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This collection presents papers from the 153rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

This book presents the proceedings of SIMM 2023, the fifth edition of the International Symposium on Intelligent Manufacturing and Mechatronics. Focusing on “Towards Empowering Technological Transformation”, the book presents studies on the details of technological transformation current trends. Divided into eight parts covering various areas of manufacturing engineering and mechatronics stream, namely intelligent manufacturing, machining technology, mechanical and design, instrumentation and control systems, modelling and simulation, industrial engineering, material, and processing and mechatronics and robotics, the book is a valuable resource for readers wishing to embrace the new era of technological transformation.

This book brings together the exciting new findings that will bring us closer to a better understanding of the alterations of neuronal connectivity in autistic brains. This volume authoritatively covers the epidemiology, physiology, neurodevelopment, genetics, environmental influences, imaging studies, neuroanatomy, and neurochemistry of autism spectrum disorders. While the neurobiology of autism is still a long way from being understood, this book posits techniques, such as using brain imaging to find signatures in early days of life, that could help move the diagnosis and help identify neural pathways. Understanding these mechanisms opens the possibility to pharmacological, behavioral, and psychosocial therapeutic interventions. With contributions from the leading international autism researchers, Neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders is the go-to reference for researchers and clinicians with an interest in understanding the underlying neurobiologyof autism spectrum disorders.

This book focuses on challenges that have arisen because of trash discharges and their potential causes and provides long-term sustainable solutions. Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense devastation, leading to numerous fatalities as well as substantial economic losses and health issues. With the rise in COVID-19 cases, the amount of biomedical waste has multiplied, exposing more people to the epidemic. For developing countries, waste management is already a problem, and the waste generated during this pandemic situation has made things worse. If improper waste management techniques are not changed, the world will face a new crisis that could be referred to as a'garbage crisis.'The increased quantity of COVID-19-associated waste (CAW) and their presence in the environment make them more vulnerable, potentially increasing the danger of food chain contamination. A few countries have already started putting emergency plans in place to address the “waste crisis.” Given the paucity of information on the mutational features and potential hosts of this newly discovered COVID-19, there is a pressing need for an effective plan to protect India's ecosystem against further contamination. To handle the current crisis and prevent the anticipated waste disaster, it is imperative to construct a more effective, automated, computerized, and well-modified waste management system during the COVID-19 period.

This book presents an introduction to biohydrogen production and the recent advances and developments of the cleanest biofuel produced from bioresources. Biohydrogen has the highest energy content relative to weight and burns cleanly – generating just water. It is the best choice for fuel cells, where it generates electricity directly, in its reaction with oxygen. Biohydrogen occurs naturally as part of digestive gases from mammals and can be produced in specially designed anaerobic biodigesters, or through photocatalysis with microalgae. The gas is also easy to purify and use. The economic production of biohydrogen is still full of challenges: From the efficient and rapid conversion of the substrate to storage, transportation, and safe use, there are several aspects that need to be developed. Research in this field is addressing the issue of efficient large-scale production from several directions: Substrate pretreatment to enhance digestibility, metabolic networks analysis, microbial diversity and succession to highlight constraints in production, bioreactor, and downstream design to improve throughput and reduce costs, to name a few. The ideas and technologies presented in this book contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. The book is written for researchers and students interested in biorefinery and biofuel technologies.

This book explores cutting-edge research on the discovery and application of marine bioactive molecules for biomedical and pharmacotherapeutic purposes. The book begins by delving into the bioprospection of marine sponge microbiomes for bioactive metabolites using advanced metagenomics tools. It then explores metagenome mining approaches for the discovery of marine microbial natural products. The use of marine-derived fungi as a source of anticancer secondary metabolites is also discussed. The book then turns to the biomedical applications of marine-derived biomaterials, including marine biopolymers in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Marine-derived pharmaceuticals and polymeric nanostructures for cancer treatment are also examined. Next, the book looks at the use of marine microbial sources for the synthesis of metallic nanomaterials, prospects, current development, and challenges in nanomedicine. The book continues by exploring the treasure trove of natural polymers for tissue engineering in the marine environment. It also discusses the immunomodulatory and therapeutic potential of marine-derived astaxanthin, current developments, and prospects. Finally, the book concludes by exploring the recent progress in marine-derived nutraceuticals and marine phytoplankton bioactive compounds and their applications in medicine.

This book addresses the recent trends in thermal and environmental barrier coatings and their applications in extreme environments. It introduces the state of the art in coating materials and processes for high and ultrahigh-temperature environments and identifies areas for improvement in materials selection, performance upgrades, design considerations, and manufacturing methods. This book also covers fundamental studies involving modelling, creating coating architectures, coating preparation methods, and coating capability throughout a wide temperature range. The book examines a variety of high-temperature coatings prepared through various synthesis processes such as thermal spraying, electron beam evaporation, and sol–gel methods. This book also covers ultrahigh-temperature ceramic (UHTC) materials and provides a brief overview of the synthesis method, densification processes, and coating methods along with the properties and applications of emerging high entropy UHTCs. With contributions from international researchers active in the field, this edited book features the most recent and up-to-date literature references for a broad readership consisting of academic and industrial professionals. It is suitable for graduate students as well as materials scientists and engineers working in the area of high and ultrahigh-temperature ceramic materials.

Crop plants growing under field conditions are constantly exposed to various abiotic and biotic stress factors leading to decreased yield and quality of produce. In order to achieve sustainable development in agriculture and to increase agricultural production for feeding an increasing global population, it is necessary to use ecologically compatible and environmentally friendly strategies to decrease the adverse effects of stresses on the plant. Selenium is one of the critical elements from the biological contexts because it is essential for human health; however, it becomes toxic at high concentrations. It has been widely reported that selenium can promote plant growth and alleviate various stresses as well as increase the quantity and quality of the yield of many plant species. Nonetheless, at high concentrations, selenium causes phytotoxicity. In the last decade, nanotechnology has emerged as a prominent tool for enhancing agricultural productivity. The production and applicationsof nanoparticles (NPs) have greatly increased in many industries, such as energy production, healthcare, agriculture, and environmental protection. The application of NPs has attracted interest for their potential to alleviate abiotic and biotic stresses in a more rapid, cost-effective, and more sustainable way than conventional treatment technologies. Recently, research related to selenium-NPs-mediated abiotic stresses and nutritional improvements in plants has received considerable interest by the scientific community. While significant progress was made in selenium biochemistry in relation to stress tolerance, an in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with the selenium- and nano-selenium-mediated stress tolerance and bio-fortification in plants is still lacking. Gaining a better knowledge of the regulatory and molecular mechanisms that control selenium uptake, assimilation, and tolerance in plants is therefore vital and necessary to develop modern crop varieties that are more resilient to environmental stress. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest understanding of the physiological, biochemical, and molecular basis of selenium- and nano-selenium-mediated environmental stress tolerance and crop quality improvements in plants. It helps researchers to develop strategies to enhance crop productivity under stressful conditions and to better utilize natural resources to ensure future food security and to reduce environmental contamination. Finally, this book is a valuable resource for promoting future research into plant stress tolerance, and a reference book for researchers working on developing plants tolerant to abiotic and biotic stressors as well as bio-fortification and phytoremediation.

This book is part of a two-part volume book that highlights the latest advances in innovative bioceramics applied in the highly interdisciplinary area referred to as “translational medicine”. This volume covers the basic principles and techniques used in the manufacture of bioceramics and biocomposites for various biomedical applications including drug delivery, implantable bionics and the development of the cardiac pacemaker, and bone tissue engineering. Furthermore, self-healing materials have been attracting increasing interest in both engineering and medical applications during the past two decades. Self-healing hydrogels are particularly interesting because of their ability to repair structural damages and recover their original functions, specifically in tissue engineering.

This book aims to cover the applications of nanotechnology against human infectious diseases. The chapters of the book discuss the role of nanotechnology in the efficient diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. It explicitly provides an overview of nanodiagnostics for infectious diseases from nanoparticles-based, nanodevice-based, and point-of-care platforms. The book also covers the state-of-the-art review of recent progress in biomimetic and bioengineered nanotherapies to treat infectious diseases. It also presents a nano carrier-based CRISPR/Cas9 delivery system for gene editing and its applications for developing interventional approaches against communicable diseases. Further, it reviews the recent developments in nanotechnology to engineer nanoparticles with desired physicochemical properties as a line of defense against multi-drug resistance micro-organisms. Cutting across the disciplines, this book serves as a guide for researchers in biotechnology, parasitology, and nanotechnology.

This handbook examines health and medical care in the Arab world from a systems biology approach. It features comprehensive coverage that includes details of key social, environmental, and cultural determinants. In addition, the contributors also investigate the developed infrastructure that manages and delivers health care and medical solutions throughout the region.More than 25 sections consider all aspects of health, from cancer to hormone replacement therapy, from the use of medications to vitamin deficiency in emergency medical care. Chapters highlight essential areas in the wellbeing and care of this population. These topics include women's health care, displaced and refugee women's health needs, childhood health, social and environmental causes of disease, health systems and health management, and a wide range of diseases of various body systems. This resource also explores issues related to access and barriers to health delivery throughout the region.Health in the Arab world is complex and rapidly changing. The health burden in the region is distributed unevenly based on gender, location, as well as other factors. In addition, crises such as armed conflicts and an expanding migrant population place additional stress on systems and providers at all levels. This timely resource will help readers better understand all these major issues and more. It will serve as an ideal guide for researchers in various biological disciplines, public health, and regulatory agencies.

This volume introduces the reader to the most important standards and principles of prophylactic surgery. After discussing the comparative effectiveness of screening in the treatment of hereditary cancer syndromes and evaluating genetic predisposition, the book moves on to address ethical, legal, social and cost-effectiveness dimensions of prophylactic surgery. With the aim of preventing hereditary predisposition syndromes, it also includes a chapter on the application of preventive surgery to all specific fields of surgery. Given its scope, the book will appeal to a broad readership, from experienced surgeons to students.

This book presents contributions from leading international experts in the field of nephrology. Each chapter is independent and discusses nephrology in the author's country, including the history of nephrology development, kidney disease epidemiology, clinical nephrology, dialysis practice in acute and chronic renal failure settings (hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, peritoneal dialysis), pediatric nephrology, and kidney transplantation. In addition, the book covers topics such as the job market for nephrologists, reimbursement, nephrology education, and the number of professionals in the private and public sectors. With 53 chapters and more than 300 authors from all continents offering a unique perspective on nephrology practice, it provides a much-needed information source for nephrologists around the globe. The reader will be able to travel through “Nephrology Worldwide”, a pleasant reading experience with not only relevant information and updated data, but also acomprehensive look at the history, countries'peculiarities, and a critical analysis of the scenario of nephrology and renal replacement therapy. A valuable resource for healthcare professionals and other stakeholders interested in learning about the status quo of Nephrology Worldwide. “Both the failings and the successes are outlined in a way that should make this book a compelling read, not just for the well-informed renal physician, but also for planners and policy makers whose thinking and actions are integral to the way we practice medicine.” - Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, Nephrologist and 2019 Nobel Prize WinnerMore information on the Nephrology Worldwide initiative can be found at www.nephrologyworldwide.com.

The five-volume set LNCS 12932-12936 constitutes the proceedings of the 18th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, INTERACT 2021, held in Bari, Italy, in August/September 2021.The total of 105 full papers presented together with 72 short papers and 70 other papers in these books was carefully reviewed and selected from 680 submissions. The contributions are organized in topical sections named: Part I: affective computing; assistive technology for cognition and neurodevelopment disorders; assistive technology for mobility and rehabilitation; assistive technology for visually impaired; augmented reality; computer supported cooperative work. Part II: COVID-19 & HCI; croudsourcing methods in HCI; design for automotive interfaces; design methods; designing for smart devices & IoT; designing for the elderly and accessibility; education and HCI; experiencing sound and music technologies; explainable AI. Part III: games and gamification; gesture interaction; human-centered AI; human-centered development of sustainable technology; human-robot interaction; information visualization; interactive design and cultural development. Part IV: interaction techniques; interaction with conversational agents; interaction with mobile devices; methods for user studies; personalization and recommender systems; social networks and social media; tangible interaction; usable security. Part V: user studies; virtual reality; courses; industrial experiences; interactive demos; panels; posters; workshops. The chapter ‘Stress Out: Translating Real-World Stressors into Audio-Visual Stress Cues in VR for Police Training'is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com. The chapter ‘WhatsApp in Politics?! Collaborative Tools Shifting Boundaries'is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

This book discusses the need for the development of sustainable environmental protection technologies to reduce the impact of environmental contaminants. Three levels of sustainable technologies are addressed. The first level involves the concept of sustainable technologies as natural technologies, or ecotechnologies, whereby contamination level is assessed based on the contamination footprint through the use of biogeochemical barriers (e.g. methods utilizing the bioaccumulation properties of plants). The second level concerns the use of sustainable natural materials, such as biochar, in environmental engineering systems, an approach that is used for analyzing the processes of adsorption and biofiltration, as well as immobilization of contaminants in soil. The third level discusses the optimal components necessary to achieve sustainability in environmental engineering systems, including system operation principles, structural solutions, and the synergies between various system components such as microorganisms. The book will be of interest to specialists of industrial enterprises engaged in environmental protection, as well as environmental system designers, stakeholders from environmental protection ministries and institutions, researchers, doctoral students and masters and bachelors of science in the field of environmental engineering.

This book brings together the latest literature and European experiences on preventing youth violent radicalisation and violent actions in intergroup relations. Youth violent radicalisation is a significant problem within the European context, and requires an exploration of how various social actors can play an active role in preventing radicalisation in minors and young adults. This complex issue needs to be explored through a multidisciplinary approach, and effective operational models are needed in order to tackle it. This book describes the theoretical framework for such an approach in all its facets. The book's originality lies in its psychosocial and participatory approach, aimed at improving results through professional training and community empowerment for building trusting relationships and educational activities. It also proposes “alternative narratives”, which are a way of representing people and groups within a social context, thereby overcoming stereotyped visions and stigma. This book focuses on participation and communication among stakeholders, social inclusion, strengthening democratic values, and pursuing a proactive instead of a reactive approach to preventing radicalisation. Highly topical, the book will appeal to researchers and students of the social and behavioural sciences interested in youth radicalisation, including social work and social policy, as well as practitioners working within the juvenile justice system.

This edited volume contains technical contributions in the field of computer vision and image processing presented at the First International Conference on Computer Vision and Image Processing (CVIP 2016). The contributions are thematically divided based on their relation to operations at the lower, middle and higher levels of vision systems, and their applications. The technical contributions in the areas of sensors, acquisition, visualization and enhancement are classified as related to low-level operations. They discuss various modern topics – reconfigurable image system architecture, Scheimpflug camera calibration, real-time autofocusing, climate visualization, tone mapping, super-resolution and image resizing.The technical contributions in the areas of segmentation and retrieval are classified as related to mid-level operations. They discuss some state-of-the-art techniques – non-rigid image registration, iterative image partitioning, egocentric object detection and video shot boundary detection.The technical contributions in the areas of classification and retrieval are categorized as related to high-level operations. They discuss some state-of-the-art approaches – extreme learning machines, and target, gesture and action recognition. A non-regularized state preserving extreme learning machine is presented for natural scene classification. An algorithm for human action recognition through dynamic frame warping based on depth cues is given. Target recognition in night vision through convolutional neural network is also presented. Use of convolutional neural network in detecting static hand gesture is also discussed.Finally, the technical contributions in the areas of surveillance, coding and data security, and biometrics and document processing are considered as applications of computer vision and image processing. They discuss some contemporary applications. A few of them are a system for tackling blind curves, a quick reaction target acquisition and tracking system, an algorithm to detect for copy-move forgery based on circle block, a novel visual secret sharing scheme using affine cipher and image interleaving, a finger knuckle print recognition system based on wavelet and Gabor filtering, anda palmprint recognition based on minutiae quadruplets.

This work is recognised as the standard textbook for professionals involved in the diagnosis and management of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) and an essential resource in this multidisciplinary field. For the 6th edition all 43 chapters have been newly written or revised by authors with particular expertise in their subject areas. Contents: A clinical and biochemical approach to the recognition and diagnosis of IEM with algorithms to symptoms, signs, and syndromes in patients of all ages; Emergency treatments; Medications – Separate comprehensive sections on IEM of: Carbohydrates; Mitochondrial Energy; Amino and organic acids; Vitamin-responsive defects; Neurotransmitter and Small peptides, Lipid and Bile Acids; Nucleic Acid and Heme; Organelles – Disorders affecting the synthesis and remodelling of complex lipids and fatty acid homeostasis are now included.

Mass collaboration on Internet platforms like Wikipedia and Scratch, along with wider movements like the maker space and citizen science, are poised to have profound impacts on learning and education. Bringing together researchers from such fields as: psychology, education, information technology, and economics, the book offers a comprehensive overview of mass collaboration, novel, cross disciplinary, theoretical accounts, and methodological approaches for studying and improving these massively collaborative enterprises. The book is aimed to serve as an information source for researchers, educators, and designers of platforms and learning environments.

The three-volume set, consisting of LNCS 9008, 9009, and 9010, contains carefully reviewed and selected papers presented at 15 workshops held in conjunction with the 12th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, ACCV 2014, in Singapore, in November 2014. The 153 full papers presented were selected from numerous submissions. LNCS 9008 contains the papers selected for the Workshop on Human Gait and Action Analysis in the Wild, the Second International Workshop on Big Data in 3D Computer Vision, the Workshop on Deep Learning on Visual Data, the Workshop on Scene Understanding for Autonomous Systems, and the Workshop on Robust Local Descriptors for Computer Vision. LNCS 9009 contains the papers selected for the Workshop on Emerging Topics on Image Restoration and Enhancement, the First International Workshop on Robust Reading, the Second Workshop on User-Centred Computer Vision, the International Workshop on Video Segmentation in Computer Vision, the Workshop: My Car Has Eyes: Intelligent Vehicle with Vision Technology, the Third Workshop on E-Heritage, and the Workshop on Computer Vision for Affective Computing. LNCS 9010 contains the papers selected for the Workshop on Feature and Similarity for Computer Vision, the Third International Workshop on Intelligent Mobile and Egocentric Vision, and the Workshop on Human Identification for Surveillance.

This volume provides fresh insights and management understanding of the changing role of the ambulance services against the backdrop of massive cuts in health budgets around the world and the changing context of pre-hospital care within the wider healthcare networks. The challenges of funding, training and cultural transformation are now felt globally. The need to learn and adapt from suitable models of ambulance service delivery have never been greater. The book offers critical insights into the theory and practice of strategic and operational management of ambulance services and the leadership needs for the service. One of the highlight of this volume is to bring together scholarship using experts- academics, practitioners and professionals in the field, to each of the chosen topics. The chapters are based in the practical experiences of the authors and are written in a way that is accessible and suitable for a range of audiences. We are confident that this book will cater to a wider audience to inform policy and practice, both in the UK and internationally.Paresh Wankhade is Professor of Leadership and Management at Edge Hill University, UKKevin Mackway-Jones is the Medical Director at North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, UKEndorsements “This unique and valuable publication, charts the history and development of the ambulance service in England over the last hundred years or so. The role of this key emergency service has always been important, and arguably never more so than today. The contributing authors have not only provided the reader with great insights into where the service has come from and the leadership challenges it has, and continues to face; it also gives examples of how the future could look as our journey of transformation continues.”Peter Bradley CBE, MBA (and author of Taking Healthcare to the Patient 2005), Chief Executive Officer. St John National Headquarters, New Zealand'With a year on year increase in demand for emergency ambulances and over 9 million calls annually, the UK Ambulance Service must change from its emergency care and transport focus model. With the increase in professionalism of paramedics and an uplift in assessment and clinical skills the modern paramedic is increasingly able to treat at home, direct patients with alternative care pathways and avoid transportation to overburdened Emergency Departments. Whilst there is some historical and cultural resistance to change there is a need for further development in clinical skills and a new perspective for the future Ambulance Service. This book brings together practitioners, managers, academics and provides a broad understanding of the major management issues in the UK Ambulance Service. It includes the history of the Ambulance Service, quality and risk management issues, commissioning, leadership, intra-operability and shape of the future ambulance service. The content will be of interest to students, practitioners and academics'.Sir Keith Porter, Professor of Clinical Traumatology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom

This is the first textbook of its kind devoted to describing the biological complexities of breast cancer in a way that is relevant to the radiation oncologist. Radiation Oncology has long treated breast cancer as a single biological entity, with all treatment decisions being based on clinical and pathologic risk factors. We are now beginning to understand that biological subtypes of breast cancer may have different risks of recurrence as well as different intrinsic sensitivity to radiotherapy. Multi-gene arrays that have for years been used to predict the risk of distant recurrence and the value of systemic chemotherapy may also have utility in predicting the risk of local recurrence. Additionally, the targeted agents used to treat breast cancer may interact with radiotherapy in ways that can be beneficial or undesirable. All of these emerging issues are extensively discussed in this book, and practical evidence-based treatment recommendations are presented whenever possible.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 36th European Conference on IR Research, ECIR 2014, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in April 2014.The 33 full papers, 50 poster papers and 15 demonstrations presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 288 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: evaluation, recommendation, optimization, semantics, aggregation, queries, mining social media, digital libraries, efficiency, and information retrieval theory. Also included are 3 tutorial and 4 workshop presentations.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference, ICISP 2014, held in June/July 2014 in Cherbourg, France. The 76 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 164 submissions. The contributions are organized in topical sections on multispectral colour science, color imaging and applications, digital cultural heritage, document image analysis, graph-based representations, image filtering and representation, computer vision and pattern recognition, computer graphics, biomedical, and signal processing.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th Iberian Conference on Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis, IbPRIA 2013, held in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, in June 2013. The 105 papers (37 oral and 68 poster ones) presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 181 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on computer vision, pattern recognition, image and signal, applications.

Our interest in the microbial biodegradation of xenobiotics has increased many folds in recent years to find out sustainable ways for environmental cleanup. Bioremediation and biotransformation processes harness the naturally occurring ability of microbes to degrade, transform or accumulate a wide range of organic pollutants. Major methodological breakthroughs in recent years through detailed genomic, metagenomic, proteomic, bioinformatic and other high-throughput analyses of environmentally relevant microorganisms have provided us unprecedented insights into key biodegradative pathways and the ability of organisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The degradation of a wide spectrum of organic pollutants and wastes discharged into the environment by anthropogenic activities is an emerging need today to promote sustainable development of our society with low environmental impact. Microbial processes play a major role in the removal of recalcitrant compounds taking advantage of the astonishing catabolic versatility of microorganisms to degrade or transform such compounds. New breakthroughs in sequencing, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and imaging are generating vital information which opens a new era providing new insights of metabolic and regulatory networks, as well as clues to the evolution of degradation pathways and to the molecular adaptation strategies to changing environmental conditions. Functional genomic and metagenomic approaches are increasing our understanding of the relative importance of different pathways and regulatory networks tocarbon flux in particular environments and for particular compounds. New approaches will certainly accelerate the development of bioremediation technologies and biotransformation processes in coming years for natural attenuation of contaminated environments

Being up to Date: Status Quo and Trends of TreatmentFor those involved in the identification and management of patients with inborn errors of metabolism, this book is now recognised as the standard textbook in this interdisciplinary field. It has proved to be indispensable for professionals in specialities ranging from pediatrics, neonatology, pathological biochemistry and genetics to neurology, internal medicine, nursing, dietetics and psychology. This 5th edition has been extensively revised and updated.What´s new- Additional chapter focusing on inborn errors affecting adults, particularly the late neurological presentations- Numerous updates on diagnostic procedures and treatment- Newly discovered disorders.As with previous editions, the book opens with a section presenting the clinical approach to inborn metabolic diseases for those cases in which a diagnosis is being sought. This now includes a chapter on the clinical presentation of metabolic diseases in the older age range, using an analogous structure. If a particular diagnosis is already suspected, the reader may refer to the following sections of the book containing general chapters on diagnostic procedures and treatment, and on specific groups of disorders. As with earlier editions, the chapters have been written by authors who are internationally recognised experts on their subjects. They provide information in a clear, relevant and concise manner using a coherent structure.

Arab populations have their “own” genetic disorders, both universal and particular. Genetic diversity within these source populations, along with the fact that the rates of inbreeding are often high and family sizes are often large, constitute conditions that facilitate the emergence and detection of phenotypes explained notably by autosomal recessive inheritance; in which case, the use of homozygosity gene mapping can facilitate the discovery of the corresponding genes. The present book includes 5 parts dealing with various aspects that relate to the genetic structure of Arabs and minorities within the Arab world as well as genetic disorders prevalent in this part of the world. It includes updated reviews of the genetic disorders in various Arab countries and geographic regions. The focus is primarily, but not exclusively, on the group of single-gene disorders with particular emphasis on autosomal recessive conditions. It further includes epidemiological and clinical data as well as inheritance patterns, mutation and polymorphism data, and available haplotype analysis data. The ethnic and genetic diversity of the Arab populations is discussed as well as aspects of genetic counseling practice in this region together with a proposal for an ethical framework for genetic research and prevention of genetic disorders. The target audience of this book includes human and medical geneticists, genetic counselors, researchers, medical specialists dealing with Arab patients or practicing in Arab countries, medical and genetic counseling students, and nurses.