This volume explores the use of mass spectrometry for biomedical applications. Chapters focus on specific therapeutic areas such as oncology, infectious disease, and psychiatry. Additional chapters focus on methodology, technologies and instrumentation, as well as on analysis of protein-protein interactions, protein quantitation, and protein post-translational modifications. Various omics fields such as proteomics, metabolomics, glycomics, lipidomics, and adductomics are also covered.

The fascinating area of molecular medicine provides a molecular and cellular description of health and disease. Starting with the understanding of gene regulation and epigenetics, i.e., the interplay of transcription factors and chromatin, this book will provide an fundamental basis of nearly all processes in physiology, both in health as well as in most common disorders, such as cancer, diabetes as well as in autoimmune diseases. Most non-communicable human diseases have a genetic (= inherited) as well as an epigenetic component. The later one is based on our lifestyle choices and environmental exposures. Many common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, can be explained only to some 20% via a genetic predisposition. We cannot change the genes that we are born with but we can take care of the remaining 80% being primarily based on our epigenome. Therefore, there is a high level of individual responsibility for staying healthy. Thus, not only biologists and biochemists should be aware of this topic, but all students of biomedical disciplines will benefit from being introduced into the concepts of molecular medicine. This will provide them with a good basis for their specialized disciplines of modern life science research.

Microplastics and nanoplastics have been recently found in most environmental media and in living organisms, thus representing a serious health concern of yet poorly known adverse consequences. This book summarizes recent findings on the sources, behavior, transformation, toxicity and remediation of microplastics, with focus on soils, water, wastewater, air, soils, plants and corals. Advanced methods for sampling, characterization, removal and degradation of microplastics.

The Handbook of Bioethical Decisions Volume II addresses and analyzes the most important ethical concerns and moral quandaries related to scientific integrity and institutional ethics. It counts on two parts, Part One: Research Ethics, which addresses issues related to Scientific Integrity, Research Misconduct and Conducting Ethical Research, and Part Two: Institutional Ethics and Bioethics Committees, which explores Institutional Ethics issues, Ethics and Bioethics Committees’ roles and scopes, and Bioethical Issues in Institutional Ethics. Consequently, the Handbook, Vol. II, offers a remarkable collection of works by outstanding international experts on institutional and research ethics, in order for bioethics practitioners to obtain better elements to address key issues related to integrity in research as well as to decision-making processes. In this fashion, this volume is a valuable resource for professionals working on different bioethical and biomedical fields, such as, ethics and bioethics committees, health care institutions, biomedical and pharmacological companies, and academic settings, among others.

The Latin American region has been at the forefront in combating infections caused by Escherichia coli strains in humans, animals, and the environment. The continuous emergence and evolution of pathogenic E. coli strains associated with human and animal infections have demonstrated that (i) groups of related pathogenic E. coli are responsible for most infections caused by this bacterial species; (ii) diverse virulence phenotypes expressed during infection defined each one of these pathogroups; (iii) the geographical distribution of pathogroups in Latin America and the evolution of new isolates was defined by the dominant pathogroup and presence of distinct virulence strains; (iv) acquisition of mobile elements or accumulation of point mutations accelerate the development of antibiotic resistance in some of these strains.

The book will contain reviews and brief research articles from the participants attending the International Society for Arterial Chemoreception (ISAC) meeting, to be held in Lisbon in Portugal in June/July 2020. Since ISAC was first established, almost 70 years ago, many advances in the classical field of arterial O2, CO2 and pH sensing have been achieved but the most impressive ones are probably related to the non-canonical roles of the carotid body, as its involvement in sympatho-mediated diseases. Over the recent years, the carotid body field has gained attention with the findings that carotid body dysfunction is associated with the development/maintenance of highly prevalent diseases from cardio-metabolic diseases to asthma. Knowing that most of the patients with these pathologies lack long-term disease control, it is imperative to define new pathophysiological mechanisms aiming to find new therapeutic targets for treatment and prevention.

This book introduces a variety of advanced machine learning approaches covering the areas of neural networks, fuzzy logic, and hybrid intelligent systems for the determination and diagnosis of cancer. Moreover, the tactical solutions of machine learning have proved its vast range of significance and, provided novel solutions in the medical field for the diagnosis of disease. This book also explores the distinct deep learning approaches that are capable of yielding more accurate outcomes for the diagnosis of cancer. In addition to providing an overview of the emerging machine and deep learning approaches, it also enlightens an insight on how to evaluate the efficiency and appropriateness of such techniques and analysis of cancer data used in the cancer diagnosis. Therefore, this book focuses on the recent advancements in the machine learning and deep learning approaches used in the diagnosis of different types of cancer along with their research challenges and future directions for the targeted audience including scientists, experts, Ph.D. students, postdocs, and anyone interested in the subjects discussed.

The biotechnology/biopharmaceutical sector has tremendously grown which led to the invention of engineered antibodies such as Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), Bispecific T cell engager ( BITES), Dual Variable Domain ( DVD), Chimeric Antigen Receptor - Modified Tcells (CART) that are currently being used as therapeutic agents for immunology and oncology disease conditions. In addition to other pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, all these novel formats are fragile with respect to their stability/structure under processing conditions meaning marginal stability in the liquid state and often require lyophilization to enhance their stability and shelf-life. This book contains chapters/topics that will describe every aspect of the lyophilization process and product development and manufacturing starting from the overview of lyophilization process, equipment required, characterization of the material, design and development of the formulation and lyophilization process, various techniques for characterization of the product, scale-up/tech-transfer and validation. It also describes the application of CFD coupled with mathematical modeling in the lyophilization process and product development, scale-up, and manufacturing. Additionally, Principles and Practice of Lyophilization Process and Product Development contains an entire dedicated section on “Preservation of Biologicals” comprised of nine chapters written by experts and including case studies.

This book comprehensively reviews the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in biomedical research and healthcare, with a major emphasis on virology. The initial chapter presents the applications of machine learning methods for structured data, such as the classical support vector machine and neural network, modern deep learning, and natural language processing for unstructured data in biomedical research and healthcare. The subsequent chapters explore the applications of AI in tackling COVID-19, analysis of the pandemic, viral infection, disease spread, and control. The book further identifies the potential applications of machine learning in the field of virology with a focus on the key aspects of infection: diagnosis, transmission, response to treatment, and resistance. The book also discusses progress and challenges in developing viral vaccines and examines the application of viruses in translational research and human healthcare.

This book examines the correlation of the coronavirus disease-19 [CE1] [AAS2] (COVID-19) infection with sleep, circadian rhythm, and sleep disorders. The chapters of the book explore sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with psychological distress and also review the prevalence of clinical cases of insomnia, anxiety, and depression in COVID-19 patients. The book further presents the correlation between sleep, circadian rhythms, and immunity that contributes toward more severe COVID-19. It summarizes the evidence on the interplay between circadian biology, sleep, and COVID-19. The chapters of the book discuss the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Towards the end, the book presents studies on the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunotropic properties of melatonin and provides mechanistic insights into the potential therapeutic use of melatonin during the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The last chapter describes the publication output of sleep-related research during the pandemic and provides an overview and trends on sleep and covid-19 publication output. This book is an excellent source for neurologists, sleep specialists, and public health specialists.

This book presents the latest findings in the field of cardiac mechanobiology in health and disease.
Cardiac mechanobiology provides knowledge of all aspects of mechanobiology of the heart. Cardiomyogenesis is discussed as well as the mechanobiology of cardiac remodeling and regeneration. The molecular mechanisms of mechanoperception and mechanotransduction in cardiomyocytes are explained, as well as stretch induced differentiation of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.

The fascinating area of molecular medicine provides a molecular and cellular description of health and disease. Starting with the understanding of gene regulation and epigenetics, i.e., the interplay of transcription factors and chromatin, this book will provide an fundamental basis of nearly all processes in physiology, both in health as well as in most common disorders, such as cancer, diabetes as well as in autoimmune diseases. Most non-communicable human diseases have a genetic (= inherited) as well as an epigenetic component. The later one is based on our lifestyle choices and environmental exposures. Many common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, can be explained only to some 20% via a genetic predisposition. We cannot change the genes that we are born with but we can take care of the remaining 80% being primarily based on our epigenome. Therefore, there is a high level of individual responsibility for staying healthy. Thus, not only biologists and biochemists should be aware of this topic, but all students of biomedical disciplines will benefit from being introduced into the concepts of molecular medicine. This will provide them with a good basis for their specialized disciplines of modern life science research.

This book highlights the integration of science and imaging and demonstrates how we can teach and learn in a much more accessible, innovative, and engaging way using technology.

With the recent technological advancement usage of unique nanomaterials and bio-based composite materials as sensors has been greatly improved. Biopolymers and bio-based composite materials have especially been exploited due to their unique physical, optical, electrochemical, and biocompatible properties. In this book, experts and researchers in various sensor technology areas discuss the basics of biosensors, the methods used to synthesize different biomaterials, and the characterization and functionalization of these biomaterials. Processes for the self-assembly of biomaterials and the fabrication of biomaterials onto transducers are clearly explained. It also outlines the current status in the field and the utility of such bio-based sensors for medical diagnostics, food safety, industrial, and environmental monitoring. Besides pressure and temperature sensing applications, other applications include detecting gases, chemicals, biomolecules, body fluids, bacteria, and viruses.

Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary field incorporating the principles of biology, chemistry, engineering, and medicine to create biological substitutes of native tissues for scientific research or clinical use. Specific applications of this technology include studies of tissue development and function, investigating drug response, and tissue repair and replacement. This area is rapidly becoming one of the most promising treatment options for patients suffering from tissue failure. This abundantly illustrated and well-structured guide serves as a reference for all clinicians and researchers dealing with tissue engineering issues in their daily practice.