Structure and Function in Biological Membranes. Volume 2
J . Lee Kauanau, University of California, Los Angela. Holden-Day, Inc., San Francisco, 1965. 437 pp. Figs. and tahles. 18 X 25.5 om. $14.75. Although Volume 2 of this work is no doubt likely to be very useful to biologists, the reviewer helieves that it will prove to have limited interest to most chemists. Volume 1, which was reviewed earlier in (42, A691 [September, ~ m JOURNAL s 1965]), laid the foundation of surface and oalloid chemistry on which the author proposes to explain 8. wide variety of cellular behavior described inVolume 2. The titles of chapters six through twelve are as follows: Factors Inducing Movement of Matrix; Transformations between the Open and Closed Configurations; ProtoplaamicStreaming; MembraneCoalescence andFragmentstion; Ameboid Locomotion; The Effects of Pressure and Temperature on Protoplasm; Activated Diffusion. The titles accurately describe the contents, hut the contents presume a much wider knowledge of cellular biology than most chemists possess and they are inevitably given in technical t e r n unfamiliar to most of us. By contrast, chapter 13, which is entitled Electron-Optical Evidence for Membrane Substructure, contains much material of professional interest to colloid and surface chemists. Indeed one might go further and say that this chapter should be of quite general interest to chemists, for it demonstrates how substantial is the progress that has been made in both chemical and structural understanding of natural membranes during the past decade. Painstaking, selective extraction of the constituents of the cell walls and the cell membrane has provided a re* sonably coherent picture of the protein, mucoprotein and lipid layers in the cell wall. This represents a high standard of chemial expertise applied to very difficult systems. The extraordinary elegance and detail with which electron microscopy has been exploited is well represented by the carefully chosen and beautiful micrographs with which this chapter is illustrated-ome forty in all, in addition to many in the earlier chapters. In recent years cell physiologists have shown great skill in the shadow-casting of specimens and in the use of selective staining agents such as osmium tetroxide and phosphotungstic acid. The details revealed by these techniques, when used by men such as R. G. Murray and M. R. Salton, are truly remarkable, and the hexagonal suhstruructnres chsr~cteristicof many membranes are convincingly displayed. Volume 2 resembles Volume 1 in being densely packed with references. The general reader would have profited from a more selective and more critical discussion of the extensive literature of this subject. It has become increasingly the fashion for authors of monographs to feel compelled to he exhaustive rather than entical, to the disadvantage of the general reader and certainly not to the advantage of the specialist reader. For example, Volume 1 contained 72 pages of bibliography,
author index and subject index; Volume 2 devotes 52 pages to bibliography (some of which is covered in Volume I), 21 pagea of author index, and 35 pages of subject index. I t is, of course, undeniable that good indexing is an important part of any hook, hut these two volumes have a combined total of 180 pages, out of 760, given over to bibliography and indexes. At the cost of $25.70 for the two volumes, such attention to the literature is exow sive, particularly when it represents a catalog rather than a critical appraisal. I t is true that the author haa undertaken a very large taek and that many will wish to purohase Volume 1 without Volume 2, so that some duplioation is excusable. The production of Volume 2 is again first-rate: format, printing, and reproduction of figures are very good.
It would he of practical value on the chemistry reference shelf of any college or university for general use by faculty and students, as well as in the personal library of those persons ~ u p e ~ s i n chemical g research Isboratotories.
JOHN M. FRESINA Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge
Labomtory First Aid
K . Guy, University of Natal, South Africa. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1965. 124 pp. Figs. and tables. 13 X 19 em. Paperbound. $1.25 approx.
Science is international, but first aid ERICHUTCHINSON procedures are not. I t is curious to see Stanford University how much of the content of this book from Slanjwd, California the University of Natal is simply not applicable to conditions in the chemical laboratories of the United States. The little m d late reliance on doctors and nurses and the general assumption that the amateur can deal with most problems Safety and Accident Prevention in was once common practice in the Unit,ed Chemical Operations States. Today this approach to caring Howard H . Faweett, General Electric Co., for injuries cannot be tolerated in most Schenectady, New York, and William American laboratories. One gets the S. Wood, Sun Oil Co., Marcus Hook, curious impression of reading a brand new Pennsylvania. Interscience Publishers hook that is twenty years old. (a division of John Wiley and Sons, "Lzboratory First Aid" can he recom617 Inc.), New York, 1965. xviii mended to certain readers far two reasons. pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. Anyone ins. laboratory that does not have $19.75. access to any type of institutional health service will find this book useful. Anyone The editors of this book have underwho is interested in the subject of lahorataken the task of compiling under one tory injuries will be impressed by the nine oover an inclusive reference source for photographs of such injuries. Apparently people responsible for chemical safety. the inimies are simulated. not real. hut the The reviewer feels that their efforts have resulted in a significant contribution to the field. greatest merit. This comprehensive treatment of the subject of chemical safety is not just a H. K. LIVINGSTON, tabulation of chemical hafiards. I t is a Wayne State Universitv systematic presentation of how knowledge Detroit, Michigan of ohemical principles combined with proved loss prevention practices can be applied to prevent chemical mishaps which may result in personal injuries and The Science of Smell property damage. The 24 contributing authors, each recognized as a specialR. H . Wright, British Columbia Reist in some phase of chemical safety, search Council, Vancouver, Canada. describe the techniques and methods of Basic Books. Inc.. New York. 1964. conducting chemical operations that have xii 164 p i . ~ i g s and . tables. 14.5 given the chemicsl industry such outX 21.5 cm. $4.95. standing aoeident and injury records. In this brief book, the author sets out Of particular interest to persons teschto "tell something of the fascination and ing chemistry or conducting research operthe importance of the so-far unsolved ations are the chapters on hazardous mystery of smell," and to "show somechemical reactions and operations by thing of the machinery of scientific inProfessor George T. Austin, Washington vestination as it functions not iust at the State University; on automatic controls lnbar&ry bench but also in thk technics1 by Donald Richmond, Monsanto Co.; literature and in the minds of the working on effects of toxic agents by John H. scientists." Fougler, M.D., Ph.D., consulting toxThe foreword well describes the work icologist; on eye safety by John Guelich, as "a survey of olfaction and olfactory Allied Chemical Cow.; and on fire exresponses: to be comprehended by intinguishing agents by Arthur B. Guise and telligent laymen and scientific specialists, Edmund D. Zeratsky, Ansul Co. both. It touches on fish migration, inThis treatise, well documented by case frared spectroscopy, nerve physiology, histories and illustrated with numerous organic chemistry, psychophysics, comphotographs, diagrams, charts, and tables, munication theory, animal behavior, and succeeds in its aim to provide a useful quantum mechanics." reference for people in chemical safety.
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Volume 42, Number 12, December 1965
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693
Professor Wright has succeeded remarkably well in his undertaking to expound the pertinent fundamentals of these highly technical suhjeots in "ordinary English as far as it can be pushed." He has created an exceedingly lucid, instructive, and fascinating treatment of olfaction and a t the same time has painted a highly enlightening picture of scientific endeavor a t its best. "The Science of Smell" would make ideal reading for young people who are or should be considering s. career in science. It also can be recommended to almost anyone who is interested in learning more about this sense that is of such vital importance to much of the animal world. The homing scents that guide fishes to their spawning grounds and the sex attractants of insects are used as examples of the extreme sensitivity of the olfactory sense and of the first-class detective work perfarmed by scientists of many disciplines, including the author, in proving the olfactory nature of these phenomena, long regarded as miraculous. The difficult task of isolating, identifying, and synthesiaing the first few sex attractants is described concisely and dramatically, and the economic possibilities of still more potent synthetic attractants are set forth. A concise presentation is made of the anatomy of the human olfactory system, odor strengths, the relationship of chemical structure to odor, classification of odors, and theories of olfaction. The author has long been the foremost proponent of intramolecular vibration as the mechanism whereby odorant molecules affect the olfactory receptors. He presents here potent arguments for the view that vihrations of frequency below 500 per second must he given serious consideration as effectorsof odor impulses. The author postulates that resonance between the odorant molecule and a pigment molecule in the olfactory epithelium results in vibrations of abnormal frequency in the latter, thereby allowing the return to ground state of an excited electron and leading to a nerve impulse. Professor Wright presents a wellbalanced and quite plausible general theory of alfsction. He ends his hook on a, note of true scientific restraint: "The next years should see new advances and interesting discoveries that will prove some of the 'facts' and many of the ideas in this book to he wrong." This is undoubtedly true, but "The Science of Smell" should encourage and direct many of the future advances. PAULG. I. LAUPFER Chesebrorcgh-Pads, Ine. Stamford, Conneclieut
Process Systems Analysis and Control
Donald R. Coughanowr and Lowell B. Koppel, Purdue University. McGrawHill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1965. xii 491 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 x 23.5 cm. $15.50.
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Until two or three wars a m there was s control courses. Now, several choices are
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Journal of Chernicol Education
available, among which the latest is "Process Systems Analysis and Control," by Coughanowr and Koppel of Purdue University. The text is fai~lyeasy reading for junior or senior undergraduate students. One of its better features is that it provides an admirable degree of insight into problems the uninitiated student will encounter in the study of process control, and generally amplifies the discussion satisfactorily a t these points. The mathematical level is easily handled including the introductory chapters covering Laplace transforms. The mathematical treatment is by no means rigorous, but w quite satisfactory for engineers and should he easily assimilated by them. The text covers all the classioal topics such as Linear open and close loop control, transfer functions, and stability tests (root locus, frequency response, Nyquist criterion). In addition, some excellent features not usually found in process control books oriented toward chemical engineers are: three chapters an the use and characteristica of analog computers in the simulation of control systems, and techniques of phase plane anslysis and the description of functions for nonlinear problems. Throughout the text there are many suitable examoles followinp: each section. An especially braiseworth; feature is the continual tie of the mathematical description to physics1 systems. There is also a very brief section on distributed parameter systems. For those interested in the hardware aspects of process control, there is a short chapter describing instruments and their functions. which would have to be supplemented by the instructor who desires to emphasize this aspect of process control. Along with commendable features it is disappointing to the teacher to find that there is no single table of notation for quick reference and that there are few problems for homework assignment. I t is hoped that the authors will correct these two deficiencies in their next edition, and particularly supply more problems, some with answers. It would also he desirable if the authors would provide supplementary references for eaoh chapter which would enable students to refer to other texts an process control and the literature. In the opinion of this reviewer the text appears to satisfactorily fulfill the requirements for an undergraduate process control course better than mast of the other recent texts and it is recommended favorably for trial.
methods and his many uaeful, practical hints for good laboratory practice should certainly go a long way toward achieving this objective. As an example of the practicality of the hook, nine points are considered in detail under the general discussion of choosing a flame photometer, and eleven common problems of flame photometry are d i s w e d along with their cure or prevention. Many of the chapters on methods wutain similar useful paragraphs on general rules and precautions. In Part I1 (Methods section) of the hook, the author discusses care of equip ment, explains the reasoning behind certain taken-for-granted technics and reagents, and reviews the clinical significance of more than 100 procedures. Welcome additions to the previous edition a r e s manometric method for oxygen; methods for transaminases and lactic dehydrogenase in the enzyme chapter; and barbiturates and blood alcohol in the drug metabolism chapter. A procedure for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gamma globulin and a section on gastrio audysis have been added to the CSF chapter; s. magnesium method is now included with calcium and phosphorus procedures in a single chapter; the cholesterol procedures have been combined with added methods for phospholipids, totallipids and fatty acids intoa new chanter. A new hormone chanter inone an serum iron and one on proteinbound iodine. Along with new material, the author has changed many of the methods in the new third edition to more recent but wellestablished procedures, some of them simpler than the originally-recommended methods. Newer technics, such as chromatography and electrophoresis are discussed. Preceding the longer Methods part of the hook. is a four-chaoter section of basic technics ' and fundamental information.
tiou's information on colorimetry, quantitative analysis review (with sample pmhlems), and basic equipment (such as pipets, burets, eto.) along with basic procedures such as cleaning glassware and obtaining specimens). The book contains a. proliferation of footnotes and cross references which might have been incorporated into the text for the convenience of the reader. The very few errors attest to the c a m which both the author and the publisher have devoted to D. M. HLUMELBLAU the publication. On page 134 o-toluidine is mentioned as a reactant whereas the University o j Tezas compound actually used in the method is Austin a-tolidine. On page 197 a reference is incorrectly cited. The third edition of "Clinical ChemisClinical Chemistry: Principles and try, Principles and Procedures" by Joseph Procedures S. Annina is hiehlv recommended to Joseph 8 . Amino, Massbchusetts Memteachers and studekdof clinical chemistrv orid Hospitals, Boston. 3rd ed. Little, Brown, and Ca., Boston. mii 400 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. istry. 39.75. ALFREDH. FREE Joseph Amino's book is written with Ames Research Laboratmy the hope that the text will lead to Elkhart, Indiana "more enlightened analysts." His clearlyoutlined chapters, his arrangements of (Continued on page A988)
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