DOAB - Directory of Open Access Books
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IMMUNO-model in Cancer
No full textThis open access volume describes the computational and experimental models that help researchers understand the responses of the immune system in cancer and test experimental immune-oncology approaches. The chapters in this book cover methods such as profile polarization in macrophages using ELISA; immune checkpoint inhibitors; interactions of PD-1/PD-L1 and T cells; immunocompetent preclinical mouse models to study primary and metastatic brain cancer; and methods to generate CAR T-cells. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Immuno-Model in Cancer: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for both new and experienced researchers who want to learn more about this important and developing field
The State and the Imperative for Social Policy Reform in Africa
No full textThis concise and interdisciplinary open access volume explores the imperative of social policy reform in Sub-Saharan Africa and the potential nature of such a reform. Its chapters study social policy changes that have been made before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those that need to be made towards better protecting individuals, families, and communities against exposure to insecurity, poverty, and other vulnerabilities throughout their lifecycle. As argued, for this to happen, the state needs to play a pivotal role in building harmonised and coordinated social policy systems. The chapters also stress the need for a holistic social policy reform that spans key areas including health, education, disability, gender, and migration policies. Besides this, the volume considers the role of automatic stabilisers and novel issues such as the impact of social media. Finally, the volume draws our attention to the respective roles of state actors, national non-state actors, and transnational actors
The EPP’s Way to Number 1
No full textIn 1999, the European People's Party (EPP) emerged as the largest political group in the European Parliament, maintaining its dominance for more than 25 years and influencing the direction of the EU through five consecutive Presidencies of the European Commission. In this Open Access book, the EPP's official think-tank, the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, presents memories from Prime Ministers, Presidents of EU institutions, Party Presidents and EPP officials. The book traces the pivotal moments in EU politics, from the EPP's expansion to include conservative, liberal, and like-minded parties, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, to the actual management of the new enlarged party. This book sheds light on the EPP's evolution, successes, and controversies through firsthand accounts, offering a comprehensive view of its impact on the European Union over the past quarter-century
Best Practice in Microbiome Research
No full textThis open access volume details protocols for sampling and analysis microbiomes from sites other than the gut. Chapters detail methods for analysing the virome, mycobiome, and emphasises the importance for inclusive and integrative microbiome studies. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Best Practice in Microbiome Research aims to highlight critical concepts, key features, and serves as a valuable benchmark
An Evolutionary Story of Agency
No full textThis open access book exposes the role of "agency" in the history of life. Agency is understood as the capacity of an organism to act, make decisions, and exercise control over its actions in order to achieve goals or to navigate and interact with its environment. The question of agency has become a hot and controversial topic in Biology and Philosophy of the Natural Sciences. This volume studies said topic through its historical expressions, investigating how and why it has appeared, and what was its selective advantage in the past, assuming a continuity in how it has evolved in different life forms. By also explaining how and why agency has evolved and become more complex in some branches of the tree of life, the authors show how life has made its way on our planet with forms of agency as diverse as those shown by bacteria, plants or animals, which are the most sophisticated and complex agents. The book is of great interest to a broad audience, whether philosophically or biologically inclined, interested in understanding fundamental aspects of how life works and in seeking explanations for why life has been so successful on planet Earth
Multimedia Information Technology and Applications
No full textThis open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Multimedia Information Technology and Applications, MITA 2025, Jeju, South Korea, during July 21–24, 2025. The 14 full papers and 5 short papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 94 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: Artificial Intelligence for Multimedia. Multimedia System and Applications
Innovation, Resilience, Leadership and Sustainability in Higher Education
No full textThis open access book addresses relevant issues related to higher education and sustainable development goals (SDGs). The book has a high degree of originality and brings innovation to the contemporary solution for 21st century higher education, innovative contextualisation and conceptualisation of ICT-enabled critical thinking. It facilitates the achievement of the UN-defined SDGs and introduces a framework for SDG development that addresses both the national and international needs of current and future higher education. Addressing all 17 SDGs from different perspectives, the book provides a systemic view that enables students to increase their ability for transformative learning by developing a deeper self-awareness and a more open perspective, which may lead to a profound change in their worldview. Transformative learning combined with systems thinking are key to successfully educating future generations in innovation, resilience, leadership and sustainability. The activities proposed in the book embrace and strengthen active (non-traditional) pedagogy
Streiten – aber richtig! Zum Umgang mit Kontroversen in Schule und Unterricht
No full textKontroversen gehören zur pluralistischen Gesellschaft: Sie zeigen, dass eine lebendige Auseinandersetzung stattfindet und Selbstverständlichkeiten in Frage gestellt werden. Ein Ort, an dem kontroverse Themen zur Sprache kommen, ist die Schule. Der Umgang mit kontroversen Themen wird dadurch zur Aufgabe und Herausforderung für Lehrkräfte und für die Lehramtsausbildung. Die Beiträge dieses Bandes diskutieren, an welchen didaktischen und ethischen Bezugspunkten sich Lehrende im Umgang mit Kontroversität orientieren können.; Controversies are part of a pluralistic society: they show that a lively debate is taking place and that things that are taken for granted are being questioned. Schools are places where controversial topics are discussed. Dealing with controversial topics therefore becomes a task and a challenge for teachers and for teacher training programmes. The articles in this volume discuss the didactic and ethical points of reference that teachers can use to orientate themselves when dealing with controversy
The Legal Relationship between Present and Future Generations
No full textThe legal relationship between present and future generations is shaped by the concept of intergenerational equity. This concept and its structures of implementation are still controversial today. The present book examines two connected research questions. First, it analyses the legal contents and structures of the concept of intergenerational equity as of today. In this regard, the book addresses two manifestations of intergenerational equity: a general conception and a specific doctrine of intergenerational equity that both differ in their contents as well as their legally binding character. Furthermore, the operationalisation of the concept is still in progress as far as the respective duty-bearers and potential right-holders as well as means of representation are concerned. In this context, the various attempts and actual forms of representation of future generations in policy-making and international and national judicial proceedings are analysed and categorised. The first part of the book comes to the conclusion that intergenerational equity from a contemporaneous perspective is continuously evolving between lex lata and lex ferenda. Therefore and second, the book examines which legal understanding the present generation would and should base its answer on from an intertemporal law perspective on the legal relationship between the present and the future. Starting from the existing doctrine of intertemporal law, this doctrine cannot be applied par for par to the concept of intergenerational equity due to formal as well as substantial reasons. The inherently intertemporal nature of intergenerational equity as well as the irreversible impacts of most intergenerational violations require a shift of perspective with regard to intergenerational equity. The book establishes a modified doctrine of intertemporal law that is adequately applicable to disputes on intergenerational equity. This is an open access book
Knowledge in Modern Transimperial History
No full textThis volume intervenes in the growing field of transimperial history, which explores interactions across empires—European and non-European—between the mid-1800s and mid-1900s, a period of heightened imperial entanglement. It focuses on how actors from one empire came to know, interpret, and position themselves in relation to actors from other empires, emphasizing the role of socio-professional profiles, informal networks, and formal institutions. The volume is structured around three themes. First, it examines actors, including both individuals (e.g. a Chinese diplomat in Europe) and professional groups (e.g. journalists, military officers). Second, it analyzes formations of transimperial knowledge through diverse textual objects such as bank chops and travelogues, highlighting processes of commensurabilization. Third, it explores causes, noting how specific inter-imperial junctures and enabling factors—like language skills and institutional access—facilitated knowledge creation. Altogether, the volume sheds light on the concrete, situated ways in which transimperial knowledge was produced, mediated, and made meaningful in a competitive imperial world