Shamim I. Ahmad

* Presents an updated detailed account of some important additional diseases of DNA repair
* Maintains a balance between the DNA repair diseases that have been exhaustively studied, well-defined genetic defects in DNA repair system(s), and those diseases that shows a tangential association with DNA repair defects and hence warrant more studies
* Beneficial to the clinicians in treating their specialized cases

Since this book is geared to be used by varied groups of readers such as advanced students and instructors in the fields of biology and medicine, scientists and more importantly clinicians, it is considered important to provide brief accounts of the... continue reading

Determining if an ovarian mass is benign or malignant is an ongoing clinical challenge. The development of reliable animal models provides means to evaluate new diagnostic tools to more accurately determine if an ovary has benign or malignant features. Although sex cord-stromal tumors (SCST) account for 0.1-0.5% of ovarian malignancies, they have similar appearances to more aggressive epithelial cancers and can serve as a prototype for developing better diagnostic methods for ovarian cancer. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy are non-destructive optical imaging modalities. OCT provides architectural cross-sectional images at near... continue reading

Thomas P. Jahn, Gerd P. Bienert

Fifteen years have passed since human aquaporin-1 (AQP1) was discovered as the first water channel, facilitating trans-membrane water fluxes. Subsequent years of research showed that the water channel AQP1 was only the tip of an iceberg; the iceberg itself being a super family of membrane proteins that facilitate membrane transport of a large number of water-soluble, small and uncharged compounds in organisms of all kingdoms of life. The book is dedicated to metalloids, a recently discovered group of substrates for a number of specific MIPs in a divers spectrum of organisms. Particular focus is given to the essential boron, the beneficial silicon and the highly toxic arsenic. The book... continue reading

Visual analytics is the science of analytical reasoning that facilitates research through the use of interactive visual interfaces. New techniques of visual analytics are designed to aid the understanding of complex systems versus traditional blind-context rules to explore massive volumes of interrelated data. Nowhere else is context more important in analysis than in the emerging fields of life sciences, where amounts of collected data grow increasingly in exponential rates. The complexity of systems in immunology makes visual analytics especially important to sufficiently understand how the immune system works. In this context, our efforts should focus on avoiding accurate but often... continue reading

Anna Catania

The volume reports all the main developments in research on melanocortin peptides and their potential as therapeutic agents. Readers who are not familiar with the field will find a general introduction to the fascinating world of melanocortins. Those experienced in this area will find a complete compilation of recent achievements collected by the most prominent scientists in melanocortin research. The book includes information on chemistry, distribution, and function of melanocortin peptides and their receptors. The main preclinical studies and the potential clinical aspects are critically reviewed and explained.
Melanocortins contribute to host protection against injury and... continue reading

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, created the Common Fund as a model for cultivating new technologies and stimulating knowledge production. To date it has funded a series of short-term, high-impact initiatives known collectively as the Common Fund Programs, which are designed to support crosscutting, trans-NIH initiatives. (The NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Program is part of the Common Fund.) The resulting knowledge bank and research tools are made available to all the NIH’s constituent institutes and centers to support future research and, hopefully, speed translation of basic research into therapies.

Edwin Michael, Robert C. Spear

Modelling parasite transmission has made enormous strides since the seminal models of Ross for describing malaria transmission developed during the early 1900s. McDonald’s use of the early malaria models to show that killing adult mosquitoes would be particularly effective in reducing infection transmission was a major advance in demonstrating the usefulness of theoretical analysis and population dynamics modelling in particular for guiding parasite control programmes, and since then parasite transmission models have also been used to guide the onchocerciasis control programme in Africa, as well as for investigating best strategies for controlling a host of other parasites, including... continue reading

Public-sector scientists have a mandate to independently evaluate agricultural products available to American farmers on the open market, whereas the companies that sell the products must protect their intellectual property.  However, as a consequence of the latter concern, public scientists currently are prohibited by industry-imposed restrictions from conducting research on commercialized transgenic seed without permission of the company.  Industry acknowledged the seriousness of the problem after public warnings by a large group of entomologists to EPA and scientific advisory panels that the assumption of independence of public-sector studies on these products is no longer valid... continue reading

Andrea Becchetti, Annarosa Arcangeli

By mediating cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, integrins regulate many developmental processes in the broadest sense (from cell choice between differentiation and proliferation, to tissue remodeling and organogenesis). Ion channels would appear instead to be better suited for rapid cellular signalatory tasks. By controlling membrane potential and ion fluxes, they typically regulate action potentials, muscle contraction and exocytosis. For many decades, these two branches of cell biology have proceeded almost independently. A growing body of evidence shows however that considerable cross-talk occurs between integrins and ion channels. They often associate to form macromolecular... continue reading

It has been shown that genetic inhibition of p53 leads to enhanced proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). This could, in theory, contribute to the increased frequency of tumor development observed in p53-deficient mice and humans. In our previous work, we identified chemical p53 inhibitors (PFTs) that suppress the transactivation function of p53 and protect cultured cells and mice from death induced by gamma irradiation (IR). Here we found that when applied to bone marrow cells in vitro or injected into mice, PFTb impeded IR-induced reduction of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) and hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) population sizes. In addition, we showed that PFTb... continue reading

Ramkrishna Sen

Biosurfactants are surface active amphiphilic molecules derived either through the route of microbial fermentations or through the in-vitro enzyme catalyzed reactions. Like synthetic surfactants, biosurfactants are also characterized by their ability to reduce surface tension or interfacial tension between immiscible fluid phases and to form micelles and reverse micelles at the critical micelle concentrations. They constitute an important class of environment friendly biotechnology products with tremendous potential for commercial and health-care applications. Biosurfactants have been very popular for their biodegradability, non- or mild toxicity and also for their potential commercial... continue reading

One of the most important decisions in development is whether to be male or female. In Drosophila melanogaster, most cells make this choice independent of their neighbors such that diploid cells with one X chromosome (XY) are male and those with two X chromosomes (XX) are female. X-chromosome number is relayed through regulatory proteins that act together to activate Sex-lethal (Sxl) in XX animals. The resulting SXL female specific RNA binding protein modulates the expression of a set of downstream genes, ultimately leading to sexually dimorphic structures and behaviors. Despite the apparent simplicity of this mechanism, Sxl activity is controlled by a host of transcriptional and... continue reading

Irun R. Cohen

The artwork for the book was graciously provided by artist Eleanor Rubin, who creates prints, drawings and watercolors. Her art can also be seen in permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; the Boston Public Library, Boston, MA; the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; the Alzheimer’s Association, Cambridge, MA; and on her websites: www.ellyrubin.com and ellyrubinjournal.typepad.com.

Methylation of cytosine residues in the context of CpG dinucleotides within mammalian DNA is an epigenetic modification with profound effects on transcriptional regulation. A group of enzymes, the DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) tightly regulate both the initiation and maintenance of these methyl marks. Loss of critical components of this enzymatic machinery results in growth, viability, and differentiation defects in both mice and humans, supporting the notion that this epigenetic modification is essential for proper development. Beyond this, DNA methylation also provides a potent epigenetic mechanism for cellular memory needed to silence repetitive elements and preserve lineage... continue reading

Rahul Jandial

In the rapidly-evolving landscape of neurosciences, it is no easy task to select a limited array of topics to present in a text such as this. The current volume takes as its purpose to provide a representative survey of the current science of brain repair for those seeking to establish a foundation in the field or to replenish a prior knowledge base that may have lapsed in its currency. It also hopes to offer insights into what remains elusive to our collective investigations, defining the “frontiers” of brain repair for those that are currently immersed in the exciting intersection of biological advances and neuroscientific discoveries. In Chapter 1 the fundamentals of imaging... continue reading