Every aspect of immune function and host defense is dependent upon a proper supply and balance of nutrients. Severe malnutrition can cause significant alteration in immune response, but even subclinical deficits may be associated with an impaired immune response, and an increased risk of infection. Infectious diseases have accounted for more off-duty days during major wars than combat wounds or nonbattle injuries. Combined stressors may reduce the normal ability of soldiers to resist pathogens, increase their susceptibility to biological warfare agents, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines intended to protect them. There is also a concern with the inappropriate use of dietary supplements. This book, one of a series, examines the impact of various types of stressors and the role of specific dietary nutrients in maintaining immune function of military personnel in the field. It reviews the impact of compromised nutrition status on immune function; the interaction of health, exercise, and stress (both physical and psychological) in immune function; and the role of nutritional supplements and newer biotechnology methods reported to enhance immune function. The first part of the book contains the committee's workshop summary and evaluation of ongoing research by Army scientists on immune status in special forces troops, responses to the Army's questions, conclusions, and recommendations. The rest of the book contains papers contributed by workshop speakers, grouped under such broad topics as an introduction to what is known about immune function, the assessment of immune function, the effect of nutrition, and the relation between the many and varied stresses encountered by military personnel and their effect on health.

This book covers topics from a wide variety of disciplines including cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, and pharmacology. There is a focus on circadian (daily), tidal, seasonal, and annual rhythms, as well as other biological rhythms. Rhythms are placed within the context of the functional significance of these rhythms for the health and well-being of relevant organisms and include genetic and molecular mechanisms of biological timekeeping, melatonin and pineal gland rhythms, as well as on the chronobiology and chronotherapy of cardiovascular, pulmonary, ulcer, and other diseases.

The study of how solar- and lunar- related rhythms are governed by living pacemakers within organisms constitutes the scientific discipline of chronobiology. Few fields encompass the breadth of science that is associated with this subject, which is at the cutting edge of fields ranging from microbial genetics to ethology to treatment of human psychiatric illnesses. In order to recognise that no individual could do justice to the field in writing a comprehensive text, a group of experienced editors and contributors have collaborated to produce Chronobiology. Written in a clear style and fully illustrated to elucidate difficult points, the book assumes no previous background in neuroscience or maths and reduces technical terminology to a minimum. Examples from the real world and from current and classic research are included.

The current eBook collection includes substantial scientific work in describing how insect species are responding to abiotic factors and recent climatic trends on the basis of insect physiology and population dynamics. The contributions can be broadly split into four chapters: the first chapter focuses on the function of environmental and mostly temperature driven models, to identify the seasonal emergence and population dynamics of insects, including some important pests. The second chapter provides additional examples on how such models can be used to simulate the effect of climate change on insect phenology and population dynamics. The third chapter focuses on describing the effects of nutrition, gene expression and phototaxis in relation to insect demography, growth and development, whilst the fourth chapter provides a short description on the functioning of circadian systems as well as on the evolutionary dynamics of circadian clocks.

With the invitation to edit this volume, I wanted to take the opportunity to assemble reviews on different aspects of circadian clocks and rhythms. Although most c- tributions in this volume focus on mammalian circadian clocks, the historical int- duction and comparative clocks section illustrate the importance of various other organisms in deciphering the mechanisms and principles of circadian biology. Circadian rhythms have been studied for centuries, but only recently, a mole- lar understanding of this process has emerged. This has taken research on circadian clocks from mystic phenomenology to a mechanistic level; chains of molecular events can describe phenomena with remarkable accuracy. Nevertheless, current models of the functioning of circadian clocks are still rudimentary. This is not due to the faultiness of discovered mechanisms, but due to the lack of undiscovered processes involved in contributing to circadian rhythmicity. We know for example, that the general circadian mechanism is not regulated equally in all tissues of m- mals. Hence, a lot still needs to be discovered to get a full understanding of cir- dian rhythms at the systems level. In this respect, technology has advanced at high speed in the last years and provided us with data illustrating the sheer complexity of regulation of physiological processes in organisms. To handle this information, computer aided integration of the results is of utmost importance in order to d- cover novel concepts that ultimately need to be tested experimentally.

An introduction to the mathematical, computational, and analytical techniques used for modeling biological rhythms, presenting tools from many disciplines and example applications. All areas of biology and medicine contain rhythms, and these behaviors are best understood through mathematical tools and techniques. This book offers a survey of mathematical, computational, and analytical techniques used for modeling biological rhythms, gathering these methods for the first time in one volume. Drawing on material from such disciplines as mathematical biology, nonlinear dynamics, physics, statistics, and engineering, it presents practical advice and techniques for studying biological rhythms, with a common language. The chapters proceed with increasing mathematical abstraction. Part I, on models, highlights the implicit assumptions and common pitfalls of modeling, and is accessible to readers with basic knowledge of differential equations and linear algebra. Part II, on behaviors, focuses on simpler models, describing common properties of biological rhythms that range from the firing properties of squid giant axon to human circadian rhythms. Part III, on mathematical techniques, guides readers who have specific models or goals in mind. Sections on “frontiers” present the latest research; “theory” sections present interesting mathematical results using more accessible approaches than can be found elsewhere. Each chapter offers exercises. Commented MATLAB code is provided to help readers get practical experience. The book, by an expert in the field, can be used as a textbook for undergraduate courses in mathematical biology or graduate courses in modeling biological rhythms and as a reference for researchers.

Circadian rhythm is the mechanism for measuring time by organisms in units of around 24 hours. Almost every organism has the ability to predict daily events such as sunrise and sunset, which is essential for their optimal survival strategies. Circadian rhythms persist even in the absence of time cues and ensure that behavioral, physiological and metabolic processes align with changing environmental conditions. Most organisms, irrespective of whether they are prokaryotic or eukaryotic, have evolved certain mechanisms to sense their external environment in order to prepare a biological response. Often, these biological responses result in changes in physiology and biochemistry of organisms for the optimization of their survival. There is no unified mechanism among organisms by which sensory environment can be applied to control their lifespan. In humans, disruptions of the circadian rhythm may have an increased risk of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, etc. This book encompasses the most recent knowledge and modern trends in the field of circadian rhythms research. It is also expected to provide a must-read guide for beginners as well as advanced researchers in this field of study. Undergraduate, post-graduate and research scholars of several disciplines such as chemistry, botany, microbiology, biochemistry, biotechnology, bioinformatics, life sciences and bionanotechnology will benefit from this book.