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Die bluteiweisskörper in der ultrazentrifuge
ARCHIVES
OF BIOCHEMISTRY
AND
96, 183-185
BIOPHYSICS
Book
Reviews
Die BluteiweisskSrper in der Ultrazentrifuge. K. JAHNKE and W. SCHOLTAN. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1960. xii + 207 pp. illus. Price $11.80.
Memoirs of the Society for Endocrinology, No. 10: Progress in Endocrinology, Part II. Biochemistry and Biological Actions of Steroids and other Hormones. Edited by K. FOTHERBY, J. A. LORAINE, J. A. STRONG and P. ECKSTEIN foi the Society for Endocrinology (U.K.). Cambridge University Press, New York, 1961. xii, 167 pp. illus. Price $8.50. This second half of the Proceedings of the international “Acta Endocrinologica Congresses” held in Edinburgh in August 1959 includes a symposium on the relation of the endocrine glands to cancer and a group of seven papers on steroid biochemistry, in addition to a miscellany of other endocrinologic papers on a variety of subjects, clinical and experimental. The editors have organized in admirable fashion papers ranging in caliber and content from a g-line summary of the endocrine aspects of dermatology to a valuable II-page survey of recent advances in estrogen biochemistry by G. F. Marrian. As a result of this organization, the impression is conveyed that the papers are focused on a small number of cntlocrine topics; this is not the case. One might oucstion the need for publication of this heterogeneous collection of research papers, clinical reports, and brief reviews, in such substantial form as a nlcmoir of the Society for Endocrinology, especially in view of the “solid” reputation attained by previous Memoirs. The nature of the meetings presumably required that the editors publish all submitted papers; however, this Progress in Endocrinology, appearing eighteen months after presentation of the material, cannot fail t,o point up t,he problem of excess publication which dogs biologists these days. Some of the most interesting papers presented at the Congress are listed by title only and have already appeared in major journals; duplicate publication is thereby avoided. However, the technically interesting discussion of urinar.y estrogen determinations by Brown and Blair and by Ittrich is a frustratingly brief resume of material that also has already appcarctl ia extenso in 1960. Despite the heterogeneity, many of the contributions mnkc rewarding reading. Hadley Kirkman’s discussion of his studies of hamster tumors, for example, has much of importance to say about the possible carcinogenic action of hormones. The volume proves to be of interest precisely because of the diversity of its content,
By
Ultracentrifugation, a method originally applied only in a few special research laboratories, is at present widely used in the sedimentation and flotation analysis of the blood plasma proteins. The book of Jahnke and Scholtan, written for the use of the ultracentrifuge in clinical laboratories, consists of three parts. In the first of these (17 pp.) the history of ultracentrifugation, the design of ultracentrifuges, and the optical devices for the det,ermination of concentration gradients are briefly described. The second part of the book (98 pp.) deals with the sedimentation of proteins; the third part (65 pp.) with the flotation analysis of lipoproteins. In part II, the theory of sedimentation and the methods for the evaluation of concentration gradients and for the calculation of molecular weights are very clearly discussed. After describing in all details the sedimentation analysis of the normal human blood serum, the authors treat in considerable details the different normal serum protein components and also the abnormal protein fractions such as Bence-Jones protein, cryoglobulin, found in macroglobulinemia and in other pathological processes. In the last of the three parts the fractionation of lipoproteins by changes in the density of the solvents and their classification is described. The authors review critically Gofman’s interpretation of the flotation analysis, in particular his views concerning interrelations between the lipoprotein spectrum and atherosclerosis. They doubt that the low-density lipoproteins are of decisive importance for the development of spontaneous atherosclerosis in man. The text of the book is followed by a number of useful tables on the dependence of the density and viscosity of water at different temperatures, and by 441 references on sedimentation and 272 on flotation. The bibliography comprises numerous references to clinical papers in European journals and will therefore be particularly welcome to American readers. The book is well written and has a number of excellent diagrams and reproductions which will facilitate the understanding and the evaluation of the results of ultracentrifugal sedimentation and flotation. FELIX
HAUROWITZ,
Bloomington,
(1961)
Indiana
HOWARD
183
A. BERN,
Berkeley,
California
OF BIOCHEMISTRY
AND
96, 183-185
BIOPHYSICS
Book
Reviews
Die BluteiweisskSrper in der Ultrazentrifuge. K. JAHNKE and W. SCHOLTAN. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1960. xii + 207 pp. illus. Price $11.80.
Memoirs of the Society for Endocrinology, No. 10: Progress in Endocrinology, Part II. Biochemistry and Biological Actions of Steroids and other Hormones. Edited by K. FOTHERBY, J. A. LORAINE, J. A. STRONG and P. ECKSTEIN foi the Society for Endocrinology (U.K.). Cambridge University Press, New York, 1961. xii, 167 pp. illus. Price $8.50. This second half of the Proceedings of the international “Acta Endocrinologica Congresses” held in Edinburgh in August 1959 includes a symposium on the relation of the endocrine glands to cancer and a group of seven papers on steroid biochemistry, in addition to a miscellany of other endocrinologic papers on a variety of subjects, clinical and experimental. The editors have organized in admirable fashion papers ranging in caliber and content from a g-line summary of the endocrine aspects of dermatology to a valuable II-page survey of recent advances in estrogen biochemistry by G. F. Marrian. As a result of this organization, the impression is conveyed that the papers are focused on a small number of cntlocrine topics; this is not the case. One might oucstion the need for publication of this heterogeneous collection of research papers, clinical reports, and brief reviews, in such substantial form as a nlcmoir of the Society for Endocrinology, especially in view of the “solid” reputation attained by previous Memoirs. The nature of the meetings presumably required that the editors publish all submitted papers; however, this Progress in Endocrinology, appearing eighteen months after presentation of the material, cannot fail t,o point up t,he problem of excess publication which dogs biologists these days. Some of the most interesting papers presented at the Congress are listed by title only and have already appeared in major journals; duplicate publication is thereby avoided. However, the technically interesting discussion of urinar.y estrogen determinations by Brown and Blair and by Ittrich is a frustratingly brief resume of material that also has already appcarctl ia extenso in 1960. Despite the heterogeneity, many of the contributions mnkc rewarding reading. Hadley Kirkman’s discussion of his studies of hamster tumors, for example, has much of importance to say about the possible carcinogenic action of hormones. The volume proves to be of interest precisely because of the diversity of its content,
By
Ultracentrifugation, a method originally applied only in a few special research laboratories, is at present widely used in the sedimentation and flotation analysis of the blood plasma proteins. The book of Jahnke and Scholtan, written for the use of the ultracentrifuge in clinical laboratories, consists of three parts. In the first of these (17 pp.) the history of ultracentrifugation, the design of ultracentrifuges, and the optical devices for the det,ermination of concentration gradients are briefly described. The second part of the book (98 pp.) deals with the sedimentation of proteins; the third part (65 pp.) with the flotation analysis of lipoproteins. In part II, the theory of sedimentation and the methods for the evaluation of concentration gradients and for the calculation of molecular weights are very clearly discussed. After describing in all details the sedimentation analysis of the normal human blood serum, the authors treat in considerable details the different normal serum protein components and also the abnormal protein fractions such as Bence-Jones protein, cryoglobulin, found in macroglobulinemia and in other pathological processes. In the last of the three parts the fractionation of lipoproteins by changes in the density of the solvents and their classification is described. The authors review critically Gofman’s interpretation of the flotation analysis, in particular his views concerning interrelations between the lipoprotein spectrum and atherosclerosis. They doubt that the low-density lipoproteins are of decisive importance for the development of spontaneous atherosclerosis in man. The text of the book is followed by a number of useful tables on the dependence of the density and viscosity of water at different temperatures, and by 441 references on sedimentation and 272 on flotation. The bibliography comprises numerous references to clinical papers in European journals and will therefore be particularly welcome to American readers. The book is well written and has a number of excellent diagrams and reproductions which will facilitate the understanding and the evaluation of the results of ultracentrifugal sedimentation and flotation. FELIX
HAUROWITZ,
Bloomington,
(1961)
Indiana
HOWARD
183
A. BERN,
Berkeley,
California