with Neisseria, the book is a recommended text for all microbiology libraries.

Ten-year-old Keely Rosalie Tucker is a modern-day knight with no armor. Constantly bullied by a neighbor boy, Keely struggles to find her place in the world in which she is comforted only by the stories her Gramms has told her about enchanted, faraway places, where unicorns, fairies, and angels protect children from life's everyday pains and dangers. Now all Keely has to do is figure out how to call them to help her.

Everything changes when her beloved Gramms suddenly dies and gifts Keely with her aging horse, Mariah-setting the stage for an adventure. Keely discovers that Mariah can talk, and she soon finds her way to a hidden valley over the moon and beyond rainbows where monsters and dragons disturb and invade the peace of mind. Now she must learn to believe in herself and develop her secret powers in order to deliver a miracle before it is too late.

In this delightful and charming fantasy tale, a little girl learns to summon her courage and rely on her imagination as she opens her heart and mind to the sounds of the possible in a last-ditch effort to save a friend.

Besieged examines the most important sieges in history-the actions and motivations of attackers and defenders along with conditions inside and outside the city walls. From Joshua's assault on Jericho in the 15th century B.C. to the Russian attack on the Chechen capital of Grozny at the end of the 20th century, siege warfare has been a recurring theme in the human story. Again and again, engineers have built supposedly impregnable fortifications, only to see them overrun by an ingenious enemy. In Besieged, military historian Paul F. Davis analyzes the most crucial sieges in world history, such as the siege of Leningrad, which weakened the Nazi forces in World War II, and that of the Alamo, which culminated in independence for Texas. He also describes important sieges unfamiliar to most readers, such as that of Arcot, where a British victory halted the French takeover of southern India. In engaging, accessible language, Davis tracks the invention of new technologies, analyzes innovative tactics, and tells the human story of conditions both inside and outside the city walls. Examines 100 great sieges, from Jericho in 1405 B.C. to Grozny in 1997 Establishes the historical background of each siege, describes the siege itself in both military and human terms, and analyzes the results Provides more than 75 maps as well as tactical diagrams, archival photographs, and artworks Includes a glossary explaining unfamiliar military terms, from abatis to zig-zags

Surveys the one hundred most decisive battles in world history from the Battle of Megiddo in 1469 B.C. to Desert Storm, 1991.

Written by one of the astronomers who 'lived the dream' of working there this book is a restrospectively expanded diary featuring the 'birth and long life' of what was a truely innovative telescope. Based on input received from people involved in its planning, building, operation, and many scientists who observed with it, the author tells this success story of The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Conceived in the mid 1970's as a cheap and cheerful light-bucket for the newly emerging field of infrared astronomy it has re-invented itself once a decade to remain at the forefront of infrared astronomy for more than 30 years. Even in 2012 / 2013, when ironically it faced almost certain closure, it remained one of the most scientifically productive telescopes in the world. Everybody, including amateur and professional astronomers, interested in real astronomy projects will enjoy reading that story and meet (again) the persons who lived it.

A decade after the confirmation of the Kuiper Belt's existence, 80 of the world's experts gathered in Chile to review what has been learned since 1992. This record of the meeting is enhanced by several specially solicited papers covering additional material not presented at the conference. The volume includes papers on the dynamics of the trans-Neptunian region, the results of deep surveys for the new objects and the evidence for an outer Edge to the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. Physical observations of many objects are described and attempts are made to bring these data into some coherent picture of the distant solar system. The interior physics of these distant, icy objects, and the link between the Kuiper Belt and dust disks around other stars are also considered. Of particular interest is a set of papers on how the surfaces of distant asteroids are affected by various types of radiation, an area crucial to the interpretation of data being collected by large ground based telescopes.
Suitable for professional astronomers and PhD students working in the field of planetary science.

"Annual Plant Reviews," Volume 14

It is difficult to over-state the importance of plant pigments in biology. Chlorophylls are arguably the most important organic compounds on earth, as they are required for photosynthesis. Carotenoids are also necessary for the survival of both plants and mammals, through their roles in photosynthesis and nutrition, respectively. The other plant pigment groups, such as flavonoids and betalains, have important roles in both the biology of plants and the organisms with which plants interact.

This book provides an overview of pigment chemistry and biology, together with an up-to-date account of the biosynthesis of pigments and the modification of their production using biotechnology. The chapters cover a wide scope of pigmentation research - from the importance of structural diversity in generating the range of colours seen in plants, through to improving human health properties of crops by increasing pigment levels in transgenic plants.

The volume is directed at researchers and professionals in plant biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics.

The European region - especially given the existence of the European Union (EU) - necessarily encompasses multiple levels of public diplomacy: subnational, national, transnational, and supranational. But do the various aspects of Europe's multi-leveled public diplomacy form a coherent overall image, or do they work against each other to some extent? European Public Diplomacy: Soft Power at Work pushes the literature on public diplomacy forward through a multifaceted exploration of the European case. In so doing, it fills an important gap in the international relations literature on the mechanisms behind soft power.

Integrating Population Outcomes, Biological Mechanisms and Research Methods in the Study of Human Milk and Lactation is the product of the 10th Conference of the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, held on September 15-19, 2000, in Tucson, Arizona. The presented sessions at the meeting are as diverse as the volume itself. These sessions include the impact of micronutrient deficiencies during lactation on maternal and infant health, the premature infant, developmental immunology, breastfeeding in the industrialized world, and viral transmission in milk. Whenever possible, the sessions were organized to include human population research, research showing the biological underpinnings of the effects on human health, and important methodological issues. This volume is a contemporary and influential tool for human milk biologists, breastfeeding epidemiologists, biochemists, immunologists, clinical specialists, and all professionals and researchers in the field.

This book explores the prominence of 'race' in the lives of young children and their early childhood educators. It critiques the often presumed racial innocence of young children and shows instead how young children actively engage with the politics of race as they form their own identities. It challenges early childhood educators to engage with children's racialised identity politics, and shows how this often requires early childhood educators to rethink their own racialised identities. Amongst the challenges the book presents it offers points of possibility and hope for creating more racially just early childhood classrooms.

Relativism, or the claim that it is possible that the appearances and opinions of each of us are correct for each of us, and hence that any view is as true as any other, has remained a continuing problem for philosophy and science for 2,500 years. Today, because of the widespread acceptance of relativism, the problem is greater than ever before. This book argues that Plato in fact solved this problem. In the first two chapters, by means of a study of Husserl and Locke, Davis shows that it is possible to return to and take seriously Plato’s treatment of this problem. The third chapter presents Plato’s solution to it. This book is distinctive in that it shows that a problem that has been thought to be present throughout the history of Western thought was in fact solved by Plato, and in that it shows that we can, beginning from our contemporary situation, return to Plato’s solution.

International Cooperation Against All Odds: The Ultrasocial World recasts how we understand international relations through an examination of how the human evolutionary predisposition to be "ultrasocial" as a species impacts which political ideas succeed, transform, manipulate, and inspire on a global scale. At a time when pessimism about our current world order is at an all-time high, this book overturns widespread assumptions that international relations is mainly about conflict, power, and national self-interest. In the last 10-20 years, scientists have discovered that as a species, we are biologically hard-wired, soft-wired, and pre-wired to be other-regarding and cooperative. Humans are an ultrasocial species, and yet this predisposition is completely ignored in governments across the world. Political leaders, experts, and the media have cultivated a myopic vision of global conflict, feeding an obsession on crises of the moment, rather than recognizing frequent and significant breakthroughs in peaceful cooperation and overall trends in the decline of violence. This book shows how time and time again our ultrasocial predisposition has pushed us towards big ideas that inspire and bring us together around the power of possibility. Featuring original research on international cooperation in outer-space exploration, European Union integration, nuclear weapons, and climate change, among other examples, Mai'a K. Davis Cross shows ultrasociality at work in a range of contexts. Tracing the path from social neuroscience and evolutionary biology (among others) to the power of ideas to international agreements, International Cooperation Against All Odds opens up an entirely new understanding of world politics. If we recognize our nature as a species and the potential we have to work together, we can start to transform institutions, and devise policies that take advantage of this. The book ends with a roadmap to promote more international cooperation, and eventually, a more stable, peaceful world order.

This book details the newly discovered ability of the brain to restore, renew and regenerate. Dr. Davis puts all the valuable information he has gleaned over thirty years as a neurosurgeon to use in this book which covers the all-too-prevalent, disastrous choices that can diminish the brain's power and with it, the quality of life. Dr. Davis tells readers that if they take the information and follow his advice, they will see improvement in as little as three weeks.

The New Left was founded in 1962, and as a social and political protest movement, it captured the attention of the nation in the Sixties. By 1968, the New Left was marching in unison with hundreds of political action groups to achieve one goal—the end of the war in Vietnam. Under J. Edgar Hoover's direction, the FBI went from an intelligence collection agency during WWII, to an organization that tried to undermine protest movements like the New Left. Hoover viewed the New Left as a threat to the American way of life, so in an enormous effort of questionable legality, the FBI implemented some 285 counter-intelligence (COINTELPRO) actions against the New Left. The purpose of COINTELPRO was to infiltrate, disrupt, and otherwise neutralize the entire movement. In truth, the FBI intended to wage war on the antiwar movement. In this real-life spy story—J. Edgar Hoover and his G-Men, wiretaps, burglaries, misinformation campaigns, informants, and plants—Davis offers a glimpse into the endlessly fascinating world of the Sixties. Kent State, Columbia University, Vietnam Moratorium Day, the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Cambodian invasion and March Against Death are all examined in this riveting account of the longest youth protest movement in American history. This is the only book devoted entirely to the New Left COINTELPRO, and the first one written after the declassification of more than 6,000 counterintelligence documents that reveal the true nature and extent of the FBI's Assault on the Left.

This book details the newly discovered ability of the brain to restore, renew and regenerate. Dr. Davis puts all the valuable information he has gleaned over thirty years as a neurosurgeon to use in this book which covers the all-too-prevalent, disastrous choices that can diminish the brain's power and with it, the quality of life. Dr. Davis tells readers that if they take the information and follow his advice, they will see improvement in as little as three weeks.

The growth of health promotion as a topic for discussion and a principle for practice is widespread, and affects all groups of health professionals. The "Healthy Cities" project, like "Health for All", was inaugurated by the World Health Organization and has informed policy throughout the world. This volume examines the application of the project in a number of countries. The contributors explore problems in the relationship between policy makers, communities and academic researchers, and discuss how the "Healthy Cities" programme affects housing policy, commmunity development, scientific interchange and health education. In addition, John Davies and Michael Kelly provide a context by tracing the history of the WHO projects, and then discuss them in the broader context of scientific and philosophical debates about modernism and post-modernism. The contributors are drawn from practitioners and scientists with wide experience in this area from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the United States.

From World War I until today, the United States has failed to provide adequate transition support to millions of veterans leaving military service. Instead of providing meaningful jobs, access to quality health care and education, and fair and equitable housing, veterans learn that when their military service is done, they are now fighting a new battle – a failed bureaucracy which has let them and other veterans down for the past 100 years. It’s not as if we as a nation haven’t tried. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has seen the largest increase in funding in its history and has been given several free passes when the budget axe arrives. Federal funding and grants for education have also enjoyed similar financial favor; and housing opportunities have been increased. Yet on a rudimentary level, we as a nation cannot stop believing that GI Joe and Jane can’t wait to come back home and pick up right where they left off before their military service began. The truth is, that person is gone and is not coming back. After months or years in a highly structured organizational environment, often times with deployments and horrific battlefield experiences, the military veteran has undergone a paradigm shift in their thinking, their character, and in the way they view themselves and others. Advances in medical triage and transport have saved thousands of men and women who in previous wars who would have died on the battlefield; and new prosthetics and treatment strategies for those with “invisible wounds” have helped many. But an overburdened VHA isn’t prepared to provide for the sheer volumes of veterans that return home. And with veteran unemployment rates traditionally running percentage points higher than their civilian counterparts, America still wonders why. Many veterans, particularly those with PTSD are lost when returning home. Moving Past PTSD: Consciousness, Understanding, and Appreciation for Military Veterans and Their Families hopes to break this cycle. In their own words, veterans, caregivers, and the family members that love them are given the opportunity to tell us what is truly broken in the military to civilian transition. Advances in clinical treatments, the presentation of a new fast track job training program and new awareness for the challenges facing all military veterans, changes our way of understanding of who the 21st century veteran is. Through this understanding, we can change their lives and they can change ours.

The Politics of Crisis in Europe explores the resilience of the European Union in the face of repeated crises perceived to threaten its very existence. While it is often observed after the fact that these crises serve as opportunities for integration, this is the first critical analysis to suggest that we cannot fully understand the nature and severity of these crises without recognising the role of societal reaction to events and the nature of social narratives about crisis, especially those advanced by the media. Through a close examination of the 2003 Iraq crisis, the 2005 constitutional crisis, and the 2010-12 Eurozone crisis, this book identifies a pattern across these episodes, demonstrating how narratives about crises provide the means to openly air underlying societal tensions that would otherwise remain under the surface, impeding further integration.

The Politics of Crisis in Europe explores the resilience of the European Union in the face of repeated crises perceived to threaten its very existence. While it is often observed after the fact that these crises serve as opportunities for integration, this is the first critical analysis to suggest that we cannot fully understand the nature and severity of these crises without recognising the role of societal reaction to events and the nature of social narratives about crisis, especially those advanced by the media. Through a close examination of the 2003 Iraq crisis, the 2005 constitutional crisis, and the 2010-12 Eurozone crisis, this book identifies a pattern across these episodes, demonstrating how narratives about crises provide the means to openly air underlying societal tensions that would otherwise remain under the surface, impeding further integration.

Written by one of the astronomers who 'lived the dream' of working there this book is a restrospectively expanded diary featuring the 'birth and long life' of what was a truely innovative telescope. Based on input received from people involved in its planning, building, operation, and many scientists who observed with it, the author tells this success story of The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Conceived in the mid 1970's as a cheap and cheerful light-bucket for the newly emerging field of infrared astronomy it has re-invented itself once a decade to remain at the forefront of infrared astronomy for more than 30 years. Even in 2012 / 2013, when ironically it faced almost certain closure, it remained one of the most scientifically productive telescopes in the world. Everybody, including amateur and professional astronomers, interested in real astronomy projects will enjoy reading that story and meet (again) the persons who lived it.