Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 1974, Vol. 48B, pp. 671 to 672. Pergamon Press. Printed in Great Britain

BOOK REVIEWS

Luminescence o f Crystals, Molecules and Solu t ions . By FRED WILLIAMS. 732 pp. Plenum Publishing Corporation. 1973. $32.00.

THIS IS the proceedings of the International Conference on luminescence held in Leningrad, U.S.S.R., 1972. There are 94 papers presented. They are grouped into sections as follows: 1. Cooperative phenomena. 2. High density excitation. 3. Excitons. 4. Relaxation and donor acceptor interactions. 5. I I - V I compounds. 6. Molecular crystals and solutions. 7. Energy transfer and triplet state. 8. Electron-phonon interactions. 9. Semi-conducting crystals. 10. Impuri ty centres and defects. 11. Inorganic crystals. 12. Electronic pro- cesses in inorganic crystals. 13. Applications.

Chemi luminescence and Bio luminescence . By M. J. CORMI~m, E. M. HERCULES & J. LEE. 515 pp. Plenum Publishing Corporation. 1973. $27.15.

THIS VOLUME is a collection of papers presented at the International Conference on Chemiluminescence held in Georgia, U.S.A., October 1972. There are 33 chapters grouped under the following headings: 1. Theory and gas phase reactions. 2. Oxygen reactions. 3. Radical ions. 4. Organic reaction mechanisms. 5. Chemical mechanism in bio- luminescence. 6. Applications of chemical luminescence.

Carotenoids other than Vi tamin A. Plenary Lectures presented at the Third Inter- national Symposium held at Cluj. Romania. 1972. 130pp. Butterworths. 1973. £3.80.

THE CHAPTERS in this book are: 1. Carotene biosynthesis in fungi--B. H. Davies. 2. Recent studies on carotenoid biosynthesis in bacteria--J . C. B. McDermott , A. Ben Azis, R. K. Singh, G. Brihon and T. W. Goodwin. 3. Investigation of the violaxanthin cycle---D. I. Sapozhnikov. 4. Photoregulated carotenoid biosynthesis in non-photosynthetic micro organisms--O. B. Weeks, F. K. Ssleh, N. Wirahadiku-Sumah and R. A. Berry. 5. Struc- tural elucidation of carotenoids. A progress repor t - -S . L. Jensen. 6. Some recent studies on carotenoids and related compounds--B. C. L. Weedon.

Biochemis try o f Bacterial G r o w t h . By J. MANDELSTAM & K. MCQUILLEM. 582 pp. John Wiley and Sons, Halsted Press Division. 2nd edn. 1973. Paperback price $19.95.

THIS IS a second edition of a well-known book. As the editors state it is not intended to be a comprehensive textbook on the biochemistry of bacteria, though any student who knows and understands the contents will have a very good knowledge and appreciation of the subject. There are twelve separate authors who contribute the chapters.

Amniot ic Fluid. Research and Clinical Application. By D. V. I. FAIRWEATHER & T. K. A. B. ESK~S. 343 pp. Elsevier Publishing Co. 1973. $31.00.

THIS VOLUME, with contributions by twenty-five different authors, presents an up-to-date summary of most aspects of research on amniotic fluid and its clinical application. This includes the origin and circulation of the amniotic fluid; anmiocentesis; biochemical studies on amniotic fluid; hormones; enzymes; prostaglandins; gas tensions and embolism.

Contemporary Topics in Molecular I m m u n o l o g y , Vol. 2. By R. A. REISFIELD & W. J. MANDY. 276 pp. Plenum Publishing Corporation. 1973. $16.50.

THE CHAPTERS are as follows: 1. X-ray crystallographic studies of immunoglobul ins-- Roberto J. Poljack. 2. Structural analysis of the anti-body combining s i te - -David Givol.

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672 BOOK REVIEWS

3. Primary structure of rabbit and mouse immunoglobulin light chains structural correlates of a l lotypy--E. Appella and J. K. Inman. 4. Studies of rabbit allotypes by crossed-linked ant isera--R, and S. Tosi. 5. Idiotypic specificity as a probe for investigating persistence and changes in clones of cells producing immunoglobul ins--S. Spring-Stewart and A. Nisonoff. 6. Immunoglobulins and antibodies in pigs--J . Rejnek and L. Prokesova. 7. Activation of the complement sys tem--N. R. Cooper. 8. H L - A antigens and comple- ment in the lymphocytotoxic react ion--S. Ferrone and M. A. Pellegrino. 9. Functional molecular anatomy of fibrinogen; antibodies as biological probes of s t ruc ture- -T . S. Edgington and E. F. Plow.