Skip to main content

Books in Life sciences

  • Progress in Theoretical Biology

    Volume 1
    • 1st Edition
    • Fred M. Snell
    • English
    Progress in Theoretical Biology, Volume 1 brings together the significant and timely theoretical developments in particular areas of biology. Topics range from chemical evolution and biological self-replicating systems to quantitative aspects of goal-seeking self-organizing systems. An essay on Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961) and his work on genetics and quantum mechanics, as well as its influence on molecular biology, is also included. Comprised of five chapters, this volume first discusses chemical evolution in terms of organic geochemistry and prebiotic chemistry. Dehydration condensation reactions as well as the generation of order and new information are also considered. The next chapter deals with biological self-replicating systems and focuses on such topics as the minimum system capable of self-replication; the minimum system capable of self-replication in terms of the generalizations of terrestrial biology; and which biological systems most nearly approach this limiting behavior. A series of definitions that provide a framework for examining minimal reproducing systems are also presented. The final three chapters explore the quantitative aspects of goal-seeking self-organizing systems; statistical thermodynamics of polymerization and polymorphism of proteins; and the importance of models in theoretical biology. This book is intended for both biological and physical scientists.
  • Neuroendocrinology

    Volume I
    • 1st Edition
    • Luciano Martini + 1 more
    • English
    Neuroendocrinology, Volume I, is the first in a two-volume treatise designed to provide a survey of all aspects of the rapidly expanding science of neuroendocrinology. Only in recent years have the relations between the nervous system and the endocrine system come under intensive scrutiny, but their interactions have already been shown to be multiple and diverse. This diversity is reflected in the range of subjects covered. There are chapters on neural control of endocrine function; the effects of hormones on the brain; brain-endocrine interrelations during various phases of development; and the comparative aspects of neuroendocrine integration. The relation of brain chemistry to endocrine function, the effect of drugs on neuroendocrine mechanisms, and the new discipline of clinical neuroendocrinology have also been considered. Not only neurophysiologists and endocrinologists, but pharmacologists, zoologists, biochemists, psychologists, and those in clinical medicine will find the treatise of interest. Parts of neuroendocrinology have been discussed in other works, but this is the first treatise in which an attempt has been made to cover all ramifications of neuroendocrinology. This book can be used both as a text for advanced students and as a reference source.
  • New Developments in Phosphate Fertilizer Technology

    Proceedings of the 1976 Technical Conference of ISMA Ltd., The Hague, The Netherlands, 13-16 September, 1976
    • 1st Edition
    • L.J. Carpentier
    • English
    New Developments in Phosphate Fertilizer Technology compiles all the papers presented at the 1976 Technical Conference of ISMA Ltd. Topics covered by this book include process for recycling H2 SiF6 solutions recovered by gas washing; safety in rotary dryer operation; valorization of phospho-gypsum; investigation of an aerosol with pilot units installed on site; windmill Holland and its environment; and agglomerate granulation as an equilibrium process. This book also provides discussions on hygroscopicity of fertilizer materials; handling and distribution of compound fertilizers; slurry ammoniation in complex fertilizers production; full-scale operating experience of the Fisons HDC phosphoric acid process; innovations in slurry process granulation plants; and production of synthetic fluor-spar from waste fluosilicilic acid. Included in each chapter are summaries, analysis of the performance data, suggestions for further research, list of symbols, references, and conclusions. This text is beneficial to students or scientists conducting research on the field of agricultural, consumer, and environmental sciences.
  • Theoretical Biology and Complexity

    Three Essays on the Natural Philosophy of Complex Systems
    • 1st Edition
    • Robert J. Rosen
    • English
    Theoretical Biology and Complexity: Three Essays on the Natural Philosophy of Complex Systems is made up of three short essays—each separately conceived and written, each with distinct thrusts and emphases, but nevertheless closely related in substance and spirit. All three spring from a common concern: to grasp and comprehend the material basis of living systems. The first essay is about the interaction between particles and the consequent observable manifestations. It casts the analysis of the measurement process into an elegant dualism relating modes of description, and explores the consequences of this dualism for what may be called classical physics. The second essay explores the deeper consequences of representing the properties of natural systems through states built up out of observable quantities, and the dynamics that such systems impose on each other through interactions. The final essay argues that traditional modes of system representation, involving fixed sets of states together with imposed dynamical laws, strictly pertains only to an extremely limited class of systems (called simple systems or mechanisms). Systems not in this class are called “complex,” and these can only be in some sense approximated, locally and temporally, by simple ones. Such a radical alteration of viewpoint leads to a large number of concrete, practical consequences, some of which are described in the essay.
  • Microbial Safety of Fishery Products

    • 1st Edition
    • C. O. Chichester + 1 more
    • English
    Microbial Safety of Fishery Products discusses the many aspects of the safety of marine products from a microbiological and toxicological standpoint. This book emphasizes the objectives and requirements for the marketing of safe and wholesome fish and fishery products; status of the sanitary quality of fishery products in the Western Hemisphere; and fishery resources of the Caribbean and their potential. The microbiological considerations in the handling and processing of molluskan shellfish; microbiology of prepared and precooked fishery products; and some toxins occurring naturally in marine organisms are also elaborated. This text likewise covers the enteric pathogens in estuary waters and shellfish; control of prepared fishery products in industry; and aflatoxins as contaminants of feeds, fish, and foods. This publication is a good reference for food scientist and nutritionists researching on the sanitary quality of fishery products.
  • Human Ecology and Infectious Diseases

    • 1st Edition
    • Neil A. Croll + 1 more
    • English
    Human Ecology and Infectious Diseases investigates the interrelationships among human behavior, ecology, and infectious diseases, with emphasis on parasitic and zoonotic diseases. The cultural, behavioral, anthropological, and social factors in the transmission of infectious diseases are discussed, along with methods used to make human ecology a more quantitative predictive science in the global challenge of such diseases. Behavioral patterns that place humans at risk to infections and the nature of risk factors are also analyzed. Comprised of 13 chapters, this book begins with an overview of some of the research into those aspects of human behavior that determine risk of helminth infection. The discussion then turns to studies on hookworm and includes an analysis of human behavior and religions that affect transmission of the parasitoses. Human behavior and transmission of zoonotic diseases in North America and Malaysia are documented as are the habits, customs, and superstitions associated with the epidemic of intestinal capillariasis that occurred in the Philippines. Filarial diseases in Southeast Asia are also reviewed, along with the changing patterns of parasitic infections and the cooperation of government and the private sector to lower infection rates in Japan. Cases from Nigeria and Brazil are considered as well. The volume concludes with an assessment of the importance of behavioral and socialcultural factors in determining regional and national patterns in disease incidence and transmission. This monograph should be valuable to students of tropical diseases and public health and to physicians, epidemiologists, anthropologists, veterinarians, and parasitologists.
  • Progress in Theoretical Biology

    Volume 3
    • 1st Edition
    • Robert J. Rosen + 1 more
    • English
    Progress in Theoretical Biology, Volume 3 lays particular emphasis on ecology, the theory of learning systems, and the theory of the genetic code. The book discusses the ecosystem patterns in randomly fluctuating environments; the classical and instrumental learning by neural networks; and the genetic language. The text also describes psychophysical discrimination as well as the linear systems analysis of the calcium cycle in a forested watershed ecosystem. Biologists, ecologists, geneticists, zoologists, and cytologists will find the book invaluable.
  • Foundations of Mathematical Biology

    Supercellular Systems
    • 1st Edition
    • Robert J. Rosen
    • English
    Foundations of Mathematical Biology, Volume III, is devoted to the treatment of behavior of whole organisms and groups of organisms. The viewpoint taken throughout the book is a holistic, phenomenological one. That is, the integrated behavior of these organisms and groups of organisms is not, in general, referred back to specific structural properties of interacting subunits (as in a reductionist scheme), but is rather treated on its own terms without invoking the properties of lower levels of organization. The book begins with an overview of organization and control in physiological systems, with emphasis on the mathematical techniques involved in more detailed investigations of specific physiological mechanisms. Separate chapters cover the cardiovascular system, with particular reference to blood flow; gross problems of organic form; a relational overview of physics, biology, and sociology; the automata theory in the context of the central nervous system; and populations of interacting organisms. The final chapter discusses the material presented in the entire work, some of its philosophical presuppositions and implications, and the possibility of constructing a unified theory of mathematical biology.
  • Cell Growth and Cell Division

    • 1st Edition
    • R. J. C. Harris
    • English
    Cell Growth and Cell Division documents the proceedings of a symposium on cell growth and division in bacterial, plant, and animal systems held at the Institute of Histology in Liège, 19-24 May 1962. Both the biochemical and the cytological aspects of the subject matter are well treated. This book points out the problems which are currently receiving the most attention and the experimental approaches which are being developed. It is hoped that this work will stimulate further research in the field. The book contains 18 chapters and begins with a study on independent cycles of cell division and DNA synthesis in Tetrahymena. Subsequent chapters deal with topics such as cell division and growth in synchronized flagellates; intercellular regulation of meiosis and mitosis; the patterns of growth and synthesis during the cell cycle of the fission yeast S. pombe; and of cleavage of animal cells.
  • Autophagy: Cancer, Other Pathologies, Inflammation, Immunity, Infection, and Aging

    Volume 2 - Role in General Diseases
    • 1st Edition
    • M. A. Hayat
    • English
    Autophagy: Cancer, Other Pathologies, Inflammation, Immunity, Infection, and Aging is a complete, authoritative examination of the role of autophagy in health and disease. Understanding this phenomenon is vital for the studies of cancer, aging, neurodegeneration, immunology, and infectious diseases. Comprehensive and forward thinking, this four-volume work offers a valuable guide to cellular processes while encouraging researchers to explore their potentially important connections. Understanding the role of autophagy is critical, considering its association with numerous biological processes, including cellular development and differentiation, cancer (both antitumor and protumor functions), immunity, infectious diseases, inflammation, maintenance of homeostasis, response to cellular stress, and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and prion diseases. Cell homeostasis is achieved by balancing biosynthesis and cellular turnover. In spite of the increasing importance of autophagy in various pathophysiological conditions mentioned above, this process remains underestimated and overlooked. As a consequence, its role in the initiation, stability, maintenance, and progression of these and other diseases (e.g., autoimmune disease) remains poorly understood. This work will broaden the knowledge base of academic and clinical professors, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and medical students regarding this vital biological process. Volumes in the Series Volume 1: Molecular Mechanisms. Elucidates autophagy’s association with numerous biological processes, including cellular development and differentiation, cancer, immunity, infectious diseases, inflammation, maintenance of homeostasis, response to cellular stress, and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's, Huntington's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and prion diseases. Volume 2: Role in General Diseases. Describes the various aspects of the complex process of autophagy in a myriad of devastating human diseases, expanding from a discussion of essential autophagic functions into the role of autophagy in proteins, pathogens, immunity, and general diseases. Volume 3: Role in Specific Diseases. Explores the role of autophagy in specific diseases and developments, including: Crohn’s Disease, Gaucher Disease, Huntington’s Disease, HCV infection, osteoarthritis, and liver injury, with a full section devoted to in-depth exploration of autophagy in tumor development and cancer, as well as the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis.Volume 4: Mitophagy. Presents detailed information on the role of mitophagy, the selective autophagy of mitochondria, in health and disease, by delivering an in-depth treatment of the molecular mechanisms involved in mitophagy initiation and execution, as well as the role of mitophagy in Parkinson Disease, cardiac aging, and skeletal muscle atrophy. Volume 5: Role in Human Diseases. Comprehensively describes the role of autophagy in human diseases, delivering coverage of the antitumor and protumor roles of autophagy; the therapeutic inhibition of autophagy in cancer; and the duality of autophagy’s effects in various cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative disorders.Volume 6: Regulation of Autophagy and Selective Autophagy. Provides coverage of the mechanisms of regulation of autophagy; intracellular pathogen use of the autophagy mechanism; the role of autophagy in host immunity; and selective autophagy. Volume 7: Role of Autophagy in Therapeutic Applications. Provides coverage of the latest developments in autophagosome biogenesis and regulation; the role of autophagy in protein quality control; the role of autophagy in apoptosis; autophagy in the cardiovascular system; and the relationships between autophagy and lifestyle. Volume 8: Autophagy and Human Diseases. Reviews recent advancements in the molecular mechanisms underlying a large number of genetic and epigenetic diseases and abnormalities, and introduces new, more effective therapeutic strategies, in the development of targeted drugs and programmed cell death, providing information that will aid on preventing detrimental inflammation.Volume 9: Necrosis and Inflammation in Human Diseases. Emphasizes the role of Autophagy in necrosis and inflammation, explaining in detail the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the formation of autophagosomes, including the progression of Omegasomes to autophagosomes.