Search

Ultrastructure of Protein Fibers covers the papers presented at a symposium of the 19th annual meeting of the Electron Microscope Society of America, held at the Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 21, 1961. The book focuses on the composition, characteristics, properties, and reactions of protein fibers. The selection first offers information on some essential aspects of protein fiber research, including the elucidation of the fundamental ultra-architecture of proteins in general; identification of the biological role played by fibrous proteins in living organisms; and the use of protein fibers as a natural resource in the form of raw materials and finished products. The manuscript then examines the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of protein fibers, collagen, and keratins. The text takes a look at some aspects of the ultrastructure of bacterial flagella and feather keratin and fibrous protein systems in muscles. Topics include possible change in myofilament structure underlying the catch function; physiological functions of the fibrous proteins of muscles; organization of the fibrous proteins in muscles; and other functions of fibrous proteins in muscles. The selection is a valuable reference for researchers interested in the ultrastructure of protein fibers.

Chemical Determinations is a collection of papers that discusses chemical methods used in hormone investigation. One paper explains the physicochemical procedures used to separate estrogens from interfering material which leads to the possible determination of small amounts of hormones in biological fluids. One approach is through simpler methods for routine use, designed principally for the determination of estrogens in urine and in plasma. Another way is through more elaborate methods, designed to establish the presence and identity of various estrogens in small numbers of biological samples. Another paper explains the methods for the analysis of 17-ketosteroids of blood and urine, and a method for the assay of testosterone in plasma which correlates with the state of virilism of an individual. One paper describes the techniques utilized for extraction, preliminary purification, isolation, and quantitative estimation of progesterone. Another paper reviews the occurrence of pregnanetriolone (an inactive urinary metabolite), the significance of its estimation as an aid in differential diagnosis, the methods of estimation, as well as the metabolic pathways leading to the excretion of pregnanetriolone and related steroids. The collection is suitable for researchers, scientists, medical practitioners, or academicians involved in endocrinology, metabolism, and bio-research.

Molecular Properties, Volume II is a collection of papers that deals with the physical and chemical properties of iron-sulfur proteins, with emphasis on the theory and application of physicochemical techniques related to metalloproteins. One paper describes the chemical properties of simple iron-sulfur proteins focusing on chloroplast, bacterial-type ferredoxins, and the nature of the active site in the ferredoxins. Another paper notes that rubredoxin sequences can offer phylogenetic, evolutionary, or genetic data. The paper shows that rubredoxins from aerobic and anaerobic bacteria have originated from some common ancestor. One paper analyzes the chemical and physical properties of rubredoxin and the way they relate to the structure resulting from an X-ray diffraction. The investigator can use electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to determine the structural and functional features of simple and conjugated iron-sulfur proteins. He can also use a proton magnetic resonance (PMR) spectroscopy to study the structures and interactions of proteins in solution, such as ribonuclease, lysozyme, and the heme proteins (hemoglobins or myoglobins). Cellular biologists, micro-biologists, bio-chemists, and scientists involved in biological systems research will find this collection very informative.

Reproduction: Molecular, Subcellular, and Cellular is a collection of papers presented at the Twenty-Fourth Symposium of The Society for Developmental Biology, held at Carleton, Minnesota in June 1965. The papers in the compendium focus on the clarification and definition of specific aspects of reproduction at different levels of biological organization. Topics discussed include the transcription and translation of genes; interactions between plant viruses and host cells; chromosome reproduction in mitosis and meiosis; cell and tissue interactions in the reproduction of cell type; and aging as a consequence of growth cessation. Biologists, microbiologists, and cytologists will find the book insightful.

The Proteins: Composition, Structure, and Function, Volume III, Second Edition is a collection of papers that deals with the proteins of antibodies and antigens, of the blood clotting system, plasma proteins, and the virus proteins. This volume also covers the fractionation of proteins and the criteria of purity, including the consideration of the interactions of proteins with radiant energy. One paper explains the peculiar biological usefulness and the special properties of each individual protein that can lead to its identification and separation. Other papers examine the structure and function of virus proteins, of viral nucleic acid, and of the plasma proteins. Another paper discuses the chemistry and structure of protein antigens and of antibodies, including the chemistry of their specific combination and relations with each other. The protein researcher can use convenient immunochemical techniques such as immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis in his study. Other papers discuss the proteins in blood coagulation and the interactions of proteins with radiation, as well as, the infrared absorption spectra of proteins. This book can prove beneficial for biochemists, micro-biologists, cellular researchers, and academicians involved in the study of cellular biology or in cancer research.

Advances in Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Volume 5, presents three papers that cover the different physiological and chemical aspects of biology, from functional morphology at one end to behavior at the other end of the spectrum. As always this serial publication emphasizes comparison, be it within a group of related organisms or related substances or mechanisms throughout the animal kingdom. The first study on the feeding and digestion in the Bivalvia examines both the feeding mechanisms and digestive processes within this class of mollusks, solidly based on functional morphology and biochemistry. The second study on isoenzymes, multiple enzymes, and phylogeny traces the evolutionary relationships between and within groups of important enzyme systems, taking evidence from representatives of the whole animal kingdom. The final paper on the comparative physiology of reproduction in arthropods examines the reproductive mechanisms in a whole phylum. It considers patterns of sexuality, germ cell formation, physiology, mating behavior and the nervous and hormonal factors governing reproduction.

Biological Properties is a collection of papers that deals with the biological properties of iron-sulfur proteins. One paper reviews the role of electron paramagnetic resonance in forwarding knowledge about iron-sulfur proteins. Iron-sulfur proteins are iron proteins where sulfur is a ligand of the iron, of which the iron is not simultaneously held by a stronger ligand such as porphyrin. Another paper discusses the role of bacterial ferredoxins in coupled oxidation-reduction reactions, the role of hydrogenase in oxidation-reduction, as well as the bacterial iron-sulfur proteins, such as azoferredoxin and molybdoferredoxin. Abiological models of nitrogenase involve molybdenum and iron with sulfur ligands; these abiological systems can be the first models that show the biological activity of iron-sulfur enzymes which these systems try to copy. One paper investigates the role of iron-sulfur proteins in photosynthesis, particularly the photoreduction of ferrodoxin, the mechanism of NADPH formation, and the possible role of ferrodoxin in cyclic photophosphorylation. This collection is suitable for bio-chemists, cellular biologists, micro-biologists, and scientists involved in research in the biological disciplines.

Basic Mechanisms in Hearing is a collection of papers that discusses the function of the auditory system covering its ultrastructure, physiology, and the mechanism's connection with experimental psychology. Papers review the mechanics, morphology, and physiology of the cochlear, including the physiology of individual hair cells and their synapses. One paper examines the combined physiological and anatomical studies of stimulus coding in the mammalian auditory nervous system. The results of these studies pertain to the latency, frequency selectivity, and time pattern of responses to short tone bursts. Other research compare the cochlear nerve, behavioral, and psychophysical frequency selectivity which show that frequency selectivity of the auditory system occurs at the level of the cochlear nerve, becoming downgraded in end-organ deafness. Other papers discuss neural coding at higher levels such as the feature extraction in the auditory system of bats. Some papers also analyze the specialized hearing mechanisms in animals, for example, the echolocation of bats and in some insects, the function of the swimbladder in fish hearing, as well as the'invertebrate frequency analyzer'in the locust ear. Physiologists, neurophysiologists, neurobiologists, general medical practioners, and EENT specialists will find this collection valuable.

Energy Metabolism and the Regulation of Metabolic Processes in Mitochondria contains papers presented at the 1972 symposium on metabolic regulation, held at the University of Nebraska Medical School in Omaha, Nebraska. The contributors provide alternative views and ideas in some aspects of metabolic regulation directly concerned with mitochondrial function. Separating 16 papers into chapters, this book first discusses the general aspects of control of the biological energy regulation and the kinetic and thermodynamic control of mitochondrial electron transport and energy coupling. It then covers significant topics on citric acid cycle, including its replenishment and depletion; anion transport and regulation; dynamics and substrate compartmentation; and feedback control. Other chapters examine the mechanisms of gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis, redox reaction, and phosphorylation in the mitochondria. Discussions on hormonal regulation of selected enzyme system directly related to mitochondrial function are provided in the concluding chapters. Biochemists, physiologists, pharmacologists, physicians, researchers, and all others interested in the concepts of mitochondrial function will find this book of great value.

The Interpretation of Ulstrastructure is a collection of papers dealing with techniques in ulstrastructural research such as in fixation, reversed staining, ultrastructure in embryos and in plants, control of observations by light microscopy, and cytochemistry at the electron microscope level. One paper describes various fixatives used on rat liver tissue including a standard osmium tetroxide solution, pure melted osmium tetroxide, and strong osmium tetroxide solutions in carbon tetrachloride. Another paper points out that the use of electron micrographs of the cell nucleus and chromosomes should include approaches to chromosome analysis. For the investigator studying the three dimensional organization of chromosomes, his approaches should include classical cytology and cytogenetics, chemical and cytochemical studies on nuclei, as well as chemical and physical analysis of nucleic acid and nucleoprotein molecules. Several papers discuss the study of natural and artificial DNA-plasma by thin sections, an assessment of negative staining techniques for revealing ultrastructure, and other approaches in the study of biological ultrastructure by high-resolution electron microscopy. The collection will benefit microbiologists, biotechnologists, and academicians connected with the biological sciences.