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This book presents a state-of-the-art report on recent advances concerning Ganoderma and where the field is going. Although some older work is also cited, the main focus is on advances made over the past 20 years in the research history, classification, chemical components and industry of Ganoderma. Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi) has been used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries to maintain health and to treat diseases for more than two thousand years. Recently, its value has been demonstrated in preventing and treating certain diseases, such as tumors, liver disorders, renal injury, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, cerebral ischemia reperfusion, bronchitis etc. In addition, laboratory and clinical studies have confirmed that the chemical components of Ganoderma, such as Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide peptides and triterpenes isolated from the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum, produce diverse pharmacological effects. Ganoderma and its components play an important partin antioxidant stress, radical-scavenging, immunomodulation, and intracellular signaling regulation, and accordingly warrant further study. This book systematically reviews the latest advances in our understanding of Ganoderma's basic knowledge, history of modern research, species, cultivation, components, spore polysaccharide and industry of Ganoderma, and offers researchers and graduate students valuable new insights into the development and clinical applications of Ganoderma and related products.

The immune system is the only organ system in the body besides the central nervous systems endowed with memory. Both types of memories are specific and long-lasting, sometimes life long. This memory capacity of the immune system provides the basis for the most cost-efficient of all medical interventions, successful vaccinations against many common infectious diseases. Such a success requires the isolation of the infectious agent or toxic substance, methods to grow and/or purify the relevant antigen and change it into something innocuous whilst maintaining its immunogenicity. Whereas the early vaccines could only use the enhanced resistance against infectious disease as a measure of vaccine efficacy, most modern vaccines rely upon standardized laboratory tests accepted to parallel the in vivo protective capacity to confirm the quality and potency of the respective vaccine. We are presently experiencing an explosion in the development of new and/or improved vaccines. This is largely due to a parallel rapid expansion in our knowledge of the immune system and of the detailed molecular structure and function of microorganisms. Using this knowledge it is now possible to compose vaccines of new types where only certain molecules (or parts of molecules) derived from a pathogen are included, excluding other potentially harmful ones. Whereas earlier attenuated live vaccines were created by em­ pirical means such vaccines can now be created by molecularly defined inter­ ventions in the genome of the microorganism.

Recent studies have indicated that epigenetic processes may play a major role in both cellular and organismal aging. These epigenetic processes include not only DNA methylation and histone modifications, but also extend to many other epigenetic mediators such as the polycomb group proteins, chromosomal position effects, and noncoding RNA. The topics of this book range from fundamental changes in DNA methylation in aging to the most recent research on intervention into epigenetic modifications to modulate the aging process. The major topics of epigenetics and aging covered in this book are: 1) DNA methylation and histone modifications in aging; 2) Other epigenetic processes and aging; 3) Impact of epigenetics on aging; 4) Epigenetics of age-related diseases; 5) Epigenetic interventions and aging: and 6) Future directions in epigenetic aging research. The most studied of epigenetic processes, DNA methylation, has been associated with cellular aging and aging of organisms for many years. It is now apparent that both global and gene-specific alterations occur not only in DNA methylation during aging, but also in several histone alterations. Many epigenetic alterations can have an impact on aging processes such as stem cell aging, control of telomerase, modifications of telomeres, and epigenetic drift can impact the aging process as evident in the recent studies of aging monozygotic twins. Numerous age-related diseases are affected by epigenetic mechanisms. For example, recent studies have shown that DNA methylation is altered in Alzheimer's disease and autoimmunity. Other prevalent diseases that have been associated with age-related epigenetic changes include cancer and diabetes. Paternal age and epigenetic changes appear to have an effect on schizophrenia and epigenetic silencing has been associated with several of the progeroid syndromes of premature aging. Moreover, the impact of dietary or drug intervention into epigenetic processes as they affectnormal aging or age-related diseases is becoming increasingly feasible.

Springer Handbook of Enzymes provides data on enzymes sufficiently well characterized. It offers concise and complete descriptions of some 5,000 enzymes and their application areas. Data sheets are arranged in their EC-Number sequence and the volumes themselves are arranged according to enzyme classes. This new, second edition reflects considerable progress in enzymology: many enzymes are newly classified or reclassified. Each entry is correlated with references and one or more source organisms. New datafields are created: application and engineering (for the properties of enzymes where the sequence has been changed). The total amount of material contained in the Handbook has more than doubled so that the complete second edition consists of 39 volumes as well as a Synonym Index. In addition, starting in 2009, all newly classified enzymes are treated in Supplement Volumes. Springer Handbook of Enzymes is an ideal source of information for researchers in biochemistry, biotechnology, organic and analytical chemistry, and food sciences, as well as for medicinal applications.

Springer Handbook of Enzymes provides data on enzymes sufficiently well characterized. It offers concise and complete descriptions of some 5,000 enzymes and their application areas. Data sheets are arranged in their EC-Number sequence and the volumes themselves are arranged according to enzyme classes. This new, second edition reflects considerable progress in enzymology: many enzymes are newly classified or reclassified. Each entry is correlated with references and one or more source organisms. New datafields are created: application and engineering (for the properties of enzymes where the sequence has been changed). The total amount of material contained in the Handbook has more than doubled so that the complete second edition consists of 39 volumes as well as a Synonym Index. In addition, starting in 2009, all newly classified enzymes are treated in Supplement Volumes. Springer Handbook of Enzymes is an ideal source of information for researchers in biochemistry, biotechnology, organic and analytical chemistry, and food sciences, as well as for medicinal applications.