Bücher veröffentlicht von IntechOpen

We know a lot of things about cardiac rhythms and their abnormalities, but there are some things that are still waiting to be discovered and, therefore, require more study. In this book, the authors put a little light on those matters, which are not well known yet.The authors have exposed some of such cardiac arrhythmias, especially those affecting the atria of the heart (with special emphasis on fibrillation and flutter atria). By means of this book, readers can broaden their knowledge about this specific topic of supraventricular arrhythmias. They can also find a special chapter on Amiodarone as a cardiac antiarrhythmic drug, which is very revealing, even today.

Progress obtained by mycobacteriology in recent years is undeniable with regards to preventing, detecting, and treating cases of tuberculosis, millennial disease that is still present as public health issue worldwide. We present here high-impact research and interest topics related to the application of new methodologies, especially molecular methods for rapid diagnostic such as rapid DST, application of high performance liquid chromatography, molecular epidemiology and molecular diagnostic testing on post mortem. Currently, the constant search for vaccines that prevent the disease is promising through research of the immune response generated by the host towards the bacterium, and the effectiveness that may be achieved from developed vaccines. Another high-impact factor is the one generated by considering tuberculosis as a social disease with an infectious component reflected in research about tuberculosis and human rights. Finally, we present important issues of the pathogen interaction with different hosts. The constant knowledge generation that expands the frontiers of understanding is a key factor for finding solutions and successful activities for public health.

Reducing the amount of solid wastes in landfills is one of the main targets in nowadays wastes treatment. To this direction, there is a great need in finding of smart recycling techniques which should, as is possible, to be environmentally friendly. The intention of this book is to present some recent methods for the recycling of several materials, including plastics and wood, as well as to show the importance of composting of polymers. It targets professionals, recycling companies, researchers, academics and graduate students in the fields of waste management and polymer recycling in addition to chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry and physics. This book comprises 5 chapters covering areas such as, recycling of polystyrene, polyesters, PC, WEEE and wood waste, together with compostable polymers and nanocomposites.

Autoimmunity is defined as an immune response against a self-antigen. This abnormal immune response can lead to tissue damage and to the development of autoimmune disease. From organ-specific autoimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, to non-organ-specific, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune diseases represent a heterogeneous group of disorders which affect approximately 6% of the population. The pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases is complex and remains not completely understood. The aim of this book is to present current knowledge regarding pathogenic mechanisms of autoimmune diseases, clinical aspects of specific autoimmune diseases, like vitiligo, celiac disease and autoimmune liver disease, as well as insights regarding specific therapies.

While the management of head and neck cancer has evolved over the last few decades, there are still several challenges and unanswered questions that need solutions. This book is a small compilation of some topical aspects regarding head and neck cancer treatment, including the etiology of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers and risk factors in the young population, the challenge of surgical margin definition and the perennial problem of systemic treatment due to distant metastases. Radiobiological aspects are also covered through the Rs of radiotherapy, with a couple of chapters being dedicated to radioresistance and tumour microenvironment. Contemporary Issues in Head and Neck Cancer Management comes as an addition to the existing literature that aims to tackle this radiobiologically challenging tumour.

The chapters included in the book describe recent developments in the field of superconductivity. The book deals with both the experiment and the theory. Superconducting and normal-state properties are studied by various methods. The authors presented investigations of traditional and new materials. In particular, studies of oxides, pnictides, chalcogenides and intermetallic compounds are included. The superconducting order parameter symmetry is discussed and consequences of its actual non-conventional symmetry are studied. Impurity and tunneling effects (both quasiparticle and Josephson ones) are among topics covered in the chapters. Special attention is paid to the competition between superconductivity and other instabilities, which lead to the Fermi surface gapping.

It is very important for scientists all over the globe to enhance drug discovery research for better human health. This book demonstrates that various expertise are essential for drug discovery including synthetic or natural drugs, clinical pharmacology, receptor identification, drug metabolism, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic research.The following 5 sections cover diverse chapter topics in drug discovery: Natural Products as Sources of Leading Molecules in Drug Discovery; Oncology and Drug Discovery; Receptors Involvement in Drug Discovery; Management and Development of Drugs against Infectious Diseases; Advanced Methodology.

Public health has been defined as the efforts of a community that allow a population to remain healthy. This definition is very inclusive, so elements of clinical care, health promotion and many other fields contribute to the larger discipline of public health. The profession has evolved in recent years, with the emphasis in the developed world changing from the hygiene method for control of infectious diseases to a more complex approach to address chronic disease. However, the focus in public health continues to be the population. This book provides a sample of fields that contribute to the public health profession. Its broad approach provides examples of the core fields of public health, including environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics, health administration, and health behavior.

As a reason of information explosion, electronic communication networks are not sufficient for high bit rate data transmission. This problem has been solved by optical networks which caused the birth of a new area of technology, photonics. In photonic circuits photons play the dominant role and they transfer the optical data. With the growth of the photonics technology, a new area started to grow as photonic crystals which now play an important role in designing and manufacturing compact photonic devices.Photonic crystals are structures with alternative dielectric constant in one, two or three dimensions which are called one, two or three dimensional photonic crystals.By using the properties of photonic band gap, many interesting phenomena such as slow light generation, dispersion engineering in a compact and low size device can be achieved.

Ionic liquids continue to attract a great deal of research attention in an even increasing number of areas, including more traditional areas such as synthesis (organic and materials) and physical properties studies and predictions, as well as less obvious areas such as lubrication and enzymatic transformations. In this volume, recent advances in a number of these different areas are reported and reviewed, thus granting some appreciation for the future that ionic liquids research holds, and affording inspiration for those who have not previously considered the application of ionic liquids in their area of interest.

In the last 50 years, combinations of conventional and molecular methods have made the genetic diversity a widespread science. Moreover, the issue of conserving genetic diversity as a component of the conservation of the environment has been raised at an international level. We hope that the current book will provide a glimpse into the dynamic process of genetic diversity by presenting the research of some of the scientists who are engaged in development of new tools and ideas in genetic diversity. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all authors who contributed to this book by sharing their valuable works with us.

The book covers new sintering techniques on ceramic materials, metals and composites as well as reprocessed PTFE. The book covers theoretical as well as experimental aspects on Spark Plasma Sintered (SPS) Porous copper, development of cutting blades with high hardness and resistance to cracking and wear, increased microhardness of austenitic steel ? TiB2 composites obtained with high pressure - high temperature sintering, Al2O3 porous body with cotton as the template and excellent thermal insulation with direct application for refractories as well as Metal matrix composites added nanostructured tantalum carbide and an overview of different sintering techniques used in powder metallurgy. Finally recycling of PTFE scrap materials using ram extrusion and compression molding is described.

The present book on Hydrodynamics - Concepts and Experiments contains six chapters, each of which devoted to a topic considered interesting to compose this book. Although the tools used in the different chapters are somewhat superposed, a first classification may be presented as: the first two chapters describe numerical models; the third and fourth chapters use experimental tools and results; and the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters present conceptual aspects of fluid dynamics. A more detailed description is furnished in the sequence.The six topics that compose this book may be resumed as: Flow-Structure Interactions, Hydrodynamic Models and Biological processes in Coastal Waters, Useful Cavitation, New Concepts in Hydraulic Jumps, Lagrangian Formulation of Fluid Dynamics, and Small Perturbations in Viscous Fluids.

The inflammatory procceses of pancreatic gland can be acute and chronic. Acute pancreatitis constitutes the majority of cases requiring hospital admission in gastroenterology. We are yet to discover many things about its pathophysiology, which is a certain drawback for the progress in its treatment. Prediction of severity is necessary for the management plan. However, our progress in the field was significant in the recent decade and a leap forward is expected in this cumbersome condition which has many unmet needs. Chronic pancreatitis is a progressive inflammatory disease characterized by debilitating pain and pancreatic insufficiency. Although medical treatment and endoscopic interventions are primarily offered to patients with chronic pancreatitis, approximately around 50% will ultimately require palliative surgery.

A dramatic increase in knowledge regarding the molecular biology of brain tumors has been established over the past few years. In particular, recent new avenues regarding the role of microRNAs along with further understanding of the importance of angiogenesis, immunotherapy and explanations for the resistance of the tumors to radiation therapy have been developed. A discussion of certain surgical management issues including improvements in imaging along with issues concerning tumor induced epilepsy is included. It is hopeful that this new information will lead to efficacious treatment strategies for these tumors which remain a challenge. In this book, a review of the latest information on these topics along with a variety of new therapeutic treatment strategies with an emphasis on molecular targeted therapies is provided.

The book is not a classic pediatric text book. It shows different approaches to some pediatric topics. Our aim in this book, as understood from its title, is to describe some specific issues related to nursing, psychiatric and surgical issues. The book Pediatric Nursing, Psychiatric and Surgical Issues has 8 chapters which are placed in 4 different sections, to enlighten patients and pediatricians on current developments on specific pediatric issues.

Satellite positioning techniques, particularly global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), are capable of measuring small changes of the Earths shape and atmosphere, as well as surface characteristics with an unprecedented accuracy. This book is devoted to presenting recent results and development in satellite positioning technique and applications, including GNSS positioning methods, models, atmospheric sounding, and reflectometry as well their applications in the atmosphere, land, oceans and cryosphere. This book provides a good reference for satellite positioning techniques, engineers, scientists as well as user community.

Oral cancer is a significant public health challenge globally. Although the oral cavity is easily accessible, early diagnosis remains slow compared to the enhanced detection of cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, and melanoma. As a result, the mortality rate from oral cancer for the past four decades has remained high at over 50% in spite of advances in treatment modalities. This contrasts with considerable decrease in mortality rates for cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, and melanoma during the same period. This book attempts to provide a reference-friendly update on the etiologic/risk factors, current clinical diagnostic tools, management philosophies, molecular biomarkers, and progression indicators of oral cancer.

Machine Learning can be defined in various ways related to a scientific domain concerned with the design and development of theoretical and implementation tools that allow building systems with some Human Like intelligent behavior. Machine learning addresses more specifically the ability to improve automatically through experience.