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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.

  • Biotic Interactions and Soil-Borne Diseases

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 23
    • A.B.R. Beemster + 5 more
    • English
    This volume contains a collection of all the papers presented at the founding conference of the European Foundation for Plant Pathology, held from 26th February to 2nd March 1990 at Wageningen, The Netherlands. It focusses on the theme of "Biotic Interactions and Soil-Borne Diseases", on which there are contributions from leading European scientists in the field of soil-borne diseases. Ways of exploiting biotic processes and phenomena which result in plant production harmless to the environment are explored.
  • Recent Advances in Acarology

    • 1st Edition
    • J Rodriguez
    • English
    Recent Advances in Acarology, Volume I, emerged from the V International Congress of Acarology held at Michigan State University in August 1978. It includes the contents of the symposia and a selection of contributions to the workshops and submitted paper sessions. The book is organized into six parts. Part 1 focuses on the pest management of agricultural mites. Part 2 on the biology of spider mites presents contributions in the areas of male reproductive behavior, silk production, pheromones, the components of reproductive success, and the effects of nutrition and temperature on tetranychid development. Part 3 on stored product acarology includes papers that reflect a broad understanding of acarine biology, nutrition, biochemistry, systematics, and ecology. Part 4 is devoted to physiology, biochemistry, and toxicology. It includes reports on the use of low-energy laser-generated x rays to measure salt concentrations in ducts of living mites; the use of labeled butanediol in metabolism studies of acarid mites; and electron microscope studies of functional morphology of ticks. Part 5 on ecology, bionomics, and behavior includes studies on the developmental cycle of sponge-associated water mites; behavior of tick larvae in relation to C02; and the influence of maternal age on the sex ratio of the progeny of a tetranychid. Part 6 presents research on soil mite biology.
  • Bivalvia Through Reptilia

    • 1st Edition
    • T Pandian
    • English
    Animal Energetics, Volume 2: Bivalvia through Reptilia is part of a two-volume treatise focusing on the integrated picture of the energy transformation process at the organismic level. Since it is almost impossible to restrict meaningful discussions to only one level of organization, some reference is made to population energetics as well as to the suborganismic level. The bioenergetics of both vertebrate and invertebrate groups are discussed. Specifically, the bioenergetics of bivalves, gastropods, bryozoans, pogonophorans, echinoderms, lower chordates, fishes, amphibians, and reptiles are covered. Understanding the efficient and fast transformation of biological energy has become an important issue in world affairs; studies on energetics and growth of thermoconformers can therefore be expected to expand greatly in the future. This book aims to provide many keys to a broader understanding of biology as well as open untrodden avenues to biologists with the quest for newer energy sources and efficient methods of energy utilization.
  • 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.
  • Crop Breeding: A Contemporary Basis

    • 1st Edition
    • P. B. Vose + 1 more
    • English
    The aim of this book is to gather together, in an integrated manner, information on the physiology and technology of contemporary plant breeding. The approach is multidisciplinary, with special emphasis being placed on the application of theoretical knowledge to the solution of practical problems concerned with the improvement of crop yield through the breeding of plants better suited to their environment. The role of modern techniques, such as tissue culture and induced mutation are discussed in detail
  • Biology of Fertilization V1

    Model Systems and Oogenesis
    • 1st Edition
    • Charles Metz
    • English
    Biology of Fertilization, Volume 1: Model Systems and Oogenesis is the first in a three-volume series that gathers various lines of research about reproduction in general and fertilization in particular. Knowledge about cell biology, immunobiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular genetics has progressed significantly beyond our understanding of some aspects of fertilization. Components of these constitute ""model systems."" The present volume includes reviews of such systems, some relatively simple model systems in lower organisms, sex-determining mechanisms, and oogenesis. The book contains 12 chapters organized into two sections. Section I includes studies on evolution, reproductive success, and immortality of the germ line; the structures and mechanisms involved in fertilization problems; and fertilization in Paramecium. Section II on oogenesis includes studies on gamete differentiation; sex-determining role of the H-Y antigen in mammals and non-mammals; the mechanism of starfish oocyte maturation; meiotic arrest in animal oocytes; and the mitotic and meiotic aspects of the mammalian germ cell life cycle.
  • Spontaneous Animal Models of Human Disease

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 2
    • Edwin J. Andrews + 2 more
    • English
    This two-volume work gathers together the diverse information presently available on spontaneous animal models of human disease. In addition to providing a comprehensive review of existing models, the book presents many previous unpublished new models.The scope of this work is limited to spontaneous models. Neoplasia, infectious diseases including parasitism, and nutritionally induced or other types of experimental models have not been included. The sixteen parts of the book are alphabetically arranged according to organ system with over 230 authors contributing to the overall effort. In addition to many illustrations, the book features an extensive bibliography.
  • Management and Analysis of Biological Populations

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 8
    • B.-S. Goh
    • English
    Management and Analysis of Biological Populations demonstrates the usefulness of optimal control theory in the management of biological populations and the Liapunov function in simulating an ecosystem model under large perturbations of its initial state and continual disturbances on its dynamics. The first chapter of the book introduces the topic by presenting the different models in ecology and discussing the stability concepts, the ecological engineering, and various relevant functions in ecosystem modeling. The next chapter contains a brief survey of static optimization techniques and optimal control theory for systems, which are modeled by differential and difference equations. Another chapter covers methods that use Liapunov and Liapunov-like functions to establish that a given population model is stable relative to finite perturbations of its initial state and that it is non-vulnerable relative to large continual disturbances. The book also covers fisheries and logistic modeling, including a discussion of a few management problems. Moreover, this reference considers stability in an ecosystem model with complexities due to species richness, nonlinearities, time delays, and spatial heterogeneity. Finally, it explains how to manage pests and greenhouse crops. The book is an excellent reference source for students and professionals in ecology and environmental engineering. Research professionals and extended workers in agriculture and agronomy will also find this book invaluable.
  • Plant Responses and Control of Water Balance

    • 1st Edition
    • T.T. Kozlowski
    • English
    Water Deficits and Plant Growth, Volume III: Plant Responses and Control of Water Balance focuses on the influence of water deficits on shrinkage of plant tissues, seed germination, reproductive growth, and internal plant responses such as protoplasmic resistance to desiccation, enzymatic activity, nitrogen metabolism, hormonal relations, and mineral nutrition. This book also considers alleviation and control of water deficits in plants. This volume is organized into 10 chapters and begins with an overview of shrinkage and swelling in plant tissues and their biological implications, along with some basic aspects of seed germination and environmental factors affecting germination as well as its relation to soil moisture. The discussion then shifts to the impact of water deficits on growth of fruits at different stages of development, from flowering to fruit ripening, and the ability of the protoplasm to survive a serious reduction in water content (known as protoplasmic resistance). The following chapters explore the effects of water deficits on enzyme activity, nutrient availability, nitrogen metabolism, and hormonal distribution in plants. This book also looks at transpiration in plants and how to reduce it, and then concludes with a chapter on soil water conservation as a problem of management of available water resources in the context of agriculture. This book is a valuable resource for scientists and investigators in fields such as botany, plant pathology, forestry, and agriculture.
  • Tropical Food: Chemistry and Nutrition V2

    • 1st Edition
    • George Inglett
    • English
    Tropical Foods: Chemistry and Nutrition, Volume 2 contains the proceedings of an International Conference on Tropical Foods: Chemistry and Nutrition, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 28-30, 1979. The papers explore the chemical and nutritional aspects of tropical foods from around the world, including vegetables, coconut foods, wheat, and soybean foods. This volume is comprised of 19 chapters and begins with an overview of the nutritional aspects of some tropical plant foods by focusing on nutrition, the nutritional composition of some plant foods, and the applications and limitations of food composition tables, along with assessment of nutritional status and some obstacles to nutritional health. The next chapter surveys tropical foods in the Far East, with emphasis on the processing and nutritional evaluation of fermented foods as well as fermentation and other methods of food preservation. Vegetable production in tropical Asian countries such as the Philippines is also considered. Subsequent chapters look at tropical home gardens as a nutrition intervention, tropical foods in Central America, and some aspects of traditional African foods. This book should be a valuable resource for biochemists, nutritionists, and nutritional scientists.