The first comprehensive book to cover all aspects of the last 25 years of PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide) research, this book contains contributions from virtually all the leading researchers in the field, and addresses some of the following topics: evolutionary aspects of PACAP, distribution and occurrence of PACAP and its receptors, hormonal effects of PACAP, intracellular signaling, effects on cellular proliferation and differentiation, protective effects of PACAP, behavioral effects of PACAP, developmental aspects of PACAP, other physiological effects of PACAP (cardiovascular, thermoregulatory), human studies, drug design, metabolism and transport. This compendium can serve as an important reference for researchers and students in PACAP research and can also be a thorough introduction for those in related fields.

Neurotoxicology: Approaches and Methods provides a unique and comprehensive presentation of the current concepts and state-of-the-art methods for the assessment of neurotoxicity. The book analyzes various techniques available and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. This volume will serve as an excellent desk companion and laboratory guide for all investigators, researchers, clinicians, and students interested in neurotoxicology. The internationally knowngroup of editors divide the book into seven sections: "Neuromorphological and Neuropathological Approaches; Neurophysiological Approaches; Neurobehavioral Toxicology; Neurochemical and Biomolecular Approaches; In-Vitro Models; Clinical Neurotoxicology; and Risk Assessment of Neurotoxicity." Each section yields the most up-to-date information by experts in their fields. Meticulously organized and edited, Neurotoxicology: Approaches and Methods is the most authoritative and well-planned neurotoxicology book on the market.
Key Features
* Discusses neurobehavioral testing methods for assessment of neural dysfunctions
* Explains state-of-the-art diagnostic methods, such as clinico-neuropsychological and neurophysiological methods, for patients confronted by neurotoxic problems
* Discusses "In Vitro" methods, including aggregating brain cell methods, organotypic cultures, and the use of human neuronal cell lines for the assessment of neurotoxicity
* Presents step-by-step procedures for many methods
* Provides state-of-the-art neuromorphological and biomolecular methods and approaches for neurotoxicity investigation

A collection of readily reproducible classic and emerging molecular methods for the laboratory isolation and identification of the pathogens, viruses, and parasites that cause food-borne disease. Among the pathogens covered are specific bacteria, including Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp., Listeria spp., and Bacillus spp.; viruses, including noroviruses and enteroviruses; and parasites, including Cryptosporidium and seafood nematode worms. The protocols follow the successful Methods in Biotechnology (TM) series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principles behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

This work stems from the activities carried out under the European Science Foundation's Environmental Toxicology Programme and its daughter programme, Environmental Damage and its Assessment. The work served also as a pilot study for the ESF Scientific programme on Environment, Science and Society (ESS), thus demonstrating the interdependence of the natural and social sciences with respect to environmental issues. The book is unique in the sense that it records the results of a four year collaboration between environmental toxicologists, economists and institutionalists. Its objective was to achieve better characterized or even novel insights into the theory and practice of water resource management, quality assurance and chemical safety regulation.

This authored book presents basic immunological tenets and mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level while employing the toxicology focus on hazard identification, appropriate assays, dose response, and risk assesment by mathematical models and safety factors. It will be a useful reference to toxicologists because it will incorporate new guidelines that the EPA is bringing out later this year for all chemicals regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Regulatory sections in each chapter focus on data from both the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as data applicable to western European Nations.

A collection of challenging and unusual cases from the author's extensive experience as a Medical Toxicologist, these cases demonstrate medical problem solving and differential diagnosis in action from the perspective of an experienced clinician. Written in an engaging style and giving a fascinating account of some complex cases from real practice, this book will provide a good supplementary learning text for graduate students or those at an early stage in their professional career.

This volume presents a broad compendium of techniques used in biodegradation and toxicological research. Through both legacy and up-to-date approaches to practical methodologies with proven results, the book examines the role and applications of analytical biodegradation quantification as it applies to the environmental sciences, particularly in the range of byproducts that are usually linked to toxicology, and the test organisms most often used in toxicity testing. Topics include scientific and technical feasibility studies, contaminant impacts evaluation, study design and analytical techniques, key methodologies required to prepare the biodegradation and toxicology protocols, as well as the handling of microbial communities related to such processes. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters deal with a critical discussion of laboratory scale experiments, as well as full scale in situ and ex situ apparatus, with each chapter containing both a discursive section along with a detailed methods section. Detailed and authoritative, Toxicity and Biodegradation Testing is primarily focused toward the environmental sciences researcher, while the range of techniques also provides an introduction to biodegradation and toxicology methods for researchers outside of the field.

The Society of Environmental Geochemistry and Health (SEGH) Second International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects was held June 12-14, 1995 in San Diego, California. The conference was at tended by 152 people who heard 41 presentations on all aspects of arsenic research. The speakers represented 14 countries. Approximately 40 of the participants and speakers were from countries other than the US. The participants represented government, academia, industry and the interested public. The sponsorship ofthe conference is a good indicationofthe wide spread interest in the subject and the meeting. The sponsors, in addition to SEGH, were the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF), Kennecott Corporation, the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO), and the International Council on Metals in the Environment (ICME). The funding was split approximately equally between industry (including industrial organizations such as EPRI) and government. In addition to the many fine presentations, the meeting provided a forum for scientists from different countries to compare experiences and share information. It also provided a forum for the discussion of both scientific and policy issues between representatives of various governmental bodies (at the local, state, and federal level) and representatives of various indus trial organizations. These discussions occurred both in the formal meetings and informal settings during the meeting.

This publication represents the result of the fruitful workshop organised with the aim to attract the attention on the possibility of bio terrorism attack, with the s- port of NATO funds. In the last years the attention was strongly concentrated on the terrorism view similar to "military type attacks: " bomb on the trains, kamikazes, airplanes etc. As consequence many devices studied are directed to prevent these attacks such as the control of the passengers before the flight. For the people terrorism is therefore equivalent to bomb or similar and nobody think that there is also other possible and sophisticated means that can be used by the terrorist. In 1995 Sarin gas in the Tokio subway killed 12 people and affected 5,000 persons. In the USA anthrax was sent by mail to many federal offices. These events and other cases attract the attention on these possible terrorist attacks and the first recommendations for preventing theses events were\elaborated in the United State and in Europe. The possible agents and the modality that can be used for the diffusion are analysed and food and water are considered the principal and more favourable way. The story and the principal decision about this were reported in the first article of this collection which introduces the concept of bio-terrorism.

Ecotoxicology is a relatively new scientific discipline. Indeed, it might be argued that it is only during the last 5-10 years that it has come to merit being regarded as a true science, rather than a collection of procedures for protecting the environment through management and monitoring of pollutant discharges into the environment. The term 'ecotoxicology' was first coined in the late sixties by Prof. Truhaut, a toxicologist who had the vision to recognize the importance of investigating the fate and effects of chemicals in ecosystems. At that time, ecotoxicology was considered a sub-discipline of medical toxicology. Subsequently, several attempts have been made to portray ecotoxicology in a more realistic light. Notably, both Moriarty (1988) and F. Ramade (1987) emphasized in their books the broad basis of ecotoxicology, encompassing chemical and radiation effects on all components of ecosystems. In doing so, they and others have shifted concern from direct chemical toxicity to humans, to the far more subtle effects that pollutant chemicals exert on natural biota. Such effects potentially threaten the existence of all life on earth. Although I have identified the sixties as the era when ecotoxicology was first conceived as a coherent subject area, it is important to acknowledge that studies that would now be regarded as ecotoxicological are much older.

Historically we have separated the disciplines of Chemistry and Biochemistry by recognizing that the distinguishing characteristic of Biochemistry is the catalysis of reactions by enzymes. Enzymes permit metabolic reactions which would otherwise require extremes of temperature, pressure or pH, often associated with Chemistry, to proceed under ambient conditions of the body. Under some conditions chemical reactions occur in vivo in which products of enzymatic reactions proceed to undergo further reactions non- enzymatically with cellular macromolecules. The results can often be seen as toxic or carcinogenic responses. The chemicals that initiate these reactions are termed "biological reactive intermediates. " The International Symposia on Biological Reactive Intermediates (BRI) began in 1975 at the University of Turku, Finland and have since convened at the University of Surrey, Guildford, The United Kingdom (1980), the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland (1985), the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (1990), the GSF Forschungszentrum and Technical University of Munich (1995) and, most recently, at the Universite Rene Descartes, Paris, France (2000). The Symposium was organized by an International Planning Committee co-chaired by P. Dansette (Paris, France) and TJ. Monks (Austin, Texas). The committee included: P. H. Beaune (Paris, France), M. De\aforge (Saclay, France), G. P. Gervasi (Pisa, Italy), G. G. Gibson (Guildford, UK), H. Greim (Munich, Germany), DJ. Jollow (Charleston, South Carolina), P. Moldeus (Sodertalje, Sweden), I. G. Sipes (Tucson, Arizona), R. Snyder PJ. van Bladderen (Zeist, The Netherlands). They were (Piscataway, New Jersey), and assisted by an International Scientific Program Advisory Committee which included: TJ.

This book provides information on best practices and new thinking regarding the validation of alternative methods for toxicity testing. It covers the validation of experimental and computational methods and integrated approaches to testing and assessment. Validation strategies are discussed for methods employing the latest technologies such as tissue-on-a-chip systems, stem cells and transcriptomics, and for methods derived from pathway-based concepts in toxicology. Validation of Alternative Methods for Toxicity Testing is divided into two sections, in the first, practical insights are given on the state-of-the-art and on approaches that have resulted in successfully validated and accepted alternative methods. The second section focuses on the evolution of validation principles and practice that are necessary to ensure fit-for-purpose validation that has the greatest impact on international regulatory acceptance of alternative methods. In this context validation needs to keep pace with the considerable scientific advancements being made in toxicology, the availability of sophisticated tools and techniques that can be applied in a variety of ways, and the increasing societal and regulatory demands for better safety assessment. This book will be a useful resource for scientists in the field of toxicology, both from industry and academia, developing new test methods, strategies or techniques, as well as Governmental and regulatory authorities interested in understanding the principles and practicalities of validation of alternative methods for toxicity testing.

There are various species of fungi which like to grow on food, thereby releasing toxins which might bear a health risk for the consumer. All foods which have been reported to be contaminated with mycotoxins are listed, including data on the degree of contamination, the concentration of the toxins and the country of origin and/or detection of the contaminated food. All relevant toxin producing fungi, their natural occurence, the possible mycotoxicosis, further the biochemical and physiological effects of mycotoxins, their chemical data and toxicity are treated comprehensively. For each mycotoxin, reference is given to the food at risk.

Large-scale privatization did not emerge spontaneously in China in the late 1990s. Rather, the Chinese state led and carefully "planned" ownership transformation with timetables and measurable privatization quotas, not for the purpose of extracting the state from the economy, but in order to strengthen the rule of the Party. While it is widely believed that authoritarian regimes are better suited than democracies to carry out economic reform, this book provides a more nuanced understanding of reform in China, demonstrating that the Chinese state's capacity to impose unpopular reform is contingent on its control over local state agents and its adaptability to societal demands. Building on rich fieldwork data gathered in three Chinese cities (Shenyang, Shanghai, and Xiamen), this book offers the first comparative study of China's privatization processes at the local level. Instead of focusing solely on political elites, Jin Zeng adopts a multi-level interaction approach to examine how the complex interplay of the central leadership, grassroots officials, and state-owned enterprise managers and workers shaped the contour of privatization in China.The book advances three central arguments. First, local economic structure and cadre evaluation system mediated local officials' incentives to initiate privatization. Second, local officials relied on mobilization campaigns and various appeasement measures to implement privatization. Finally, the dynamics of privatization were fundamentally driven by the central government's reactions to social opposition and by the subsequent responses of local officials to the changed political-regulatory environment. As a detailed analysis of the dual transformation of the property regime and state-society relations in China, this book will be invaluable to students and scholars of Chinese politics, economic reform, as well as those interested in comparative political economy and economic development more broadly.

A mycotoxin is a toxin produced by a fungus under special conditions of moisture and temperature. These fungi are aerobic and microscopic and, moreover, may colonize many kinds of food from the field to the table. Mycotoxins are not only a spoilage issue for food, but in high doses can be a serious health threat for humans. The book will be similar to Weidenborner's previous two books - "Mycotoxins in Feedstuffs" and "Mycotoxins in Foodstuffs" - in that it will be a review of the literature to create a comprehensive reference for mycotoxin levels. It will be his third (and last) book on the topic, this time focusing on the incidence of a mycotoxin in humans and/or animals (natural or artificial incidence). Each entry will include contamination, concentration rate, mean concentration of organs (humans and animals) with a mycotoxin, as well as sample constitution (where possible) and country of origin of the sample.

This advanced text-cum-reference book presents a comprehensive account of the syntheses, reactions, properties and applications of all the most significant classes of heterocyclic compounds. This second volume in the series is an essential tool not only for advanced undergraduates and graduates, but also for academic and industrial researchers in organic, medicinal, pharmaceutical, dye and agricultural chemistry.

For this second edition of their much praised Cytochrome P450, the editors have collected accounts of the essential core techniques that use the latest methodologies for the investigation of P450s. Highlights include protocols for spectral analysis and purification of P450s, enzymatic assays of P450s and flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs), expression of P450s and FMOs in heterologous systems, and the production and use of antipeptide antibodies. Additional chapters contain readily reproducible techniques for the transfection of hepatocytes for gene regulation studies, P450 reporter gene assays, in situ hybridization, and analysis of genetic polymorphisms. Although the emphasis is on P450s of mammalian origin, many of the readily reproducible methods described are suitable for P450s from any source.

This volume explores the latest techniques used to investigate nanotoxicity. The protocols covered in this book range from routine nanotoxicity assays to genomic and proteomic approaches in vivo and in vitro. The chapters discuss specific topics such as preparation and utilization of 3D human liver microtissue models; assessment of ovarian granulosa cells with exposure to nanoparticles; DNA methylation analysis; evaluation of genotoxicity of nanoparticles in mouse models; and studying nanotoxicity using embryonic zebrafish. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and practical, Nanotoxicity: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of toxicology, environmental science, pharmacological sciences, and clinical medicine. This volume also serves as a starting point for researchers interested in learning more about this developing field.

Environmental Contaminants and Medicinal Plants Action on Female Reproduction discusses the problem of environmental pollution, medicinal and food plants, and their impact on reproduction. The book describes the mechanisms of environmental contaminants' action, outlines the key causes of their harmful impact on reproduction, and explores what regulatory substances and processes should be targeted due to the negative effect of pollutants on reproduction. Furthermore, it describes the provenance, properties, physiological and therapeutic effects, and possible areas of application of the known medicinal and functional food plants and their constituents with a focus on female reproductive processes. This book will be a useful resource for reproductive biologists, specialists in assisted reproduction, animal production and phytotherapy, toxicologists, pharmacologists, pharmaceutical scientists, endocrinologists, medicinal and natural product chemists, nutritionists and others engaged in the study of environmental contaminants and medicinal and functional food plants.

Information flow as nerve impulses in neuronal circuits is regulated at synapses. The synapse is therefore a key element for information processing in the brain. Much attention has been given to fast synaptic transmission, which predominantly regulates impulse-to-impulse transmission. Slow synaptic transmission and modu lation, however, sometimes have been neglected in considering and attempting to understand brain function. Slow synaptic potentials and modulation occur with a considerable delay in response to the accumulation of synaptic and modulatory inputs. In these contexts, they are plastic in nature and play important roles in information processing in the brain. A symposium titled "Slow Synaptic Responses and Modulation" was held as the satellite symposium to the 75th Annual Meeting of the Physiological Society of Japan on March 30-31, 1998, in Kanazawa. The theme was selected not only for the reason mentioned above, but also because of the considerable involvement of many Japanese scholars in establishing the basic issues. Following the dawn of synaptic physiological research, as Sir John Eccles, Sir Bernard Katz, and Professor Stephen Kuffler carried out pioneer work, Professor Kyozou Koketsu and Professor Benjamin Libet, the students of Sir John Eccles, and their colleagues established the concept of slow synaptic responses and modulation by studying vertebrate sympathetic ganglia. Since then, the concept has been ex panded with detailed investigations of both peripheral and central synapses at the levels of single ion channels, intracellular Ca"+ dynamics, intracellular transduc tion mechanisms, and genes.

Toxicogenomics is a new multidisciplinary field concerned with elucidating how the entire genome is involved in biological responses of organisms exposed to environmental toxicants and stressors. Toxicogenomics combines information from studies of genomic-scale mRNA profiling by microarray analysis, cell-wide or tissue-wide protein profiling (proteomics), genetic susceptibility related to single nucleotide polymorphism, and computational models to understand the roles of gene-environment interactions. This book makes a valuable addition to the laboratory bookshelf of all scientists and practitioners studying toxicology, environmental science, drug development, and pharmaceutical safety. As toxicogenomics makes a revolutionary impact on environmental health, drug safety, and risk assessment in 21st-century toxicology, this volume serves as an essential sourcebook.