The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 is among the largest technogenic catastrophes in the history of humankind. The vast territories of Ukraine, Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation as well as bordering European states have been exposed to the contamination by the long-lived radionuclides released from the destroyed nuclear power station. The medical consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe are being studied for more than three decades. In fact, the increased risk of certain forms of leukemia is among the major stochastic effects of radiation exposure. Nevertheless, the final unambiguous conclusions as to the role of low-dose radiation exposure in the induction of leukemia are still pending. The book presents the results of studies on the diagnosis of various forms of hematological malignancies in Ukrainian patients provided for more than thirty years in the Oncohematology Department of RE Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Among the groups of leukemia patients were the Chernobyl clean-up workers as well as the patients from Ukrainian population (adults and children) inhabiting the territories with different levels of radionuclide contamination. For the first time, some trends in the patterns of hematological malignancies in several sample groups under study have been identified throughout the post-Chernobyl period. The putative association between the low dose radiation exposure and the increasing risk of acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic lymphocytic leukemia has been discussed based on the findings of the authors of the book as well as the data of the available literature.
Five main objectives were assigned to the EC/CIS scientific collaborative programme: improvement of the knowledge of the relationship between doses and radiation-induced health effects; updating of the arrangements for off-site emergency management response (shot- and medium term)in the even of a future nuclear accident; assisting the relevant CIS Ministries alleviate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, in particular in the field of restoration of contaminated territories; elaboration of a scientific basis to definite the content of Community assistance programmes; updating of the local technical infrastructure, and implementation of a large programme of exchange of scientists between both Communities. The topics addressed during the Conference mainly reflect the content of the joint collaborative programme: environmental transfer and decontamination, risk assessment and management, health related issues including dosimetry. The main aims of the Conference are to present the major achievements of the joint EC/CIS collaborative research programme (1992-1995) of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, and to promote an objective evaluation of them by the international scientific community. The Conference is taking place close to the 10th anniversary of the accident and we hope it will contribute to more objective communication of the health and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident, and how these may be mitigated in future. The Conference is expected to be an important milestone in the series of meetings which will take place internationally around the 10th anniversary of the nuclear accident. It also provides a major opportunity for all participants to become acquainted with software developed within the framework of the collaborative programme, namely: Geographical Information Systems displaying contamination levels and dose-commitments; Decision Support Systems for the management of contaminated territories; Decision Support Systems for off-site emergency management (RODOS), etc.
Since UNESCO launched its Culture of Peace Programme, it has helped mobilize people from all walks of life and from all continents to support the transformation from a culture of war and violence to a culture of pace. This is a report of the Programme's actions.
This guide provides state-of-the-art information in order to maximise the quality and minimise the risks during donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of tissues and cells. As with all transplanted material of human origin, tissues and cells carry risks of disease transmission, which must be controlled by the application of scrupulous donor selection criteria (including testing) and comprehensive quality systems. The idea behind this guide is to help professionals on a practical level by providing generic guidance that will help improve the rate of successful clinical application of tissues and cells. The guide makes reference to EU mandatory requirements where appropriate and describes generally-accepted good practice. It has been divided into two parts. Part A contains general requirements applicable to all establishments involved in the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of tissues and cells. Part B contains specific guidelines and requirements for the different tissue and/or cell types
This report provides a review of stem cells/progenitor cells and their responses to ionising radiation in relation to issues relevant to stochastic effects of radiation which form a major part of the ICRP system of radiological protection. Current information on stem cell characteristics, maintenance and renewal, evolution with age, location in stem cell “niches”, radiosensitivity to acute and protracted exposures, is presented in a series of substantial reviews as Annexes concerning haematopoietic tissue, mammary gland, thyroid, digestive tract, lung, skin and bone. This foundation of knowledge of stem cells is used in the main text of the report to provide a biological insight to issues such as the linear-no-threshold (LNT) model, cancer risk among tissues, dose-rate effects and changes in the risk of radiation carcinogenesis by age at exposure and attained age.
Providing essential information needed in clinical practice for the diagnosis and management of patients with blood disorders, this handbook covers haematological investigations and their interpretation, and commonly used protocols.
The last several years have been a landmark period in the ubiquitin field. The breadth of ubiquitin's roles in cell biology was first sketched, and the importance of ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis as a regulatory mechanism gained general acceptance. The many strands of work that led to this new perception are re counted in this book. A consequence of this progress is that the field has grown dramatically since the first book on ubiquitin was published almost a decade ago [M. Rechsteiner (ed. ), Ubiquitin, Plenum Press, 1988]. In this span, students of the cell cycle, transcription, signal transduction, protein sorting, neuropathology, cancer, virology, and immunology have attempted to chart the role of ubi quit in in their particular experimental systems, and this integration of the field into cell biology as a whole continues at a remarkable pace. We hope that for active researchers in the field as well as for newcomers and those on the fence, this book will prove helpful for its breadth, historical perspective, and practical tips. Structural data are now available on many of the components of the ubiquitin pathway. The structures have provided basic insights into the unusual biochemical mechanisms of ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated proteolysis. Because high-speed computer graphics can convey structures more effectively than print media, we have supplemented the figures of the book with a Worldwide Web site that can display the structures in a flexible, viewer-controlled format.
Medicinal plants always plaid and important role in the maintenance of health, wellbeing, and everyday life of a population worldwide. During the centuries, plant leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, berries, and roots were used for healing and maintenance of a different pathological conditions, as well as in beauty formulas, massage applications, foods preparations and beverages. This book, which is based on scientific findings and original research, represent a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to medicinal plants from all over the world, describes their huge economic, and therapeutic potential, and analysing different aspects of their genotoxicity, and importance for human health and homeostasis. The first two chapters are focused on the importance of sustainable agriculture, and a new progressive plants cultivation approach, which is suggested to be used to enhance the farm''s economy at large. Both chapters are including an information on use agroecology in cultivation of sustainable agriculture, pointing to an integrated goal of intercropping herbs, as well as discusses some medicinal plants and spices traditionally used in biodynamic and organic agricultural production. A huge potential of medicinal plants in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, as well as an overview of some plants and their families with their applications in drugs discovery, are highlighted in chapter three, which is also including an information on extraction techniques used for the development and creation of a natural products. Even if herbal formulations are generally expected to be safe because they are ''natural'', it is crucial to understand that some medicinal plants demonstrate a specific toxicity, which must be considered during the formulation, development and manufacturing of the novel herbal pharmaceuticals, diet supplements, beauty care and other products as well. Chapter four, which is also including the individual case studies, provides valuable overview of bioassays for screening genotoxic potential, as well as description of specific testing examples of chosen medicinal plants. Due to an important role in human health, during the last decades gastrointestinal microbiota is constantly in the spotlight of the scientists and medical professionals. Disbalance in microbiota can lead to a serious pathological conditions'', and brain-gut axis is a crucial for human immune system and maintenance of good health and wellbeing. Importance of medicinal plants and its bioactive compounds and their implication on human microbiota, is perfectly highlighted in chapter five, which not only describes the beneficial effects of medicinal plants on human digestion and health in general, but also focused on the powerful role of different bioactive plant metabolites in the host health. Although there is lots of information available on the therapeutic properties of the selected plants and their secondary metabolites, chapters six, seven and eight are demonstrate an opportunity for medicinal plants and their compounds to be used for prevention and maintenance and in the future - an effective treatment of metabolic, neurological, and degenerative diseases. An antioxidant, detoxifying, nutritional, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and other properties of medicinal plants compounds are highlighted, studied, and suggested to be considered as highly useful for prevention, maintenance, and development of the future treatments for affecting a huge population, metabolic, anxiety and degenerative diseases. Biotechnological interventions are an important pathway for future technological advances and plants conservation, but it could be limited towards assess the genetic diversity through molecular markers. Using medicinal plants in biotechnological applications is covered in chapter nine, which represents up to date available information on phytochemistry, diversity and biotechnological advances that have been made so far for medicinal plants. The text of the chapters illustrates plant bio-actives, their molecular constituents, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, coumarins, lignans, glycosides, and others, based in research and case studies, and describes its potential applications. To summarise, this book is an important contribution to a science and research developments, which helps better understanding of a great potential of medicinal plants. It provides the reader with a great amount of useful and valuable information including research statements, great reading materials, figures, and data tables, as well as extensive lists of the references, which can be helpful for research and new natural products development.
