Analysing Gene Expression, A Handbook of Methods

Bacteria in various habitats are subject to continuously changing environmental conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, heat and cold stress, UV radiation, oxidative stress, dessication, acid stress, nitrosative stress, cell envelope stress, heavy metal exposure, osmotic stress, and others. In order to survive, they have to respond to these conditions by adapting their physiology through sometimes drastic changes in gene expression. In addition they may adapt by changing their morphology, forming biofilms, fruiting bodies or spores, filaments, Viable But Not Culturable (VBNC) cells or moving away from stress compounds via chemotaxis. Changes in gene expression constitute the main component of the bacterial response to stress and environmental changes, and involve a myriad of different mechanisms, including (alternative) sigma factors, bi- or tri-component regulatory systems, small non-coding RNA’s, chaperones, CHRIS-Cas systems, DNA repair, toxin-antitoxin systems, the stringent response, efflux pumps, alarmones, and modulation of the cell envelope or membranes, to name a few. Many regulatory elements are conserved in different bacteria; however there are endless variations on the theme and novel elements of gene regulation in bacteria inhabiting particular environments are constantly being discovered. Especially in (pathogenic) bacteria colonizing the human body a plethora of bacterial responses to innate stresses such as pH, reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and antibiotic stress are being described. An attempt is made to not only cover model systems but give a broad overview of the stress-responsive regulatory systems in a variety of bacteria, including medically important bacteria, where elucidation of certain aspects of these systems could lead to treatment strategies of the pathogens. Many of the regulatory systems being uncovered are specific, but there is also considerable “cross-talk” between different circuits. Stress and Environmental Regulation of Gene Expression and Adaptation in Bacteria is a comprehensive two-volume work bringing together both review and original research articles on key topics in stress and environmental control of gene expression in bacteria. Volume One contains key overview chapters, as well as content on one/two/three component regulatory systems and stress responses, sigma factors and stress responses, small non-coding RNAs and stress responses, toxin-antitoxin systems and stress responses, stringent response to stress, responses to UV irradiation, SOS and double stranded systems repair systems and stress, adaptation to both oxidative and osmotic stress, and desiccation tolerance and drought stress. Volume Two covers heat shock responses, chaperonins and stress, cold shock responses, adaptation to acid stress, nitrosative stress, and envelope stress, as well as iron homeostasis, metal resistance, quorum sensing, chemotaxis and biofilm formation, and viable but not culturable (VBNC) cells. Covering the full breadth of current stress and environmental control of gene expression studies and expanding it towards future advances in the field, these two volumes are a one-stop reference for (non) medical molecular geneticists interested in gene regulation under stress.

Comprehensive in coverage, written and edited by leading experts in the field, this Handbook is a definitive, up-to-date reference work. The Volumes Methods I and Methods II detail the physico-chemical basis and capabilities of the various microscopy techniques used in materials science. The Volume Applications illustrates the results obtained by all available methods for the main classes of materials, showing which technique can be successfully applied to a given material in order to obtain the desired information. With the Handbook of Microscopy, scientists and engineers involved in materials characterization will be in a position to answer two key questions: «How does a given technique work?», and «Which techique is suitable for characterizing a given material?»

This second edition of the successful Handbook of Adhesion provides concise and authoritative articles covering many aspects of the science and technology associated with adhesion and adhesives. It is intended to fill a gap between the necessarily simplified treatment of the student textbook and the full and thorough treatment of the research monograph and review article. The articles are structured in such a way, with internal cross-referencing and external literature references, that the reader can build up a broader and deeper understanding, as their needs require. This second edition includes many new articles covering developments which have risen in prominence in the intervening years, such as scanning probe techniques, the surface forces apparatus and the relation between adhesion and fractal surfaces. Advances in understanding polymer – polymer interdiffusion are reflected in articles drawing out the implications for adhesive bonding. In addition, articles derived from the earlier edition have been revised and updated where needed. Throughout the book there is a renewed emphasis on environmental implications of the use of adhesives and sealants. The scope of the Handbook, which features nearly 250 articles from over 60 authors, includes the background science – physics, chemistry and material science – and engineering, and also aspects of adhesion relevant to the use of adhesives, including topics such as: * Sealants and mastics * Paints and coatings * Printing and composite materials * Welding and autohesion * Engineering design The Handbook of Adhesion is intended for scientists and engineers in both academia and industry, requiring an understanding of the various facets of adhesion.

Toxicogenomics is a new, dynamic and very promising field that can help optimize toxicity analyses and streamline research into active substances. It is of interest not only for basic research and development, but also from a legal and ethical perspective. Here, experts from all the fields mentioned will find solid information provided by an international team of experienced authors. With its approach as an interdisciplinary overview, it will prove particularly useful for all those needing to develop appropriate research strategies. The authors work for major research institutions, such as the Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (Germany), the German Cancer Research Center, the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (USA), the National Institute of Health Science (Japan) or for companies like Affymetrix, Altana Pharma, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bruker, Merck, Nimblegen, Novartis, and Syngenta. Coverage ranges from the technology platforms applied, including DNA arrays or proteomics, via the bioinformatics tools required, right up to applications of toxicogenomics presented in numerous case studies, while also including an overview of national programs and initiatives as well as regulatory perspectives. Walter Rosenthal, Director of the Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in Berlin, praises the book thus: «I would like to congratulate the publishers of this handbook, one that deals with a extremely hot topic. They have succeeded in gaining as authors leading representatives from this field. The Handbook impressively shows how modern genomic research is leading to rapid advances and new insights within toxicology.»

(Co)polymers prepared via free radical mechanism, together with polyolefins, comprise the largest portion of the commodity plastics industry and are also used for preparation of many specialty materials. Handbook of Radical Polymerization provides a concise source of information on mechanisms, synthetic techniques, and characterization methods and addresses future trends for polymers made by free radical intermediates. A one-stop, at-your-fingertips source of information for students, researchers, technologists, and industrial managers, the Handbook functions as a single reference of the conventional and controlled/living radical polymerization methods. Two expert editors collect and present historical background of the technique, basic information regarding various free radical polymerization systems, and state-of-the-art experimental techniques and industrial applications. Chapters written by internationally acclaimed experts in their respective fields include: Theory of Radical Reactions The Kinetics of Free Radical Polymerization Industrial Applications and Processes Nitroxide Mediated Living Radical Polymerization Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Control of Free Radical Polymerization by Chain Transfer Methods Macromolecular Engineering by Controlled Radical Polymerization Guaranteed to have a long shelf life, the Handbook of Radical Polymerization promises to be an indispensable resource for chemists, chemical engineers, material scientists, and graduate students in the field, as well as a valuable addition to industrial, academic, and government libraries.

This international collection of chapters comprehensively covers different aspects of procedures for speciation analysis at all levels starting from sample collection and storage, through sample preparation approaches to render the species chromatographable, principles of separation techniques used in speciation analysis, to the element specific detection. International renowned editors and contributors Includes coverage of electrochemical methods, biosensors for metal ions, radioisotope techniques and direct solid speciation techniques Provides information on quality assurance and risk assessment, and speciation-relevant legislation Each chapter is a stand-alone reference covering a given facet of elemental speciation analysis written by an expert in a given field with the volume as a whole providing an excellent introductory text and reference handbook.

Although the notion is a relatively recent one, the notions and principles of Granular Computing (GrC) have appeared in a different guise in many related fields including granularity in Artificial Intelligence, interval computing, cluster analysis, quotient space theory and many others. Recent years have witnessed a renewed and expanding interest in the topic as it begins to play a key role in bioinformatics, e-commerce, machine learning, security, data mining and wireless mobile computing when it comes to the issues of effectiveness, robustness and uncertainty. The Handbook of Granular Computing offers a comprehensive reference source for the granular computing community, edited by and with contributions from leading experts in the field. Includes chapters covering the foundations of granular computing, interval analysis and fuzzy set theory; hybrid methods and models of granular computing; and applications and case studies. Divided into 5 sections: Preliminaries, Fundamentals, Methodology and Algorithms, Development of Hybrid Models and Applications and Case Studies. Presents the flow of ideas in a systematic, well-organized manner, starting with the concepts and motivation and proceeding to detailed design that materializes in specific algorithms, applications and case studies. Provides the reader with a self-contained reference that includes all pre-requisite knowledge, augmented with step-by-step explanations of more advanced concepts. The Handbook of Granular Computing represents a significant and valuable contribution to the literature and will appeal to a broad audience including researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of Computational Intelligence, pattern recognition, fuzzy sets and neural networks, system modelling, operations research and bioinformatics.

The book presents the principles and methods of holographic interferometry – a coherent-optical measurement technique for deformation and stress analysis, for the determination of refractive-index distributions, or applied to non-destructive testing. Emphasis of the book is on the quantitative computer-aided evaluation of the holographic interferograms. Based upon wave-optics the evaluation methods, their implementation in computer-algorithms, and their applications in engineering are described.

The alarming consequences of global climate change have highlighted the need to take urgent steps to combat the causes of air pollution. Hence, understanding the Earth's atmosphere is a vital component in Man's emerging quest for developing sustainable modes of behaviour in the 21st century. Written by a team of expert scientists, the Handbook of Atmospheric Science provides a broad and up-to-date account of our understanding of the natural processes that occur within the atmosphere. It examines how Man’s activities have had a detrimental effect on the climate, and how measures may be implemented in order to modify these activities. The book progresses through chapters covering the principles of atmospheric science and the current problems of air pollution at the urban, regional and global scales, to the tools and applications used to understand air pollution. The Handbook of Atmospheric Science offers an excellent overview of this multi-disciplinary subject and will prove invaluable to both students and researchers of atmospheric science, air pollution and global change.

Handbook of Microalgal Culture is truly a landmark publication, drawing on some 50 years of worldwide experience in microalgal mass culture. This important book comprises comprehensive reviews of the current available information on microalgal culture, written by 40 contributing authors from around the globe. The book is divided into four parts, with Part I detailing biological and environmental aspects of microalgae with reference to microalgal biotechnology and Part II looking in depth at major theories and techniques of mass cultivation. Part III comprises chapters on the economic applications of microalgae, including coverage of industrial production, the use of microalgae in human and animal nutrition and in aquaculture, in nitrogen fixation, hydrogen and methane production, and in bioremediation of polluted water. Finally, Part IV looks at new frontiers and includes chapters on genetic engineering, microalgae as platforms for recombinant proteins, bioactive chemicals, heterotrophic production, microalgae as gene-delivery systems for expressing mosquitocidal toxins and the enhancement of marine productivity for climate stabilization and food security. Handbook of Microalgal Culture is an essential purchase for all phycologists and also those researching aquatic systems, aquaculture and plant sciences. There is also much of great use to researchers and those involved in product formulation within pharmaceutical, nutrition and food companies. Libraries in all universities and research establishments teaching and researching in chemistry, biological and pharmaceutical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, and aquaculture will need copies of this book on their shelves. Amos Richmond is at the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.