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Books in Agricultural and biological sciences

The Agricultural and Biological Sciences collection advances science-based knowledge for the improvement of animal and plant life and for secure food systems that produce nutritious, novel, sustainable foods with minimal environmental impact. Food Science titles include not only those products from agriculture but all other aspects from food production to nutrition, health and safety, chemistry to security, policy, law and regulation. Biological Sciences address animal behaviour and biodiversity, organismal and evolutionary biology, entomology, marine biology and aquaculture, plant science and forestry.

  • Plant Modification For More Efficient Water Use

    • 1st Edition
    • John Stone
    • English
    Plant Modification for More Efficient Water Use is a compilation of the proceedings of the Symposium on Plant Modification for More Efficient Water Use. These proceedings aim to make significant progress in identifying the physiological and morphological characteristics of plants by providing considerable control of evapotranspiration and by exploring their possible manipulation. This book is divided into four parts focusing on genetic engineering, physiological and environmental factors, and modeling. The first part includes articles about breeding, genetic engineering, use of variety isogenes, genetic modification, and phenotype and drought tolerance in relation to efficient use of water. The second part presents articles about plant responses to water deficit, water-use efficiency, water stress, and drought resistance. It also provides articles on plant-water balance, carbon dioxide requirement, soil physical and chemical barriers, and soil temperature and air temperature. The third part describes models of plant growth for yield prediction; light models for estimating the shortwave radiation regime of plant canopies; and soil-plant-atmospher... model. In addition, this part includes a parametric analysis of the anatomy and physiology of the stomata. The last part offers a challenge on plant modification for more efficient water use.

  • Protein and Amino acid nutrition

    • 1st Edition
    • Anthony Albanese
    • English
    Protein and Amino Acid Nutrition describes the state of knowledge concerning the nutrition of proteins and amino acids. Topics range from the effect of some therapeutic agents on protein and amino acid nutrition, to species and age differences in amino acid requirements; utilization of D-amino acids; effect of proteins and amino acids on the growth of adult tissue in vitro; and amino acid requirements of animals and young adults. This volume is organized into 16 chapters and begins with an overview of the nutritional implications of the metabolic interrelationships of amino acids. The next chapters discuss experiments that tested the differences in amino acid requirements due to the differences in age and in species among animals, the biochemical individuality of amino acid requirements, and the utilization of dietary proteins. This book explains the synthesis of tissue proteins in relation to the essential amino acids; the link between food energy and nitrogen metabolism; and the use of the repletion method to measure the nutritive value of proteins, protein hydrolyzates, and amino acid mixtures. The final chapter discusses the nutritional needs of the older age groups. This book is intended for scientists, students, and researchers interested in human and animal nutrition.

  • Evolutionary and Genetic Biology of Primates V1

    • 1st Edition
    • John Buettner-Janusch
    • English
    Evolutionary and Genetic Biology of Primates, Volume I presents research on the evolution and genetic biology of the Primates. This volume comprises seven chapters that tackle the problem of primate classification, anatomy, and genetics. The first chapter deals with an eventual serious reorganization of the classification of the Primates, followed by a discussion on a critical reappraisal of tertiary primates from different periods, such as Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene. The subsequent chapter examines the phylogenetic implications of neural structures in both morphological and physiological terms. The book also presents comparative studies on the differences between skin of primates and that of man; the sweat glands of the Lorisidae; and the nerve endings in the skin of primates. Lastly, methods for primate chromosomes and their evolution are described. This book is an invaluable source for physical anthropologists and researchers, histologists, anatomists, neurologists, geneticists, cytologists, and other specialists.

  • Plant Improvement and Somatic Cell Genetics

    • 1st Edition
    • Indra Asil
    • English
    Plant Improvement and Somatic Cell Genetics includes all but one of the papers presented at two symposia held during the XIII International Botanical Congress in Sydney, Australia, on August 21-28, 1981. ""Frontiers in Plant Breeding"" and ""Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics in Plant Biology"" highlight the ways in which plant breeding techniques can improve crops. The book explores the potentials as well as the limitations of plant breeding, and cellular and molecular techniques in plant improvement. Comprised of 14 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the potential applications of exotic germplasm for tomato and cereal crop improvement. It continues with a discussion of multiline breeding, breeding of crop plants that can tolerate soil stresses, combining genomes by means of conventional methods, use of embryo culture in interspecific hybridization, use of haploids in plant improvement, and somaclonal variation and somatic hybridization as new techniques for plant improvement. The reader is also introduced to plant cell culture, as well as somatic cell genetics of cereals and grasses, somatic cell fusion for inducing cytoplasmic exchange, uses of cell culture mutants, genetic transformation of plant cells by experimental procedures in the context of plant genetic engineering, and use of molecular biology techniques for recognition and modification of crop plant genotypes. This book will be a useful resource for scientists and plant breeders interested in applying somatic cell genetics for crop improvement.

  • Biotic Crises in Ecological and Evolutionary Time

    • 1st Edition
    • Matthew Nitecki
    • English
    Biotic Crises in Ecological and Evolutionary Time emerged from the third Field Museum Spring Systematic Symposium held in May 1980. The symposium attempted to explore the nature and effects of crisis over as wide a range of temporal and spatial scales as possible. To this end, contributions were included from such diverse fields as astronomy, paleobiology, ecology, and anthropology. The kinds of crises considered ranged from events in the cosmological history of the universe all the way to the effects of a single introduced species on a present-day living community. The book begins by providing a definition of ""crisis"" and a general discussion of methods and approaches to the study of crises. The subsequent chapters present studies on topics such as the physical mechanisms underlying the cosmological framework in which life evolved; physical disturbance in the life of plants; the impact of species introductions; and evolutionary aspects of pre- and post-interchange fossil land mammal faunas in South America.

  • Biology of Plant Litter Decomposition V1

    • 1st Edition
    • C.H. Dickinson
    • English
    Biology of Plant Litter Decomposition, Volume 1 focuses on decomposition of various types of litter, which include all plant remains, ranging from still standing dead trees to the decomposing hyphae of fungi and bacterial cells, including herbivore dung. The book is organized into seven chapters, each devoted to a specific type of litter including lower plants, herbaceous, angiosperm, and coniferous tree leaf litters; wood; root; and digested litter. It describes the structure and function of the organisms concerned. It also covers the involvement of biotrophic and necrotrophic parasites of higher plants in the early stages of decomposition. With a strong focus on the interrelationships in plant litter decomposition, the book is an ideal source of information for research biologists who are interested in life cycle and decomposition of plants.

  • Metabolic Inhibitors V3

    A Comprehensive Treatise
    • 1st Edition
    • R Hochster
    • English
    Metabolic Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Treatise, Volume III reviews developments in metabolic and enzyme inhibition. With contributions by investigators experienced in their respective fields, the book explores metabolic processes or systems and covers topics ranging from membrane transport to immunization; gene activity; DNA, RNA, and protein syntheses; photosynthesis; lipid metabolism; and blood clotting. Organized into 12 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of transport reactions and their inhibition, emphasizing inhibitors of ATPase including cations, substrates, and products. Some chapters deal with inhibitors, such as antibiotics; polypeptide and protein hormones; modified transfer RNAs; and oligonucleotides. Other chapters discuss inhibitors of immune reactions; animal virus replication; plant viruses and mycoplasma; and isozymes. An account of genetic deletions is also given. Finally, the book considers molecules that act as repressors and derepressors of gene activity. This book will be beneficial to biochemists and medical research workers, as well as to virologists, microbiologists, plant physiologists, and agronomists.

  • Mechanisms in Bioenergetics

    • 1st Edition
    • Giovanni Azzone
    • English
    Mechanisms in Bioenergetics covers the proceedings of the eighth conference on ""Mechanisms in Bioenergetics"" held in Pugnochiuso, Italy on May 1-4, 1972. This book is organized into three parts, encompassing 43 chapters that discuss bioenergetics in mitochondria, chloroplasts, chromatophores, and bacterial protoplast membranes. It summarizes the structure and dynamics of energy-transducing membranes, molecular basis of membrane transport, and energy coupling mechanisms. The first part of the book describes various aspects of structure and dynamics of energy transducing membranes. This includes their chemiosmotic coupling, reflection coefficients, structural transformation, redox properties, and circular dichroism studies. This is followed by considerable chapters discussing chemiosmotic theory of transport and metabolism, ion channel phosphorylation paths in cell membrane, and kinetics of metabolite anion uptake in mitochondria. Other topics covered are mitochondrial Ca2+-binding glycoprotein and sucrose-dependent sugar transport across artificial lipid membranes. This book also looks into the enzyme interaction in mitochondrial membrane. It also discusses the relation of hydrogen uptake to electron flow in photosynthetic bacteria and purine nucleotides and fatty acids in energy coupling. The concluding section deals with the mechanisms of energy coupling, including mechanism of respiration-driven proton, role of mitochondrial energy transfer factors, and energy in mitochondrial respiration. The behavior of cytochromes b and c of pigeon heart and in the energized mitochondrial membrane is also described. Finally, this book considers the effect of adenosine-containing compounds competitively inhibiting the mitochondrial transhydrogenase reaction. Researchers and students who are interested in bioenergetics and energy-transducing membranes will benefit from this book.

  • Gene Manipulations in Fungi

    • 1st Edition
    • J.W. Bennett
    • English
    Gene Manipulations in Fungi combines a review of classical fungal genetics, contemporary research, and responsible speculation about the future. This book focuses on yeasts and molds; because yeast is the primary model system for eukaryotes and that there is an elegant research on molds. The applications of fungi, including their economic importance, are addressed. The book emphasizes the need for improved transformation systems, appropriate vectors, and broadly applicable selectable markers in this field of interest. This book will help stimulate the development of innovative approaches in this subject matter.

  • Immune Regulators In Transfer Factor

    • 1st Edition
    • Amanullah Khan
    • English
    Immune Regulators in Transfer Factor is a collection of papers presented at the Third International Symposium on Transfer Factor held on October 12-14, 1978 at the Wadley Institutes of Molecular Medicine in Dallas, Texas. Contributors focus on immune regulators occurring in transfer factor, a dialyzable component of leukocyte lysates. The isolation and characterization of the immunologically active molecules, as well as tests for in vitro and in vivo, are described. This volume is organized into five sections encompassing 73 chapters and begins with an overview of animal models used in research on dialyzable leukocyte extracts, their modulation of suppressor activity, effects in mice, and activity and specificity of human and bovine transfer factor. The next section considers in vitro testing, touching on topics such as the quantification and biological assays of transfer factor; the specificity of transfer factor action on macrophage migration; and the effect of transfer factor therapy on antibody-dependent cytotoxic activity in humans. The reader is then introduced to the preparation, purification, and characterization of transfer factor, as well as clinical investigations ranging from phase I studies to randomized controlled trials. This book will be of interest to scientists and researchers in fields such as molecular medicine, biomedicine, microbiology, immunology, oncology, pathology, and immunotherapy.

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