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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.

  • Insect Juvenile Hormones

    Chemistry And Action
    • 1st Edition
    • Julius Menn
    • English
    Insect Juvenile Hormones: Chemistry and Action reviews the state of knowledge on juvenile hormones (JH) and analogs. The book emerged from the presentations and deliberations at the Symposium on the Chemistry and Action of Insect Juvenile Hormones, sponsored by the Division of Pesticide Chemistry of the American Chemical Society at the 162nd National Meeting of the Society in Washington, D. C., September 12-17, 1971. The book summarizes what is known about JH their analogs; their chemistry; their biological effects and mode of action; their biochemical fate in target and nontarget organisms; and their stability. Although divided into three general areas for convenience—biologic... biochemical, and chemical—the text in its entirety is a multidisciplinary discourse, a foundation upon which the understanding of the action or inaction of JH and JH-active chemicals may be based, which hopefully will provide a springboard for future direction and research. This book will be of interest to chemists, biochemists, biologists, endocrinologists, entomologists, insect physiologists, and others concerned with insect development and control.
  • Liquid Scintillation Counting Recent Applications and Development

    Sample Preparation And Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Chin-Tzu Peng
    • English
    Liquid Scintillation Counting: Recent Applications and Development, Volume II. Sample Preparation and Applications documents the proceedings of the International Conference on Liquid Scintillation Counting, Recent Applications and Development, held on August 21-24, 1979 at the University of California, San Francisco. The conference brought together 180 scientists from 15 countries who share a common interest in promoting a better understanding of liquid scintillation science and technology. Liquid scintillation counting is one branch of nuclear metrology that many scientists of various disciplines use in tracing and quantification in their investigatory studies. The proceedings, consisting of 14 sections, include 76 of the 77 invited and contributed papers presented at the conference. The first volume contains 37 papers mainly dealing with the physical aspects of liquid scintillation science and technology. The present volume contains papers that cover sample preparation, flow counting, and emulsion (solgel) counting. It also includes studies on applications of liquid scintillation counting, such as chemiluminescence and bioluminescence, environmental monitoring, and biomedical and radioimmunoassays.
  • Principles of Plant Infection

    • 1st Edition
    • J Van Der Plank
    • English
    Principles of Plant Infection investigates interactions among pathogens, host plants, the environment, time and space, and their role in plant infection. It describes the principles of infection, particularly of the root, stem, or leaf, as they apply to fungi, bacteria, or viruses. It also highlights the dual nature of resistance and suggests theories of host resistance. Organized into seven chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the relation between the amount of inoculum and the amount of disease it causes. It then turns to a discussion of the disease/inoculum relations of tobacco mosaic virus; how obligate synergism restricts the transmission of pathogens; disease/inoculum relations in root disease; the independent action of spores as inoculum; variable factors other than the amount of inoculum that affect plant disease; and time as a determining factor of the degree of plant infection. The reader is also introduced to endemic disease of plants, the implications of endemicity for plant resistance to disease, the spread of disease via migration of pathogens, and the genetics of host-pathogen interactions. Plant pathologists and plant breeders will gain valuable information from this book.
  • Biological Events Probed by Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy

    • 1st Edition
    • Robert R. Alfano
    • English
    Biological Events Probed by Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy summarizes the progress in the experimental and theoretical understanding of primary phenomena occurring in biology on a picoseconds and nanosecond time scale. This book includes basic principles, survey of research results, and thinking of experts in the fields of photosynthesis, vision, hemoglobin, and DNA. This reference is organized into five parts. The primary events in the various areas of biology are reviewed in the first four parts. The last part covers the picosecond and subpicosecond laser techniques. Primary processes in photosynthesis are then discussed. This is followed by chapters on fluorescence and absorption kinetic measurements in higher plants. Subsequent chapters cover kinetic measurements in bacteria photosynthesis, theories of primary energy transfer appropriate to photosynthesis, and multiexcitation processes. Part II examines primary visual processes, including kinetic experimental work on rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin, and theoretical concepts on primary events in vision. The third part presents the introductory materials on the kinetic models of hemoglobin and myoglobin. It also discusses the interesting picosecond measurements on these proteins. Part IV focuses on the application of modern ultrafast temporal techniques to the study of DNA and its components, as well as DNA-dye complexes. The concluding part introduces the principles of design and operation of the solid state laser and picoseconds spectroscopy methods. A discussion on pulse generation methods and measurement techniques applicable for measuring primary events in biological systems is provided. This book is useful both for the newbies and experts in the field of ultrafast phenomena. It aims to attract biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers who are interested in biological processes. It will help readers find all the necessary and relevant material in one presentation.
  • Energy From Forest Biomass

    • 1st Edition
    • W. Ramsay Smith
    • English
    Energy from Forest Biomass is a book that emerged from the papers presented at the International Union of Forestry Research Organization (IUFRO) XVII World Congress held in Kyoto, Japan. This book includes 18 papers representing different authors from nine countries. The book is divided into four parts. The first part contains discussions of the various researches on fuel plantations around the world, as well as harvesting techniques and associated costs. The second part discusses information on the actual and potential availability of biomass from sources other than fuel plantations. This part also examines the different types of biomass fuels currently used in Japan. The third part deals with the intermediate technology that can be used, such as charcoal production and direct combustion. The last part discusses the innovations in producing energy, such as gasification and liquidification. This book will be useful to graduate and undergraduate students, researchers, scientists, and readers who are interested in the use of biomass for energy purposes.
  • Mycoplasma Diseases of Trees and Shrubs

    • 1st Edition
    • Karl Maramorosch
    • English
    Mycoplasma Diseases of Trees and Shrubs contains the edited papers presented at the Third Working Party meeting organized by Professor Karl Maramorosch at Rutgers University, New Jersey, in August 1979. This book also includes additional chapters by the invited contributors in the meeting. Organized into 15 chapters, this book begins with the isolation, characterization and identification of spiroplasmas and mycoplasma-like organisms. It then describes the various diseases of trees and shrubs, specifically yellows disease, stubborn disease, Paulownia witches' broom disease, mulberry dwarf, blueberry stunt, and sandal spike disease. It also elaborates the control of tree diseases by chemotherapy. This treatise will provide a standard reference work for all interested in plant mycoplasma diseases in forest pathology, entomology, and disease control.
  • Comparison of Forest Water and Energy Exchange Models

    • 1st Edition
    • S Halldin
    • English
    Comparison of Forest Water and Energy Exchange Models includes results of comparisons and tests on micrometeorological and hydrological models against independent field data gathered from an International Union of Forestry Research Organizations workshop. The comparisons are made using the SWECON computer by means of the ECODATA program package and the SIMP simulation package. This book is divided into four sections, covering data and computer facilities; atmospheric exchange and radiation models; soil water and interception models; and comparison of models. The first part includes discussion on the climatic data and databases; evapotranspiration measurements; instrumentation; data gathering and processing; the storage, retrieval and analysis of continuously recorded ecosystems data; and the SIMP-interactive mini-computer package for simulating dynamic and static models. The second part presents the MICROWEATHER simulation model that is applied to a forest; the energy exchange model of a pine forest canopy; the simulation of the quality and quantity of short-wave radiation within and above canopies; and the physical model to simulate energy exchange of plant canopies. The third part offers the model HEJMDAL, which simulates water state and flow in the soil-plant-atmospher... system; the water regime of forests and meadow model; the annual energy and water flow in a layered soil model; and the model ETFOREST for the calculation of the actual evapotranspiration. The last section presents a comparison of radiation models, energy exchange models, and interception models.
  • Economic and Medicinal Plant Research

    • 3rd Edition
    • H. Wagner + 2 more
    • English
    This series identifies areas of research in natural plant products that are of immediate or projected importance from a practical point of view. It reviews these areas in a concise and critical manner. Graduate students, researchers will find the timely reviews presented here to be invaluable. Decision makers in industry and government agencies will also find the material beneficial.
  • Introduction to Crop Husbandry

    Including Grassland
    • 6th Edition
    • J. A. R. Lockhart + 1 more
    • English
    Since 1983, when the last edition was published, there have been important new developments in crop husbandry methods as well as an increasing awareness of political and ecological pressures. These pressures have resulted in considerable changes in crop husbandry and the new edition reflects these changes by updating all chapters and by including new sections on combinable crops, organic farming and nitrogen leaching. As in previous editions this book presents all the modern crop production methods in a comprehensive and easily understood manner. As such it should continue to be the standard textbook for all crop husbandry syllabi at all levels of agricultural teaching.
  • Exploitation of Environmental Heterogeneity by Plants

    Ecophysiological Processes Above- and Belowground
    • 1st Edition
    • English
    There is a new emerging interest in the effects of gaps and patches on succession and biodiversity. This innovative volume is a synthesis of studies of plant responses to temporal and spatial heterogeneity, the exploitation of resources from pulses and patches by plants, and their competition with neighbors in the face of this variability.Abovegro... the book focuses upon the nature of canopy patchiness, consequences of this heterogeneity for the light environment, and the mechanisms by which plants respond to and exploit this patchiness. Belowground, the text explores the heterogeneity of soil environments and how root systems obtain nutrients and water in the context of this temporal and spatial variability. As a new reference in an evolving and growing field, this text is sure to be a valuable tool for researchers and advanced students in plant physiology, ecology, agronomy, and forestry alike.