..Quantitative modeling has become an essential procedure toward understanding the cell at the systems level. Insights into the inner workings of biological networks can be obtained from mathematical analysis of biochemical models that might not be possible from direct experimentation alone. As one of advanced simulation platforms, the E-Cell System is of central relevance to the systems biology community. The E-Cell System, a multi-algorithm, multi-timescale object-oriented simulation platform, can be used to construct virtual biological systems. It permits the construction of model structure, such as gene regulatory and/or biochemical networks equivalent to a cell system or a part of the cell and perform both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

..E-Cell System: Basic Concepts and Applications is a comprehensive reference (basics and applications) for the E-Cell System. The features and the inner workings of the software are written by the software developers themselves, while biological applications are described by systems biologists. The primary target audience for this book are biological research scientists interested in biochemical simulation and analysis. Others who may be interested include computer scientists or computational biologists concerned with the development of software for cell simulation or systems biology. The contents do not require any prior experience in modeling/simulation or skills in computer programming.

..As our understanding of mobile genetic elements continues to grow we are gaining a deeper appreciation of their importance in shaping the bacterial genome and in the properties they confer to their bacterial hosts. These include, but are by no means limited to, resistance to antibiotics, and heavy metals, toxin production and increased virulence, production of antibiotics and the ability to utilize a diverse range of metabolic substrates. We are also gaining an understanding of diversity of these elements and their interactions with each other; a property which continually complicates any attempt to classify them. We are learning more about the molecular mechanisms by which they translocate to new genomic sites both within genomes and between different bacteria. This book provides a timely, state of the art update on the properties of an important selection of different bacterial integrative mobile genetic elements and the myriad of different ways in which they move and influence the biology of the host bacterium. The chapters are all written by authors who have undertaken pioneering work in their respective fields, making this book vital reading for all who are interested in the biology of bacteria and the mobile elements they carry.

..Although listed as a rare cancer in a majority of countries, Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a high incidence and appears as a serious public health problem in several highly populated areas of Southeast Asia and to a lesser extent in North Africa. Worldwide, its incidence rates at 85,000 new cases per year (Globocan 2008). Thus, in terms of incidence, among human virus-associated cancers, NPC ranks third behind liver and cervix carcinoma (750,000 and 530,000, respectively). In 2008, the mortality rate of NPC was still about 51,000 per year worldwide (Globocan).

..NPC is a multifactorial disease related to dietary, viral and genetic factors. Despite fascinating biological characteristics, NPC has long been aside from the mainstream of cancer research for both scientific and socio-economical reasons. It is noteworthy that biological investigations have long been hampered by the paucity of laboratory models and the lack of data on premalignant states. However, recently, in several high incidence countries, strong economic growth and rapid progress in health care has propelled NPC on the front stage of cancer research, worldwide. Simultaneously, in other places, the identification of Head and Neck cancers associated to human papilloma viruses has renewed interest for NPC as a proxy model of viral carcinogenesis.

..As explained in the title, this book intends to contribute to “translational medicine and biology”. By this, we mean a bi-directional process whose aim is to develop knowledge from basic science towards diagnostic and therapeutic applications and reciprocally to raise new questions for basic scientists. One general requirement for translational research is to establish a multidisciplinary knowledge base shared by the actors of various specialties. This is precisely the aim of the twelve chapters of this book. It will be useful for scientists, including PhD students, who want to become more familiar with the main concepts of NPC pathology, medical imaging and current therapeutics. Conversely, medical doctors who want to update their knowledge of NPC biology will benefit from chapters on viral and cellular oncogenesis.

..The discovery of Toll‑like receptors (TLRs) in the late 1990s ushered in a new age of discovery for innate immunity. The importance of TLRs for immunology and biomedical research was recognized with the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology in 2011. The prize was shared by three scientists: Ralph Steinman (for the discovery of dendritic cells, which express TLRs and whose activation by them provides a link between innate and adaptive immunity), Jules Hoffman (who made the pioneering observation of Toll in fruit fly anti‑fungal immunity) and Bruce Beutler (who uncovered the role of TLR4 in the response to LPS). Work on TLRs inspired many researchers, and led to a search for other receptors in innate immunity. There are now several additional families of such receptors known, notably RIG‑I‑like receptors (RLRs), C‑type lectin receptors (CLRs) and AIM2‑like receptors (ALRs). A notable feature is the detection of nucleic acids from pathogens, but also from host cells in certain contexts, particularly in autoimmune diseases.

..Nucleic Acid Sensors and Antiviral Immunity presents a timely and extensive account of the detection of nucleic acids in infection and inflammation. We have chapters by Beutler, Hoffman and Shizuo Akira, who is the most cited immunologist of the past ten years, for his work on innate immunity, which gives us an indication of the importance of the field. Several other pioneers in the field present comprehensive and highly lucid up‑to‑date accounts of their particular interests, revealing the large amount of activity in the past few years, as the literature continues to grow and become ever more complex. The fly yet again provides new insights, and anti‑viral mechanisms in this key model organism are described. Other topics include the ability of viruses such as poxviruses, hepatitis C virus and HIV to interfere with detection and signalling; new insights into signalling including subcellular localization of signalling proteins, complex regulation of TLRs and RLRs by ubiquination and negative regulation by miRNAs; and the role of autophagy in antiviral defence. The importance of the RLRs in viral detection is widely reviewed. DNA sensing by ALRs and other receptors is extensively described, and the prospect of additional as yet unknown receptors for DNA debated, revealing a field that is still burgeoning. The prospect of therapeutic utility is covered in the context of using nucleic acids or other compounds as agents to promote anti‑viral immunity.

..This book therefore represents an unprecedented account of this important aspect of immunology, by a stellar cast of authors who have defined the field. We have a key resource which should act as a primary source of information. The chapters will inspire researchers to continue on their quest to provide mechanistic insights into anti‑viral innate immunity. The discoveries provide us with new strategies in the never ending war between humanity and viral infection, and will help in the ultimate goal to provide treatments to use against viruses which continue to present a major threat to human health.

..• Gives an overview of state‑of‑the‑art basic findings on the tripartite motif (TRIM, also known as RBCC) family members

..• Discusses physiological and pathological roles of the TRIM

..• Provides the foundation to contribute to foster novel discoveries in the rapidly evolving field of TRIM proteins biology

..Dibujo de la portada Gabriela Guiñez Gómez.

..Este manual de cirugía pediátrica ha sido preparado como una referencia rápida para obtener información sobre los problemas quirúrgicos comunes de la infancia.
..Representa la información básica razonablemente conocida o demostrada con poca teoría o deducción. Su objetivo es proporcionar la información necesaria para diagnosticar, para escoger estudios de diagnóstico o para iniciar el tratamiento.
..La información contenida aquí es un punto de partida que lleva a estudiar más a fondo los problemas o condiciones que afligen a nuestros niños.

..• Focuses on key aspects of TRPs in health and disease

..• Provides a detailed discussion of repeat sequences as mutable sites providing genetic variability upon which natural selection can act

..• Provides insights into how expanded polyalanine in specific proteins leads to developmental abnormalities and neurocognitive dysfunction

..Tandem repeats of DNA sequences provide a unique and abundant source of genomic variability and recent evidence suggests they can modulate a range of biological processes in a wide variety of different species. These classes of repetitive DNA are variously referred to as simple sequence repeats, satellite DNA (microsatellites, minisatellites and satellites) or variable number tandem repeats. A key aspect of tandem repeats is that they represent highly polymorphic and uniquely mutable genomic components which can (depending on their sequence, length and location) affect the structure and function of DNA, RNA and protein. This book addresses the role of tandem repeat polymorphisms (TRPs) in genetic plasticity, evolution, development, biological processes, neural diversity, brain function, dysfunction and disease.

..Expansions in tandem repeats (‘dynamic mutations’) are known to cause many disorders, which mainly affect the nervous system, including Huntington’s disease (the most common polyglutamine disorder), spinocerebellar ataxias, Kennedy’s disease (spinobulbar muscular atrophy), dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy, Friedreich ataxia, polyalanine disorders, fragile X syndrome and related disorders. Whilst the plasticity of these tandem repeats occurs at the DNA level, evidence for both ‘gain of function’ and ‘loss of function’ pathogenic effects of repeat expansions (‘genetic stutters’) at RNA and protein levels is discussed using specific examples of these monogenic disorders. Furthermore, it has been proposed that TRPs could help solve the conundrum of ‘missing heritability’ produced by genome-wide association studies of various polygenic complex diseases which have only examined single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). There are hundreds of thousands of unique tandem repeats in the human genome and their polymorphic distributions have the potential to greatly influence functional diversity and disease susceptibility. Recent discoveries in this expanding field are critically reviewed and discussed in a range of different chapters from leading experts in their respective fields, with a focus on the role of TRPs and their various gene products in evolution, development, diverse molecular and cellular processes, brain function and disease.

..• A guide for diabetic patients to take care of their health
..• Comprehensive in scope
..• With numerous figures and tables

..• Written by outstanding investigators in their fields

..• Covers some of the more interesting aspects of research in blood‑tissue barriers

..• Focuses on topics that are physiologically applicable to all blood‑tissue barriers

..Pregnancy is a very exciting time, but can be challenging to both the pregnant patient and the caring physician when complicated by a disorder, considering the impact on the health of both the mother and the fetus. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to- date review of liver disorders during pregnancy that will benefit both health care providers and researchers. Maternal Liver Disease represents a single source that contains detailed knowledge of clinical manifestations of maternal liver disorders, approach to diagnosis and management, clinical outcomes, as well as a detailed description of the latest scientific discoveries and research findings on pathogenesis of liver disease in pregnancy. Some of these disorders, until recently, have been considered mysterious and many of the recommendations, based on recent discoveries, can be lifesaving to the pregnant woman and her fetus. Maternal Liver Disease provides a novel contribution to the field through its comprehensive clinical and scientific focused approach.