One of the most extraordinary characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is its capacity to remain within the host's tissues for a long period of time. There is an enormous reservoir of persons latently infected with tuberculosis (LTBI) estimated at about a third of the world's population. From this reservoir arise about 10 million new cases of active TB and more than two million deaths occur annually. Current Diagnosis of Infant Tuberculosis Infection covers problems concerning the diagnosis of LTBI, giving an overview of commercially available options and, unlike most reviews on this subject, also points out some tools currently under development. The Ebook provides comprehensive understandable, practice-oriented information on this subject, while keeping frontier research developments in consideration. It serves as an update to readers from universities to the research center and hospital staff - as well as a guide for helping clinicians to improve their diagnostic skills regarding TB infections in an endemic country (such as Brazil).

Multiple drug resistance among bacteria has become a global issue with a considerable impact on the mortality associated with infectious diseases. This book is a detailed compilation of available knowledge on the surveillance and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in various countries throughout the world. Readers will be updated on current information on the understanding of mechanisms involved in drug resistance and the geographical distribution of resistance determinant markers. This volume should be a useful guide for microbiologists and clinicians interested in designing antimicrobial therapies tailored for patients in specific geographical regions.

The book focuses on a global problem challenging the health systems. Trypanosoma cruzi infections are transmitted by cone-nosed triatomine bugs, by blood transfusion and congenitally from mothers to their offspring. The American Trypanosomiasis affects 20 million people; among them a significant parcel (< 1/3) will develop Chagas disease in the heart and digestive tract, where the immune system effector cells destroy target host cells. Genotype modifications resulting from transfer of minicircle sequence kDNA from the parasite into the host´s genome may explain the autoimmune pathogenesis of the disease. The book discusses various aspects of this disease and should be of interest to readers who wish to keep abreast of the developments in this field.

Infectious diseases represent an important group of medical disorder. This is still a public health problem for all countries around the world and the leading course of death. There are many epidemics of new emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases at present and this warrants the necessity to update our knowledge on infectious diseases. This requires fighting infectious diseases with new and more powerful and safer drugs as well as collaboration between health care workers and non-health care workers are required. The construction of the knowledge exchange via the Ebook series can be useful. The series of Ebooks in this area can be an invaluable integrated source of knowledge for experts and workers on several facets of infectious diseases.

“Frontiers in Anti-Infective Drug Discovery” is an eBook series devoted to publishing the latest and the most important advances in Anti-Infective drug design and discovery. Eminent scientists write contributions on all areas of rational drug design and drug discovery including medicinal chemistry, in-silico drug design, combinatorial chemistry, high-throughput screening, drug targets, recent important patents, and structure-activity relationships. The eBook series should prove to be of interest to all pharmaceutical scientists involved in research in Anti-Infective drug design and discovery. Each volume is devoted to the major advances in Anti-Infective drug design and discovery. The eBook series is essential reading to all scientists involved in drug design and discovery who wish to keep abreast of rapid and important developments in the field.

Host defense to intracellular pathogens depends upon both innate and adaptive cell-mediated immune responses. Polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes which belong to the innate immune system are the first cells that are recruited massively within hours of microbial infection. The importance of neutrophils in the development of an immune response is only emerging as they have long been considered by immunologists as short lived, non-dividing cells, of poor interest. Now, neutrophils are emerging as key components of the inflammatory response, and are shown to have immunoregulatory roles in microbial infections. The impact of neutrophils on cells present at the site of infection is only beginning to be studied and deserves more attention. This e-book provides an overview of the recent advances made in the field of neutrophil biology and motions towards some of the exciting new directions in which neutrophil research is moving.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection represents one of the biggest challenges of current years. However, scientists and physicians still do not have an efficient therapy for preventing or eradicating the virus. The selection of drug-resistant strains as well as side-effects, represent common problems encountered in all anti-viral therapies. However, it has been clearly demonstrated that the potency of early immune responses profoundly regulates levels of HIV, and hence also the generation of virus mutants as well as the velocity of disease progression to AIDS. A prominent feature of this e-book is the focus on interaction between innate immunity and HIV infection. This topic has been investigated by many authors from the late 80's, and many soluble factors responsible for such activity have been discovered, such as suPAR and HMGB1. At present, these two novel factors are the subject of very intense research on HIV infections. A key advantage of this e-book is the selection of authors, recognized worldwide as leading experts in their field. Because of the comprehensive coverage, as well as the eminence of the authors, this e-book provides a detailed and high quality description about the role of innate immune responses regulating HIV replication. It should prove to be a useful resource for readers interested in immunology and HIV research.

This Ebook provides an interesting and up-to-date overview of Parasite Immunology in terms of a survival battle between hosts and parasites, describing firstly how parasites interact with different B cell compartments and trigger a vigorous antibody response. An Interesting chapter deals with new insights into immune diagnosis in Trypanosoma cruzi infection, while another chapter on malaria vaccines critically reviews their development since the beginning, examining the basis for failures or successes encountered in clinical trials. Chapters on immunological aspects of amoebiasis, giardiasis, toxoplasmosis and leishmaniasis in humans are written by top researchers in the world working in this field. This Ebook should prove to be of interest to researchers and students wishing to familiarize themselves with the latest developments in this field. Therefore, this Ebook is considered essential for all researchers involved in Infectious Diseases, Parasitology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Vaccine design and discovery.

Antibodies Applications and New Developments is an overview of the current developments of techniques and methods relating to immunodiagnostics and immunoanalysis. This eBook also deals with specialties in the fields of drug, pesticide, antigen and food contaminant detection. The volume is useful for professional immunologists and biotechnologists interested in antibody research and development.

The book is dedicated to the history and current status of physiologic autoimmunity concept and relation between autoimmunity and autoallergy in the context of disease prevention and prediction. The immune system is a natural component, regulator and direct participant in the physiological activities in a healthy body. The main forms of physiological activity of the immune system are based on the intrinsic abilities of self-identification, self-maintenance, self-regulation, and self-reparation — that is recognizing components of the “self ”, i.e. natural autoimmunity. The most ancient and homeostatically important functions of natural autoimmunity are autoclearance as well as construction and support of multicellularity. A considerable number of immune functions, including those related to antimicrobial defense, derive from these basic ones. Various pathological processes in any organ are usually accompanied by different patterns of cell death and, thus, by increased exposure and presentation of self antigens. These events induce the secondary rise in production of autoantibodies with appropriate specificity (opsonines), which provides augmentation of clearance by facilitating the efficacy of macrophage-dependent consumption of debris in the aff ected organ. This phenomenon is sanogenic in nature and adaptive in essence. Therefore, secondary changes in production and serum content of autoantibodies can be considered the universal and earliest detectable marker of any chronic disease. In relation to experimental production and clinical reveal of antibodies towards nuclear antigens, penetrating into living cell nuclei and altering nuclear acid synthesis, cell proliferation and function, autoantibodies can be regarded as hormone-like bioregulators of gene expression. Apparently, immune system is able to reproduce complementary regulators for various cell receptors, including nuclear ones. Book is unique, it is a single monograph comprehensively including history and current status of natural autoimmunity problem. It describes a fundamental concept essencial for every branch of Medicine and Pathology. The concept described has broad practical application for Health Care, because it establishes effective method of early prediction for many different diseases, creates a basis for prophylaxis. Reader has a chance to get rid of old dogmas and acquire new instrument for fruitful theoretical reasoning, research planning and predictive/preventive practical medical work.