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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.

  • Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates V2

    Entoprocts and Lesser Coelomates
    • 1st Edition
    • Arthur Giese
    • English
    Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates, Volume II: Entoprocts and Lesser Coelomates focuses on the reproduction of smaller groups of marine metazoans. It is organized into nine chapters; each chapter is devoted to a specific marine metazoan. The asexual and sexual reproduction and developmental stages of entoprocta, tardigrada, priapulida, sipuncula, pogonophora, chaetognatha, hemichordata, tunicata, and cephalochordate are discussed. This book is ideal for marine invertebrate researchers, scientists, and reproduction experts.
  • Subviral Pathogens of Plants and Animals: Viroids and Prions

    • 1st Edition
    • Karl Maramorosch
    • English
    Subviral Pathogens of Plants and Animals: Viroids and Prions is organized into four parts consisting of a total of 20 chapters that discuss the nature of subviral pathogens of plants and animal. This book first elucidates the recognition of subviral pathogens, and then explores the host range of viroids and its diseases. It also addresses the control of viroid diseases. The book explains the structure and replication of viroids. Lastly, it centers on the structure and biology of prions, as well as the diseases these pathogens cause. This treatise will be of considerable scientific interest and importance to those in the field of human and veterinary medicine, virology, zoology, microbiology, plant pathology, entomology, as well as other branches of biology.
  • Nutritional Toxicology V3

    • 1st Edition
    • John Hathcock
    • English
    Nutritional Toxicology, Volume III is a compilation of reviews and research regarding nutrition and toxicology, specifically the issues that affect public health and regulation. This volume further develops understanding of the basic concepts significant to protect and promote public health and provide a credible scientific basis for public health and regulatory decisions. Composed of seven chapters, this volume further extends the discussion of the topics included in Volume I and Volume II of this series. The first two chapters deal with the topic of food safety. The first one discusses safety of food packaging materials and their health implications. The second chapter tackles the relation between neurotoxicology and food safety assessment. The next section of this book includes more detailed discussion regarding proteins (amino acids), phosphorylated derivatives, and vitamin B6 interactions. The discussion of these topics generally covers their chemical aspects, metabolism, bioavailability, and distribution in foods. The last two chapters give recommendations regarding toxicological experiments and vitamin supplement. Chapter 6 presents considerations in the designing of standardized diets in toxicological experiments. Chapter 7 gives an analysis of the risk/benefit of vitamin supplements. As with the other volumes, this book proves helpful to students, professionals, and researchers in the field of nutritional sciences, pharmacology, and biology.
  • Biology of Bats

    • 1st Edition
    • William Wimsatt
    • English
    Biology of Bats, Volume I, examines most of the basic characteristics related to the anatomy, physiology, behavior, and ecology of the bat. It covers the animal's evolution, as well as karyology, bioeconomics, zoogeography, principles of classification, and procedures and issues involved in the care and management of bats as research subjects in the laboratory. Organized into 10 chapters, this volume begins with a historical overview of bat origins and evolution, karyotypic trends in bats, and the role of karyotypes in studying the biology of bats. It then discusses the bat skeletal and muscular systems; flight patterns and aerodynamics; prenatal and postnatal development; migration and homing; ecology and physiological ecology of bat hibernation; thermoregulation and metabolism; and the urinary system, including gross anatomy and embryology, histophysiology, and renal physiology. It also looks at morphological contrasts between the skulls and dentitions of different families and genera of bats. This book will benefit biologists, zoologists, teachers, and others concerned with the general biology of Chiroptera.
  • Cell Reproduction

    In honor of Daniel Mazia
    • 1st Edition
    • Ellen Dirksen
    • English
    Cell Reproduction: In Honor of Daniel Mazia represents the proceeding of a symposium entitled “Cell Reproduction” held in Keystone, Colorado, on March 1978. The symposium is organized to honor Daniel Mazia. Most of the areas of research that are discussed at the conference have their origins in Dan Mazia's laboratory. This volume is divided into nine parts, consisting of papers presented in the symposium. It first focuses on the macromolecular control in cell proliferation and growth, cell cycle regulation, control of genetic expression, and microtubule assembly in vitro and in vivo. In then explains the control of fertilization phenomena, chromosome movement, the mitotic apparatus, and control of cell division and cell cleavage. Lastly, this volume discusses the structural and molecular basis of cell movement and describes the differentiated cell. This book represents a tribute to Daniel Mazia's extraordinary contributions as teacher, scientist, and friend.
  • The Cell Nucleus V3

    • 1st Edition
    • Harris Busch
    • English
    The Cell Nucleus, Volume III focuses mainly on nucleic acids, nuclear proteins, and special aspects of nuclear functions. This volume particularly discusses the organization of bacterial and viral DNA, as well as the nuclear DNA of eukaryotic organisms. It also describes nuclear DNA polymerases, precursors of messenger RNA, ribonucleoproteins, and nuclear high- and low-molecular-weight RNAs. Furthermore, this volume looks into the two broad classes of nuclear proteins: histones and nonhistone proteins. It also presents advances made in the knowledge of mammalian DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, cytochemical detection of nuclear enzymes, and nuclear protein synthesis. Moreover, it elucidates the effects of female steroid hormones on target cell nuclei, describes the nucleus during avian erythropoiesis, and reports the general properties of intranuclear viruses.
  • Histocompatibility

    • 1st Edition
    • George Snell
    • English
    Histocampatibility covers the genetic, immunologic, and the chemical studies on allograft rejection process. The book is composed of 13 chapters that describe how these studies relate to medicine, organ transplantation in man, basic immunology, cell membrane structures, and cancer research. After briefly dealing with the early studies on isografts and allografts in laboratory animals, the book describes the histogenetic methods of gene manipulation and transplantation that permit identification of individual histocompatibility loci. The following chapter examines the significance of congenic resistant lines in determining the diversity of histocompatibility loci and allele and immune response genes. Other chapters present immunogenetic and serological methods, as well as the applications of these methods in studying alloantigens and H-2 complex loci and of immunogenetic methods to human. The book also discusses the practical implication of HLA immunogenetics in organ transplantation and describes the biochemical, immunochemical, and dynamic properties of alloantigens. A chapter discusses the associations between HLA system and disease and the various mechanisms that have been suggested to explain these associations. The last chapter focuses on allograft reaction and on established facts of cellular immunity. This book is a valuable source of information for researchers in the fields of medicine, organ transplantation in man, basic immunology, cell membrane structures, and cancer.
  • The Ecosystem Concept in Natural Resource Management

    • 1st Edition
    • George Van Dyne
    • English
    The Ecosystem Concept in Natural Resource Management focuses on the ecosystem concept and its application to natural resource management. It presents examples of research concepts on natural resource phenomena and discusses ecosystem implications for natural resource management. It also covers range, forest, watershed, fisheries, and wildlife resource science and management. Organized into four sections encompassing 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the meaning, origin, and importance of ecosystem concepts before proceeding with a discussion of field research projects that address the ecosystem concept and the ways in which the concept has been or can be useful in both research and management in natural resource sciences. More specifically, it explores major developments in the field of ecology in relation to natural resource management, with examples from forest ecology. It also introduces the reader to procedures for studying grassland ecosystems, the watershed-ecosystem concept and studies of nutrient cycles, ecosystem concepts in forestry, ecosystem models in watershed management, and the implementation of the ecosystem concept in training in the natural resource sciences. This book is a valuable resource for scientists, educators, technicians, and training resource managers, as well as students in resource management courses.
  • The Lichens

    • 1st Edition
    • Vernon Ahmadijian
    • English
    The Lichens covers the structure and development, physiology of the intact thallus, environmental response and effects, secondary metabolic products, and symbiont interactions of lichens. This book is divided into five parts encompassing 19 chapters. It also includes appendices consist of a taxonomic scheme, methods for isolating and culturing lichen symbionts and thalli, and methods for isolating and identifying lichen substances. The first part of this book describes the original fungal cell and its development into specialized cells of which the various tissues and thalli are composed. This is followed by discussions on sexual reproduction of ascolichens and basidiolichens and on systematic criteria for the definition of taxa in different hierarchical steps. This book also explains the types of propagules produced by lichens and the submicroscopical investigations of lichens, including phycobiont and mycobionts' substructure and symbiotic relationship. The second part of this book examines the physiological aspects of lichens. It includes discussions on metal cation uptake and translocation in vascular plants and on lichens' role in rock weathering and soil formation. This part also studies photosynthetic rates and nitrogen absorption and metabolism by the intact thallus of lichens. Succeeding chapters discuss physiological and morphological responses of lichens to the most important environmental factors and the relationship of these factors to lichen distribution. Substrate preferences of lichens and their causes and implications with regard to the ecology, distribution, and taxonomy of lichens are also examined. This text also discusses lichen thalli growth, methods of measurement, and factors influencing growth. Finally, the concluding parts deal with the biosynthesis of lichen substances, secondary metabolic products, and symbiotic relations of lichens to fungi and algae. This multi-authored book is an ideal source of information for researchers, teachers, and students who wish to broaden their knowledge in the diversity of lichenology.
  • Genetic Engineering Techniques: Recent Developments

    • 1st Edition
    • P.C. Huang
    • English
    Genetic Engineering Techniques: Recent Developments covers the proceedings of the 1982 Genetic Engineering Techniques symposium held in Taipei. The book is organized into 21 chapters that discuss the application of recombination DNA methods in the study of DNA structure and DNA-protein interactions; the use of chemically synthesized genes in cloning; and gene expression. After briefly presenting the major strategies underlying genetic engineering technology and rapid method for sequencing DNA, the book examines the reaction mechanism of a multifunctional Type I enzyme and the organization and expression of the human adenovirus. The second section describes several approaches in analyzing transcriptional processes in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. This section also deals with cloning vectors and procedures of cDNA. The subsequent section describes a molecular approach to functional analysis of the influenza virus surface hemagglutinin; the transposition specificity for the transposons 3 and 4 elements; and the biological properties of human T-cell growth factor gene. The fourth section discusses the principles of hybridoma technology and its numerous applications to biological research. The remaining chapters of the book present laboratory courses designed to familiarize researchers with the principles and basic procedures in biological experiments. Genetic engineering researchers, agriculturists, and geneticists will find this book invaluable.