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Books in Life sciences

  • Tropical Forests

    Botanical Dynamics, Speciation & Diversity
    • 1st Edition
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    Proceedings of a conference on Tropical Forests: Botanical Dynamics, Speciation and Diversity held at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, August 8*ba10, 1988.The increasing rate of destruction of the world's tropical forests gives grave cause for concern on several counts. In conservative terms, species are being lost at an incredible rate, many before they have even been described. In scientific terms, habitats, communities, and unique systems are lost before they can be studied and used to broaden our understanding of ecological processes in general.The meeting on which this book is based aimed to address two basic needs: to describe some of the marvellous biological treasures of tropical forests and to learn what they can tellus about processes in ecology, and to alert us all once again to the disaster which is overtaking this rich and varied environment.
  • Parasitic Protozoa

    • 2nd Edition
    • English
    Updated and much expanded, the Second Edition of Parasitic Protozoa is designed to be useful to physicians, veterinarians, and research scientists concerned with diseases caused by protozoa in man, and in domestic and wild animals including fish, mollusks and insects, as well as the more commonly considered vertebrate animals. Each section contains information on disease pathogens, treatment, diagnosis, and epidemiology of the diseases caused by the various protozoans. The book is not limited to these medically-oriented subjects, but treats taxonomy, morphology, and metabolism of the organisms in such a way as to be of interest to scientists and graduate students working in the field of protozoology. The entire edition, published in ten volumes, is arranged so that subjects of common interest occupy individual volumes.
  • Microsomes, Drug Oxidations and Chemical Carcinogenesis V2

    • 1st Edition
    • Minor Coon
    • English
    Microsomes, Drug Oxidations, and Chemical Carcinogenesis, Volume II, documents the proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Microsomes and Drug Oxidations held in Ann Arbor, July 1979. The symposium reviewed progress in the understanding of scientific and biomedical problems from a biochemical, biophysical, pharmacological, and toxicological perspective. Volume I contained 117 contributions made by researchers at the symposium, which were organized into three sections (Sections I-III). This second volume contains 122 contributions, divided into four sections (Sections IV-VII). The papers on Section IV examine the metabolic fate of oxygenated compounds. Section V provides studies on microsomal enzymes and lipid metabolism. Section VI includes papers on microsomal enzymes and toxicity of foreign compounds. Section VII covers microsomal enzymes and chemical mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. This book seeks to aid future progress in understanding the complexities of metabolic transformations by these versatile enzyme systems that act on physiologically important lipids as well as on a wide array of foreign substances, including drugs, anesthetics, industrial chemicals, food additives, pesticides, carcinogens, and nonnutrient dietary chemicals.
  • Marine Phytoplankton

    A Guide to Naked Flagellates and Coccolithophorids
    • 1st Edition
    • Carmelo R Tomas
    • English
    Marine Phytoplankton: A Guide to Naked Flagellates and Coccolithophorids provides an introduction to marine planktonic flagellates. It emphasizes the biological and physical features that are needed to identify these species, and presents only those methods that are critical for this task while relying on other publications that have extensively covered general phytoplankton research methods. The book begins with an overview of marine planktonic organisms, describing their evolution and classification as well as the difficulties in identifying planktonic marine flagellates. The discussion then turns to marine planktonic flagellates, including Chromophyta, Chlorophyta, and zooflagellates (Phylum Zoomastigophora). It presents techniques used in flagellate studies, common flagellate synonyms, and an index of flagellate taxa. The chapter on modern coccolithophorids includes generic and species descriptions, a list of common coccolithophorid synonyms, and an index of coccolithophorid taxa. This text was written for serious plankton workers who seek to hone their skills in identifying marine flagellated species.
  • Heavy Particle Radiotherapy

    • 1st Edition
    • M Raju
    • English
    Heavy Particle Radiotherapy covers the significant advances in the application of radiotherapy to cancer treatment. This book is composed of eight chapters that focus on the performance of several heavy particles. The introductory chapters describe the radiobiological phenomena of interest in radiotherapy and their modifications with increasing linear energy transfer. The remaining chapters discuss the physical aspects, cellular effects, and radiotherapy potential of heavy particles, including neutrons, protons, helium and heavy ions, and negative pions.
  • Free Radicals in Biology V6

    • 1st Edition
    • William Pryor
    • English
    Free Radicals in Biology, Volume VI covers the significant biological implications of arachidonic acid chemistry in free radical biology. This 11-chapter volume explores the biochemistry of the prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and other products from arachidonic acid. The introductory chapters describe the chemistry of the eicosanoids; the structures of prostaglandin and leukotriene compounds; the role of lipid hydroperoxides in controlling prostaglandin biosynthesis; and the oxidation of xenobiotics during prostaglandin H biosynthesis. The discussion then shifts to the effects of the so-called fatty acid paradoxes on cell proliferation, tumorigenesis, and metastasis, followed by chapters on arachidonic acid cascade process; the causes of lung injury conditions, such as hyperoxia; and the origin of low-level chemiluminescence in cells. This volume further deals with the oxy-radical involvement in parasitic diseases and the mechanisms for activation of aromatic amine carcinogens. The concluding chapters examine the controversial one- and two-electron mechanisms for activation of polynuclear hydrocarbon carcinogens and a hypothesis to rationalize the effects of radicals on the life span of mammals. These chapters propose that aging results from toxic by-products of metabolism, and longevity is determined by the ability of an organism to deal with these products. This book will be of great benefit to biochemists, biologists, and physicists.
  • Bacillus Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology Applications

    • 1st Edition
    • A.T. Ganesan
    • English
    Bacillus Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology Applications contains the proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Genetics and Biotechnology of Bacilli, held at Stanford University in Stanford, California on July 15-17, 1985. Contributors discuss the progress that has been made concerning the molecular genetics and biotechnology of Bacillus and cover topics related to transposons and plasmids, secretion, gene cloning, and gene expression. This volume is organized into five sections encompassing 39 chapters and begins with an overview of the origin and the state of molecular genetics, along with some of the contributions microbiology has made to fundamental biology. It then emphasizes the importance of scientifically based regulatory decisions and responsible industry actions for effective biotechnology regulation. The chapters that follow focus on Bacillus subtilis, touching on topics such as DNA recombination in plasmids, genetic system for stabilizing cloned genes, regulation of sporulation, and non-complementing diploids. The reader is methodically introduced to the secretion and maturation of subtilisin, cloning in streptomycetes, and genetic exchange and prospects for cloning in Clostridia. The book concludes with a chapter that describes an integrative and amplifiable secretion vector using the inducible promoter and signal peptide from the B. subtilis levansucrase (LS) gene. This book will be of interest to geneticists, microbiologists, and biotechnologists, as well as students and researchers in the fields of molecular biology and biochemistry.
  • Responses of Plants to Air Pollution

    • 1st Edition
    • J.B. Mudd
    • English
    Responses of Plants to Air Pollution examines the effects of air pollutants, individually and synergistically, on both higher and lower plants. The subject matter overlaps into a wide range of disciplines including agronomy, plant anatomy, biochemistry, cryptogamic botany, ecology, entomology, forestry, horticulture, landscape architecture, meteorology, microscopy, plant pathology, plant physiology, and soil science. The opening chapter presents an overview of sources of air pollution, costs of air pollution, and mechanisms of pollution injury to plants. Separate chapters on sulfur dioxide, ozone, fluorides, peroxyacyl nitrates, oxides of nitrogen, and particulates follow. Subsequent chapters are devoted to plant responses to combinations of pollutants; to effects of pollutants on plant ultrastructure, on forests, and on lichens and bryophytes; to interactions of pollutants with canopies of vegetation; to interactions of pollutants and plant diseases; and to interactions of pollutants with agricultural practices. This book will be useful to scientists in many disciplines as well as those who share the concern that clean air can no longer be expected to be the normal environment for plants or animals. The book will also be a valuable a reference work or text for upper level undergraduate students, graduate students, researchers, and growers of plants.
  • Growth Hormone and Related Proteins

    • 1st Edition
    • Choh Hao Li
    • English
    Hormonal Proteins and Peptides, Volume IV: Growth Hormone and Related Proteins deals with various aspects of somatotropin or growth hormone, and its related proteins. This book begins by discussing the bioassay methods for somatotropin, followed by a review of the in vitro lipolytic actions of the hormone. The chemistry of human chorionic somatomammotropin (HCS) and human somatotropin (HGH) are compared and deliberated in detail. This publication concludes with an analysis of the control of prolactin secretion, including an account of the development of the hypophysectomy technique in the rat and effect of hypophysectomy on various bodily functions in experimental animals. This volume is a good reference for endocrinologists, medical practitioners, and researchers conducting work on growth hormones.
  • Clinical Impact of Bone and Connective Tissue Markers

    • 1st Edition
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    For many years, biochemical tests have been widely used for the diagnosis, classification, and monitoring of bone and connective tissue disease. However, shortcomings in terms of the specificity and sensitivity of such tests have prompted continual questioning about their clinical usefulness.This book, based on a meeting organized jointly by the University of Uppsala and Pharmacia Diagnostics AB, reviews our current understanding of basic bone and connective tissue biochemistry and the clinical role of biochemical markers specific to related diseases, with special reference to rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.