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Current concepts in parasitology
241
Parasitology Today, vol. 6, no. 7, 1990 25 Pointier, J-P., Guyard, A. and Mosser, A. (1989) Ann. Trop. Med. Parasitol. 83,263-269 26 Madsen, H., Daffalla, A.A., I~aroum, K.O. and Frandsen, F. (I 988)J. Appl. Ecol. 25,853-866 27 World Health Organization (1982) WHO/ VBC/82.837-VBC/BCDS/82.18 28 Nguma, J.F.M., McCullough, F.S. and Masha, E. (1982 ) Acta Trop. 39, 85-90 29 Pointier, J-P., Theron, A. and Imbe~-Establet, D. (1988) Oecologia (Bed.) 75, 38-43 30 Paulinyi, H.M. and Paulini, E. (1972) Bull. WHO 46, 243-247 31 Madsen, H. (I 983)Acta Trop. 40, 297-306 32 Christie, J.D. et al. (1981) Acta Trop. 38, 395 417 33 Perera, G., Sanchez, R., Yong, M., Ferrer, J.R. and Amador, O. (1986) Malacol. Rev. 19, 99-104
C u r r e n t C o n c e p t s in Parasitology
edited by Ronald C. Ko, Hong Kong UniversityPress, 1989. $25.00 (xi + 267 pages) ISBN 962 209 236 5 In recent years, the parasitological literature has become so dominated by the major diseases of humans and the ways in which biochemical and molecular knowledge has changed the face of the subject that an outsider might be forgiven for thinking that parasitology and tropical medicine were synonymous. It is therefore refreshing to find a book that reminds us that parasitolo~ is a field in its own right, and one that ;mpinges on a number of other areas of biology. This multi-authored volume, with contributors from Canada, Hong Kong and one each from the United States and Australia, is dedicated to Roy Clayton Anderson, one of the stalwarts o:; nematology, thus the coverage is naturally biased in this direction. The volume consists of I I diverse, self-contained essays covering general topics such as helminth and vertebrate co-evolution, evolution of nematode life histories, nematode transmission patterns, trichuroid nematodes and marine parasites. Host responses are covered by chapters on immune responses to parasites in fish and eosinophilia; biochemistry is restricted to purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis and metabolic targets for chemotherapy and there are also two chapters; on serodiagnosis of trichinellosis and ~.ngiostrongyliasis. There is, therefore, something for everyone or a 'mixed bag' clepending on one's preconceived ideas about multiauthored publications. Who is likely to benefit from reading this book? It is aimed at graduate
34 Jordan, P., Christie, J.D. and Unrau, G.O. (I 980)Acta Trop. 37, 95-135 35 World Health Organization (1984) WHO/ VBC/84.894-VBC/BCDS/84.19 36 Cuker, B.E.(1983 ) Ecology 64, 10-15 37 Eisenberg, R.M. (1966) Ecology 47, 889-906 38 Thomas, J.D. (1987) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond B 315,75-125 39 Hawkins, C.P. and Furnish, J.K. (I 987) Oikos 49, 209-220 40 Ortiz-Torres, E. (I 962)J. Agric. Univ. Puerto Rico 46, 241-242 41 Seaman, D.E. and Porterfield, W.A. (1964) Weeds 12, 87-92 42 van Dinther, J.B.M. (1956) Bull. Landbouwproefstation, Suriname 68, I - 15 43 Appleton, C.C. (I 977) Zool. Meded. Rijksmus. Nat. Hist. Leiden, 52, 125-135
students and research workers but, because there is no index and very few references post 1985, it is of limited value; for example, the most recent reference to immunity to Trichinella is 1983 and the discussion of overdispersion relies heavily on Crofton's ideas of the 1970s. On the other hand, it is suitable for undergraduates who wish to extend their understanding of parasitology in areas other than those already extensively documented, and would serve as a basis for further reading, as all the chapters are clearly written and manage to convey the essence of the subject without recourse to unnecessary jargon or complexity. One of the outstanding features of this book is that it pinpoints gaps
A n t i g e n - p r e s e n t i n g Cells
byJ.M. Austyn, IRL Press, 1989. £6.50 (x + 79 pages) ISBN 0 19 963 005 4 The books of the In Focus series are small in format and short; booklets almost, but of monographic authority. This newcomer, like previous immunological titles in the series, is published in association with the British Society for Immunology, whose publications committee is involved with title and author selection and with the screening of synopses and texts. Antigen-presenting Cells has thus been subject to an informed scrutiny of unusual stringency; if it contains errors of fact, I found none. Of course, more than accuracy is needed for a book to be commendable. Is it useful, informative, attractive? This book is almost a black hole of information, so dense are the data per page. The
44 Crossland, N.O. (1965)J. Appl. Ecol. 2, 115-120 45 Grist, D.H. and Lever, R.J.A.W. (1969) Pests of Rice Longmans, Green and Co. 46 Haridi, A.A.M. and Jobin, W.R. (I 985)J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 88, 145-151 47 Frandsen, F. and Madsen, H. (1979) Acta Trop. 36, 67-84 48 World Health Organization ( 1981 ) WHO/ VBC/81.833-VBC/BCDS/8 I. 17
Henry Madsen is at the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory, WHO Collaborating Centre for Applied Medical Malacology and Schistosomiasis Control, J~gersborg Alle I D, DK2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark.
in our overall understanding; for example, how little is known about the ways in which fish respond to parasites (a subject that will become increasingly important with the growth of commercial fish farming), and how metabolic pathways might be used as targets for chemotherapy. This, then, is a book for the general parasitologist and, as it is so cheap, it should be available in every relevant library. F.E.G.Cox
Division of Biomolecular Sciences King's College London Campden Hill Road London W8 7AH, UK
layout is rather cramped and crowded with little space at the margins or between paragraphs to relieve the eye. Illustrations abound, some are very useful. They are often of the 'square pegs with holes' kind (eg. for receptor/peptide interactions), and perhaps less is made of the crystallographic insights into MHC structure than one would expect. The colouring of the diagrams is unprepossessing and the reproduction quality of some of the monochrome plates (especially the histology) is rather poor. Other micrographs are good (if small), but all in all it is not an attractive book, while many modern texts do delight the eye. All of this is quite forgivable if a book does its job, and here the job is explicitly to help students keep up-to-date with a fast moving subject. For this one needs currency, clarity, and accessibility of information. When it appeared, this book was about as current as it is possible to be in publishing, and it is laden with references to the literature of 1988 and some 1989 'in press' citations. The
Parasitology Today, vol. 6, no. 7, 1990 25 Pointier, J-P., Guyard, A. and Mosser, A. (1989) Ann. Trop. Med. Parasitol. 83,263-269 26 Madsen, H., Daffalla, A.A., I~aroum, K.O. and Frandsen, F. (I 988)J. Appl. Ecol. 25,853-866 27 World Health Organization (1982) WHO/ VBC/82.837-VBC/BCDS/82.18 28 Nguma, J.F.M., McCullough, F.S. and Masha, E. (1982 ) Acta Trop. 39, 85-90 29 Pointier, J-P., Theron, A. and Imbe~-Establet, D. (1988) Oecologia (Bed.) 75, 38-43 30 Paulinyi, H.M. and Paulini, E. (1972) Bull. WHO 46, 243-247 31 Madsen, H. (I 983)Acta Trop. 40, 297-306 32 Christie, J.D. et al. (1981) Acta Trop. 38, 395 417 33 Perera, G., Sanchez, R., Yong, M., Ferrer, J.R. and Amador, O. (1986) Malacol. Rev. 19, 99-104
C u r r e n t C o n c e p t s in Parasitology
edited by Ronald C. Ko, Hong Kong UniversityPress, 1989. $25.00 (xi + 267 pages) ISBN 962 209 236 5 In recent years, the parasitological literature has become so dominated by the major diseases of humans and the ways in which biochemical and molecular knowledge has changed the face of the subject that an outsider might be forgiven for thinking that parasitology and tropical medicine were synonymous. It is therefore refreshing to find a book that reminds us that parasitolo~ is a field in its own right, and one that ;mpinges on a number of other areas of biology. This multi-authored volume, with contributors from Canada, Hong Kong and one each from the United States and Australia, is dedicated to Roy Clayton Anderson, one of the stalwarts o:; nematology, thus the coverage is naturally biased in this direction. The volume consists of I I diverse, self-contained essays covering general topics such as helminth and vertebrate co-evolution, evolution of nematode life histories, nematode transmission patterns, trichuroid nematodes and marine parasites. Host responses are covered by chapters on immune responses to parasites in fish and eosinophilia; biochemistry is restricted to purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis and metabolic targets for chemotherapy and there are also two chapters; on serodiagnosis of trichinellosis and ~.ngiostrongyliasis. There is, therefore, something for everyone or a 'mixed bag' clepending on one's preconceived ideas about multiauthored publications. Who is likely to benefit from reading this book? It is aimed at graduate
34 Jordan, P., Christie, J.D. and Unrau, G.O. (I 980)Acta Trop. 37, 95-135 35 World Health Organization (1984) WHO/ VBC/84.894-VBC/BCDS/84.19 36 Cuker, B.E.(1983 ) Ecology 64, 10-15 37 Eisenberg, R.M. (1966) Ecology 47, 889-906 38 Thomas, J.D. (1987) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond B 315,75-125 39 Hawkins, C.P. and Furnish, J.K. (I 987) Oikos 49, 209-220 40 Ortiz-Torres, E. (I 962)J. Agric. Univ. Puerto Rico 46, 241-242 41 Seaman, D.E. and Porterfield, W.A. (1964) Weeds 12, 87-92 42 van Dinther, J.B.M. (1956) Bull. Landbouwproefstation, Suriname 68, I - 15 43 Appleton, C.C. (I 977) Zool. Meded. Rijksmus. Nat. Hist. Leiden, 52, 125-135
students and research workers but, because there is no index and very few references post 1985, it is of limited value; for example, the most recent reference to immunity to Trichinella is 1983 and the discussion of overdispersion relies heavily on Crofton's ideas of the 1970s. On the other hand, it is suitable for undergraduates who wish to extend their understanding of parasitology in areas other than those already extensively documented, and would serve as a basis for further reading, as all the chapters are clearly written and manage to convey the essence of the subject without recourse to unnecessary jargon or complexity. One of the outstanding features of this book is that it pinpoints gaps
A n t i g e n - p r e s e n t i n g Cells
byJ.M. Austyn, IRL Press, 1989. £6.50 (x + 79 pages) ISBN 0 19 963 005 4 The books of the In Focus series are small in format and short; booklets almost, but of monographic authority. This newcomer, like previous immunological titles in the series, is published in association with the British Society for Immunology, whose publications committee is involved with title and author selection and with the screening of synopses and texts. Antigen-presenting Cells has thus been subject to an informed scrutiny of unusual stringency; if it contains errors of fact, I found none. Of course, more than accuracy is needed for a book to be commendable. Is it useful, informative, attractive? This book is almost a black hole of information, so dense are the data per page. The
44 Crossland, N.O. (1965)J. Appl. Ecol. 2, 115-120 45 Grist, D.H. and Lever, R.J.A.W. (1969) Pests of Rice Longmans, Green and Co. 46 Haridi, A.A.M. and Jobin, W.R. (I 985)J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 88, 145-151 47 Frandsen, F. and Madsen, H. (1979) Acta Trop. 36, 67-84 48 World Health Organization ( 1981 ) WHO/ VBC/81.833-VBC/BCDS/8 I. 17
Henry Madsen is at the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory, WHO Collaborating Centre for Applied Medical Malacology and Schistosomiasis Control, J~gersborg Alle I D, DK2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark.
in our overall understanding; for example, how little is known about the ways in which fish respond to parasites (a subject that will become increasingly important with the growth of commercial fish farming), and how metabolic pathways might be used as targets for chemotherapy. This, then, is a book for the general parasitologist and, as it is so cheap, it should be available in every relevant library. F.E.G.Cox
Division of Biomolecular Sciences King's College London Campden Hill Road London W8 7AH, UK
layout is rather cramped and crowded with little space at the margins or between paragraphs to relieve the eye. Illustrations abound, some are very useful. They are often of the 'square pegs with holes' kind (eg. for receptor/peptide interactions), and perhaps less is made of the crystallographic insights into MHC structure than one would expect. The colouring of the diagrams is unprepossessing and the reproduction quality of some of the monochrome plates (especially the histology) is rather poor. Other micrographs are good (if small), but all in all it is not an attractive book, while many modern texts do delight the eye. All of this is quite forgivable if a book does its job, and here the job is explicitly to help students keep up-to-date with a fast moving subject. For this one needs currency, clarity, and accessibility of information. When it appeared, this book was about as current as it is possible to be in publishing, and it is laden with references to the literature of 1988 and some 1989 'in press' citations. The