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Books in Social sciences and humanities

  • Transfer and Expression of Eukaryotic Genes

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • H.S. Ginsberg
    • English
    Transfer and Expression of Eukaryotic Genes documents the progress in our understanding of the transfer and expression of eukaryotic genes. This book covers topics organized around three themes: gene expression and its regulation; in vivo gene transfer and development; and viral gene and oncogene systems. This text is divided into three sections encompassing 25 chapters and begins with an overview of the molecular basis of gene expression, with emphasis on transcription complexes that account for transcription control in eukaryotic genes. It then turns to experiments that assess the in vitro stimulatory effect of the SV40 72-bp repeat on specific transcription from heterologous promoter elements using a HeLa whole cell extract. The reader is methodically introduced to the regulation signals and factors of histone gene transcription; transcriptional control of beta-globin and liver-specific genes in mouse cells; and gene transfer in Drosophila and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. This book also considers the splicing of messenger RNA precursors and the regulation of thymidine kinase enzyme expression, and then concludes with a chapter that describes the activation of the myc oncogene by chromosomal translocation. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in fields ranging from molecular genetics to microbiology, biochemistry, pathology, and immunology.

  • Science and Technology of Rare Earth Materials

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • E C Subbarao
    • English
    Science and Technology of Rare Earth Materials reviews the important aspects of the science and technology of rare earth materials, covering the entire spectrum from occurrence to extraction and purification, phase relationships, electronic structure, and applications. This book is organized into five sections encompassing 19 chapters. The occurrence, extraction, and production of rare earths are discussed in the first section, followed by purification methods employed for rare earths, together with the role of impurities on their behavior. The phase relations among the rare earth alloys, including a particular reference to the technologically important rare earth-cobalt alloys, and phase relations among the rare earth oxides are considered in the second section. The succeeding two sections focus on studies of the electronic structure of rare earth materials, with emphasis on the use of nuclear magnetic resonance and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Theoretical conceptions are set forth as well as the effect of crystal fields and valence fluctuations on the properties of rare earth systems. The final section describes some of the extensive current uses of rare earth materials such as in the steel industry and in permanent magnets, as well as emerging applications in catalysis, hydrogen storage, ferroelectrics, and fast ion conductors. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and students interested in rare earths.

  • Asbestos and Disease

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    Asbestos and Disease provides a much-needed comprehensive compendium and presentation of accumulated information on asbestos and disease. Organized into five parts, this book begins with the nature, occurrence, properties, mining, milling, manufacturing, and use of asbestos minerals. Some chapters follow on the identification, quantification, and environmental distribution of asbestos fibers. This book also tackles the asbestotic and neoplastic effects of asbestos. The pathogenic mechanisms, prevention, and control of asbestos are also addressed. This work will provide nonspecialists with easily comprehensible and meaningful data that will assist them in their endeavors in this field.

  • Understanding Immunology

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Alastair J. Cunningham
    • English
    Understanding Immunology deals with immunology and its unifying principles, based on the view that the immune system has evolved to combat infectious disease. This book describes the phylogenetic emergence of the immune system; immune reactions in invertebrates and vertebrates; antibody-antigen reactions and the induction of the antibody response; the development of the immune repertoire and self-tolerance; and memory and tolerance in T-cells. This text is organized into 15 chapters and begins with an overview of the immune system, paying particular attention to its basic requirements and properties. This book then discusses antibodies and antigens; the molecular biology of antibody formation; and the role of lymphocytes, lymphoid tissue, and antibody forming cells in the immune response. The following chapters focus on immunocompetent cells and the mechanisms of cell cooperation in the induction of the antibody response, properties of the cells responsible for memory, and the genetic basis of antibody diversity. The reader is also introduced to allelic exclusion and the ontogeny of the immune repertoire; differentiation of T-cells; and cancer and transplantation immunology. The remaining chapters explore aberrations of the immune system and immunity to infectious disease. A comparison of the strategies of vertebrates and invertebrates in adapting to unexpected changes in the environment concludes the book. This book will prove useful as an introduction to immunology to those with some background in biology, particularly, undergraduate or graduate students as well as established researchers in other fields.

  • Learning and Memory

    A Biological View
    • 2nd Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    Learning and Memory: A Biological View is a comprehensive textbook about the neurobiology of learning and memory. Topics covered range from anatomical correlates of neuronal plasticity to drugs that modulate learning and memory, along with biochemical correlates of learning and memory. The effect of aging on memory and electrophysiological analogs of memory are also discussed. Comprised of 12 chapters, this book begins with a review of historical traditions that influenced research on the biological basis of learning and memory. Experimental results indicating that the engram for a simple classically conditioned skeletal response may be in the cerebellum are also summarized. The next chapter stresses the importance of anatomical mechanisms that could mediate learning, plasticity, and memory storage in young and adult animals. Subsequent chapters focus on the influence of peripheral hormones, including opioid peptides, on learning and memory; the contribution of individual neurotransmitter systems to learning; the psychopathology of aging; and long-term potentiation. Learning in complex vertebrate systems and direct stimulation of various brain nuclei are also considered. The final chapter presents a neurobehavioral analysis of the structure of memory formation that utilizes lesions and explores human memory pathology. This monograph is intended for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and research workers in the field of memory.

  • Cellular Energy Metabolism and its Regulation

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    Cellular Energy Metabolism and Its Regulation examines the metabolic and molecular aspects of living organisms. Beginning with a discussion of evolutionary design and its close analogy with human design, it emphasizes the notion that evolution is a process of functional design, and that the characteristics of an organism, whether morphological or molecular, were selected because of functional advantage to the organism's ancestors. Thus, the study of an enzyme, a reaction, or a sequence can be biologically relevant only if its position in the hierarchy of function is kept in mind. This book deals with some aspects of metabolism from that point of view. The key concepts discussed include the conservation of solvent capacity and energy; functional stoichiometric coupling and metabolic prices; adenylate control and the adenylate energy charge; aspects of enzyme behavior that appear to be related to metabolic control; interactions between metabolic sequences; and the adenylate energy charge in intact cells. This book was designed for graduate students in biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, and related fields. However, it may also be useful to senior undergraduate students and more advanced workers who have a direct or peripheral interest in energy metabolism. It assumes a general familiarity with the material covered in a standard biochemistry textbook as well as some knowledge of such related areas as genetics.

  • Handbook of Perception Volume 6A

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Edward C. Carterette
    • English
    Handbook of Perception, Volume VIA Tasting and Smelling focuses on the psychophysics of tasting and smelling and covers topics ranging from food technology and the neurophysiology of taste to the chemistry of odor, the neural code, the olfactory process, and chemical signals in the environment. This volume is organized into five sections encompassing 10 chapters and begins with a historical overview of taste research, followed by a discussion on the biophysics and chemistry of taste and its phylogenetic basis in vertebrates. The focus then shifts to the nature of taste qualities, the psychophysical methods of studying them, and the influence on taste sensation of factors such as intensity, duration and area of stimulation. The important phenomenon of adaptation is well covered, with attention to the role of water. The book methodically introduces the reader to the pleasantness or unpleasantness of a food, the physicochemical basis of olfaction, information processing in the olfactory nerve pathway, and the relationship between molecular structure and odor. A chapter on the extraneous stimulation caused by industrial processes, the psychophysical foundation for applications of olfactory research, and real and potential applications in the realm of odor abatement concludes the volume. This book will serve as a basic source and reference work for psychologists and natural scientists, as well as for those who are interested in human perception.

  • The Autoimmune Diseases

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Bozzano G Luisa
    • English
    The Autoimmune Diseases is composed of 25 chapters dealing with different aspects of some specific autoimmune diseases. The book begins with the elucidation of the genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases. Subsequent chapters explore numerous kinds of autoimmune diseases. Other chapters describe the antireceptor antibodies and the sensitivity and specificity of autoantibody testing. This book is designed to provide a deeper understanding of this increasingly important field of medical science for physicians and investigators involved in the diagnosis, treatment, or research of autoimmune diseases.

  • Handbook of Human Vibration

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • M. J. Griffin
    • English
    Today the human body is exposed to vibration not only while traveling but also during leisure and domestic activities and in many occupations. This volume summarizes the current understanding of the many human responses to vibration.Divided into two parts, this book deals with whole-body vibrations and hand-transmitted vibration. In each part the experimental data and appropriate models are presented in detail so that readers can address practical problems. An extensive guide to national and international standards is provided, and a large multidisciplinary glossary of terms assists in understanding the relevant technical and medical jargon.This comprehensive reference volume is accessible to all those interested in human vibration: medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, scientists, and health and safety officials and administrators.

  • Laboratory Handbook of Medical Mycology

    • 1st Edition
    • December 2, 2012
    • Michael R. McGinnis
    • English
    Laboratory Handbook of Medical Mycology summarizes the concepts dealing with the laboratory aspects of medical mycology. The publication first offers information on basic terminology and classification, laboratory safety, and clinical specimens. Discussions focus on tissue, abscess, blood, bone marrow, and urine specimens, biological hazards, disinfection and sterilization, grounding of electrical equipment, waste disposal, asexual and sexual reproduction, and vegetative growth. The text then takes a look at mold and yeast identification, including fermentation, temperature studies, asci and ascospores, zygomycetes, cycloheximide resistance, and sporulation and sterile isolates. The manuscript ponders on susceptibility testing and bioassay procedures, culture collection, and quality control. Topics include proficiency evaluations, media and equipment control, depositing unusual isolates in major culture collections, reconstituting lyophilized cultures, bioassay to determine drug levels in body fluids, and in vitro susceptibility testing. The publication is a dependable source of data for laboratory technologists, microbiologists, and mycologists engaged in safely isolating and accurately identifying fungi of medical importance.

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