B Lymphocytes: Function and Regulation

B Lymphocytes: Function and Regulation

Camp. Biochrm. Ph_ysiol. Vol. 96A. No. 4. pp. 529-530, 1990 Pergamon Press pk. Printed in Great Britain BOOK REVIEWS Vertebrate Flight: Mechanics, P...

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Camp. Biochrm. Ph_ysiol. Vol. 96A. No. 4. pp. 529-530, 1990

Pergamon Press pk. Printed in Great Britain

BOOK REVIEWS Vertebrate Flight: Mechanics, Physiology, Morphology, Ecology and Evolution-By U. M. NORBERG. 291 pp. 1989. Springer. Berlin. DM 238.

buffalo, eland, goats, sheep and cattle. The chapters deal with deserts and desert environment; temperature and heat relations; water balance and kidney function; respiratory evaporation; and nutrition. Ecophysioiogy is the study of the way in which the different animals are adapted to the specific environment and this book provides an interesting account of the ecophysiology of desert animals.

A cheetah running can achieve 18 body lengths a second. A swift Rying can achieve 67 body lengths a second, a chaffinch 72, a starling 80. A jet aeroplane at Mach 3 reaches 100 Lengths a second. A I5 g migrating passerine bird can fly 1000 km non-stoo in 24 hours. This book deals with basic aerodynamics; ihysiology; morphology; gliding Right; soaring; migration; hovering flight; forward flight; scaling; adaptation for flight: ecology; and evolution from tree climbers through gliders to flappers. It includes flying fish. gliding frogs, pterodactyls, bats and birds. Most readers of C~)~purff~iz~e Bjoche~~.~i~~und Ph,ssiology will find this book very instructive and interesting.

Membrane Structure and Function-By J. M. GRAHAM. 86 pp. 1989. IRL/Oxford Oxford. 512.95 (paperback).

The Respiratory Physiology of Animals-By J. N. CAMEKON. 353 pp. 1989. Oxford University Press, New York. There are two main sections to this book. Section I deals with general principles (basic gas and solution concepts; metabolism and energetics: gas exchangers: circulatory systems; transport of gases by blood; acid-base regulation; models of gas exchange; and control of respiration). Section 2 is a series of case studies of animals (the blue crab; the rainbow trout; air-breathing crabs and fish; the painted turtle; the duck; and man and other mammals). The book includes a floppy disc with programs for Davenport diagrams for calculating pH, pK, solubilities, gas partial pressures, printing the results and graphical output, on an IBM compatible PC, XT, AT, or Tandy 200. There is also a simulation model of gas exchanges in the trout gill; Hill plots; temperature dependent variables table generator; unit conversion program; the references in the book are listed as a database system which, if printed out, makes 30 pages. This computer-based system allows the student to achieve a greater understanding of the respiratory processes by plotting out “what if?” scenarios.

Although there are only 86 pages in this book, it will tell you more than many 300 page books on the same subject. It is very concise but has excellent tables and diagrams. For example, Table 3.1 shows which receptors are linked with ion channels, linked with protein kinase, activate adenylate cyclase, inhibit adenyiate cyciase, activate phosphoiipase C. and activate phosphotipase A. It has an excellent diagram (Fig. 3.2), comparing the structure of the receptors for epidermal growth factor, insulin, transferrin, LDL, v-erboncogene. So, if you really want to know about membrane composition, structure, receptors, biogenesis, trafikking. transport and bioenergetics, in a nut-shell then this is the book for you.

.Molecular Biology of Neuroreeeptors and ion ChannelsEdited by A. MAELICKE. 675 pp. 1989. Springer, Berlin. DM 289. NATO ASI Series H: Cell Biology, Volume 32. Full length DNA codings for several excitatory and inhibitory receptors and ligand-gated ion channels have been obtained, their amino acid sequence determined. and they have been expressed in Xenopw oocytes. The main sections of this book are on: the nicotinic ACh receptors: the amino acid (GABA, glycine, glutamate, 5HT) receptors; voitagegated ion channels (Na, K, Ca); other receptors and ion channels (dopamine-2. TRH, GTP); the structure-function relationship of ion channel proteins: gene expression. gene regulation and development; and clinciai aspects. The 60 reviews provide an excellent picture of the main types of receptors and ion channels, together with their subclasses and variations.

The Neural Basis of Echolocation in Bats-By G. D. P~LLAK and J. H.CASSEI)AY. 143 pp. 1989. Springer, Berlin. DM 128. The brain of an echo-locating bat is devoted in a Large part to the analysis of sound, and the auditory structures are hypertrophied relative to the other regions of the brain. The chapters in this book are on: biological sonar and the world of bats; tonotopic organization; anatomy of the auditory brain stem; physiological properties of auditory neurons; processing of acoustic information during echo location. There is an especially good auditory link to the inferior colliculus (probably analagous to the visual link to the superior coiiicuius found in primates). It is posslbie that further studies on the auditory system of the bat will provide a greater understanding of the system of auditory analysis in the mammalian brain.

B Lymphocytes: Function and Regulation-Edited by P. DEL GUERCIO and J. M. CRUSE 310 pp. 1989. Karger, Basel. S.Fr 278, DM 333, $185.50. The bone marrow of a normal mouse produces enough B cells so that the whole peripheral content of B cells in the mouse body can be replenished in 24 days. In the healthy control mouse, 80% of these B ceils disappear less than 7 days after they have been produced. B cell production is stimulated by circufating antibodies. The B ceils can be activated by the six interleukins, Fc receptors, IgE, and Ig binding factors. B cells are also involved in the autoimmune responses and the rheumatoid reactions. These topics and the involvement of lymphocytes in AIDS are discussed in this book.

Eeo~ysiology of the Camelidae and Desert Ruminants.--By R, T. WILSON. 120 pp. 1989. Springer, Berlin. DM 98. The animals described gazelles, impala, oryx.

W. H. EVANS and University Press,

in this book are camels, dik-dik. hartebeest. wildebeest, waterbuck, 529