tribute greatly to understanding the origins of The plan for this book goes back almost 20 years. Already, at that time, it was possible to recognize organisms. an extraordinary variation in metabolites and To provide the biochemist with a ready over processes superimposed upon the basic biochem view of the structural diversity of animals, the book includes a simplified version of animal sys ical system of animals. Each species, each indi tematics; for further information on the classifica vidual, in fact each type of cell of the multicellu lar organism possesses its own biochemical char tion, structure and life of particular animal spe acter, and this molecular variety, its biological sig cies, the reader should consult the relevant text nificance, and its evolutionary development books. It is assumed that the zoologist reader has throw up many interesting questions. The com a basic knowledge of biochemistry; important general biochemical facts are in any case given for parative approach that has been so productive at many of the subjects covered. the higher levels of complexity of morphology and physiology can also be used to great effect at I had already completed several chapters of the molecular level. this book by the beginning of the 1970s."

The Flagellates presents a multidisciplinary view of the flagellates exploring both their unity, in terms of their structure, mechanisms and processes, and their diversity in terms of biogeography, niche colonisation, and adaptations to their environment. In addition, evolutionary relationships amongst flagellates are explored. This is the only book published on this subject and features the most up to date information available making it an essential read for any one interested in or working in this field.

Sense organs serve as a kind of biological interface between the environment and the organism. Therefore, the relationship between sensory systems and ecology is very close and its knowledge of fundamental importance for an understanding of animal behavior. The sixteen chapters of this book exemplify the diversity of the constraints and opportunities associated with the sensation of stimuli representing different forms of energy. The book stresses the events taking place in the sensory periphery where the animal is exposed to and gets in touch with its natural habitat and acquires the information needed to organize its interaction with its environment.
"Ecology of Sensing " brings together the leading experts in the field.

Genetics is fundamental to hearing function, and an understanding of genetics enhances both auditory research and the clinical treatment of the hearing impaired. Approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of hearing impairment have developed from technological advances in genetic research. This volume covers gene expression, mutations, mapping and cloning, as well as mitochondrial and cellular genetics. Chapters are also included on the uses of mouse models, genetic epidemiology and genetic counseling specifically for hearing impairment. As a comprehensive review of the genetics of hearing, this book will interest hearing researchers, clinicians and genetic counselors.

A summary of how the electrical signals used to represent sounds are encoded and interpreted through the integrated roles of various nuclei. This volume builds on the information about the anatomy and physiology of the auditory pathway found in volumes 1 and 2 of the SHAR series. While the first two volumes describe the structure and function of auditory pathways, this one explains how these pathways lead to an animal's ability to localize and interpret sounds.

''Excellent and very timely....It will undoubtedly become a standard reference for the application of circular dichroism (CD) to biomolecules.'' "--- Quarterly Review of Biology," March 1997 '' T]estament to the book's utility is the fact that during the course of my review I had to 'rescue' it from the desks of graduate students on an almost daily basis. In summary, this is a great book.'' "--- American Scientist" ''Well documented chapters provide a very good insight into the problems surrounding the conformation of biomacromolecules...An indispensible source of information.'' "--- Nahrung," 42(2), 1998 Renowned experts present the first state-of-the-art description of circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD). Chapters present in-depth discussions of the history of the field, the theory of CD for application to globular proteins, membrane proteins, peptides, nucleic acids and their interactions, carbohydrates, and instrumentation. Discussions also feature new techniques using synchrotron radiation, vibrational Raman optical activity, and vibrational CD. More than 250 illustrations supplement the text.

This widely expanded second edition offers a compilation of robust, reproducible techniques for the conservation of a wide range of biological materials. It includes novel approaches and protocols that were not preservable when the first edition was published.

The book begins with a discussion of long term ex situ conservation of biological resources, the role of biological resource centers, and fundamental principles of freeze-drying and cryopreservation. Each chapter focuses on the preservation of specific biological materials, including proteins, mircroorganisms, cell lines, and multicellular structures.

With the growing global fear of a major pandemic, avian influenza (AI) virus research has greatly increased in importance. In Avian Influenza Virus, an expert team of researchers and diagnosticians examine the fundamental, yet essential, virological methods for AI virus research and diagnostics as well as some of the newest molecular procedures currently used for basic and applied research. They present exciting, cutting-edge new methods that focus both on studying the virus itself and on work with avian hosts, an area greatly lacking in research.

JOHN G. HILDEBRAND Research on insect olfaction is important for at least two reasons. First, the olfactory systems of insects and their arthropod kin are experi mentally favourable models for studies aimed at learning about general principles of olfaction that apply to vertebrates and invertebrates alike. Detailed comparisons between the olfactory pathways in vertebrates and insects have revealed striking similarities of functional organisation, physiol ogy, and development, suggesting that olfactory information is processed through neural mechanisms more similar than different in these evolution arily remote creatures. Second, insect olfaction itself is important because of the economic and medical impact of insects that are agricultural pests and disease vectors, as well as positive impact of beneficial species, such as the bees and moths responsible for pollination and production of honey. The harm or benefit attributable to an insect is a function of what it does - that is, of its behaviour - which is shaped by sensory information. Often olfaction is the key modality for control of basic insect behaviour, such as ori entation and movement toward, and interactions with, potential mates, appro priate sites for oviposition, and sources of food. Not surprisingly, therefore, much work on insect olfaction has been motivated by long-term hopes of using knowledge of this pivotal sensory system to design strategies for mon itoring and managing harmful species and fostering the welfare of beneficial ones."

The book aims to review knowledge on the disorders of eating behaviour and body composition in some of the non-primate higher animals and to relate these to similar conditions in humans. With advances in understanding the nature of these disorders and their biological basis, it seems timely to assess what cross-species comparisons can tell us about the general underlying factors at work. This may also help to delineate what may be a general biological basis that humans share with their higher animal comrade species and what may distinguish human from non-human, particularly in a cultural context. This could help in combating better the problems of these conditions in the animal species as well as in man and in suggesting well-based preventive measures. As far as people are concerned the last two decades of the 20th century have shown a significant increase in obesity in the richer countries, particularly the USA (Table 1). Possibly associated with the obesity boom, there is an increasing awareness of other disorders of eating behaviour and body composition. These range from anorexia nervosa, at the other end of body composition to obesity, to others, such as bulimia, with more variable effects on body composition.

In this volume of Methods in Pharmacology we have brought together experts in the field of ion channels to provide the reader with an in-depth view of current biochemical and electrophysiological methods. The focus is on cation-selective ion channels (voltage controlled Of ligand controlled) that are of special pharmacological interest. The con- tents are divided into three sections that exemplify {I) molecular and biochemical characterization of ion channels, (II) functional analysis of ion channels (after recon- stitution or expression, or in cells), and (III) specific methods and tools. The editors thank the contributors for their cooperation in assembling this volume. We are convinced that the reader will enjoy the chapters, written by leading scientists in their respective disciplines, as much as we did. Hartmut Glossmann Jarg Striessnig Innsbruck, Austria vii Contents I MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZA nON OF ION CHANNELS 1 Purification and Pharmacological Analysis of the Omega-Conotoxin 3 GVIA Receptor from Rat Brain Maureen W McEnery 2 Molecular Characterization of the Charybdotoxin-Sensitive, 41 High-Conductance, Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel Margarita Garda-Calvo, Gregory J. Kaczorowski, and Maria L. Garda 3 Characterization of the Sulfonylurea-Sensitive ATP-Modulated 61 Potassium Channel Henri Bernardi and Michel Lazdunski II FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF ION CHANNELS 4 Xenopus Oocytes as an Expression System for Ion Channels 79 Alan L. Goldin ix x Contents 5 Reconstitution of Muscle Calcium Channel Function in Bilayer 99 Membranes: From the First Steps to Results Dieter J. Pelzer, Terence F.

The 34th European Marine Biology Symposium was held in Ponta Delgada, The Azores, between 13th and 17th September 1999. It was organised by the University of the Azores in association with the Municipal Museum of Funchal (Madeira), and the Plymouth Environment Research Centre (University of Plymouth, UK). The selected topics, dictated by the position of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, were: `Ecology and Evolution on Island Shores', `The Open Ocean', and `The Deep Ocean'. Each topic was introduced by a recognised expert of international reputation and these keynote reviews provide authoritative summaries of the current status of these very important topics in marine biology. The 35 papers which make up this volume bring new ideas and concepts relating to the functioning of marine systems extending from the intertidal, through the pelagic realm down to the deep sea. The book covers many aspects of the biology of marine organisms and will have wide interest to all those interested in the life of the world's oceans.

The Welfare of Animals is an exciting book that will stimulate and provoke its readers. It describes many problems faced by animals - those we use for food, for pleasure or in research, and those simply but harshly affected by shrinking habitats in the face of the ever-growing human population. And yet it is not a depressing read. It focuses not only on the difficulties that animals face, but on their capacity for free-choice, for joy and excitement, and on the possible ways in which the planet can be shared between species if only we take the time and trouble to think more carefully about the impact of our actions. Clive Phillips moved from the United Kingdom to take up a Foundation Chair in Animal Welfare at the University of Queensland, becoming Australia's first Professor of Animal Welfare in 2003. This cultural leap, combined with his travels in countries like Malaysia and Borneo, permits him the unique and broad perspective that forms the backbone of this book. Eschewing the normal territory patrolled by the animal scientist (explaining the physiological basis of the stress response or causation of abnormal behaviour), Clive ventures into jungles and deserts, city centres and tribal homelands, and presents a book that remarkably and successfully combines travel-diary, nature notes, social and cultural history.

Af ter a kind mo ti va tion by Judit Si mon (Ed i tor-in-Chief of the Jour nal of Ther mal Anal y s is and Cal o ri m e t r y , Kluwe r Ac a dem ic Pub lis her) and ne go ti a tions with po- si ble con tri bu tors - lasting for m ore than one year - it was de cided to write a book about the ap pli ca tion of ther mal meth ods in bi ol ogy. Its aim was to be a guide how to per form ex per i ments and what kind of in for mation m ight be gained by them. We tried to col lect in for mation tha t could be achieved only dur ing a long per sonal pra- tice. In this way sci en tists from bi ol ogy and med i cine , e. g. , who are not so skilled in phys ics and math e mat ics may re al ize very soon the beauty and power of this tool at one hand. On the other hand, those sci en tists with better back ground in nat u ral sc- ences can be more sensitive to find out exciting biological problems.

This book is based on invited presentations at the Ninth International Catecholamine Symposiwn. Over several decades, each International Catecholamine Symposiwn (ICS) has provided a uniquely important forwn for updating basic as well as clinical research on the catecholamines, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. The first ICS took nd n1 place in Bethesda, Maryland, in the USA in 1958; the 2 in Milan, Italy in 1965; the 3 th in Strasbourg, France in 1973; the 4th in Asilomar, California, USA in 1978; the 5 in th th Goteborg, Sweden in 1983; the 6 in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1987; the 7 in Amsterdam, th Netherlands in 1992; and the 8 in Asilomar, California, USA in 1996. th The 9 International Catecholamine Symposiwn (9ICS) was held in Kyoto, Japan, th March 31-April 5, 2001. This ICS was held concurrently with the 5 International th Conference on Progress in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease (5 ADPD). These international meetings were coordinated to be a joint international congress. Catecholamines and related neurotransmitters and neuromediators play important roles in the pathogenesis of symptoms and neurodegenerative processes of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Therefore, the Joint Congress provided an opportunity for investigators and clinicians working in these fields to exchange their. most recent investigational results and clinical experiences. This Joint International Congress turned out to be an enormous success, attended by 1258 participants from 38 countries, in an enthusiastic and pleasant atmosphere."

This book is formulated from a number of presentations made at a one-day workshop on the subject of Photon Migration in Tissues. The meeting was held in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, April, 1988. The workshop was an impromptu effort to bring together scientists to discuss photon migration in animal tissues and appropriate models. The rapid emergence of the ideas of Townes and Schalow in their invention of the then called maser, now laser opened up completely unexpected possibilities for biomedical research. Timing of rapid biochemical reaction, identification of unstable intermediates, spectroscopy of short lived fluorescent states were all goals to be expected and achieved. At the same time continuous light spectroscopy of tissue slices and of the myocardium, and eventually of the brain have the to the the neonate emerged over years. Shifting red end of spectrum, Butler and Norris clearly showed how transparent plant materials and the human hand could be illuminated in this region and Jobsis applied their idea to the neonate brain using a multiwavelength technique.

Electroreception has become one of the most revealing areas in the study of the neural basis of behavior, and neurobiologists recognize it as a model sensory system for experimental study. Through studies of electroreception, researchers have gained extensive knowledge about a complete sensory system, from molecular biology to computation, communication, and behavior. The book Electroreception will examine the behavior, structure, and function of the electrosensory systems of fish and other vertebrates. As a comprehensive volume on the subject, the book will serve as both an introduction to the study of electroreception and a reference and review volume for researchers in related fields.

Oxidation-reduction (i.e. redox) processes at the plasma membrane of any cell have been attracting more and more attention, both in basic and in applied research, since the first workshop dealing with the plasma membrane oxidoreductases was organized in Cordoba, Spain, in 1988. This evolution is evident considering the numerous cell functions performed by plasma membrane redox systems not only in healthy cells but also in cells that escaped from the normal metabolic control (e.g. cancer cells) and cells under attack by pathogens. Plasma membrane redox processes have now been demonstrated to play an essential role in growth control and defense mechanisms of these cells. The great importance of the plasma membrane redox systems originates in the fact that they are located in the membrane which is essentially the site of communication between the living cell and its environment. We may say that the plasma membrane can be considered as the "sensory part" of the cell. No chemical substance can enter the cell interior without interaction with the plasma membrane.

From a review of the previous edition: "I strongly recommend it as an essential reading and reference book for younger and older workers alike." Nature

Nonhuman primates have played critical roles in biomedical research, and they are among the few animals whose use in research continues to increase. The scienti?c value of nonhuman primates derives from their close phylogenetic proximity to man and their consequent anatomic, physiologic, and genetic similarities to man. Only nonhuman primates can provide adequate models for many complex physiological and disease processes of humans. The baboon is a relative newcomer to the repertoire of nonhuman primates used in biomedical research. However, in less than 50 years since its ?rst use in the U. S. , it has become one of the most popular laboratory primate species. It is larger than the other widely used monkey species, making it advantageous for many types of experiments and technological developments. It is extraordinarily hardy and highly fecund in captivity. It closely resembles humans in a variety of physiological and disease processes, such as cholesterol metabolism, early stages of atherosclerosis, and alcoholic liver disease. Its chromosomes closely resemble those of humans, and many genes of the two species lie in the same chromosomal order. Among all primates, baboons are the most widely used models for the genetics of susceptibility to complex diseases and they are the ?rst nonhuman primate for which a framework genetic linkage map was established. In addition, the baboon genome is currently being sequenced, and as a result the utility of this species for biomedical research will be dramatically increased.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) cells are the key regulators of reproductive function in all vertebrate organisms. The GnRH molecule is synthesized in a small number of neurons in rostral hypothalamic regions of the brain. In mammals, these neurons release the GnRH decapeptide into the portal capillary system leading to the anterior pituitary gland. There, GnRH causes the release of the gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which in turn act upon the gonads to stimulate their maturation, and to cause synthesis of sex steroid hormones, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Although each of the levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is critical for reproductive function, GnRH neurons play the primary role in the control of reproductive maturation and adult reproductive function, and may even play a role in reproductive senescence.

Since its discovery in 1970, there has been intense interest in GnRH-producing neurons, with more than 8000 papers and chapters in the last decade alone. Despite this activity of research in basic and clinical science, there has never been a book written specifically on GnRH neurons. GnRH: The Master Molecule of Reproduction aims to bring together the large and diverse literature of both laboratory and applied research that focuses on these unique cells.

This book will provide basic background into reproductive neuroendocrinology, as well as specifics regarding the role of GnRH neurons in the control of reproduction. Students studying endocrinology, reproduction, neuroendocrinology or molecular endocrinology will benefit from this book. In addition, this book will take a multi-species approach which will be useful both to basic researchers as well as clinicians. Whenever possible, species differences and similarities will be presented, and if possible, studies on humans, or the clinical relevance of basic research findings to humans will be discussed (such as the treatment of reproductive disorders such as abnormalities in pubertal development, or infertility).

The aim of this book is to help create new feedstuffs for poultry and farm animals from the agro-industry and to mobilize the neglected waste as a feedstuff to lower the price of animal products such as eggs, white and red meat, milk, etc. Furthermore, this book aims to contribute to the campaign against hunger in the developing world and to reduce the competition between animals and human beings for cereals and pulses. Accordingly the global pollution problem will be reduced. This book will be of great interest to all those involved in the animal feed and poultry industries, in agricultural universities, and in research establishments where animal nutrition is studied and taught.

This text presents a general introduction to soft tissue biomechanics. One of its primary goals is to introduce basic analytical, experimental and computational methods. In doing so, it enables readers to gain a relatively complete understanding of the biomechanics of the heart and vasculature.

Malignant neoplasms occurring in the biliary tract and pancreas remain a therap- tic challenge. The mechanism of carcinogenesis as well as the growth and spread of these tumors is still poorly understood, making the development of rational tre- ment strategies difficult. In order to improve the clinical results achieved by sur- cal or other medical treatment of such malignant tumors, the establishment of an experimental animal model is critical. For this purpose, attempts were made to induce carcinoma experimentally in the biliary tree and finally an animal model using the hamster was established in 1994 at our laboratory. Because the tumor in this model mimicked the characteristics of human tumors, a series of experimental investigations were conducted to clarify the pathological characteristics of biliary carcinoma, the genetic alterations during biliary carcinogenesis, and the relationship between biliary inflammation and c- cinogenesis. The chemopreventive effects on the occurrence of biliary carcinoma were also successfully examined. In addition, in vitro studies led to the establi- ment of transplantable biliary cancer cell lines and biliary epithelial cell lines by utilizing the hamster model. This monograph represents the collective efforts in hepato-biliary and pancreatic disease research over the past 20 years. I hope that this monograph will be a source of useful knowledge for basic researchers as well as for clinicians involved in the care of patients with hepato-biliary and pancreatic neoplasms. Takashi Kanematsu, M.D., Ph.D.

Hearing From Sensory Processing to Perception presents the papers of the latest International Symposium on Hearing, a meeting held every three years focusing on psychoacoustics and the research of the physiological mechanisms underlying auditory perception. The proceedings provide an up-to-date report on the status of the field of research into hearing and auditory functions.

The 59 chapters treat topics such as: the physiological representation of temporal and spectral stimulus properties as a basis for the perception of modulation patterns, pitch and signal intensity; spatial hearing and the physiological mechanisms of binaural processing in mammals; integration of the different stimulus features into auditory scene analysis; physiological mechanisms related to the formation of auditory objects; speech perception; and limitations of auditory perception resulting from hearing disorders."