Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes that are involved in many physiological and pathological processes. The field of MMP research is very important due to the implications of the distinct paralogs in both human physiology and pathology. Over-activation of these enzymes results in tissue degradation, producing a wide array of disease processes such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, tumor growth and metastasis, multiple sclerosis, congestive heart failure, and others. Thus MMP inhibitors are candidates for therapeutic agents to combat a number of diseases. The present book discusses the design and development of different classes of inhibitors of important classes of MMPs, such as gelatinases and collagenases. The articles focus specifically on structure-activity relationships of all classes of compounds and on their modes of action and specificity of binding with the receptors based on experimental and theoretical studies. These studies constitute a valuable asset for all those involved in drug development.

CONTENTS - PART I. ATOMS, MOLECULES AND CHEMICAL BONDING - I. Atom: Wave Nature and Configuration - II. Electron Clouds, Covalent and Ionic Radii - III. Molecular Orbitals - IV. Valence Bond Theory of Chemical Bonding - V. Hybridization - VI. Chemical Bonding and its Molecular Orbital Theory - VII. Coupling of Angular Momenta and Magnetic Moments - VIII. Transitional Elements - IX. Complexes, Ligands and Molecular Orbital Field Theory - PART II. NON-TRANSITIONAL ELEMENTS - X. Inert Gases of the Zero Group - Rare Elements of the Alkali Group - XI. Lithium - XII. Rubidium, Caesium and Francium - Rare Elements of the Alkaline Earth Group - XIII. Beryllium - XIV. Radium and Radon - Rare Elements of Boron-Aluminium Group - XV. Gallium - XVI. Indium - XVII. Thallium - Rare Elements of Carbon Group - XVIII. Germanium - Rare Elements of Oxygen-Sulphur Group - XIX. Selenium - XX. Tellurium and Polonium - XXI. Element 85, Alabamine or Astatine of Halogen Group - PART III. TRANSITIONAL ELEMENTS - XXII. Scandium - XXIII. Lathanide Series or Rare Earths - Rare Elements of the Titanium Sub-Group - XXIV. Titanium - XXV. Zirconium - XXVI. Hafnium - XXVII. Thorium - Rare Elements of the Vanadium Sub-Group - XXVIII. Vanadium - XXIX. Columbium or Niobium - XXX. Tantalum - Rare Elements of the Chromium Sub-Group - XXXI. Molybdenum - XXXII. Tungsten or Wolfram - XXXIII. Uranium - Rare Elements of the Manganese Sub-Group - XXXIV. Rhenium and Technetium - Platinum Metals - XXXV. Ruthenium - XXXVI. Rhodium - XXXVII. Palladium - XXX VIII. Osmium - XXXIX. Iridium - XL. Platinum - XLI. Actinium and Protoactinium - XLII. Trans-Uranium Elements - Rare Earth Homologues in the Actinide Series - Index -

Being the crucial components of living cells, ion channels are important targets of therapeutic agents. Historically, it has been challenging to develop drugs on this target class. A major issue with targets based on ion channel drug development is the identification of effective small chemical leads for medicinal chemistry optimization to the clinical candidate status. Thus enough attention has been paid to the study of structure and functions of ion channels and their potential inhibitors. The present book compiles important chapters authored by eminent workers in the field to cover important recent advances in the studies of the structure and functions of ion channels and their inhibitors, such as sodium Ion, potassium Ion, chloride Ion, calcium Ion channel inhibitors. The book may be of great use to the students and scientists working in the area of molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, and neurobiology, and medicinal chemistry.

Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) came to existence as an approach for solving complex learning, planning, and decision-making problems. When we talk about decision making, there may be some meta-heuristic methods where the problem solving may resemble like operation research. But exactly, it is not related completely to management research. The text examines representing and using organizational knowledge in DAI systems, dynamics of computational ecosystems, and communication-free interactions among rational agents. This publication takes a look at conflict-resolution strategies for nonhierarchical distributed agents, constraint-directed negotiation of resource allocations, and plans for multiple agents. Topics included plan verification, generation, and execution, negotiation operators, representation, network management problem, and conflict-resolution paradigms. The manuscript elaborates on negotiating task decomposition and allocation using partial global planning and mechanisms for assessing nonlocal impact of local decisions in distributed planning. The book will attract researchers and practitioners who are working in management and computer science, and industry persons in need of a beginner to advanced understanding of the basic and advanced concepts.

This book discusses the effect that artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) have on industry. The authors start by showing how the application of these technologies has already stretched across domains such as law, political science, policy, and economics and how it will soon permeate areas of autonomous transportation, education, and space exploration, only to name a few. The authors then discuss applications in a variety of industries. Throughout the volume, the authors provide detailed, well-illustrated treatments of each topic with abundant examples and exercises. This book provides relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in various applications. The book is written for professionals who want to improve their understanding of the strategic role of trust at different levels of the information and knowledge society, that is, trust at the level of the global economy, of networks and organizations, of teams and work groups, of information systems and, finally, trust at the level of individuals as actors in the networked environments. Presents research in various industries and how artificial intelligence and Internet of Things is changing the landscape of business and management; Includes new and innovative features in artificial intelligence and IoT that can help in raising economic efficiency at both micro and macro levels; Examines case studies with tried and tested approaches to resolution of typical problems in each application of study.

Covers computational approaches as applied to problems in the air and water pollution domain Delivers generic methods of modeling with spatio-temporal analyses using soft computation and programming paradigms Includes theoretical aspects of environmental processes with their complexity and programmable mathematical approaches Adopts a realistic approach involving formulas, algorithms and techniques to establish mathematical models/computations Provides a pathway for real-time implementation of complex modeling problems formulations including case studies

This is a comprehensive review of the current state of stem cell bioengineering from authorities in the field. The first part of the book includes the basic research work on stem cells and bioengineering carried out by various laboratories. The second part consists of a review of the current development of various microcapsules in stem cell therapy. The last part will summarize the overall clinical trials on stem cell therapy and myocardial regeneration as well as the most updated personal experience recently completed by well-known experts in this field.

Cancer-causing viruses, also called oncoviruses, play a key role in the development of certain cancers. They contribute to genetic changes that disrupt the cell cycle machinery, interfering with functions such as cell growth. Cancer-Causing Viruses and Their Inhibitors presents a plethora of research from internationally reputed contributors who discuss different types of oncoviruses, their mechanisms of invasion and growth, and their life cycles. The book begins with an overview of the oncoviruses discovered to date and includes a brief description of their structures, genotypes, replication, and mechanisms of infection leading to cancers. It then explores several of these viruses in detail, including: Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) Hepatitis C virus (HCV) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) Human papilloma virus (HPV) Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8)/Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) Oncolytic viruses This book is an essential reference for those working in virology, oncology, and biotechnology. The discoveries presented will enable researchers and clinicians to optimize both historical and current approaches to anti-viral therapies.

Being the crucial components of living cells, ion channels are important targets of therapeutic agents. Historically, it has been challenging to develop drugs on this target class. A major issue with target based ion channel drug development is the identification of effective small chemical leads for medicinal chemistry optimization to the clinical candidate status. Thus enough attention has been paid to the study of structure and functions of ion channels and their potential inhibitors. The present book compiles important chapters authored by eminent workers in the field to cover important recent advances in the studies of the structure and functions of ion channels and their inhibitors, such as sodium ion, potassium ion, chloride ion, calcium ion channel inhibitors. The book may be of great use to the students and scientists working in the area of molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, neurobiology, and medicinal chemistry.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes that are involved in many physiological and pathological processes. The field of MMP research is very important due to the implications of the distinct paralogs in both human physiology and pathology. Over-activation of these enzymes results in tissue degradation, producing a wide array of disease processes such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, tumor growth and metastasis, multiple sclerosis, congestive heart failure, and others. Thus MMP inhibitors are candidates for therapeutic agents to combat a number of diseases. The present book discusses the design and development of different classes of inhibitors of important classes of MMPs, such as gelatinases and collagenases. The articles focus specifically on structure-activity relationships of all classes of compounds and on their modes of action and specificity of binding with the receptors based on experimental and theoretical studies. These studies constitute a valuable asset for all those involved in drug development.

Viral Polymerases: Structures, Functions and Roles as Antiviral Drug Targets presents in-depth study information on the structure and functions of polymerases and their roles in the lifecycle of viruses, and as drug targets. Viral polymerases constitute a vital component in the lifecycle of many viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis viruses, influenza virus, and several others. They are essentially required for the replication of viruses. Thus, the polymerases that can be found in viruses (called viral polymerases) represent favorable targets for the design and development of antiviral drugs.

Viral Proteases and Their Inhibitors provides a thorough examination of viral proteases from their molecular components, to therapeutic applications. As information on three dimensional structures and biological functions of these viral proteases become known, unexpected protein folds and unique mechanisms of proteolysis are realized. This book investigates how this facilitates the design and development of potent antiviral agents used against life-threatening viruses. Users will find descriptions of each virus that detail the structure and function of viral proteases, discuss the design and development of inhibitors, and analyze the structure-activity relationships of inhibitors. This book is ideal biochemists, virologists and those working on antiviral agents.

Quantum computers have demonstrated that they have the inherent potential to outperform classical computers in many areas. One of the major impacts is that the currently available cryptography algorithms are bound to no longer hold once quantum computers are able to compute at full speed. This book presents an overview of all the cross-disciplinary developments in cybersecurity that are being generated by the advancements in quantum computing.

This book presents how federated learning helps to understand and learn from user activity in Internet of Things (IoT) applications while protecting user privacy. The authors first show how federated learning provides a unique way to build personalized models using data without intruding on users' privacy. The authors then provide a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art research on federated learning, giving the reader a general overview of the field. The book also investigates how a personalized federated learning framework is needed in cloud-edge architecture as well as in wireless-edge architecture for intelligent IoT applications. To cope with the heterogeneity issues in IoT environments, the book investigates emerging personalized federated learning methods that are able to mitigate the negative effects caused by heterogeneities in different aspects. The book provides case studies of IoT based human activity recognition to demonstrate the effectiveness of personalized federated learning for intelligent IoT applications, as well as multiple controller design and system analysis tools including model predictive control, linear matrix inequalities, optimal control, etc. This unique and complete co-design framework will benefit researchers, graduate students and engineers in the fields of control theory and engineering.

This book will help students to learn C programming language, and at the same time, it will allow the students to learn how to build one's own programming language, a minimal LISP in fewer than 1000 lines of code. The concepts of the C programming language are used in almost all engineering disciplines and, therefore, this textbook is essential for all students to grasp the basics of the language. This will be an indispensable textbook not only for the students of Computer Science, but will also be useful to students in other engineering disciplines. Salient Features Provides all the important standard and precise definitions Contains numerous solved examples to help students to grasp the basics Provides hints and explanations for every problem for better understanding Helps build one's own minimal LISP in fewer than 1000 lines of code Familiarizes the students with imperative programming as another way of implementing programs Reinforces the principle of abstraction to encourage students to look for more abstract solutions.

Studies on Hepatitis Viruses: Life Cycle, Structure, Functions, and Inhibition presents the latest on this systemic infection that predominantly affects the liver with inflammation that can be acute or chronic. Hepatitis viruses have been the subject of intense study in the last twenty years, with a wealth of information related to their lifecycle, structure, functions and inhibition being presented. This book compiles the most important developments and research, giving users a very useful guide on this evolving area of virology and medicinal chemistry.

Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system and this is done using Cryptography. A Cryptocurrency is a digital money that operates on the Blockchain technology. This book is intended to provide a detailed analysis of the effect of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in the current market. It is designed with the focus to facilitate the students in understanding the working behind the raging technology. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency are vastly discussed nowadays in all research domains to bring decentralization. This book gives easy access to the complex terminologies revolving around the technology. Since this is a new course assigned in the curriculum, therefore special care is taken in drafting the units. The chapters have been written with reference to the past understanding of the students of cryptography and merging those concepts with the Blockchain technology. The emphasis is laid on fundamental ideas and ease of understanding with suitable diagrammatic representation and real world examples. This book is self-contained and requires no comparison and analysis with other conceptual data. It can also be used by scholars who are beginners in the Blockchain technology and wish to dive deeper in its technological aspects. Numerous multiple choice questions at the back of each chapter are given to test the objective understanding of the concepts. Salient Features: Standard and precise definitions and tips. Popular blockchain consensus protocols, their strengths, weaknesses and application scenarios through analysis and comparison. Several blockchain examples essential for engineering students. Hints and explanations are given in the solution of every problem. Imperative real examples