This book highlights the role of point-of-care (POC) testing in the effective management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with an in-depth focus on the recent developments in the field, existing gaps, and future directions. POC tests are of utmost importance as they facilitate rapid and decentralized testing without much instrumentation and technical expertise. The book describes the current status of POC COVID-19 testing in three broad categories: Molecular, antigen, an...

Fashion designer Jane Hamill describes the endless possibilities of clothes and imagination in "A Grown-Up Barbie", her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This short audio essay is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of NPR's This I Believe anthology.This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series titl...

The need for novel antibiotics is greater now than perhaps any time since the pre-antibiotic era. Indeed, the recent collapse of many pharmaceutical antibacterial groups, combined with the emergence of hypervirulent and pan-antibiotic-resistant bacteria has severely compromised infection treatment options and led to dramatic increases in the incidence and severity of bacterial infections.This collection of reviews and laboratory protocols gives the reader an introduction to the cau...

Sets forth the state of the science and technology in plasma protein productionWith contributions from an international team of eighty leading experts and pioneers in the field, Production of Plasma Proteins for Therapeutic Use presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge about the function, use, and production of blood plasma proteins. In addition to details of the operational requirements for the production of plasma derivatives, t...

The interdisciplinary field of regenerative medicine holds the promise of repairing and replacing tissues and organs damaged by disease and of developing therapies for previously untreatable conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and renal failure. Derived from the fields of tissue engineering, cell and developmental biology, biomaterials science, nanotechnology, physics, chemistry, physiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, and surgery, regenerative ...

This book reviews the progress made in salivary diagnostics during the past two decades and identifies the likely direction of future endeavors. After an introductory section describing the histological and anatomical features of the salivary glands and salivary function, salivary collection devices and diagnostic platforms are reviewed. The field of “salivaomics” is then considered in detail, covering, for example, proteomics, the peptidome, DNA and RNA analysis, biomarkers, and methods f...

This work is devoted to understanding the recent advances in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging technologies along with their application to integrated medical therapy and future drug development. This anthology is based on the international symposium in 2015 entitled “Perspective on Nuclear Medicine for Molecular Diagnosis and Integrated Therapy. “The symposium provided an opportunity to exchange ideas on how to promote nuclear medicine technology and how to extend the technology to m...

This is an open access book.In honor of his 75th birthday, we reflect on the impact of the pioneering work of Alan Grodzinsky and his laboratory.This volume includes in-depth discussions of tissue electromechanics, mechanobiology and biomechanics, and matrix biology in addition to the latest advancements in understanding the pathogenesis, progression and treatment of osteoarthritis. Unique to this volume, we overview decades of groundbreaking research that set the stage for...

How stem cells behave is very much a factor of their local microenvironment, also known as the stem cell niche. Physical, chemical, or electrical signals from the neighboring cells or biochemical signals from distant cells are crucial in the cell fate decision process. A major challenge of tissue engineering is to mimic the natural cell environment by designing very sophisticated scaffolds able not only to mechanically support cells, but also to release signals biologically relevant for go...

Precision medicine is a rapidly-evolving field in the management of cancer. The use of novel molecular or genetic signatures in local-regional management is still in its infancy. Precision Radiation Oncology demystifies this state-of-the-art research and technology.By describing current existing clinical and pathologic features, and focusing on the ability to improve outcomes in cancer using radiation therapy, this book discusses incorporating novel genomic- or biology-bas...

Stem cell and regenerative medicine research is a hot area of research which promises to change the face of medicine as it will be practiced in the years to come. Challenges in the 21st century to combat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer and related diseases may well be addressed employing stem cell therapies and tissue regeneration. Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research is essential reading for researchers seeking updates in stem cell therapeutics and regenerative med...

For over 50 years, the mission of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been to conduct and support basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases with the ultimate goal of improving the health of individuals in the United States and around the world. As part of its mission to foster biomedical discovery and to reduce the burden of human disease, NIAID is committed to encouraging the acceler...