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The placenta, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord, and cord blood can often be classified as pregnancy-specific biological substances with enormous applications in regenerative medicine. The Placenta includes eight chapters that provide readers with access to a range of information from basic mechanisms and assays to cutting-edge research investigating concerns for normal placentation. The book presents a comprehensive, translational look at all aspects of abnormal placentation and its effects on maternofetal axis. It follows the relationship between placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells and modulation of immunity, gene expression, and inflammation. It also covers additional information concerning the management of placental complications, placental therapy, and biological roles of antiinflammation and regeneration. The Placenta will be of interest to scientists, embryologists, physicians, and lay readers wishing to review recent developments in the field of the placenta.

This book provides an approach toward the applications and principle theory of digital signal processing in modern intelligent systems, biological engineering, telecommunication, and information technology. Assuming the reader already has prior knowledge of signal processing theory, this book will be useful for finding novel methods that fit special needs in digital signal processing (DSP). The combination of signal processing and intelligent systems in hybrid structures rather than serial or parallel processing provide the best mechanism that is a better fit with the comprehensive nature of human. This book is a practical reference that places the emphasis on principles and applications of DSP in digital systems. It covers a broad area of digital systems and applications of machine learning methods including convolutional neural networks, evolutionary algorithms, adaptive filters, spectral estimation, data compression and functional verification. The level of the book is ideal for professional DSP users and useful for graduate students who are looking for solutions to their design problems. The theoretical principles provide the required base for comprehension of the methods and application of modifications for the special needs of practical projects.

Cities are the places where the greatest technological advances will take place in the near future, and important efforts are being directed towards autonomy and independence for each and every citizen. However, these efforts are rarely coordinated or integrated among governments, citizens, and private firms. In this book, assistive technology solutions are approached considering the smart cities scenario. The book discusses how assistive technologies can be adapted to this new reality. In fact, several challenges arise, stimulating the evolution of current technologies, relying on ubiquitous sensing, big data, and anytime/anywhere access and control. The book presents research under development, not necessarily with consolidated results. Even though the idea of smart cities is still not a recognized concept in most countries, its relevance and application are spreading rapidly.

The book contains four chapters discussing dystonia from a new perspective. Dystonia may result from either diffuse or localized pathology of the cerebral cortex, brain stem, or spinal cord. Management of dystonia is challenging, and specific goals should be identified. Dystonia is considered one of the most disabling conditions in the pediatric age group, which may remain until adulthood; treatment is usually unsatisfactory. Meige's syndrome, or "oromandibular dystonia," may be misdiagnosed as temporomandibular joint or psychogenic disorder, which will alter management and delay proper treatment. Dystonia with non-motor disorders includes sleep, cognitive, pain, sensory, and psychiatric disorders, and their pathophysiological and biochemical mechanisms and specific treatment are discussed. This book will be of interest to GPs, neurologists, family physicians, and internal medicine specialists.

In the coming years, farmers will face difficult challenges throughout the world in terms of climate change, water scarcity, and environmental issues caused by conventional agricultural technologies. Effective management of natural resources can be encouraged by orienting the common agricultural practices towards the functional biodiversity concept in designing and implementing sustainable and eco-friendly cropping systems. In the framework of polycrop science, this book provides basic principles and several case studies of polycrop utilization in various regions of the world as a method of functional biodiversity amplification through species associations that maximize the productivity per unit of land area, suppress the growth and development of weeds, and reduce the amount of harmful pests and insects.

In the field of computers and with the advent of the internet, the topic of secure communication has gained significant importance. The theory of cryptography and coding theory has evolved to handle many such problems. The emphases of these topics are both on secure communication that uses encryption and decryption schemes as well as on user authentication for the purpose of non-repudiation. Subsequently, the topics of distributed and cloud computing have emerged. Existing results related to cryptography and network security had to be tuned to adapt to these new technologies. With the more recent advancement of mobile technologies and IOT (internet of things), these algorithms had to take into consideration the limited resources such as battery power, storage and processor capabilities. This has led to the development of lightweight cryptography for resource constrained devices. The topic of network security also had to face many challenges owing to variable interconnection topology instead of a fixed interconnection topology. For this reason, the system is susceptible to various attacks from eavesdroppers. This book addresses these issues that arise in present day computing environments and helps the reader to overcome these security threats.

Nowadays, social media are amongst the most frequently used entertainment and information sources, offering the most recent news. National, international and global issues of social media journalism involve a wide spectrum of complex questions related to the production, distribution and reception of media contents, as well as a plethora of social, cultural, economic, legal and ethical aspects to consider. The publication you are holding in your hands is an attempt to provide various theoretical and empirical frameworks that may help us better understand social media journalism from different points of view and in diverse contexts. The individual chapters are written by authors with various scholarly affiliations working in international academic circles. Even though the methods they use and problems they discuss vary, they all pursue the same objective - to find out more about the implications of the existence and popularity of social media, especially social media journalism.

Sintering technology is an old and extensive technology in many areas, and it has been used especially in ceramic fabrication. This book covers many fields, for example, the development of different sintering technologies in recent years, such as spark plasma sintering, flash sintering, microwave sintering, reaction and laser sintering, and so on, and also some special ceramic material fabrication methods and applications, such as carbon nanotubes mixed with alumina and zirconia ceramics, pure and doped zirconia, ZnO ceramic varistors, and so on.

The stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability across the globe. We have evolved from a sense of frustration and helplessness to proactive and effective management in the hyperacute and acute phase of a stroke. The aim is to salvage the ischemic brain and turn it again into a viable and functional one. Advances in imaging and newer therapeutic strategies of this devastating illness have changed our outlook. The modern management of an ischemic stroke involves intravenous thrombolysis within a window period of four and half hours. Endovascular management with newer stent retrievers has a higher rate of recanalization with an extended therapeutic window. A new era has emerged in the management of ischemic stroke treatment. This book, written by experts, aims to improve the understanding of stroke medicine for postgraduate medical students in medicine and neurology who have an interest in stroke care.

This book collects chapters from a number of scientists all over the world, giving their contribution to the comprehension and clinical management of psychosis. The book adopts a perspective that respects the complexity of the human person and his/her relationships. It devotes a space both to the deepening of the more strictly biological aspects, the psychological aspects and the social aspects. Each section of the book (biological, psychological, social) reveals a deep connection with the themes of the other sections, showing the strength of this biopsychosocial interweaving. The relationship and the interweaving between these different areas is certainly a foundation of our existence and constitutes a law to which we cannot escape, so it is necessary that the biopsyosocial model is always considered in the interventions for the psychotic patient. This book also focuses on some specific and very innovative topics such as the importance of psychosocial factors and family factors, complementary approaches to psychosis managment, subclinical psychosis and relational aspects of psychosis.

In order to complete tissue regeneration, various cells (neuronal, skeletal and smooth) interact coordinately with each other. This book, Muscle Cell and Tissue - Current Status of Research Field, deals with current progress and perspectives in a variety of topics on the skeletal and smooth muscle, stem cells, regeneration, disease or therapeutics. Novel applications for cell and tissue engineering including cell therapy, tissue models and disease pathology modeling are introduced. This book also deals with the differentiation/de-differentiation process of vascular smooth muscle cells in health and disease. Furthermore, natural products to reverse metabolic syndromes are descriptively reviewed. These chapters can be interesting for graduate students, teachers, physicians, executives and researchers in the field of molecular biology and regenerative medicine.

Rheology is the science that studies the behavior of the flow of matter in a liquid state or soft solids under the application of stress or deformation to obtain a response to an applied force. In polymers, rheology is an important tool to understand behavior under processing conditions and to design equipment. Another application for rheology in the polymer field is to understand structure-property relationships by means of molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, stereochemistry, morphology, melt degradation, and performance under processing. This book covers the essential criteria for selecting the best test types for various applications and new developments, for accurately interpreting results, and for determining other areas where rheology and rheological phenomena may be useful in your work.

The prefrontal cortex reaches its greatest development in the human brain, making up nearly one third of the neocortex. Due to its remarkable evolution, the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in higher integrative functions such as information processing, thinking, understanding, attention, behavior, motivation, emotions, working memory, and analysis. This book brings together theoretical and technical research advances on the prefrontal cortex, from the basic explanations of the neuronal architecture of the prefrontal cortex and its anatomy, presenting it as a morphological substrate for many psychological conditions, through normal and altered connectivity and its manifestation in different behavior and identification of organizational levels inside the prefrontal cortex through different neuroimaging methods. It also provides an interdisciplinary view of the prefrontal cortex and its issues and discovers the main role of this part of brain in psychosocial, economic, and cultural adaptation.

The aim of Ecosystem Services and Global Ecology is to give an overview and report from the frontiers of research of this important and interesting multidisciplinary area. Ecosystem services as a concept plays a key role in solving global environmental and human ecological crises and associated other problems, especially today when the sixth major extinction event of the history of the biosphere is in progress, and humanity can easily become a victim of it. Human activity is rapidly transforming the surface of the Earth, its biosphere, atmosphere, soil, and water resources. Ecological processes happen over a long time scale, thus damage caused by human activity will be perceptible after decades or even centuries. We hope that our book will be interesting and useful for researchers, lecturers, students, and anyone interested in this field.

Thermomechanics is a scientific discipline which investigates the behavior of bodies under the action forces and heat input. Thermomechanical phenomena commonly occur in the human environment, from the action of solar radiation to the technological processes. The analysis of these phenomena often requires extensive interdisciplinary knowledge and the application of advanced mathematical apparatus. Thermo-mechanical phenomena are analyzed using analytical and numerical methods. The analytical solution offers a quicker assessment of the searched values and its dependence on the various parameters. Some problems can be solved only by numerical methods, of which the finite element method is commonly used. This book intends to present current trends and methods in solving thermomechanics problems.

Biopharmaceuticals are derived from biological sources, either live organisms or their active components; nowadays, they are mainly produced by biotechnologies. Biopharmaceuticals are extensively used in the treatment of various diseases such as cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological diseases, cancer, and others for which there are no available therapeutic methods. With the advance of science, biopharmaceuticals have revolutionized the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of many patients with disabling and life-threatening diseases. Innovative biopharmaceuticals definitely improve the life quality of patients and enhance the effectiveness of the healthcare system. This book encompasses the discovery, production, application, and regulation of biopharmaceuticals to demonstrate their research achievement, prospects, and challenges. We expect the significance of biopharmaceuticals to be revealed and emphasized by this book.

Powder Technology comprehends several particulate solid systems, which must be controlled, from the nucleation stages to the final application of derivative materials. Powder characteristics depend on the synthesis method, which can be a simple solid-state reaction followed by attrition milling, mechanosynthesis, or chemical methods, such as the sol-gel method. Powder technology is an important interdisciplinary area, which can provide solutions to several application fields. The book Powder Technology contains several peer-reviewed chapters organized in two sections. Section 1 is focused on metal and composites powders and Section 2 contains chapters on non-metallic powders. I sincerely hope that the contents of this book will help in the dissemination of knowledge to researchers and students working with powder technology.

PID Control for Industrial Processes presents a clear, multidimensional representation of proportional - integral - derivative (PID) control for both students and specialists working in the area of PID control. It mainly focuses on the theory and application of PID control in industrial processes. It incorporates recent developments in PID control technology in industrial practice. Emphasis has been given to finding the best possible approach to develop a simple and optimal solution for industrial users. This book includes several chapters that cover a broad range of topics and priority has been given to subjects that cover real-world examples and case studies. The book is focused on approaches for controller tuning, i.e., method bases on open-loop plant tests and closed-loop experiments.

Tropical forests occupy only one-tenth of the world's land area but are home to more than half of the world's flora and fauna. They comprise extremely complex labyrinth of ecological interactions. The astounding richness and biodiversity of tropical forests are rapidly dwindling. There is a fear that the burgeoning human population and industrialization, where a majority of these tropical forests are found, may lead to the clearing or modification or may be a complete disappearance of the remaining tropical forests within few decades. This has severely altered the vital biogeochemical cycles of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and so on and has led to the change in global climate and pristine natural ecosystems. Hence, there is an urgent need to protect, restore, conserve, and improve the forest resources before they are irrevocably lost. In this second edition of the book Tropical Forests, the chapters share the above issues and help in understanding, educating, and creating awareness on the role of "tropical forests" for the very survival of mankind, climate change, and the diversity of biota across the globe. This book will be of great use and could be useful to students, scientists, ecologists, population and conservation biologists, and forest managers across the globe.

We all know that the field of neuro-oncology is heterogeneous and under continuous development with the addition of new knowledge and information on a regular basis. The present book "Brain Tumor - An Update" is an attempt to share the personal experiences of experts who are involved in neuro-oncology-related research. Through this book, the authors share their experiences and provide details about the pathophysiology, neuroimaging approaches, and management options, and how to go about decision-making in patients with brain tumors. We hope that the valuable contributions from the authors shall facilitate understanding about brain tumors. I am grateful to all the authors who have contributed their tremendous expertise, and I would like to acknowledge the outstanding support of Ms. Danijela Sakic, Author Service Manager, IntechOpen Science, who collaborated tirelessly in crafting this book.

Alzheimer's disease was discovered over 100 years ago and still belongs to incurable neurological diseases; its pharmacotherapy is considered to be ineffective. This book presents contemporary views on the genetic, biochemical, and immunological determinants of this disease. This book also concerns the issue of Alzheimer's disease prevention through lifestyle and physical activity. Moreover, it describes the therapies used in Alzheimer's disease to slow the progression of the disease and delay its onset. Subsequently, the authors discuss experimental and clinical trials used now and in the near future. We hope that this book will help the readers to understand the complex mechanism leading to the development of Alzheimer's disease and indicate effective ways to prevent this disorder.

Immunotherapy is an innovative, leading and valuable approach to the treatment and control of many diseases. It can solve many problems of public health worldwide. Many people in numerous countries are suffering from a wide range of diseases (communicable and non-communicable) that can be cured or controlled by the immune system and immunotherapy. Some immunological diseases (i.e. allergic reactions and asthma, autoimmune disease, immunodeficiency disease, hypersensitivity reactions, etc.) have immune response pathophysiology and by controlling immune system mechanisms, these diseases can be controlled and cured. Immunoregulatory Aspects of Immunotherapy focuses on immune system mechanism, diagnosis, treatment and other related problems. The chapters have applicable and scientific data in immunotherapeutic approaches based on medical sciences, and would be of benefit to all researchers in immunology, allergy and asthma fields. The book discusses the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients who have dangerous diseases. We hope this book will be a new approach to the immunotherapy of diseases and will improve public health and wellbeing.

The book discusses the recent advances in basic and applied approaches including research on the genetics of insects, its application in resolving the consequences of world population growth, its impact on agriculture, and control strategies and their implications on the fast-depleting insect resources. The application of insects as a probable nutrient substitute along with the role of sex hormones among insects has been thoroughly discussed. The entire book basically contains five chapters spread over two sections: Section I mainly focuses on diversity, conservation and nutrition, while Section II is concerned with economic importance and up-to-date information on the role of peptides. The book is well illustrated with diagrams, graphical representations and flow charts for easy understanding the important information discussed in the book.

Freedoms in material choice based on combinatorial design, different directions of process optimization, and computational tools are a significant advantage of additive manufacturing technology. The combination of additive and information technologies enables rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing models on the design stage, thereby significantly accelerating the design cycle in mechanical engineering. Modern and high-demand powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition methods allow obtaining functional complex shapes and functionally graded structures. Until now, the experimental parametric analysis remains as the main method during AM optimization. Therefore, an additional goal of this book is to introduce readers to new modeling and material's optimization approaches in the rapidly changing world of additive manufacturing of high-performance metals and alloys.

Technological change is one of the greatest issues in the modern world. As the world faces societal challenges, e.g., climate challenges, aging problem, and energy security, technology will contribute to new or better solutions for those problems. New technologies take time to develop and mature; moreover, they tend to be born in the gaps of multiple technology fields; therefore, early detection of emerging technological concepts across multiple disciplines will be a very important issue. Our goal seeks to develop automated methods that aid in the systematic, continuous, and comprehensive assessment of technological emergence using one of the major foresight exercises, scientometrics. There is now a huge flood of scientific and technical information, especially scientific publications and patent information. Using the information patterns of emergence for technological concepts has been discovered and theories of technical emergence have been also developed in several years. We have been developing visualization tools in which thousands of technical areas have been interacted with each other and evolved in time. Several indicators of technical emergence have been improved by universities, international organizations, and funding agencies. This book intends to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in scientometrics that focuses on the systematic, continuous, and comprehensive assessment of technological emergence.