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Books in Life sciences

Elsevier's Life Sciences collection helps researchers get comprehensive coverage and up-to-date information on the study of living organisms, their processes, and interrelationships, spanning disciplines like biology, genetics, and biochemistry, and addressing emerging trends such as genomics, biotechnology, and sustainability, essential for advancing knowledge and driving innovation in the field.

    • The Photosynthetic Apparatus: Molecular Biology and Operation

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • Lawrence Bogorad
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 4 4 0 5 7
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 7 2 3 1
      The Photosynthetic Apparatus: Molecular Biology and Operation: Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants, Volume 7B is a collection of papers that discuss plastids – organelles found in plants that set them apart from other organisms. The book is divided into two parts. Coverage of Part I includes concepts such as photosynthesis and the photosynthetic apparatus - light energy and photosynthetic electronic transport, photosynthetic phosphorylation, and fractionation of the photosynthetic apparatus; photosystem II – its protein components, genetic aspects, and structure and function; the cytochrome b6/f complex; and the structure and function of coupling factor components. Coverage of Part II includes the biochemistry and molecular biology of chlorophyll; genes and enzymes for carotenoid biosynthesis; photoregulated development of chloroplasts; and the differentiation of amyloplasts and chromoplasts. The text is recommended for botanists, molecular biologists, and biochemists who are interested in the study of plant cells and photosynthesis.
    • Primate Locomotion

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • Farish A. Jr. Jenkins
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 3 1 4 0 1 6
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 5 2 0 2 0
      Primate Locomotion discusses researches on the concept of primate locomotion. It is organized into 11 chapters that cover biomechanical principles, which are the foundation of understanding of locomotor adaptations. This book first gives an introduction to parallels and analogs between mammalian and mechanical structures. It then describes the mechanisms of arboreal mammal locomotion, as well as the behavioral observations and locomotor patterns of tree shrew. The jumping locomotion of Galago alleni and the role of wrist specialization in the locomotor evolution of the Hominoidea are also explained. The subsequent chapter discusses the relationship between the mechanical features of the scapula and shoulder region and the characteristics of locomotor behavior. A chapter also discusses the adaptive nature of postural behavior in quadrupedal primates, represented by the New and Old World monkeys. Moreover, this book examines the morphological differences between living Insectivora, Carnivora, Primates, and the relevant known fossils of Cretaceous and Early Tertiary Eutheria. This is to evaluate the origins, evolution, and function of the Tarsus. Another chapter presents a functional analysis of most of the foot skeleton, primarily, the Lemuriformes. The concluding chapters deal with electromyographical studies on gorillas; the mechanics of knuckle-walking; the theories on hominoid phylogeny; and the locomotor adaptations in prosimians. This text is intended not only for researchers dealing with primate locomotion, but equally for students and others who share an interest in mammals and locomotor adaptations.
    • Enzymes of Primary Metabolism

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 3
      • December 2, 2012
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 2 1 1 1 9
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 9 8 4 2 1 6
      The series Methods in Plant Biochemistry provides an authoritative reference on current techniques in the various fields of plant biochemical research. Each volume in the series will, under the expert guidance of a guest editor, deal with a particular group of plant compounds. The historical background and current, most useful methods of analysis are described. Detailed discussions of the protocols and suitability of each technique are included. Case treatments, diagrams, chemical structures, reference data, and properties will be featured along with a full list of references to the specialist literature.**Conceiv... as a practical comparison to The Biochemistry of Plants, edited by P.K. Stumpf and E.E. Conn, no plant biochemical laboratory can afford to be without this comprehensive and up-to-date reference source.
    • Nutritional Toxicology V1

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • John Hathcock
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 4 3 7 5 3
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 6 9 3 7
      Nutritional Toxicology, Volume I is a sample result that has risen from the need for increased toxicological awareness and understanding by nutritionists and other professionals concerned with food production, utilization, and health. This book aims to collate significant information regarding nutrition-associated toxicity problems. The book is divided into 13 chapters. The first two chapters deal with a general overview of nutritional toxicology. Some of the topics discussed in this section include the nutritional effects of toxicants, xenobiotics, toxic action, and biotoxification. The following subject areas discussed include vitamin excess and toxicity; trace elements and cardiovascular disease; and factors affecting the metabolism of nonessential metals in food. The subsequent chapters focus on problem areas including the hazards of foodborne bacterial infections and intoxications, mycotoxins and toxic stress metabolites, environmental contaminants in food, and hazards of compounds in human nutrition. The last section tackles the close relationship of toxicology with food, including their effects and applications. Some topics include food colors, ingredients, chemicals, and substances, as well as their effects on other organisms. This volume will be invaluable to students and professionals in nutrition and toxicology. Other people who studies nutrition, toxicology, and pharmacology will also benefit from this resource.
    • Biology of Perceptual Systems

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • Edward Carterette
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 4 3 4 2 5
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 6 5 9 3
      Handbook of Perception, Volume III: Biology of Perceptual Systems reviews the literature on the biological aspects of human perception, with emphasis on perceptual systems and elements of sensory physiology. This volume is organized into 19 chapters and begins with a discussion of energy transduction, detection, and discrimination, along with the properties of neurons alone and as conjoined in nets. The focus then shifts to psychogenesis, the relatively new field of ethology, and the natural diversity and evolutionary divergence of sensory systems. The chapters that follow examine the genetics of behavior, the facts and theories about the way in which animals and men construct patterned stimulation of receptors into significant objects, and the structure and function of sensory systems on which vertebrates depend for their construction of the varieties of experience. The book methodically introduces the reader to chemoreception, tasting and smelling, cutaneous mechanoreception (of position, velocity, transients), active texture perception, mechanisms of spatial orientation and of motion in space, thermoreception, vision, and audition. In almost every case the underlying physiological mechanisms are related to the psychophysical or perceptual observations. This book is a valuable resource for psychologists, biologists, and natural scientists, as well as for those who are interested in the biology of human perception.
    • The Biological Fractionation of Isotopes

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • Eric Galimov
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 3 3 4 7 3 1
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 5 7 8 5 8
      The Biological Fractionation of Isotopes focuses on the biological fractionation of isotopes and presents calculations of the thermodynamic isotopic beta factor for polyatomic carbon compounds. This book provides experimental and theoretical evidence of the phenomenon of thermodynamically ordered distribution of isotopes in biological systems. This book consists of 12 chapters and opens with an overview of the causes of fractionation of isotopes, along with concepts such as isotopic composition and isotopic effects. The discussion then turns to the isotopic composition of the carbon of organisms; a method of calculating the thermodynamic isotopic factors of polyatomic compounds; and results of experimental investigations of intermolecular and intramolecular isotopic effects. A theoretical model of biological fractionation of isotopes is also described. The following chapters explore the regularities of the biological distribution of isotopes and present the results of some biochemical experiments, including the enzymatic decarboxylation of pyruvate and microbiological oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid. In addition, the geologic aspects of thermodynamically ordered isotopic distributions in biological products are analyzed. This monograph will be of interest to biologists, geochemists, analytical chemists, and geologists.
    • Organic Photochemistry

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • Jacques Kagan
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 2 1 3 4 8
      • eBook
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      Organic Photochemistry outlines the principles, techniques and well-known reactions occurring in organic molecules and also illustrates more complex photochemical transformations occurring in organic chemistry. Many photochemical transformations convert simple molecules into extremely complex products with an ease not approached by the standard synthetic chemistry practiced in the laboratory. In the earlier chapters, the author outlines the principles, techniques and some of the well-known reactions occurring in organic molecules and later illustrates more complex photochemical transformations occuring in organic chemistry. Experimental techniques are included to encourage novices. Topics are emphasized where structural transformations can be formulated chemically. Practical applications are collected together. The book starts at a comfortably simple level with enough examples to provide an introduction to the diversity of photochemical reactions.
    • Visual Perception

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • Tom Cornsweet
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 4 5 0 2 3
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 8 2 1 4
      Visual Perception explores fundamental topics underlying the field of visual perception, including the perception of brightness and color, the physics of light, and the optics of the eye. Although the text leans heavily on physical and physiological concepts, explanations of the relevant physics and physiology are considered. This book is organized into 16 chapters and begins with an overview of the relationship between information assimilation and the physiology of the visual system based on data gathered both in physiological and perceptual experiments. More specifically, this text discusses the nature of the human perceptual system in terms of the kinds of information that are assimilated from the world, and how this selection of information is governed by the structure of receptors and the neural circuits that are connected to them. The relationships between symbols and their corresponding physical and physiological variables are also examined. Finally, the book addresses the presence of strong lateral inhibition in the visual system and how it fits the concept of evolution. This book is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of their academic backgrounds.
    • Mobile Genetic Elements

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • James Shapiro
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 2 4 0 4 2
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 3 1 9 6
      Mobile Genetic Elements introduces the nonspecialist to the biology and genetics of mobile elements. It attempts to make the biochemistry of DNA rearrangements more accessible to embryologists and evolutionists, and to illuminate the related developmental cycles to the biochemist. The book also shows how natural the activity of mobile elements can be in diverse biological situations. The chapters describe several well-studied cases in which genetic determinants—often identified as specific nucleic acid sequences—repeatedly change their positions within or between cellular genomes. Because their genomic positions are not fixed, these determinants may conveniently be classed together under the rubric of mobile genetic elements. The book begins with a discussion of maize controlling elements. This is followed by separate chapters on the bacteriophages λ and Mu; nonviral mobile elements in bacteria; transposable Ty elements in brewer's yeast; Drosophila transposable element; and hybrid dysgenesis. Subsequent chapters cover vertebrate retroviruses; Agrobacterium oncogenesis in plants; flagellar phase variation in Salmonella; yeast mating type; and surface antigenic variation in trypanosomes.
    • Pathophysiology of Parasitic Infection

      • 1st Edition
      • December 2, 2012
      • E Soulsby
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 3 3 5 0 2 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 5 8 1 4 5
      Pathophysiology of Parasitic Infection covers the proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on July 14-16, 1975. The book summarizes the developments in pathophysiology of parasitism. It includes experiments on parasitic infections and the widespread occurrences of diseases in domestic animals caused by helminths, protozoa, and arthropods. Divided into 21 chapters, the book initially examines the mechanisms of pathogenicity from the structural and physiological processes that may be expressed as the pathophysiology of parasitic infections. The subsequent chapters discuss the plasma protein kinetics; the hematological indices associated with parasitic infections; the mechanisms of the swine trichuriasis disease; and the response of sheep and rabbit to infection with Fasciola hepatica. The book also presents evidence on establishing a predictable population of parasites based from the ratio of mature to immature worms and the ratio of mucosal to lumen dwelling stages. A chapter focuses on the effects of nematode infection on the lymphatic system and on blood vessels. Considerable chapters are devoted to body defense against parasitic infection, including immunoglobulin E-like antibodies, vasoactive amines and peptides, and immunoglobulin M. The book further deals with the hematological aspects and treatment of trypanosomiasis. It also tackles the effects of fever as a pathophysiological factor in the course and pathogenesis of East Coast fever caused by Theileria parva. The concluding chapters deal with immune response to parasitic infection, including the effects of anticomplementary substances, macrophage, and lymphocytes. Veterinary parasitologists, parasitic infection researchers, immunologists, teachers, and students with courses related to parasitic infection will find this book invaluable.