Gas hydrates represent one of the world's largest untapped reservoirs of energy and, according to some estimates, have the potential to meet global energy needs for the next thousand years. "Methane Gas Hydrate" examines this potential by focusing on methane gas hydrate, which is increasingly considered a significant source of energy.

"Methane Gas Hydrate" gives a general overview of natural gas, before delving into the subject of gas hydrates in more detail and methane gas hydrate in particular. As well as discussing methods of gas production, it also discusses the safety and environmental concerns associated with the presence of natural gas hydrates, ranging from their possible impact on the safety of conventional drilling operations to their influence on Earth's climate.

"Methane Gas Hydrate" is a useful reference on an increasingly popular energy source. It contains valuable information for chemical engineers and researchers, as well as for postgraduate students.

Geraldine Masson, Luc Neuville Carine Bughin Aude Fayol Jieping Zhu Multicomponent Syntheses of Macrocycles Thomas J.J. Muller Palladium-Copper Catalyzed Alkyne Activation as an Entry to Multicomponent Syntheses of Heterocycles Rachel Scheffelaar Eelco Ruijter Romano V.A. Orru Multicomponent Reaction Design Strategies: Towards Scaffold and Stereochemical Diversity Nicola Kielland Rodolfo Lavilla Recent Developments in Reissert-Type Multicomponent Reactions Jitender B. Bariwal Jalpa C. Trivedi Erik V. Van der Eycken Microwave Irradiation and Multicomponent Reactions Irini Akritopoulou-Zanze Stevan W. Djuric Applications of MCR-Derived Heterocycles in Drug Discovery

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been applied extensively to great benefit in the food processing sector. Its numerous applications include: predicting the gas flow pattern and particle histories, such as temperature, velocity, residence time, and impact position during spray drying;modeling of ovens to provide information about temperature and airflow pattern throughout the baking chamber to enhance heat transfer and in turn final product quality; designing hybrid heating ovens, such as microwave-infrared, infrared-electrical or microwave-electrical ovens for rapid baking; model the dynamics of gastrointestinal contents during digestion based on the motor response of the GI tract and the physicochemical properties of luminal contents; retort processing of canned solid and liquid foods for understanding and optimization of the heat transfer processes. This Brief will recapitulate the various applications of CFD modeling, discuss the recent developments in this field, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of CFD when applied in the food industry. "

This book is an attempt to fill a gap in the existing literature on ion exchange. The many excellent works already available are of three main types, general introductions to the subject, specialist discussions of analytical and laboratory techniques, and advanced theoretical treatises. In practice, in spite of the vast number of processes which have been developed for la bora tory use, 99 per cent of all ion exchange resins produced in the world are used in water treatment, or closely allied applications. This book is intended as a general survey of the principles governing the practical uses of ion exchange resins, for the benefit of students encountering the subject for the first time, and for the chemists and engineers in many branches of industry whose work brings them into contact with water treatment, but who do not have the time to study more advanced volumes of basic theory. The background presented has been simplified to the maximum extent found possible without falsification, and an attempt has been made to relate each aspect of theory to its practical consequences in full scale water treatment. Mathematical methods have been avoided and pictorial or graphical presentation methods used wherever possible. As the book is concerned with general principles, rather than details of any particular research work, references to original papers and patents have been omitted except in the cases of special processes, which have a single clearly defined origin.

The recent surge of interest in recombinant DNA research is understandable considering that biologists from all disciplines, using recently developed mo lecular techniques, can now study with great precision the structure and regulation of specific genes. As a discipline, molecular biology is no longer a mere subspeciality of biology or biochemistry: it is the new biology. Current approaches to the outstanding problems in virtually all the traditional disci plines in biology are now being explored using the recombinant DNA tech nology. In this atmosphere of rapid progress, the role of information exchange and swift publication becomes quite crucial. Consequently, there has been an equally rapid proliferation of symposia volumes and review articles, apart from the explosion in popular science magazines and news media, which are always ready to simplify and sensationalize the implications of recent dis coveries, often before the scientific community has had the opportunity to fully scrutinize the developments. Since many of the recent findings in this field have practical implications, quite often the symposia in molecular biology are sponsored by private industry and are of specialized interest and in any case quite expensive for students to participate in. Given that George Wash ington University is a teaching institution, our aim in sponsoring these Annual Spring Symposia is to provide, at cost, a forum for students and experts to discuss the latest developments in selected areas of great significance in biology. Additionally, since the University is located in Washington, D. C."

tions is not possible without first putting the problem into a wider con text. Consequently, before proceeding with detailed critical topical cov erage of individual biomass energy sources, uses, and effects, I will extend this preface with a few pages of rather personal reflections (I will use the same device in closing the book: after providing concise topical summaries in Chapter 8, I will conclude with some essayistic musings on renewable energetics, plants, people, and a scientist's responsibility). Interest in biomass energies is just a part of a broader global trend toward renewable energetics, a trend which has evolved speedily after the crude oil price escalation started in 1973. Yet one must be reminded that for the rich countries fossil fuels are, and for a long period shall remain, the foundation of an affluent civilization, while throughout the poor world the reliance of most people on biomass energies for everyday subsistence has brought many damaging environmental and social ef fects; that the reality of sharp price rises for crude oil (actually not so sharp once adjusted for inflation) should not be misconstrued as an "energy crisis"; that the rise of renew abies and the claims made on their behalf by countless enthusiasts look so much better on paper than in reality; and that the potential of biomass energies, an essential ingre dient of renewable scenarios, has been judged more with proselytizing zeal than with critical detachment."

Geneticists and molecular biologists have been interested in quantifying genes and their products for many years and for various reasons (Bishop, 1974). Early molecular methods were based on molecular hybridization, and were devised shortly after Marmur and Doty (1961) first showed that denaturation of the double helix could be reversed - that the process of molecular reassociation was exquisitely sequence dependent. Gillespie and Spiegelman (1965) developed a way of using the method to titrate the number of copies of a probe within a target sequence in which the target sequence was fixed to a membrane support prior to hybridization with the probe - typically a RNA. Thus, this was a precursor to many of the methods still in use, and indeed under development, today. Early examples of the application of these methods included the measurement of the copy numbers in gene families such as the ribosomal genes and the immunoglo bulin family. Amplification of genes in tumors and in response to drug treatment was discovered by this method. In the same period, methods were invented for estimating gene num bers based on the kinetics of the reassociation process - the so-called Cot analysis. This method, which exploits the dependence of the rate of reassociation on the concentration of the two strands, revealed the presence of repeated sequences in the DNA of higher eukaryotes (Britten and Kohne, 1968). An adaptation to RNA, Rot analysis (Melli and Bishop, 1969), was used to measure the abundance of RNAs in a mixed population."

Biological O2 sensing probes and measurement techniques were first introduced in the late 80s. In the last 3-5 years they have undergone major development that have made them available and affordable for a broad range of applications in various disciplines of the life and biomedical sciences. These new chemistries and technologies, which are significantly different from the majority of other fluorescence-based probes and detection techniques, have already demonstrated their high utility. This book will provide a systematic overview of the existing and emerging O2 sensing technologies in their different modifications, a practical guide to their rational selection and use, and examples of biological applications/case studies, including details on how to set up and conduct such experiments, troubleshoot and interpret the data.

One of the greatest challenges facing package manufacturers is to develop reliable fine pitch thin packages with high leadcounts, capable of dissipating heat, and deliver them in volume to the market in a very short space of time. How can this be done? Firstly, package structures, materials, and manufacturing processes must be optimised. Secondly, it is necessary to predict the likely failures and behaviour of parts before manufacture, whilst minimising the amount of time and money invested in undertaking costly experimental trials. In a high volume production environment, any design improvement that increases yield and reliability can be of immense benefit to the manufacturer. Components and systems need to be packaged to protect the IC from its environment. Encapsulating devices in plastic is very cheap and has the advantage of allowing them to be produced in high volume on an assembly line. Currently 95% of all ICs are encapsulated in plastic. Plastic packages are robust, light weight, and suitable for automated assembly onto printed circuit boards. They have developed from low pincount (14-28 pins) dual-in-line (DIP) packages in the 1970s, to fine pitch PQFPs (plastic quad flat pack) and TQFPs (thin quad flat pack) in the 1980s-1990s, with leadcounts as high as 256. The demand for PQFPs in 1997 was estimated to be 15 billion and this figure is expected to grow to 20 billion by the year 2000.

The development of agents capable of cleaving RNA and DNA has attracted considerable attention from researchers in the last few years, because of the immediate and very important applications they can find in the emerging fields of biotechnology and pharmacology. There are essentially two classes of these agents - nucleases that occur naturally inside cells and synthetically produced artificial nucleases. The first class includes protein enzyme nucle ases and catalytic RNA structured ribozymes that perform cleavage of the phosphodiester bonds in nucleic acids according to a hydrolytic pathway in the course of different biochemical processes in the cell. A different pathway is used by some antibiotics which cleave DNA via redox-based mechanisms resulting in oxidative damage of nucleotide units and breakage of the DNA backbone. The above molecules are indispensable tools for manipulating nucleic acids and processing RNA; DNA-cleaving antibiotics and cytotoxic ribonucleases have demonstrated utility as chemotherapeutic agents. The second class, artificial nucleases, are rationally designed to imitate the active centers of natural enzymes by simple structures possessing minimal sets of the most important characteristics that are essential for catalysis. A dif ferent approach, in vitro selection, was also used to create artificial RNA and DNA enzymes capable of cleaving RNA. Being less efficient and specific as compared to the natural enzymes, the primitive mimics are smaller and robust and can function in a broad range of conditions."

Chemical Biophysics provides an engineering-based approach to biochemical system analysis for graduate-level courses on systems biology, computational bioengineering and molecular biophysics. It is the first textbook to apply rigorous physical chemistry principles to mathematical and computational modeling of biochemical systems for an interdisciplinary audience. The book is structured to show the student the basic biophysical concepts before applying this theory to computational modeling and analysis, building up to advanced topics and research. Topics explored include the kinetics of nonequilibrium open biological systems, enzyme mediated reactions, metabolic networks, biological transport processes, large-scale biochemical networks and stochastic processes in biochemical systems. End-of-chapter exercises range from confidence-building calculations to computational simulation projects.

Contents: L. Banfi A. Basso R. Riva: Synthesis of Heterocycles Through Classical Ugi and Passerini Reactions Followed by Secondary Transformations Involving One or Two Additional Functional Groups.- V.A. Chebanov K. A. Gura S.M. Desenko: Aminoazoles as Key Reagents in Multicomponent Heterocyclizations.- Y. Huang K. Khoury A. Doemling: Piperazine Scaffolds by Multicomponent 3 Reactions: The Piperazine Space 4 in MCR Chemistry 5 Deep MCR Piperazine Space.- N. Elders E. Ruijter V.G. Nenajdenko R.V.A. Orru: -Acidic Isocyanides in Multicomponent Chemistry.- A. Cukalovic J.-C.M.R. Monbaliu C.V. Stevens: Microreactor Technology as an Efficient Tool for Multicomponent Reactions.- L.A. Wessjohann C.R.B. Rhoden D.G. Rivera O. Eichler Vercillo: Cyclic Peptidomimetics and Pseudopeptides from Multicomponent Reactions.- M. del Mar Sanchez Duque C. Allais N. Isambert T. Constantieux J. Rodriguez: ss-Diketo Building Blocks for MCRs-Based Syntheses of Heterocycles

During the last decade physical and chemical methods have improved rapidly - a fact which allowed the mode of action of antibiotics to be studied - and many biochemically-oriented scientists have devoted their research to the following questions: 1. What is the metabolic pathway that is inhibited selectively, and what are the target molecules within a sensitive cell? 2. What are the relationships between the chemical structure of an antibiotic and the physicochemical properties of the sensitive mole cule(s)? 3. Why and how far is the action selective? 4. Is it possible to correlate the interaction with the target mole cule(s) with the particular biological activities observed? This monograph deals with those antibiotics which interfere with the biosynthesis of nucleic acids. The idea was to provide an insight into how to investigate the preceding questions experimentally and to solve as yet unresolved problems rather than to give a review of the current state of knowledge. Although the biochemistry of nucleic acid synthesis is known in general, the precise molecular mechanisms by which deoxyribonucleic acid is replicated or transcribed has still to be clarified. For this reason it is not yet possible to describe the molecular mechanisms by which the inhibitors of nucleic acid and protein synthesis exhibit their effects. The fact that the inhibitors of nucleic acid and protein synthesis themselves served as useful tools to obtain an insight into the mechanisms of replication, transcription and translation was one of the most exciting discoveries in this field."

In this volume, Prof. Ye and his coworkers propose and review the concept of nano-bio probe design for biochemical analysis on the basis of their recent published works. A unique biochemical analysis technology based on fluorescence polarization enhanced by nanoparticles is described here with successful applications in environmental monitoring, rapid and sensitive sensing protease activity and high-throughput screening of inhibitors. Furthermore, they introduce a versatile molecular beacon (MB)-like probe for the multiplex sensing of targets such as sequence-specific DNA, protein, metal ions and small molecule compounds based on the self-assembled biomolecule-graphene conjugates. Besides, some colorimetric and luminescence probes utilizing metal nanoparticles for biochemical applications are also presented, such as chiral enantiomer discrimination and separation, environmental monitoring, clinic diagnosis and etc.

This much-needed book is the first definitive volume on Euglena in twenty-fire years, offering information on its atypical biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and potential biotechnology applications. This volume gathers together contributions from well-known experts, who in many cases played major roles in elucidating the phenomenon discussed. Presented in three parts, the first section of this comprehensive book describes novel biochemical pathways which in some instances have an atypical subcellular localization. The second section details atypical cellular mechanisms of organelle protein import, organelle nuclear genome interdependence, gene regulation and expression that provides insights into the evolutionary origins of eukaryotic cells. The final section discusses how biotechnologists have capitalized on the novel cellular and biochemical features of Euglena to produce value added products. Euglena: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology will provide essential reading for cell and molecular biologists with interests in evolution, novel biochemical pathways, organelle biogenesis and algal biotechnology. Readers will come away from this volume with a full understanding of the complexities of the Euglena as well as new realizations regarding the diversity of cellular processes yet to be discovered.

Emergent Computation emphasizes the interrelationship of the different classes of languages studied in mathematical linguistics (regular, context-free, context-sensitive, and type 0) with aspects to the biochemistry of DNA, RNA, and proteins. In addition, aspects of sequential machines such as parity checking and semi-groups are extended to the study of the Biochemistry of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Mention is also made of the relationship of algebraic topology, knot theory, complex fields, quaternions, and universal turing machines and the biochemistry of DNA, RNA, and proteins.

Emergent Computation tries to avoid an emphasis upon mathematical abstraction ("elegance") at the expense of ignoring scientific facts known to Biochemists. Emergent Computation is based entirely upon papers published by scientists in well-known and respected professional journals. These papers are based upon current research. A few examples of what is not ignored to gain "elegance":

- DNA exists as triple and quadruple strands

- Watson-Crick complementary bases have mismatches

- There can be more than four bases in DNA

- There are more than sixty-four codons

- There may be more that twenty amino acids in proteins

While Emergent Computation emphasizes bioinformatics applications, the last chapter studies mathematical linguistics applied to areas such as languages found in birds, insects, medical applications, anthropology, etc.

Emergent Computation tries to avoid unnecessary mathematical abstraction while still being rigorous. The demands made upon the knowledge of chemistry or mathematics is minimized as well. The collected technical references are valuable in itself for additional reading.

The riddle of the biochemical nature of drug dependence of the opiate type has stimulated many studies directed toward understanding the molecular basis of the action of opiates, and, particularly, the phenomena of tolerance, physical dependence, and drug-seeking behavior-phenomena exhibited by man and experimental animals exposed persistently to these drugs. The results of these studies provided a substantial body of information which has been published in the scientific and medical literature. The purely pharma cological responses in man and animals to the opiates have been described and evaluated in many monographs and text-books of pharmacology. However, there is no single source for specific and detailed information on the responses of the body and its tissues to narcotic analgesic drugs at the level of biochemical pharmacology; that is, the molecular history of the drug in the body and the biochemical consequences of its presence in tissue. This volume has been prepared in an effort to repair the deficiency. Two factors have contributed a special urgency to making this infor mation available in convenient form: (1) the current need for a better under standing of the biochemical mechanisms underlying addiction to narcotic drugs, and (2) the progress made in molecular biology which promises that significant advances in the elucidation of fundamental processes in the central nervous system and their drug-induced aberrations may soon be possible."

The suppression of apoptosis by the IGF system is critical for normal cell development, proliferation, differentiation and motility. Aberrations in IGF signalling mechanisms contribute to cell transformation, tumour progression and metastasis. Many questions remain to be answered as to how exactly the IGF system mediates its effects both in normal and tumour cells and how the IGF-1R interacting proteins and downstream signalling cascades are regulated. The importance of the IGF system is underscored by the significant interest in the development of anti-IGF therapies for IGF sensitive cancers. Future developments in cancer therapy are likely to focus on methods to target these therapies to diseased but not normal cells. 14. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Kurt Tidmore for preparing the illustrations. The Health Research Board of Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland are grateful acknowledged for funding. 15. References Adamo M., Roberts C. T., Jr. and LeRoith D. (1992) How distinct are the insulin and insul- like growth factor I signalling systems? Biofactors 3, 151-7. Adams T. E., Epa V. C., Garrett T. P. and Ward C. W. (2000) Structure and function of the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor. Cell Mol Life Sci 57, 1050-93. Adler V., Polotskaya A., Wagner F. and Kraft A. S. (1992) Affinity-purified c-Jun ami- terminal protein kinase requires serine/threonine phosphorylation for activity. J Biol Chem 267, 17001-5.

This textbook and reference fills a critical gap in literature on the comprehensive environmental impacts of industrial organizations. Nineteen chapters examine individual industrial sectors inherent "potential to pollute." The text goes on to analyze new technologies and practices for transforming environmentally degrading effects of industry, and shows how managers can navigate these changes and move their organizations towards long-term environmental sustainability.

The application of microbiological methods to the extraction of metals from minerals has definitely gained a prominent role and is supported by the several bioleaching and biooxidation processes operating in different sites over the world. In recent years new techniques and new results about proteomic and bioinformatics are bringing a new perspective on the microbial processes.

This book focuses on the basic aspects of the process with special emphasis on recent contributions regarding the chemical and microbial aspects of the bioleaching process and the use of microorganisms in the treatment of complex ores and concentrates.

It has been written by recognized researchers in order to introduce the main subjects of microbial processing to undergraduate and postgraduate students, scientists working in this field as well as interested industrialists.

Recently, there have been significant developments in robust control of time-delay systems. This volume presents a systematic treatment of robust control for such systems in the frequency domain. The emphasis is on systems with a single input or output delay, although the delay-free part of the plant can be multi-input-multi-output, in which case the delays in different channels should be the same.

The author covers the whole range of H-infinity control of time-delay systems: from controller parameterization implementation; from the Nehari problem to the four-block problem; from theoretical developments to practical issues. The major tools used are similarity transformation, the chain-scattering approach and J-spectral factorization.

Self-contained, "Robust Control of Time-delay Systems" will interest control theorists and mathematicians working with time-delay systems. Its methodical approach will be of value to graduates studying general robust control theory or its applications in time-delay systems.

The biennial International Gothenburg Symposia on Chemical Water and Waste water Treatment have proven to be a unique platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences between administrators, engineers and scientists active in the fields of water supply, wastewater disposal and pollution control. The First Symposium (Gothenburg, 1984) provided a long needed survey over theory and application of chemical water and wastewater treatment. The Second Symposium (Berlin, 1986) was devoted to aspects of recycling in chemical water and wastewater technology. The Third Symposium (Gothenburg, 1988) recognised the growing need and the potentials of pretreatment. These proceedings of the 4th Symposium focus on technology transfer from chemical treatment theory to practical treatment of drinking water and industrial or domestic wastewater. The contributions are devoted to questions of floc for mation and floc separation as well as problems and practical solutions associated with chemicals and dosing control. Special attention is given to the combination of chemical and biological processes for nutrient removal from wastewater. It is the editors' privilege to acknowledge the invaluable help from the authors of this book. It is the editors' hope that they might convey the significance and potential of chemical treatment in solving the challenging problems water purification, wastewater disposal and pollution control.

Biochemical engineering forms a bridge between fundamental biochemical research and large scale biotechnology processes. It covers genetic and protein engineering, cell culture, bioprocess and reactor design, separation and modelling. Research work in biochemical engineering is an investment in the future, when conventional resources will have to be replaced with renewable ones. In this book the papers presented at the Asia-Pacific Biochemical Engineering Conference (Yokohama, Japan 1992) are collected. This collection is unique in its wide coverage of topics and it gives an overview of the current trends of research in an important area.

Biodiesel: A Realistic Fuel Alternative for Diesel Engines describes the production and characterization of biodiesel. The book also presents current experimental research work in the field, including techniques to reduce biodiesel's high viscosity. Researchers in renewable energy, as well as fuel engineers, will discover a myriad of new ideas and promising possibilities.