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Since the development of microelectronic clamping methodology and fluorescent indicators for direct measurement of dynamic intracellular calcium transients, our understanding of biological signal transduction has progressed dramatically since the 1980s. Calcium is a universal signal in biology that modulates gene expression, transmitter and hormone release, muscular movement, and even "programmed" cell death. This book represents a compilation of chapters from a diverse set of expert biologists throughout the world who have conducted research in the general area of calcium signaling in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In accord with priorities of resolving human disease, the reader will also benefit from learning calcium's role in cellular signaling pathology relating to acute or chronic conditions such as vomiting, sepsis, obesity, hypertension, and cancer.

This book is a comprehensive guide to rheumatology and includes all possible topics. The book is ideal for all those interested in the field of rheumatology, including students, scientists, and postdocs.

This book gives a comprehensive overview of recent advances in influenza, as well as general concepts of molecular biology of influenza infections, epidemiology, immunopathology, prevention, and current clinical recommendations in management of influenza, including preparation of vaccines, assessment of the safety and quality of influenza vaccines and adjuvants highlighting the ongoing issues and recent advances, with future directions in prevention and therapeutic strategies. I hope that this work might increase the interest in this field of research and that the readers will find it useful for their investigations, management, and clinical usage.

This book provides information to the readers starting with the history of oral hygiene manners, and modern oral hygiene practices. It continues with the prevalence and etiology of caries and remedy of caries through natural sources. Etiology of secondary caries in prosthetic restorations and the relationship between orthodontic treatment and caries is addressed. An update of early childhood caries is presented. The use of visual-tactile method, radiography and fluorescence in caries detection is given. The book finishes with methods used for the prevention of white spot lesions and management of caries.

Biometric recognition is one of the most widely studied problems in computer science. The use of biometrics techniques, such as face, fingerprints, iris and ears is a solution for obtaining a secure personal identification. However, the "old" biometrics identification techniques are out of date. This goal of this book is to provide the reader with the most up to date research performed in biometric recognition and descript some novel methods of biometrics, emphasis on the state of the art skills. The book consists of 15 chapters, each focusing on a most up to date issue. The chapters are divided into five sections- fingerprint recognition, face recognition, iris recognition, other biometrics and biometrics security. The book was reviewed by editors Dr. Jucheng Yang and Dr. Loris Nanni. We deeply appreciate the efforts of our guest editors: Dr. Girija Chetty, Dr. Norman Poh, Dr. Jianjiang Feng, Dr. Dongsun Park and Dr. Sook Yoon, as well as a number of anonymous reviewers

Fatty acids are considered as a very important category of chemical compounds to human health as well as from an industrial perspective. This book intends to provide an update on fatty acid research, their methods of detection, quantification, and related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Cyclic fatty acids are also covered, along with short chain fatty acids, which are important to the human gut microbiota. Fatty acids are important in the chemical structure of the cell membrane and its pivotal role in this aspect is reviewed herein. The book also contains a chapter that deals with some unpublished molecular aspects concerning the roles of fatty acids in depression and bipolar disorder. All in all, the book provides a brief overview of both highly explored as well as overlooked perspectives of fatty acids, while highlighting its significance as a biochemical molecule, which is imperative to the livelihood of unicellular and multi-cellular organisms alike.

Keratin is the proteinaceous body covering layer produced by mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Hair and wool, horns, claws, hooves, feathers, and scales are made of keratin. Keratin is insoluble in water and is resistant to proteolysis. Importantly, keratin is also the intracellular structural protein that protects living epithelial cells from mechanical damage or stress. The fundamental keratin functions are revealed in congenital human skin diseases caused by mutations in keratin genes, e.g., Epidermolysis bullosa simplex or Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. Most keratin gene mutations have a dominant-negative effect disrupting the filamentous structure formation even from the natural allele, and leaving the cell with a deficient cytoskeleton. However, industrial scale meat production results in vast quantities of keratin byproduct. Processing this byproduct is, on the one hand a major challenge, and on the other hand, a potential for useful recycling and exploitation.

This book focuses on several key aspects of nonlinear systems including dynamic modeling, state estimation, and stability analysis. It is intended to provide a wide range of readers in applied mathematics and various engineering disciplines an excellent survey of recent studies of nonlinear systems. With its thirteen chapters, the book brings together important contributions from renowned international researchers to provide an excellent survey of recent studies of nonlinear systems. The first section consists of eight chapters that focus on nonlinear dynamic modeling and analysis techniques, while the next section is composed of five chapters that center on state estimation methods and stability analysis for nonlinear systems.

Heat and mass transfer are ubiquitous transport phenomena in many fields, from the natural environment and living organisms to the engineering process. This book focuses on the latest advances in applying fundamental heat and mass transfer theory and novel technologies for addressing a wide range of industrial problems of interest. This book will present readers with a recent analytical study, CFD modelling, and experimental investigations of heat and mass transfer topics associated with a variety of engineering disciplines including multiphase flow, nanofluids, porous media, battery thermal management, and engineering processes such as extractive distillation and arc welding. The book aims to provide new insights to understand the heat and mass transfer phenomena, serving as a platform for exchanging inspiring ideas and boosting further development of these disciplines.

As a baby one of our earliest stimuli is that of human faces. We rapidly learn to identify, characterize and eventually distinguish those who are near and dear to us. We accept face recognition later as an everyday ability. We realize the complexity of the underlying problem only when we attempt to duplicate this skill in a computer vision system.This book is arranged around a number of clustered themes covering different aspects of face recognition. The first section on Statistical Face Models and Classifiers presents reviews and refinements of some well-known statistical models. The next section presents two articles exploring the use of Infrared imaging techniques and is followed by few articles devoted to refinements of classical methods. New approaches to improve the robustness of face analysis techniques are followed by two articles dealing with real-time challenges in video sequences. A final article explores human perceptual issues of face recognition.

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough to toss people around and destroy the whole cities. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity. Earthquakes are caused not only by rupture of geological faults but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. This book addresses the multidisciplinary topic of earthquake hazards and risk, one of the fastest growing, relevant, and applied fields of research and study practiced within the geosciences and environment. This book addresses principles, concepts, and paradigms of earthquakes, as well as operational terms, materials, tools, techniques, and methods including processes, procedures, and implications.

Periodontology explores the molecular status in periodontal disease. Optical devices in the diagnosis and management of the disease are also discussed. The book addresses the role of the oral healthcare provider in interprofessional communication in the systemic management of autoimmune bullous disease-associated conditions. A study involving chemically modified tetracyclines and host modulation with nonsurgical and surgical periodontal therapy, including postoperative pain management, is presented here. Therapeutic strategies of stem cell application in bone tissue engineering and the potential of platelet-rich fibrin-sourced growth factors in periodontal procedures to enhance wound healing and regeneration are also proposed. Supportive implant maintenance and regenerative processes are explored. Management of the endoperiodontal lesion is also discussed (note: the recent periodontal classification has not been referenced here). The book explores the best transdisciplinary practices for the management of special healthcare needs patients.

Fuzzy logic models can be used to demonstrate human decision making in complex situations, and can therefore be an important tool in examining natural complexity. Moreover, fuzzy logic can be exploited to predict chaotic behaviors. But why is fuzzy logic so valuable? The idea of fuzzy logic has been around since 1965, and since its introduction thousands of applications of fuzzy logic have been implemented in industry, medicine, and even economic applications and patents. How did this invaluable theory achieve such great success? This book aims to compare well-known and well-used membership functions to demonstrate how to select the best membership functions and show when and why to utilize them. This book also demonstrates how different fields of studies utilize fuzzy logic showing its wide reach and relevance.

Over the past decade, progress in plant science and molecular technologies has grown considerably. This book focuses on plant biotechnology applications specializing in certain aspects of breeding and molecular marker-assisted selection processes, omic strategies, usage of bioinformatic tools, and nanotechnological improvements in agricultural sciences. Most farmers and breeders can no longer simply turn to the older strategies, and new instructions are needed to adapt their systems to achieve their production goals. The book covers new information on using metabolomics and nanotechnology in agriculture. In these circumstances, all new data and technology are very important in plant science. The topics in this book are practical and user-friendly. They allow practitioners, students, and academicians with specific background knowledge to feel confident about the principles presented on a new generation of molecular plant biotechnology applications.

Seismology in polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) allows us to study the static condition and high-latitude dynamics of the Earth. This book covers the recent developments in seismology in polar regions; observations and networks; international collaboration; heterogeneous structure and dynamics of the lithosphere; deep Earth's interiors observed from high latitudes; characteristics of seismicity and seismic wave propagation; and global tectonics in terms of Earth's history, including the interdisciplinary studies on the interaction between Earth's spheres. Since the International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007/2008 was the most exciting campaign launched within contemporary polar studies, this book observes recent seismological achievements by the IPY, specifically focusing on the seismic signals near the surface associated with cryosphere dynamics and evolution. Topics on cryoseismology, such as glacial earthquake activities, are viewed in terms of global warming. Moreover, observational experiments and long-term monitoring under the extreme conditions in the polar environment are also discussed.

This book provides the fundamental understanding of the functioning of solar cellsand the materials for the effective utilization of energy resources. The main objective of writing this book is to create a comprehensive and easy-to-understand source of information on the advances in the rapidly growing research on solar cells.Emerging Solar Energy Materials comprises 12 chapters written by the experts in the solar cell field and is organized with the intention to provide a big picture of the latest progress in the solar cell field and at the same time give an in-depth discussion on fundamentals of solar cells for interested audiences. In this book, each part opens with a new author's essay highlighting their work for contribution toward solar energy. Critical, cutting-edge subjects are addressed, including: Photovoltaic device technology and energy applications; Functional solar energy materials; New concept in solar energy; Perovskite solar cells; Dye-sensitized solar cells; Organic solar cells; Thin-film solar cells. The book is written for a large and broad readership including researchers and university graduate students from diverse backgrounds such as chemistry, physics, materials science, and photovoltaic device technology. The book includes enough information on the basics to be used as a textbook undergraduate coursework in engineering and the sciences.

Apoptosis is an essential biochemical process in cell turnover, development, and chemical-induced cell death. Current knowledge and ongoing research of apoptosis highlight our understanding in designing the therapeutic approaches for several diseases. This book covers four main sections: "Apoptosis and Necrosis," "Apoptosis Inducers," "Proteasome and Signaling Pathways in Apoptosis," and "Radiation-Based Apoptosis." The first section implicitly describes the differences between apoptosis and necrosis processes. The following section elaborates the small molecule-induced apoptosis. Then, the third section deals with proteasome and signaling pathways and finally, resistance to chemotherapy and electromagnetic radiation is covered in the last section. Overall, the book deals with pathways for manipulating apoptosis and provides a unique perspective to the scientists.

Even since computers were invented, many researchers have been trying to understand how human beings learn and many interesting paradigms and approaches towards emulating human learning abilities have been proposed. The ability of learning is one of the central features of human intelligence, which makes it an important ingredient in both traditional Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging Cognitive Science. Machine Learning (ML) draws upon ideas from a diverse set of disciplines, including AI, Probability and Statistics, Computational Complexity, Information Theory, Psychology and Neurobiology, Control Theory and Philosophy. ML involves broad topics including Fuzzy Logic, Neural Networks (NNs), Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), Probability and Statistics, Decision Trees, etc. Real-world applications of ML are widespread such as Pattern Recognition, Data Mining, Gaming, Bio-science, Telecommunications, Control and Robotics applications. This books reports the latest developments and futuristic trends in ML.