Physical and Chemical Processes in the Aquatic Environment

Physical and Chemical Processes in the Aquatic Environment
Author: Erik R. Christensen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2014-09-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1118111761

There is need in environmental research for a book on fresh waters including rivers and lakes. Compared with other books on the topic, this book has a unique outline in that it follows pollution from sources to impact. Included in the text is the treatment of various tracers, ranging from pathogens to stable isotopes of elements and providing a comprehensive discussion which is lacking in many other books on pollution control of natural waters. Geophysical processes are discussed emphasizing mixing of water, interaction between water and the atmosphere, and sedimentation processes. Important geochemistry processes occurring in natural waters are described as are the processes specific to nutrients, organic pollutants, metals, and pathogens in subsequent chapters. Each of these chapters includes an introduction on the selected groups, followed by the physicochemical properties which are the most relevant to their behavior in natural waters, and the theories and models to describe their speciation, transport and transformation. The book also includes the most up to date information including a discussion on emerging pollutants such as brominated and phosphate flame retardants, perflurochemicals, and pharmaceutical and personal care products. Due to its importance an ecotoxicology chapter has been included featuring molecular biological methods, nanoparticles, and comparison of the basis of biotic ligand model with the Weibull dose-response model. Finally, the last chapter briefly summarizes the regulations on ambient water quality.

The Effects of Taurine on Excitable Tissues

The Effects of Taurine on Excitable Tissues
Author: James J. Kocsis
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9400980930

It has become an annual custom for the Physiological Society of Philadel phia to sponsor a spring symposium in honor of A. N. Richards (\876-1966), a research pharmacologist who developed the classical micropuncture tech nique for studying kidney function. The A. N. Richards Symposium for 1979 was held on April 23-24 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The theme of this symposium was "The Actions of Taurine on Excitable Tissues." Although taurine was discovered as a constituent of bile salts in 1857 by a chemist and an anatomist (Gmelin and Tiedemann), interest today centers chiefly on the extrahepatic actions of taurine, especially in brain, heart, and other excitable tissues. Research on taurine is clearly in a period of exponential growth. We can be sure that the research reports presented and described herein as the "Proceedings of the Symposium" will provide impetus for further growth. Thus the report describing macromolecular receptors for taurine in myocardial sarcolemma may provide a model for exploring the molecular mechanisms that underlie the action(s) of taurine. Stabilization of mem branes and modulation of ion fluxes are two fundamental actions of taurine dealt with in many of these reports. It is just these actions of taurine that have been reported by several investigators as being involved in human myotonia, diabetes, and heart failure.