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1. 1.

   Ultrasound Imaging
   Edited by: Masayuki Tanabe

2. 2.

   Advances in Robotics, Automation and Control
   Edited by: Jesus Aramburo and Antonio Ramirez Trevino

3. 3.

   Applications of MATLAB in Science and Engineering
   Edited by: Tadeusz Michałowski

4. 4.

   LabVIEW – Practical Applications and Solutions
   Edited by: Folea Silviu

5. 5.

   Matlab – Modelling, Programming and Simulations
   Edited by: Emilson Pereira Leite

6. 6.

   Scientific and Engineering Applications Using MATLAB
   Edited by: Emilson Pereira Leite

7. 7.

   Climate Change – Geophysical Foundations and Ecological Effects
   Edited by: Juan Blanco and Houshang Kheradmand

8. 8.

   Numerical Analysis – Theory and Application
   Edited by: Jan Awrejcewicz

9. 9.

   Ferroelectrics – Material Aspects
   Edited by: Mickaël Lallart

10. 10.

    Genetic Transformation
    Edited by: María Alvarez

Most Downloaded Chapters:

1. Male Circumcision: An Appraisal of Current Instrumentation

   Authors: Brian J. Morris and Chris Eley

2. Physiotherapy for Children with Cerebral Palsy

   Author: Mintaze Kerem Günel

3. Efficient Algorithms for Finding Maximum and Maximal Cliques: Effective Tools for Bioinformatics

   Authors: Etsuji Tomita, Tatsuya Akutsu and Tsutomu Matsunaga

4. Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD): Why a Robust and Transparent Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) System is Mandatory

   Authors: Daniel Plugge, Thomas Baldauf and Michael Köhl

5. Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Autism

   Authors: Carmem Gottfried and Rudimar Riesgo

6. CMOS Photodetectors

   Authors: Albert H. Titus, Maurice C-K. Cheung and Vamsy P. Chodavarapu

7. Glaciers Shrinking in Nepal Himalaya

   Authors: Samjwal R. Bajracharya, Sudan B. Maharjan and Finu Shrestha

8. Structure and Spatial Distribution of Ge Nanocrystals Subjected to Fast Neutron Irradiation

   Authors: Shai Levy, Issai Shlimak, David H. Dressler, Judith Grinblat, Yossi Gofer, Tiecheng Lu and Alexander N. Ionov

9. Application of Zirconia in Dentistry: Biological, Mechanical and Optical Considerations

   Authors: Cláudia Ângela Maziero Volpato, Luis Gustavo D ́Altoé Garbelotto, Márcio Celso Fredel and Federica Bondioli

10. Metals for Biomedical Applications

    Authors: Hendra Hermawan, Dadan Ramdan and Joy R. P. Djuansjah

Better stock up on information before the flu season arrives – the place to read, download and share all the contents for free is the very busy reading platform InTechOpen.

Future Aeronautical Communications

Two Phase Flow, Phase Change and Numerical Modeling

Numerical Simulations of Physical and Engineering Processes

Underlying Mechanisms of Epilepsy

Rapid Prototyping Technology - Principles and Functional Requirements

Optoelectronics - Materials and Techniques

DNA Replication and Related Cellular Processes

Nuclear Power - Control, Reliability and Human Factors

Cardiac Defibrillation - Mechanisms, Challenges and Implications

Fundamental Aspects of DNA Replication

The Impact of Air Pollution on Health, Economy, Environment and Agricultural Sources

Pesticides in the Modern World - Pests Control and Pesticides Exposure and Toxicity Assessment

Flavivirus Encephalitis

Sediment Transport in Aquatic Environments

CT Scanning - Techniques and Applications

Planet Earth 2011 - Global Warming Challenges and Opportunities for Policy and Practice

Energy Technology and Management

Implant Dentistry - The Most Promising Discipline of Dentistry

Human Genetic Diseases

New Techniques in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Advanced Laparoscopy

Urinary Tract Infections

Face Analysis, Modeling and Recognition Systems

What you knew up until now might just have become water over the dam so be the first one to read, share, and download our latest books.

Environmental Impact of Biofuels

Nuclear Power - Operation, Safety and Environment

Air Pollution - New Developments

Genetic Transformation

Flash Memories

The Clinical Spectrum of Alzheimer’s Disease - The Charge Toward Comprehensive Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies

Efficient Decision Support Systems - Practice and Challenges in Biomedical Related Domain

Efficient Decision Support Systems - Practice and Challenges in Multidisciplinary Domains

Cardiac Pacemakers - Biological Aspects, Clinical Applications and Possible Complications

Electric Vehicles – The Benefits and Barriers

Biomass and Remote Sensing of Biomass

Acupuncture - Clinical Practice, Particular Techniques and Special Issues

Understanding the Complexities of Kidney Transplantation

Adaptive Filtering

Photodiodes-Communications, Bio-Sensings, Measurements, and High-Energy Physics

Autism Spectrum Disorders - from Genes to Environment

Computational Biology and Applied Bioinformatics

Vibration Analysis and Control - New Trends and Developments

Nuclear Power - System Simulations and Operation

The Mystery of Glaucoma

Advances in Ceramics - Electric and Magnetic Ceramics, Bioceramics, Ceramics and Environment

Liver Biopsy

Clinical Management of Complicated Urinary Tract Infection

Advances in PID Control

Coronary Angiography - The Need for Improvement in Medical and Interventional Therapy

An Update on Glomerulopathies - Etiology and Pathogenesis

Climate Change - Research and Technology for Adaptation and Mitigation

Applications of MATLAB in Science and Engineering

Aspects of Today

Advances in Composite Materials - Analysis of Natural and Man-Made Materials

Biomass - Detection, Production and Usage

Climate Change – Socioeconomic Effects

Recent Advances in Vibrations Analysis

Efficient Decision Support Systems- Practice and Challenges – From Current to Future

Biomechanics in Applications

DNA Repair - On the Pathways to Fixing DNA Damage and Errors

Numerical Analysis - Theory and Application

Nuclear Power - Deployment, Operation and Sustainability

Dr. Marc-Eric Halatsch, Professor of Neurosurgery and a member of several  professional organizations such as the German National Academic Foundation,  was active as the German representative of the Young Neurosurgeons’ Committee of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) from 2003 to 2007.

Senior consultant in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Ulm, Dr. Halatsch agreed to talk to InTech about  particular forms of brain tumours,  current developments in cancer cures, Open Access and his own future projects in his field of study. Together with Dr. Georg Karpel-Massler, Dr. Halatsch is the co-author of the chapter titled “The Molecular Basis of Resistance to the Antiproliferative Effect of EGFR Inhibition in Human Glioblastoma Multiforme Cell Lines“, taken from InTech’s recently published book “Brain Tumours-Current and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies“, edited by Ana L. Abujamra.

InTech: Dr. Halatsch, in general, what kind of brain tumours currently exist?

Several categories of brain neoplasms exist, among them primary and secondary, intra- and extra-axial as well as benign and malignant brain tumours. Primary intra-axial brain tumours originate from mutated specific cells that are constituents of the brain tissue whereas secondary brain tumours are metastases from primary tumours present in other organs. Extra-axial tumours often stem from the brain’s coverings, the meninges. The tumours’ biological behaviour is reflected by the World Health Organization’s classification with four grades where grade I refers to a benign and grade IV to a malignant tumour. Unfortunately, the most common primary malignant brain tumour in adults, glioblastoma, is a grade IV tumour.

InTech: Is there any correlation between brain tumours and genetic heritage?

Familial tumour syndromes are relevant to only a small fraction of brain tumors. The vast majority of brain tumours apparently occur spontaneously, i.e., without inheritance.

InTech: Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain tumour. In comparison to other tumours, what is its frequency of occurrence in the population and what is the rate of survival?

Despite being the most common primary malignant brain tumour in adults, glioblastoma is a comparatively rare tumour that affects around 5 out of 100000 inhabitants. Median survival with maximum therapy is approximately one and a half years, and there is a small fraction of long-term survivors.

Glioblastoma Multiforme

InTech: Can you describe the main treatment methods used today for glioblastomas. How effective are these methods?

Standard multi-modality treatment consists of “safe maximal” microsurgical tumour resection (strictly aiming to avoid the creation of new permanent neurological deficits by the surgical procedure), radiation and chemotherapy. Although a slight progress in survival has been achieved in this decade, the situation is far from being satisfactory.

InTech: What are the latest developments in therapeutic strategies for patients suffering from glioblastoma?

The latest clinically established strategies include tissue fluorescence-guided tumour resection and intra-operative magnetic resonance imaging to detect macroscopic residual tumour amenable to safe resection; on the experimental side, multi-targeted therapy attacking the tumour cells at different molecularly defined sites and immunotherapy, especially vaccination approaches, represent promising strategies. Proof of a substantial practical benefit of the mentioned experimental developments is pending, but these areas of research are rapidly evolving.

InTech: Regarding future advancements in this area of study, how close are we to finding a cure targeted to treat and destroy this kind of aggressive tumours?

Past research has demonstrated that very probably there will be no single molecular target that functions as a “master switch” for tumor destruction and cure. However, the scientific community as a whole is on a very good way to obtaining the “critical mass” of knowledge about glioblastoma required to convert this life-threatening condition into a more “chronic” disease.

InTech: How do you hope your research work will affect the scientific community within this field of research?

My group and I are hoping to be able to identify a few better molecular therapeutic targets in glioblastoma, equivalent to contributing a few pieces to the big puzzle (if we are lucky).

InTech: Tell us something about your future projects.

We are working hard to understand the phenomenon of intrinsic and acquired resistance of glioblastoma cells to traditional and targeted therapies.

InTech: Now that you published under the Open Access label, how do you perceive the benefits of Open Access in comparison to traditional scientific publishing?

Open Access leads to a tremendously wider dissemination of information than traditional scientific publishing and thereby more efficiently supports the scientific dialogue.

InTech: Are you satisfied with InTech as your Open Access publisher?

InTech has exhibited a very high level of courtesy and professionalism throughout the publication process.

About the author:

Dr. Marc-Eric Halatsch

Marc-Eric Halatsch, born in Hannover, Germany, had been an elected member of the German National Academic Foundation (competitive selection of 0.5% of students from all faculties) from 1987-1993.

Marc obtained his medical degree in 1993 at the Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany. From 1996-1998, he was a postdoctoral fellow in Takao Ohnuma´s Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Division of Neoplastic Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM), New York City. Marc won the prestigious Samuel Bronfman Medicine Research Award at MSSM for his original approach to selectively inhibit deletion-mutant epidermal growth factor receptor messenger RNA expression in glioblastoma multiforme cells by a targeted hairpin ribozyme.

Marc has received grant support from several U.S. and German sources and has chaired or co-chaired scientific sessions during international oncology meetings. He is co-inventor of the U.S. provisional patent application OS-10018PV (“Combined treatment with artesunate and an epidermal growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor”; license granted on November 15, 2004).

Marc is a Professor of Neurosurgery and focusing on clinical and experimental neurosurgical oncology. Being an active member of several professional organizations, international journal reviewer panels and the selection committee of the German National Academic Foundation, Marc also became the German representative of the Young Neurosurgeons´ Committee of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) for the term of 2003-2007 and completed the international EANS training course.

Professor Dr. Halatsch is a senior consultant in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Ulm, Germany, and was awarded the subspecialty certificates “Neurosurgical Oncology” and “Spinal Neurosurgery” by the German Society for Neurosurgery as well as the certificate “Advanced Medical Didactics” by the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

By and by, we wish to make a difference by teaching our authors about the difference they themselves make.

Most Downloaded Books:

1. Advances in Robotics, Automation and Control
   Edited by: Jesus Aramburo and Antonio Ramirez Trevino
2. Electromagnetic Waves
   Edited by: Vitaliy Zhurbenko
3. Nanocrystal
   Edited by: Yoshitake Masuda
4. Environmental Management in Practice
   Edited by: Elzbieta Broniewicz
5. Computational Fluid Dynamics Technologies and Applications
   Edited by: Igor V. Minin and Oleg V. Minin
6. Ultrasound Imaging
   Edited by: Masayuki Tanabe
7. Fundamental and Advanced Topics in Wind Power
   Edited by: Rupp Carriveau
   
8. Finite Element Analysis
   Edited by: David Moratal
9. Electromagnetic Waves Propagation in Complex Matter
   Edited by: Ahmed Kishk
10. Behaviour of Electromagnetic Waves in Different Media and Structures
    Edited by: Ali Akdagli

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1. Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) Cells from Liver Progenitor Cells by Two Chemicals and the Clinical Application
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2. Digitizing Literacy: Reflections on the Haptics of Writing
   Authors: Anne Mangen and Jean-Luc Velay
3. Direct Seeding of Soybean Using a Modified Conventional Seeder
   Author: Davut Karayel
4. Efficient Algorithms for Finding Maximum and Maximal Cliques: Effective Tools for Bioinformatics
   Authors: Etsuji Tomita, Tatsuya Akutsu and Tsutomu Matsunaga
5. Energy dissipation minimization in Superconducting circuits
   Authors: Supradeep Narayana and Vasili Semenov
6. Magnetic Properties of Fe and Ni Doped SnO2 Nanoparticles
   Authors: Aditya Sharma, Mayora Varshney, Shalendra Kumar, K.D.Verma and Ravi Kumar
7. Preparation of Silica Nanoparticles and Its Beneficial Role in Cementitious Materials?
   Authors: L. P. Singh, S. K. Agarwal, S. K. Bhattacharyya, U. Sharma, S. Ahalawat
8. Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines
   Author: Emrah Kulunk
9. Propagation in Lossy Rectangular Waveguides
   Authors: Kim Ho Yeap, Choy Yoong Tham, Ghassan Yassin and Kee Choon Yeong
10. Competence-based Curriculum Development in Higher Education: a Globalised Concept?
    Author: Wim Kouwenhoven

Nanowires-Implementations and Applications

Dr. De Smet is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Together with three group members he wrote a review chapter titled Organic Surface Modification of Silicon Nanowire-Based Sensor Devices, for one of InTech’s latest books, Nanowires-Implementations and Applications.

InTech: What is the subject of your chapter?

Our chapter is on the decoration of nanowire-based sensors with organic molecules. Nanowires are a strong candidate for achieving the next generation of sensors. Electrical sensors based on nanowires exhibit enhanced sensitivity compared with regular planar sensor platforms, originating from the advantageous surface-to-volume ratio of nanowires. Moreover, their 1-D character offers the possibility to detect single-molecule events. Typical dimensions of such wires are 50 nm * 50 nm * 1 micrometer (width * height * length). They can be prepared from different materials, including silicon. Thin layers of organic molecules can be chemically bound onto the nanowire surface allowing the integration of so-called receptors. Receptors are chemical compounds that can have a very specific affinity with target compounds. So, the modification of nanowire surfaces ensures the selectivity to a broad range of target species, including DNA, protons and antibodies, and metal ions. Upon the binding of target compounds to the receptors the conductance through the nanowire changes. This change is a measure for the amount of bound target compounds.

InTech: What audience are you targeting?

Research has become more interdisciplinary over the past decades. Nanosensor research is a good example of this. Engineering is needed for the fabrication of the devices. Biology delivers the receptor molecules, which are put on the device interfaces via chemistry. Finally, electrical engineering and physics is needed for the device characterization and for obtaining more knowledge on the sensing mechanism. It is important that nanosensor project members from different background communicate smoothly. This chapter gives an overview of the different methods that have been reported on covering nanowire-based sensors with organic molecules and receptors. The chapter will be most valuable for nanosensors researchers with limited background in chemistry.

InTech: What do you hope to achieve in the long run with your work?

New ways of surface modification methods will not only open doors using different, new types of receptors that have a biological or medical relevance, but it will also allow the chemical tuning of multi-array sensors. This type of sensors has a collection of nanowires on one sensor device, which could be covered with different receptors on the different nanowires. Such a sensor will enable sensitive sensing of different target compounds, e.g. viruses or bacteria, in one go. We aim to contribute to control the surface chemistry of individual nanowires in an array of nanowires. This will stimulate the fabrication of sensors that are suitable for multiple-target detection.

InTech: What are the implications your work has for science and society?

The year 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of nanowire-based sensors that are made of silicon. They form a special class of sensors. Although an increasing number of studies show the potential of these sensors, to date the number of applications is limited. As soon as we have a higher control of the surface chemistry of the nanowires, it will be possible to apply the sensors in medical, agro-food and environmental areas. Given the high sensitivity of nanowire-based sensors, they will circumvent time-consuming cell cultures or other labor-intensive amplification techniques that are currently often required for diagnosis.

InTech: Why did you decide to publish an Open Access paper?

The reason for going Open Access is a mixture of the widely known and discussed ethical reasons that support Open Access, including the importance of access to knowledge and information to higher education and research and the fact that a large portion of our research is publicly funded. Obviously, there is also an extremely strong practical reason: open access work is more widely read and ensures a greater visibility.

Like many universities, also Delft University of Technology supports the global distribution of knowledge through Open Access publishing. The Open Access fee of our chapter has been paid by the Incentive Fund Open Access of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).  NWO is an independent administrative body under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and is the largest financer of scientific innovation in the Netherlands.

InTech: In your opinion, how inclined are researchers in the Netherlands towards the Open Access publishing model?

I notice that in the Netherlands Open Access is mainly an issue for publishers, managers, librarians and financiers – not too much for scientists at the moment, but I guess this also holds for other countries. When deciding where to submit a manuscript it is all about journal scope, journal quality and impact factor. Apart from entirely (and relatively new) Open Access journals, there is also in increasing number of more established journals that offer the option of ‘Author-Choice Open Access’. Although some scientists have the feeling that a paper presently is paid twice this way I believe that an increasing number of Dutch researchers make use of this option. This system will work as long as special Open Access funds are available, like those of NWO and some Dutch universities, including Delft University of Technology. However, the real test will come in the next few years: what will happen when these funds are dried up? I am not sure whether researchers are willing to pay Open Access fees – which could be as high as a few thousand Euros per publication – from research budgets.

InTech: Are researchers acquainted with the benefits of Open Access?

Also in the Netherlands Open Access has become a heavily discussed topic. As said, not too many researchers are into it yet, but the number is increasing. There is a lot of attention for Open Access in the Netherlands. Early in 2011, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences adopted a policy on Open Access and Digital Preservation for its research organization. The Academy requests its researchers to publish publications Open Access as far as possible. At about the same time, presented their global perspective on Open Access. Basically, it is hardly impossible to stay away from the debate on Open Access. Along the way, more and more researchers are being exposed to the related benefits.

Interview by: Katarina Lovrečić

About Dr. De Smet

Dr. Louis De Smet

Dr. De Smet received the MSc degree (2001) in Molecular Sciences and the PhDdegree(2006) in the field of organic monolayers from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He then worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher on plasma polymers at the Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Australia. In 2007 he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Technological University of Delft, The Netherlands. His research activities include the preparation and characterization of functional organic monolayers and polymer films and their application to the surface of different sensor platforms, including nanowire-based sensors and interdigitated electrodes. His group collaborates with different companies that work on the device design and fabrication (Philips Research and Nanosens) and different partners that work on molecular receptors (Royal Tropical Institute, Erasmus University and Plant Research International from Wageningen University). He is (co)author of 19 peer-reviewed journal papers he is co-inventor of two issued patents. Dr. De Smet was awarded a Talent Stipend (2006) and a Veni grant (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme, 2007) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

Personal website

The benefits of the Open Access (OA) model continue to be debated by publishers and librarians, but relatively little research has been undertaken to understand the attitudes of researchers. It was with this in mind that InTech, an OA publisher with focus on book publishing, commissioned TBI communications to survey its 25,000 author-base to help better understand researcher awareness of and attitudes towards this evolving model.

The survey attracted a very high response rate – 32% (over 8,000) of InTech authors responded, showing a high level of interest and engagement. Responders were drawn from all over the world, and most defined their role as ‘researcher’ (78%) covering a broad range of specialties.

Key findings of the survey include:

• There is overwhelming approval amongst researchers for free access to their work (75% rate it as ‘important’ or ‘very important’), whatever their country of origin
• Authors are generally accepting of the need to cover Article Processing Charges (APC), but are concerned that the charges remain affordable both for them or their institutions
• Authors want to see direct evidence of the positive impact that OA has for them and their work if they are to be persuaded to pay publication charges
• Peers and colleagues are the most important source of recommendations for authors when choosing a publisher, but librarians are also extremely influential
• Researchers are concerned with the quality of OA publications as publishers have little incentive to reject work as they are paid based on volume of output rather than quality
• Peer review remains a highly valued service, and one that authors still expect publishers to provide
• There remains widespread misunderstanding and some mistrust of the OA model and OA publishers

The full results of the survey can be downloaded at:

http://www.intechweb.org/public_files/Intech_OA_Apr11.pdf

By sharing the results of this survey, InTech hopes to dispel some of the myths about what researchers truly value relating to OA and peer review, so that the scholarly communications community can continue to innovate and evolve its business models to suit the needs of the authors that they serve.

Could you tell us a little about your research team and the subject of your work?

Our research team is formed by dynamic people who understand the true meaning of the word “research”: hard work and passion. I manage a polymer characterization laboratory, equipped with modern equipment for the preparation and mechanical and morphological characterization of polymer nanocomposites. Our research activity is spread over more than one topic, but polymer nanocomposites are at the center of all our work. My current research is focused on environmentally friendly polymer-based materials and is directed toward a goal of great importance, the protection of the environment. We try to find new ways of developing biodegradable and high performance materials using natural resources like cellulose, for instance.

What do you hope to achieve in the long term with your work?

The cellulose and cellulose-based composites are still a great challenge because of the versatility of this polymer and of numerous issues that still remained unsolved. We wish, through our work, to elucidate some of these issues and to obtain a valuable class of materials whose attractiveness is expected to rise in the future.

Why did you decide to publish an Open Access paper?

We consider that Open Access publishing offers us an important chance to make our work known all over the world. We also hope to be considered a possible partner in research projects focused on the development of new environmentally friendly materials which can be applied in medicine, packaging and other important fields. We believe that it is important for everyone to be informed about the latest scientific research. We also believe that our work has a higher significance if all the others may benefit from it.

About the book

The book “Advances in Composite Materials – Ecodesign and Analysis” explores the achieved advancements in the research field of polymer composites in the perspective of sustainable design and cleaner production.

About the paper

The chapter “Properties of polymer composites with cellulose microfibrils” is focused on the physical and mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol reinforced with cellulose fibers prepared by different methods. Three types of fibers with different characteristics in terms of composition, size and aspect were tested as reinforcements and the properties of final polymer composites were discussed in relation to the fibers’ characteristics.

The ICECHIM team that contributed to the paper included Adriana Nicoleta Frone, Marius Ghiurea, Catalin Ilie Spataru, Constantin Radovici and Michaela Doina Iorga.

Brief bio
Dr. Denis Mihaela Panaitescu is a senior researcher at Polymer Department of ICECHIM, Romania and she has been active in the field of polymer composite for 20 years, especially in the processing and characterization of polymers and polymer composites. Her recent work is focused on polymer nanocomposites with inorganic and organic fillers (including natural fibers and cellulose nanofibers), and new methods for increasing the interfacial adhesion and performance of polymer composites. She has written more than 100 publications (papers and conference proceeding contributions), mostly in the area of polymer composites.