This book presents an overview of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), their mechanisms of antimicrobial action, other activities, and various problems that must still be overcome regarding their clinical application. Divided into four major parts, the book begins with a general overview of AMPs (Part I), and subsequently discusses the various mechanisms of antimicrobial action and methods for researching them (Part 2). It then addresses a range of activities other than antimicrobial action, such as cell penetration, antisepsis, anticancer, and immunomodulatory activities (Part 3), and explores the prospects of clinical application from various standpoints such as the selective toxicity, design, and discovery of AMPs (Part 4). A huge number of AMPs have been discovered in plants, insects, and vertebrates including humans, and constitute host defense systems against invading pathogenic microorganisms. Consequently, many attempts have been made to utilize AMPs as antibiotics. AMPs could help to solve the urgent problem of drug-resistant bacteria, and are also promising with regard to sepsis and cancer therapy. Gathering a wealth of information, this book will be a bible for all those seeking to develop antibiotics, anti-sepsis, or anticancer agents based on AMPs.

Let's spend a day in Brazil! Ride the onibus to the beach, drink sugar cane juice at the feira and play capoeira. Brazilian author Ana Siquiera and illustrator Magda Azab draw on their personal experiences living in Brazil to create this appealing board book as part of the Our World Series for very young readers.

This book is the first to summarize new technologies for engineered cell manipulation. The contents focus on control of cellular functions by nanomaterials and control of three-dimensional cell-cell interactions. Control of cellular functions is important for cell differentiation, maturation, and activation, which generally are controlled by the addition of soluble cytokines or growth factors into cell culture dishes. Target antigen molecules can be efficiently delivered to the cytosol of the dendritic cells using the nanoparticle technique described here, and cellular functions such as dendritic cell maturation can be controlled easily and with precision. This book describes basic preparation of the nanoparticles, activation control of dendritic cells, immune function control, and in vivo application for various vaccination systems. The second type of control,that of cell-cell interaction, is important for tissue engineering in order to develop three-dimensional cellular constructs. To achieve in vitro engineering of three-dimensional human tissue constructs, cell-cell interaction must be controlled in three dimensions, but typical biological cell manipulation technique cannot accomplish this task. An engineered cell manipulation technique is necessary. In this book the authors describe the fabrication of nanofilms onto cell surfaces, development of three-dimensional cellular multilayers, and various applications of the cellular multilayers as three-dimensional human models. This important work will be highly informative for researchers and students in the fields of materials science, polymer science, biomaterials, medicinal science, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and biology.

A Kleinian group is a discrete subgroup of the isometry group of hyperbolic 3-space, which is also regarded as a subgroup of Moebius transformations in the complex plane. The present book is a comprehensive guide to theories of Kleinian groups from the viewpoints of hyperbolic geometry and complex analysis. After 1960, Ahlfors and Bers were the leading researchers of Kleinian groups and helped it to become an active area of complex analysis as a branch of Teichmuller theory. Later, Thurston brought a revolution to this area with his profound investigation of hyperbolic manifolds, and at the same time complex dynamical approach was strongly developed by Sullivan. This book provides fundamental results and important theorems which are needed for access to the frontiers of the theory from a modern viewpoint.

Japanese Hiragana & Katakana Practice Pad provides an enjoyable and motivating way for the learner to have practice in writing the syllables of the Japanese hiragana and katakana writing systems. There are a total of 365 practice sheets--one per day for a year of learning, or more than one per day for faster progress!--as well as basic instructions and extra sheets of blank squared paper for extra practice. The syllables are introduced in a logical order, along with their equivalents in the Roman alphabet and several examples, and practice is given in using them to write simple, useful Japanese language words. Word-stroke diagrams are provided for each character. Structured space around the edge of each page allows the user first to trace the shapes on top of the models, and then write the syllables independently. This volume will provide a good foundation for anybody interested in mastering the basic kana syllables essential for learning Japanese.

Five minutes a day is all it takes to begin learning Japanese! With Beginning Japanese Kanji Language Practice Pad, anyone can master the 334 basic kanji along with 1,000 frequently used words in just minutes a day! Ideal for beginning Kanji learners, this informative writing pad-style workbook was designed for students preparing for the JLPT N5 and AP Japanese Exams. Each sheet introduces a new character in bold, easy-to-read type, along with its pronunciation, meanings, stroke order, and related vocabulary. After studying the character and its compound forms, users can tear off the sheet and practice writing these in the writing boxes provided. These sheets make it easy to learn the correct stroke order; in just five minutes a day, users of all ages will be well on their way to writing Japanese like a native! This handy kit includes: A 16 page portable study book that lists all 334 Japanese characters and associated vocabulary Mnemonic visual aids to enhance comprehension 336 page double-sided workbook for writing practice

A kid-friendly introduction to Japanese! Let's Learn Japanese kit is an introductory Japanese language learning tool specially designed to help children from preschool through early elementary level acquire fundamental words, kanji characters, phrases, and sentences in Japanese in a fun and easy way. The flashcards can be used as a learning tool in a classroom setting, at home, or anywhere that learning takes place, and can easily be taped around the room for an interactive way to learn Japanese. It contains: 64 Japanese flashcards An audio CD with recordings of songs, games and activities A wall chart showing the main words and phrases at a glance A learning guide for parents and teachers The flash cards present 64 basic words and phrases representing the full range of sounds in Japanese and organized into thematic categories, including: People Colors Animals Food Body Parts Clothing Going Places Also included in this Japanese for kids kit is an audio CD which provides native pronunciation of the words and sample sentences for practice--sentences that children would use in everyday life. Songs and other activities are also included on the free audio CD. Finally, the kit also includes a wall chart featuring the front of each card for kids to review and a learning guide for teachers and parents with tips, activities and more! All Audio content is accessible on tuttlepublishing.com/downloadable-content.

A contemporary reminder of the importance of the carpenter and wood in Japanese architecture. When Japanese architecture is mentioned today, images of temples or pagodas generally come to mind. Others may think of more contemporary works: massive modular walls of rough concrete poured in place and bearing imprints of their formwork in the manner of Ando Tadao, the lighter structures of Ito Toyo and Sejima Kazuyo, or the finely wrought facades of Kuma Kengo. A generational chasm and, rather surprisingly, even a historical one seems to have opened up between the emblematic images of traditional Japanese architecture, in which wood is the material of choice, and more current and innovative work, in which its use has been reduced. Even though the carpenter has long been the lead builder, contemporary architectural culture appears to have forgotten this reservoir of construction experience accumulated over centuries. The Carpenter and the Architect expertly corrects this outdated notion.

The clinical management of urolithiasis is now in a new era of ureteroscopic lithotripsy. Ureteroscopic lithotripsy has become an effective and safe treatment for both renal and ureteral stones, and its indications have been expanding. The advantages of ureteroscopy over shock-wave lithotripsy are its ability to directly access stones throughout the entire urinary collecting system either unilaterally or bilaterally, and to actively remove stone fragments. For large renal stones, percutaneous nephrolithotomy is now a standard treatment, but its major complication rates are not negligible. Ureteroscopic lithotripsy is a type of endoscopic surgery that is performed through the natural orifice, which thus avoids the onset of any renal parenchymal damage. New surgical techniques which combine percutaneous and transurethral approaches have been developed. Ureteroscopes and their working devices have rapidly improved, and further improvements will lead to even better outcomes in the next decade. This book presents the latest knowledge and the skills used for ureteroscopic surgery for urolithiasis. It consists of four sections (Indications, Instrumentations, Techniques and Evaluations). This book provides essential information for urologists who want to learn the techniques of this type of endourological surgery.

People need to be healed more than ever. By instinct, they know that we are entering a more and more difficult age after the turn of the 21st century: wars, diseases, bad economy, extraordinary natural phenomena, and so on. They are lost what to believe in. In this difficult time, this small booklet Weaving the Sound of Heart was published in Japan last year, and many copies have been distributed within 9 months without advertisement, only by word of mouth. This book is all about the examples of how the author advised and solved her clients' problems with her exceptional healing energy: hado power. To heal the clients' heart and body, sometimes she directly sent her healing power to the problem; sometimes she delivers messages from the people who hast past away. Most readers feel like to see the author after reading this booklet. You can find the contact information inside. As the author repeatedly says in her book, nothing can be solved if you worry all by yourself. Reading this book may be the start of not only solving the problems, but also finding the answers what people are seeking in this difficult age: how to be healed.

In Chinese ancient medicine and philosophy, everything releases energy, or chi. The Japanese word for this life force energy is hado, literally wave motion or vibration. In The Healing Power Of Hado, Toyoko Matsuzaki shares stories of her experiences as a hado master and demystifies this form of energy and healing for readers. She defines hado as it relates to our everyday lives, shares her personal story of becoming a hado master, and explains how beginners can access this unique source of power. By tapping into their hado power, beginners can sense the hado of other people, objects, and environments. At a more advanced level, practitioners of hado can change physical aspects of their lives (for example, make jewellery sparkle and change the taste of water). Those who practice hado at the master level can heal physical ailments of their own and others (hands on or remotely), discover their clairvoyant abilities, and even receive messages from departed loved ones. Hado has also been researched recently in Hidden Messages in Water. The author, Masaru Emoto, describes it as The intrinsic vibrational pattern at the atomic level in all matter. It is the smallest unit of energy.Its basis is the energy of human consciousness.

How do modern states emerge from the turmoil of undergoverned spaces? This is the question Reo Matsuzaki ponders in Statebuilding by Imposition. Comparing Taiwan and the Philippines under the colonial rule of Japan and the United States, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he shows similar situations produce different outcomes and yet lead us to one conclusion. Contemporary statebuilding efforts by the US and the UN start from the premise that strong states can and should be constructed through the establishment of representative government institutions, a liberalized economy, and laws that protect private property and advance personal liberties. But when statebuilding runs into widespread popular resistance, as it did in both Taiwan the Philippines, statebuilding success depends on reconfiguring the very fabric of society, embracing local elites rather than the broad population, and giving elites the power to discipline the people. In Taiwan under Japanese rule, local elites behaved as obedient and effective intermediaries and contributed to government authority; in the Philippines under US rule, they became the very cause of the state's weakness by aggrandizing wealth, corrupting the bureaucracy, and obstructing policy enforcement. As Statebuilding by Imposition details, Taiwanese and Filipino history teaches us that the imposition of democracy is no guarantee of success when forming a new state and that illiberal actions may actually be more effective. Matsuzaki's controversial political history forces us to question whether statebuilding, given what it would take for this to result in the construction of a strong state, is the best way to address undergoverned spaces in the world today.