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Crystal Form,” by M. A. Peacock; XIII. “Crystallochemical Analysis,” by J. D. H. Donnay; XIV. “X-Ray Diffraction,” by I. Fankuchen; XV. “Electron Diffraction,” by L. 0.Brockway; XVI. “Refractometry,” by N. Bauer and K. Fajans. RICHARD T.ARNOLD.
Photosynthesis and Related Processes. Volume I : Chemistry of Photosynthesis, Chemosynthesis and Related Processes i n Vitro and i n Vivo. By EUGENE I. RABINOWITCH.16 x 23.5 cm; xv 4-599 pp.; 63 fig. New York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1945. Price: $8.50. This, the first monograph on photosynthesis since 1926, should be enthusiastically welcomed by all students of the subject. I n addition to a brief but well-written historical introduction, the book contains a n extensive bibliography of the more recent papers and a clear and critical presentation of all of the more important contributions. The author has made a definite effort to integrate information arising from widely different sources, and to correlate the more important current theories of photosynthesis with this information. While the present volume is devoted largely to the chemical and physicochemical aspects of the field, a second volume dealing with the spectroscopy and fluorescence of the pigments and with the kinetics of photosynthesis is promised. Although the author’s approach is predominantly that of a physicist or physical chemist, much information of a purely bio. logical nature is included in the book. I n a field as complex and diversified as photosynthesis, i t would be surprising if all those interested in the subject would be equally satisfied with any monograph, no matter how comprehensive i t was. In the present instance, some botanists may object t o the omission of a discussion of the relation of photosynthesis t o plant ecology as well as to the lack of emphasis on higher plants in genkral and on those of economic importance in particular. The book is clearly and attractively printed, and the editorial work appears to have been carefully performed. However, the reviemer noticed the following minor errors : On page 115, the sign has been omitted from the symbol for hydrogen ion. On page 159, a page reference was left incomplete. On page 232, the designation of the 0-and p-quinoid forms has been reversed. On page 412, i t is stated “that carotene is a carbohydrate.” ROBERTLIVINGSTON.
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Advances i n Enzymology. Volume V . F. F. NORDAND C. H . WERKMAN, Editors. vii 268 pp. New York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1045. Price: $5.50. This fifth annual volume maintains the high standard established by earlier volumes. A note from the publishers indicates that wartime conditions have delayed certain manuscripts originally scheduled for this issue. With the exception of hemoglobin, no protein system has been as thoroughly investigated as have the virus proteins. A most satisfying summary of the findings in the tomato bushy virus and several strains of the tobacco mosaic virus is presented by N. W. Pirie. The two viruses differ markedly in their properties; consequently the article presents a picture of the difficulties and the advantages of studying these as types of protein systems. A great deal of confusion exists in the voluminous literature dealing with the mechanism of blood coagulation. The second chapter, by Erwin Chargoff, offers a critical evaluation of the more significant experimental results, which include the properties of the various components involved in the clotting of blood and the factors which inhibit this phenomenon. The third and the eighth chapters deal with enzymatic phenomena which are of recent interest. “The Amino Acid Decarboxylases of Mammalian Tissues” is treated by H. Blaschko and “Some Enzyme Reactions on Sulfur Compounds” by C. V . Smythe. The theories of zymase action on the monoses have opened the field to the possibilities of a generalized scheme to include the polysaccharides and, more particularly, the disaccharides. J . Leibowitz and S. Hestrin have considered the inadequacy of the hydrolase-
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zymase mechanism and have outlined the recent work involving the phosphorolysis of glycogen as the unifying step in this fermentation. The writers close their review with a note of warning i n necessarily interpreting in vitro experiments as proofs of the paths followed by living tissues. The chapter on pyruvate metabolism by E . Stotz deals with one of the steps in the fermentation and the oxidation of carbon compounds. He extends his summary to include acetic and citric acid cycles and the interconversion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The biochemistry of the fusaria has been investigated in order to study intermediate metabolism. Recent work in this field is summarized by F. F. Nord and R. P. Mull, who have done much of the experimentation with this genus. Nicotinamide was recognized as a component of codehydrogenase I and I1 a t about the same time that i t and its acid were identified as one factor of the vitamin B complex. The enzymatic r81e of this pyridine derivative is surveyed in a chapter by F. Schlenk, who also includes a note on the effect of butter yellow (a carcinogen) upon the codehydrogenase I content of the liver. There is a need for a n annual survey of recent topics in enzymology and related subjects in biochemistry, which latter is represented in this volume by the chapters on the viruses and on the clotting of blood. W. M. SANDSTROM.
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The Characterization of Organic Compounds. By S . M. MCELVAIN.viii 282 pp. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1945. Price: $3.40. During the past twenty-five years, the course in the characterization of organic compounds has developed t o a point where its value in the training of organic chemists at the graduate level is unquestioned. Few courses give the graduate student such an opportunity to bring to bear on a single problem his entire knowledge of the chemical and physical properties of molecules and the relationship between them. I n spite of the more or less absolute nature of the methods used in the identification of organic compounds, there is no fixed routine procedure which will suffice for the separation of a complex mixture and the elucidation of the individual structural formulas. The speed with which a student arrives at the correct solution of a n unknown depends upon his ability to draw correct inferences in as large a number as possible from every observation of the physical and chemical properties of a material. Dr. McElvain has stressed the relationship between molecular structure and the common physical properties such as solubility, boilingpoints, etc. I n fact, the excellent opening chapters dealing with this topic represent the outstanding feature of this book. The now popular Shriner and Fuson Identijkation of Organic Compounds stresses the actual laboratory techniques and operations used i n the solving of a n unknown and leaves most of the detailed discussion of theory to classroom lectures and recitation. I t remains t o be seen which of these fine texts will ultimately be chosen as the more popular “official” text. Surely the advanced student will find the necessity of referring t o each on numerous occasions. RICHARD T. ARNOLD.
