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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.

  • Soil Acidity and Plant Growth

    • 1st Edition
    • A Robson
    • English
    Soil Acidity and Plant Growth emerged from concerns over increasing acidification of soils under improved pastures over wide areas of southern Australia. While the book has its origin in the problems of acidification of Australian soils under pastures, the authors examine soil acidity within a much broader framework, making their views relevant to all agricultural and natural ecosystems on acid soils. The book's first two chapters discuss the chemistry of soil acidity and the ecological processes leading to it. This is followed by separate chapters on biological responses to soil acidity, covering mineralization of soil nitrogen, incidence of plant diseases, plant mycorrhizal associations, symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes, and genetic variability in plant response to toxicities. The remaining chapters focus on the correction of soil acidity problems by liming. These include studies on the rates of application and effectiveness of liming materials; and the development and use of computer modelling procedures to help researchers identify the effects and interactions of soil pH on component processes and to provide assistance to farmers in the management of long-term subterranean clover pastures.

  • Ecology of Soil Seed Banks

    • 1st Edition
    • Mary Allessio Leck
    • English
    Ecology of Soil Seed Banks examines the factors that influence seed bank dynamics and the variety of patterns found among different species. This book presents seed banks in a community context to explore the ecological implications of different patterns, and thus begin the development of a synthesis by comparing various communities. Organized into five parts, this book first examines the general processes that influence inputs or losses from the seed bank, including predation, dormancy/germination mechanisms, and their evolutionary importance. Then, this text examines seed banks in a community context. Only eight vegetation types are included, but the range in diversity of life form, length of growing season, and dominant environmental conditions allow comparisons of seed bank patterns. This book also explores the role of seed banks in vegetation management. This reference material will be a valuable reference material to population and community ecologists and managers. Evolutionary consequences of seed banks should be of interest to population and theoretical biologists.

  • Organization and Assembly of Plant and Animal Extracellular Matrix

    • 1st Edition
    • W. Steven Adair
    • English
    Organization and Assembly of Plant and Animal Extracellular Matrix presents a state-of-the-art view of some of the experimental systems in plant and animal matrix biology. It discusses certain principles underlying establishment of complex three-dimensional architecture cross broad evolutionary boundaries. The opening chapter reviews studies on the cellular mechanisms responsible for storage, release, assembly, and function of extracellular matrices during early sea urchin development. The subsequent chapters describe the structure, assembly, disassembly, and molecular biology of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell wall. The chapters also summarize the status of work on basement membrane assembly. Important insights into approaches to identify critical molecular domains and the complexity of relating defined molecular associations to establishment of matrix architecture are provided. A family of discovered cell wall genes that encode protein products containing up to 70% glycine is presented in Chapter 4. This is followed by a discussion on the role of alginate self-assembly in cell wall formation in Fucus. The book goes on to address the issue of protein-carbohydrate recognition with a detailed discussion of plant and animal lectins. Chapter 7 tackles a family of genes encoding higher plant hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) and the relationship between the HRGP genes cloned and their products. The final two chapters are devoted to one of the most important classes of protein modifying enzymes for extracellular matrix formation and function, the prolyl hydroxylases. This book will be of help to workers in plant and animal matrix in understanding information, approaches, and ideas that they may not normally encounter.

  • Introduction to Floriculture

    • 2nd Edition
    • Roy A. Larson
    • English
    Every major floriculture crop is discussed in detail in Introduction to Floriculture, Second Edition. The information presented can be used as guidelines for the production of these crops. Divided into two sections on miscellaneous cut flowers and other flowering potted plants, this newly revised edition updates and expands on the existing information from the first edition and contains two completely new chapters on specialty cut flowers and geraniums. This book will be an invaluable source of information for the student as well as the commercial grower.

  • Dry Biological Systems

    • 1st Edition
    • James S. Clegg
    • English
    Dry Biological Systems contains the proceedings of the 1977 American Institute of Biological Sciences symposium held in East Lansing, Michigan. Divided into seven parts encompassing 17 chapters, the book focuses on the adaptive strategy phenomenon of organisms under dry state or absence of water. The book answers several fundamental questions on dry biological systems, such as how an organism achieve a state that destroys most living systems; what adaptations permit the survival of dehydration; and what activities occur in the dry organisms. After briefly discussing the nature of intracellular water in normal cells, the book examines the ultrastructure of dry organisms, including their metabolic activities during drying, in the dry state, and during rehydration. Parts IV to VI discuss the causes of cell viability loss while in dry, as well as their ecology and enzyme reaction at reduced water activity. Several presentations are made in which freezing and dehydration as stress vectors are compared. Covered papers in the book illustrate the belief that freezing and rehydration can be considered to be the same phenomenon, particularly with respect to the state of intracellular water.

  • The Ontogeny of Vertebrate Behavior

    • 1st Edition
    • Howard Moltz
    • English
    The Ontogeny of Vertebrate Behavior is a collection of articles focused on the comparative psychology researches. The text is devoted to the development of vertebrate behavior, emphasizes the ontogenetic determinants, and answers questions related to the differentiation of selected response systems. The book is organized into 10 chapters that feature the concepts of vertebrate behavior and its ontogeny. It presents the study of behavioral development, as well as the visual perceptual systems and its evolution. It explains the perceptual abilities of the human infant and the early experience and problem-solving behavior. Cerebral effects of environmental manipulation and the behavioral phenomena are explained. The book also talks about the ontogeny of emotional, play, and exploratory behaviors; of sexuality and maternal behavior; and of mother-infant relations. It also discusses the principle and procedure of imprinting. Finally, it explains the vocal learning of avian species and the ontogeny of language, as well as the vocal abnormalities. This text will be invaluable to the students, novices, and professionals in psychology, ethology, endocrinology, and behavioral and developmental biology.

  • Spore Research 1976 V2

    • 1st Edition
    • A.N. Barker
    • English
    Spore Research 1976, Volume II presents some of the papers reported at the meeting of British Spore Group held at the University of Leeds in December 1975. Organized into four headings, this volume focuses on aspects of heat and radiation resistance, germination, outgrowth, taxonomy, and ecology of spore formers. Specific discussions are given on the role of osmoregulation in the heat resistance, radiobiological evidence for the existence of dehydrated core in bacterial spores, some ecological implications of the diversity of spore-forming bacteria, and other topics relating to a specific spore former.

  • Sexual Interactions in Eukaryotic Microbes

    • 1st Edition
    • Danton O'Day
    • English
    Sexual Interactions in Eukaryotic Microbes provides a comprehensive discussion of the sexual processes of eukaryotic microorganisms. The book is organized into three parts. Part I presents an overview of intercellular communication, covering the modes of cellular communication and the benefit of using eukaryotic microbes for studying cell communication. Part II on pheromonal interactions includes studies on the role of sex pheromones in organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Allomyces, Volvox, and Neurospora crassa. Part III on cell surface interactions presents studies such as sexual interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae; sexual interactions of the cell surface in Paramecium; and the genetics and cellular biology of sexual development in Ustilago violacea. This book will be of value on a multitude of levels: from a general reference text to a source of research ideas. It will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers in a large number of disciplines, but will be particularly useful to cell biologists, microbiologists, protozoologists, and mycologists interested in the study of cellular communication.

  • Microbial Ecology of Foods V2

    Food Commodities
    • 1st Edition
    • English
    Microbial Ecology of Foods, Volume II: Food Commodities is a comprehensive treatise on the microbiology of specific commodity groups. The commodity groups discussed include meat, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, and their products. Other groups included are feeds of animal origin and pet foods; agricultural crops and their products; fats and oils; beverages; confectioneries; miscellaneous foods; and natural mineral waters. Composed of 15 chapters, this book has chapters that cover the important properties of the food commodity that affects the microbial content. The initial microbial flora on flesh foods at slaughter or on vegetable foods at harvest and the effects of harvest, transport, processing, and storage on the microbial content are discussed as well. Furthermore, this text explains the means of controlling the process and the microbial content. Each chapter is a review of applied microbiology, compiled by leading authorities selected solely for their expert knowledge. The final chapter emphasizes factors that contribute to outbreaks of foodborne disease. This volume will greatly appeal to those interested primarily in applied aspects of food microbiology, such as food processors, microbiologists, and technologists; veterinarians; public health workers; and regulatory officials.

  • Chromosome Engineering in Plants

    Genetics, Breeding, Evolution
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 2B
    • P.K. Gupta + 1 more
    • English
    This two-volume work surveys the entire range of general aspects of chromosome research in plants. The first volume covers cytogenetics of cereals and millets with more than one chapter being devoted to the same crop to give a detailed treatment to an up-to-date status of chromosome research. This second volume deals with cytogenetics of plant materials including legumes, vegetable and oil crops, sugar crops, forage crops: fibre crops, medicinal crops and ornamentals. The book will be useful both as a reference work and a teaching aid to satisfy a wide range of workers. Every chapter has been written by an expert who has been involved in chromosome research on a particular plant material for many years so that the treatment is authoritative and up-to-date in most cases.

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