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Azospirillum-Plant Associations presents the most significant information from the vast body of scientific work that has accumulated as a result of nearly two decades of intensive research. It emphasizes advances that have occurred over the last six years, covering such topics as plant growth promotion, recognition and elicitation of plant responses by bacteria and the inoculant industry, the metabolism of production of plant growth promoting substances (phytohormones), and aerotaxis and poly-ß-hydroxybutyrate metabolism. This interdisciplinary volume is an excellent reference for agricultural microbiologists and biotechnologists, plant physiologists, geneticists, microbiologists, and agronomists. ... Read more

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Focuses on the physical-chemical origins and structures formed by the association of aqueous, dispersed polysaccharides with related and unrelated chemical species.Covers the origin of polysaccharide supramolecular assemblies; polysaccharide molecular structures; gel formation and ultrastructure in food polysaccharides; structures and phase transitions of starch polymers; microcrystalline cellulose technology; cyclodextrins; starch-lipid interactions; interactions in whey protein/polysaccharide mixtures; and more. ... Read more

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This volume is the first publication of its kind to provide a fully comprehensive and detailed approach to the survey of microbial associations in soil: their structure and function in relation to soil fertility and environment protection.The problems covered by this title are presented on various levels of the ecological system; from subcellular phenomena occurring in the microbial cell (genetic and enzyme regulation), to processes taking place in the flow of mass and energy in the agroecosystem.

The aim of this monograph is to contribute to the understanding of the laws of formation and function of microbial associations in natural and agricultural soils, and to build a scientific basis for the control of soil biological processes.Using a contemporary approach to some fields of soil microbiology, the book highlights the possibility of utilizing certain microorganisms and microbial processes to increase soil fertility and protect the environment.These critically evaluated and selected results were obtained at the Institute of Microbiology and the Institute of Experimental Phytotechnics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

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Human polyomaviruses are non-enveloped viruses with a circular double-stranded DNA genome of approximately 5,000 base pairs. The members BK virus and JC virus were first isolated in 1971 and are very common in the human population. Simian virus 40 (SV40), although originally isolated from rhesus macaques and accidentally introduced in the human population during massive poliovirus vaccination, may represent a third member of the polyomaviruses that can have man as a natural host. Primary infection with BK or/and JC virus occurs during early childhood. Subsequently, these viruses establish a seemingly life-long harmless latent infection. However, virus reactivation can occur especially in immunocompromised individuals and JC virus has been recognised as the cause of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, while BK virus-associated interstitial nephritis has become an emerging complication in renal transplant patients. The genomes of human polyomaviruses encode two functional classes of proteins: the regulatory proteins large T-antigen, small t-antigen, and agnoprotein, and the structural proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3 that form the capsid.The regulatory proteins can modulate the expression and/or activity of cellular proteins involved in signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, and chromosomal functions. Therefore, they all possess oncogenic potential. Consistent with this, human polyomaviruses are capable of transforming human cells and inducing tumours in rodents, and are implicated in human malignancies. This book focuses on the etiological role of human polyomaviruses in cancer and highlights the mechanisms by which the viral regulatory proteins may contribute to neoplastic transformation of the infected host cells. Possible therapeutic strategies against these viruses will also be discussed. ... Read more

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This volume explores what has been learned about the AIDS pandemic after 20 years of research and clinical work. The book uses three focus areas (Scientific Gains, Social Concerns and Policy Implications) to explore how HIV/AIDS has transformed a number of distinct, albeit related, disciplines in health, medicine, science, politics, advocacy and law. The editors have assembled an outstanding group of authors who have focused on a variety of critically important topics, including: immunology, patterns of disease dissemination, the integration of medical, mental health and social services, clinical trials, ethical issues, drugs, women and social inequities, and privacy. ... Read more

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According to the National Institute of Health, a genome-wide association study is defined as any study of genetic variation across the entire human genome that is designed to identify genetic associations with observable traits (such as blood pressure or weight), or the presence or absence of a disease or condition. Whole genome information, when combined with clinical and other phenotype data, offers the potential for increased understanding of basic biological processes affecting human health, improvement in the prediction of disease and patient care, and ultimately the realization of the promise of personalized medicine. In addition, rapid advances in understanding the patterns of human genetic variation and maturing high-throughput, cost-effective methods for genotyping are providing powerful research tools for identifying genetic variants that contribute to health and disease. (good paragraph)

This burgeoning science merges the principles of statistics and genetics studies to make sense of the vast amounts of information available with the mapping of genomes. In order to make the most of the information available, statistical tools must be tailored and translated for the analytical issues which are original to large-scale association studies. This book will provide researchers with advanced biological knowledge who are entering the field of genome-wide association studies with the groundwork to apply statistical analysis tools appropriately and effectively. With the use of consistent examples throughout the work, chapters will provide readers with best practice for getting started (design), analyzing, and interpreting data according to their research interests. Frequently used tests will be highlighted and a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantage complimented by case studies for each will provide readers with the information they need to make the right choice for their research. Additional tools including links to analysis tools, tutorials, and references will be available electronically to ensure the latest information is available.

* Easy access to key information including advantages and disadvantage of tests for particular applications, identification of databases, languages and their capabilities, data management risks, frequently used tests
* Extensive list of references including links to tutorial websites
* Case studies and Tips and Tricks ... Read more

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This paperback gives the conference documentation of a symposium held in Interlaken May 1988. The contributions span the range from chemistry to molecular biology. Richard Kellogg abstracts the details of biochemical reactivity and rebuilds them into designed organic model systems. Alan Fersht shows how a sufficiently large collection of structural variations in a natural enzyme can yield a sophisticated picture of the origin of catalysis. Tom Kaiser uses chemical understanding to bridge the gap between the structure and the biological activity of small polypeptides. Jack Szostak shows how a molecular biological approach enables the scientist to study and perhaps recreate catalytic activity in RNA molecules. Finally, Steven Benner outlines the construction of historical and functional models explaining the peculiarities in the behavior of biological macromolecules. The book will assist scientists on both sides of the great divide separating chemistry and biochemistry to bridge the gap, and help to usher in the age where research ideas and methods will be applicable in a continuum of chemical problems that range from the smallest molecule to the largest organism. ... Read more

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The evolutionary biology of protozoa is a field in which exciting changes are taking place. Relationships between different groups of protozoa are undergoing extensive review and the revised views will have significant repercussions for future investigations. New data from molecular and ultrastructural studies have changed our perception of evolution among this diverse group of organisms in recent years.This volume, part of the Systematics Association Special Volume Series, aims to review this important area and give an up-to-date synthesis of current understanding. The various chapters are deliberately broad in scope and explore areas such as the contribution of different techniques and approaches to the understanding of protistan evolution and the biochemical and physiological aspects of that evolution; there are also chapters that analyse and explore specific protistan groups. In addition some of the chapters discuss topics that are currently very controversial within this field, such as the finding that the 18S rRNA phylogenetic tree of protozoa is probably unreliable.The world-renowned editors have assembled an international team of outstanding scientists whose contributions have produced a volume of interest to all evolutionary biologists and especially those interested in protozoa. ... Read more

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This volume highlights fungal associations, as they are found in mycorrhizas, lichens and other fungal symbioses. The emphasis is laid upon the molecular biochemical and ultrastructural analysis of these interactions. Major progress has been achieved over the last few years by the systematic application of modern methods, developed mainly in molecular biology. The data are presented in high-quality illustrations, leading the reader from the subcellular to higher levels of organization where specific symbiotic traits become apparent. Early stages of symbiotic interactions are of special interest. They are compared to parasitic interrelations and also considered from an evolutionary standpoint. ... Read more

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This volume covers recent developments in both fundamental and applied research in biological nitrogen fixation. It emphasizes the application of biological nitrogen fixation for sustainable agriculture, which should lead to poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and good agricultural practices generally. The roles of, and advances in, plant breeding, plant molecular biology, nodule physiology, and symbiotic and associative interactions between plants and microbes in sustaining agricultural productivity and soil fertility are described. The evolution of symbioses and nitrogen fixation are also covered in this volume. To ensure high agricultural productivity, while protecting the environment (both soil and water resources), requires plant cultivars that also respond to beneficial microbes. The volume, therefore, describes the physiology and genomics of nitrogen-fixing bacteria together with the biochemistry and molecular genetics of the nitrogenase enzyme that actually fixes atmospheric nitrogen to a usable form.

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Sound formulation is a vital aspect of microbial products usedto protect plants from pests and diseases and to improve plantperformance. Formulation of Microbial Biopesticides is anin-depth treatment of this vitally important subject. Written byexperts and carefully edited, this important title brings together ahuge wealth of information for the first time within the covers of onebook. The book is broadly divided into five sections, covering principles offormulation, organisms with peroral and contact modes of action,organisms with the power of search, and future trends. Each sectioncontains comprehensive chapters written by internationallyacknowledged experts in the areas covered; the book also includesthree very useful appendices, cataloguing formulation additives, sprayapplication criteria and terminology. This outstanding book is a vitally important reference work for anyoneinvolved in the formulation of microbial biopesticides and should finda place on the shelves of agriculture and plant scientists,microbiologists and entomologists working in academic and commercialagrochemical situations, and in the libraries of all researchestablishments and companies where this exciting subject isresearched, studied or taught. ... Read more

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This book sets out to show that not only the poor are at risk of contracting infections. The author contends that world-wide travel has increased the risks as has the emergence of new diseases such as legionellosis, Lassa fever and AIDS. ... Read more

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Shallow marine sediments are of great importance for the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and other elements of organic matter. The degradation processes by which these elements are re-circulated are performed mainly by bacteria. Some of these bacteria are involved in symbioses with tiny marine roundworms, i.e. nematodes, living inside their hosts as endosymbionts or attached to the worm cuticle, as ectosymbionts. In some cases the symbiosis goes so far as the entire gut of the host is completely replaced by bacteria and consequently the worms live exclusively at the expense of their symbionts. Moreover, considering that each nematode host carries more than one million bacteria, and that these nematodes are abundant in sediments, their bacterial symbionts play also a significant role in the cycling of carbon and sulfur. This book offers an insight into the structure, diversity and dynamics of microbial communities of marine sandy sediments and presents new and exciting findings about specificity and identity of the endosymbionts of mouthless nematode Astomonema, and of the ectosymbionts of gut-bearing nematodes, Leptonemella. ... Read more