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Books in Life sciences

  • Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites

    The Chemical Participants
    • 2nd Edition
    • Gerald A. Rosenthal + 1 more
    • English
    It has been more than ten years since the first edition of this book was published. During this time, our understanding of the interactions between plants and the animals that consume them, as mediated by secondary compounds (allelochemicals) of plants, has grown dramatically.In the Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites, Second Edition, only those areas of research where significant progress has been made since 1979 are included, and most of the contributing authors are new. This edition has been split into two volumes due to the vast amount of new material that has been generated on this subject.Both volumes will be of interest to evolutionary biologists, agriculturists, chemists, biochemists, physiologists, and ecologists.Volume 1, provides an exhaustive update and review of the chemical and biochemical bases for the role and function of allelochemicals in their defense against herbivores.Volume 2, scheduled for publication in April 1992, provides a current update of the research on the ecological roles and evolutionary nature of secondary plant metabolites in their interactions among plants and as protective agents against environmental stresses such as consumption by herbivores.
  • Mammalian Protein Metabolism

    • 1st Edition
    • H.N. Munro
    • English
    Mammalian Protein Metabolism, Volume IV is an 11-chapter text that describes the regulation of protein metabolism in mammals, both at the subcellular level and at the level of the intact organ and of the whole animal. The first two chapters deal with the fundamental control mechanisms in the synthesis and turnover of proteins, followed by chapters on the mode of action of hormones on protein metabolism and on the role of free amino acid pools in regulation. These topics are followed by discussions on the regulation of individual amino acid pathways and the diurnal rhythms in protein metabolism. The final chapters explore the regulation of protein metabolism in four major organs and tissues of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, and musculature. This book will be of great benefit to biologists, researchers, and biology students.
  • STM and SFM in Biology

    • 1st Edition
    • Othmar Marti + 1 more
    • English
    STM and SFM in Biology is a book fully dedicated to biological applications of the new technology of scanning probe microscopy (SX). The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and its first off-spring, the scanning force microscope (SFM), resolve surface topography at the atomic scale. They also detect certain electronic and mechanical properties, and perform well in ultrahigh vacuum, ambient atmosphere, and aqueous solution environments. Thus, STM and SFM offer powerful tools for biological investigations of nucleic acids, proteins, membranes, and living cells.
  • Allozyme Electrophoresis

    A Handbook for Animal Systematics and Population Studies
    • 1st Edition
    • B. J. Richardson + 2 more
    • English
    Inherited enzyme variations, studied using electrophoresis, can be used as markers for the identification of individuals, population structure analysis, the delineation of species boundaries and phytogenetic reconstruction. The purpose of this book is to describe, in a single convenient handbook, all the theoretical and practical matters relevant to those intending to use electrophoresis as a tool for answering such questions.
  • Kuwaiti Plants

    Distribution, Traditional Medicine, Pytochemistry, Pharmacology and Economic Value
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 2
    • B.S. Middleditch
    • A.M. Amer
    • English
    The people of Kuwait have in the past depended almost entirely on the sea trade giving its boat builders and sailors a good reputation. Plants in Kuwait were valued only as forage and fodder and for subsistence-level farming.Although oil was discovered in 1938, production of oil did not commence until after the second world war. Coupled with recent unrest in the region, extensive damage has been caused to many of Kuwait's plants and a good review of information on them became necessary. The book contains information on all of the dicothyledonous plants (except the Compositae) known to grow in Kuwait. Many of the species of plants are reviewed in their traditional uses in Kuwait and elsewhere. Extensive searches of scientific literature were carried out on phytochemistry, pharmacology, contemporary economic value of the plants. Brief notes are also provided on the utility of related species. The distribution of the 118 species covered is illustrated on maps of Kuwait and the Middle East.
  • Soil Acidity and Plant Growth

    • 1st Edition
    • A Robson
    • English
    Soil Acidity and Plant Growth emerged from concerns over increasing acidification of soils under improved pastures over wide areas of southern Australia. While the book has its origin in the problems of acidification of Australian soils under pastures, the authors examine soil acidity within a much broader framework, making their views relevant to all agricultural and natural ecosystems on acid soils. The book's first two chapters discuss the chemistry of soil acidity and the ecological processes leading to it. This is followed by separate chapters on biological responses to soil acidity, covering mineralization of soil nitrogen, incidence of plant diseases, plant mycorrhizal associations, symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes, and genetic variability in plant response to toxicities. The remaining chapters focus on the correction of soil acidity problems by liming. These include studies on the rates of application and effectiveness of liming materials; and the development and use of computer modelling procedures to help researchers identify the effects and interactions of soil pH on component processes and to provide assistance to farmers in the management of long-term subterranean clover pastures.
  • Mass Action in the Nervous System

    • 1st Edition
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    Mass Action in the Nervous System: Examination of the Neurophysiological Basis of Adaptive Behavior through the EEG focuses on the neural mechanisms and the behavioral significance of the electroencephalogram... with emphasis on observations made on the mammalian olfactory system. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with a brief nonmathematical review of the concept of the neuron and the interrelations among neurons that lead to the formation of interactive masses. Some chapters follow on the linear properties of neurons and their parts; the ionic hypothesis; the nonlinear input-output relations of neurons in masses expressed in terms of amplitude-dependent coefficients in linear differential equations; and the relations between the states of activity of neurons. Subsequent chapters describe the properties resulting from feedback within neural masses; the effects of the nonlinearities in the input-output relations of neurons on the behavior of masses; and some inferences concerning the mechanisms of neural signal processing at the level of neural masses. The book is a model for an advanced text in neurophysiology, and some understanding is assumed of the elements of the fields of linear analysis, probability, statistics, theory of potential, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, neuropharmacology, and experimental psychology.
  • Vitamins in Animal Nutrition

    Comparative Aspects to Human Nutrition
    • 1st Edition
    • Lee Russell McDowell
    • English
    Vitamins in Animal Nutrition presents concise, up-to-date information on vitamin nutrition for livestock and poultry; comparisons with vitamin use in human nutrition are also presented. This book describes the basic chemical, metabolic, and functional role of vitamins and vitamin supplementation. A wealth of photographs illustrate the nutritional aspects of vitamin deficiencies and excesses in livestock, along with their concomitant conditions. This authoritative reference is of interest to professionals in animal nutrition and the livestock industry and is suitable as a graduate-level text on vitamin nutrition in animals.
  • Enzymes of Primary Metabolism

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 3
    • English
    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.
  • From Cyclotrons To Cytochromes

    Essays in Molecular Biology and Chemistry
    • 1st Edition
    • Nathan Kaplan
    • English
    From Cyclotrons to Cytochromes: Essays in Molecular Biology and Chemistry focuses on the uses of the cyclotron and radioactive isotopes in molecular biology and chemistry. The book includes a tribute to Martin Kamen, who played an important role in the development of biochemical sciences in the United States, particularly through his research on the cyclotron. The text also documents research on isotopes carried out at the Radiation Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley during the 1930s, as well as the role of radioactive carbon in bacterial metabolism and experimental work on cytochromes. This volume is organized into six sections encompassing 54 chapters and begins with an overview of science and technology, and then discusses carbon-14 and its half-life. The next chapters discuss the chemistry and structure of cytochromes; the role of cytochromes and redox systems in photosynthesis; the biological aspects of phosphorylation and oxidation; and protein structure. The book also methodically explains the regulatory mechanisms and miscellaneous metabolic processes such as the metabolism of cyclic nucleotides and related compounds; biological functions of lactate dehydrogenase; and nucleotide excision repair of damaged DNA. The final chapter discusses the deamidation of asparagine and glutamine side chains when incorporated into polypeptide chains, with reference to the role of cryptic amidase active sites in catalyzing the process. This book is a valuable resource for biochemists and molecular biologists.