T-type calcium channels are prevalent in every organ of the body, and are believed to play a part in a variety of physiological processes, including contraction, shape change, secretion, endo- and exocytosis, cell proliferation and differentiation, modulation of enzyme function, and cell cycle progression. As such, research on the roles of these channels in a wide range of diseases has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The purpose of this book is to present a series of unique and comprehensive reviews of our current understanding of T-type calcium channels at the level of the basic sciences as well as the clinical sciences. For key organ systems, information is provided on the correlation between the molecular, biophysical and pharmacological properties of the channels, their cellular mechanisms, and their potential roles in the pathogenesis of various diseases. The compilation presents both commonplace and less well-known findings on these channels in a format designed to appeal to both casual readers and specialists in basic and clinical research on these transporters.

Taurine 9 contains original articles and critical reviews based on the oral and poster presentations of XIX International Taurine Meeting held in Krakow, Poland in May 2014. The purpose of the book is to present current ideas, new avenues and research regarding biological functions and clinical applications of taurine and taurine derivatives. It focuses on all aspects of taurine research including the cardiovascular system, the immune system, diabetes, the central nervous system, endocrine system and the role of taurine supplements in nutrition. It also includes presentations of novel animal experimental models using Cdo1 and CSAD knock-out mice.

T-type calcium channels are prevalent in every organ of the body, and are believed to play a part in a variety of physiological processes, including contraction, shape change, secretion, endo- and exocytosis, cell proliferation and differentiation, modulation of enzyme function, and cell cycle progression. As such, research on the roles of these channels in a wide range of diseases has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The purpose of this book is to present a series of unique and comprehensive reviews of our current understanding of T-type calcium channels at the level of the basic sciences as well as the clinical sciences. For key organ systems, information is provided on the correlation between the molecular, biophysical and pharmacological properties of the channels, their cellular mechanisms, and their potential roles in the pathogenesis of various diseases. The compilation presents both commonplace and less well-known findings on these channels in a format designed to appeal to both casual readers and specialists in basic and clinical research on these transporters.

This volume is the selected, edited proceedings of the International Taurine Sympo- th sium held in Tucson, Arizona, in July 1997. The meeting was a satellite symposium ofthe 16 Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry, which was held in Boston immediately following the Tucson meeting. In view of the desert location of Tucson, the meeting was advertised tongue-in-cheek as being the hottest scientific meeting ever. As the weather lived up to its billing, the Symposium may well have earned the title. The meeting was held in an atmospheric cluster of adobe buildings, old by the stan- dards of the American southwest, at the Westward Look Resort in the Sonoran Desert foot- hills of Tucson, which is overlooked by the 9000' high Santa Catalina mountains. As is the norm for taurine symposia, participants formed a multinational group, with representatives from China, Korea, Japan, United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Ireland, England, Spain, Italy, Finland, France, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Armenia. The meeting was organized around plenary lectures by Russell Chesney (University of Tennessee: Taurine and infant nutrition), Herminia Pasantes-Morales (National Autono- mous University of Mexico: Taurine: An osmolyte in mammalian tissues) and Kinya Kuri- yama (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine: Interrelationship between taurine and GABA).

The underlying philosophy of these two symposia on taurine remains the same as all those that have been held previously: the best way to remain current in the subject matter is to talk directly with the investigators at the forefront of the field. Thus, we brought together some 50 individuals from 11 different countries who have keen interests and active research programs in the many-faceted areas of taurine research. The meetings were held on October 8-10, 1991, in an elegant setting in a resort area at Orange Beach, Alabama, approximately 50 miles outside of Mobile on the Gulf Coast. The meetings were programmed as two separate Symposia held sequentially. The first symposia on October 8 was devoted exclusively to taurine research in the cat, primarily in the area of nutrition, and entitled "The Waltham Symposium on Taurine and Cat Nutrition". The second symposia on October 9 and 10 was open to all fields of taurine research and was entitled "International Taurine Symposium: New Dimensions on its Mechanisms of Actions". If the philosophy of these meetings was to bring both experts and novices together in a discussion and presentation of current taurine research, then the major purpose of the Proceedings is to document the current research efforts and to present an objective summary of where the taurine field stands today and where the focus will be in the future.

The Taurine Symposium- "Taurine: Beginning the 21'' Century"- was held September 20-23, 2002, on the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii. The headquarters of the meeting was the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort. This international meeting was attending by approximately 80 individuals from 23 nations and 4 continents. Seventy-five papers were presented either as platform presentations or poster presentations. Taurine, first isolated from ox bile in 1827 by Tiedemann and Gmelin and named in 1838 by Demarcay, became of significant scientific interest in 1968 when the first extensive review article was published by Jacobsen and Smith. Interest in taurine grew exponentially after 1975 when the first taurine symposium was organized by Ryan Huxtable in Tucson, Arizona. Since that date, taurine symposia have been held approximately every two years held in various cities and resort areas around the world. Taurine investigators have had the privilege of attending these scientific meetings on three continents - Asia, Europe, and North America. Since the initial meeting in 1975, a central question addressed during many of the symposia has been: "What is physiological, pharmacological, nutritional, and pathological role of taurine?". Although taurine has been established as an important osmolyte, it appears to affect many other biological processes. However, the exact mechanism(s) by "which taurine acts" has not yet been definitively answered. In Kauai, the patticipants discussed many topics and asked many questions regarding the role and actions of taurine.

It has become an annual custom for the Physiological Society of Philadel phia to sponsor a spring symposium in honor of A. N. Richards (\876-1966), a research pharmacologist who developed the classical micropuncture tech nique for studying kidney function. The A. N. Richards Symposium for 1979 was held on April 23-24 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The theme of this symposium was "The Actions of Taurine on Excitable Tissues." Although taurine was discovered as a constituent of bile salts in 1857 by a chemist and an anatomist (Gmelin and Tiedemann), interest today centers chiefly on the extrahepatic actions of taurine, especially in brain, heart, and other excitable tissues. Research on taurine is clearly in a period of exponential growth. We can be sure that the research reports presented and described herein as the "Proceedings of the Symposium" will provide impetus for further growth. Thus the report describing macromolecular receptors for taurine in myocardial sarcolemma may provide a model for exploring the molecular mechanisms that underlie the action(s) of taurine. Stabilization of mem branes and modulation of ion fluxes are two fundamental actions of taurine dealt with in many of these reports. It is just these actions of taurine that have been reported by several investigators as being involved in human myotonia, diabetes, and heart failure."

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is an enigmatic compound abounding in animal tissues. It is present at relatively high concentrations in all electrically excitable tissues such as brain, sensory organs, heart, and muscle, and in certain endocrine glands. Some of its physiological functions are already established, for example as an essential nutrient during development and as a neuromodulator or osmolyte, but the cellular mechanisms are still mostly a matter of conjecture. Moreover, there are a number of other putative functions of taurine less well known at present.

Taurine 7 contains the proceedings of the 16th International Taurine Meeting. This meeting is a multidisciplinary symposium, with participants presenting different fields of biological science. This volume focuses on all aspects of taurine research from immunology and its effect on health to chemistry and biochemistry, including future clinical applications.

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is an enigmatic compound abounding in animal tissues. It is present at relatively high concentrations in all electrically excitable tissues such as brain, sensory organs, heart, and muscle, and in certain endocrine glands. Some of its physiological functions are already established, for example as an essential nutrient during development and as a neuromodulator or osmolyte, but the cellular mechanisms are still mostly a matter of conjecture. Moreover, there are a number of other putative functions of taurine less well known at present.

Taurine 7 contains the proceedings of the 16th International Taurine Meeting. This meeting is a multidisciplinary symposium, with participants presenting different fields of biological science. This volume focuses on all aspects of taurine research from immunology and its effect on health to chemistry and biochemistry, including future clinical applications.

This book is indispensable to researchers in fields as diverse as Molecular Biology and Biophysics. It covers the important role that mitochondria play in a variety of biochemical spheres. It analyses how mitochondria affect metabolic pathways, how they are active in the regulation of cytosolic constituents, and their role in initiating signal pathways. Also covered are the way mitochondria help to regulate apoptosis, and how they modulate cellular hypertrophy and proliferation. It gives an overview of the emergence of mitochondria as an important regulator of cell signaling, with a particular focus on their pathophysiology.

The Taurine Symposium- "Taurine: Beginning the 21'' Century"- was held September 20-23, 2002, on the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii. The headquarters of the meeting was the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort. This international meeting was attending by approximately 80 individuals from 23 nations and 4 continents. Seventy-five papers were presented either as platform presentations or poster presentations. Taurine, first isolated from ox bile in 1827 by Tiedemann and Gmelin and named in 1838 by Demarcay, became of significant scientific interest in 1968 when the first extensive review article was published by Jacobsen and Smith. Interest in taurine grew exponentially after 1975 when the first taurine symposium was organized by Ryan Huxtable in Tucson, Arizona. Since that date, taurine symposia have been held approximately every two years held in various cities and resort areas around the world. Taurine investigators have had the privilege of attending these scientific meetings on three continents - Asia, Europe, and North America. Since the initial meeting in 1975, a central question addressed during many of the symposia has been: "What is physiological, pharmacological, nutritional, and pathological role of taurine?." Although taurine has been established as an important osmolyte, it appears to affect many other biological processes. However, the exact mechanism(s) by "which taurine acts" has not yet been definitively answered. In Kauai, the patticipants discussed many topics and asked many questions regarding the role and actions of taurine.

This volume is the selected, edited proceedings of the International Taurine Sympo- th sium held in Tucson, Arizona, in July 1997. The meeting was a satellite symposium ofthe 16 Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry, which was held in Boston immediately following the Tucson meeting. In view of the desert location of Tucson, the meeting was advertised tongue-in-cheek as being the hottest scientific meeting ever. As the weather lived up to its billing, the Symposium may well have earned the title. The meeting was held in an atmospheric cluster of adobe buildings, old by the stan- dards of the American southwest, at the Westward Look Resort in the Sonoran Desert foot- hills of Tucson, which is overlooked by the 9000' high Santa Catalina mountains. As is the norm for taurine symposia, participants formed a multinational group, with representatives from China, Korea, Japan, United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Ireland, England, Spain, Italy, Finland, France, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Armenia. The meeting was organized around plenary lectures by Russell Chesney (University of Tennessee: Taurine and infant nutrition), Herminia Pasantes-Morales (National Autono- mous University of Mexico: Taurine: An osmolyte in mammalian tissues) and Kinya Kuri- yama (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine: Interrelationship between taurine and GABA).

This volume gathers a selection of original articles and reviews on timely topics about the application of Taurine in human health written by members of the International Taurine Society, including COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, among others. Chapters are written by Taurine experts across the globe in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. A majority of the articles are based on original studies recently carried out in individual laboratories worldwide. The book is divided into eight parts, each covering a unique aspect of Taurine. Each section will highlight new research findings on Taurine and its application in various human systems, including the nervous system, immune system, and cardiovascular system, to combat disease. The first section covers COVID-19, the dominant health event of 2020. Experts will explore and clarify the potential therapeutic effectiveness of Taurine against COVID-19. The volume will promote further research into the application of Taurine in human health, and will be of use to a wide audience, including basic and clinical scientists, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies, and libraries.

This book is indispensable to researchers in fields as diverse as Molecular Biology and Biophysics. It covers the important role that mitochondria play in a variety of biochemical spheres. It analyses how mitochondria affect metabolic pathways, how they are active in the regulation of cytosolic constituents, and their role in initiating signal pathways. Also covered are the way mitochondria help to regulate apoptosis, and how they modulate cellular hypertrophy and proliferation. It gives an overview of the emergence of mitochondria as an important regulator of cell signaling, with a particular focus on their pathophysiology.

It has become an annual custom for the Physiological Society of Philadel­ phia to sponsor a spring symposium in honor of A. N. Richards (\876-1966), a research pharmacologist who developed the classical micropuncture tech­ nique for studying kidney function. The A. N. Richards Symposium for 1979 was held on April 23-24 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The theme of this symposium was "The Actions of Taurine on Excitable Tissues." Although taurine was discovered as a constituent of bile salts in 1857 by a chemist and an anatomist (Gmelin and Tiedemann), interest today centers chiefly on the extrahepatic actions of taurine, especially in brain, heart, and other excitable tissues. Research on taurine is clearly in a period of exponential growth. We can be sure that the research reports presented and described herein as the "Proceedings of the Symposium" will provide impetus for further growth. Thus the report describing macromolecular receptors for taurine in myocardial sarcolemma may provide a model for exploring the molecular mechanisms that underlie the action(s) of taurine. Stabilization of mem­ branes and modulation of ion fluxes are two fundamental actions of taurine dealt with in many of these reports. It is just these actions of taurine that have been reported by several investigators as being involved in human myotonia, diabetes, and heart failure.