P. Masson – författare

This is the first book covering all aspects of high pressure biochemistry and biophysics of proteins.

Hydrostatic pressure is a powerful tool for study of biological systems. As a thermodynamic parameter, hydrostatic pressure has been known for a century to act on biological materials in a similar, but not identical, way to temperature. However, pressure was disregarded for a long time by biochemists mainly because the basic concepts (and the thermodynamics) focused on the chemical reactions involved and because general ideas on what pressure can add to the understanding of the behaviour of proteins were lacking. In recent decades, technological progress in the field of physics has shown, along with parameters such as temperature and solvent conditions, that pressure can be used for more refined thermodynamic and kinetic descriptions of biological processes and regulation of biological systems. The effects of pressure on proteins, nucleoproteins and membranes have recently been reviewed and several proceedings books have been published.

Tracing the evolution of French sociology from the early twentieth century to the present day, this insightful book brings to the fore the renowned origins but relatively slow development of the discipline in France. Divided into four chronological sections it focuses on the social changes and institutional transformations that have impacted on the history of sociology in France as it relates to both higher education and research. In doing so, it draws attention to three major features of French sociology: the imbalance between theory and method caused by its philosophical roots, the difficulty of locating it in relation to other disciplines, and the close links between sociology and political thought and action.