Leon V. Berhardt 
Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 176 

This compilation comprises 8 chapters, each of which details a recent advancement in medicine and biology. Chapter 1 describes innate immune responses and their role in controlling infections, including the relationship between innate and adaptive immune responses during infections. Chapter 2 focuses on the structural characteristics of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-) and its diverse biological activities in cancer signaling pathways and presents current information about the role of TGF- in cancer cell signaling. Chapter 3 summarizes several preceding articles on invasive procedures applied with questionable clinical indications in the former Soviet Union. Chapter 4 provides information about the physical properties, isomerism, synthesis and reactions of thiadiazole, with emphasis placed on the current studies of various syntheses of thiadiazole compounds and their important biological properties. Chapter 5 evaluates the antifungal activity of the leaf ethanolic extract of Persea americana, popularly known as avocado, and its modulatory potential in association with fluconazole to verify its action on Candida micromorphology as well as its chemical characterization. Chapter 6 explores the step-by-step role of TGF- during the process of wound healing. Chapter 7 describes hypophosphatasemia, a rare pathophysiological condition that causes various diseases, and includes new information about hypophosphatasemia that has assisted with the diagnosis of Kikuchi Fujimoto disease and can help to predict the outcome of cardiac surgery and septic shock. Finally, Chapter 8 summarizes the evolution of digital holography, including the latest results on visualizing and distinguishing different types of blood cells.