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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.

  • Cell Culture and Its Application

    • 1st Edition
    • Ronald Acton
    • English
    Cell Culture and Its Application covers the proceedings of the First International Cell Culture Congress Symposium, which focuses on how cell culture technology could impact on cell biology. The symposium aims to establish facilities for the cultivation of mammalian cells, which in turn would hopefully enhance basic cell biology research. The book is organized into four symposium and workshop sessions, encompassing 45 chapters. The opening chapter recognizes the interlocking relationship of cell culture technology and substantive cell biology. Chapters 2-5 describe the biochemical events that mark the cell cycle, with emphasis on occurrence of histone phosphorylation at each cycle. A discussion on cell differentiation, as a phenomena of interacting, inductive, and inhomogeneous cell populations, is included in these chapters. The second symposium session deals with signs of a revolution in progress in cell culture technology. This includes impact of tissue culture in physiological research course and in understanding of integrated physiology. The last two symposium sessions cover the large-scale production of virus from tissue cultures for cell antigens. An approach to the study of aging using diploid human cells in culture as a model system is also presented. It involves isolation and characterization of HLA antigens from cultured cells and their contribution to the study of disease. A brief discussion on mycoplasma contamination, microplasma-cell-vir... interaction, and advantages and limitations of direct and indirect culture for primary isolation and detection of mycoplasma contamination is provided. The book then proceeds by discussing cell differentiation of specific cell or organ, such as testis, sensory cell, hepatocyte, embryonic muscle cell, and brain cortex. The concluding chapters cover nutritional requirements for cell growth, defined culture media for specific cell type, issues and problems related to large-scale cell production, and quality control. Cell biologists and researchers will find this book invaluable.

  • From Cyclotrons To Cytochromes

    Essays in Molecular Biology and Chemistry
    • 1st Edition
    • Nathan Kaplan
    • English
    From Cyclotrons to Cytochromes: Essays in Molecular Biology and Chemistry focuses on the uses of the cyclotron and radioactive isotopes in molecular biology and chemistry. The book includes a tribute to Martin Kamen, who played an important role in the development of biochemical sciences in the United States, particularly through his research on the cyclotron. The text also documents research on isotopes carried out at the Radiation Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley during the 1930s, as well as the role of radioactive carbon in bacterial metabolism and experimental work on cytochromes. This volume is organized into six sections encompassing 54 chapters and begins with an overview of science and technology, and then discusses carbon-14 and its half-life. The next chapters discuss the chemistry and structure of cytochromes; the role of cytochromes and redox systems in photosynthesis; the biological aspects of phosphorylation and oxidation; and protein structure. The book also methodically explains the regulatory mechanisms and miscellaneous metabolic processes such as the metabolism of cyclic nucleotides and related compounds; biological functions of lactate dehydrogenase; and nucleotide excision repair of damaged DNA. The final chapter discusses the deamidation of asparagine and glutamine side chains when incorporated into polypeptide chains, with reference to the role of cryptic amidase active sites in catalyzing the process. This book is a valuable resource for biochemists and molecular biologists.

  • Biotechnology in Plant Science

    Relevance to Agriculture in the Eighties
    • 1st Edition
    • Milton Zaitlin
    • English
    Biotechnology in Plant Science: Relevance to Agriculture in the Eighties reflects the exchange of ideas among the participants in a symposium held at Cornell University in 1985. This reference highlights advances in and applications of biotechnology. Applications include plant breeding and agricultural business. This book is comprised of research articles emphasizing available technologies including tissue culture and plant transformation. Papers included in this reference also cover topics on genes for transformation and plant molecular biology and agrichemicals. As this reference focuses more on tissue culture, it specifically explains plant regeneration and genetic events. The book discusses the roles of various institutions and sectors in advancing biotechnology and related fields. It also provides two panel discussions on the implications of the technological advances in conjunction with the issues about these innovations. Researchers, lecturers, and students in biotechnology and agriculture will find this anthology an excellent reference for further studies and research in biotechnology and its applications to agriculture.

  • Energy in Farm Production

    • 1st Edition
    • R.C. Fluck
    • English
    This last volume of the Energy in World Agriculture series is in many ways the series' Alpha and its Omega. It addresses the broad issues related to the use of energy in agricultural production, and also characterizes and quantifies the energy involvements of many agricultural production technologies. It is a compilation of descriptive and analytical information and design principles and data of energy use in this field. A significant aspect is the relationship between energy and agricultural productivity, increased knowledge and resulting improved management of energy-consuming operations on the farm. Information provided here has not been published elsewhere before. Throughout the book are examples of the important role that energy inputs have played in increasing productivity of the world's agricultural systems. Together with a revived interest in energy for agricultural production due to increases in energy costs, this volume meets that interest with valuable information and insights.

  • Soil and Water

    Physical Principles and Processes
    • 1st Edition
    • Daniel Hillel
    • English
    Soil and Water: Physical Principles and Processes describes the physical principles governing the soil-water system and particularly the sequence of processes constituting the cycle of water in the field. Organized into two parts, with a total of 11 chapters, this book first discusses the basic physical properties of both soil and water. Some chapters deal with the state of water in soil and flow of water in saturated and unsaturated soil. The second part focuses on the aspects of field water cycle, starting from the entry of water into soil to the redistribution of soil moisture. It also describes the groundwater drainage, evaporation from bare-surface soils, uptake of soil water by plants, and the water and energy balance in the field. This work is meant for students and professional workers in soil physics and other related disciplines who need or might be interested in a fundamental and up-to-date exposition of soil physics.

  • Free Energy Transduction in Biology

    The Steady-State Kinetic and Thermodynamic Formalism
    • 1st Edition
    • Terrell Hill
    • English
    Free Energy Transduction in Biology: The Steady-State Kinetic and Thermodynamic Formalism focuses on the steady-state kinetic and thermodynamic formalism related to free energy transduction. As the word ""formalism"" implies, the discussion concerns general principles and methods and not details of proposed mechanisms in the various special cases. Organized into seven chapters, this book first describes the diagram method, which is the main analytical tool in the study of discrete state, cycling system. The next chapter describes the essential topic of cycles and cycle fluxes. Some chapters discuss the more important bioenergetic principles that emerge from the diagram approach. This book is also concerned with somewhat more specialized aspects of the subject (stochastics and fluctuations) and interacting subsystems and multienzyme complexes, including oxidative phosphorylation.

  • Tree Pathology

    A Short Introduction
    • 1st Edition
    • William H. Smith
    • English
    Tree Pathology: A Short Introduction is a compilation of texts about some of the significant stress factors that are capable of inducing tree injuries and diseases. It also provides an overview of some of the examples of the damage caused by each stress factors or agents. In addition, existing hypotheses related to the mechanism by which each agent causes abnormal tree physiology are reviewed. As an introduction, the book provides a discussion on the agents, mechanisms, and control of the pathological stresses of forest trees. It also offers specific examples of forest tree species, mostly from the northeastern portion of the United States, as well as examples of citrus and other fruit or jut tree species. The book then discusses all injury and disease agents including their taxonomy, morphology, physiology, and ecology. It also presents the different mechanisms of the injury and disease, control possibilities on mitigating disease influences of plants, and specific utility of the various procedures used in forest tree disease control. The materials presented in the book are based from the numerous published texts, journal articles, and research reports.

  • Photosynthesis V1

    Energy Conversion by Plants and Bacteria
    • 1st Edition
    • Govindjee
    • English
    Photosynthesis, Volume 1: Energy Conversion by Plants and Bacteria tackles the conversion of light energy into the production of ATP and NADPH in both plants and bacteria. The various aspects of the energy conversion process in plants and bacteria are thoroughly discussed in this volume. The concepts and terms employed in the book are used integrally, except when a process is unique to one system. This book, which comprises of six parts, emphasizes both the biochemical and biophysical aspects of photosynthesis. It includes a review of the historical development of major concepts, an analysis of experimental data, and an exposition of subsequent findings. The first part of this book serves as the foundation of basic terms and concepts that will be used all throughout in this book. Part II deals with the structure and function, whereas Part III with the primary photochemistry. Part IV is about electron transport, while Part V focuses on photophosphorylation... The last part deals with the biosynthesis of pigments. This book will be a great reference for researchers. It will also be an introductory work for students in cell biology, physiology, biochemistry, and biophysics.

  • Animal Products in Human Nutrition

    • 1st Edition
    • Donald Beitz
    • English
    Animal Products in Human Nutrition evaluates the contributions of food derived from animals to a balanced diet. The individual chapters in this book are organized into two major sections. The first section begins with a history of the use of animal-derived foods from the early ages of mankind, followed by a treatise of economic and resource costs of animal foods, including use of industrial and agricultural by-products and fish. Trends in the changes in the composition of American diets and the metabolism and disposition of common environmental toxins within animal tissues are also included in this section. The second section details the essential nutrients provided by animal products, as well as the possible effects of consumption of animal products on the development of hypertension, milk intolerance, infections from food-borne bacteria, cancer, and atherosclerosis. This book will be useful to agricultural scientists, journalists, professionals that deal with human nutrition, and human nutritionists and dietitians.

  • Cell Biology A Comprehensive Treatise V3

    Gene Expression: The Production of RNA's
    • 1st Edition
    • David M. Prescott
    • English
    Cell Biology, A Comprehensive Treatise, Volume 3: Gene Expression: The Production of RNA’s mainly discusses the molecular and cytological bases of gene expression. The coverage begins with the concepts of organization of DNA and gene sequences in chromosomes, as an introduction to a more detailed coverage of gene expression. The book opens with a general discussion on the organization of DNA sequences in chromosomes. This chapter includes different methods of analyzing DNA sequences. As the book progresses, it looks upon the details on gene reiteration and amplification up to the transcription of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It includes the ways of regulating transcription. The following chapters deal mostly with the structure and activity of genes up to the different virus strains in both RNA and DNA. The cytoplasmic and environmental impact on gene expression is also discussed. Chapter 8 generally tackles the DNA conformation and template function. The succeeding chapters focus on the transfer and ribosomal RNA as a result of maturation events; the processing of hnRNA and its relation to mRNA; and recombinant DNA procedures. The book closes with the directory of the different classes of cellular RNAs. This book will be helpful to many graduate students, teachers, scientists, and researchers in need of information regarding cell biology.

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