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Molecular endocrinology, vol. 1
126 Hirata claim that their recent work has shown the irn~~~~ OF p~~lipid ~t~yl~t~~ in tenor-mediate signal transmission at a variety of receptors, whereas Benidge more gently concludes that his studies‘seem to confirm’ that phos phatidylinositol breakdown ‘is somehow involved in the opening of calcium gates’. In view of fhe mtber unspecificactionsOf same of the &tfgs upon whose effects the former, firm conclusionis based. I suspect
that the reader should face both of these repotted, this is helpfui. Owzall, therefore. I think this is a chapterswith an equal degreeof scepficism stirnu~tin~ and welcome little book. My for optimism). Almost all of the chapters, including only teal complaint is that the price is the Spelspcrg’s on steroid hormones, ate priceof abig book: even with inflofion. it is well written. Fortunately some. though hard to see how Macmillan can justify a not all. of the authorsseem to have made a price of f30 for lessthan 200 pages! R. ft. MICtfBLt. real effort to communicateto a bnsadaudience. in view of the wide spectrum of bi~~micai, bi~hysical and eleo trophy4olo$cal approaches thaf are
Helpful summary
by the editor on the gmundk that the piIpitdOp~ 0I’ the opiate peptidekih aliWdy coveredin +&Yiciontdetail in a profusionof existing sympo+i volumes. The 38 chaptersin the presentbooh vary considemblyin approachand plrsetitafion. Some are purely rebiew articlcb. other5are more spcculativcand fhc rcmaininp contribufions present current IPhCaW development%.The majority of’ the confribuforsare Imm Cape Town. The &ok ia divided into sections dealing with the biobynfhe)rib.secretionand degradationof ncuqcptidcr as well as their structuraland functionalevolution. There are also several cffapters devoted to technical aspects of’ neumpeptide rewarch and, in panic&a. with the development of radioimmuncF assayprocedures.
It i\ clear that one re;hon for tile rapid advancesin enkephntin rc\eenrchhiI\ been the ready availability ol’ the opiate agonist\ ;md anti;gl?ni~t~. The tack ~~~c(~~s~)nding drugsin otbr GeldsofpeptideresearchhiI% cerfainly beena major limitation lo progreks in this area. The current book thcre;bre provides a tlctpful WllllIli~~ ()I‘ advance\ hut. like many \ympoGl volumc~,is likely to be out ofdotefiGfly rapidly. It represents a ti.~&utthoughby no meanse~~ntial addition to ;I phit~n~ic~~k?~i~t.~ library which helps to put the neuropeptidesto’y in perspective.
Like Lifi Sciences, there are SeVeml reviews, and a numberof paperscontaining original work. The papers are published from camera-ready copy in the form in which they were received, them is no index. and there is no affempt fo relate the papersto each ofher. The papersare double spaozd. and average 13 pages including references, which makes them brief, like preliminary communications. The difference betweenthis publication.md a journal is that in a journal the papersiire subjectto scientific review, The people who will be interested in these proceedingsare thoseworking in the same areas as the included papers, since most of these paperswere not meant to be introductionsto areasof knowledge. Regulation of calcium metabolism by para-
thyroid hormone. calcitonin. and vitamin D. and the mechanisms of osteoporosis after menopauseand during spacetravel arc the areas best covered by this book. The review by W. A. Peck on osteoporosis as a disorder of skeletal ~rn~~in~ is eomprehensiveand a good summary. The sections other than calcium arc shutter, and thosein the neuroendocri~ologysectionare not as well related to each other. The title of these proceedingsimplies therewill be further volumes. If the present format is continued, this series should be consideredas a journal which is pablish~ inftquently. PRISCILLAS.DANNIES
Handy reference text
Arnold Arboretum at Ifarvati. She has travelfed extensively to herbaria in America, Asia, and Eumpe and hasstudied the vegefation and economic botany of China. Her book is essentiallya dictionary of Chinese materia medrca, mainly plants, which makes it possiblefor any in&nz.sted scientistto obtain speedy i&nt~~cati~ of Chinesedrags. There am 287 pagesof text which are divided into two main parts and four appendices. The major portion (188
Biibemical Neuropqtides ~hy~iolog~al Studies
and
This volumepresentsfhe Procecdiqs of an infemdtionai Symposium on Neuropcp fidcs held in Cape Town in February l%!@ as a dediifioff to the South African endocrinofogii, 5emaid P&tone. It is reftesliing to read a book on neumpcpfidts ,in which the enkeptfdhns:mdendorphinsplay only a minor supportingpan. Th.: star roles are rewrved for the hypothalamicyeytides as wclf as neurotcnsinand cholecy*tokinin. This emphasisi\ quite ~a~~~~ablyjustiticd
Occasional journal? Molecular Endocrinology, Vol. 1 ediwd by 1. Maclmyre und IU. S:eike, ELrer,ietl~o~~l-lloli~~d Biomgd~cat Press; 1979. $SS.SOJ~~~ t20.~ (xvii i ?37pages] ISBN 0 444 80187 I
Some proceedingsof meefingscan be v&uable. Recent Progress in liormone Reieutch is the proceedingsof the Lautentian Hormone Conference. Speakers who have made substantial~~buti~s to the feld are selected for that conference, and they speak for an hour summarizing their work. Eafh talk is followed by an hour discussion and the entire discussionis pub. lisbedwith each talk. Therefore those proceedingsam reviews pluscommentswhich put the work in perspective. In co-f, Mo~ec~~lo~. E.~d~~nuio~v. Vol. ! a e&e&m of someof tbe papers presenrzd at an international endocrine symposium,Endccrinology‘79, which was An Enumerafion of Chii~ Maferia held at the Royal College of Physiciansin Medica London in July, 1979. There are three pap. by Shiu-ying Ha, The Chines,?University es on the cloning of hormone genes, It Press, 1981. f10.50 (xxiv + 287 pages) papers in a section e&tied ‘New& ZSBN %2 201189 6 ~~19~~~~ci~.~ ~rn~~rnbleaj~~s~h~~~~ Tbe author is a botanistwho was educated S&m morefhattabook. fromwhichone in China and in the U.S.A. and who has expects more evidence of organization. worked for more than 30 years in the
A. J. ‘I UKNER
that the reader should face both of these repotted, this is helpfui. Owzall, therefore. I think this is a chapterswith an equal degreeof scepficism stirnu~tin~ and welcome little book. My for optimism). Almost all of the chapters, including only teal complaint is that the price is the Spelspcrg’s on steroid hormones, ate priceof abig book: even with inflofion. it is well written. Fortunately some. though hard to see how Macmillan can justify a not all. of the authorsseem to have made a price of f30 for lessthan 200 pages! R. ft. MICtfBLt. real effort to communicateto a bnsadaudience. in view of the wide spectrum of bi~~micai, bi~hysical and eleo trophy4olo$cal approaches thaf are
Helpful summary
by the editor on the gmundk that the piIpitdOp~ 0I’ the opiate peptidekih aliWdy coveredin +&Yiciontdetail in a profusionof existing sympo+i volumes. The 38 chaptersin the presentbooh vary considemblyin approachand plrsetitafion. Some are purely rebiew articlcb. other5are more spcculativcand fhc rcmaininp contribufions present current IPhCaW development%.The majority of’ the confribuforsare Imm Cape Town. The &ok ia divided into sections dealing with the biobynfhe)rib.secretionand degradationof ncuqcptidcr as well as their structuraland functionalevolution. There are also several cffapters devoted to technical aspects of’ neumpeptide rewarch and, in panic&a. with the development of radioimmuncF assayprocedures.
It i\ clear that one re;hon for tile rapid advancesin enkephntin rc\eenrchhiI\ been the ready availability ol’ the opiate agonist\ ;md anti;gl?ni~t~. The tack ~~~c(~~s~)nding drugsin otbr GeldsofpeptideresearchhiI% cerfainly beena major limitation lo progreks in this area. The current book thcre;bre provides a tlctpful WllllIli~~ ()I‘ advance\ hut. like many \ympoGl volumc~,is likely to be out ofdotefiGfly rapidly. It represents a ti.~&utthoughby no meanse~~ntial addition to ;I phit~n~ic~~k?~i~t.~ library which helps to put the neuropeptidesto’y in perspective.
Like Lifi Sciences, there are SeVeml reviews, and a numberof paperscontaining original work. The papers are published from camera-ready copy in the form in which they were received, them is no index. and there is no affempt fo relate the papersto each ofher. The papersare double spaozd. and average 13 pages including references, which makes them brief, like preliminary communications. The difference betweenthis publication.md a journal is that in a journal the papersiire subjectto scientific review, The people who will be interested in these proceedingsare thoseworking in the same areas as the included papers, since most of these paperswere not meant to be introductionsto areasof knowledge. Regulation of calcium metabolism by para-
thyroid hormone. calcitonin. and vitamin D. and the mechanisms of osteoporosis after menopauseand during spacetravel arc the areas best covered by this book. The review by W. A. Peck on osteoporosis as a disorder of skeletal ~rn~~in~ is eomprehensiveand a good summary. The sections other than calcium arc shutter, and thosein the neuroendocri~ologysectionare not as well related to each other. The title of these proceedingsimplies therewill be further volumes. If the present format is continued, this series should be consideredas a journal which is pablish~ inftquently. PRISCILLAS.DANNIES
Handy reference text
Arnold Arboretum at Ifarvati. She has travelfed extensively to herbaria in America, Asia, and Eumpe and hasstudied the vegefation and economic botany of China. Her book is essentiallya dictionary of Chinese materia medrca, mainly plants, which makes it possiblefor any in&nz.sted scientistto obtain speedy i&nt~~cati~ of Chinesedrags. There am 287 pagesof text which are divided into two main parts and four appendices. The major portion (188
Biibemical Neuropqtides ~hy~iolog~al Studies
and
This volumepresentsfhe Procecdiqs of an infemdtionai Symposium on Neuropcp fidcs held in Cape Town in February l%!@ as a dediifioff to the South African endocrinofogii, 5emaid P&tone. It is reftesliing to read a book on neumpcpfidts ,in which the enkeptfdhns:mdendorphinsplay only a minor supportingpan. Th.: star roles are rewrved for the hypothalamicyeytides as wclf as neurotcnsinand cholecy*tokinin. This emphasisi\ quite ~a~~~~ablyjustiticd
Occasional journal? Molecular Endocrinology, Vol. 1 ediwd by 1. Maclmyre und IU. S:eike, ELrer,ietl~o~~l-lloli~~d Biomgd~cat Press; 1979. $SS.SOJ~~~ t20.~ (xvii i ?37pages] ISBN 0 444 80187 I
Some proceedingsof meefingscan be v&uable. Recent Progress in liormone Reieutch is the proceedingsof the Lautentian Hormone Conference. Speakers who have made substantial~~buti~s to the feld are selected for that conference, and they speak for an hour summarizing their work. Eafh talk is followed by an hour discussion and the entire discussionis pub. lisbedwith each talk. Therefore those proceedingsam reviews pluscommentswhich put the work in perspective. In co-f, Mo~ec~~lo~. E.~d~~nuio~v. Vol. ! a e&e&m of someof tbe papers presenrzd at an international endocrine symposium,Endccrinology‘79, which was An Enumerafion of Chii~ Maferia held at the Royal College of Physiciansin Medica London in July, 1979. There are three pap. by Shiu-ying Ha, The Chines,?University es on the cloning of hormone genes, It Press, 1981. f10.50 (xxiv + 287 pages) papers in a section e&tied ‘New& ZSBN %2 201189 6 ~~19~~~~ci~.~ ~rn~~rnbleaj~~s~h~~~~ Tbe author is a botanistwho was educated S&m morefhattabook. fromwhichone in China and in the U.S.A. and who has expects more evidence of organization. worked for more than 30 years in the
A. J. ‘I UKNER