BOOK REVIEWS present vohme is a tritnslation of a 1960 Russian publicstion containing a two-part collection of related papers with introdurtions hy the editor. The first part hears the same title as the hook and contains data on the synthesis, physical properties, and hiologiral effertivmessas protective agents of a group of aminothiols, pyrimidine and coumarin derivatives, andseveralother tgpes of rompounds. The introduction to Pnri. 1 h?- the editor is an excellent summary of the major theories of chemical radiation pmt,ection and presents a very realistic and sound appraisal of the prohlems in and ~ t h t u of ~ the field ar they existed in 1960. The novice in the field would profit from s reading of this chapter. The papen in Part 1, as well as those in Part, 2, are written in the same style as those which might appear in Radialion Research. with new esnerimentd resdts and interpretations of these results in terms of new and old theories. The discussions in these papers are a hit more "discursive" (z.3 the edit.or puts it) than the usual journal puhlioation and "should attract the attention of experimenten working in the field of chemical protection." Most of the results reported in the seven pages of the first part are gathered ftmn ewerimente performed on animals treated with various rhemical protective agents. The survival rate of t h s e animals is
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compared with control animals irradiated with similar doscs of ionizing radiation. In certain papers stress is placed upon t,he chemical nature and the degree of distrihution of protective agent,s in the body as functions of time and of the presence or sbsence of radiation. The effects of structural variation on the protective ability of a particular class of compounds are emphasized. Several protective mechanisms which are new to this reviewer are postulated in this volume. In one paper it is suggested that one possible protective mechanism of the aminothiols is their reaction with the crtrhonyl groups of bases such as guanine and uracil to form cyclic compounds with the elimination of water. Another is the protection by "chemical traps" where compounds which have a rapacity to absorb in the same region of the ultraviolet as the nueleio acids intercept the "secondary ultraviolet radiations which arise a? result af scattering [dissipation] af the energy of primary quanta or particles." The five papers in Part 2 deal with the reduction of the body burden of radioisotope~by chemical means. The papers contain results of experiment8 designed to test the effectiveness of various complexing agents in chemically binding certain hasardous radioisotopes. These elperiments involved the use of the techniques of eleetropharesis and ehromstogra.phy as well as studies on the removal of srtivity from experimental animals. The subject of the chemical and physics1 states of certain radioisotopes in the blood and
the bones of the body is also investigaAed. I t is unfortunate that while the papers of this section may be logically included under the general title of the volume, they may be overlooked by specialists in dhis field became of the associstion of the volume title with papen of the types found in Part 1. As is indicated in the preface to the 1963 English edition, more recent proceedings, symposia and scientific papers have became available in the subject areas during the three years since the publication of the Russian edition of this book. However, "the material cited in the bookmay.. .be of interest to specialists in radio-hiology and may prove useful for clearing up problems of the chemical protect,ion a1 the body against ionizing rildiation." The volume is especially valuable for those who are interested in following the Russian work in these fields and is recommended to specialists far their critical reading.
C. N. TRUMBORE Uniwrsity of Delaware Newark Rutherford at Mancherler
Edited by J . B. Birks. W. A. Ben364 jamin, Inc., New York, 1963. x pp. Figs. and tables. 11.5 X 22 cm. $12.50.
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This commemorative volume, which grew out of the Rutherford Jubilee Inter(Continued on page A898)
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BOOK REVIEWS tmti
