Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 155

Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 155 reviews whether the non-surgical and non-pharmacological interventions commonly used for knee osteoarthritis patients are effective and, if effective, which ones are the most effective. For this, randomized controlled trials were identified through electronic databases. Following this, the authors discuss how the early identification of target subjects who are at high cardiometabolic risk is important for critical lifestyle interventions and pharmacological management strategies. Additionally, they discuss the diversity, biotechnological applications and sustainable bioproduction of chitinases enzyme from Streptomyces origin, as well as their properties, production and potential applications in the industrial and biotechnological spheres. New strategies such as the use of atomic force microscopy, the isolation of cardiomyocytes, primary culturing in different types of substrates as well as transcriptomic studies are enabling the understanding of how these cells can be affected by different pathologies. As such, in this compilation these issues are updated by analyzing how new approaches to basic aspects of the structure and physiology of cardiomyocytes can be of clinical relevance. This collection also discusses chitotriosidase and acidic mammalian chitinase belonging to the chitinase family. This family includes 18 chitinases united by the features of their molecular structure. Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis is a common, multifactorial process also associated with aging, which frequently causes central canal stenosis. Several types of interbody fusion procedures that may treat of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis are examined, particularly lateral lumbar interbody fusion. The final chapter explores the role surgical intervention plays in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.