Books in Life sciences

The Role of Selenium in Nutrition

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
Gerald F. Jr. Combs
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 6 5 3 1

The Role of Selenium in Nutrition reviews the most pertinent scientific literature dealing with the basic aspects of the present understanding of the roles of selenium (Se) in nutrition and health. The book begins with a general discussion of Se, covering its various forms, chemistry and physical properties, and techniques for Se analysis. This is followed by separate chapters on the environmental aspects of Se, including its presence in mineral deposits, soils, water, air, and uptake by plants; Se contents of human foods and animal feedstuffs; biological utilization of dietary Se; and absorption, excretion, metabolism, and tissue concentrations of Se. Subsequent chapters deal with the biochemical functions of Se; Se-related diseases of animals and livestock; the role of Se in human health and in support of normal immune function and disease resistance; and the relationship of Se and cancer. The final chapter reviews the evidence concerning the toxicity of Se compounds and sets this in perspective with current knowledge of the roles of Se in nutrition and health, and of the normal exposures of animals and humans to Se compounds.

Military Radiobiology

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
James Conklin
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 5 1 4 4 3

Military Radiobiology provides an understanding of the sources and consequences of radiation exposure. Military personnel must develop a working knowledge of postexposure effects in order to determine points of intervention. The medical problems confronting military radiobiology include target damage, which causes decrements in normal performance, physiological injury, and impairments of the immunological-hemato... system that lead to life-threatening infectious complications. The book begins by describing the properties of nuclear weapons, including the mechanisms by which nuclear energy is stored within the nucleus, its release, and its conversion to those forces associated with nuclear weapons. This is followed by discussions of the sources, patterns, radiological effects, and management of nuclear fallout; the biological effects of exposure to ionizing radiation released by nuclear weapons; and effects of radiation on the immune system, gastrointestinal physiology, and cardiovascular function. Subsequent chapters cover the diagnosis, triage, and treatment of radiation-associated injuries; internal contamination with radionuclides; radioprotective drugs; psychological reactions to nuclear confrontation; and the response to a nuclear weapon accident.

Neuroendocrine Peptide Methodology

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
P. Michael Conn
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 1 8 9 5

Microsomes, Drug Oxidations and Chemical Carcinogenesis V1

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
Minor Coon
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 4 0 9 4

Microsomes, Drug Oxidations, and Chemical Carcinogenesis, Volume I, 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. The book contains 117 contributions made by researchers at the symposium, which are organized into three sections. The papers in Section I focus on the chemical and physical characteristics of cytochrome P-450. Section II examines the mechanisms of action of cytochrome P-450 and related enzymes. The studies in Section III deal with the influence of membrane structure and protein synthesis on electron transfer components. 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.

Microsomes, Drug Oxidations and Chemical Carcinogenesis V2

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
Minor Coon
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 3 8 7 5

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.

The Direct Detection of Microorganisms in Clinical Samples

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
J. Donald Coonrod
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 5 2 3 3 4

The Direct Detection of Microorganisms in Clinical Samples focuses on the most practical and widely used procedures for direct detection of microorganism in clinical specimens. It considers application to virology, mycology, and bacteriology. Organized into three parts, the book begins with established techniques for visualization of intact organism in clinical samples. The book then deals with immunologic techniques for detecting soluble microbial antigens. The last part considers diverse non-immunologic methods for detecting soluble constituents of organisms and their metabolites. Clinical microbiologists, infectious disease clinicians and researchers, and individuals working in analogous areas will find this book invaluable.

The Islets of Langerhans

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
S.J. Cooperstein
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 4 7 3 3 0

The Islets of Langerhans: Biochemistry, Physiology, and Pathology reviews the state of knowledge in the complex phenomena involved in the functioning of the multiendocrine organ, the islet of Langerhans, and the various influences that can lead to its abnormal functioning. The volume highlights major gaps in knowledge and indicates the directions for research on the major functioning of this organ and the defects leading to its major pathology, diabetes mellitus. The book is organized into three parts. Part I provides the necessary background information on the nature and development of the islet of Langerhans. It includes studies on the evolution of knowledge of the ever-increasing number of cell types found in islet tissue; and fetal development of the functional capacities of the islet cells. Part II is devoted to the synthesis and secretion of islet hormones, beginning with a chapter on the membrane transport systems of islet tissue as a prelude to subsequent examination of their role in the regulation of these processes. Part III examines the effects of deleterious conditions and agents on the morphology and function of islet cells. This book is intended for researchers in endocrinology, particularly those interested in pancreatic hormones, graduate students in endocrinology, and medical endocrinologists interested in diabetes. It will also be useful to physiologists and biochemists studying peptide synthesis and secretion.

An Introduction to Animal Law

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
Cooper
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 0 8 0 9 8 4 3 9 1

Legislation relating to animals has ancient origins and in many civilizations certain species have held particular significance, be it religious, cultural, nutritional, or sporting. As a general rule, the law was primarily concerned with animals as property, rather than in need of protection, until the 19th century. Since the 1970s animal law has proved to be a growth area in the production and enforcement of both national and international legislation. This has been particularly so in the areas of conservation and welfare and there has been extensive legal and philosophical consideration of the status of animals.This book is not intended to be a standard text, but rather a handbook in the true sense, a guide for the lay person--namely, to help the non-lawyer to understand the basic concepts of animal law and to provide the lawyer (who is the lay person in the world of animal science) with an introduction to relevant concepts and literature which are not normally found in the conventional legal texts.

Human Laterality

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
Michael Corballis
English
eBook
9 7 8 0 3 2 3 1 5 8 4 6 6

Human Laterality presents the main facts of human laterality as they are known. Drawing on evidence from normal, intact human beings and neurological patients, along with material on asymmetries in other species, this book traces the development of laterality, its evolution, and inheritance. This text also reviews the literature on the relation between laterality and developmental disorders of speech and language, including dyslexia, stuttering, and dysphasia. This book is organized into nine chapters and begins with an overview of the development of knowledge and ideas about laterality over the course of history. This text gives an account of the myths that abound regarding handedness, including the association of right with male and left with female, with the goal of demythologizing human laterality. It argues that there is a common basis to both handedness and cerebral lateralization, and indeed to other manifestations of human laterality such as eyedness and footedness, and that lateralization is fundamentally biological rather than sociocultural. Human laterality is also seen as an innate disposition rather than a matter of learning or imitation. In the final chapter, this book speculates about the possible origins of laterality in the fundamental asymmetries of living molecules and of particle physics. This book is essential reading for biologists and researchers interested in the human anatomy.

Visual Perception

1st Edition
December 2, 2012
Tom Cornsweet
English
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.

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