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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.

  • Redesigning Rice Photosynthesis to Increase Yield

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • P.L. Mitchell + 1 more
    • J.E. Sheehy
    • English
    Rice yields need to increase in order to keep pace with the growing population of Asia and to alleviate hunger and poverty. There appears, however, to be a biophysical limit associated with conventional photosynthetic pathways. The research presented in this book aims at understanding how the rice plant's photosynthetic pathway could be redesigned to overcome current yield limits. The factors controlling yield are discussed from the agronomic to the molecular level. Prospects for improving rice photosynthesis include using genetic engineering to convert rice into a C4 plant.The various chapters in this book deal with photosynthesis; a comparison of C3 and C4 pathways; genes physiology and function, and also discuss this in the broader context of economic consequences of yield improvements for poverty, the molecular genetics of photosynthesis, and ecophysiological and evolutionary perspectives of photosynthesis in wetlands.Researchers on rice, photosynthesis, agronomy, genetic engineering, and food policy will find much of interest in this book.
  • Fish Physiology: Muscle Development and Growth

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 18
    • English
    With the advent of zebrafish as a model system, the development and growth of muscle in fish has become an ever more important process. This volume, in the continuing Fish Physiology series, focuses attention on muscle from the genetics of muscle development to application of muscle growth patterns to aquacultural production.
  • Grazing Management

    • 2nd Edition
    • John F. Vallentine
    • English
    Grazing animals need to be managed in order to accommodate desired results in terms of animal, plant, land and economic responses. Grazing Management, Second Edition integrates principles and management techniques that apply to all grazing lands and to all grazing animals. This comprehensive volume provides authoritative review on a wide range of relevant topics: animal nutrition and nutritional balance when fed on different sorts of grazing lands; seasonal variation and limits placed on ecosystems by grazing; the effects of grazing on grazing lands; the various sorts of grazing behaviors; selecting plants and managing grazing lands, as well as many other important topics bearing upon the methods, practises and procedures for properly managing grazing lands and animals.
  • Advances in Agronomy

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 71
    • English
    Volume 71 contains six outstanding reviews that discuss cutting edge developments in the crop and soil sciences. Chapter 1 addresses advances in the development, use, and evaluation of controlled release fertilizers. Chapter 2 is a comprehensive review of developments in breeding crops for increased nutritional value. Historical and current advances in the field are covered as well as selection in methodology and employment of molecular biology tools. Chapter 3 is a comprehensive treatment of remaking bean plant architecture for efficient production. Chapter 4 is a review on carbon sequestration, specifically, the potential of world cropland solid to serve as a source of atmospheric carbon. Chapter 5 discusses the ability of grain legumes (pulses) to adapt to water-limited environments. Chapter 6 describes and applies an important water quality model - the root zone water quality model (RZWQM). The model is described and discussion is provided on the calibration and application in laboratory and field settings.
  • Novel Macromolecules in Food Systems

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 41
    • G. Doxastakis + 1 more
    • English
    Applying recent advances in biological and physical sciences, food scientists have created "novel food ingredients" enzymatically, chemically or microbiologically. Chief among these are "novel proteins and polysaccharides" which, like the more established traditional macromolecules, can perform multifunctional roles such as thickening, stabilization, gelation or encapsulation and in this way determine to a large extent the shelf life, texture and nutritional value of natural and processed foods.Featuring the latest advances on chemistry, structure and functional properties of "novel proteins and polysaccharides", with an emphasis on fundamental structure-function relationships, this book will be valuable to all those working in product development and fundamental food research.
  • Dietary Anticarcinogens and Antimutagens

    Chemical and Biological Aspects
    • 1st Edition
    • I T Johnson + 1 more
    • English
    Comprehensive and international in content, Dietary anticarcinogens and antimutagens: Chemical and biological aspects includes topics as diverse as the health benefits of tea, wine and beer, through the prevention of various cancers, to the development of effective communication for healthy eating. The book is organised in to sections covering: epidemiology of diet and cancer; mechanisms of DNA damage and repair; the body’s various protective mechanisms; and experimental approaches to the study of diet and cancer, with particular emphasis on humans as subjects.
  • The International Wine Trade

    • 2nd Edition
    • Pierre Spahni
    • English
    This is the second edition of the definitive analysis of the international wine trade. This new edition focuses on individual trade flows across the major importing and exporting countries, examines the increasing role of food retailers in wine selling and looks for the future trends which will shape the industry in the new millennium.The book begins by examining technical factors in the wine trade giving rise to differences in pricing and considers how wines' characteristics help to position the final products. It shows how trends in consumption are changing in different ways in the traditional and Anglo-Saxon markets and explains the effects of developments in international trade such as the role of trade barriers.The heart of the book profiles the ten major wine importing countries and considers:Trends in the consumption of alcoholic drinksWine market and import patternsThe configuration of import and distribution channelsEach country's trade policy with detailed comparisons between themThe book then goes on to consider the wine trade from the exporters point of view and describes:The challenge posed by New World producers to those based in Western EuropeThe influence of the previously planned economies of the former Soviet blocThe role of the EU and the likely effect of further European integrationThe influence of tariff schedules and the GATT negotiationsThis edition will be essential reading for all wine trade professionals including: wine producers, importers and exporters, negocients, co-operatives and regional economic development agencies, and wine merchants and retailers.
  • Haccp in the Meat Industry

    • 1st Edition
    • M. Brown
    • English
    The recent outbreaks of E.coli and BSE have ensured that the issue of meat safety has never had such a high profile. Meanwhile HACCP has become the preferred tool for the management of microbiological safety. Against a background of consumer and regulatory pressure, the effective implementation of HACCP systems is critical. Written by leading experts in the field, HACCP in the meat industry provides an authoritative guide to making HACCP systems work effectively.This book examines the HACCP in the meat industry across the supply chain, from rearing through to primary and secondary processing.
  • Evolution of Metabolic Pathways

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 34
    • R. Ibrahim + 3 more
    • English
    The past decade has seen major advances in the cloning of genes encoding enzymes of plant secondary metabolism. This has been further enhanced by the recent project on the sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome. These developments provide the molecular genetic basis to address the question of the Evolution of Metabolic Pathways. This volume provides in-depth reviews of our current knowledge on the evolutionary origin of plant secondary metabolites and the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis. The chapters cover five major topics: 1. Role of secondary metabolites in evolution; 2. Evolutionary origins of polyketides and terpenes; 3. Roles of oxidative reactions in the evolution of secondary metabolism; 4. Evolutionary origin of substitution reactions: acylation, glycosylation and methylation; and 5. Biochemistry and molecular biology of brassinosteroids.
  • Carbohydrate Reserves in Plants - Synthesis and Regulation

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 26
    • A.K. Gupta + 1 more
    • English
    Carbohydrate reserves constitute the major part of edible portion of the plants. Latest researches in major crops like wheat, rice, maize, barley, potato, sugarcane, sugarbeet, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory and carbohydrates in trees have been included in this book. The book will be of great value to the basic plant biochemists, molecular biologists, biotechnologists, and genetic crop engineers and to the agricultural scientists working in different disciplines related to crop productivity. This compilation may act as a medium to initiate discussions among these scientists leading to new researches in the area of crop productivity and reserve carbohydrate metabolism.