The book starts with an introduction to and history of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), followed by a description of their differentiation, their role in the tumour microenvironment and their therapeutic targeting. It closes with an outlook on future developments. In cancer patients, myelopoiesis is perturbed and instead of generating immunogenic myeloid cells (such as dendritic cells,…
The last 25 years have seen significant advances in our understanding of the mycorrhizal fungi that colonize most of the world’s plants, and the mycorrhizal networks that form and extend into the soil beyond plant roots. In addition to a thorough review of recent research on mycorrhizal networks, this book provides readers with alternative perspectives. The book is organized into three sectio…
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Natural Killer (NK) cells, this volume focuses on the recent advances in our understanding of NK cell development and differentiation and their acquisition of functional properties, as well as the latest models for NK-cell analysis in mice and applications in clinical medicine. NK cells have travelled a circuitous path from their initial des…
This book brings together in a unique perspective aspects of natural history dioramas, their history, construction and rationale, interpretation and educational importance, from a number of different countries, from the west coast of the USA, across Europe to China. It describes the journey of dioramas from their inception through development to visions of their future. A complementary journey …
The interdisciplinary field of Astrobiology constitutes a joint arena where provocative discoveries are coalescing concerning, e.g. the prevalence of exoplanets, the diversity and hardiness of life, and its increasingly likely chances for its emergence. Biologists, astrophysicists, biochemists, geoscientists and space scientists share this exciting mission of revealing the origin and commonalit…
This book discusses the historic range of variation (HRV) in the types, frequencies, severities and scales of natural disturbances, and explores how they create heterogeneous structure within upland hardwood forests of the Central Hardwood Region (CHR). The book was written in response to a 2012 forest planning rule which requires that national forests to be managed to sustain ‘ecological int…
A volume like this is beyond the scope of one person/editor’s effort. There are countless hours spent contacting authors, reviewing submissions, and cross- checking references and publication permissions—tedious work that can be draining but remains essential for a project like this to succeed. This project would have failed miserably if it were not for the tireless effort and dedication …
The emphasis in this volume is on the structure and functional design of the integument. The book starts with a brief introduction to some basic principles of physics (mechanics) including Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. These principles are subsequently used to interpret the problems animals encounter in motion. It is in only the last 40 or so years that we have begun to understand how imp…
This book is designed for students, professionals and researchers in the field of multimedia and related fields with a need to learn the basics of multimedia systems and signal processing. Emphasis is given to the analysis and processing of multimedia signals (audio, images, and video). Detailed insight into the most relevant mathematical apparatus and transformations used in multimedia signal …
This book explains how it came to be that Venus and Earth, while very similar in chemical composition, zonation, size and heliocentric distance from the Sun, are very different in surface environmental conditions. It is argued here that these differences can be accounted for by planetoid capture processes and the subsequent evolution of the planet-satellite system. Venus captured a one-half moo…