New Book Announcement –Perinatal Cardiology Part 1 and Part 2

In Perinatal Cardiology, fetal cardiology experts provide key information on tools for fetal evaluation through echocardiography / cardiac ultrasonography, with a primary focus on the nature and prenatal detection of structural and functional cardiac heart defects (CHDs). In this two-part book, readers will find details about different types of fetal cardiac abnormalities along with important updates on the diagnosis, management, planning delivery, and postnatal treatment in CHD cases. This information is supplemented with guidelines for the clinical management of patients with a fetus affected by cardiovascular defects, and surgical procedures in neonates.

Key features:

1. -presents information gathered by experts in perinatal cardiology, organized into 26 topic-based chapters
2. -explores the cardiac development, fetal cardiovascular hemodynamics, genetic and environmental factors associated with congenital heart defects (CHD), perinatal management, planning delivery, and postnatal treatment of newborns with CHD
3. -presents information about normal cardiac functions and heart defects to give readers a clear and detailed picture of abnormal cardiac function
4. -presents information about perinatal ultrasound physiology
5. -gives practical guidelines for ultrasound and echography parameters required for evaluating fetal heart anatomy and diagnosing diseases
6. -includes a new system of classifying prenatal CHDs based on the stratification of the risk level of care
7. -features a straightforward and accessible style of presentation suitable for all readers
8. -provides references in each chapter for further reading

Part 1 of this two-part set covers the basics of perinatal cardiology which chapters that introduce readers to CHD classification, fetal heart and placental physiology and pathology, diagnosis of fetal cardiac malposition and anomalies and some congenital heart defects such as septal defects, cardiac anomalies of the left and sec sides, conotruncal anomalies and aortic arch anomalies.

Part 2 of this two-part set delves into different fetal anomalies such as ventricular inflow anomalies, myocardial and pericardial diseases, cardiac tumors, extra-cardiac conditions, cardiac failure, and environmental factors associated with CHD. The latter chapters cover clinical topics such as labor management for patients bearing a child with CHD, fetal cardiac interventions, clinical management of neonates with CHD and postnatal surgery.

Perinatal Cardiology is an essential reference for postgraduate medical students seeking to improve their knowledge of fetal and pediatric cardiology as part of their residency and professional training. The book equips readers with the information necessary to understand the role of the perinatal cardiologist and goes further to facilitate the ability to perform adequate risk assessments for fetal CHD.

Read out the full version: Part 1

Part 2

New eBook Announcement | Stress Response And Immunity: Links And Trade Offs

 

Editor: “Nadia Danilova”

 

All living organisms face two major challenges: to adjust to constantly changing environment and to protect themselves from pathogens. How organisms integrate responses to these challenges is the subject of this book. Cellular machinery can function properly only in a narrow range of condition. The same is true for multicellular organisms. When conditions deviate from the acceptable range, that creates stress and requires change. Physical stress can be caused by starvation, heat, cold, irradiation, and other factors. In addition, higher animals can experience mental stress caused by fear, neglect, isolation etc. Stress response is a set of measures that preserve homeostasis in the face of environmental changes. Pathogens are another challenge for most life forms. Viruses and mobile genetic elements infect all organisms. Multicellular organisms can also be infected by bacterial and eukaryotic pathogens. These subjects are presented in the first two chapters of the book.

The next section presents the elaborate mechanisms of stress and immune responses in bacteria and archaea. A common response to stress in prokaryotes includes, among other means, switching to an alternative transcriptional mode. Prokaryotic immunodefense mechanisms are built on two strategies that are also conserved in eukaryotes. One is innate immunity based on genetically encoded molecules/receptors. The other — adaptive immunity is based on unique molecules/receptors that are created de novo in response to infection.

Eukaryotic stress response is discussed next. Global inhibition of translation, called integrated stress response, is a common reaction to many stresses in eukaryotic cells. In multicellular organisms, most individual cells have autonomous immunodefense mechanisms which function in collaboration with stress response. Some stress responses can participate in immunodefense. A notable example is unfolded protein response. It cleanses the cell of misfolded proteins plus also targets viral proteins because of their difference from cellular proteins. In animals, cellular stress response can trigger cytokine production and systemic response, which includes inflammation and engagement of specialised immune systems. Even subtle changes in homeostasis can activate such a response. The incredible sensitivity of cellular machinery to changes has a dark side; stress and ensuing immune mechanisms such as inflammation and complement can be induced without infection or substantial injury and lead to pathology.

In complex organisms with specialised immune systems, discussed next, the relationship between stress and immunity becomes more complex and sometimes antagonistic. Mental stress can cause activation of immune mechanisms, which, in turn, can affect the brain’s functioning, and behavior. In the recent decade, science has discovered the paramount importance of interaction of all levels of stress response with immunity in the etiology of many human diseases from atherosclerosis to Alzheimer’s. Read out the full version here 

 

 

Nadia Danilova
Department of Molecular,
Cell & Developmental Biology,
University of California, Los Angeles CA,
USA

 

New eBook Announcement | Cutting Edge Techniques in Biophysics, Biochemistry and Cell Biology: From Principle to Applications

 

BY
ANUPAM JYOTI, NEETU MISHRA

Biomedical research is gaining prime attention as it is directly affecting human health. Biophysical, biochemical and cellular techniques are the backbone of biomedical sciences; a pre-requisite towards the understanding and treatment of human diseases. In the recent years, biomedical research has provided solutions for several problems faced by human beings. It is an integrated approach that includes various disciplines viz. biochemistry, microbiology, genetics and biochemical engineering. After some time, it has been integrated rapidly with new branches of science like molecular and cellular biology, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and nanotechnology. Biomedical research involves fundamental scientific principles applied to preclinical understanding of problems to clinical solutions. This book titled ‘Cutting Edge Techniques in Biophysics, Biochemistry and Cell Biology: From Principle to Applications’, presents a broad overview regarding the basic applications of sophisticated and analytical techniques used in biophysics, biochemistry and cell biology. This book has covers the following areas: in vitro cell culture assay, real-time PCR, flow cytometry, and X-ray crystallography, discussed by authors who have quality publications in their proposed chapter area. Additionally each chapter includes application of techniques in specific areas like cells sorting by FACS, disease diagnosis by Real-time PCR, disease modeling under in vitro culture and many more. This will help students understand the importance of techniques in biophysics, biochemistry and cell biology research which will set a benchmark for further research.

As a biotechnology scientist, I am happy to recommend this book to the students of universities, both as a text and reference book. The section on technique will be used as textbook and the application section as reference. This book has been written in a way so that it is student-friendly with clean diagrams and protocols of specific techniques. I sincerely believe that the book has been prepared with the scientific skills and will serve as a useful document for the graduate and undergraduate students. Read out the full version here

 

Rajiv Kumar
ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute
Avikanagar, Tonk, Rajasthan
India