The 50th volume in a monographic series on immunology. Among the topics covered here are avian T-cell ontogeny, adoptive transfer of human lymphoid cells to severely immuno-deficient mice and histamine-releasing factors and cytokine-dependent activation of basophils and mast cells.

Erik Wischerhoff, Nezha Badi, Andre Laschewsky and Jean-Francois Lutz Smart Polymer Surfaces: Concepts and Applications in Biosciences; S. Petersen, M. Gattermayer and M. Biesalski Hold on at the Right Spot: Bioactive Surfaces for the Design of Live-Cell Micropatterns; Julien Polleux Interfacing Cell Surface Receptors to Hybrid Nanopatterned Surfaces: A Molecular Approach for Dissecting the Adhesion Machinery; Abigail Pulsipher and Muhammad N. Yousaf Self-Assembled Monolayers as Dynamic Model Substrates for Cell Biology; D. Volodkin, A. Skirtach and H. Moehwald LbL Films as Reservoirs for Bioactive Molecules; R. Gentsch and H. G. Boerner Designing Three-Dimensional Materials at the Interface to Biology; Joerg C. Tiller Antimicrobial Surfaces;

The research papers in this book present current knowledge of the sources, pathways, behavior, and effects of trace elements in soils, waters, plants, and animals. It is of interest to a variety of readers, including public health and environmental professionals, consultants, and academicians.

When we began to organize the workshop "Calcium and Cellular Metabolism: Transport and Regulation" the goal we had in mind was to put together the knowledge of 2 several specialists on Ca + homeostasis, with various examples of cellular metabolisms 2 2 (such as protein synthesis), regulated by Ca + ions. Regarding the homeostasis of Ca + ions, we invited Ernesto Carafoli to write the first chapter as a general state-of-the-art introductory review. On the other hand, the other chapters are the contribution of different specialists on membrane calcium transport mechanisms, aiming to reunite at least in part the wide field of calcium homeostasis. We roughly try to group chapters that share similar subjects. The first group of chapters (Chapters 2 to 6), are mainly related to calcium channels. Thus, Chapter 2 by Rodolfo Llimis et a . describes a new concept related to the dimen sions of the calcium action domain at the inner mouth of calcium channels in the squid gi ant synapse and its relationship to neurotransmitter release. Chapter 3 by Martin Morad et a . informs us about new ways of identifying and measuring, by confocal microscopy, in dividual sites where calcium release occurs in ventricular myocytes. In the same group Osvaldo Uchitel and Eleonora Katz classify and evaluate the variety of calcium channels at the neuromuscular junction, in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 by Gustavo Brum et a ."

Immunochemical techniques have been in use for many years with early examples of bacterial strain typing dating back to the 1940s. The basis for the science is the exquisite elegance of the mammalian immune system with its ability to recognize foreign proteins and to manufacture antibody m- ecules that strongly bind to the substances that elicited them. Not only are potentially harmful pathogens and toxins recognized by the immune system, but the system can be persuaded to manufacture antibodies to an astonishing array of substances. In the early days of this science, all antibodies for investigative work were produced by immunizing mammals with the substance of interest, followed by regular donor bleeds that yielded antisera. Serum produced in this way yields heterogenic populations of antibody molecules recognizing different epitopes on the target protein, which may be adequate for its intended p- poses, but can also cause problems of crossreactivity. In 1975, Kohler and Milstein reported that spleen cells from immune donor animals could be immortalized, cloned from single cells, and grown in continuous culture. This original work described the method for the production of monoclonal antibodies.

The 44th volume of RAP contains articles based on work presented at the 51st annual meeting of the Phytochemical Society of North America. They were selected to showcase exciting examples of current research in plant chemistry, to highlight the diversity in this field spanning analytical chemistry, ethnobotany, biosynthesis, bioactivity, chemical ecology and biotechnology. Specifically, the perspectives paper by Zerbe and Bohlmann summarizes recent findings on the genes and enzymes involved in conifer resin biosynthesis, while papers by Timoshenko et al. and Guerrero-Analco et al. highlight progress on toxic lectins and bioactive phytochemicals from Canadian forest plants used by Aboriginals, respectively. Next the contribution by Glover and Murch compares methods used to analyze dementia agents in foodstuffs of Pacific Islands. Two papers by Lisko et al and Berhow et al. both summarize recent findings on the engineering of vitamin C contents of plants and of phytochemicals in the emerging oil crop Camelina. Finally, Cook et al discuss the biosynthesis in plant endophytes of alkaloids which have implications for cattle feeding. Overall, these seven Perspectives and Communications give a very good picture of the state of plant (bio) chemistry research in North America, which is also indicative of the state of the field worldwide.

In this thesis, the author investigates the chemistry and application of molecules containing urea and amide bonds. These bonds are some of the strongest known and are fundamental to biological processes. The author describes his discovery that sterically hindered ureas undergo solvolysis at room temperature under neutral conditions. This is a remarkable finding, since ureas are inert under these conditions and a general rule of chemistry is that hindered substrates are less reactive. Remarkably, the author translates these results to the correspondingly sterically hindered amides. This thesis has resulted in a number of outstanding publications in high profile journals. The unique method for breaking urea and amide bonds developed in this study is likely to have far reaching consequences for biological protein manipulation.

Praise for the Series
"No laboratory scientist, field worker or technical administrator can afford to pass it up."
--ASM News
"The topics are well supported by an extensive bibliography and provide a rich source of current information."
--Biopharm

Protein informatics is a newer name for an already existing discipline. It encompasses the techniques used in bioinformatics and molecular modeling that are related to proteins. While bioinformatics is mainly concerned with the collection, organization, and analysis of biological data, molecular modeling is devoted to representation and manipulation of the structure of proteins.

Protein informatics requires substantial prerequisites on computer science, mathematics, and molecular biology. The approach chosen here, allows a direct and rapid grasp on the subject starting from basic knowledge of algorithm design, calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory.

An Introduction to Protein Informatics, a professional monograph will provide the reader a comprehensive introduction to the field of protein informatics. The text emphasizes mathematical and computational methods to tackle the central problems of alignment, phylogenetic reconstruction, and prediction and sampling of protein structure.

An Introduction to Protein Informatics is designed for a professional audience, composed of researchers and practitioners within bioinformatics, molecular modeling, algorithm design, optimization, and pattern recognition. This book is also suitable as a graduate-level text for students in computer science, mathematics, and biomedicine.

A team of expert investigators and clinical researchers comprehensively review complement's basic biology, its role in disease, methods to measure its activity, and strategies for its inhibition in patients. Each chapter focuses on a specific area of basic and applied complement biology, spelling out the activation pathways and complement receptors. Informative animal models are discussed in detail, including the relative values of each model and the important interspecies differences that can distort the interpretation of preclinical studies. The emphasis throughout is on the pros and cons of the therapeutic use of recombinant complement inhibitors in specific diseases. Cutting-edge and innovative, Therapeutic Interventions in the Complement System highlights for today's researcher and biotechnologist effective strategies of drug discovery and development that are producing valuable new complement inhibitors for the treatment of a wide variety of clinically important diseases.

Efforts to describe and model the molecular structure of biological membranes go back to the beginning of the last century. In 1917, Langmuir described membranes as a layer of lipids one molecule thick [1]. Eight years later, Gorter and Grendel concluded from their studies that "the phospholipid molecules that formed the cell membrane were arranged in two layers to form a lipid bilayer" [2]. Danielli and Robertson proposed, in 1935, a model in which the bilayer of lipids is sequestered between two monolayers of unfolded proteins [3], and the currently still accepted fuid mosaic model was proposed by Singer and Nicolson in 1972 [4]. Among those landmarks of biomembrane history, a serendipitous observation made by Alex Bangham during the early 1960s deserves undoubtedly a special place. His fnding that exposure of dry phospholipids to an excess of water gives rise to lamellar structures [5] has opened versatile experimental access to studying the biophysics and biochemistry of biological phospholipid membranes. Although during the following 4 decades biological membrane models have grown in complexity and functionality [6], liposomes are, besides supported bilayers, membrane nanodiscs, and hybrid membranes, still an indisputably important tool for membrane b- physicists and biochemists. In vol. II of this book, the reader will fnd detailed methods for the use of liposomes in studying a variety of biochemical and biophysical membrane phenomena concomitant with chapters describing a great palette of state-of-the-art analytical technologies.

The introduction of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to the analysis of peptides and proteins some 25 years ago revolutionized the biological sciences by enabling the rapid and sensitive analysis of peptide and protein structure through the exquisite speed, sensitivity, and resolution that can be easily obtained. Today, HPLC in its various modes has become the pivotal technique in the characterization of peptides and proteins and currently plays a critical role in both our understanding of biological processes and in the development of peptide- and protein-based pharmaceuticals. The number of applications of HPLC in peptide and protein purification continues to expand at an extremely rapid rate. Solid-phase peptide synthesis and recombinant DNA techniques have allowed the production of large quantities of peptides and proteins that need to be highly purified. HPLC techniques are also used extensively in the isolation and characterization of novel proteins that will become increasingly important in the postgenomic age. The design of multidimensional purification schemes to achieve high levels of product purity further demonstrates the power of HPLC techniques not only in the characterization of cellular events, but also in the production of pepti- and protein-based therapeutics. HPLC continues to be at the heart of the analytical techniques with which scientists in both academia and in industry must arm themselves to be able to fully characterize the identity, purity, and potency of peptides and proteins.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in modern chemical research. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors. Readership: research chemists at universities or in industry, graduate students

Gaining an understanding of the mechanisms by which cells process and respond to extracellular cues has become a major goal in many areas of bi- ogy and has attracted the attentions of almost every traditional discipline within the biological sciences. At the heart of these divergent endeavors are common methods that can aid biochemists, physiologists, and pharmacologists in ta- ling the specific questions addressed by their research. In Receptor Signal Transduction Protocols, a diverse array of meth- ologies employed to interrogate ligand--receptor and receptor-effector int- actions are described by authors who have devised and successfully applied them. The authors blend excellent descriptions and applications of fairly well established methodologies with new technologies at the cutting-edge of signal transduction research and as such I hope the present volume will complement and extend a previous excellent volume in this series edited by David Kendall and Stephen Hill (Methods Molecular Biology, vol. 41, Signal Transd- tion Protocols).

Molecular modeling has undergone a remarkable transformation in the last 20 years. This book provides thorough introductions and a compilation of step-by-step methods applicable to problems faced by non-specialists especially those new to the software packages used in molecular modeling. Tips on troubleshooting and avoiding common pitfalls are included in the book, along with chapters covering a wide range of subjects. Links to downloadable software are also provided.

The mechanisms and physiological functions of urea transporters across biological membranes are subjects of long-standing interests. Although urea represents roughly 40% of all urinary solutes in normal human urine, the handling of urea in the tissues has been largely neglected in the past and few clinical or experimental studies now report data on urea. Most recent physiological text books include chapters on water and electrolyte physiology but no chapter on urea. Our aim in writing this book is to stimulate further research in new directions by providing novel and provocative insights into the further mechanisms and physiological significance of urea metabolism and transport in mammals. This book offers a state-of-the-art report on recent discoveries concerning urea transport and where the field is going. It mainly focuses on advances made over the past 20 years on the biophysics, genetics, protein structure, molecular biology, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology of urea transport in mammalian cell membranes. It will help graduate students and researchers to get an overall picture of mammalian urea transporters and may also yield benefits for pharmaceutical companies with regard to drug discovery based on the urea transporter. Baoxue Yang is a professor and vice chairman of the Department of Pharmacology, Peking University. He is also an adjunct professor of Jilin University and a visiting professor of Northeast Normal University. Prof. Yang has been researching urea transporters for nearly 20 years and has published more than 70 original research articles in this field.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading authorities in the relevant specialist fields, the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist with regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. Historically, The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, The Chemical Society, have published reports of developments in chemistry since the end of the 19th century. By 1967 however, the sheer volume of chemistry published had become so great that it was decided to split the research into specialist areas, and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. Current subject areas covered are Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins. Carbohydrate Chemistry, Catalysis, Electron Spin Resonance, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Organometallic Chemistry. Organophosphorus Chemistry, Photochemistry and Spectroscopic Properties of Inorganic and Organometallic Compounds. From time to time, the series has altered according to the fluctuating degrees of activity in the various fields, but these volumes remain a superb reference point for researchers.

Biological inorganic chemistry is a field of research at the interface of inorganic and biological chemistry. The rapidly developing insights into the role of metals in biological systems has far-reaching implications not only for biological science but also for related disciplines, ranging from molecular medicine to the environment. In each volume the reader, whether engaged in chemistry, biochemistry, biology or molecular medicine, receives a comprehensive summary and critical overview of a topic of high current interest written by leading international experts.

George Britton, Synnl/Jve Liaaen-Jensen and Hanspeter Pfander This book, Volume 2 in the series Carotenoids, is the first book to be published that is devoted entirely to the total synthesis of carotenoids, but it is timely in view of the rapid development and the growing diversification of the carotenoid field. The 1971 Carotenoids book contained a major chapter of 250 pages on total synthesis by H. Mayer and O. Isler. That comprehensive and authoritative review described systematically the construction of many synthons and the synthesis of many natural and unnatural carotenoids and related compounds. Twenty five years on, that chapter remains an essential reference work and source of information, with its extensive collection of tabulated data and lists of references to the original literature. Surveys of progress since 1971 have been presented at the IUPAC International Symposia on Carotenoids and are included in the published proceedings of these symposia. The history of major publications in the carotenoid field, leading to the development of this series, was outlined in the preface to the series published in Vol. IA. The general philo sophy outlined in that preface, with emphasis on practical guidance and the inclusion of worked examples of some of the most useful procedures, is maintained in Vol. 2. In kceping with this philosophy, Vol. 2 is not intended to be an exhaustive review of the literature, but is planned as a practical book, as well as a source of information."

Dieser Band des Gebietes Stoffe enthAlt in alphabetischer Reihenfolge als ErgAnzung zum Hauptwerk Monographien A1/4ber Arzneistoffe, Hilfsstoffe, Impfstoffe und Sera sowie Reagenzien. In den Monographien werden Aussagen A1/4ber die Synthese, die Eigenschaften, die Erkennung, die Reinheit, den Gehalt, die Wirkung und die medizinische Anwendung gemacht. Von besonderer Bedeutung sind Stoffe des DAB und von in Europa gA1/4ltigen ArzneibA1/4chern.

Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Tailoring of Wood Fibre Surfaces. Polyelectrolyte Complexes in Flocculation Applications. Spontaneous Assembly and Induced Aggregation of Food Proteins. Polyelectrolyte Complexes of DNA and Polycations as Gene Delivery Vectors. Sizing, Shaping and Pharmaceutical Applications of Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles.

During the course of evolution, an imbalance was created between the rate of vertebrate genetic adaptation and that of the lower forms of living organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. This imbalance has given the latter the advantage of generating, relatively quickly, molecules with unexpected structures and features that carry a threat to vertebrates. To compensate for their weakness, vertebrates have accelerated their own evolutionary processes, not at the level of whole organism, but in specialized cells containing the genes that code for antibody molecules or for T-cell receptors. That is, when an immediate requirement for molecules capable of specific interactions arose, nature has preferred to speed up the mode of Darwinian evolution in pref- ence to any other approach (such as the use of X-ray diffraction studies and computergraphic analysis). Recently, Darwinian rules have been adapted for test tube research, and the concept of selecting molecules having particular characteristics from r- dom pools has been realized in the form of various chemical and biological combinatorial libraries. While working with these libraries, we noticed the interesting fact that when combinatorial libraries of oligopeptides were allowed to interact with different selector proteins, only the actual binding sites of these proteins showed binding properties, whereas the rest of the p- tein surface seemed "inert. " This seemingly common feature of protein- having no extra potential binding sites--was probably selected during evolution in order to minimize nonspecific interactions with the surrounding milieu.

Bioelectrochemistry: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive compilation of all the physicochemical aspects of the different biochemical and physiological processes. Macromolecules, essentially nucleic acids, proteins and complex carbohydrates, are the building blocks of cell structure and function. This fifth volume in the "Bioelectrochemistry" series deals essentially with water-soluble biomacromolecules, since the properties of membrane-bound proteins are considered in other volumes of this series. The first chapter provides an extensive review of the structure, chemical reactivity and electromagnetic properties of nucleic acids. The following five chapters concentrate on proteins, their structure, folding and function, the electrochemistry of redox proteins and voltammetric methods. Special attention is devoted to the field of thiol/disulfide exchange as well as to one particular class of proteins, the iron-sulfur proteins. The last chapter considers the chemistry and properties of glycosaminoglycans, the complex charged polysaccharides of the cell surface and extracellular matrix. This series is intended as a set of source books for graduate and postgraduate students as well as research workers at all levels in bioelectrochemistry.

This book introduces readers to industrially important enzymes and discusses in detail their structures and functions, as well as their manifold applications. Due to their selective biocatalytic capabilities, enzymes are used in a broad range of industries and processes. The book highlights selected enzymes and their applications in agriculture, food processing and discoloration, as well as their role in biomedicine. In turn, it discusses biochemical engineering strategies such as enzyme immobilization, metabolic engineering, and cross-linkage of enzyme aggregates, and critically weighs their pros and cons. Offering a wealth of information, and stimulating further research by presenting new concepts on enzymatic catalytic functions in basic and applied contexts, the book represents a valuable asset for researchers from academia and industry who are engaged in biochemical engineering, microbiology and biotechnology.

As studies using microarray technology have evolved, so have the data analysis methods used to analyze these experiments. The CAMDA (Critical Assessment of Microarray Data Analysis) conference was the first to establish a forum for a cross section of researchers to look at a common data set and apply innovative analytical techniques to microarray data. Methods of Microarray Analysis V includes selected papers from CAMDA'04, and focuses on data sets relating to a significant global health issue, malaria. Previous books focused on classification (V. I), pattern recognition (V. II), quality control issues (V. III), and associating array data with a survival endpoint, lung cancer, (V. IV). The contributions come from research fields including statistics, biology, computer science and mathematics. Part of the book is devoted to review papers, which provide a more general look at various analytical approaches. It also presents some background readings for the advanced topics discussed in the CAMDA papers.