Books about Excitation from Amazon.com

How is the heartbeat generated? What controls the strength of contraction of heart muscle? What are the links between cardiac structure and function? How does our understanding of skeletal and smooth muscle and non-muscle cells influence our thinking about force development in the heart? Are there important species differences in how contraction is regulated in the heart? How do the new molecular data fit together in understanding the heart beat? What goes wrong in ischemia, hypertrophy, and heart failure? This book paints a modern `portrait' of how the heart works and in this picture the author shows a close-up of the structural, biochemical, and physiological links between excitation and contraction.
The author takes the reader through a series of important, interrelated topics with great clarity and continuity and also includes many useful illustrations and tables. The book starts by considering the cellular structures involved in excitation-contraction coupling and then described the characteristics of the myofilaments as the end effector of excitation-contraction coupling. A general scheme of calcium regulation is described and the possible sources and sinks of calcium are discussed in simple, but quantitative terms. The cardiac action potential and its many underlying currents are reviewed. Then the characteristics of some key calcium transport systems (calcium channels, sodium/calcium exchange and SR calcium uptake and release) are discussed in detail. This is then built into a more integrated picture of calcium regulation in succeeding chapters by detailed discussions of excitation-calcium coupling mechanisms (in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle), the interplay between calcium regulatory processes, and finally mechanisms of cardiac inotropy, calcium overload, and dysfunction (e.g., ischemia, hypertrophy, and heart failure).
Excitation-Contraction Coupling and Cardiac Contractile Force&endash; Second Edition is an invaluable source of information for anyone who is interested in how the heart beat is controlled and especially suited for students of the cardiovascular system at all levels from medical/graduate students through senior investigators in related fields..
Price: $28.93 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Optical Properties of Metal Clusters deals with the electronic structure of metal clusters determined optically Clusters - as state intermediate between molecules and the extended solid - are important in many areas, e.g. in air pollution, interstellar matter, clay minerals, photography, heterogeneous catalysis, quantum dots, and virus crystals. This book extends the approaches of optical molecular and solid-state methods to clusters, revealing how their optical properties evolve as a function of size. Cluster matter, i.e. extended systems of many clusters - the most frequently occuring form - is also treated. The combination of reviews of experimental techniques, lists of results and detailed descriptions of selected experiments will appeal to experts, newcomers and graduate students in this expanding field..
Price: $59.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This volume gives an up-to-date, systematic account of the microscopic theory of Bose-condensed fluids developed since the late 1950s. The core of the present book is the development of the field-theoretic analysis needed to deal with a Bose-condensed fluid. However, the author also brings out the essential physics behind the formal Green's function techniques and presents plausible scenarios to understand recent high resolution neutron and Raman scattering data. The first three chapters give a useful overview and introductory material while the concluding chapter gives an assessment and suggestions for further research..
Price: $49.45 [Notify me when price goes down.]

An indispensible guide to the uses of optical ICs, this practical volume examines the theory, fabrication techniques, and applications of the latest generation of optical devices. Focusing on the hybrid type of OIC, the book discusses passive waveguide devices, functional optical waveguide devices, micro-fabrication, optical waveguide theory, and current research problems..
Price: $45.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]