Comparative Biochemistry V4

Comparative Biochemistry: A Comprehensive Treatise, Volume IV: Constituents of Life — Part B focuses on the distribution, biogenesis, and metabolism of cells and organisms. Composed of various literature, the book first looks at the optical asymmetry of metabolites. The natural occurrence of D-amino acids and L-sugars; significance of purity; optical asymmetry and protein structure; and the relationship of optical asymmetry and cancer are discussed. The text also discusses structural studies on cellulose, starch, and glycogen; biochemistry of lignin formation; structure and localization of nucleic acids; and intraspecific and interspecific variations of protein molecules. The book considers the metabolism of aromatic amino acids, structural and chemical properties of keratin-forming tissues, sclerotization, and blood coagulation. The text further discusses metamorphosis and biochemical adaptation in amphibians. The importance of intrinsic tissue sensitivity in tadpoles; comparative morphological alterations; and the increase in serum albumin and serum protein are considered. The book focuses as well on the structure, distribution, and metabolism of porphyrins, pteridines, and carotenoids. The selection is a good source of data for researchers wanting to study the distribution, biogenesis, and metabolism of cells and organisms.

Advances in Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Volume 4, presents five papers on the different aspects of comparative physiology. The first two studies deal with movement. The first examines the effects of environmental conditions on the motile behavior of amoebas. The second investigates the mechanisms and coordination of cellular movement. The third study on the endocrine functions of the hypothalamus in the fishes, amphibians, and reptiles provides the comparative endocrinologist with a basis for integrating the state of knowledge on non-mammalian and mammalian function of this organ complex. The fourth study deals with the central and peripheral control of arthropod movements. The final study surveys the comparative physiology of populations of gametes. Aside from providing readers with a comparative vista of reproductive physiology from a unique perspective, it introduces a new hypothesis on the overproduction of gametes commonly found in living organisms — a hypothesis which may have far-reaching consequences for the interpretation of the reproductive process.

Newer Methods of Nutritional Biochemistry: With Applications and Interpretations, Volume IV, presents discussions and reviews of principles and procedures of nutritional biochemistry which have been developed for assays of nutritive quality of foods. Comprised of six chapters, this book describes determinations of dietary needs of fats, vitamins, and amino acids which fail to apply the long-known ""Law of Diminishing Returns"" to the experimental data. It examines the correlation of urinary metabolites with dietary conditions from the point of view of the dynamic state of metabolism. The book also discusses analytical methods for determining plasma amino acids and their application to nutritional problems of young children; laboratory methods for evaluating changes in protein quality; optimal nutrition for the aged and basic mechanisms of biological aging; and advances in instrumentation and methodology and their application in resolving biological and nutritional problems.

Comparative Biochemistry of Parasites contains the proceedings of an international symposium organized by the Janssen Research Foundation and held at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium on September 1-3, 1971. The symposium reviewed progress in the understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of parasites such as protozoa and helminths. Organized into 34 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of early research on parasite biochemistry before turning to a discussion of antischistosomal drugs and their biochemical effects on parasites. The reader is then introduced to the biochemistry of carbohydrates in nematodes and cestodes; neurotransmitters in trematodes; pharmacological aspects and biochemical effects of tetramisole; the mechanism of action of berenil (Diminazene) and related compounds; and dihydrofolate reductases in parasitic protozoa and helminths. Other chapters focus on the loss of fatty acid biosynthesis in flatworms, the cytochrome system in Kinetoplastidae, oxidative phosphorylation in Moniezia mitochondria, and the role of non-heme iron in cestode respiration. Scientists, particularly physiologists and biochemists, will find this book an invaluable source of information on parasite physiology and biochemistry.