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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.

  • Antibody Production in Man

    In Vitro Synthesis and Clinical Implications
    • 1st Edition
    • Anthony S. Fauci
    • English
    Antibody Production in Man: In Vitro Synthesis and Clinical Implications is composed of the proceedings of the Catharijne Conference on immunology held in Utrecht, Holland on March 15-18, 1978. The conference focuses on the in vitro induction and regulation of immunoglobulin and antibody synthesis by human lymphocytes. It aims to present, analyze, exchange, and criticize data among the different investigators and to attempt to resolve apparent inconsistencies and contradictions. The book first discusses the mitogen- and antigen-induced B-cell activation. It then explains the subpopulations of lymphocytes involved in the regulation of in vitro B-cell function and the clinical implications in the study of in vitro B-cell function. This book reflects the stimulation as well as the frustration during the workshop. It will serve as a small force and focus of direction in this most interesting, complex, and relevant area of human immunobiology.
  • Plant Cold Hardiness and Freezing Stress

    Mechanisms and Crop Implications
    • 1st Edition
    • P.H. Li
    • English
    Plant Cold Hardiness and Freezing Stress: Mechanisms and Crop Implications contains the proceedings of an International Plant Cold Hardiness Seminar, held in St. Paul, Minnesota on November 2-4, 1977. Organized into seven parts, this book contains a collection of valuable articles on the advances in plant cold hardiness research. This text first addresses the freezing stress in plants in nature, in the field, or as a result of laboratory experiments intended to explain the process. Some chapters follow that discuss the effect of cold acclimation and freezing on plant's cell membrane, the mechanism of cold acclimation in plants, and the super cooling stress in plants. The survival, breeding, cryopreservation, and cryoprotection of plants are also explained.
  • Growth, Nutrition, and Metabolism of Cells In Culture V2

    • 1st Edition
    • George Rothblat
    • English
    Growth, Nutrition, and Metabolism of Cells in Culture, Volume 2, summarizes the state of knowledge of the growth, nutrition, and metabolism of various types of cell cultures. The chapters are both detailed and comprehensive enough for the specialist and broad enough to provide a general background for the nonspecialist. The present volume deals with specialized mammalian, plant, and invertebrate cell systems and techniques. The book begins by tracing the history of the development of tissue culture. This is followed by separate chapters on the use of perfusion systems in cell and tissue culture; and the cultivation of muscle tissue, nerve tissue, and hematopoietic cells. Subsequent chapters discuss the use of cell culture to study mechanisms of hormone action; the cultivation of mammalian embryos; cultivation of cells from poikilothermie vertebrates; and the cultivation of arthropod cells and plant cells. This book will be valuable resource for investigators who routinely use cell culture techniques, as well as students and individuals in associated areas of cell and molecular biology.
  • Trace Elements in Plants

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 6
    • M.Ya. Shkolnik
    • English
    Trace element science has undergone some dramatic changes in recent years and considerable discoveries have been made in the wide field of botany. This monograph reviews and summarizes the advances made in trace element research in botanical geography, taxonomy, phytocenology, geochemical ecology, morphology, anatomy, embryology and genetics.After a discussion of some general aspects of trace elements, the author makes a detailed critical analysis of their physiological role - a role that is not only of theoretical importance but one that can also provide a basis for the development of a rational system of plant nutrition. Various aspects of the problems dealt with, therefore, bear on practical issues in agriculture.
  • Physiological Mechanisms Of Marine Pollutant Toxicity

    • 1st Edition
    • Winona Vernberg
    • English
    Physiological Mechanisms of Marine Pollutant Toxicity contains the proceedings of a symposium on ""Pollution and Marine Organisms"" held at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 30 to December 3, 1981. It explores the effects of pollutants, such as petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and pesticides, on the physiology of marine organisms, along with the functional aspects of detoxification and the environmental health implications of pollution. Organized into three sections encompassing 24 chapters, this volume begins with a discussion of subcellular accumulation and detoxification of metals in aquatic animals such as fishes, crabs, and polychaetes. The reader is then introduced to the physiological mechanisms of pollutant toxicity, including the sublethal effects of pollutants on the gill morphology of the scallop, Placopecten magellanicus; mechanisms underlying the tolerance of killifish embryos to heavy metals; increased sensitivity of smolts in seawater to petroleum hydrocarbons, such as toluene and naphthalene; and physiological effects of sublethal concentrations of benzene and dimethylnaphthalene on blue crab juveniles. The book concludes by outlining research directions for linking cause and effect concerning pollution and marine organisms. This book will be a valuable resource for marine scientists, ecologists, and students.
  • Rodent Malaria

    • 1st Edition
    • R. Killick-Kendrick
    • English
    Rodent Malaria reviews significant findings concerning malaria parasites of rodents, including their taxonomy, zoogeography, and evolution, along with life cycles and morphology; genetics and biochemistry; and concomitant infections. This volume is organized into eight chapters and begins by sketching out the history of the discovery of rodent as well as aspects of parasitology, immunology, and chemotherapy. These concepts are investigated two decades following Ignace Vincke's major discovery and Meir Yoeli's successful establishment of the method of cyclical transmission of the parasite. The following chapters focus on the taxonomy and systematics of the subgenus Vinckeia, with reference to the concepts of species and subspecies of animals and the degree to which they apply to malaria parasites, in particular to those of rodents. The discussion then shifts to how the rodent malaria parasites provide a unique insight into the subcellular organization of Plasmodium species, the use of rodent malaria as an experimental model to study immunological responses, and infectious agents that interact with malaria parasites. The book concludes with a chapter on malaria chemotherapy, with emphasis on the value of rodent malaria in antimalarial drug screening and the use of antimalarial drugs as biological probes. This book will be of interest to protozoologists and physicians as well as those from other disciplines including biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, cell biology, and genetics.
  • The Biology of Nematocysts

    • 1st Edition
    • Howard Lenhoff
    • English
    The Biology of Nematocysts is derived from a symposium dedicated to the exclusive discussion on the biology of nematocysts and cnidocytes. This book is basically a collection of the submitted reviews of contributors and research proceedings presented at the symposium. An introduction on the recognition and discovery of both cnidarians and nematocyst aptly begins the discussion in the book. The first chapter serves as an advanced reading that helps readers be familiarized with the terms used in the entire volume. The following chapters are subdivided into six parts, including topics on the ultrastructure, development, control and morphodynamics of discharge, biochemistry, and natural history. The multidisciplinary approach of the main themes is intended to fully understand the unique qualities of the intracellular structure of nematocyst. This volume will be of great benefit to students and researchers in biological science, cell biology, zoology, microbiology, and general physiology.
  • Spermiogenesis

    • 1st Edition
    • David Phillips
    • English
    Spermiogenesis summarizes the process of sperm structure and development in a variety of organisms. It attempts to illustrate the structure of the organelles that characterize mature spermatozoa and to trace the morphogenesis of these organelles during sperm formation. This task is complicated by considerable variations in the structure of spermatozoa among different species and the lack of good morphological studies of sperm structure and spermiogenesis in many animal groups. The general morphological features of mammalian sperm structure differ in some ways from the features of insect sperm, the spermatozoa produced by insects appearing relatively more simple. When the functions and developmental regions of the organelles are considered, homologies between complex structures found in mammalian sperm and simpler insect sperm structures may be deduced even though the organelles in question are quite dissimilar in appearance. Such homologies will be stressed in an effort to present as general a picture of spermiogenesis as seems consistent with the species-specific variations that exist. This book will be a useful, stimulating reference for students of reproductive biology.
  • Molecular Biophysics

    • 1st Edition
    • M Volkenstein
    • English
    Molecular Biophysics presents the fundamental principles of biophysics and their application to the study of the physical properties of biological macromolecules. The merger of biology and physics involves the development of sophisticated instrumentation and the molecular approach to the study of life phenomena. This book is composed of nine chapters and begins with an overview of the thermodynamical aspects and chemical foundations of biophysics. These topics are followed by the physical aspects of macromolecules, with a particular emphasis on the biological functions, conformation, and hydrophobic interactions of proteins. The subsequent chapter describes the structural and electro-optical properties of biopolymers based on X-ray, optical, and spectroscopic analysis. The discussion then shifts to enzymes, their chemical kinetics, catalytic potential, and conformational and cooperative properties. The remaining chapters explore the physical aspects of nucleic acids and the biosynthesis of proteins. This book will prove useful to molecular biophysicists, biologists, physicists, and researchers in the fields of life sciences.
  • Biology Control in Agriculture IPM System

    • 1st Edition
    • Marjorie Hoy
    • English
    Biological Control in Agricultural IPM Systems covers the proceedings of the 1984 symposium on Biological Control in Agricultural IPM Systems, held in the Citrus Research and Education Center of the University of Florida at Lake Alfred. The symposium summarizes the status and practical use of biological control in agricultural integrated pest management (IPM) systems in the United States. The book is organized into seven parts encompassing 31 chapters that cover the biological control of arthropods, weeds, plant pathogens, and nematodes. After briefly discussing the status and issues of biological control in IPM, the book deals with the basic principles of IPM programs and their related costs, risks, and benefits in biological control. The text also describes the compatibility of plant resistance with biological control of arthropods and the chemical mediated host or prey selection behaviors of entomophagous insects attacking herbivorous insect pests. It explains the development of microbial insecticides; the genetic improvement of insect pathogens; the use of entomogenous nematodes in cryptic and soil habitats; and the techniques for integrating the influences of natural enemies into models of crop/pest systems. The fourth part of the book focuses on the biological control of weeds. The following part considers the general concepts relating to the unique characteristics of plant diseases affecting aerial plant parts. This part also examines the biological control of soil plant pathogens in IPM systems and the use of soilborne viruses, bacteriocins, and hypovirulent strains of fungi as biological control agents. The concluding parts describe the biological control of nematodes and the status and limits to biological control in selected commodity IPM systems, such as citrus, grapes, alfalfa, cotton, and soybean. Entomologists, plant pathologists, weed scientists, nematologists, toxicologists, and economists will find this book invaluable.