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Elsevier

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.

  • Biology of Fertilization V1

    Model Systems and Oogenesis
    • 1st Edition
    • Charles Metz
    • English
    Biology of Fertilization, Volume 1: Model Systems and Oogenesis is the first in a three-volume series that gathers various lines of research about reproduction in general and fertilization in particular. Knowledge about cell biology, immunobiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular genetics has progressed significantly beyond our understanding of some aspects of fertilization. Components of these constitute ""model systems."" The present volume includes reviews of such systems, some relatively simple model systems in lower organisms, sex-determining mechanisms, and oogenesis. The book contains 12 chapters organized into two sections. Section I includes studies on evolution, reproductive success, and immortality of the germ line; the structures and mechanisms involved in fertilization problems; and fertilization in Paramecium. Section II on oogenesis includes studies on gamete differentiation; sex-determining role of the H-Y antigen in mammals and non-mammals; the mechanism of starfish oocyte maturation; meiotic arrest in animal oocytes; and the mitotic and meiotic aspects of the mammalian germ cell life cycle.

  • Molecular Mechanisms In Cellular Growth and Differentiation

    • 1st Edition
    • A.R. Bellve
    • English
    Molecular Mechanisms in Cellular Growth and Differentiation describes the cellular differentiation and development. It emphasizes the pattern formation, specifically the genesis of spatial relationships, among the parts of a vertebrate or invertebrate organism, embryonic or adult. Organized into five parts, this book deals with the major steps leading from growth factor-receptor interactions, through transduction and modulation mechanisms, to proliferative response. It also discusses the relation of growth factors and their receptors to oncogenes and to protooncogenes. It also elucidates the roles of growth factors and receptors in cell differentiation and development, particularly, in pattern formation. The homeotic systems regulated intracellularly and the two differentiation systems thought to involve sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins in conjunction with small molecules are also explored.

  • molecular Approaches to Immunology

    • 1st Edition
    • E.E. Smith
    • English
    Molecular Approaches to Immunology is the 9th volume of the series ""Miami Winter Symposia"". This volume presents papers that cover various aspects about cellular and modern immunology. Cellular immunology deals with the interactions of cells and molecules of the immune system and how these interactions help eliminate pathogens. The main goal of this book is to discuss and provide basic assumptions, approaches, and direction about the advances in the research of immunological science. In relation to this, the chapters of the book examine the recognition of antigen by T-lymphocytes, the role of cell interactions in determining the immune responsiveness, and the concepts behind clonal selection. The book also explains the different genes coding used for antibodies and the characterization of cell surface receptors at molecular level. Furthermore, it examines the evidences for genetic restrictions in cell interactions and the chemical properties of thymosin used in physiological studies. Discussions on the immunoregulation and immunological tolerance by T cells and the growth control of mammalian cells are also presented in this volume. This compilation will be invaluable to biologists, medical practitioners, professors, and students.

  • Tropical Botanic Gardens

    Their Role in Conservation and Development
    • 1st Edition
    • V. H. Heywood + 1 more
    • English
    This book includes the proceedings of the second symposium on one important role of botanic gardens in conserving world plant resources. Sessions covered topics such as implementing the botanic gardens conservation strategy, regional networks and national programs in the tropics, and germplasm banks in botanic gardens.

  • Ectomycorrhizae

    Their Ecology and Physiology
    • 1st Edition
    • G.C. Marks
    • English
    Ectomycorrhizae: Their Ecology and Physiology provides an overview of the state of knowledge and opinion on the physiological ecology of ectomycorrhizae, which may be defined as symbiotic associations between nonpathogenic or weakly pathogenic fungi and living cells of roots. Although the book places considerable emphasis on forestry aspects of mycorrhizal problems, its wide ranging subject matter cuts across the boundaries of a number of traditional plant sciences. The book begins with discussions of the structure, cytology, and morphogenesis of mycorrhizae; their classification; and their distribution in native and man-made forests. It then deals with the growth of ectomycorrhizal fungi around seeds and roots; nutrition uptake; and the role of hormones in mycorrhizal development. The remaining chapters cover the rhizosphere; the role of mycorrhizae in feeder root diseases and the mechanisms for their resistance; and applications of mycorrhizal relations in forest management. This book will be of interest to a wide variety of researchers and teachers, especially agronomists, biochemists, foresters, horticulturists, mycologists, plant pathologists, soil scientists, plant ecologists, plant physiologists, and microbiologists.

  • Genetics and Morphogenesis in the Basidiomycetes

    • 1st Edition
    • Marvin Schwalb
    • English
    Genetics and Morphogenesis in the Basidiomycetes documents the proceedings of a symposium on Genetics and Morphogenetic Studies of Basidiomycetes held during the Second International Mycological Congress. The symposium was organized as a memorial symposium to honor the many contributions of John Robert Raper, which included the hormonal control of sexual development in fungi; the biological effects of beta radiation; and the genetic control of the incompatibility systems and morphogenesis of sexuality in higher basidiomycetes. The contributions made by researchers at the symposium include studies on control of development by genes of the incompatibility system; the genetic structure of the incompatibility factors of the higher basidiomycetes; and meiosis and recombination in basidiomycetes. Subsequent chapters deal with the evolution of incompatibility; the incompatibility system as a model for the regulation of cell differentiation; morphogentic processes in Schizophyllum commune and Coprinus lagopus; and the regulatory processes which control fruiting.

  • Towards a Second Green Revolution

    From Chemical to New Biological Technologies in Agriculture in the Tropics
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 19
    • G.B. Marini-Bettòlo
    • English
    Genetic research in some fundamental crops, together with the use of chemicals as pesticides and fertilizers, opened the way in the 1950s and 1960s to great changes in methodology in agriculture - with astonishing results in the tropics. This change became known as the Green Revolution - a truly great revolution in methods and materials which, when applied with intelligence, made possible in a few years the achievement of complete sufficiency in cereals production in South and South East Asia, Mexico and South America. After 20 years of continuous success, aspects of the Green Revolution need to be rediscussed in the light of new findings and possibilities offered by scientific and technological progress - and negative side effects on environment and health. These papers examine the present state of agriculture, and indicate the way forward for its development, especially in the tropics and, in particular, Africa and South America. The need for more research is stressed; priorities in the application of this research are discussed, such as the economic aspects of any new system to be adopted, and the need to respect the ecological equilibria of different environments and the balance of energy input/output in a given agrosystem.

  • Agricultural Engineering Soil Mechanics

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 10
    • E. McKyes
    • English
    This book provides an introduction to classical soil mechanics and foundation engineering, and applies these principles to agricultural engineering situations. Theoretical design formulae are given, plus tables and graphs dealing with bearing capacity factors, wall pressure factors, soil cutting numbers and soil mechanical properties. Many example problems of design and analysis are solved in the text, and there are unsolved problems given for each chapter.The text begins with descriptions of soil origins and classification systems, including agricultural classification schemes, and then introduces classical concepts of soil strength and strength measurement techniques in the laboratory and in the field. Soil mechanics is applied to the design of shallow foundations, and the design formulae as well as tables of bearing capacity factors for design use are provided. New research and design findings in the specialized area of tall and heavy farm silos are also given, in addition to deep pile foundation design for heavy structures on very soft soils. Water flow in soils is treated, together with stability of ditch bank slopes and small earth dams, design of retaining walls and pressure pressures in bins and silos, soil erosion and protection methods, soil cutting and tillage design methods, soil compaction analysis, the use of geotextiles and problems of soil freezing.The book is directed primarily at professional university students in Agricultural Engineering, but will also be of interest to scientists working in other engineering branches, landscape architecture, soil physics and the like.

  • Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates V4

    Molluscs: Gastropods and Cephalopods
    • 1st Edition
    • Arthur Giese
    • English
    Reproduction of Marine Invetebrates, Volume IV Molluscs: Gastropods and Cephalopods describes the wide range of structural complexity and diverse modes of reproduction of gastropods and cephalopods. Each chapter discusses the asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction capacity, and developmental stages of different group of gastropods and cephalopods, including prosobranchia, opisthobranchia, pulmonata, nautiloidea, decapoda, and octopoda. Gastropods are among the most conspicuous sea animals, and species of limpets, snails, and slugs are found in all marine habitats. Cephalopods are active and important marine predators, ranging from archaic nautiloids to more recent pelagic decapods and benthic octopods, which are often considered to be one of the apexes of invertebrate evolution. They are all gonochoric and reproduce only by sexual means. All have intricate courtship behavior and derived developmental patterns. Marine biologists and researchers, scientists, and developmental biologists will find this book invaluable.

  • 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.

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