Bøger i Interdisciplinary Applied Math serien

There has been a long history of interaction between mathematics and physiology. This book looks in detail at a wide selection of mathematical models in physiology, showing how physiological problems can be formulated and studied mathematically, and how such models give rise to interesting and challenging mathematical questions. With its coverage of many recent models it gives an overview of the field, while many older models are also discussed, to put the modern work in context.In this second edition the coverage of basic principles has been expanded to include such topics as stochastic differential equations, Markov models and Gibbs free energy, and the selection of models has also been expanded to include some of the basic models of fluid transport, respiration/perfusion, blood diseases, molecular motors, smooth muscle, neuroendrocine cells, the baroreceptor loop, turboglomerular oscillations, blood clotting and the retina.Owing to this extensive coverage, the seond edition is published in two volumes. This first volume deals with the fundamental principles of cell physiology and the second with the physiology of systems.The book includes detailed illustrations and numerous excercises with selected solutions. The emphasis throughout is on the applications; because of this interdisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest to students and researchers, not only in mathematics, but also in bioengineering, physics, chemistry, biology, statistics and medicine.Reviews of the first edition:"...probably the best book ever written on the interdisciplinary field of mathematical physiology." Mathematical Reviews, 2000"In addition to being good reading, excellent pedagogy, and appealing science, the exposition is lucid and clear, and there are many good problem sets to choose from... Highly recommended." Mathematical Biosciences, 1999"Both authors are seasoned experts in the field of mathematical physiology and particularly in the field of excitability, calcium dynamics and spiral waves. It directs students to become not merely skilled technicians in biological research but masters of the science." SIAM, 2004The first edition was the winner of the prize for The Best Mathematics book of 1998 from the American Association of Publishers.

This book reviews how mathematics can be used in combination with biological data in order to improve understanding of how the immune system works. This is illustrated largely in the context of viral infections. Mathematical models allow scientists to capture complex biological interactions in a clear mathematical language and to follow them to their precise logical conclusions. This can give rise to counter-intuitive insights which would not be attained by experiments alone, and can be used for the design of further experiments in order to address the mathematical results. This book provides both an introduction to the field of mathematical immunology, and an overview of many topics which are the subject of current research, covering a broad variety of immunological topics. It starts with basic principles of immunology and covers the dynamical interactions between the immune system and specific viral infections, including important human pathogens such as HIV. General biological and mathematical background material to both virus infection and immune system dynamics is provided, and each chapter begins with a simple introduction to the biological questions examined. This book is intended for an interdisciplinary audience. It explains the concept of mathematical modeling in immunology and shows how modeling has been used to address specific questions. It is intended both for the mathematical biologists who are interested in immunology, and for the biological readership that is interested in the use of mathematical models in immunology. Dominik Wodarz is an Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine.