Chemical Mutagenesis Human Population Monitoring And Genetic Risk Assessment

And conclusions; Introduction; A primer on genetics, mutation, mutagens, and the implications of mutagenesis; Metabolism and pharmacologic disposition of mutagens and promutagens; The nature of test systems; Strategies for risk assessment: the choice and use of test systems to estimative human germinal mututation; Strategies for risk assessment: relation between mutation rate and human welfare; Testing and monitoring human populations; A mutagen assessment program; Some additional issues and research suggestions.

This book reevaluates the health risks of ionizing radiation in light of data that have become available since the 1980 report on this subject was published. The data include new, much more reliable dose estimates for the A-bomb survivors, the results of an additional 14 years of follow-up of the survivors for cancer mortality, recent results of follow-up studies of persons irradiated for medical purposes, and results of relevant experiments with laboratory animals and cultured cells. It analyzes the data in terms of risk estimates for specific organs in relation to dose and time after exposure, and compares radiation effects between Japanese and Western populations.

Information Resources in Toxicology, Third Edition is a sourcebook for anyone who needs to know where to find toxicology information. It provides an up-to-date selective guide to a large variety of sources--books, journals, organizations, audiovisuals, internet and electronic sources, and more. For the Third Edition, the editors have selected, organized, and updated the most relevant information available. New information on grants and other funding opportunities, physical hazards, patent literature, and technical reports have also been added. This comprehensive, time-saving tool is ideal for toxicologists, pharmacologists, drug companies, testing labs, libraries, poison control centers, physicians, legal and regulatory professionals, and chemists. Serves as an all-in-one resource for toxicology information New edition includes information on publishers, grants and other funding opportunities, physical hazards, patent literature, and technical reports Updated to include the latest internet and electronic sources, e-mail addresses, etc. Provides valuable data about the new fields that have emerged within toxicological research; namely, the biochemical, cellular, molecular, and genetic aspects

The first edition of this book, published in 1979, was found useful by many stu dents and was well received by the scientific community. Since the book was first written, human genetics has undergone dramatic developments, mainly due to the introduction of new concepts and techniques from molecular biology. Con comitantly, "basic" scientists have become increasingly interested in problems of human genetics. More than 700 human genes have been mapped, genes of previ ously unsuspected complexity -such as the gene for factor VIII - have become known, and the structure of noncoding DNA sequences is being analyzed with the aim of understanding gene regulation. DNA diagnosis is being rapidly intro duced into medical genetics. All this, as well as the extensive progress in most other fields of human and medical genetics, had to be considered in the prepara tion of this second edition. The book has been extensively revised and rewritten. A substantial new section dealing with gene and chromosomal structure at the molecular level has been added. The newer knowledge of molecular genetics has been incorporated, and the conceptual and practical contribution of DNA methods (for example in the hemoglobinopathies and in some other diseases) is discussed. Many new figures and tables have been added, and some illustrative material has been replaced. We have read carefully the many friendly and sometimes flattering reviews of the first edition.

From reviews of previous volumes in the series: 'Extremely valuable ... thoroughly recommended.'-Annals of Human Genetics 'The most lucid and stimulating discussions of the topic to be found anywhere.'-American Scientist.

The human race has enormous he terogenei ty, founded on genetic and environmental sources. Variability, therefore, is a vital dimension in any consideration of human risk assessment. In the estimation of risks, current methods of extrapolation based upon converting the response of a median man are inadequate, as they ignore phenotypic variation and there fore, susceptible subgroups. There is a growing literature defining the extent of human variation in normal populations; thus, the normal young adult population may have 10-20% known hyperreactors. How far can we ignore human variability in risk assessment? Should we be concerned with susceptible groups, and how can we modify the risk assessment analysis accordingly? The aim of our meeting was to bring together experts from the fields of human epidemiology, toxicology, aging, genetics, carcino genesis and teratology, and to provide a forum in which we might assimi late knowledge of human heterogeneity as a coherent whole. Since the resolution and obligations of risk assessment, in the last analysis, are a political process, we also involved representatives from the legal field, the unions, and the regulatory agencies. We are most grateful for financial support from the National Institute on Aging; the u. S. Environmental Protection Agency; the U. S. Department of Energy; FDA - National Center for Toxicological Research; The Council for Tobacco Research-USA, Inc; Johnson and Johnson; Merck Sharp and Dohme Research Laboratories; and Associated Universities, Inc. We thank our Symposium Coordinator, Ms.

New developments in the study of environmental mutagens continue to evolve in this rapidly emerging field. In Volume 7 of Chemical Mutagens, we have focused on various new techniques for the detection of genetic damage in somatic cells and germ cells of mammals and the use of lower eukaryotic microorganisms to detect aneuploidy as well as other types of genetic damage. Attention has also been given to the role of in vitro metabolic activation as a mechanism for modifying the genetic effects of different environmental chemicals. In a chapter on compar ative mutagenesis, reaction kinetics and their relationship to the mu tagenic action of monofunctional alkylating agents in higher eukaryotic organisms are examined. In another chapter, the pharmacology and toxicology of nitrites and nitrates, which are in widespread distribution in the environment, are discussed in detail. The books in this series have provided a mechanism for the publication of many important new developments in the study of the genetic effects of environmental chemicals. This series was launched by Dr. Alexander Hollaender who, beginning in 1971, edited Volumes 1-4 and then coedited Volumes 5-7. The success of his lO-year effort with these volumes is another testimony to Dr. Hollaender's many contri butions to the field of environmental mutagenesis. As Dr.