Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 137

Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 137 begins by presenting a systematic view on the electromagnetic properties of blood and its components. Detailed data on electric impedance, conductivity and dielectric permittivity of native blood in healthy persons and patients with different diseases before and after treatment are also presented. The authors go on to discuss the concept of hydrogels, microgels and nanogels; smart/intelligent colloidal gels; classification of nanogels; synthesis of nanogels; and applications in patient compliant drug delivery. Following this, two components involved in triacylglycerol breakdown are discussed: lipolysis and antilipolysis. Fat cells exhibit insulin receptors mediating the well-known antilipolytic properties of the pancreatic hormone. However, various receptors negatively coupled to the adenylyl-cyclase also limit lipolytic activity. The development of oral vaccines by two molecular display systems (using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus casei as hosts) is explored, as well as the oral administration of enolase using a mouse model. A study is included on zebrafish, which have been used disease models for pathogenesis and drug screening due to the availability of in vivo genetic and molecular tools. Issues from the perspective of morpholino usage in the field of aquatic toxicology are also debated. The closing chapter examines “moonlighting” metabolic enzymes, such as enolases, and the role they play in transporting tRNAs and presenting cell surface antigens within and outside of cells.