-Preparation and fabrications of nanolayers with different methods.\n -Description of recent achievements related to very important III-V heterostructures.\n -Descriptions of mechanical, thermal, optoelectronic, photocatalytic, and tribological properties of nanolayered structures.\n Some environmentally friendly applications are also treated in this book.\nThe presented book provides a description of specific and original results obtained by authors. We hope that the volume will be of interest for a wide range of readers working in the field of material science.",isbn:"978-953-51-3144-1",printIsbn:"978-953-51-3143-4",pdfIsbn:"978-953-51-4829-6",doi:"10.5772/65465",price:119,priceEur:129,priceUsd:155,slug:"nanoscaled-films-and-layers",numberOfPages:298,isOpenForSubmission:!1,isInWos:null,isInBkci:!1,hash:"f43ea8f3894ee0c3e44b2351bf3447d5",bookSignature:"Laszlo Nanai",publishedDate:"May 24th 2017",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5789.jpg",numberOfDownloads:19262,numberOfWosCitations:13,numberOfCrossrefCitations:15,numberOfCrossrefCitationsByBook:0,numberOfDimensionsCitations:32,numberOfDimensionsCitationsByBook:0,hasAltmetrics:0,numberOfTotalCitations:60,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"September 26th 2016",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"October 17th 2016",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"January 13th 2017",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"April 13th 2017",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"June 12th 2017",currentStepOfPublishingProcess:5,indexedIn:"1,2,3,4,5,6,7",editedByType:"Edited by",kuFlag:!1,featuredMarkup:null,editors:[{id:"61978",title:"Prof.",name:"Laszlo",middleName:null,surname:"Nanai",slug:"laszlo-nanai",fullName:"Laszlo Nanai",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/61978/images/system/61978.png",biography:"Prof. Nanai was born on April 19, 1948, in Csopak (Hungary). He studied physics (MSc) at Saint Petersburg State University (RU), and his PhD degree and habilitation in the field of quantum electronics were obtained at Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (RU), and Szeged University (H). \r\n\r\nHe is a specialist in the fields of solid-state physics, laser-matter interaction fabrication and characterization of nanostructures. He has written over 170 scientific publications including about 10 books and chapters in books and conference proceedings.",institutionString:"University of Szeged",position:null,outsideEditionCount:0,totalCites:0,totalAuthoredChapters:"2",totalChapterViews:"0",totalEditedBooks:"2",institution:{name:"University of Szeged",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Hungary"}}}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"1169",title:"Condensed Matter Physics",slug:"nanotechnology-and-nanomaterials-material-science-condensed-matter-physics"}],chapters:[{id:"54288",title:"Formation of Nanolayer on Surface of EPD Coatings Based on Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone",doi:"10.5772/67570",slug:"formation-of-nanolayer-on-surface-of-epd-coatings-based-on-poly-ether-ether-ketone",totalDownloads:1438,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is a high performance polymer with many intrinsic properties. When it is used in the form of coating, an improvement of some of its functional properties was achieved by forming a surface nanolayer. In this chapter, it will be described how it was possible to obtain this result. Firstly, three kinds of PEEK composite coatings were deposited by electrophoretic deposition, adding alumina particles, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and lignin to PEEK. Then, the composite coatings were thermal treated in a furnace. Therefore, surface nanostructure and chemical composition of these PEEK composite coatings were modified with respect to bulk coatings, due to interaction between PEEK chain and secondary phase, emphasised by the thermal treatment conditions. Experimental evidence of the formation of surface nanolayer was provided by SEM, TEM, GIXRD, ATR-FTIR and XPS characterisations. Functional characterisations demonstrated that wear resistance—in the presence of alumina particles—hydrophobicity—in the presence of PTFE—and corrosion resistance—in the presence of Lignin—were increased with respect to pure PEEK.",signatures:"Maria Federica De Riccardis",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54288",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54288",authors:[{id:"77857",title:"Dr.",name:"M. Federica",surname:"De Riccardis",slug:"m.-federica-de-riccardis",fullName:"M. Federica De Riccardis"}],corrections:null},{id:"54678",title:"Electroless Deposition of Nanolayered Metallic Coatings",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.68220",slug:"electroless-deposition-of-nanolayered-metallic-coatings",totalDownloads:3438,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:8,hasAltmetrics:1,abstract:"Electroless metallic coating is referred as the deposition of a substrate material by the process of chemical or autocatalytic reduction of aqueous metal ions deposited to a substrate material without any external supply of power. Electroless nickel alloys are generally considered synonymous to the word “electroless coating” as ~90% of productions in industries are of this alloy coating. Rest of the electroless metallic coatings includes gold, copper, palladium, cobalt, silver, etc. These electroless metallic coatings (other than electroless nickel coatings) are also one of the vibrant areas in the field of materials properties and surface engineering research. From the year 2000 to till date, nearly 1000 SCI indexed research papers were published on this topic. However, no comprehensive studies about the recent progress on this topic were reported elsewhere so far. In this context, the present chapter aims to give a complete overview on various aspects of the rest of the electroless metallic nanocoatings/layer as a whole. More importance will be on the recent developments of the nanocharacteristics and future scopes.",signatures:"Jothi Sudagar, Rajendraprasad Tamilarasan, Udaykumar Sanjith, Raj\nRajendran and Ravi Kumar",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54678",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54678",authors:[{id:"202302",title:"Dr.",name:"Jothi",surname:"Sudagar",slug:"jothi-sudagar",fullName:"Jothi Sudagar"},{id:"203599",title:"Dr.",name:"Tamilarasan",surname:"Tr",slug:"tamilarasan-tr",fullName:"Tamilarasan Tr"},{id:"203600",title:"MSc.",name:"Sanjith",surname:"U",slug:"sanjith-u",fullName:"Sanjith U"},{id:"203601",title:"Prof.",name:"Rajendran",surname:"R",slug:"rajendran-r",fullName:"Rajendran R"},{id:"203602",title:"Prof.",name:"Ravi Kumar",surname:"Nv",slug:"ravi-kumar-nv",fullName:"Ravi Kumar Nv"}],corrections:null},{id:"54328",title:"Laser Prepared Thin Films for Optoelectronic Applications",doi:"10.5772/67659",slug:"laser-prepared-thin-films-for-optoelectronic-applications",totalDownloads:1503,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Laser techniques such as pulsed laser deposition, combinatorial pulsed laser deposition, and matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation were used to deposit thin films for optoelectronic applications. High-quality transparent conductor oxide films ITO, AZO, and IZO were deposited on polyethylene terephthalate by PLD, an important experimental parameter being the target-substrate distance. The TCO films present a high transparency (>95%) and a reduced electrical resistivity (5 × 10−4 Ωcm) characteristics very useful for their integration in the flexible electronics. InxZn1−xO films with a compositional library were obtained by CPLD. These films are featured by a high optical transmission (>95%), the lowest resistivity (8.6 × 10−4 Ωcm) being observed for an indium content of about 44–49 at.%. Organic heterostructures based on arylenevinylene oligomers (P78 and P13) or arylene polymers (AMC16 and AMC22) were obtained by MAPLE. In the case of ITO/P78/Alq3/Al heterostructures, a higher current value is obtained when the film thickness increases. Also, a photovoltaic effect was observed for heterostructures based on AMC16 or AMC22 deposited on ITO covered by a thin layer of PEDOT:PSS. Due to their optical and electrical properties, such organic heterostructures can be interesting for the organic photovoltaic cells (OPV) applications.",signatures:"Marcela Socol, Gabriel Socol, Nicoleta Preda, Anca Stanculescu and\nFlorin Stanculescu",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54328",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54328",authors:[{id:"21373",title:"Dr.",name:"Anca",surname:"Stanculescu",slug:"anca-stanculescu",fullName:"Anca Stanculescu"},{id:"21611",title:"Dr.",name:"Florin",surname:"Stanculescu",slug:"florin-stanculescu",fullName:"Florin Stanculescu"},{id:"178419",title:"Dr.",name:"Gabriel",surname:"Socol",slug:"gabriel-socol",fullName:"Gabriel Socol"},{id:"184343",title:"Dr.",name:"Nicoleta",surname:"Preda",slug:"nicoleta-preda",fullName:"Nicoleta Preda"},{id:"198589",title:"Dr.",name:"Marcela",surname:"Socol",slug:"marcela-socol",fullName:"Marcela Socol"}],corrections:null},{id:"54765",title:"Heteroepitaxy of III–V Zinc Blende Semiconductors on Nanopatterned Substrates",doi:"10.5772/67572",slug:"heteroepitaxy-of-iii-v-zinc-blende-semiconductors-on-nanopatterned-substrates",totalDownloads:1562,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:6,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"In the last decade, zinc blende structure III–V semiconductors have been increasingly utilized for the realization of high‐performance optoelectronic applications because of their tunable bandgaps, high carrier mobility and the absence of piezoelectric fields. However, the integration of III–V devices on the Si platform commonly used for CMOS electronic circuits still poses a challenge, due to the large densities of mismatch‐related defects in heteroepitaxial III–V layers grown on planar Si substrates. A promising method to obtain thin III–V layers of high crystalline quality is the growth on nanopatterned substrates. In this approach, defects can be effectively eliminated by elastic lattice relaxation in three dimensions or confined close to the substrate interface by using aspect‐ratio trapping masks. As a result, an etch pit density as low as 3.3 × 105 cm−2 and a flat surface of submicron GaAs layers have been accomplished by growth onto a SiO2 nanohole film patterned Si(001) substrate, where the threading defects are trapped at the SiO2 mask sidewalls. An open issue that remains to be resolved is to gain a better understanding of the interplay between mask shape, growth conditions and formation of coalescence defects during mask overgrowth in order to achieve thin device quality III–V layers.",signatures:"Thomas Riedl and Jörg K.N. Lindner",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54765",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54765",authors:[{id:"196852",title:"Dr.",name:"Thomas",surname:"Riedl",slug:"thomas-riedl",fullName:"Thomas Riedl"},{id:"197870",title:"Prof.",name:"Jörg K.N.",surname:"Lindner",slug:"jorg-k.n.-lindner",fullName:"Jörg K.N. Lindner"}],corrections:null},{id:"54687",title:"Surface Modification of III-V Compounds Substrates for Processing Technology",doi:"10.5772/67916",slug:"surface-modification-of-iii-v-compounds-substrates-for-processing-technology",totalDownloads:1970,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Semiconductor materials became a part of nowadays life due to useful applications caused by characteristic properties as variable conductivity and sensitivity to light or heat. Electrical properties of a semiconductor can be modified by doping or by the application of electric fields or light; and from this view, devices made from semiconductors can be used for amplification or energy conversion. The compound semiconductor materials from III-V class experienced a qualitative leap from promising potential to nowadays technologic environment. The III-V semiconductor compounds are the material bases for electronic and optoelectronic devices such as high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT), bipolar heterostructure transistors, IR light-emitting diodes, heterostructure lasers, Gunn diodes, Schottky devices, photodetectors, and heterostructure solar cells for terrestrial and spatial operating conditions. Among III-V semiconductor compounds, gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium antimonide (GaSb) are of special interest as a substrate material due to the lattice parameter match to solid solutions (ternary and quaternary) whose band gaps cover a wide spectral range from 0.8 to 4.3 μm in the case of GaSb. The solid/solid interfaces could play a key part in the development of microelectronic device technology. In most of the cases, the initial surface of III-V compounds exposed to laboratory conditions is covered usually with native oxide layers. Various techniques for performing the surface cleaning process are used, e.g., controlled chemical etching, in situ ion sputtering, coupled with controlled annealing in vacuum and often these classic techniques are combined in order to prepare an eligible semiconductor surface to be exposed to a technological device chain. The evolution of surface native oxides in different cleaning procedures and the characteristics of as-prepared semiconductor surface were investigated by modern surface investigation techniques, i.e., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) combined with electrical characterization. Surface preparation of semiconductors in particular for III-V compounds is a necessary requirement in device technology due to the existence of surface impurities and the presence of native oxides. The impurities can affect the adherence of ohmic and Schottky contacts and due to thermal decomposition of native oxides (e.g., GaSb) it also affect the interface metal/semiconductor. The practical experience reveals that the simple preparation of a surface is a nonrealistic expectation, i.e., surface preparation is a result of combined treatments, namely chemical etching and thermal treatment, ion beam sputtering and thermal reconstruction procedure.",signatures:"Rodica V. Ghita, Constantin Logofatu, Constantin-Catalin Negrila,\nLucian Trupina and Costel Cotirlan-Simioniuc",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54687",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54687",authors:[{id:"50919",title:"Dr.",name:"Rodica V.",surname:"Ghita",slug:"rodica-v.-ghita",fullName:"Rodica V. Ghita"},{id:"197743",title:"Dr.",name:"Lucian",surname:"Trupina",slug:"lucian-trupina",fullName:"Lucian Trupina"},{id:"198134",title:"Dr.",name:"Constantin",surname:"Logofatu",slug:"constantin-logofatu",fullName:"Constantin Logofatu"},{id:"198135",title:"Dr.",name:"Constantin-Catalin",surname:"Negrila",slug:"constantin-catalin-negrila",fullName:"Constantin-Catalin Negrila"},{id:"198140",title:"Dr.",name:"Costel",surname:"Cotirlan-Simioniuc",slug:"costel-cotirlan-simioniuc",fullName:"Costel Cotirlan-Simioniuc"}],corrections:null},{id:"54581",title:"Nanoscaled Fluorescent Films and Layers for Detection of Environmental Pollutants",doi:"10.5772/67869",slug:"nanoscaled-fluorescent-films-and-layers-for-detection-of-environmental-pollutants",totalDownloads:1798,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Hazardous gas and ion pollutants are the most serious environmental problems around the world. It is of great importance to develop devices for easy detection of these hazardous substances. Fluorescence technology with high resolution and operational simplicity has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Organic fluorescent dyes absorb/emit lights within a broad wavelength range, which is suitable for various demands. Chromophores, such as perylene, cyanine dyes, spiropyran, and so on, are widely studied as fluorescent probes for gases and ions. The dyes could respond to external stimuli through structural changes of the conjugated chromophore itself or the attached functional groups, leading to detectable spectral changes. Organic dyes are incorporated into nanoscaled films and layers, which are portable and durable for effective sensing in complex environments. In this chapter, preparation and application of fluorescent films and layers (FFL) for gaseous/ionic detection are reviewed. We discuss the response mechanism of fluorescent dyes, the fabrication of nanoscaled FFL, and some examples of FFL for the detection of gas and ion pollutants.",signatures:"Meizhen Yin and Chendong Ji",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54581",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54581",authors:[{id:"197509",title:"Prof.",name:"Meizhen",surname:"Yin",slug:"meizhen-yin",fullName:"Meizhen Yin"},{id:"200372",title:"Mr.",name:"Chendong",surname:"Ji",slug:"chendong-ji",fullName:"Chendong Ji"}],corrections:null},{id:"54290",title:"Mechanical Nanoprocessing and Nanoviscoelasticity of Surface- Modified Polycarbonate",doi:"10.5772/67512",slug:"mechanical-nanoprocessing-and-nanoviscoelasticity-of-surface-modified-polycarbonate",totalDownloads:1282,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"To clarify their potential as atomic force microscope (AFM) memory media, the nanometer‐scale mechanical processing properties of untreated and fluorocarbon plasma‐treated polycarbonate samples were determined via the sliding of an AFM tip. The surface energy of the polycarbonate was reduced by the fluorocarbon plasma treatment, as well as the force necessary for processing. Nanometer‐scale precise processing of the polycarbonate was realized after the fluorocarbon plasma treatment, and the interval pitch in the formation of lines, spaces, and nanometer‐scale fine dots was minimized to 60 nm with these samples. The viscoelastic properties of the fluorinated polycarbonate were evaluated using an AFM in force modulation mode. The fluorocarbon plasma treatment reduced the friction force of the polycarbonate sample and improved its wear resistance, which caused the friction durability corresponding to the reliability of data reproduction to be markedly improved. These results show that high‐density recording can be realized by nanometer‐scale processing of fluorocarbon plasma‐treated polycarbonate samples.",signatures:"Shojiro Miyake and Mei Wang",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54290",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54290",authors:[{id:"22097",title:"Dr.",name:"Mei",surname:"Wang",slug:"mei-wang",fullName:"Mei Wang"}],corrections:null},{id:"54966",title:"Green Intelligent Nanomaterials by Design (Using Nanoparticulate/2D-Materials Building Blocks) Current Developments and Future Trends",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.68434",slug:"green-intelligent-nanomaterials-by-design-using-nanoparticulate-2d-materials-building-blocks-current",totalDownloads:1501,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Feasibility of designing and synthesizing ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ materials using nanostructured building blocks has been examined here based on the current status of the progress made in this context. The added advantages of using 2D layered/nonlayered materials along with phytosomal species derived from natural plants are highlighted with special reference to their better programmability along with minimum toxicity in biomedical applications. The current developments taking place in their upscaled productions are also included while assessing their upcoming industrial usages in diverse fields.",signatures:"Dinesh Kumar and Shamim Ahmad",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54966",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54966",authors:[{id:"196523",title:"Dr.",name:"Shamim",surname:"Ahmad",slug:"shamim-ahmad",fullName:"Shamim Ahmad"},{id:"205981",title:"Prof.",name:"Dinesh",surname:"Kumar",slug:"dinesh-kumar",fullName:"Dinesh Kumar"}],corrections:null},{id:"54751",title:"Molybdenum Disulfide-Based Photocatalysis:Bulk-to-Single Layer Structure and Related Photomechansim for Environmental Applications",doi:"10.5772/67825",slug:"molybdenum-disulfide-based-photocatalysis-bulk-to-single-layer-structure-and-related-photomechansim-",totalDownloads:2005,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:5,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Bulk-to-single layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is widely used as a robust candidate for photodegradation of organic pollutants, hydrogen production, and CO2 reduction. This material features active edge sites and narrow band gap features, which are useful for generating reactive species in aqueous suspensions. However, the high-charge carrier recombination, photocorrosion, unstable sulfide state, and formation of Mo-S-O links during photocatalytic reactions limit its applicability. Thus, research has focused on improving the performance of MoS2 by tailoring its bulk-to-single layer structure and combining it with other semiconductor materials to improve the photocatalytic performance. Different strategies have been successfully applied to enhance the photocatalytic activity of MoS2, including tailoring of the surface morphology, formation of heterojunctions with other semiconductors, doping, and modification with excess sulfur or carbon nanostructures. This review describes the influence of starting precursors, sulfur sources, and synthetic methods to obtain heterostructured morphologies and study their impact on the photocatalytic efficiency. Finally, the relevance of crystal facets and defects in photocatalysis is outlined. Future applications of MoS2 with tailoring and tuning physicochemical properties are highlighted.",signatures:"Surya Veerendra Prabhakar Vattikuti and Chan Byon",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54751",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54751",authors:[{id:"196995",title:"Prof.",name:"S V Prabhakar",surname:"Vattikuti",slug:"s-v-prabhakar-vattikuti",fullName:"S V Prabhakar Vattikuti"},{id:"199682",title:"Prof.",name:"Chan",surname:"Byon",slug:"chan-byon",fullName:"Chan Byon"}],corrections:null},{id:"54449",title:"Advance in Tribology Study of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers",doi:"10.5772/67571",slug:"advance-in-tribology-study-of-polyelectrolyte-multilayers",totalDownloads:1394,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"This review introduced the preparation and structural characterization of polyelectrolyte multilayers in recent years and also summarized the tribology research progress of the polyelectrolyte multilayers, including tribological properties, surface adhesion characteristics, and wear resistance properties. Statistics analysis indicated that nanoparticles‐doped polyelectrolyte multilayers present better friction and wear performance than pristine polyelectrolyte multilayers. Furthermore, the in situ growth method resulted in improved structural order of nanoparticles composite molecular deposition film. In situ nanoparticles not only reduced the molecular deposition film surface adhesion force and friction force but also significantly improved the life of wear resistance. That was due to the nanoparticles that possessed a good load‐carrying capacity and reduced the mobility of the polymer‐chain segments, which can undergo reversible shear deformation. Based on this, further research direction of in situ nanoparticles molecular deposition film was proposed.",signatures:"Yanbao Guo and Deguo Wang",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54449",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54449",authors:[{id:"196649",title:"Dr.",name:"Yanbao",surname:"Guo",slug:"yanbao-guo",fullName:"Yanbao Guo"},{id:"197584",title:"Prof.",name:"Deguo",surname:"Wang",slug:"deguo-wang",fullName:"Deguo Wang"}],corrections:null},{id:"54123",title:"Thermal Radiative Wavelength Selectivity of Nanostructured Layered Media",doi:"10.5772/67395",slug:"thermal-radiative-wavelength-selectivity-of-nanostructured-layered-media",totalDownloads:1371,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Thermal radiative transport yields unique thermal characteristics of microscopic thin films—wavelength selectivity. This chapter focuses on a methodology about adjusting the wavelength selectivity of thin films embedded with nanoparticles in the far‐field and near‐field regimes. For nanostructured layered media doped with nanoparticles, Maxwell‐Garnett‐Mie theory is applied to determine the effective dielectric function for the calculation of radiative thermal transport. The thermal radiative wavelength selectivity can be affected by volume fraction and/or the size of the embedded nanoparticles in thin films. To characterize wavelength selectivity and optical property of nanostructured materials, both real and imaginary parts of effective refractive index need to be analyzed. It has been shown that the nanoparticles made of polar or metallic materials have different influence on thermal radiative wavelength selectivity of microscopic thin films.",signatures:"Yi Zheng",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54123",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54123",authors:[{id:"197058",title:"Prof.",name:"Yi",surname:"Zheng",slug:"yi-zheng",fullName:"Yi Zheng"}],corrections:null}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"},subseries:null,tags:null},relatedBooks:[{type:"book",id:"7194",title:"Methods for Film Synthesis and Coating Procedures",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"0278e5a9a9d429a23692d1ce9bae2c2c",slug:"methods-for-film-synthesis-and-coating-procedures",bookSignature:"László Nánai, Aneeya Samantara, László Fábián and Satyajit Ratha",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7194.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"61978",title:"Prof.",name:"Laszlo",surname:"Nanai",slug:"laszlo-nanai",fullName:"Laszlo Nanai"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3621",title:"Silver Nanoparticles",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:null,slug:"silver-nanoparticles",bookSignature:"David Pozo Perez",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3621.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"6667",title:"Dr.",name:"David",surname:"Pozo",slug:"david-pozo",fullName:"David Pozo"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"397",title:"Nanofibers",subtitle:"Production, Properties and Functional Applications",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"934fe33b73b2ecba961c67d5a90021ec",slug:"nanofibers-production-properties-and-functional-applications",bookSignature:"Tong Lin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/397.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"49937",title:"Dr.",name:"Tong",surname:"Lin",slug:"tong-lin",fullName:"Tong Lin"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1045",title:"Nanocomposites and Polymers with Analytical Methods",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"65d477e855685ea85913e5aba0c5217e",slug:"nanocomposites-and-polymers-with-analytical-methods",bookSignature:"John Cuppoletti",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1045.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"49991",title:"Dr.",name:"John",surname:"Cuppoletti",slug:"john-cuppoletti",fullName:"John Cuppoletti"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3200",title:"Nanofibers",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"97487143b896780afaf08cfd67cd1eec",slug:"nanofibers",bookSignature:"Ashok Kumar",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3200.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"7718",title:"Professor",name:"Ashok",surname:"Kumar",slug:"ashok-kumar",fullName:"Ashok Kumar"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"5139",title:"Semiconductor Photocatalysis",subtitle:"Materials, Mechanisms and Applications",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ddd35bd632c061ec2e69a0886a817443",slug:"semiconductor-photocatalysis-materials-mechanisms-and-applications",bookSignature:"Wenbin 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1. Introduction
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Cocoa, Theobroma cacao, is a very important crop because it provides food, income, employment, industrial raw material and resources for poverty reduction [1]. Besides the provision of livelihood for millions of smallholder farmers, cocoa also provides raw material for the multibillion global chocolate industry. Hence, reduction in cocoa production is immediately felt by the smallholder farmers and the chocolate industry. As of 2013/2014 cocoa crop year, Africa contributed the majority of production (72%), Latin America (16%) and Asia together with Oceania (12%). With regards to dried cocoa beans as industrial raw material, Europe and Russia process/grind (39%), North and South America (21%), Asia and Oceania (21%) and Africa (19%). In terms of cocoa consumption, the European Union (EU) accounted for 36%, North America (24%), Asia and Oceania (16%), Europe outside the EU (10%), Latin America (10%) and Africa (4%) [2]. Therefore, the maintenance of cocoa to ensure continuous production and supply is of international concern. An analysis of world cocoa economy between 2011/2012 and 2022/2023 found steady decline in cocoa stock [2]. The media recently started announcing the threat faced by the cocoa industry. “We’ll run out of cocoa [beans for chocolate production] in just SEVEN years-the world in just SEVEN years—the world will officially run out [of cocoa] on October 2, 2020” Star Sunday 6 October 2013, “no more chocolate by 2020!—Chocolate bars may get replaced by slabs of palm oil and vegetable fats packed with raisins and nougats by 2020” The Times of India 13 April 2014, “manufacturers warn that the world may soon run out of chocolate!” The Week 17 November 2014, “don’t panic, but we could be running out of chocolate”—by 2020, “the world could see chocolate deficit of 1 million tonnes” the Telegraph 17 November 2017, “enjoy today’s Easter eggs: they could become a luxury” the Observer 4 April 2015 [2].
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An analysis on the feared extinction of cocoa indicated a number of debilitating factors such as low cocoa productivity, pests and diseases, declining soil fertility, unavailability of inputs, high cost of inputs, outdated production systems, poor farm management practices, adverse effects of weather and climate change on environment, inefficient marketing systems, low uptake of innovations, technology and knowledge transfer as well as inadequate extension and advisory services [2]. The commercial cultivation of cocoa has always been affected by pests and diseases. The diseases include black pod (Phytophthora spp.), witches’ broom, frosty pod rot (Moniliophthora roreri) and the cacao swollen shoot virus. The pests which infest cocoa include insect and vertebrate pests. Examples of insect pests include tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis theivora) in the family Miridae (capsid bug), cocoa mirid (Distantiella theobroma/Sahlbergella singularis/Helopeltis spp./Monalonion spp.), cocoa mealy bugs (Planococcus spp./Pseudococcus spp.), aphids (Toxoptera aurantii), leaf-eating caterpillar, ring bark borer (Phassus hosei) and cocoa pod borer (Conopomorpha cramerella). Examples of vertebrate pests are rats and squirrels [3]. In Ghana, mirids (capsids) are the most aggressive black pod (Phytophthora pod rot/Phytophthora palmivora/Phytophthora megakarya/Phytophthora capsici) and cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) is the main indigenous pests and diseases. Pests and diseases have coevolved to threaten cocoa production as well as sustainability to the farmer, environment and industry [4, 5]. These diseases could reduce crop yield from 20 to 86% in West Africa [6]. Recently, impacts of extreme weather events on cocoa, particularly, drought associated with the global climate change have been reported [7]. In Brazil, 2015–2016 drought resulting from El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) led to cocoa tree mortality of 15% and reduced cocoa yield by 89% [7]. Consequently, several scientific methods have been developed to manage and control these cocoa pests and diseases. For instance, integrated pest management has been employed to deal with pests. Various sociocultural, mechanical, physical, biological/agronomic and chemical measures are available to control and manage cocoa pests and diseases [3]. Research in cocoa varieties tolerable to changing global and local climates and adherence of research to stringent cocoa quality criteria are ongoing. Also, whether cocoa biotechnology research is a plus or minus to cocoa sustainability agenda needs careful consideration [8].
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The existing literature has concentrated much on the cocoa plant (cocoa natural environment) by discussing cocoa diseases. Also, other authors have studied cocoa farmers’ perception on environmental issues, particularly, climate change [9, 10, 11]. In the context of cocoa farmers (cocoa people), the focus has been cocoa farmer livelihood which is often tied to cocoa profit (economic aspect of sustainability) [1, 12, 13]. The linkages between cocoa natural environment regarding yield/production and cocoa purchasing as well as the multiple effects on poverty and carbon reduction have also been researched [14, 15]. A literature gap still exists regarding the consideration of the natural environment of the cocoa plant together with all stakeholders (people) and the economic sustainability (cocoa profit/incentive).
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This chapter contributes to the discourse by arguing that sustainability of Theobroma cacao goes beyond the cocoa plant/crop to include the people involved in its management and sharing of incentives and profits thereof. Hence, the traditional “3Ps” usually used in the analysis of sustainable development applies to this study. The “3Ps” refer to profit (economy), people (society) and planet (environment) as the three main pillars of sustainability, otherwise, referred to as the triple bottom line [16]. Instead of planet representing environment, this chapter uses the natural environment of cocoa plant/crop. The people include primary producers of cocoa (cocoa farmers) and secondary cocoa workers such as cocoa farmers’ labourers working in the cocoa farms for wages, workers of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) as well as employees of private and public cocoa-purchasing companies. The profit accruing from the sale of dry cocoa beans is depended on by all the cocoa people, in particular, and the country of Ghana as a whole.
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2. Methodology
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The study area is Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer after Cote D’Ivoire and located in West Africa. Cocoa is grown in the deciduous and rain forest as shown in Figure 1. Data were drawn from one district in the Volta Region (Ho West District) and two districts in the Brong-Ahafo Region (Asunafo North Municipal and Asunafo South District). This was a qualitative study in which data were sourced through the use of key informant interviews. Data were triangulated with community farmer meetings and focus group discussion. These were supported with information from the literature. The theoretical underpinnings were based on elaboration on the “3Ps” (the triple bottom line of sustainability). The assumption that sustainability of cocoa (SC) is the function of the “3Ps” (cocoa plant, people and profit) indicated by Eq. (1) provided the base from which subsequent equations were developed.
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Figure 1.
Rain and deciduous forest of Ghana. Source: Adopted from ([17], p. 226).
In this context, conservation of cocoa implies sustainable maintenance in its natural environment either in situ or ex situ. During the conservation process, evolutionary changes in cocoa are permitted provided such changes engender present and future benefits. Also, deep ecology of cocoa extends the right to live (freedom) to cocoa plant/crop. Therefore, this right to survival does not depend on the expectations of cocoa people. Again, political economy of cocoa refers to the linkages between economic, social and political considerations, in which economic stands for profit whilst social and political refer to the cocoa people.
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Following from the “3Ps” assumption, it is argued that sustainability of the cocoa industry in Ghana depends on ethical unity between the multi-stakeholders. This argument is based on the theory of ethical economy pivoted upon conflicts and compromises. Ethics as applied hereafter does not build on the meaning of general rules of morality but rather as intrinsic value in economics. Ethics is not to be conceived as an extrinsic limitation to economic pursuit but, on the contrary, as an intrinsic source of economic value. This is an approach that conceives of ethics as the practice of creating values and norms of action (a nomos) that is particular to a specific situation at hand [18]. This brings in Eq. (10) which states that sustainability of cocoa is a function of ethical economy. Then, ethical economy refers to the intersection of multi-stakeholders, their interests, responsibilities and linkages that confer value to the multi-stakeholders and the country in the management of the cocoa industry.
The results of the study are presented under cocoa plant, people and profit, respectively.
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3.1 Cocoa plant
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Cocoa plants produce cocoa beans which are converted into dry cocoa beans, paste/liquor, cake, butter, powder, chocolate, chocolate products and waste as by-products. Table 1 shows Ghana’s cocoa production for three consecutive crop seasons as compared with that of Cote D’Ivoire.
Globally, 2016/2017–2017/2018 crop years (in 1000 tonnes) show that cocoa production has decreased from 4739 to 4645 tonnes (−2%) [20]. The 2017/2018 crop year in 1000 tonnes indicates La Cote D’Ivoire as the leading producers with 2000 tonnes and Ghana follows with 900 tonnes. The rest of Africa contributed 618 tonnes, the rest of Latin America 317 tonnes, Indonesia (280 tonnes), Ecuador (270 tonnes), Brazil (165 tonnes) and the rest of Asia (88 tonnes) [21]. There is a slight difference in the global cocoa production estimates of ICCO (4645 tonnes) and 2018 Cocoa Barometer (4638 tonnes) for 2017/2018 crop year [20, 21]. Ghana made a gain in cocoa production from 850 to 900 tonnes (in 1000 tonnes), about 6% increase in production from 2016/2017 to 2017/2018.
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Generally, there are two cocoa populations, Criollo and Forastero. Trinitario, a hybrid of the other two, is considered as the third population. The type planted in Ghana is of the Forastero group. It was first introduced in 1815 and 1843 by the Dutch and Swiss, respectively, but failed to survive. Later in 1879, a Ghanaian, Tetteh Quarshie, successfully started a cocoa farm and raised about 300 trees by 1890. However, due to efforts put into the cocoa industry by the British colonial administration and the independent government of Ghana after 1957, Ghana became the leading producer and exporter of dried cocoa beans from 1939 to mid-1960 [22]. Presently, Ghana is the second in the world’s cocoa production and export after Cote D’Ivoire.
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Whereas the soil on which the cocoa farms are found, the weather, climate and other environmental effects keep changing, the cocoa trees often term Tetteh Quarshie have kept their original physiology unchanged in many farms in Ghana. The stems of the Tetteh Quarshie cocoa trees remain very large and their heights compare with the medium layer tropical forest trees. Their productivity is very low indeed. Over the years, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) has developed cocoa seedlings with shorter gestation period (5 years) than the Tetteh Quarshie (7 years). Farmers called it “agric” as the seedlings were introduced by the Ghana Agricultural Extension Service. These seedlings were modelled along the lines of the Tetteh Quarshie in terms of environment requirement (shade loving), height and stem development. However, the yield is by far superior. The soil remains heavily leached, and soil nutrients are mined for nearly 100 years of cocoa cultivation in addition to changing climate and other environmental factors. The soil is treated with doses of cocoa chemical fertilisers, and the cocoa trees are sprayed with various agrochemicals to prevent or control pests and diseases.
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In the context of sustainable agriculture and sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa, the third cocoa seedling has been introduced in Ghana (Tetteh Quarshie seeds is the first; “agric” cocoa seedling is the second). A subsidiary of Ghana COCOBOD, Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), is tasked to assist cocoa farmers to cut down and remove old cocoa trees and replant with the new cocoa seedlings. The work is tedious for the cocoa farmers; many of whom are old people. The new cocoa seedlings at maturity are relatively shorter in height, have smaller stems and are sun loving rather than shade loving. Hence, deforested areas have become qualified areas for cocoa farming. The gestation period has been further reduced from 5 to 3 years. Therefore, cocoa farming has become attractive once again in Ghana’s forest areas. One farmer intimated: regarding the new cocoa farm one can use the manual spraying machine to spray the farm, but my cocoa farm with its tall trees I still use the machine powered by motor engine, that is the only way I can send the agro-chemicals to the branches and leafs at that height. Another farmer expressed the fear that: some of the old cocoa trees are as old as 70 years, yet they keep bearing fruits. Whether this third new cocoa seedling will be able to bear fruits/pods after 20 years is my fear. The farmers are still using their knowledge of the Tetteh Quarshie and “agric” to manage the new cocoa seedlings. For instance, a farmer said: one cannot clear a piece of land, prepare it and plant only the new cocoa seedlings on the farm. First of all, we plant plantain (Musa ABB), cassava (Manihot esculenta), cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) and “cocoa farm” yam (Dioscorea), major food staples of farmers to provide shade for the young seedling and food for farmers. In about 2 years when fruiting of the new cocoa trees begins, we start to remove the food crops from the cocoa farm. Even trees are permitted in the newly started cocoa farm for the first 2 years to provide shade for the young cocoa seedlings from the scorching sun. Then, the gradual removal of the trees will begin. Hence, cocoa agroforestry as was the case with Tetteh Quarshie and “agric” cocoa trees would not be the case with the newly introduced cocoa seedlings. Farmers alluded to the fact that yield of the new cocoa breed is far superior than the two earlier breeds.1 Hence, farmers are yet to bring their cocoa management practices closer to the expectation of the Ghana COCOBOD in order to enjoy full benefits of the new cocoa seedlings. These developments are taking place under the “Cocoa Rehabilitation and Intensification Programme” (CORIP) which is funded by the Dutch government. To achieve the same end is “The Next Generation Cocoa Programme” (MASO) funded by MasterCard Foundation is collaborating with COCOBOD on cocoa farms rehabilitation and job provision for the youth aged 18-25 years. These are implemented by COCOBOD.
\n
Another issue bordering on sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa is agricultural land use conflict between cocoa farming and gold mining. The latter has taken precedence over cocoa farming due to the higher and quick returns to gold mining as land use [1].2 The threat posed to the sustainability of cocoa farming in Ghana by gold mining is real. The fear is heightened by the fact that many of the gold miners operate illegally as “galamsey,” meaning “gather them (gold) and sell.” The land tenure arrangement in the country places tenant cocoa farmers at a disadvantage. The customary land owners have greater control on land than the tenant cocoa farmers. The “galamseyers” deal directly with the land owners who do not benefit directly from the proceeds of the cocoa farm. They gave the land out to the tenant cocoa farmers sometime in the past. Ghana’s cocoa frontier has moved from Tetteh Quarshie’s cocoa farm in the Eastern Region to Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo plus Volta and Central Region to the Western Region which share boundary with La Cote D’Ivoire [23]. Irrespective of which region the farmers come from Ghana, they move along with the cocoa frontier changes. This has given rise to customary land owners and tenant cocoa farmers (local cocoa farmer investors). The protection of the investments of these farmers hold sway for the sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa industry, with particular reference to land tenure and land use conflict with gold mining.
\n
\n
\n
3.2 Cocoa people
\n
In Ghana, the top-down blueprint approach is more prominent than the bottom-up approach in decision-making. The need to reverse this trend and put the cocoa farmers first rather than Ghana COCOBOD is necessary for the sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa industry. The cocoa farmers are the fulcrum which sits the rest of the cocoa people. The multi-stakeholders of the cocoa industry include the farmers, COCOBOD staff and many private sector players (e.g., employees of the licenced cocoa-purchasing companies, transporters and logistics handling companies and assistants of private transport companies).
\n
Cocoa farmers on the average cultivate about 4 ha of land. The farms are held under various tenure arrangements such as customary land owners’ cocoa farms and tenant cocoa farms. There are shared croppers and monetary cash rental of land tenure arrangements. However, the cocoa farmer is the one who possesses passbook and has used it to sell dry cocoa bean. Cocoa farms are considered as big assets no matter the size. They are inheritable assets often passed on from parents, uncles, aunties and other relatives to their loved ones or the person next in succession. Hence, there are cocoa farmers who do not cultivate the farms they own. Some farmers also bought already cultivated and fully matured farms.
\n
The COCOBOD is made up of its chief executive officer and two deputies, one for cocoa agronomy and the other for cocoa operations. There is the board of directors appointed by the government to oversee the entire activities. The COCOBOD operates under the Ministry of Finance. It is subdivided into eight directorates, seven departments and five subsidiaries. The directorates are human resource, research, audit, finance, medical, legal, special services—security and intelligence and general services—estates, civil works and transport. The departments include public affairs, security, procurement, scholarships, information service, estate and transport. The subsidiaries work to achieve cocoa production and marketing. They include Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), Seed Production Division of COCOBOD (SPD), Cocoa Health and Extension Division, Quality Control Company and Cocoa Marketing Company.
\n
The cocoa private sector players are non-governmental firms licenced to buy cocoa and their employees. There are several non-salary workers who do various paid jobs in the cocoa farms on contract, at the marketing depots and at the harbours during shipment. These private labour providers are very important cocoa people in the production and supply chain.
\n
With regard to sustainability of cocoa in Ghana, the COCOBOD is rather the pivot that carries the other cocoa people including the farmers. So far not much has been done to bring all the cocoa people together by the COCOBOD, even in terms of representatives to discuss their various roles in the industry. There is the association for cash crop farmers such as Cocoa, Coffee and Shea Nuts Pickers Association (COCOSHE) which interacts with the COCOBOD. Hence, national cocoa farmers association is not in existence, although cocoa buying firms have established various farmers associations to increase their share of the dry cocoa beans from the farmers. The lack of national common front for cocoa farmers has an effect on farmers’ share of cocoa incentives which then becomes a function of the benevolence of the ruling government. Often, cocoa people who do office work at the COCOBOD and at the private cocoa marketing firms enjoy better living standards than the cocoa farmers who produce the beans. Gone are the days when cocoa farmers were better off than most salaried workers in Ghana. The notion of rich cocoa farmers belongs to a few farmers owning over 50 acres of mature cocoa farm. The need to improve on the standard of living of cocoa farmers is very critical to the sustainability of the cocoa industry. The issue is not about merely living above the poverty line. A much better standard of living would provide incentive for farmers to increase cocoa production through intensification and where land is still available by cultivating addition land. We have cocoa farmers who do not drink or eat chocolate. The reason is simple; income from the sale of dry cocoa beans is used for essential items on the farmers’ scale of preference. Chocolate drink or bar is a luxury which is unaffordable. A farmer retorted: do not come empty handed to interview cocoa farmers for data for your thesis or other research work. At least, you could come with a bar of chocolate to encourage us. I do not remember the last time I ate chocolate. The same may apply to branded chocolate drinks in Ghana. In a family of six, when asked how many times you feed your family in a day, the father—a cocoa farmer—said: we eat three times in a day. The main food for the day is done as supper/dinner. The reminder of that food is used for breakfast (first meal in the day) and lunch (second meal in the day). The only exception is when the supper/dinner is fufu and soup. Sometime, I ask my wife to prepare fufu and soup for the family as first meal in the day. Fruits were not a usual part of their meal. The farmer said: fruits do not do well in my cocoa farm and that avocado pear, citrus and mango disturb the cocoa trees. Sometimes, I get banana from my backyard garden.
\n
Another issue is the unequal power relationship amongst the cocoa people as often shown in the functions of the various stakeholders. The COCOBOD is tasked by the state to market cocoa beans and products, ensure quality control, evacuate/transport cocoa, undertake research and training, manage and control cocoa pests and diseases, carry out cocoa rehabilitation and maintenance projects and perform cocoa farmer extension services. The licenced private cocoa buying firms are to provide extra funds to purchase cocoa under the directives of the COCOBOD. Cocoa farmers are to produce and supply dry cocoa beans. The secondary employees (from COCOBOD, licenced private cocoa buying firms and others) supply supplementary labour. Although all the cocoa people revolve around the dry cocoa beans, COCOBOD by the nature of its functions weld considerable power than any other stakeholder. Hence, decision-making resides in the COCOBOD.
\n
\n
\n
3.3 Cocoa profit
\n
Normally, cocoa year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year. Presently, the COCOBOD has sourced US$ 1.3 billion loan from the Dutch government to purchase cocoa for 2018/2019 (TV3 News360, September 19, 2018). Whatever incentives accrue to cocoa farmers depend on the magnanimity of the COCOBOD to encourage cocoa farmers. This approach is mostly informed by the target of government revenue from cocoa which is indicated in Ghana’s budget by the Ministry of Finance. Other considerations include disparity between farmers’ incentives in Ghana and their counterparts in Cote D’Ivoire and Togo. Also, the COCOBOD is mindful that sustainability of cocoa depends on the supply of dry beans by farmers. It is guided by the history of cocoa purchases which includes the 1924 as well as 1937–1938 cocoa “hold ups” by farmers and other Africans against expatriate buyers [24]. Hence, farmer incentives are determined by these factors rather than what farmers rightly deserve.
\n
Farmers bear all the risks in cocoa price volatility as the COCOBOD can hedge cocoa at the stock exchange and reduce the risk. COCOBOD uses forward contract and by so doing transfer price and exchange rate risks from cocoa buyers to farmers [19, 21]. Again, the COCOBOD has not succeeded in stabilising farm-gate price. In addition to the motive of the country’s cocoa revenue, cocoa farmers do not receive decent incentives [19]. Table 2 shows cocoa farm-gate price in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire. Once the farm-gate price in Ghana is higher than that of Cote D’Ivoire, then, incentives to farmers become less a concern. The net income per farm in Ghana is lower than that of Cote D’Ivoire due to lower yield in Ghana. Hence, the attention of the COCOBOD is placed on yield/production increases rather than farmers’ incentives. In such a situation, a farmer wishing to increase his/her incentive should think of increasing crop yield/production as price increase is no go area for farmers.
Cocoa farm-gate price in Ghana and La Cote D’Ivoire.
\n
Figure 2 shows annual cocoa purchases in Ghana since 1959/1960 cocoa crop year. The trend line displays increases in purchases. The implication is that cocoa production is increasing as well as the availability of dry cocoa beans for purchase in Ghana. Furthermore, it implies that illegal cocoa trade from Ghana to its neighbours of La Cote D’Ivoire and Togo is reducing.
\n
Figure 2.
Cocoa purchases in Ghana (1959/1960–2016/2017). Source: [25].
\n
Table 3 presents information in a passbook of a farmer with his express permission. The data on inflation is to help in analysing the changes in the farmers’ income, the lowest inflation (0.04% in May 1999) and the all-time highest (63% March 2001). It is clear that at the beginning of cocoa production, farmers’ income comes in trickles (December 11, 2011 = GHS19.37, December 30, 2011 = GHS16.14, February 13, 2012 = GHS6.46 and September 24, 2012 = 64.55). The income is spent as it comes. Often, the dry cocoa beans are sold to cater for immediate family expenditure. The farmer intimated that no amount of income is left to be plucked back to improve the cocoa farm. Also, it is evident that price changes did not happen often. For instance, in 2011/2012 cocoa year, 5 kg brought to the farmer GHS16.14, but in 2012/2013, it increased to GHS16.69, about 3% increase in income. As to how come the same 5 kg in 2013/2014 was rewarded with GHS10.62 is difficult to understand.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
Crop year
\n
Date
\n
Cocoa beans output (kg)
\n
Value (GHS)
\n
Ghana inflation rate (%)
\n
\n\n\n
\n
2011/2012
\n
11 December 2011
\n
6
\n
19.37
\n
8.6 (December 2011)
\n
\n
\n
30 December 2011
\n
5
\n
16.14
\n
8.6 (December 2011)
\n
\n
\n
13 February 2012
\n
2
\n
6.46
\n
8.6 (February 2012)
\n
\n
\n
24 September 2012
\n
20
\n
64.55
\n
9.4 (September 2012)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
33
\n
106.52
\n
\n
\n
\n
2012/2013
\n
12 November 2012
\n
20
\n
66.79
\n
9.3 (November 2012)
\n
\n
\n
03 December 2012
\n
6
\n
20.03
\n
8.8 (December 2012)
\n
\n
\n
07 February 2013
\n
3
\n
10.01
\n
10.4 (February 2013)
\n
\n
\n
09 May 2013
\n
11
\n
36.72
\n
11.0 (May 2013)
\n
\n
\n
29 June 2013
\n
5
\n
16.69
\n
11.6 (June 2013)
\n
\n
\n
20 September 2013
\n
35
\n
116.82
\n
11.9 (September 2013)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
80
\n
267.06
\n
\n
\n
\n
2013/2014
\n
17 November 2013
\n
43
\n
143.52
\n
13.2 (November 2013)
\n
\n
\n
25 December 2013
\n
15
\n
50.17
\n
13.5 (December 2013)
\n
\n
\n
01 May 2014
\n
5
\n
16.69
\n
14.8 (May 2014)
\n
\n
\n
27 July 2014
\n
10
\n
33.73
\n
15.3 (July 2014)
\n
\n
\n
21 August 2014
\n
5
\n
10.62
\n
15.9 (August 2014)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
78
\n
254.73
\n
\n
\n
\n
2014/2015
\n
28 October 2014
\n
37
\n
207.20
\n
16.9 (October 2014)
\n
\n
\n
22 December 2014
\n
13
\n
72.80
\n
17.0 (December 2014)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
50
\n
280.00
\n
\n
\n
\n
2015/2016
\n
23 October 2015
\n
19
\n
265.20
\n
17.4 (October 2015)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
19
\n
265.20
\n
\n
\n
\n
2016/2017
\n
21 October 2016
\n
37
\n
281.20
\n
15.8 (October 2016)
\n
\n
\n
04 November 2016
\n
6
\n
45.60
\n
15.5 (November 2016)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
42
\n
326.80
\n
\n
\n
\n
2017/2018
\n
15 September 2017
\n
28
\n
212.80
\n
12.2 (September 2017)
\n
\n
\n
08 December 2017
\n
25
\n
190.00
\n
11.8 (December 2017)
\n
\n
\n
28 December 2017
\n
20
\n
144.00
\n
11.8 (December 2017)
\n
\n
\n
19 January 2018
\n
5
\n
38.40
\n
09.9 (August 2018)
\n
\n
\n
Subtotal
\n
\n
78
\n
575.20
\n
\n
\n
\n
Source: Author’s field work (2018). Source of inflation data: GSS (www.statsghana.gov.gh>CPI) 25 September 2018.
\n
\n\n
Table 3.
Details of a smallholder farmer passbook.
\n
With regard to COCOBOD scholarship available for secondary school education, the farmer said: I got cocoa scholarship for my son during his 3 years in the senior secondary school. He has completed the school but I could not afford the fees at the university. He has moved to Accra to look for work.
\n
Another concern on cocoa profit is the issue of illegal cocoa trade. It includes traders who purchase cocoa illegally from farmers and transport them to Cote D’Ivoire or Togo. Presently, illegal cocoa trade is discouraged by the higher Ghanaian price than that of the two neighbouring countries. The only problem is that sometimes the purchased cocoa in Ghana does not come with immediate cash returns (farmers are not paid promptly, after weighing the beans). It takes between 2 and 3 weeks before the farmers are reimbursed with their monies. In such situations, farmers who are in dire need of money release their cocoa beans at the lower price to the illegal cocoa buyers because of prompt payment.
\n
\n
\n
\n
4. Discussion
\n
The discussion is organised along conservation of cocoa, deep ecology of cocoa, political economy of cocoa and sustainability of cocoa as summarised in the equations, respectively.
\n
\n
4.1 Cocoa conservation
\n
The conservation of cocoa is the primary concern of both the farmer and the COCOBOD. Whereas the farmers are conserving all the three tree types of cocoa (Tetteh Quarshie, “agric” and the new type), the COCOBOD wants the farmers to switch to the newly introduced type. There are farmers who still prefer Tetteh Quarshie due to its resistance to pest and disease as well as to the changing environmental conditions. Some of the 1920 cocoa farms are still available in Ghana; no wonder, yield per hectare is low. Conservative cocoa farmers slowly adopt new cocoa seedlings. A farmer said: Tetteh Quarshie paid my school fees. My father died and left the cocoa farm to me. I am using it to pay my children’s school fees. I do not see the need to cut the trees down and replace with “Agric.” In the same cocoa farm, one can find a mixture of Tetteh Quarshie and “agric.” However, there are many farms which contain only the “agric.”
\n
\n
\n
4.2 Deep ecology of cocoa
\n
The cocoa farmers are more attached to their cocoa trees. Every single cocoa tree is very important to the farmer. Hence, the right to live as enjoyed by the cocoa trees will continue due to their significance to the farmers. To bring grid electricity to Asummura, the cocoa trees along the Aboum, Asummura road, were cut down to make path for the grid lines. One of the affected farmers said: We need electricity so some cocoa tree have to be destroyed. We cannot say we do not want the electricity. So I agreed to the cutting down of some trees. The grief of this farmer could be seen on his face and be heard in his voice. Farmers are willing to protect their cocoa trees, and they enjoy the support of the COCOBOD. The problem is the land use conflict with gold mining. The problem becomes aggravated when the cocoa farmer is a tenant, and the land is owned by another customary group of people.
\n
\n
\n
4.3 Political economy of cocoa
\n
The government of Ghana inherited the cocoa industry from the British colonial regime. The paternalistic attitude of owning the industry and farmers as children of the government continues at the detriment of the farmers. Government revenue is the primary factor in the cocoa industry. Cocoa farmers’ incentive is of secondary concern. As farmers receive a lot more incentives from their cocoa farm, the more they will protect the trees in order to continue to enjoy such incentives. Hence, the politics, the economics and the social concerns of cocoa farmers are interlinked in the cocoa industry. Increase in cocoa farmer incentives means reduction in government revenue and vice versa.
\n
\n
\n
4.4 Sustainability of cocoa
\n
The importance of cocoa plant either as Tetteh Quarshie, “agric” or the new cocoa seedlings will continue to be conserved by cocoa farmers. The survival of cocoa trees now and in the near future is in the hands of cocoa farmers who attached so much significance to their farms no matter how small the size. The government of Ghana and its COCOBOD’s interest in the cocoa industry will continue now and into the future. Improvement in the cocoa industry is therefore assured by the COCOBOD. Unless there is a catastrophe, extinction of cocoa does not appear to be imminent, at least, in Ghana’s case.
\n
\n
\n
\n
5. Conclusion and recommendations
\n
The study concludes that the sustainability of the cocoa industry depends on the three major aspects of the industry: cocoa plant, people and profit. Equity in the distribution of the profit will encourage all the people involved, particularly, the primary producers—cocoa farmers. The farmers will continue to attach great importance to their farms and sustain them. The plants will enjoy better management from the farmers with the support of the COCOBOD.
\n
It is recommended that as the cocoa farmers increase, COCOBOD should categorise them into new and old farmers. Then, targeted incentives should flow from the COCOBOD to these farmers based on their needs. The new farmers have trickle income, whilst the old farmers have stabilised a more reliable income. COCOBOD should go beyond the prices of cocoa and see to the raising of cocoa farmers’ living standards. Cocoa farmers should be made to enjoy some cocoa products like chocolate bars and chocolate drinks.
\n
Regarding scholarships, the COCOBOD should step up the scheme to the university level in the face of the recent government policy of free education for senior secondary school.
\n
It is strongly suggested to the government and its COCOBOD to adopt the ethical economy approach to ensure cocoa sustainability in Ghana. In this case, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not a moral obligation to cocoa farmers, their communities and other cocoa workers or compliance to international standard; rather, CSR becomes an economic pursuit with an economic value and return to all the multi-stakeholders including the government and the country.
\n
\n
Acknowledgments
\n
I am most grateful to all the cocoa farmers involved in this study, particularly, the farmer whose passbook information was used as part of the results.
\n
Conflict of interest
I declare that there is no conflict of interest.
\n',keywords:"cocoa plant, people, profit, sustainability, Ghana",chapterPDFUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/67474.pdf",chapterXML:"https://mts.intechopen.com/source/xml/67474.xml",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/67474",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/67474",totalDownloads:1653,totalViews:0,totalCrossrefCites:4,totalDimensionsCites:6,totalAltmetricsMentions:49,introChapter:null,impactScore:2,impactScorePercentile:82,impactScoreQuartile:4,hasAltmetrics:1,dateSubmitted:"August 1st 2018",dateReviewed:"October 12th 2018",datePrePublished:"June 3rd 2019",datePublished:"November 6th 2019",dateFinished:"June 3rd 2019",readingETA:"0",abstract:"Cocoa production assumed commercial dimension by the beginning of the nineteenth century in Ghana. Soon after that the country became the world’s leading producer of cocoa. Since then the ecological system of the cocoa plant, people involved in its management and their profit motives have been interwoven. The cocoa plant ecosystem in Ghana has been performing well under variable soil and climatic conditions. In addition, the different cocoa actors have unequal powers which affect sharing of the incentives from the sale of cocoa beans. Hence, sustainability of the cocoa industry in Ghana depends on ethical unity amongst the multi-stakeholders. By using the conceptual 3Ps approach to analysis of sustainability (environment, sociocultural and economic), benefits accruing and problems will become evident to elicit appropriate remedy.",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",bibtexUrl:"/chapter/bibtex/67474",risUrl:"/chapter/ris/67474",book:{id:"7005",slug:"theobroma-cacao-deploying-science-for-sustainability-of-global-cocoa-economy"},signatures:"Kenneth Peprah",authors:null,sections:[{id:"sec_1",title:"1. Introduction",level:"1"},{id:"sec_2",title:"2. Methodology",level:"1"},{id:"sec_3",title:"3. Results",level:"1"},{id:"sec_3_2",title:"3.1 Cocoa plant",level:"2"},{id:"sec_4_2",title:"3.2 Cocoa people",level:"2"},{id:"sec_5_2",title:"3.3 Cocoa profit",level:"2"},{id:"sec_7",title:"4. Discussion",level:"1"},{id:"sec_7_2",title:"4.1 Cocoa conservation",level:"2"},{id:"sec_8_2",title:"4.2 Deep ecology of cocoa",level:"2"},{id:"sec_9_2",title:"4.3 Political economy of cocoa",level:"2"},{id:"sec_10_2",title:"4.4 Sustainability of cocoa",level:"2"},{id:"sec_12",title:"5. Conclusion and recommendations",level:"1"},{id:"sec_13",title:"Acknowledgments",level:"1"},{id:"sec_16",title:"Conflict of interest",level:"1"}],chapterReferences:[{id:"B1",body:'Peprah K. Sustainability of cocoa farmers’ livelihoods: A case study of Asunafo District, Ghana. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2015;4:2-15\n'},{id:"B2",body:'ICCO. Challenges and opportunities of the global cocoa and chocolate sector and position of the Russian market. In: Organization IC. Laurent Pipitone, Moscow: International Cocoa Organization; 2015. pp. 1-27\n'},{id:"B3",body:'Thube HS, Saneera EK, Prathibha PS. Pests of cocoa and their management. The Cashew and Cocoa Journal. 2016;4:34-38\n'},{id:"B4",body:'Philip-Mora W, Wilkinson MJ. Frosty Pod of Cacao: A Disease with a Limited Geographic Range but Unilimited Potential for Damage. Symposium; e-Xtra. Vol. 972007. pp. 1644-1647\n'},{id:"B5",body:'Evans CH. Cacao Diseases—The Trilogy Revisited. Symposium; e-Xtra. Vol. 972007. pp. 1640-1643\n'},{id:"B6",body:'Ploetz RC. Cacao Diseases: Important Threats to Chocolate Production Worldwide. Symposium; e-Xtra. Vol. 972007. pp. 1634-1639\n'},{id:"B7",body:'Gateau-Rey L, Tanner EVJ, Rapidel B, Marelli J-P, Royaert S. Climate change could threaten cocoa production: Effects of 2015-16 El Nino-related drought on cocoa agroforests in Bahia, Brazil. PLoS One. 2018;13:1-17\n'},{id:"B8",body:'Wickramasuriya AM, Dunwell JM. Cocoa biotechnology: Current status and future prospects. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 2017;16:4-17\n'},{id:"B9",body:'Gockowski J, Afari-Sefa V, Sarpong DB, Osei-Asare YB, Dziwornu AK. Increasing income of Ghana cocoa farmers: Is introduction of fine flavour cocoa a viable alternative. Quaterly Journal of International Agriculture. 2011;50:175-200\n'},{id:"B10",body:'Afrane G, Ntiamoah A. Use of pesticides in the cocoa industry and their impact on the environment and the food chain. In: Stoytcheva M, editor. Pesticides in the Modern World—Risks and Benefits. Shanghai: In Tech; 2011\n'},{id:"B11",body:'Codjoe FNY, Ocansey CK, Boateng DO, Ofori J. Climate change awareness and coping strategies of cocoa farmers in rural Ghana. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare. 2013;3:19-29\n'},{id:"B12",body:'Kolavalli S, Vigneri M. Cocoa in Ghana: Shaping the success of an economy. In: Chuhan-Pole P, Angwafo M, editors. Yes, Africa Can: Success Stories from a Dynamic Continent. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2011. pp. 201-217\n'},{id:"B13",body:'Aithnard P-H. Ghana: Cocoa sector is facing new challenges. In: Middle Africa Briefing Note: Soft Commodities: Cocoa. Paris: Ecobank; 2014. pp. 1-8\n'},{id:"B14",body:'Vigneri M. Drivers of Change in Ghana’s Cocoa Sector. Ghana Strategy Support Programme Background Paper 13; IFPRI2008. pp. 1-36\n'},{id:"B15",body:'Kolavalli S, Vigneri M, Maamah H, Poku J. The partially liberalized cocoa sector in ghana: Producer price determination, quality control, and service provision. In: IFPRI Discussion Paper 01213. Washington, DC: IFPRI; 2012. pp. 1-52\n'},{id:"B16",body:'Elkington J. Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. Oxford: Capstone Publishing Ltd; 1997\n'},{id:"B17",body:'Campbell MO. Traditional forest protection and woodlots in the coastal Savannah of Ghana. Environmental Conservation. 2004;31:225-232\n'},{id:"B18",body:'Arvidsson A. Is an Ethical Economy Possible New Forms of Value in the Information Society? Organization. 2010. p. 17. Available from: https://air.unimi.it>retrieve>handle [Accessed: 13 September 2008]\n'},{id:"B19",body:'World Bank. Ghana: Agricultural sector policy. In: Agricultural Global Practice AFRO01, Africa. Washington, DC: The World Bank; 2017. pp. 1-63\n'},{id:"B20",body:'ICCO. Summary of revised forecasts and estimates. In: Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics; August 2018. Abidjan: International Cocoa Organization; 2018\n'},{id:"B21",body:'Fountain A, Huetz-Adams F. Cocoa Barometer 2018. Berlin: Civil Society Organisations; 2018. Available from: www.cocoabarometer.org [Accessed: 21 September 2018]\n'},{id:"B22",body:'Leiter J, Harding S. Trinidad, Brazil and Ghana three melting moments in the history of cocoa. Journal of Rural Studies. 2004;20:113-130\n'},{id:"B23",body:'Knudsen MH, Agergaard J. Ghana’s cocoa frontier in transition: The role of migration and livelihood diversification. Geografiska Annaler; 2015;97:325-42. DOI: 10.1111/geob.12084. Accessed: 12018/12009/12018\n'},{id:"B24",body:'Alence R. The 1937–1938 gold coast cocoa crisis: The political economy of commercial stalemate. African Economic History. 1990;19:77-104\n'},{id:"B25",body:'COCOBOD. Regional Cocoa Purchases. Accra: Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD); 2018\n'}],footnotes:[{id:"fn1",explanation:"A farmer claimed that: even though the seedlings are the same for the smallholder farmers and the agricultural demonstration farms, the Ghana COCOBOD cocoa demonstration farms produce more fruits/pods than the farms of the smallholder cocoa farmers."},{id:"fn2",explanation:"A cocoa farmer has this to say: the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana COCOBOD came to Asummura and I asked him that, CEO, if the chair of Ghana Chamber of Mines comes to your office to tell, Isaac, I have found gold under your office (referring to the Ghana Cocoa House in Accra), take away all your files, furniture and computers and let me pull down the Ghana Cocoa House and mine the gold under it; and, you the CEO of Ghana COCOBOD will fold your two arms on your chest and look into her eyes and say to her, Joyce, you know I am a gentleman, please go ahead with your request. I asked, is that how you will behave?"}],contributors:[{corresp:"yes",contributorFullName:"Kenneth Peprah",address:"kpeprah@uds.edu.gh",affiliation:'
University for Development Studies, Ghana
'}],corrections:null},book:{id:"7005",type:"book",title:"Theobroma Cacao",subtitle:"Deploying Science for Sustainability of Global Cocoa Economy",fullTitle:"Theobroma Cacao - Deploying Science for Sustainability of Global Cocoa Economy",slug:"theobroma-cacao-deploying-science-for-sustainability-of-global-cocoa-economy",publishedDate:"November 6th 2019",bookSignature:"Peter Osobase Aikpokpodion",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7005.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",isbn:"978-1-83962-733-0",printIsbn:"978-1-83962-732-3",pdfIsbn:"978-1-83962-734-7",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",numberOfWosCitations:9,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,editors:[{id:"94033",title:"Prof.",name:"Peter",middleName:"Osobase",surname:"Aikpokpodion",slug:"peter-aikpokpodion",fullName:"Peter Aikpokpodion"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"141"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"},chapters:[{id:"67634",type:"chapter",title:"Cacao Growth and Development Under Different Nursery and Field Conditions",slug:"cacao-growth-and-development-under-different-nursery-and-field-conditions",totalDownloads:1304,totalCrossrefCites:2,signatures:"Idowu Babadele Famuwagun and Samuel Ohi Agele",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",authors:[null]},{id:"65595",type:"chapter",title:"Current and Potential Use of Timber and Non-timber Resources of the Cacao Agroforestry Systems",slug:"current-and-potential-use-of-timber-and-non-timber-resources-of-the-cacao-agroforestry-systems",totalDownloads:665,totalCrossrefCites:0,signatures:"Pérez-Flores Julian, Facundo Sánchez Gutiérrez, Bautista-Mora Evarista, José Jesús Obrador-Olán, Ruiz-Rosado Octavio and Valdéz-Balero Apolonio",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",authors:[null]},{id:"65131",type:"chapter",title:"Diversity of Cacao Pathogens and Impact on Yield and Global Production",slug:"diversity-of-cacao-pathogens-and-impact-on-yield-and-global-production",totalDownloads:1776,totalCrossrefCites:4,signatures:"Dele Adeniyi",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",authors:[null]},{id:"69505",type:"chapter",title:"Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: A Potent Nutraceutical in Perspective",slug:"unsweetened-natural-cocoa-powder-a-potent-nutraceutical-in-perspective",totalDownloads:913,totalCrossrefCites:1,signatures:"Lovia Allotey-Babington, Awo Afi Kwapong, Kwame Benoit N’guessan Banga, Seth K. Amponsah and Isaac J. Asiedu-Gyekye",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",authors:[null]},{id:"68088",type:"chapter",title:"Exploration of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) By-Products as Valuable Potential Resources in Livestock Feeds and Feeding Systems",slug:"exploration-of-cocoa-em-theobroma-cacao-em-by-products-as-valuable-potential-resources-in-livestock-",totalDownloads:1404,totalCrossrefCites:2,signatures:"Olayinka John Makinde, Sunday A. Okunade, Emmanuel Opoola, Akeem Babatunde Sikiru, Solomon O. Ajide and Sunday Elaigwu",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",authors:[null]},{id:"66163",type:"chapter",title:"Cacao Genetic Resources Conservation and Utilization for Sustainable Production in Nigeria",slug:"cacao-genetic-resources-conservation-and-utilization-for-sustainable-production-in-nigeria",totalDownloads:971,totalCrossrefCites:0,signatures:"Festus Olakunle Olasupo and Peter O. 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1. Introduction
Chronic myeloproliferative disorders are a group of clonal diseases of the stem cell. It is a group of several diseases with some common features. They derive from a multipotential hematopoietic stem cell. A clone of neoplastic cells in all these neoplams is characterized by a lower proliferative activity than that of acute myeloproliferative diseases. In each of these diseases, leukocytosis, thrombocythemia, and polyglobulia may appear at some stage, depending on the diagnosis [1, 2].
The research on interferon has been going on since the 1950s [3]. Then, the attention was paid to its influence on the immune system. It has been noted that it can exert an antiproliferative effect by stimulating cells of the immune system [4]. In 1987, a publication by Ludwig et al. was published, which reported the effectiveness of interferon alpha in the treatment of chronic myeloproliferative disorders [5].
More and more new studies have been showing the effectiveness of interferon alpha in reducing the number of platelets, reducing the need for phlebotomies in patients with polycythemia vera and also in reducing the number of leukocytes. Moreover, interferon reduced the symptoms of myeloproliferative disorders such as redness and itching of the skin. Additionally, it turned out to be effective in reducing the size of the spleen.
Further studies on the assessment of remission using molecular-level response assessments indicate that the interferon action in chronic myeloproliferation diseases targets cells from the mutant clone with no effect on normal bone marrow cells [6].
Over the years, interferon alpha-2a and interferon alpha-2b have been introduced into the treatment of chronic myeloproliferation, followed by their pegylated forms. The introduction of pegylated forms allowed for a reduction in the number of side effects and less frequent administration of the drug to patients. In recent years, monopegylated interferon alpha-2b has been used to further increase the interval between drug administrations while maintaining its antiproliferative efficacy.
The exact mechanism of action of interferon alpha in the treatment of chronic myeloproliferative disease is still not fully understood, but it has an impact on JAK2 (Janus Kinase) signal transducers and activates the STAT signal pathway (Janus Kinase/SignalTransducer and Activator of Transcription).
Interferon alpha binds to IFNAR1 and IFNAR2c, which are type I interferon receptors. Interferon alpha has an impact on JAK2(Janus Kinase) signal transducers and activates the STAT signal pathway. The disturbances in this signaling pathway are observed in chronic myeloproliferative disorders [7].
Interferon inhibits the JAK-STAT signaling pathway by directly inhibiting the action of thrombopoietin in this pathway [8].
So far, three driver mutations have been described in the course of chronic myeloproliferative diseases that affect the functioning of the JAK-STAT pathway.
JAK2 kinase and JAK1, JAK3, and TYK2 kinases belong to the family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases. They are involved in the intracellular signal transduction of the JAK-STAT pathway. It is a system of intracellular proteins used by growth factors and cytokines to express genes that regulate cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation. The mechanism of JAK activation is based on the autophosphorylation of tyrosine residues that occurs after ligand binds to the receptor. JAK2 kinase transmits signals from the hematopoietic cytokine receptors of the myeloid lineage (erythropoietin, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor thrombopoietin, and lymphoid lineage [9].
A somatic G/T point mutation in exon 14 of the JAK2 kinase gene converts valine to phenylalanine at position 617 (V617F) in the JAK2 pseudokinase domain, which allows constitutive, ligand-independent activation of the receptor to trigger a proliferative signal [10].
Mutation of the MPL gene, which encodes the receptor for thrombopoietin, increases the sensitivity of magekaryocytes to the action of thrombopoietin, which stimulates their proliferation [11].
Malfunction of calreticulin as a result of mutation of the CARL gene leads to the activation of the MPL-JAK/STAT signaling pathway, which is independent of the ligand, as calreticulin is responsible, for the proper formation of the MPL receptor. Consequently, there is a clonal proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells [12].
Below, we provide an overview of some clinical studies on the efficacy of interferon in chronic myeloproliferative disorders.
2. Chronic myeloproliferative disorders
2.1 Polycythemia vera
Polycythemia vera (PV) is characterized by an increase in the number of erythrocytes in the peripheral blood.
Polycythemia vera is caused by a clonal mutation in the multipotential hematopoietic stem cell of the bone marrow. The mutation leads to an uncontrolled proliferation of the mutated cell clone, independent of erythropoietin and other regulatory factors. As the mutation takes place at an early stage of hematopoiesis, an increase of the number of erythrocytes as well as of leukocytes and platelets is observed in the peripheral blood. The cause of proliferation in PV independent from external factors is a mutation in the Janus 2 (JAK2) tyrosine kinase gene. The V617F point mutation in the JAK2 gene is responsible for about 96% mutation, and in the remaining cases the mutation arises in exon 12. Both mutations lead to constitutive activation of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway [13].
As a result of the uncontrolled proliferation, blood viscosity increases, which generates symptoms such as headaches and dizziness, visual disturbances, or erythromelalgia. As the number of all hematopoietic cells, including the granulocytes ones, increases, the difficult to control symptoms of their hyperdegranulation may appear, among which gastric ulcer or skin itching is often observed. During the disease progression, the spleen and liver become enlarged.
The most common complication of the disease is episodes of thrombosis, especially arterial one. During the course of the disease, it can also evolve into myelofibrosis or acute myeloid leukemia.
The treatment of PV is aimed at preventing thromboembolic complications, relieving the general symptoms, the appearance of hepatosplenomegaly as well as preventing its progression.
Each patient should receive an antiplatelet drug chronically, and usually acetylsalicylic acid is the choice. Most often, the treatment is started with phlebotomy in order to rapidly lower the hematocrit level. If cytoreductive therapy is necessary, the drugs of first choice are hydroxycarbamide and interferon [2].
However, the research on the mechanism of the action of interferons is still ongoing. In vitro studies with CD34+ cells from peripheral blood of patients diagnosed with polycythemia vera showed that interferon inhibits clonal changed cells selectively. It was found that interferon alpha-2b and pegylated interferon alpha-2a reduce the percentage of cells with JAK2 V617F mutation by about 40%. Pegylated interferon alpha-2a works by activating mitogen-activated protein kinase P38. It affects CD34+ cells of patients with polycythemia vera by increasing the rate of their apoptosis [6].
A case of a patient with PV with a confirmed chromosomal translocation t(6;8) treated with interferon alpha-2b, which resulted in a reduction of the clone with translocation by 50% from the baseline value, was also described [14].
In 2019, the results of a phase II multicenter study were published, which aimed at assessing the effectiveness of recombinant pegylated interferon alpha-2a in cases of refractory to previously hydroxycarbamide therapy. The study included 65 patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and 50 patients with polycythemia vera. All patients had previously been treated with hydroxycarbamide and showed resistance to this drug or its intolerance.
The assessment of the response was performed after 12 months of treatment. Overall response rate to interferon was higher in patients diagnosed with ET than in patients with polycythemia vera. In essential thrombocythemia, the percentage of achieved complete remissions was 43 and 26% of partial remissions. The remission rate in ET patients was higher if calreticulin CALR gene mutation was present. Patients with polycythemia vera achieved complete remission in 22% of cases and partial remission in 38% of cases.
Treatment-related side effects that follow to discontinuation of treatment were reported in almost 14% of patients [15].
The duration of response to treatment with pegylated interferon alpha-2a and the assessment of its safety in long-term use in patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorders was the goal of a phase II of the single-center study. Forty-three adult patients with polycythemia vera and 40 patients with essential thrombocythemia were enrolled in the study. The complete hematological response was defined as a decrease in hemoglobin concentration below 15.0 g/l, without phlebotomies, a resolution of splenomegaly, and no thrombotic episodes in the case of PV, and for essential thrombocythemia—a decrease platelet count below 440,000/μl and two other conditions as above. The assessment of the hematological response was performed every 3–6 months. The median follow-up was 83 months.
The hematological response was obtained in 80% of cases for the entire group. In patients with polycythemia vera, 77% of patients achieved a complete response (CR) while 7% a partial response (PR). The duration of response averaged 65 months for CR and 35 months for PR. In the group of patients diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia, CR was achieved in 73% and PR in 3%. The durance of CR was 58 months and PR was 25 months.
The molecular response for the entire group was achieved in 63% of cases.
The overall analysis showed that the duration of hematological remission and its achievement with pegylated interferon alpha-2a treatment is not affected neither by baseline disease characteristics nor JAK2 allele burden and disease molecular status. There was also no effect on age, sex, or the presence of splenomegaly.
During the course of the study, 22% of patients discontinued the treatment, because of toxicity. Toxicity was the greatest at the beginning of treatment. The starting dose was 450 μg per week and was gradually tapered off.
Thus, on the basis of the above observations, the researchers established that pegylated interferon alpha-2a may give long-term hematological and molecular remissions [16].
The assessment of pegylated interferon alpha-2a in group of patients diagnosed with polycythemia vera only was performed. The evaluation was carried out on a group of 27 patients. Interferon decreased the JAK2 V617F allele burden in 89% of cases. In three patients who were JAK2 homozygous at baseline, after the interferon alpha-2a treatment wild-type of JAK2 reappeared. The reduction of the JAK2 allele burden was estimated from 49% to an average 27%, and additional in one patient the mutant JAK2 allele was not detectable after treatment. It can therefore be postulated that the action of pegylated interferon alpha-2a is directed to cells of the polycythemia vera clone [17].
In 2005, the results of treatment by pegylated interferon alpha-2b of 21 patients diagnosed with polycythemia vera and 21 patients diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia were published. In the case of polycythemia vera in 14 patients, PRV-1 gene mutation was initially detected. In 36% of cases, PRV-1 expression normalized after treatment with pegylated interferon alpha-2b. For the entire group of 42 patients, the remission assessment showed that complete remission was achieved in 69% cases after 6 months of treatment. However, only in 19 patients remission was still maintained 2 years after the start of the study. Pegylated interferon alpha-2b was equally effective in patients with PV and ET. The use and the type of prior therapy did not affect the achievement of remission [18].
Another study with enrolled only PV patients included 136 patients. They were divided into two arms. One group received interferon alpha-2b and the other group received hydroxycarbamide. Interferon dosage was administered in 3 million units three times a week for 2 years and then 5 million units two times a week. Hydroxycarbamide was administered at a dose between 15 and 20 mg/kg/day.
In the group of patients treated with interferon, a significantly lower percentage of patients developed erythromelalgia (9.4%) and distal parasthesia (14%) compared with the group treated with hydroxycarbamide, for whom these percentages were respectively: 29 and 37.5%. Interferon alpha-2b was found to be more effective in inducing a molecular response, which was achieved in 54.7% of cases, in comparison with hydroxycarbamide—19.4% of cases, despite the fact that the percentage of achieved general hematological responses did not differ between the groups and amounted about 70%. The 5-year progression free period in the interferon group was achieved in a higher percentage (66%) than in the hydroxycarbamide group (46.7%) [19].
The most recent form of interferon approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of patients is ropeginterferon. It is human recombinant interferon alpha-2b. Ropeginterferon is a monopegylated form of interferon alpha-2b. Ropeginterferon is conjugated with a two-arm methoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG).
Thanks to these changes to the structure of the molecule, it was possible to achieve a significant increase in its half-life. Ropeginterferon can be administered subcutaneously to patients every 14 days. The clinical trials conducted so far have assessed the ropeginterferon dose from 50 micrograms to a maximum dose of 500 microgams administered as standard every 2 weeks. The possible dose change in case of side effects includes not only the reduction of the drug dose itself, but also the extension of the interval between doses. The extension of the dosing interval up to 4 weeks was assessed.
Ropeginterforn was approved in 2019 by the EMA for the use in patients diagnosed with polycythemia vera without splenomegaly, as monotherapy.
Ropeginterferon, like the previous forms of interferons used in treatment, is contraindicated in patients with severe mental disorders, such as severe depression. It is also a contraindication in patients with noncompensatory standard treatment of disorders of the thyroid gland as well as severe forms of autoimmune diseases. The safety profile of ropeginterferon is similar to that of other forms of alpha interferons. The most common side effects are flu-like symptoms [20].
Ropeginterferon has been shown to exhibit in vitro activity against JAK2-mutant cells. The activity of ropeginterferon against JAK2-positive cells is similar to that of other forms of interferons used actually for standard therapy. Ropeginterferon has an inhibitory effect on erythroid progenitor cells with a mutant JAK2 gene. At the same time, it has almost no effect on progenitor cells without the mutated allele (JAK2-wile-type) and normal CD34+ cells. A gradual decrease of JAK2-positive cells was observed in patients with PV during ropeginterferon treatment. The examination was performed after 6 and 12 months of treatment. In comparison, the reduction in the percentage of JAK2 positive cells in patients treated with hydroxycarbamide was significantly lower.
These results may suggest that ropeginterferon may cause elimination of the mutant clone, but further prospective clinical trials are needed to confirm this theory. The evaluation was performed on a group of patients enrolled in the PROUD-PV study who were treated in France [21].
In 2017, a multicenter study was opened in Italy. The study was of the second phase. In total, 127 patients with polycythemia vera were included in the study. All patients enrolled on the study had low-risk PV. The clinical trial consisted of two arms. Patients received phlebotomies and low-dose aspirin in one arm and ropeginterferon in the other arm. The aim of the study was to achieve a hematocrit of 45% or lower without any evidence of disease progression. Ropeginterferon was administered every 2 weeks at a constant dose of 100 μg.
The response to the treatment was assessed after 12 months. The reduction of hematocrit to the assumed level was achieved in significantly higher percentage of patients in the ropeginterferon group than of patients who received only phlebotomies and aspirin. In addition, none of the patients treated with ropeginterferon experienced disease progression during the course of the study, while among those treated with phlebotomies, 8% of patients progressed.
Grade 4 or 5 adverse events were not observed in patients treated with ropeginterferon, and the incidence of remaining adverse event (AE) was small and comparable in both arms. The most common side effects in the ropeginterferon group were flu-like symptoms and neutropenia; however, the third-grade neutropenia was the most common (8% of cases) [22].
One of the most important clinical studies on the use of ropeginterferon was the PROUD-PV study and its continuation: the CONTINUATION-PV study. These were three-phase, multicenter studies. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of ropeginterferon in relation to hydroxycarbamide. The study included adult patients diagnosed with polycythemia vera treated with hydroxycarbamide for less than 3 years and no cytoreductive treatment at all. In total, 257 patients received this treatment. The patients were divided into two groups: those receiving ropeginterferon or the other being given hydroxycarbamide.
During the PROUD-study, drug doses were increased until the hematocrit was achieved below 45% without the use of phlebotomies, and the normalization of the number of leukocytes and platelets was reached.
The PROUD-PV study lasted 12 months. After this time, the patients continued the treatment under the CONTINUATION-PV study for further 36 months. After the final analysis performed in the 12th month at the end of PROUD study, it was found that the hematological response rates did not differ between the ropeginterferon and hydroxycarbamide treatment groups. These were consecutively 43% in the ropeginterferon arm and 46% in the control arm.
However, after analyzing the CONTINUATION- PV study, it turned out that after 36 months of treatment, the rates of hematological responses begin to prevail in the group of patients receiving ropeginterferon, 53% versus 38% in the control group. Thus, from the above data, it can be seen that the response rate to ropeginterferon increases with the duration of treatment [23].
Another analysis of patients participating in the PROUD and CONTINUATION studies was based on the assessment of treatment results after 24 months, dividing patients into two groups according to age (under and over 60 years).
The initial comparison of both groups of patients showed that older patients had a more aggressive course of the disease. Patients over 60 years of age had a higher percentage of cells with a mutant JAK2 allele. They experienced both general symptoms and some complications, such as thrombosis, more frequently. Both patients under 60 years of age and over 60 years of age in the ropeginterferon arm had a higher rate of molecular response, namely 77.1 and 58.7% compared with the HU remission: 33.3 and 36.1%, respectively. Significantly higher reductions in the JAK2 allele were observed in both groups of patients after ropeginterferon treatment: it was 54.8% for younger patients and 35.1% for elderly patients. For comparison, this difference in the group of patients treated with HU was 4.5 and 18.4%, respectively.
What is more, the age did not affect the frequency of ropeginterferon side effects. In addition, the incidence of adverse ropeginterferon disorders was similar to that observed in the hydroxycarbamide group [24].
2.2 Essential thrombocythemia
Essential thrombocythemia is a clonal growth of multipotential stem cells in the bone marrow. The consequence of this is increased proliferation of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow and an increase in the number of platelets in the peripheral blood. The level of platelets above 450,000/μl is considered a diagnostic criterion.
Essential thrombocythemia may progress over time to a more aggressive form of myeloproliferation, i.e., myelofibrosis. The disease can also evolve into acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome, both with very poor prognosis. Thromboembolic complications are serious, and they concern over 20% of patients. Thrombosis occurs in the artery and venous area. Moreover, in patients with a very high platelet count, above 1,000,000/μl, bleeding may occur as a result of secondary von Willebrand syndrome [1, 2].
The treatment of ET is primarily aimed to prevent thrombotic complications.
In low-risk patients, only acetylsalicylic acid is used. In cases of high-risk patients, hydroxycarbamide is the first-line drug for most patients. Anagrelide and interferon are commonly used as second-line drugs.
Due to the possible effects of hydroxycarbamide of cytogenetic changes in the bone marrow cells after long-lasting usage, some experts recommend the use of interferon in younger patients in the first line. Interferon is also used as the drug of choice in patients planning a pregnancy [25].
The efficacy of pegylated interferon alpha-2a was assessed on the basis of the group of 39 patients with essential thrombocythemia and 40 patients with polycythemia vera.
Of the overall group, 81% of patients were previously treated prior to the study entry. The patients received pegylated interferon alpha-2a in a dose of 90 μg once a week. The dose of 450 μg was associated with a high percentage of intolerance.
In patients with essential thrombocythemia, the complete remission was achieved in 76%, while the overall hematological response rate brought 81%. Moreover, the molecular remission was achieved in 38%, in 14% of cases, JAK2 transcript became not detectable.
Patients diagnosed with polycythemia vera achieved 70% complete hematological remission and 80% general hematological response to treatment. JAK2 transcript was undetectable in 6% of patients. Molecular remission was achieved in 54% of cases.
Pegylated interferon alpha-2a at the dose of 90 μg per week was very well tolerated. In total, 20% of patients experienced a grade of 3 or 4 of adverse reaction, which was neutropenia. In addition, an increase in liver function tests was observed. Grade 4 of AE was not observed among patients who started the treatment with 90 μg/week while grade 3 neutropenia was an adverse event in only 7% of cases [26].
The effect of interferon alpha-2b treatment in patients with ET and PV was investigated. The study was prospective. Some of the results concerning the group of patients with polycythemia vera are presented in the subsection on polycythemia vera. In total, 123 patients with diagnosed essential thrombocythemia participated in the study. All of them received interferon alpha-2b. The patients were divided into two groups depending on the presence of the JAK2 V617F mutation. The enrolled patients were between 18 and 65 years of age. The treatment they received was, sequentially, interferon alpha-2b in the dose of 3 million units three times a week for the first 2 years, after which time the dose was changed into a maintenance dose, which amounted to 5 million units two times a week.
The analysis showed that the patients with the JAK2 V617F mutation present in a higher percentage achieved an overall hematological response as well as a complete hematological response. The overall hematological response was achieved in 83% of patients with JAK2 mutation, and the complete hematological remission was achieved in 23 cases. In the group of ET patients without the JAK2 V617F mutation, overall hematological response was achieved in 61.4%, while the complete hematological remission was achieved in 12 patients. The 5-year progression-free survival was obtained in 75.9% in the JAKV617F group and only in 47.6% without the mutation.
A significant proportion of patients experienced mild side effects. Grade 3 and 4 of adverse events were severe, most of them being a fever. The isolated cases of elevated liver tests and nausea have also been reported [19].
Pegylated interferon alpha-2b in patients with essential thrombocythemia who were previously treated with hydroxycarbamide, anagrelide, and other forms of interferon alpha, however, due to the lack of efficacy or toxicity, the patients required a change of treatment, was assessed. Pegylated interferon alpha-2b turned out to be effective in these cases. It led to the complete hematological remission in 91% of patients after 2 months of therapy, and in 100% of patients after 4 months. However, merely 11 patients participated in the study. Also only two patients required treatment discontinuation due to the side effects such as depression and general fatigue grade 3 [27].
2.2.1 Pregnancy
In case of pregnant patients, interferon is currently considered the only safe cytoreductive drug. Over the years, several analyses of the results of interferon treatment during pregnancy have been carried out.
The assessment of 34 pregnancies in 23 women diagnosed with ET was performed retrospectively. All the pregnancies included in the analysis were of high risk. This high risk was associated with a high platelet count above 1,500,000/μl, a history of thrombotic episode, severe microcirculation disorders, or a history of major hemorrhage.
It turned out that the use of interferon allowed the birth of an alive child in 73.5% of cases. There was no difference in efficacy between the basic and pegylated forms of interferon alpha. In pregnancies without interferon treatment, the percentage of live births was only 60%. Moreover, it was not found if the presence of the JAK2 V617F mutation had any influence on the course of pregnancy [28].
An analysis of the course of pregnancy in patients with ET was assessed in Italy. Data from 17 centers were taken into account. Data from 122 pregnancies were collected from 92 women. In patients diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia, the risk of the spontaneous loss of pregnancy is about 2.5 times higher than among the general population. In the contrary to the study quoted above, it was found that the presence of the JAK2 mutation increases the risk of pregnancy loss. The proportion of live births in patients exposed to interferon during pregnancy was 95%, compared with 71.6% in the group of patients not treated with interferon.
The multivariate analysis also showed that the use of acetylsalicylic acid during pregnancy had no effect on the live birth rate of patients with ET [29].
Whatever its form, interferon is the drug of first choice in pregnancy. Hydroxycarbamide and anagrelide should be withdrawn for about 6 months, and at least for 3 months, before the planned conception. Experts recommend the use of interferon in high-risk pregnancies [30]. A Japanese analysis of 10 consecutive pregnancies in ET patients showed 100% live births in patients who received interferon [31].
2.3 Myelofibrosis
In myelofibrosis (MF), monoclonal megakaryocytes produce cytokines that stimulate the proliferation of normal, non-neoplastic fibroblasts and stimulate angiogenesis. The consequence of this is the gradual fibrosis of the bone marrow, impaired hematopoiesis in the bone marrow, and the formation of extramedullary location mainly in the sites of fetal hematopoiesis, i.e., in the spleen and the liver.
The production of various cytokines by neoplastic megakaryocytes leads to the proliferation of normal, noncancerous fibroblasts as well as to increased angiogenesis.
Progressive bone marrow fibrosis leads to worsening anemia and thrombocytopenia. On the other hand, the production of proinflammatory cytokines by megakaryoblasts leads to the general symptoms such as weight loss, fever, joint pain, night sweats, and consequently, progressive worsening of general condition.
The prognosis for myelofibrosis is poor. In about 20% of patients, myelofibrosis evolves into acute myeloid leukemia with poor prognosis.
Currently, the only effective method of treatment that gives a chance to prolong the life is allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. However, this method is only available to younger patients.
The goal of treatment of patients who have not been qualified for allotranspalntation is to reduce the symptoms and to improve the patient’s quality of life. In case of leukocytosis cytoreducing drugs, such as hydroxycarbamide, melphalan, or cladribine can be used. They cause a reduction in the number of leukocytes and may, to some extent, inhibit splenomegaly. Interferon alpha has been used successfully for the treatment of myelofibrosis for many years. The results of its effectiveness will be presented below [2].
Currently, the JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib is approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis with enlarged spleen in intermediate and high-risk patients. Ruxolitinib reduces the size of the spleen, reduces general symptoms, and improves the quality of life; however, it does not prolong the overall survival of patients [32].
In 2015, the results of a retrospective study were published to compare the histological parameters of the bone marrow before and after interferon treatment. Twelve patients diagnosed with primary myelofibrosis as well as post-PV MF and post-ET MF were enrolled in the study. Patients were treated with pegylated recombinant interferon alpha-2a or recombinant interferon alpha-2b in standard doses. The time of treatment was from 1 to 10 years. Some patients had previously been treated with hydroxycarbamide or anagrelide. In all cases, karyotype was normal. The prognostic factor of Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System (DIPSS) was assessed at the beginning as well as during the treatment.
Bone marrow cellularity decreased in cases with increased bone marrow cellularity before the treatment. After the interferon treatment, a reduction in the degree of bone marrow fibrosis was found. The parameters, such as the density of naked nuclei and the density of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow, also improved.
It proves that if the JAK2 V617F mutation had been present, DIPSS was decreased after interferon treatment. This relationship was not observed in patients without the JAK2 V617F mutation. The improvement in peripheral blood morphological parameters and the overall clinical improvement correlated with the improvement in the assessed histological parameters of the bone marrow.
Before the initiation of interferon, seven patients had splenomegaly. During the treatment with interferon, the complete resolution of splenomegaly was achieved in 17% of patients (two cases), and its size decreased in 25% (three cases). A good clinical response was achieved in 83% during interferon therapy. There was no significant difference in response between the two types of interferon used [33].
A prospective study was also conducted in patients with low and intermediate-1 risk group myelofibrosis. Seventeen patients were enrolled. Patients received interferon alpha-2b (0.5–3 milion units/three times a week) or pegylated interferon alpha-2a (45–90 μg/week). The duration of therapy was on average 3.3 years.
Most of the patients responded to the treatment. Partial remission was found in seven patients and complete remission in two patients. Moreover, in four cases, the disease was stabilized and in one case the clinical improvement was achieved. Three patients did not respond to treatment at all and progressed to myelofibrosis. Additionally, the assessment in reducing spleen size was performed. At baseline, 15 patients have splenomegaly, nine of them achieved the compete regression of spleen size [34].
However, the efficacy of interferon in the treatment of myelofibrosis appears to be limited only to a less advanced form, when the bone marrow still has an adequate percentage of normal hemopoiesis and the marrow stroma is not significantly fibrotic. In more advanced stages, interferon was not shown to have any significant effect on the regression of the fibrosis process [35].
In 2020, the results of the COMBI study were published. That was a two-phase, multicenter, single-arm study that investigated the efficacy and safety of the combination of ruxolitinib and pegylated interferon alpha. Thirty-two patients with PV and 18 patients with primary and secondary myelofibrosis participated in the study. The patients were at age 18 and older. Remission was achieved in 44% of myelofibrosis cases, including 28% (5 patients) of complete remission. In patients with PV, the results were slightly worse: 31% of remissions, including 9% of complete remissions. Patients received pegylated interferon alpha-2a (45 μg/week) or pegylated interferon alpha-2b (35 μg/week) in low doses and ruxolitinib in doses of 5–20 mg twice a day.
For the entire group of patients (with PV and MF), the initial JAK2 allele burden was 47% at baseline, and after 2 years of treatment with interferon and ruxolitinib, it decreased to 12%.
The treatment toxicity was low. The highest incidence of side effects occurred at initiation of therapy. It was mostly anemia and thrombocytopenia.
The observations from the COMBI study show that, for the combination of interferon in lower doses with ruxolitinib, it may be effective and well tolerated even in the group of patients who had intolerance to interferon used as the only drug in higher doses. The combined treatment improved the bone marrow in terms of fibrosis and its cellularity. It also allowed to improve the value of peripheral blood counts [36].
It is currently known that some of the additional mutations are associated with a worse prognosis in patients with myelorpoliferation, including patients with myelofibrosis. Some of these mutations have been identified as high-risk molecular mutations. These are ASXL1, EZH2, IDH1/2, or SRSF2. Earlier studies have shown their association with a more aggressive course of the disease, worse prognosis, and shorter survival of patients, as well as a poorer response to treatment. Due to their importance, they have been included in the diagnostic criteria of myelofibrosis [37].
It is also known that the presence of driver mutations, i.e., JAK2, CALR, and MPL or triple negativity, may affect the course of myeloproliferation, including the incidence of thromboembolic complications.
The assessment of the influence of driver mutations and a panel of selected additional mutations on the effectiveness of interferon treatment in patients with myelofibrosis was performed on a group of 30 patients. Only the patients with low- and intermediate-1-risk were enrolled in the study. The treatment with pegylated interferon alpha-2a or interferon alpha-2b resulted in a complete remission in two patients and partial remission in nine patients. The disease progressed in three cases. One patient relapsed and four died. The remaining patients achieved a clinical improvement or disease stabilization. In the studied group, it was not found if the effectiveness of interferon treatment was influenced by the lack of driver mutations. Among the group of four patients with additional mutations, two died and one had disease progression. It was a mutation of ASXL1 and SRSF2. The treatment with interferon in patients without additional molecular mutations in the early stages of the disease may prevent further progression of the disease [38].
The side effects of interferon in the group of patients with myelofibrosis are similar to those occurring after the treatment of other chronic myeloproliferative diseases. The most frequently described are hematological toxicity- anemia and thrombocytopenia, less often is the appearance of leukopenia. Hematological toxicity usually resolves with dose reduction or extension of the dose interval. The most frequently nonhematological toxicity was fatigue, muscle pain, weakness, and depression symptoms. All symptoms are usually mild and do not exceed grade 2 [38].
However, the use of interferon in the treatment of myelofibrosis has not been recommended as a standard therapy. Interferon is still being evaluated in clinical trials, or it is used in selected patients as a nonstandard therapy in this diagnosis.
2.4 Mastocytosis
Mastocytosis is characterized by an excessive proliferation of abnormal mast cells and their accumulation in various organs.
The basis for the development of mastocytosis is ligand-independent activation of the KIT receptor, resulting from mutations in the KIT proto-oncogene. The KIT receptor is a trans membrane receptor with tyrosine kinase’s activity. Its activation stimulates the proliferation of mast cells. That excessive numbers of mast cells infiltrate tissues and organs and release mediators such as histamine, interleukine-6, tryptase, heparin, and others, which are responsible for the appearance of symptoms typical of mastocytosis. In addition, the infiltration of tissues for mast cells itself causes damage to the affected organs.
The prognosis of mastocytosis depends on the type of the disease. In the case of cutaneous mastocytosis (CM), in the majority of cases prognosis is good and the disease does not shorten the patient’s life, but in aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM), the average follow-up is about 40 months. Mast cell leukemia has a poor prognosis with a median follow-up of approximately 1 year.
Systemic mastocytosis usually requires the implementation of cytoreductive therapy. The first line of therapy is interferon alone or its combination with corticosteroids. In aggressive systemic mastocytosis, the first line in addition to interferon 2-CdA can be used. An effective drug turned out to be midostaurin in the case of the present KIT mutation. In patients without the KIT D816V mutation, treatment with imatinib may be effective. In the case of mast cell leukemia, multidrug chemotherapy is most often required, as in acute leukemias, followed by bone marrow transplantation [39].
Systemic mastocytosis requiring treatment is a rare disease, this is why the studies available in the literature evaluating various therapies concern mostly small groups of patients.
In 2002, the French authors presented their experiences on the use of interferon in patients with systemic mastocytosis. They included 20 patients. The patients received interferon alpha-2b in gradually increased doses.
The patients were assessed after 6 months. In cases in which bone marrow was infiltrated for mast cells at baseline, it still remained infiltrated after 6 months of treatment.
However, the responses were obtained in terms of symptoms related to mast cell degranulation. Partial remission was achieved in 35% of patients and minor remission in 30%. It concerns mainly skin lesions and vascular congestion. Moreover, the assessment of the histamine level in the plasma revealed a decrease of it in patients who previously presented symptoms related to the degranulation of mast cells, such as gastrointestinal disorders and flushing.
A high percentage of side effects were found during treatment. They concerned 35% of patients. Depression and cytopenia were most frequent ones [40].
Another analysis was a report of five patients with systemic mastocytosis treated with interferon and prednisolone. All patients received interferon alpha-2b in a dose of 3 million units three times a week and four patients additionally received prednisolone. Four patients responded to interferon treatment at varying degrees. One patient, who at baseline had bone marrow involvement by mast cells in above 10%, progressed to mast cell leukemia. In two patients, the symptoms C resolved completely and in one of them they partially disappeared. In one case, stabilizing disease was achieved [41].
In 2009, a retrospective analysis of patients treated with cytoreductive therapy due to mastocytosis was published. The authors collected data from 108 patients treated at the Mayo Clinic. This analysis allowed for the comparison of the efficacy of four drugs used in systemic mastocytosis. There were interferon alpha alone or in the combination with prednisone—among 40 patients, hydroxycarbamide—among 26 ones, imatinib—among 22 persons, and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA)—among 22 patients.
After dividing the patients into three additional groups on the basis of the type of mastocytosis—indolent systemic mastocytosis, aggressive systemic mastocytosis, and systemic mastocytosis associated with another clonal hematological nonmast cell lineage disease (SM-AHNMD)—the effectiveness of each of type of therapy was assessed.
The highest response rates in indolent and aggressive mastocytosis were achieved with interferon treatment. They were 60% of the responses in both groups, and in the SM-AHNMD group of patients, the percentage was also one of the highest and amounted to 45%. The second most effective drug was 2-CdA. The response rates were 56% for indolent MS, 50% for aggressive MS, and 55% for SM-AHNMD. The patients treated with imatinib achieved response in 14, 50, and 9% by following groups, respectively. In contrast, patients with indolent and aggressive systemic mastocytosis did not respond to hydroxycarbamide treatment at all. The response rate in both groups was 0%. However, patients with MS associated with another clonal hematological nonmast cell lineage disease achieved 21% response to hydroxycarbamide. Additionally, it was found that only interferon relieved symptoms caused by the release of inflammatory mediators by mast cells.
The additional analysis showed no influence of the TET 2 mutation on the response to treatment [42].
In the literature, there are also single cases of mastocytosis presenting trials of nonstandard treatment. That is description of a patient with systemic mastocytosis with mast cell bone marrow involvement. Mutation of c-kit Asp816Val was present. Patient progressed despite treatment with dasatinib and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine. The patient developed symptoms related to the degranulation of mast cells and increased ascites.
The patient was treated with pranlukast, which is an anti-leukotriene receptor antagonist due to an asthma episode. The rate of ascites growth decreased significantly after one administration. The patient required paracentesis every 10 days and not every 3 days, as before starting to take the drug. After 15 days of treatment with pranlukast, the patient received interferon alpha, which resulted in complete regression of ascites, resolution of pancytopenia, and complete disappearance of the c-kit mutation clone. The infiltration of mast cells in the bone marrow significantly decreased [43].
Interferon alpha was also effective in a patient with systemic mastocytosis associated with myelodysplastic syndrome with the c-kit D816V mutation, which was refractory to imatinib treatment [44].
Interferon alpha also proved to be effective in the treatment of osteoporotic lesions appearing in the course of mastocytosis.
The series of 10 cases with resolved mastocytosis and osteoporosis-related fractures was presented in 2011. The patients received interferon alpha in a dose of 1.5 million units three times a week as well as pamindronic acid. The patients were treated for an average of 60 months. For the first 2 years, pamindronate was given at a dose of 1 mg/kg every month, and then every 3 months.
During the course of the study, no patient had a new-bone fracture. The level of alkaline phosphatase decreased by 25% in relation to the value before treatment and tryptase by 34%. Bone density increased during treated with interferon and pamindronate. The increase was on average 12% in the spine bones and 1.9% in the hip bones. At the same time, there was no increase in the density of the hip bone and a minimal increase in the density of the spine in patients treated with pamindronate alone.
The results of this observation suggest that it is beneficial to add low doses of interferon alpha to pamindronate treatment in terms of bone density increase [45].
That experiences show that interferon used in systemic mastocytosis significantly improves the quality of life of patients by inhibiting the symptoms caused by degranulation of mast cells. They prevent bone fractures and, in some patients, they cause remission of bone marrow infiltration by mast cells.
2.5 Chronic neutrophilic leukemia
Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) is a very rare disease. It is characterized by the clonal proliferation of mature neutrophils.
The diagnostic criteria proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) comprise leukocyte counts above 25,000/μl (including more than 80% of rod and segmented neutrophils in the bone marrow blast cells count below 5%), normal neutrophils maturation, and an increase of neutrophilopoiesis. Also the presence of the CSF3R gene mutation is required.
Physical examination often shows enlargement of the liver and spleen, moreover, patients complain on weight loss and weakness [1].
The prognosis varies. The average survival time for patients with CNL is less than 2 years.
Only few descriptions of chronic neutrophilic leukemia are available in the literature, and these are mostly single case reports.
Because it is an extremely rare disease, there are no established and generally accepted treatment standards. In most cases, patients are given hydroxycarbamide or interferon. Patients who are eligible for a bone marrow transplant may benefit from this treatment. Bone marrow allotransplantation remains the only method that gives a chance for a significant extension of life.
The German authors presented a series of 14 cases of chronic neutrophilic leukemia. The group of patients consisted of eight women and six men. The average age was 64.7 years. From the entire group of patients, longer survival was achieved only in three cases. One of these patients was treated with interferon alpha and achieved hematological remission, the other underwent bone marrow allotransplantation from a family donor, and the third one was treated with hydroxycarbamide and transfusions as needed. The follow-up period of the patient after allogeneic matched related donor transplantation (allo-MRD) was 73 months, and for the patient after interferon treatment it was 41 months.
The remaining patients died within 2 years of diagnosis. Six patients, the largest group, died due to intracranial bleeding, three patients died because of leukemia cell tissue infiltration, one patient because of the disease transformation into leukemia, and one patient because of pneumonia [46].
It can be seen from these experiences that treatment with interferon alpha can significantly extend the survival time of patients.
The case of a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with chronic neutrophilic leukemia is presented by Yassin and coauthors. Initially, the patient had almost 41,000 leukocytes in the peripheral blood. In a physical examination, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly were not present. Patient received pegylated interferon alpha-2a. The initially dose was 50 μg once a week for the first 2 weeks, then the dose was increased to 135 μg weekly for 6 weeks, and then the dose interval was extended to another 2 weeks. As a result of the treatment, the general condition of the patient improved and the parameters of peripheral blood counts were normalized [47].
Another case report presented in the literature describes a 41-year-old woman diagnosed with CNL accompanied by focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The patient had increasing leukocytosis for several months. On the admission to the hospital, leukocytosis was 94,000/μl. Moreover, the number of platelets in the morphology exceeded 1,000,000/μl. More than a year earlier, the patient had splenectomy due to splenomegaly and spleen infraction.
Additionally, JAK2 V617F mutation was found. Some authors suggest that the presence of JAK2 mutation may be associated with longer survival in CNL.
The patient received hydroxycarbamide for 3 months and reduction in the number of leukocytes was achieved. After this time, interferon alpha-2b was added to hydroxycarbamide. As a result, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis disappeared and the renal tests improved [48].
Another case of chronic neutrophilic leukemia with a JAK2 gene mutation concerns a 53-year-old man. The patient’s baseline leukocytosis was 33,500/μl, including the neutrophil count of 29,700/μl. The patient also had splenomegaly.
The treatment with interferon alpha-2b at a dose of 3 million units every other day was started. After a month of treatment, the number of leukocytes was reduced to less than 10,000/μl. Then the patient was treated chronically with interferon alpha-2b in doses of 3 million units every 2 weeks. As a result of the therapy, the number of leukocytes remains between 8 and 10,000/μl. The patient remains in general good condition [49].
A series of two CNL cases are also shown. The first patient was a 70-year-old woman with stable leukocytosis of about 35,000/μl and the remaining morphology parameters in normal range. The patient was only observed for 5 years until hepasplenomegaly progressed rapidly. Then, interferon alpha-2b was included. Due to the treatment, the rapid regression of hepatosplenomegaly was achieved.
The second case is a 68-year-old woman with baseline leukocytosis of almost 14,000/μl. In this case, the treatment with hydroxycarbamide was started immediately. However, no improvement was achieved. After 6 weeks of HU treatment, interferon alpha-2b 3 million units 3 times a week was implemented and leukocytosis decreased. Due to the interferon treatment, the disease stabilized for a long time. Because the patient experienced an adverse reaction, a severe flu-like syndrome, interferon was discontinued. After interferon withdrawal, the disease progressed gradually and the treatment attempts by busulfan and 6-mercaptopurine were unsuccessful. Therefore, interferon was readministered and the disease went into remission. Interferon treatment was continued at a reduced dose. The disease regression was achieved again.
Additionally, the patient showed an improvement in the function of granulocytes in terms of phagocytosis and an improvement in neutral killer (NK) cell function after treatment with interferon [50].
The above examples show that interferon alpha is effective in the treatment of chronic neutrophilic leukemia. The side effects are rare and can be managed with dose reductions. Moreover, in these cases, interferon is also effective in a reduced dose. Disease remission or regression can be achieved without typical of CNL complications, such as intracranial bleeding.
2.6 Another
Interferon has been used in the past to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. The treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is now a standard practice. However, in a small number of patients, they are ineffective or exhibit unmanageable toxicity. Therefore, the attempts are underway to use interferon in combination with TKI in lower doses, which is to ensure the enhancement of the antiproliferative effect while reducing the toxicity.
There are ongoing attempts to use ropeginterferon in patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, in whom treatment with imatinib alone has not led to deep molecular response (DMR). The first phase study was conducted in a small group of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. The patients in first chronic phase treated with imatinib who did not achieve DMR, but in complete hematologic remission and complete cytogenetic remission, were included in the study. Patients have been treated with imatinib for at least 18 months. Twelve patients were enrolled in the study, and they completed the study according to the protocol. These patients received additional ropeginterferon to imatinib and four achieved DMR. Low toxicity was observed during the treatment. Among the hematological toxicities, neutropenia was the most common. There was no nonhematological toxicity with a degree higher than 1/2 during the treatment. Moreover, it has been found that better effects and fewer side effects are obtained when ropeginterferon is administered for a longer time, but in lower doses. The comparison of the effectiveness of interferon in chronic myeloproliferative disorders based on selected articles is presented in Table 1 [51].
Interferon alpha appears to be an effective and safe drug in the most type of chronic myeloproliferative disorders. Nowadays, all forms of its using have similar effectiveness. Interferon alpha can be effective even in cases of resistance for first-line treatment. Trial research is currently underway to combine it with some new drugs, such as ruxolitinib, and to add it to the already well-established therapy, it is a promising option for patients with refractory disease.
From time to time, new forms of interferon, such as ropeginterferon, are introduced, which gives hope for better effectiveness, better safety profile, and greater comfort in its use for patients who have to be treated for many years. In the case of the use of interferons alpha in the treatment of chronic myeloproliferative diseases, there are still opportunities to extend its use and to study its combination with newly introduced drugs.
\n',keywords:"chronic myeloproliferative disorders, polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, myelofibrosis, ropeginterferon, pegylated interferon alpha",chapterPDFUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/81569.pdf",chapterXML:"https://mts.intechopen.com/source/xml/81569.xml",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/81569",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/81569",totalDownloads:19,totalViews:0,totalCrossrefCites:0,dateSubmitted:"January 30th 2022",dateReviewed:"March 14th 2022",datePrePublished:"April 29th 2022",datePublished:null,dateFinished:"April 29th 2022",readingETA:"0",abstract:"It has been noted that interferon can exert an antiproliferative effect by stimulating cells of the immune system. Interferon has been shown to be effective in the treatment of chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms. Over the years, interferon alpha-2a and interferon alpha-2b have been introduced into the treatment of chronic myeloproliferation, followed by their pegylated forms. Studies have been showing the effectiveness of interferon alpha in reducing the number of platelets in essential thrombocythemia, reducing the need for phlebotomies in patients with polycythemia vera and also in reducing the number of leukocytes. Additionally, it turned out to be effective in reducing the size of the spleen. Interferon has also been shown to be effective in inducing long-term molecular remissions. The introduction of new forms of interferon such as ropeginterferon and the combination of interferon alpha with newly introduced drugs from other groups causes that interferon remains an important drug in the field of chronic myeloproliferative disorders. The chapter presents the results of clinical trials and the experiences of various centers in its usage for mieloproliferative neoplasms.",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",bibtexUrl:"/chapter/bibtex/81569",risUrl:"/chapter/ris/81569",signatures:"Anna Prochwicz and Dorota Krochmalczyk",book:{id:"11275",type:"book",title:"Interferon - Immune Metabolism",subtitle:null,fullTitle:"Interferon - Immune Metabolism",slug:null,publishedDate:null,bookSignature:"Prof. Hridayesh Prakash",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11275.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:null,isbn:"978-1-80355-886-8",printIsbn:"978-1-80355-885-1",pdfIsbn:"978-1-80355-887-5",isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,editors:[{id:"287184",title:"Prof.",name:"Hridayesh",middleName:null,surname:"Prakash",slug:"hridayesh-prakash",fullName:"Hridayesh Prakash"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},authors:null,sections:[{id:"sec_1",title:"1. Introduction",level:"1"},{id:"sec_2",title:"2. Chronic myeloproliferative disorders",level:"1"},{id:"sec_2_2",title:"2.1 Polycythemia vera",level:"2"},{id:"sec_2_3",title:"2.1.1 Ropeginterferon (monopegylated interferon alfa-2b)",level:"3"},{id:"sec_4_2",title:"2.2 Essential thrombocythemia",level:"2"},{id:"sec_4_3",title:"2.2.1 Pregnancy",level:"3"},{id:"sec_6_2",title:"2.3 Myelofibrosis",level:"2"},{id:"sec_7_2",title:"2.4 Mastocytosis",level:"2"},{id:"sec_8_2",title:"2.5 Chronic neutrophilic leukemia",level:"2"},{id:"sec_9_2",title:"2.6 Another",level:"2"},{id:"sec_11",title:"3. Conclusions",level:"1"}],chapterReferences:[{id:"B1",body:'Arber DA, Orazi A, Hasserjian R, et al. The 2016 revision to the World Health Organization classification of myeloid neoplasms and acute leukemia. Blood. 2016;127:2391-2405. DOI: 10.1182/blood-2016-03-643544'},{id:"B2",body:'Spivak JL, Barosi G, Tognoni G, et al. Chronic myeloproliferative disorders. Hematology. American Society of Hematology. 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DOI: 10.1136/jcp.55.11.862'},{id:"B47",body:'Yassin MA, Kohla S, Al-Sabbagh A, et al. A case of chronic neutrophilic leukemia successfully treated with pegylated interferon alpha-2a. Clinical Medicine Insights: Case Reports. 2015;8:33-36. DOI: 10.4137/CCRep.S22820'},{id:"B48",body:'Wang R, Tong H, Wang H, et al. Nephrotic syndrome related to chronic neutrophilic leukemia. Internal Medicine. 2014;53:2505-2509. DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.53.2162'},{id:"B49",body:'Zhang X, Pan J, Guo J. Presence of the JAK2 V617F mutation in a patient with chronic neutrophilic leukemia and effective response to interferon α-2b. Acta Haematologica. 2013;130:44-46. DOI: 10.1159/000345851'},{id:"B50",body:'Meyer S, Feremans W, Cantiniaux B, et al. Successful alpha-2b-interferon therapy for chronic neutrophilic leukemia. American Journal of Hematology. 1993;43:307-309. DOI: 10.1002/ajh.2830430416'},{id:"B51",body:'Heibl S, Buxhofer-Ausch V, Schmidt S, et al. A phase 1 study to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the addition of ropeginterferon alpha-2b to imatinib treatment in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) not achieving a deep molecular response (molecular remission 4.5)-AGMT_CML 1. Hematological Oncology. 2020;38:792-798. DOI: 10.1002/hon.2786'}],footnotes:[],contributors:[{corresp:"yes",contributorFullName:"Anna Prochwicz",address:"annaprochwicz@interia.pl",affiliation:'
Department of Hematology, Specialized Hospital, Poland
Department of Hematology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Poland
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UK Research and Innovation (former Research Councils UK (RCUK) - including AHRC, BBSRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC, STFC.) Processing charges for books/book chapters can be covered through RCUK block grants which are allocated to most universities in the UK, which then handle the OA publication funding requests. It is at the discretion of the university whether it will approve the request.)
Wellcome Trust (Funding available only to Wellcome-funded researchers/grantees)
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Soil health is fundamental for plant growth and crops productivity. In the introduction part, the roles and dynamics of the microbial community in soils, primarily in the cycle of soil organic carbon and CO2 release and absorption, are deliberated. Next, the impact of crop management practices and climate change on the soil carbon balance are described, as well as other issues related to soil degradation, such as unbalanced nutrient recycling and mineral weathering. In response to these issues, various approaches to soil regeneration have been developed in order to foster an efficient and active soil microbiome, thereby balancing the CO2 cycle and carbon sequestration in the soil ecosystem.",book:{id:"11174",title:"Carbon Sequestration",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11174.jpg"},signatures:"Mohd N.H. Sarjuni, Siti A.M. Dolit, Aidee K. Khamis, Nazrin Abd-Aziz, Nur R. Azman and Umi A. 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This chapter provides a basic knowledge of the geomechanical issues involved in the GCS process to increase the understanding of safety issues and to improve the social acceptance of the technology among researchers and those interested in the technology.",book:{id:"11174",title:"Carbon Sequestration",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11174.jpg"},signatures:"Yongcun Feng and Shui Zhang"},{id:"80102",title:"Soil Solution Chemistry in Different Land-Use Systems in the Northeast Brazilian Amazon",slug:"soil-solution-chemistry-in-different-land-use-systems-in-the-northeast-brazilian-amazon",totalDownloads:15,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.101856",abstract:"For sustainable production systems, the nonuse of fire (where there is a greater loss of soil nutrients), would be a solution for the conservation of nutrients in the soil, with the use of management by cutting and grinding, introduction of AFSs (agroforestry systems), and maintenance of riparian vegetation. The concentrations of carbon and nutrients were evaluated in the soil solution in two small hydrographic basins in the municipality of Igarapé-Açu (Pará state) in the eastern Amazon region, Brazil. The evaluations were performed considering the biogeochemical cycling in six land-use classes—riparian forest, secondary forest (capoeira), pasture, slash-and-burn agriculture, chop-and-mulch agriculture, and an agroforestry system (AFS). The objective was to determine the effects of different land-use systems on the composition of the soil solution, aiming to recommend sustainable practices. The concentrations of nutrients were greater in the areas of slash-and-burn agriculture and pasture, indicating greater losses of these nutrients due to runoff and leaching. The loss of nitrate was highest in the slash-and-burn area, while the organic carbon and organic nitrogen losses were greatest in the riparian forest, then in the secondary forest and agroforestry areas.",book:{id:"11174",title:"Carbon Sequestration",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11174.jpg"},signatures:"Juliana Feitosa Felizzola, Ricardo de Oliveira Figueiredo, Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira and Bruno Carneiro"},{id:"82009",title:"CO2 Injectivity in Deep Saline Formations: The Impact of Salt Precipitation and Fines Mobilization",slug:"co2-injectivity-in-deep-saline-formations-the-impact-of-salt-precipitation-and-fines-mobilization",totalDownloads:18,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.104854",abstract:"Climate change is now considered the greatest threat to global health and security. Greenhouse effect, which results in global warming, is considered the main driver of climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission has been identified as the largest contributor to global warming. The Paris Agreement, which is the biggest international treaty on Climate Change, has an ambitious goal to reach Net Zero CO2 emission by 2050. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is the most promising approach in the portfolio of options to reduce CO2 emission. A good geological CCUS facility must have a high storage potential and robust containment efficiency. Storage potential depends on the storage capacity and well injectivity. The major target geological facilities for CO2 storage include deep saline reservoirs, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) wells, and unmineable coal seams. Deep saline formations have the highest storage potential but challenging well injectivity. Mineral dissolution, salt precipitation, and fines mobilization are the main mechanisms responsible for CO2 injectivity impairment in saline reservoirs. This chapter reviews literature spanning several decades of work on CO2 injectivity impairment mechanisms especially in deep saline formations and their technical and economic impact on CCUS projects.",book:{id:"11174",title:"Carbon Sequestration",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11174.jpg"},signatures:"Yen A. Sokama-Neuyam, Muhammad A.M. Yusof and Shadrack K. Owusu"},{id:"81863",title:"Exploiting the Attributes of Biocontrol Agent (Neochetina bruchi) as a Potential Ecosystem Engineer’s",slug:"exploiting-the-attributes-of-biocontrol-agent-neochetina-bruchi-as-a-potential-ecosystem-engineer-s",totalDownloads:8,totalDimensionsCites:0,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.104775",abstract:"The biodiversity of lakes is continuously declining and diverse communities are being substituted by monoculture of invasive Eichhornia crassipes, resulting in a slew of environmental cascade effects. The ability of the Neochetina bruchi to self-perpetuate is a desirable aspect of biological control since it decreases the population to a reasonable level, making the approach more sustainable. N. bruchi is often referred to as “ecological engineers” because of the number of services it provides to the environment and enables herbicide application to be substantially reduced. Despite the presence of highly effective weevils against this weed, its effect on water hyacinth in association with the nutrients present in sites, is likely to vary with levels of disturbance caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. Understanding the aspects that determine the performance of these eco-engineers as valuable management tools will help to guide future endeavors. Our objective is to better comprehend their utility and limitations, along with critical knowledge gaps, to further enhance future applications.",book:{id:"10763",title:"Biodiversity of Ecosystems",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10763.jpg"},signatures:"Prerna Gupta and Sadhna Tamot"}],onlineFirstChaptersTotal:17},preDownload:{success:null,errors:{}},subscriptionForm:{success:null,errors:{}},aboutIntechopen:{},privacyPolicy:{},peerReviewing:{},howOpenAccessPublishingWithIntechopenWorks:{},sponsorshipBooks:{sponsorshipBooks:[],offset:0,limit:8,total:null},allSeries:{pteSeriesList:[{id:"14",title:"Artificial Intelligence",numberOfPublishedBooks:9,numberOfPublishedChapters:90,numberOfOpenTopics:6,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2633-1403",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.79920",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"7",title:"Biomedical Engineering",numberOfPublishedBooks:12,numberOfPublishedChapters:108,numberOfOpenTopics:3,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-5343",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.71985",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],lsSeriesList:[{id:"11",title:"Biochemistry",numberOfPublishedBooks:33,numberOfPublishedChapters:330,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2632-0983",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.72877",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"25",title:"Environmental Sciences",numberOfPublishedBooks:1,numberOfPublishedChapters:19,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2754-6713",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100362",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"10",title:"Physiology",numberOfPublishedBooks:14,numberOfPublishedChapters:145,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-8261",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.72796",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],hsSeriesList:[{id:"3",title:"Dentistry",numberOfPublishedBooks:9,numberOfPublishedChapters:141,numberOfOpenTopics:2,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-6218",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.71199",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"6",title:"Infectious Diseases",numberOfPublishedBooks:13,numberOfPublishedChapters:124,numberOfOpenTopics:4,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2631-6188",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.71852",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"13",title:"Veterinary Medicine and Science",numberOfPublishedBooks:11,numberOfPublishedChapters:112,numberOfOpenTopics:3,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2632-0517",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.73681",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],sshSeriesList:[{id:"22",title:"Business, Management and Economics",numberOfPublishedBooks:1,numberOfPublishedChapters:22,numberOfOpenTopics:3,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2753-894X",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100359",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"23",title:"Education and Human Development",numberOfPublishedBooks:0,numberOfPublishedChapters:11,numberOfOpenTopics:1,numberOfUpcomingTopics:1,issn:null,doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100360",isOpenForSubmission:!0},{id:"24",title:"Sustainable Development",numberOfPublishedBooks:1,numberOfPublishedChapters:19,numberOfOpenTopics:5,numberOfUpcomingTopics:0,issn:"2753-6580",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.100361",isOpenForSubmission:!0}],testimonialsList:[{id:"6",text:"It is great to work with the IntechOpen to produce a worthwhile collection of research that also becomes a great educational resource and guide for future research endeavors.",author:{id:"259298",name:"Edward",surname:"Narayan",institutionString:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/259298/images/system/259298.jpeg",slug:"edward-narayan",institution:{id:"3",name:"University of Queensland",country:{id:null,name:"Australia"}}}},{id:"13",text:"The collaboration with and support of the technical staff of IntechOpen is fantastic. The whole process of submitting an article and editing of the submitted article goes extremely smooth and fast, the number of reads and downloads of chapters is high, and the contributions are also frequently cited.",author:{id:"55578",name:"Antonio",surname:"Jurado-Navas",institutionString:null,profilePictureURL:"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/intech-files/0030O00002bRisIQAS/Profile_Picture_1626166543950",slug:"antonio-jurado-navas",institution:{id:"720",name:"University of Malaga",country:{id:null,name:"Spain"}}}}]},series:{item:{id:"14",title:"Artificial Intelligence",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.79920",issn:"2633-1403",scope:"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing multidisciplinary research area that aims to solve increasingly complex problems. In today's highly integrated world, AI promises to become a robust and powerful means for obtaining solutions to previously unsolvable problems. This Series is intended for researchers and students alike interested in this fascinating field and its many applications.",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series/covers/14.jpg",latestPublicationDate:"July 5th, 2022",hasOnlineFirst:!0,numberOfPublishedBooks:9,editor:{id:"218714",title:"Prof.",name:"Andries",middleName:null,surname:"Engelbrecht",slug:"andries-engelbrecht",fullName:"Andries Engelbrecht",profilePictureURL:"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/intech-files/0030O00002bRNR8QAO/Profile_Picture_1622640468300",biography:"Andries Engelbrecht received the Masters and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 1994 and 1999 respectively. He is currently appointed as the Voigt Chair in Data Science in the Department of Industrial Engineering, with a joint appointment as Professor in the Computer Science Division, Stellenbosch University. Prior to his appointment at Stellenbosch University, he has been at the University of Pretoria, Department of Computer Science (1998-2018), where he was appointed as South Africa Research Chair in Artifical Intelligence (2007-2018), the head of the Department of Computer Science (2008-2017), and Director of the Institute for Big Data and Data Science (2017-2018). In addition to a number of research articles, he has written two books, Computational Intelligence: An Introduction and Fundamentals of Computational Swarm Intelligence.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Stellenbosch University",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"South Africa"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null},subseries:{paginationCount:6,paginationItems:[{id:"22",title:"Applied Intelligence",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/22.jpg",isOpenForSubmission:!0,editor:{id:"27170",title:"Prof.",name:"Carlos",middleName:"M.",surname:"Travieso-Gonzalez",slug:"carlos-travieso-gonzalez",fullName:"Carlos Travieso-Gonzalez",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/27170/images/system/27170.jpeg",biography:"Carlos M. Travieso-González received his MSc degree in Telecommunication Engineering at Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Spain in 1997, and his Ph.D. degree in 2002 at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC-Spain). He is a full professor of signal processing and pattern recognition and is head of the Signals and Communications Department at ULPGC, teaching from 2001 on subjects on signal processing and learning theory. His research lines are biometrics, biomedical signals and images, data mining, classification system, signal and image processing, machine learning, and environmental intelligence. He has researched in 52 international and Spanish research projects, some of them as head researcher. He is co-author of 4 books, co-editor of 27 proceedings books, guest editor for 8 JCR-ISI international journals, and up to 24 book chapters. He has over 450 papers published in international journals and conferences (81 of them indexed on JCR – ISI - Web of Science). He has published seven patents in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. He has been a supervisor on 8 Ph.D. theses (11 more are under supervision), and 130 master theses. He is the founder of The IEEE IWOBI conference series and the president of its Steering Committee, as well as the founder of both the InnoEducaTIC and APPIS conference series. He is an evaluator of project proposals for the European Union (H2020), Medical Research Council (MRC, UK), Spanish Government (ANECA, Spain), Research National Agency (ANR, France), DAAD (Germany), Argentinian Government, and the Colombian Institutions. He has been a reviewer in different indexed international journals (<70) and conferences (<250) since 2001. He has been a member of the IASTED Technical Committee on Image Processing from 2007 and a member of the IASTED Technical Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems from 2011. \n\nHe has held the general chair position for the following: ACM-APPIS (2020, 2021), IEEE-IWOBI (2019, 2020 and 2020), A PPIS (2018, 2019), IEEE-IWOBI (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018), InnoEducaTIC (2014, 2017), IEEE-INES (2013), NoLISP (2011), JRBP (2012), and IEEE-ICCST (2005)\n\nHe is an associate editor of the Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience Journal (Hindawi – Q2 JCR-ISI). He was vice dean from 2004 to 2010 in the Higher Technical School of Telecommunication Engineers at ULPGC and the vice dean of Graduate and Postgraduate Studies from March 2013 to November 2017. He won the “Catedra Telefonica” Awards in Modality of Knowledge Transfer, 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions, and awards in Modality of COVID Research in 2020.\n\nPublic References:\nResearcher ID http://www.researcherid.com/rid/N-5967-2014\nORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4621-2768 \nScopus Author ID https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6602376272\nScholar Google https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=G1ks9nIAAAAJ&hl=en \nResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlos_Travieso",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Spain"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null},{id:"23",title:"Computational Neuroscience",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/23.jpg",isOpenForSubmission:!0,editor:{id:"14004",title:"Dr.",name:"Magnus",middleName:null,surname:"Johnsson",slug:"magnus-johnsson",fullName:"Magnus Johnsson",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/14004/images/system/14004.png",biography:"Dr Magnus Johnsson is a cross-disciplinary scientist, lecturer, scientific editor and AI/machine learning consultant from Sweden. \n\nHe is currently at Malmö University in Sweden, but also held positions at Lund University in Sweden and at Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. \nHe holds editorial positions at several international scientific journals and has served as a scientific editor for books and special journal issues. \nHis research interests are wide and include, but are not limited to, autonomous systems, computer modeling, artificial neural networks, artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive robotics, cognitive architectures, cognitive aids and the philosophy of mind. \n\nDr. Johnsson has experience from working in the industry and he has a keen interest in the application of neural networks and artificial intelligence to fields like industry, finance, and medicine. \n\nWeb page: www.magnusjohnsson.se",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Malmö University",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Sweden"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null},{id:"24",title:"Computer Vision",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/24.jpg",isOpenForSubmission:!0,editor:{id:"294154",title:"Prof.",name:"George",middleName:null,surname:"Papakostas",slug:"george-papakostas",fullName:"George Papakostas",profilePictureURL:"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/intech-files/0030O00002hYaGbQAK/Profile_Picture_1624519712088",biography:"George A. Papakostas has received a diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1999 and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2002 and 2007, respectively, from the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Greece. Dr. Papakostas serves as a Tenured Full Professor at the Department of Computer Science, International Hellenic University, Greece. Dr. Papakostas has 10 years of experience in large-scale systems design as a senior software engineer and technical manager, and 20 years of research experience in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Currently, he is the Head of the “Visual Computing” division of HUman-MAchines INteraction Laboratory (HUMAIN-Lab) and the Director of the MPhil program “Advanced Technologies in Informatics and Computers” hosted by the Department of Computer Science, International Hellenic University. He has (co)authored more than 150 publications in indexed journals, international conferences and book chapters, 1 book (in Greek), 3 edited books, and 5 journal special issues. His publications have more than 2100 citations with h-index 27 (GoogleScholar). His research interests include computer/machine vision, machine learning, pattern recognition, computational intelligence. \nDr. Papakostas served as a reviewer in numerous journals, as a program\ncommittee member in international conferences and he is a member of the IAENG, MIR Labs, EUCogIII, INSTICC and the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE).",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"International Hellenic University",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Greece"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null},{id:"25",title:"Evolutionary Computation",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/25.jpg",isOpenForSubmission:!0,editor:{id:"136112",title:"Dr.",name:"Sebastian",middleName:null,surname:"Ventura Soto",slug:"sebastian-ventura-soto",fullName:"Sebastian Ventura Soto",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/136112/images/system/136112.png",biography:"Sebastian Ventura is a Spanish researcher, a full professor with the Department of Computer Science and Numerical Analysis, University of Córdoba. Dr Ventura also holds the positions of Affiliated Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, USA) and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at King Abdulaziz University (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). Additionally, he is deputy director of the Andalusian Research Institute in Data Science and Computational Intelligence (DaSCI) and heads the Knowledge Discovery and Intelligent Systems Research Laboratory. He has published more than ten books and over 300 articles in journals and scientific conferences. Currently, his work has received over 18,000 citations according to Google Scholar, including more than 2200 citations in 2020. In the last five years, he has published more than 60 papers in international journals indexed in the JCR (around 70% of them belonging to first quartile journals) and he has edited some Springer books “Supervised Descriptive Pattern Mining” (2018), “Multiple Instance Learning - Foundations and Algorithms” (2016), and “Pattern Mining with Evolutionary Algorithms” (2016). He has also been involved in more than 20 research projects supported by the Spanish and Andalusian governments and the European Union. He currently belongs to the editorial board of PeerJ Computer Science, Information Fusion and Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence journals, being also associate editor of Applied Computational Intelligence and Soft Computing and IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics. Finally, he is editor-in-chief of Progress in Artificial Intelligence. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE Computer, the IEEE Computational Intelligence, and the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Societies, and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). Finally, his main research interests include data science, computational intelligence, and their applications.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"University of Córdoba",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Spain"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null},{id:"26",title:"Machine Learning and Data Mining",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/26.jpg",isOpenForSubmission:!0,editor:{id:"24555",title:"Dr.",name:"Marco Antonio",middleName:null,surname:"Aceves Fernandez",slug:"marco-antonio-aceves-fernandez",fullName:"Marco Antonio Aceves Fernandez",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/24555/images/system/24555.jpg",biography:"Dr. Marco Antonio Aceves Fernandez obtained his B.Sc. (Eng.) in Telematics from the Universidad de Colima, Mexico. He obtained both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool, England, in the field of Intelligent Systems. He is a full professor at the Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Mexico, and a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) since 2009. Dr. Aceves Fernandez has published more than 80 research papers as well as a number of book chapters and congress papers. He has contributed in more than 20 funded research projects, both academic and industrial, in the area of artificial intelligence, ranging from environmental, biomedical, automotive, aviation, consumer, and robotics to other applications. He is also a honorary president at the National Association of Embedded Systems (AMESE), a senior member of the IEEE, and a board member of many institutions. His research interests include intelligent and embedded systems.",institutionString:"Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro",institution:{name:"Autonomous University of Queretaro",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"Mexico"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null},{id:"27",title:"Multi-Agent Systems",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/27.jpg",isOpenForSubmission:!0,editor:{id:"148497",title:"Dr.",name:"Mehmet",middleName:"Emin",surname:"Aydin",slug:"mehmet-aydin",fullName:"Mehmet Aydin",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/148497/images/system/148497.jpg",biography:"Dr. Mehmet Emin Aydin is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Computer Science and Creative Technology, the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. His research interests include swarm intelligence, parallel and distributed metaheuristics, machine learning, intelligent agents and multi-agent systems, resource planning, scheduling and optimization, combinatorial optimization. Dr. Aydin is currently a Fellow of Higher Education Academy, UK, a member of EPSRC College, a senior member of IEEE and a senior member of ACM. In addition to being a member of advisory committees of many international conferences, he is an Editorial Board Member of various peer-reviewed international journals. He has served as guest editor for a number of special issues of peer-reviewed international journals.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"University of the West of England",institutionURL:null,country:{name:"United Kingdom"}}},editorTwo:null,editorThree:null}]},overviewPageOFChapters:{paginationCount:20,paginationItems:[{id:"82526",title:"Deep Multiagent Reinforcement Learning Methods Addressing the Scalability Challenge",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.105627",signatures:"Theocharis Kravaris and George A. Vouros",slug:"deep-multiagent-reinforcement-learning-methods-addressing-the-scalability-challenge",totalDownloads:19,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,authors:null,book:{title:"Multi-Agent Technologies and Machine Learning",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11445.jpg",subseries:{id:"27",title:"Multi-Agent Systems"}}},{id:"82196",title:"Multi-Features Assisted Age Invariant Face Recognition and Retrieval Using CNN with Scale Invariant Heat Kernel Signature",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.104944",signatures:"Kamarajugadda Kishore Kumar and Movva Pavani",slug:"multi-features-assisted-age-invariant-face-recognition-and-retrieval-using-cnn-with-scale-invariant-",totalDownloads:14,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,authors:null,book:{title:"Pattern Recognition - New Insights",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11442.jpg",subseries:{id:"26",title:"Machine Learning and Data Mining"}}},{id:"82063",title:"Evaluating Similarities and Differences between Machine Learning and Traditional Statistical Modeling in Healthcare Analytics",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.105116",signatures:"Michele Bennett, Ewa J. Kleczyk, Karin Hayes and Rajesh Mehta",slug:"evaluating-similarities-and-differences-between-machine-learning-and-traditional-statistical-modelin",totalDownloads:7,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,authors:null,book:{title:"Machine Learning and Data Mining - Annual Volume 2022",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11422.jpg",subseries:{id:"26",title:"Machine Learning and Data Mining"}}},{id:"81791",title:"Self-Supervised Contrastive Representation Learning in Computer Vision",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.104785",signatures:"Yalin Bastanlar and Semih Orhan",slug:"self-supervised-contrastive-representation-learning-in-computer-vision",totalDownloads:59,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,authors:null,book:{title:"Pattern Recognition - New Insights",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11442.jpg",subseries:{id:"26",title:"Machine Learning and Data Mining"}}}]},overviewPagePublishedBooks:{paginationCount:9,paginationItems:[{type:"book",id:"7723",title:"Artificial Intelligence",subtitle:"Applications in Medicine and Biology",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7723.jpg",slug:"artificial-intelligence-applications-in-medicine-and-biology",publishedDate:"July 31st 2019",editedByType:"Edited by",bookSignature:"Marco Antonio Aceves-Fernandez",hash:"a3852659e727f95c98c740ed98146011",volumeInSeries:1,fullTitle:"Artificial Intelligence - Applications in Medicine and Biology",editors:[{id:"24555",title:"Dr.",name:"Marco Antonio",middleName:null,surname:"Aceves Fernandez",slug:"marco-antonio-aceves-fernandez",fullName:"Marco Antonio Aceves Fernandez",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/24555/images/system/24555.jpg",biography:"Dr. Marco Antonio Aceves Fernandez obtained his B.Sc. (Eng.) in Telematics from the Universidad de Colima, Mexico. He obtained both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool, England, in the field of Intelligent Systems. He is a full professor at the Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Mexico, and a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) since 2009. Dr. Aceves Fernandez has published more than 80 research papers as well as a number of book chapters and congress papers. He has contributed in more than 20 funded research projects, both academic and industrial, in the area of artificial intelligence, ranging from environmental, biomedical, automotive, aviation, consumer, and robotics to other applications. He is also a honorary president at the National Association of Embedded Systems (AMESE), a senior member of the IEEE, and a board member of many institutions. 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He is currently a principal researcher in data analytics and optimisation at TECNALIA (Spain), a visiting fellow at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) and a part-time lecturer at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). His research interests gravitate on the use of descriptive, prescriptive and predictive algorithms for data mining and optimization in a diverse range of application fields such as Energy, Transport, Telecommunications, Health and Industry, among others. In these fields he has published more than 240 articles, co-supervised 8 Ph.D. theses, edited 6 books, coauthored 7 patents and participated/led more than 40 research projects. 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He has been listed among the top 2% of scientists in the world for the last three consecutive years, 2019 to 2021 as per studies conducted by the Stanford University, USA.",institutionString:"Praxis Business School",institution:null},{id:"320071",title:"Dr.",name:"Sidra",middleName:null,surname:"Mehtab",slug:"sidra-mehtab",fullName:"Sidra Mehtab",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/intech-files/0033Y00002v6KHoQAM/Profile_Picture_1584512086360",biography:"Sidra Mehtab has completed her BS with honors in Physics from Calcutta University, India in 2018. She has done MS in Data Science and Analytics from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), Kolkata, India in 2020. Her research areas include Econometrics, Time Series Analysis, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Computer and Network Security with a particular focus on Cyber Security Analytics. Ms. Mehtab has published seven papers in international conferences and one of her papers has been accepted for publication in a reputable international journal. She has won the best paper awards in two prestigious international conferences – BAICONF 2019, and ICADCML 2021, organized in the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India in December 2019, and SOA University, Bhubaneswar, India in January 2021. Besides, Ms. Mehtab has also published two book chapters in two books. Seven of her book chapters will be published in a volume shortly in 2021 by Cambridge Scholars’ Press, UK. Currently, she is working as the joint editor of two edited volumes on Time Series Analysis and Forecasting to be published in the first half of 2021 by an international house. Currently, she is working as a Data Scientist with an MNC in Delhi, India.",institutionString:"NSHM College of Management and Technology",institution:{name:"Association for Computing Machinery",country:{name:"United States of America"}}},{id:"226240",title:"Dr.",name:"Andri Irfan",middleName:null,surname:"Rifai",slug:"andri-irfan-rifai",fullName:"Andri Irfan Rifai",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/226240/images/7412_n.jpg",biography:"Andri IRFAN is a Senior Lecturer of Civil Engineering and Planning. He completed the PhD at the Universitas Indonesia & Universidade do Minho with Sandwich Program Scholarship from the Directorate General of Higher Education and LPDP scholarship. He has been teaching for more than 19 years and much active to applied his knowledge in the project construction in Indonesia. His research interest ranges from pavement management system to advanced data mining techniques for transportation engineering. He has published more than 50 papers in journals and 2 books.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Universitas Internasional Batam",country:{name:"Indonesia"}}},{id:"314576",title:"Dr.",name:"Ibai",middleName:null,surname:"Laña",slug:"ibai-lana",fullName:"Ibai Laña",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/314576/images/system/314576.jpg",biography:"Dr. Ibai Laña works at TECNALIA as a data analyst. He received his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain, in 2018. He is currently a senior researcher at TECNALIA. His research interests fall within the intersection of intelligent transportation systems, machine learning, traffic data analysis, and data science. He has dealt with urban traffic forecasting problems, applying machine learning models and evolutionary algorithms. He has experience in origin-destination matrix estimation or point of interest and trajectory detection. Working with large volumes of data has given him a good command of big data processing tools and NoSQL databases. He has also been a visiting scholar at the Knowledge Engineering and Discovery Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology.",institutionString:"TECNALIA Research & Innovation",institution:{name:"Tecnalia",country:{name:"Spain"}}},{id:"314575",title:"Dr.",name:"Jesus",middleName:null,surname:"L. Lobo",slug:"jesus-l.-lobo",fullName:"Jesus L. Lobo",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/314575/images/system/314575.png",biography:"Dr. Jesús López is currently based in Bilbao (Spain) working at TECNALIA as Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist. In most cases, a project idea or a new research line needs to be investigated to see if it is good enough to take into production or to focus on it. That is exactly what he does, diving into Machine Learning algorithms and technologies to help TECNALIA to decide whether something is great in theory or will actually impact on the product or processes of its projects. So, he is expert at framing experiments, developing hypotheses, and proving whether they’re true or not, in order to investigate fundamental problems with a longer time horizon. He is also able to design and develop PoCs and system prototypes in simulation. He has participated in several national and internacional R&D projects.\n\nAs another relevant part of his everyday research work, he usually publishes his findings in reputed scientific refereed journals and international conferences, occasionally acting as reviewer and Programme Commitee member. Concretely, since 2018 he has published 9 JCR (8 Q1) journal papers, 9 conference papers (e.g. ECML PKDD 2021), and he has co-edited a book. He is also active in popular science writing data science stories for reputed blogs (KDNuggets, TowardsDataScience, Naukas). Besides, he has recently embarked on mentoring programmes as mentor, and has also worked as data science trainer.",institutionString:"TECNALIA Research & Innovation",institution:{name:"Tecnalia",country:{name:"Spain"}}},{id:"103779",title:"Prof.",name:"Yalcin",middleName:null,surname:"Isler",slug:"yalcin-isler",fullName:"Yalcin Isler",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/intech-files/0030O00002bRyQ8QAK/Profile_Picture_1628834958734",biography:"Yalcin Isler (1971 - Burdur / Turkey) received the B.Sc. degree in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey, in 1993, the M.Sc. degree from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey, in 1996, the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey, in 2009, and the Competence of Associate Professorship from the Turkish Interuniversity Council in 2019.\n\nHe was Lecturer at Burdur Vocational School in Suleyman Demirel University (1993-2000, Burdur / Turkey), Software Engineer (2000-2002, Izmir / Turkey), Research Assistant in Bulent Ecevit University (2002-2003, Zonguldak / Turkey), Research Assistant in Dokuz Eylul University (2003-2010, Izmir / Turkey), Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in Bulent Ecevit University (2010-2012, Zonguldak / Turkey), Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering in Izmir Katip Celebi University (2012-2019, Izmir / Turkey). He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir / Turkey, since 2019. In addition to academics, he has also founded Islerya Medical and Information Technologies Company, Izmir / Turkey, since 2017.\n\nHis main research interests cover biomedical signal processing, pattern recognition, medical device design, programming, and embedded systems. He has many scientific papers and participated in several projects in these study fields. He was an IEEE Student Member (2009-2011) and IEEE Member (2011-2014) and has been IEEE Senior Member since 2014.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Izmir Kâtip Çelebi University",country:{name:"Turkey"}}},{id:"339677",title:"Dr.",name:"Mrinmoy",middleName:null,surname:"Roy",slug:"mrinmoy-roy",fullName:"Mrinmoy Roy",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/339677/images/16768_n.jpg",biography:"An accomplished Sales & Marketing professional with 12 years of cross-functional experience in well-known organisations such as CIPLA, LUPIN, GLENMARK, ASTRAZENECA across different segment of Sales & Marketing, International Business, Institutional Business, Product Management, Strategic Marketing of HIV, Oncology, Derma, Respiratory, Anti-Diabetic, Nutraceutical & Stomatological Product Portfolio and Generic as well as Chronic Critical Care Portfolio. A First Class MBA in International Business & Strategic Marketing, B.Pharm, D.Pharm, Google Certified Digital Marketing Professional. Qualified PhD Candidate in Operations and Management with special focus on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning adoption, analysis and use in Healthcare, Hospital & Pharma Domain. Seasoned with diverse therapy area of Pharmaceutical Sales & Marketing ranging from generating revenue through generating prescriptions, launching new products, and making them big brands with continuous strategy execution at the Physician and Patients level. Moved from Sales to Marketing and Business Development for 3.5 years in South East Asian Market operating from Manila, Philippines. Came back to India and handled and developed Brands such as Gluconorm, Lupisulin, Supracal, Absolut Woman, Hemozink, Fabiflu (For COVID 19), and many more. In my previous assignment I used to develop and execute strategies on Sales & Marketing, Commercialization & Business Development for Institution and Corporate Hospital Business portfolio of Oncology Therapy Area for AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. Being a Research Scholar and Student of ‘Operations Research & Management: Artificial Intelligence’ I published several pioneer research papers and book chapters on the same in Internationally reputed journals and Books indexed in Scopus, Springer and Ei Compendex, Google Scholar etc. Currently, I am launching PGDM Pharmaceutical Management Program in IIHMR Bangalore and spearheading the course curriculum and structure of the same. I am interested in Collaboration for Healthcare Innovation, Pharma AI Innovation, Future trend in Marketing and Management with incubation on Healthcare, Healthcare IT startups, AI-ML Modelling and Healthcare Algorithm based training module development. I am also an affiliated member of the Institute of Management Consultant of India, looking forward to Healthcare, Healthcare IT and Innovation, Pharma and Hospital Management Consulting works.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Lovely Professional University",country:{name:"India"}}},{id:"310576",title:"Prof.",name:"Erick Giovani",middleName:null,surname:"Sperandio Nascimento",slug:"erick-giovani-sperandio-nascimento",fullName:"Erick Giovani Sperandio Nascimento",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://intech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/0033Y00002pDKxDQAW/ProfilePicture%202022-06-20%2019%3A57%3A24.788",biography:"Prof. Erick Sperandio is the Lead Researcher and professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at SENAI CIMATEC, Bahia, Brazil, also working with Computational Modeling (CM) and HPC. He holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering in the area of Atmospheric Computational Modeling, a Master in Informatics in the field of Computational Intelligence and Graduated in Computer Science from UFES. He currently coordinates, leads and participates in R&D projects in the areas of AI, computational modeling and supercomputing applied to different areas such as Oil and Gas, Health, Advanced Manufacturing, Renewable Energies and Atmospheric Sciences, advising undergraduate, master's and doctoral students. He is the Lead Researcher at SENAI CIMATEC's Reference Center on Artificial Intelligence. In addition, he is a Certified Instructor and University Ambassador of the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) in the areas of Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing and Recommender Systems, and Principal Investigator of the NVIDIA/CIMATEC AI Joint Lab, the first in Latin America within the NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) worldwide program. He also works as a researcher at the Supercomputing Center for Industrial Innovation (CS2i) and at the SENAI Institute of Innovation for Automation (ISI Automação), both from SENAI CIMATEC. He is a member and vice-coordinator of the Basic Board of Scientific-Technological Advice and Evaluation, in the area of Innovation, of the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Bahia (FAPESB). He serves as Technology Transfer Coordinator and one of the Principal Investigators at the National Applied Research Center in Artificial Intelligence (CPA-IA) of SENAI CIMATEC, focusing on Industry, being one of the six CPA-IA in Brazil approved by MCTI / FAPESP / CGI.br. He also participates as one of the representatives of Brazil in the BRICS Innovation Collaboration Working Group on HPC, ICT and AI. He is the coordinator of the Work Group of the Axis 5 - Workforce and Training - of the Brazilian Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (EBIA), and member of the MCTI/EMBRAPII AI Innovation Network Training Committee. He is the coordinator, by SENAI CIMATEC, of the Artificial Intelligence Reference Network of the State of Bahia (REDE BAH.IA). He leads the working group of experts representing Brazil in the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), on the theme \"AI and the Pandemic Response\".",institutionString:"Manufacturing and Technology Integrated Campus – SENAI CIMATEC",institution:null},{id:"1063",title:"Prof.",name:"Constantin",middleName:null,surname:"Volosencu",slug:"constantin-volosencu",fullName:"Constantin Volosencu",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/1063/images/system/1063.png",biography:"Prof. Dr. Constantin Voloşencu graduated as an engineer from\nPolitehnica University of Timișoara, Romania, where he also\nobtained a doctorate degree. He is currently a full professor in\nthe Department of Automation and Applied Informatics at the\nsame university. Dr. Voloşencu is the author of ten books, seven\nbook chapters, and more than 160 papers published in journals\nand conference proceedings. He has also edited twelve books and\nhas twenty-seven patents to his name. He is a manager of research grants, editor in\nchief and member of international journal editorial boards, a former plenary speaker, a member of scientific committees, and chair at international conferences. His\nresearch is in the fields of control systems, control of electric drives, fuzzy control\nsystems, neural network applications, fault detection and diagnosis, sensor network\napplications, monitoring of distributed parameter systems, and power ultrasound\napplications. He has developed automation equipment for machine tools, spooling\nmachines, high-power ultrasound processes, and more.",institutionString:'"Politechnica" University Timişoara',institution:null},{id:"221364",title:"Dr.",name:"Eneko",middleName:null,surname:"Osaba",slug:"eneko-osaba",fullName:"Eneko Osaba",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/221364/images/system/221364.jpg",biography:"Dr. Eneko Osaba works at TECNALIA as a senior researcher. He obtained his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence in 2015. He has participated in more than twenty-five local and European research projects, and in the publication of more than 130 papers. He has performed several stays at universities in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Malta. Dr. Osaba has served as a program committee member in more than forty international conferences and participated in organizing activities in more than ten international conferences. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence, Data in Brief, and Journal of Advanced Transportation. He is also a guest editor for the Journal of Computational Science, Neurocomputing, Swarm, and Evolutionary Computation and IEEE ITS Magazine.",institutionString:"TECNALIA Research & Innovation",institution:{name:"Tecnalia",country:{name:"Spain"}}},{id:"275829",title:"Dr.",name:"Esther",middleName:null,surname:"Villar-Rodriguez",slug:"esther-villar-rodriguez",fullName:"Esther Villar-Rodriguez",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/275829/images/system/275829.jpg",biography:"Dr. Esther Villar obtained a Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technologies from the University of Alcalá, Spain, in 2015. She obtained a degree in Computer Science from the University of Deusto, Spain, in 2010, and an MSc in Computer Languages and Systems from the National University of Distance Education, Spain, in 2012. Her areas of interest and knowledge include natural language processing (NLP), detection of impersonation in social networks, semantic web, and machine learning. Dr. Esther Villar made several contributions at conferences and publishing in various journals in those fields. Currently, she is working within the OPTIMA (Optimization Modeling & Analytics) business of TECNALIA’s ICT Division as a data scientist in projects related to the prediction and optimization of management and industrial processes (resource planning, energy efficiency, etc).",institutionString:"TECNALIA Research & Innovation",institution:{name:"Tecnalia",country:{name:"Spain"}}},{id:"49813",title:"Dr.",name:"Javier",middleName:null,surname:"Del Ser",slug:"javier-del-ser",fullName:"Javier Del Ser",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/49813/images/system/49813.png",biography:"Prof. Dr. Javier Del Ser received his first PhD in Telecommunication Engineering (Cum Laude) from the University of Navarra, Spain, in 2006, and a second PhD in Computational Intelligence (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Alcala, Spain, in 2013. He is currently a principal researcher in data analytics and optimisation at TECNALIA (Spain), a visiting fellow at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) and a part-time lecturer at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). His research interests gravitate on the use of descriptive, prescriptive and predictive algorithms for data mining and optimization in a diverse range of application fields such as Energy, Transport, Telecommunications, Health and Industry, among others. In these fields he has published more than 240 articles, co-supervised 8 Ph.D. theses, edited 6 books, coauthored 7 patents and participated/led more than 40 research projects. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, and a recipient of the Biscay Talent prize for his academic career.",institutionString:"Tecnalia Research & Innovation",institution:{name:"Tecnalia",country:{name:"Spain"}}},{id:"278948",title:"Dr.",name:"Carlos Pedro",middleName:null,surname:"Gonçalves",slug:"carlos-pedro-goncalves",fullName:"Carlos Pedro Gonçalves",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/intech-files/0030O00002bRcmyQAC/Profile_Picture_1564224512145",biography:'Carlos Pedro Gonçalves (PhD) is an Associate Professor at Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies and a researcher on Complexity Sciences, Quantum Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Strategic Studies, Studies in Intelligence and Security, FinTech and Financial Risk Modeling. He is also a progammer with programming experience in:\n\nA) Quantum Computing using Qiskit Python module and IBM Quantum Experience Platform, with software developed on the simulation of Quantum Artificial Neural Networks and Quantum Cybersecurity;\n\nB) Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning programming in Python;\n\nC) Artificial Intelligence, Multiagent Systems Modeling and System Dynamics Modeling in Netlogo, with models developed in the areas of Chaos Theory, Econophysics, Artificial Intelligence, Classical and Quantum Complex Systems Science, with the Econophysics models having been cited worldwide and incorporated in PhD programs by different Universities.\n\nReceived an Arctic Code Vault Contributor status by GitHub, due to having developed open source software preserved in the \\"Arctic Code Vault\\" for future generations (https://archiveprogram.github.com/arctic-vault/), with the Strategy Analyzer A.I. module for decision making support (based on his PhD thesis, used in his Classes on Decision Making and in Strategic Intelligence Consulting Activities) and QNeural Python Quantum Neural Network simulator also preserved in the \\"Arctic Code Vault\\", for access to these software modules see: https://github.com/cpgoncalves. He is also a peer reviewer with outsanding review status from Elsevier journals, including Physica A, Neurocomputing and Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. Science CV available at: https://www.cienciavitae.pt//pt/8E1C-A8B3-78C5 and ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0298-3974',institutionString:"University of Lisbon",institution:{name:"Universidade Lusófona",country:{name:"Portugal"}}},{id:"241400",title:"Prof.",name:"Mohammed",middleName:null,surname:"Bsiss",slug:"mohammed-bsiss",fullName:"Mohammed Bsiss",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/241400/images/8062_n.jpg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:null},{id:"276128",title:"Dr.",name:"Hira",middleName:null,surname:"Fatima",slug:"hira-fatima",fullName:"Hira Fatima",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/276128/images/14420_n.jpg",biography:"Dr. Hira Fatima\nAssistant Professor\nDepartment of Mathematics\nInstitute of Applied Science\nMangalayatan University, Aligarh\nMobile: no : 8532041179\nhirafatima2014@gmal.com\n\nDr. Hira Fatima has received his Ph.D. degree in pure Mathematics from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh India. Currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Institute of Applied Science, Mangalayatan University, Aligarh. She taught so many courses of Mathematics of UG and PG level. Her research Area of Expertise is Functional Analysis & Sequence Spaces. She has been working on Ideal Convergence of double sequence. She has published 17 research papers in National and International Journals including Cogent Mathematics, Filomat, Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, Advances in Difference Equations, Journal of Mathematical Analysis, Journal of Mathematical & Computer Science etc. She has also reviewed few research papers for the and international journals. She is a member of Indian Mathematical Society.",institutionString:null,institution:null},{id:"414880",title:"Dr.",name:"Maryam",middleName:null,surname:"Vatankhah",slug:"maryam-vatankhah",fullName:"Maryam Vatankhah",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Borough of Manhattan Community College",country:{name:"United States of America"}}},{id:"414879",title:"Prof.",name:"Mohammad-Reza",middleName:null,surname:"Akbarzadeh-Totonchi",slug:"mohammad-reza-akbarzadeh-totonchi",fullName:"Mohammad-Reza Akbarzadeh-Totonchi",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Ferdowsi University of Mashhad",country:{name:"Iran"}}},{id:"414878",title:"Prof.",name:"Reza",middleName:null,surname:"Fazel-Rezai",slug:"reza-fazel-rezai",fullName:"Reza Fazel-Rezai",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"American Public University System",country:{name:"United States of America"}}},{id:"426586",title:"Dr.",name:"Oladunni A.",middleName:null,surname:"Daramola",slug:"oladunni-a.-daramola",fullName:"Oladunni A. Daramola",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Federal University of Technology",country:{name:"Nigeria"}}},{id:"357014",title:"Prof.",name:"Leon",middleName:null,surname:"Bobrowski",slug:"leon-bobrowski",fullName:"Leon Bobrowski",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Bialystok University of Technology",country:{name:"Poland"}}},{id:"302698",title:"Dr.",name:"Yao",middleName:null,surname:"Shan",slug:"yao-shan",fullName:"Yao Shan",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Dalian University of Technology",country:{name:"China"}}},{id:"354126",title:"Dr.",name:"Setiawan",middleName:null,surname:"Hadi",slug:"setiawan-hadi",fullName:"Setiawan Hadi",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Padjadjaran University",country:{name:"Indonesia"}}},{id:"125911",title:"Prof.",name:"Jia-Ching",middleName:null,surname:"Wang",slug:"jia-ching-wang",fullName:"Jia-Ching Wang",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"National Central University",country:{name:"Taiwan"}}},{id:"332603",title:"Prof.",name:"Kumar S.",middleName:null,surname:"Ray",slug:"kumar-s.-ray",fullName:"Kumar S. Ray",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Indian Statistical Institute",country:{name:"India"}}},{id:"415409",title:"Prof.",name:"Maghsoud",middleName:null,surname:"Amiri",slug:"maghsoud-amiri",fullName:"Maghsoud Amiri",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Allameh Tabataba'i University",country:{name:"Iran"}}},{id:"357085",title:"Mr.",name:"P. Mohan",middleName:null,surname:"Anand",slug:"p.-mohan-anand",fullName:"P. Mohan Anand",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur",country:{name:"India"}}},{id:"356696",title:"Ph.D. Student",name:"P.V.",middleName:null,surname:"Sai Charan",slug:"p.v.-sai-charan",fullName:"P.V. Sai Charan",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur",country:{name:"India"}}},{id:"357086",title:"Prof.",name:"Sandeep K.",middleName:null,surname:"Shukla",slug:"sandeep-k.-shukla",fullName:"Sandeep K. Shukla",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur",country:{name:"India"}}}]}},subseries:{item:{id:"27",type:"subseries",title:"Multi-Agent Systems",keywords:"Collaborative Intelligence, Learning, Distributed Control System, Swarm Robotics, Decision Science, Software Engineering",scope:"Multi-agent systems are recognised as a state of the art field in Artificial Intelligence studies, which is popular due to the usefulness in facilitation capabilities to handle real-world problem-solving in a distributed fashion. The area covers many techniques that offer solutions to emerging problems in robotics and enterprise-level software systems. Collaborative intelligence is highly and effectively achieved with multi-agent systems. Areas of application include swarms of robots, flocks of UAVs, collaborative software management. Given the level of technological enhancements, the popularity of machine learning in use has opened a new chapter in multi-agent studies alongside the practical challenges and long-lasting collaboration issues in the field. It has increased the urgency and the need for further studies in this field. We welcome chapters presenting research on the many applications of multi-agent studies including, but not limited to, the following key areas: machine learning for multi-agent systems; modeling swarms robots and flocks of UAVs with multi-agent systems; decision science and multi-agent systems; software engineering for and with multi-agent systems; tools and technologies of multi-agent systems.",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/27.jpg",hasOnlineFirst:!0,hasPublishedBooks:!1,annualVolume:11423,editor:{id:"148497",title:"Dr.",name:"Mehmet",middleName:"Emin",surname:"Aydin",slug:"mehmet-aydin",fullName:"Mehmet Aydin",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/148497/images/system/148497.jpg",biography:"Dr. Mehmet Emin Aydin is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Computer Science and Creative Technology, the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. His research interests include swarm intelligence, parallel and distributed metaheuristics, machine learning, intelligent agents and multi-agent systems, resource planning, scheduling and optimization, combinatorial optimization. Dr. Aydin is currently a Fellow of Higher Education Academy, UK, a member of EPSRC College, a senior member of IEEE and a senior member of ACM. In addition to being a member of advisory committees of many international conferences, he is an Editorial Board Member of various peer-reviewed international journals. 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\r\n\tThe era of antibiotics led us to the illusion that the problem of bacterial infection is over. However, bacterial flexibility and adaptation mechanisms allow them to survive and grow in extreme conditions. The best example is the formation of a sophisticated society of bacteria defined as a biofilm. Understanding the mechanism of bacterial biofilm formation has changed our perception of the development of bacterial infection but successfully eradicating biofilm remains a challenge. Considering the above, it is not surprising that bacteria remain a major public health threat despite the development of many groups of antibiotics. Additionally, increasing prevalence of acquired antibiotic resistance forces us to realize that we are far from controlling the development of bacterial infections. On the other hand, many infections are endogenous and result from an unbalanced relationship between the host and the microorganism. The increasing use of immunosuppressants, such as chemotherapy or organ transplantation, increases the incidence of patients highly susceptible to bacterial infections in the population.
\r\n
\r\n\tThis topic will focus on the current challenges and advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections. We will discuss the host-microbiota relationship, the treatment of chronic infections due to biofilm formation, and the development of new diagnostic tools to rapidly distinguish between colonization and probable infection.
",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/3.jpg",keywords:"Antibiotics, Biofilm, Antibiotic Resistance, Host-microbiota Relationship, Treatment, Diagnostic Tools"},{id:"4",title:"Fungal Infectious Diseases",scope:"Fungi are ubiquitous and there are almost no non-pathogenic fungi. Fungal infectious illness prevalence and prognosis are determined by the exposure between fungi and host, host immunological state, fungal virulence, and early and accurate diagnosis and treatment. \r\nPatients with both congenital and acquired immunodeficiency are more likely to be infected with opportunistic mycosis. Fungal infectious disease outbreaks are common during the post- disaster rebuilding era, which is characterised by high population density, migration, and poor health and medical conditions.\r\nSystemic or local fungal infection is mainly associated with the fungi directly inhaled or inoculated in the environment during the disaster. The most common fungal infection pathways are human to human (anthropophilic), animal to human (zoophilic), and environment to human (soilophile). Diseases are common as a result of widespread exposure to pathogenic fungus dispersed into the environment. \r\nFungi that are both common and emerging are intertwined. In Southeast Asia, for example, Talaromyces marneffei is an important pathogenic thermally dimorphic fungus that causes systemic mycosis. Widespread fungal infections with complicated and variable clinical manifestations, such as Candida auris infection resistant to several antifungal medicines, Covid-19 associated with Trichoderma, and terbinafine resistant dermatophytosis in India, are among the most serious disorders. \r\nInappropriate local or systemic use of glucocorticoids, as well as their immunosuppressive effects, may lead to changes in fungal infection spectrum and clinical characteristics. Hematogenous candidiasis is a worrisome issue that affects people all over the world, particularly ICU patients. CARD9 deficiency and fungal infection have been major issues in recent years. Invasive aspergillosis is associated with a significant death rate. Special attention should be given to endemic fungal infections, identification of important clinical fungal infections advanced in yeasts, filamentous fungal infections, skin mycobiome and fungal genomes, and immunity to fungal infections.\r\nIn addition, endemic fungal diseases or uncommon fungal infections caused by Mucor irregularis, dermatophytosis, Malassezia, cryptococcosis, chromoblastomycosis, coccidiosis, blastomycosis, histoplasmosis, sporotrichosis, and other fungi, should be monitored. \r\nThis topic includes the research progress on the etiology and pathogenesis of fungal infections, new methods of isolation and identification, rapid detection, drug sensitivity testing, new antifungal drugs, schemes and case series reports. It will provide significant opportunities and support for scientists, clinical doctors, mycologists, antifungal drug researchers, public health practitioners, and epidemiologists from all over the world to share new research, ideas and solutions to promote the development and progress of medical mycology.",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/4.jpg",keywords:"Emerging Fungal Pathogens, Invasive Infections, Epidemiology, Cell Membrane, Fungal Virulence, Diagnosis, Treatment"},{id:"5",title:"Parasitic Infectious Diseases",scope:"Parasitic diseases have evolved alongside their human hosts. In many cases, these diseases have adapted so well that they have developed efficient resilience methods in the human host and can live in the host for years. Others, particularly some blood parasites, can cause very acute diseases and are responsible for millions of deaths yearly. Many parasitic diseases are classified as neglected tropical diseases because they have received minimal funding over recent years and, in many cases, are under-reported despite the critical role they play in morbidity and mortality among human and animal hosts. The current topic, Parasitic Infectious Diseases, in the Infectious Diseases Series aims to publish studies on the systematics, epidemiology, molecular biology, genomics, pathogenesis, genetics, and clinical significance of parasitic diseases from blood borne to intestinal parasites as well as zoonotic parasites. We hope to cover all aspects of parasitic diseases to provide current and relevant research data on these very important diseases. In the current atmosphere of the Coronavirus pandemic, communities around the world, particularly those in different underdeveloped areas, are faced with the growing challenges of the high burden of parasitic diseases. At the same time, they are faced with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to what some authors have called potential syndemics that might worsen the outcome of such infections. Therefore, it is important to conduct studies that examine parasitic infections in the context of the coronavirus pandemic for the benefit of all communities to help foster more informed decisions for the betterment of human and animal health.",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/5.jpg",keywords:"Blood Borne Parasites, Intestinal Parasites, Protozoa, Helminths, Arthropods, Water Born Parasites, Epidemiology, Molecular Biology, Systematics, Genomics, Proteomics, Ecology"},{id:"6",title:"Viral Infectious Diseases",scope:"The Viral Infectious Diseases Book Series aims to provide a comprehensive overview of recent research trends and discoveries in various viral infectious diseases emerging around the globe. The emergence of any viral disease is hard to anticipate, which often contributes to death. A viral disease can be defined as an infectious disease that has recently appeared within a population or exists in nature with the rapid expansion of incident or geographic range. This series will focus on various crucial factors related to emerging viral infectious diseases, including epidemiology, pathogenesis, host immune response, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and clinical recommendations for managing viral infectious diseases, highlighting the recent issues with future directions for effective therapeutic strategies.",coverUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/series_topics/covers/6.jpg",keywords:"Novel Viruses, Virus Transmission, Virus Evolution, Molecular Virology, Control and Prevention, Virus-host Interaction"}],annualVolumeBook:{},thematicCollection:[],selectedSeries:{title:"Infectious Diseases",id:"6"},selectedSubseries:null},seriesLanding:{item:null},libraryRecommendation:{success:null,errors:{},institutions:[]},route:{name:"profile.detail",path:"/profiles/161637",hash:"",query:{},params:{id:"161637"},fullPath:"/profiles/161637",meta:{},from:{name:null,path:"/",hash:"",query:{},params:{},fullPath:"/",meta:{}}}},function(){var e;(e=document.currentScript||document.scripts[document.scripts.length-1]).parentNode.removeChild(e)}()