Biosilica in Evolution, Morphogenesis, and Nanobiotechnology PDF Download

Author: Werner E. G. Müller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540885528
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Lake Baikal is the oldest, deepest and most voluminous lake on Earth, comprising one fifth of the World’s unfrozen fresh water. It hosts the highest number of endemic animals recorded in any freshwater lake. Until recently it remained enigmatic why such a high diversity evolved in the isolated Lake Baikal. Focusing on the sponges (phylum Porifera) as an example, some answers are provided to fundamental questions on evolutionary forces. The characteristic feature of these animals is that they form their polymeric silicic acid skeleton enzymatically. This process is explored using modern molecular biological and cellular biological techniques to outline strategies to fabricate novel materials applicable in biomedicine and nanooptics.

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Category : Freshwater biodiversity
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Author: Hiroya Kawanabe
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030169693
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 960

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Book Description
Although, the first edition had a similar focus, more than five years have passed since its publication and the biological and social circumstances of the lake have drastically changed due to, for example, the further expansion of alien species, the decrease of indigenous species, the progress of integrated watershed management by the Union of the Kansai Government which was established in 2010, the legislation of the Conservation and Restoration Act of Lake Biwa in 2015 and more. The new edition will therefore feature updated and new information on the above and more topics as well as updated and revised data based on the latest research. Inventories of respective taxa, especially those of small animals, are also revised based on the latest studies. Furthermore, this volume covers the characteristics of the biota of this ancient lake, but at the same time, it will also approach it as a ‘culture ancient lake’. Other topics also include water pollution, lakeshore development, the effects of global warming in the past and present, the influence of people, and countermeasures by local and national governments. Moreover, the volume also provides a comprehensive view on the future of Lake Biwa and that of its residents. Miraculously enough, this ancient lake has kept its water quality clear even until today despite the fact of more than 1.4 million people living on its shores. Finally, the book also gives indispensable information to those engaged in improving and conserving water regimes of lakes and other water bodies all over the world and to those interested in the culture and history of Japan. Lake Biwa is not only one of the rarest ancient lakes of the world, but the people’s involvement with the lake also goes back a long way. This is shown in the diverse culture developed in this area and in the various archaeological finds that date back as early as the Jomon Period, nearly 10.000 years ago. Today Lake Biwa fulfills an important role as a water resource by providing domestic, commercial, industrial, and agricultural water for over 14 million residents living around the Lake Biwa-Yodo River drainage basin. This updated volume focuses on the geological and biological features of the lake as well as on the long-term interactions between the people and the lake.

Author: Werner E. G. Müller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642410049
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
In recent years, inorganic polymers have attracted much attention in nano-biomedicine, in particular in the area of regenerative medicine and drug delivery. This growing interest in inorganic polymers has been further accelerated by the development of new synthetic and analytical methods in the field of nanotechnology and nanochemistry. Examples for biomedical inorganic polymers that had been proven to exhibit biomedical effects and/or have been applied in preclinical or clinical trials are polysilicate / silica glass (such as naturally formed “biosilica” and synthetic “bioglass”) and inorganic polyphosphate. Some members of the mentioned biomedical inorganic polymers have already been applied e.g. as “bioglass” for bone repair and bone tissue engineering, or they are used in food processing and in dental care (inorganic polyphosphates). However, there are a number of further biological and medicinal properties of these polymers, which have been elucidated in the last few years but not yet been applied for treatment of humans. In addition to polysilicates and polyphosphate, there are a series of other inorganic polymers including polyarsenate and polyvanadate, whose biological / biomedical properties have been only marginally studied so far. Moreover, the combined application of inorganic polymers and organic polymeric molecules (formation of organic-inorganic hybrid materials) provides a variety of new materials with novel property combinations and diverse applications in nanomedicine. The planned book summarizes the present state of knowledge on a large group of inorganic polymers that had hitherto been mainly considered with regard to their chemistry but not comprehensively reviewed with respect to their potential biomedical applications.

Author: Carlos Arturo Navas
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642024211
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Numerous animal species live in environments characterized by a seasonal reduction in the availability of water, which often but not always occurs when temperatures are highest. For many such animals, survival during the toughest season requires spending long periods of time in a rather inactive state known as aestivation. But aestivation is much more than remaining inactive. Successful aestivation requires the selection of a proper microhabitat, variable degrees of metabolic arrest and responsiveness to external stimuli, the ability to sense the proper time of year for emergence, the preservation of inactive tissue, and much more. So, aestivation involves a complex collection of behaviors, ecological associations and physiological adjustments that vary across species in their type, magnitude and course. This book seeks to explore the phenomenon of aestivation from different perspectives and levels of organization, ranging from microhabitat selection to genetic control of physiological adjustments. It brings together authors from across the world working on different systematic groups, approaches, and questions, but who are all ultimately working to better understand the complex issue of aestivation.

Author: Werner E. G. Müller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642212301
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
The concept of ‘biomineralization’ signifies mineralization processes that take place in close association with organic molecules or matrices. The awareness that mineral formation can be guided by organic molecules notably contributed to the understanding of the formation of the inorganic skeletons of living organisms. Modern electron microscopic and spectroscopic analyses have successfully demonstrated the participation of biological systems in several mineralization processes, and prominent examples include the formation of bio-silica in diatoms and sponges. This insight has already made the application of recombinant technology for the production of valuable inorganic polymers, such as bio-silica, possible. This polymer can be formed by silicatein under conditions that cannot be matched by chemical means. Similarly, the efforts described in this book have elucidated that certain organisms, bacteria in deep-sea polymetallic nodules and coccoliths in seamount crusts, are involved in the deposition of marine minerals. Strategies have already been developed to utilize such microorganisms for the biosynthesis and bioleaching of marine deposits. Moreover, studies reveal that bio-polymers enhance the hydroxyapatite formation of bone-forming cells and alter the expression of important regulators of bone resorption, suggesting a potential for bone regeneration and treatment / prevention of osteoporosis.

Author: Robert E. Rhoads
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 364203103X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
This book is dedicated to understanding how miRNAs affect translation. It includes chapters representing work in plants and Caenorhabditis elegans, the biological systems that originally led to the discovery of small interfering RNAs.

Author: Durdica Ugarkovic
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642165028
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), tentatively defined as ncRNAs of more than two hundred nucleotides in length, are characterized by the complexity and diversity of their sequences and mechanisms of action. Based on genome-wide studies, more than 3,300 of them exist, but to date only the limited number of functional lncRNAs have been identified and characterized. Nonetheless, lncRNAs have emerged as key molecules involved in the control of transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene regulatory pathways. They take part in the recruitment of chromatin modifying complexes and regulate splicing, localization, stability and translation of the target mRNAs. This book provides an overview of the rapidly advancing field of long ncRNAs, describing the epigenetic and non-epigenetic mechanisms by which they regulate various biological functions in model systems, from yeast to mammals. The role of ncRNAs in sex chromosome dosage compensation in flies and mammals is described, as well as their role in centromere and telomere biology. Long non-coding RNAs involved in environmental stress response and development are presented and their mechanisms of action discussed.

Author: Andreas Taubert
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 3527649638
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description
At the interface of biology, chemistry, and materials science, this book provides an overview of this vibrant research field, treating the seemingly distinct disciplines in a unified way by adopting the common viewpoint of surface science. The editors, themselves prolific researchers, have assembled here a team of top-notch international scientists who read like a "who's who" of biomaterials science and engineering. They cover topics ranging from micro- and nanostructuring for imparting functionality in a top-down manner to the bottom-up fabrication of gradient surfaces by self-assembly, from interfaces between biomaterials and living matter to smart, stimuli-responsive surfaces, and from cell and surface mechanics to the elucidation of cell-chip interactions in biomedical devices. As a result, the book explains the complex interplay of cell behavior and the physics and materials science of artificial devices. Of equal interest to young, ambitious scientists as well as to experienced researchers.

Author: Yu. N. Kulchin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 135125149X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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This book cover advances in the study of processes of nonlinear propagation of continuous and pulsed laser radiation in a continuous and micro structured optical media. It details distributed fiber-optical measuring systems, the physical basis of ultra-low laser cooling of atoms, and studies of optical and nonlinear optical properties of nanostructured heterogeneous systems.