Description: This book presents an interdisciplinary overview on the most recent advances in QSAR studies. The first part is handbook-esque and consists of a comprehensive review of QSAR methodology written by outstanding scientists and highly experienced lecturers. It focuses on methodology and new ideas, providing readers with an idea of recent trends and developments in each part of QSAR strategy (descriptors, methods of modelling, validation). The second part highlights the interdisciplinary aspects and new areas of QSAR modelling. It outlines the theoretical framework together with practical applications. The most optimal solutions (descriptors, mathematical/statistical methods, validation) in the individual areas of interest (environmental risk assessment, drug design, etc.) are also discussed in more detail.

Description: The induction of unconsciousness using anesthetic agents demonstrates that the cerebral cortex can operate in two very different behavioral modes: alert and responsive vs. unaware and quiescent. But the states of wakefulness and sleep are not single-neuron properties---they emerge as bulk properties of cooperating populations of neurons, with the switchover between states being similar to the physical change of phase observed when water freezes or ice melts. Some brain-state transitions, such as sleep cycling, anesthetic induction, epileptic seizure, are obvious and detected readily with a few EEG electrodes; others, such as the emergence of gamma rhythms during cognition, or the ultra-slow BOLD rhythms of relaxed free-association, are much more subtle. The unifying theme of this book is the notion that all of these bulk changes in brain behavior can be treated as phase transitions between distinct brain states.

Description: An ontology is a set of vocabulary terms with explicitly stated meanings and relations with other terms. Presently, a growing number of ontologies are being built and used for annotating data in biomedical research. Thanks to the tremendous amount of data being generated, ontologies are now being used in numerous ways, including connecting different databases, refining search capabilities, interpreting experimental/clinical data, and inferring knowledge. This cutting-edge resource introduces researchers to latest developments in bio-ontologies.

Description: Presents in a mathematically clear way the fundamentals of algorithmic information theory and a few selected applications to mathematical logic.

Description: Leading experts illustrate how sophisticated computational data mining techniques can impact contemporary drug discovery and development

In the era of post-genomic drug development, extracting and applying knowledge from chemical, biological, and clinical data is one of the greatest challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical Data Mining brings together contributions from leading academic and industrial scientists, who address both the implementation of new data mining technologies and application issues in the industry. This accessible, comprehensive collection discusses important theoretical and practical aspects of pharmaceutical data mining, focusing on diverse approaches for drug discovery—including chemogenomics, toxicogenomics, and individual drug response prediction. The five main sections of this volume cover:

Description: Mathematical modelling and computer simulation have proved tremendously successful in engineering. One of the greatest challenges for mechanists is to extend the success of computational mechanics to fields outside traditional engineering, in particular to biology, biomedical sciences, and medicine. The proposed workshop will provide an opportunity for computational biomechanics specialists to present and exchange opinions on the opportunities of applying their techniques to computer-integrated medicine. For example, continuum mechanics models provide a rational basis for analysing biomedical images by constraining the solution to biologically reasonable motions and processes. Biomechanical modelling can also provide clinically important information about the physical status of the underlying biology, integrating information across molecular, tissue, organ, and organism scales. The main goal of this workshop is to showcase the clinical and scientific utility of computational biomechanics in computer-integrated medicine.

Description: Mathematical and symmetrical analysis of the structure of molecular systems of genetic code has essential meaning for the bioinformatics, biomathematics, and biotechnology fields. Symmetrical Analysis Techniques for Genetic Systems and Bioinformatics: Advanced Patterns and Applications adds unique and novel value to the literature in these areas, compiling studies that demonstrate effective approaches to the structural analysis of genetic systems and bioinformatics. This groundbreaking reference advances the knowledge available to researchers, educators, and students about new mathematical methods and tools, phenomenological results and interdisciplinary connections in the fields of molecular genetics, bioinformatics, computer informatics, and mathematical and theoretical biology.

Description: Medical images are at the base of many routine clinical decisions and their influence continues to increase in many fields of medicine. Since the last decade, computers have become an invaluable tool for supporting medical image acquisition, processing, organization and analysis.

Biomedical Image Analysis and Machine Learning Technologies: Applications and Techniques provides a panorama of the current boundary between biomedical complexity coming from the medical image context and the multiple techniques which have been used for solving many of these problems. This innovative publication serves as a leading industry reference as well as a source of creative ideas for applications of medical issues.

Description: The membrane electrical potential is a central element in the functioning of all living cells, and temporal variations of this potential are crucial for signaling within the nervous systems of all animals. Electrical properties of nerve cells are covered in neurobiology courses, but because electrical concepts are complex and textbook illustrations are static, students often find neurophysiology intimidating and inaccessible. In order to make neurophysiology less formidable and more accessible, we developed a comprehensive approach that begins with the elements of electrical circuits. This approach is found in both this book and in NDX II, a modeling system that is available for free online and is largely platform independent.

Description: The hippocampus is thought to play a role in the short-term storage of declarative memories in the human brain. Our understanding of its anatomy, physiology and molecular structure has expanded rapidly in recent years. Yet much still needs to be done to decipher the function of the detailed microcircuits. This overview of our current knowledge of the hippocampus also provides a snapshot of the state of the art of ongoing research into these microcircuits.