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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.

  • Progress in Ape Research

    • 1st Edition
    • Geoffrey Bourne
    • English
    Progress in Ape Research presents the papers reported in the conference organized by the staff of Yerkes Primate Research Center in celebrating the centenary of Dr. Robert Mearns Yerkes' birth, who gave significant contributions to ape research. This book is divided into four sections representing the sessions of the conference. First, the historical beginnings of research on great apes are presented. The other three sections deal mainly with the ongoing studies at the Yerkes Primate Research Center, particularly, in the field of communication and language in great apes, utilization of chimpanzees as biomedical models, and the comparative perspectives of human origins.Presentation... by outstanding scientists from other institutions are also shown. The conference is arranged to honor the memory of Dr. Robert Mearns Yerkes, to inspire, and to emphasize some of the areas in psychobiological and medical sciences to which research on great apes is making a contribution.
  • Phytopathogenic Prokaryotes V2

    • 1st Edition
    • Mark Mount
    • English
    Phytopathogenic Prokaryotes, Volume 2, provides an understanding of the diversity and complexity of diseases caused by these organisms. It is part of a two-volume treatise that summarizes current research on phytopathogenic prokaryotes. The book is organized into five parts. Part I describes the movement of pathogens from one host to another. The concepts to be presented are essential for understanding the epidemiology and, therefore, the control of diseases caused by prokaryotes. Parts II and III elaborate on the dynamic nature of host/parasite interaction. First to be presented are methods by which hosts may evolve to minimize damage caused by their pathogens. Second, the mechanisms for rapid genetic change available to the pathogen to counteract host defenses are discussed. Part IV emphasizes control of diseases caused by prokaryotes. Manipulation of plant-prokaryote interactions to break the disease cycle or minimize losses is discussed in regard to cultural practices, host breeding, biological control, and chemical control. Part V deals with cultivation and preservation of phytopathogenic prokaryotes.
  • Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition

    • 1st Edition
    • E Underwood
    • English
    Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition focuses on trace elements and their nutritional significance to humans and domestic animals. The trace elements covered include copper, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, nickel, zinc, manganese, iodine, fluorine, selenium, aluminum, arsenic, barium, strontium, boron, bromine, silicon, and vanadium. This book is organized into 13 chapters and begins with an overview of the trace element concept, the mode of action of trace elements, and the use of spectrochemical methods for the detection and estimation of t ace metals in biological materials. The next chapters explore in more detail the importance of trace elements in human and animal nutrition, touching on topics such as absorption and excretion in the body, deficiency, and toxicity. The book concludes by discussing the interrelationships between plants, man and his domestic animals, and the soil, with emphasis on the link between trace element deficiencies and health. An account of factors influencing the trace element contents of plants is also given. Finally, qualitative and quantitative differences in the trace element requirements of plants and animals are described. This book is intended for nutritionists and those who plan to specialize in nutrition.
  • Biology and Chemistry of Eukaryotic Cell Surfaces

    • 1st Edition
    • E.Y.C. Lee
    • English
    Biology and Chemistry of Eucaryotic Cell Surfaces contains the proceedings of the Miami Winter Symposia, held on January 14- 15, 1974 and organized by the Department of Biochemistry, University of Miami School of Medicine, in Miami, Florida. Organized into 27 chapters, separating the manuscripts presented at the symposium, this book presents the stochastic studies on cell surface stickiness and the adhesion and aggregation of blood platelets. This text also explains the cell-contact and transformation-induc... changes in the dynamic organization of normal and neoplastic cell plasma membranes and their role in lectin-mediated toxicity toward tumor cells. It also looks into the chemical components of surface membranes related to biological properties, carbohydrate antigens of cell surfaces, and molecular orientation of erythrocyte membrane glycoproteins. Some other chapters discuss the cell envelope glycoprotein biosynthesis in fungi, cellular lectin receptors, and topographical alterations of the fat cell surface membrane elicited by concanavalin A. Immunochemical evidence for putrescine sites on the membrane of mammalian cells, as well as the fractionation and biosynthesis of membrane components in erythroid cells, are also described.
  • Rapid Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents

    • 1st Edition
    • David Kingsbury
    • English
    Rapid Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents is a collection of papers presented at the International Symposium on Rapid Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents held on October 5-7, 1983, in Oakland, California, and organized by the Naval Biosciences Laboratory of the School of Public Health of the University of California at Berkeley. Contributors examine progress in the field of rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases, with a particular emphasis on DNA probe-based assays and monoclonal and polyclonal antibody-based immunoassays. This volume is organized into five sections encompassing 20 chapters. It begins with an overview of state-of-the-art methods for rapid detection and identification of infectious agents, including technology that is currently applied in clinical microbiology, as well as concerns regarding the political and scientific climates, which have an impact on health care and clinical microbiology. Chapters are organized to deal with a single diagnostic type of test for a given broad group of organisms. The approach is to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each of the new diagnostic procedures, using the same type of clinical material whenever possible. The book gives consideration to the fundamental design of DNA probes and probe assay systems, the clinical comparison of immunologic assays for the diagnosis of meningococcal disease, and immunodiagnostics for viral and parasitic pathogens. This book will be of value to scientists and researchers interested in immunology and infectious diseases, as well as the methods used to detect and identify them.
  • Analysis of Growth: Behavior of Plants and Their Organs VA

    • 1st Edition
    • F.C. Steward
    • English
    Plant Physiology, Volume VA: Analysis of Growth: Behavior of Plants and their Organs describes the main events of growth as seen through the behavior of plants and their organs at an organismal level. This book discusses the quantitative interpretation of growth; the effects of environmental factors; the treatment of tropism; and the effects of many exogenous growth-regulating compounds. Organized into five chapters, the book initially describes mathematically the plant growth mechanisms as they relate to the factors that determine morphogenesis. The text also discusses methods for assessing the effects of external conditions and of age on certain important physiological aspects of plant growth. The subsequent chapter deals with phyllotaxis as a selected aspect of the interpretation of growth and form. The third chapter describes various phototropically and geotropically sensitive systems impinge upon on plant growth. This chapter also covers some reversible nastic movements of organs and the tactic movements of free swimming cells. The next chapter deals with relations between the chemical structure of synthetic compounds and their biological action. The last chapter focuses on the modulation of growth and development by features of the environment and also upon experimental manipulation and under controlled conditions of growth. This volume is an invaluable resource for plant biologists, physiologists, and researchers.
  • Pleomorphic Fungi

    The Diversity and Its Taxonomic Implications
    • 1st Edition
    • J. Sugiyama
    • English
    The diversity of propagules, or simply ``pleomorphy'' (or ``pleomorphism''), is a characteristic of most fungi. In recent years, knowledge with respect to pleomorphy and its dramatic examples has increased enormously. Data on teleomorph-anamorph connections and pleoanamorph (synanamorph) connections together with the analysis of conidium ontogeny cannot be ignored in considering the taxonomy of the major groups of higher fungi today. The purpose of this book is to shed light on those aspects mentioned above, to contribute toward a better knowledge and understanding of pleomorphic fungi, and to present modern trends associated with the taxonomy, morphology, and nomenclature of pleomorphic fungi. This publication was inspired by the 1983 Third International Mycological Congress at Tokyo, and although it is not intended as the symposium proceedings, symposium speakers make up the nucleus of the book. It is hoped that this book will aid in the development of current knowledge on fungal systematics and provide a useful reference not only to specialists in systematic mycology, but also to researchers, teachers, and university students broadly interested in pleomorphic fungi.
  • Extracellular Matrix Influences on Gene Expression

    • 1st Edition
    • Harold Slavkin
    • English
    Extracellular Matrix Influences on Gene Expression emerged from the Second international Santa Catalina Island Colloquium that deals with the discussion on the advances in the molecular biology of extracellular matrices and the epigenetic influences on cell function. Topics discussed include morphological descriptions, genetics, teratology, collagen heterogeneity, and mineralization. The book's 12 chapters discuss the chromosomal and extrachromosomal influences upon transcription, translational and post-translational regulations during development, and regulation of extracellular matrix molecular biosynthesis. The book describes the regulation of tissue-specific collagen biosynthesis and the extracellular matrix macromolecules. It contains papers that explain the outer cell surface specificity and cell interactions. Because there are advances as well in other specific topics, such as the epithelial-masenchym... interactions and extracellular matrix influences on gene expression, this book contains papers that deal with these subject matters. Furthermore, it explains the matrix-cell and cell-matrix interactions and mineralization processes, as well as the aberrations in developmental processes. This book will be useful to those individuals who study the scientific advances in developmental biology.
  • Metabolic Inhibitors V2

    A Comprehensive Treatise
    • 1st Edition
    • R Hochster
    • English
    Metabolic Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Treatise, Volume II charts the major advances that have been made in understanding metabolic inhibition and inhibitors. The book explores the inhibition of enzymes, such as catechol amines, acetylcholinesterase... and succinic dehydrogenases, as well as inhibitors of processes ranging from gas transport to photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and oxidative phosphorylation. Organized into 23 chapters, this volume begins with a discussion on the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and dinucleotide analogues. The reader is then introduced to the biochemical significance and mode of action of antibiotics; substances interfering with the biogenesis and metabolism of catechol amines; and inhibition of enzyme activities by thioarsenites. Some chapters focus on mercaptide-forming agents, biological alkylating agents, organophosphates, and carbamates, while others examine the metabolic inhibitory effects of quinones, fungicides, and surface active agents. The book also considers the effects of anesthetics, depressants, and tranquilizers on cerebral metabolism, and then concludes with a chapter on inhibition caused by radiation. This book is a valuable resource for biochemists, advanced students, medical research workers, and research workers in the fields of biological chemistry, microbiology, botany, and agriculture.
  • Processes and Control of Plant Senescence

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 8
    • Y.Y. Leshem + 2 more
    • English
    This monograph provides basic and empiric information underlying processes believed to be involved in the doubtless multifunctional plant senescence syndrome. While essentially assuming a `basic science' approach the authors, drawing on data obtained from many of the main laboratories and research centres involved in senescence research the world over, and also on findings of the research groups they are associated with, have described how principles of basic science have been applied to practical problems, and have outlined the partial means presently available to man for achieving plant senescence control. Moreover, information is provided on current problems in the forefront of senescence research. This approach will hopefully engender further enquiry and lead at least to partial solutions to some of the as yet unsolved problems.The book will be an asset to the book shelves of students on advanced courses in agriculture, biology and biochemistry as well as scientists and research workers, university and agricultural research station libraries and horticulturalists.