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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.

  • The Soil Mites of the World

    Vol. 1: Primitive Oribatids of the Palaearctic Region
    • 1st Edition
    • J. Balogh + 1 more
    • English
    Soil mites are of great biological importance both in natural and in cultivated soils. Recently much attention has been paid to them especially because of their sensitivity to a number of chemicals used in agriculture. Of the soil mites, the Oribatids represent the largest number of both individuals and species. Unfortunately, the study of Oribatids has been greatly hampered by the lack of modern reference works from which they can be identified, and it was this great lack that stimulated the authors to launch this new series of books.The first volume, after a short morphological treatment, gives the method of collection, preparation, and mode of study of prepared specimens. The work is designed to discuss critically all recognizable species and is amply complemented with differential diagnoses and entirely new figures from supercohorts down to species. The book also includes an index of taxa.

  • 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.

  • Gene Probes for Bacteria

    • 1st Edition
    • Alberto Macario
    • English
    Gene Probes for Bacteria focuses on the preparation and use of nucleic acid probes for identifying bacteria in clinical specimens and in other samples of practical or scientific interest. Organized into 17 chapters, this book addresses which nucleic acid probes are available; how and when to utilize them; what to expect in terms of results obtained with their use; and how to prepare probes. Each chapter is composed of comprehensive manuscript covering different microorganisms. A few bacterial species are treated in more than one chapter to provide a multidimensional picture of important microbes, and to compile the knowledge gained from different laboratories using the same or different probes or methods. This reference material will be of great use to professionals, technicians, and R&D directors in universities, federal and state-dependent service and research institutes, and private and industrial laboratories.

  • Phytopathogenic Prokaryotes V1

    • 1st Edition
    • Mark Mount
    • English
    Phytopathogenic Prokaryotes, Volume 1, provides an understanding of the diversity and complexity of diseases caused by phytopathogenic prokaryotes. It is part of a two-volume treatise that summarizes current research on these organisms. The book is organized into four parts. Part I covers the physical nature of prokaryotic phytopathogens as well as how they are presently classified, the limitation of this artificial classification, and the biology of the pathogen's invasion of plants. Part II presents conceptual hypotheses for the formation of the agricorpus (pathogen/host complex as a biological unit) and how this association may be detrimental or beneficial to both members of the unit. Other topics include the basic determinant of evolutionary change (the gene), and the evolution of vectors for dispersal of pathogens. Part III elaborates on the interaction at the plant/environment/pa... interface (the plant surface). It presents information on the interaction of prokaryotes in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere, and how this interaction developed. Part IV shows how prokaryotes affect their hosts once infection has been established. This information is presented in sequence progressing from the disease-causing mechanisms of the facultative endophytic pathogens to those of the obligate endophytic pathogens.

  • Structure and Metabolic Mechanisms

    • 1st Edition
    • Walter Lovenberg
    • English
    Iron-Sulfur Proteins, Volume III: Structure and Metabolic Mechanisms focuses on numerous advances that have been made in the vital role of iron-sulfur proteins in biological processes. Of the 10 chapters in this book, five chapters present advances in biochemical areas and the other five chapters discuss some of the elegant physical studies made. This book begins with a description of the nitrogenase gene and the molecular mechanism of this complex enzyme. It then centers on the role of iron-sulfur proteins in mammalian mitochondrial function, as well as on the mechanism of biosynthesis and the function of these proteins in formate metabolism. Different approaches that have yielded advances in the understanding of the iron-sulfur clusters are also shown. This book also gives an in-depth discussion on the theoretical aspects of the redox properties of iron-sulfur proteins.

  • Large-Scale Mammalian Cell Culture

    • 1st Edition
    • Joseph Feder
    • English
    Large-Scale Mammalian Cell Culture is composed of papers presented as part of a symposium sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Microbial and Biochemical Technology at the 188th American Chemical Society National Meeting, held at Philadelphia, Pa., on Aug. 27, 1984. A rapid development of large-scale mammalian cell culture technology for the production of biologically important molecules becomes apparent. This book looks into this technology, its potential for commercial application, and the regulatory concerns posed by its use for the production of human therapeutics.

  • Exotic Plant Pests and North American Agriculture

    • 1st Edition
    • Charles Wilson
    • English
    Exotic Plant Pests and North American Agriculture examines the threat posed by exotic pests introduced to North American agriculture. It considers the impact of introduced pests on humans, and it highlights the need for intensified research efforts and international cooperation to prevent further introductions. Organized into 17 chapters plus an epilogue, this volume begins with a historical overview of pest introductions, including insects and mites, and possible introductions in the future. It then discusses the impact of introduced weeds in North America; ecology and genetics of exotic species; how to detect and stop pest introductions; and research on exotic insects, plant pathogens, and weeds. The reader is also introduced to the use of exotic natural enemies for biological control of exotic pests, prediction of potential epidemics caused by exotic pests, insurance against exotic plant pathogens, and international cooperation on controlling exotic pests. Scientists, plant pathologists, ecologists, and those working in academics, government research laboratories, and regulatory agencies will benefit from reading this book.

  • Water Relations of Plants

    • 1st Edition
    • Paul J Kramer
    • English
    Water Relations of Plants attempts to explain the importance of water through a description of the factors that control the plant water balance and how they affect the physiological processes that determine the quantity and quality of growth. Organized into 13 chapters, this book first discusses the functions and properties of water and the plant cell water relations. Subsequent chapters focus on measurement and control of soil water, as well as growth and functions of root. This book also looks into the water absorption, the ascent of sap, the transpiration, and the water stress and its effects on plant processes and growth. This book will be useful for students, teachers, and investigators in both basic and applied plant science, as well as for botanists, agronomists, foresters, horticulturists, soil scientists, and even laymen with an interest in plant water relations.

  • Aflatoxin

    Scientific Background, Control, and Implications
    • 1st Edition
    • Leo Goldblatt
    • English
    Aflatoxin: Scientific Background, Control, and Implications discusses general problems posed by mycotoxin contamination in foods and feeds. This book is divided into 15 chapters that summarize the discovery, elaboration, chemistry and assay, effects and metabolic fate, processing to ensure their removal or inactivation, and regulatory aspects of aflatoxins. The introductory chapters cover the discovery, formation by Aspergillus flavus, and the chemistry and structure of aflatoxins. The subsequent chapters describe the physicochemical and biological assays for aflatoxin measurement, detection, and analysis. A chapter also describes the metabolic fate and the biochemical alterations associated with aflatoxin administration to animals and other biological test systems. Discussions on the acute toxicity and carcinogenic activity of aflatoxins in laboratory and farm animals are also provided, with emphasis on the recognition of aflatoxicosis, a disease condition caused by the action of the aflatoxin poison. The book goes on examining the role of spoilage molds in destroying stored crops and the tremendous capacity for toxin production of aflatoxins. It also describes successful efforts of food and feed industries to ensure a wholesome food supply, including the utilization of various detoxification processes. The last chapters deal with the regulatory provisions for aflatoxin contamination control and tolerances and the implications of fungal toxins to human health. The book is intended for scientists and manufacturers concerned with the production and processing of foods and feeds, the nutrition, and the animal and public health.

  • Molecular Genetic Mechanisms in Development and Aging

    • 1st Edition
    • Morris Rockstein
    • English
    Molecular Genetic Mechanisms in Development and Aging discusses the mechanisms of aging at the level of the genome. This book explores the fundamental knowledge concerning the regulation and expression of gene, which is derived from investigations on microbial organisms. Organized into nine chapters, this book starts with an overview of the molecular genetic basis for the processes of aging. This text then explores the highly complex multicellular members of the class Insecta, which provide the researcher with many distinct and unique advantages for aging studies. Other chapters discuss the mechanisms of genetic control and organization during the development and aging of eukaryotes, which pose some challenging problems in cellular and developmental biology. The final chapter deals with the limitations of previous studies, including the lack of comparability due to differences in techniques, the measuring of free amino acid titers in hemolyph only, and differing diet and environmental variations. Biologists and students interested in developmental and molecular genetics will find this book useful.

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