1254 J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., Vol. 38, No. 6, 1998
BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS Chemometrics: A Practical Guide. By Kenneth R. Beebe, Randy J. Pell, and Mary Beth Seasholtz. Wiley-Interscience Series on Laboratory Automation. John Wiley & Sons: New York, 1998. xi + 348 pp. ISBN 0-471-12451-6. $69.95. Chemometrics is defined as the use of statistical and mathematical techniques to analyze chemical data, which are transformed into information used for decision making. This book is written for analytical chemists who must use several chemometric techniques to solve problems. The authors offer a balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of chemometrics. The chapters outline a recommended process for solving problems. Obviously an analytical chemist must define the problem before devising a strategy to solve it. The authors then discuss preprocessing which is the mathematical manipulation of data prior to the primary analysis. The next chapter shows how to examine the computer output with the goal of validating the model. The book concludes with a detailed discussion of multivariate calibration and prediction. The authors provide chapter summaries and bibliographies. This book is highly recommended for collections in analytical chemistry in academic and special libraries.
Bruce Slutsky New Jersey Institute of Technology CI980426L 10.102/ci980426l
Handbook of Chemometrics and Qualimetrics: Part A. By D. L. Massart, B. G. M. Vandeginste, L. M. C. Buydens, S. De Jong, P. J. Lewi, and J. Smeyers-Verbeke. Data Handling in Science and Technology Volume 20A. Elsevier: Amsterdam. 1997. Xvii + 867 pp. ISBN 0-444-89724-0. $293.25. Changes in the field of chemometrics necessitated a complete revision of the authors’ “Chemometrics: A Textbook” published in 1988. In this volume (Part A) the authors who wrote the book based on their own experiences emphasize the classical statistical methods for hypothesis testing and regression and methods for experimental design. It is appropriate for analytical chemists at all levels of experience in academia and industry. Part B will pay attention to multivariate methods, often based on latent variables, to signal processing, and to some of the more recent methods in the realm of artificial intelligence. The first chapters introduce readers to many statistical concepts used in chemometrics. Statistical process control, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, straight line regression, robust statistics, and internal method validation are among the topics discussed. The last seven chapters are devoted to the terminology and concepts of experimental design. Two-level factorial designs, fractional factorial designs, multilevel designs, and mixture designs are described in detail. The authors provide numerous references to research articles and other textbooks covering chemometrics and qualimetrics. This book is highly recommended for academic and special libraries with collections in analytical chemistry.
Bruce Slutsky New Jersey Institute of Technology CI980427D 10.1021/ci980427d
Protecting Inventions in Chemistry: Commentary on Chemical Case Law under the European Patent Convention and the German Patent Law. By Dr. Bernd Hansen and Dr. Fritjoff Hirsch. Wiley-VCH: New York. 1997. 511 pp. 3-527-28808-2. $99.95.
Protecting InVentions in Chemistry is a book about the patent conventions and laws in Europe and Germany, related to chemistry. The authors are a former patent attorney and a former judge who both dealt with chemical patents in Munchen. This book is a result of their professional experiences. Procedures for filing patents under the European Patent Office, the German Patent Office, and via the International Application Procedure according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty are explained in this book along with advantages of one over the other. The European Patent Office and the German Patent Office regulations are treated in greater detail, giving parallels and differences between the two when necessary. When a German applicant patents his/her invention through the European Patent office, he/she is still referred to the National (German) Patent Office in case of infringements, revocations, and compulsory license proceedings. This necessitates knowing both laws and makes this book especially handy. The problems associated with the novelty clause and the requirements for disclosure are explained with examples from actual cases. Nuances of patenting biochemical inventions are also included. The scope of protection is discussed along with infringements and related proceedings. The greatest strength of this book is the extensive use of actual cases and/or patents to illustrate legal points and procedures. References to patents are throughout the book and number 2070. Protecting InVentions in Chemistry is easy to read and understand and is well referenced. It is a valuable guide to the patenting processes in Europe, particularly Germany. It is greatly recommended to all individuals and libraries that are interested in patent laws in these countries.
Jayashri Nagaraja Columbia UniVersity CI980429Y 10.1021/ci980429y
The ACS Style Guide. A Manual for Authors and Editors, 2nd ed. Edited by Janet S. Dodd. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC. 1997. 460 pp. incl. index ISBN 0-8412-3462-0 (paper). $26.95. When I first began writing for publication in 1967, a wonderful book was published: (ACS) Handbook for Authors. A second edition appeared in 1978. Both were superseded by the first edition of The ACS Style Guide in 1986. (Although the 2nd ed. of The ACS Style Guide under review here does not mention this succession, it does appear in the Foreword of the 1st ed.) I have used all of the predecessors (although not as much as I could have) ever since and have found them to be essential tools in the craft of technical writing. This new edition of the Style Guide (SG2) is no exception and the series continues to improve. SG2 is aimed at both authors and editors, and its mission is to provide guidelines for the entire process of communication of information, both written and oral. Extensive changes encountered in publishing in the last 10 years are addressed, particularly in the rise of electronic publishing. Since an increasing amount of technical publishing is being done by nontraditional methods, including electronic journal publishing by small ad hoc groups and individuals, this manual should be essential reading and referral for all scientists, whatever their place (or places) in the publishing process. Especially for those who are familiar with the previous publications, a comparison between SG2 and SG1 should be of value. SG2 has a much larger section on style and includes many examples and advice from authorities. SG1 sections on style, including grammar, editorial style, numbers/math, and illustrations/tables, have been expanded into entire chapters in SG2. Brief mention is made on conversion of oral to written presentations, which could be expanded. A chapter has been added on communication in other formats including posters, letters to the editor, and press releases. Also added
BOOK REVIEWS
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is a chapter on peer review, consisting of brief essays on reviewing policy by several journal and book editors as well as distinguished scientists. Chapters on copyright and on effective oral presentation have been retained and updated. Appendices on ethical guidelines and on ACS publications have been retained, and appendices on ACS Divisions, proofreading marks, and the Chemists Code of Conduct have been added. The SG1 chapter, “The Literature: Becoming Part of It and Using It,” has unfortunately been eliminated, but a section on CAS Registry Numbers has been added to the new chapter, “Names and Numbers for Chemical Compounds”. This chapter and the following one, “Conventions in Chemistry,” are invaluable in expressing chemical names, reactions, chirality, etc. The discussion of citing references, in addition to journals, books, magazine, newspapers, patents, etc., also includes citing information from e-mail, lists, and newsgroups. The chapters on style cover gender neutral language, including encouraging the effective use of “they” and “theirs” instead of the cumbersome “him/her” and “his/hers”. Editorial style also includes lists of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols. A discussion of hyphens and both kinds of dashes is included as well as a list of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols, spelling for technical terms not in most dictionaries, plus computer and Internet terms. Chemists, like other scientists, are becoming more involved in the publishing process, not just as passive authors. My recommendation for this book is simple: do not let any item of technical writing or publication leave your desk and/or computer without (using) it. If you are also a publisher, do not publish without it.
Visual Explanations. Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. By Edward R. Tufte. Graphics Press: Cheshire, Connecticut. 1997. 156 pp. $45.00. ISBN 0-9613921-2-6. Visual Explanations is Edward Tufte’s third book on the illustration of information. The first book, The Visual Display of QuantitatiVe Information, deals with the depiction of numbers, data, and statistics. The second, EnVisioning Information, describes mapping and design strategy. This volume treats another level of complexity: pictures of action, motion, and dynamic events. The author considers the problems of representing three-dimensional objects and especially moving objects on a two-dimensional piece of paper. Almost every page shows examples, both good and bad. Tufte has chosen an eclectic set of examples, including the movement of storm clouds, the reproductive behavior of stickleback fish, and the execution of magic tricks. The book is extensively illustrated and carefully laid out so as to be easy to read. Descriptive text appears on the same page as the illustration, so that there is no paging back and forth to see what is being described. This book, like his previous efforts, gives excellent insight for the scientist attempting to illustrate complex material on two-dimensional surfaces such as the printed page or the video screen.
D. Eric Walters
Robert E. Buntrock Buntrock Associates, Inc.
Finch UniVersity of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School
CI980430X
CI9804286
10.1021/ci980430x
10.1021/ci9804286
