J. Vos - Böcker

W. French Anderson, M.D. The publication of this book comes at an opportune time for the young field of human gene therapy. After a decade of long struggle at the laboratory bench and many long hours under the harsh lights of the federal review process, gene therapy has emerged as a legitimate scientific discipline. It is now time to move away from the period of questioning whether gene therapy will be a useful part of the physician armamentarium to begin to actively teach the concepts and practices that make gene therapy a reality. This book is a comprehensive collection of chapters that describe the basic biology and potential application of viruses as gene transfer reagents. It is not a coincidence that a modified virus was the reagent used in the first human gene therapy trials. Viruses have evolved with the human species (and most likely with all forms of life) to be the masters of gene transfer.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the International Conference on Effects of Crop Rotation on Potato Production in the Temperate Zones. This conference was held in the International Agricultural Centre at Wageningen, The Netherlands, August 14 - 19, 1988, under the auspices of the European Association for Potato Research (EAPR), the Potato Association of America (PAA) and the Dutch National Council for Agricultural Research (NRLO). The length of rotations affect the performance of potato crops and yields are often reduced if rotations are too short. The kinds of crops within a rotation will also affect potato performance, especially those grown in the previous season. It was a major aim of the conference to bring together specialists of various disciplines to examine these determinants of potato yield. The Organizing Committee is glad that all relevant aspects of the theme are highlighted in these proceedings. The contents of the contributions are primarily left to the responsibility of the authors. J. Vos C.D. van Loon G.J. Bollen ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE The European Association for Potato Research (EAPR) and the Potato Association of America (PAA) nominated representatives in the Conference Committee. PAA was represented by prof. dr E.E. Ewing (Ithaca, USA) and by dr R.E. Thornton (Pullman, USA); EAPR was represented by prof. dr J.C. Holmes (Edinburgh, UK), ir C.D. van Loon (Lelystad, NL), and dr ir J. Vos (chairman; Wageningen, NL).

Functional-structural plant models (FSPMs) describe in quantitative terms the development over time of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of plants as governed by physiological processes and affected by environmental factors. FSPMs are particularly suited to analyse problems in which the spatial structure of the plant or its canopy is an essential factor to explain, e.g., plant competition (intra-plant, inter-plant, inter-species) and the effects of plant configuration and plant manipulation (e.g., pruning and harvesting) on yield and produce quality. This book describes the philosophy of functional-structural plant modelling and several tools for making FSPMs; it outlines methods for measuring essential parameters, including those pertaining to plant structure. As FSPMs offer new opportunities to model sink–source interactions, the physiological theory and modelling approaches regarding partitioning of carbon are given specific attention. Examples of application of FSPMs include wheat modelling in the context of remote sensing and the analysis of predator–prey insect interactions on glasshouse plants. The book will be useful for scientists and advanced students interested in innovative approaches in plant and crop modelling.

Functional-structural plant models (FSPMs) describe in quantitative terms the development over time of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of plants as governed by physiological processes and affected by environmental factors. FSPMs are particularly suited to analyse problems in which the spatial structure of the plant or its canopy is an essential factor to explain, e.g., plant competition (intra-plant, inter-plant, inter-species) and the effects of plant configuration and plant manipulation (e.g., pruning and harvesting) on yield and produce quality. This book describes the philosophy of functional-structural plant modelling and several tools for making FSPMs; it outlines methods for measuring essential parameters, including those pertaining to plant structure. As FSPMs offer new opportunities to model sink–source interactions, the physiological theory and modelling approaches regarding partitioning of carbon are given specific attention. Examples of application of FSPMs include wheat modelling in the context of remote sensing and the analysis of predator–prey insect interactions on glasshouse plants. The book will be useful for scientists and advanced students interested in innovative approaches in plant and crop modelling.

It is now time to move away from the period of questioning whether gene therapy will be a useful part of the physician armamentarium to begin to actively teach the concepts and practices that make gene therapy a reality.