The State of the Environment is the annual report of the United Nations that contains the current state of the environment and the biosphere as well as certain important environmental issues. The monograph also discusses social and economic issues and their implication to the environment.
The book covers environmental concerns - air and atmospheric issues such as indoor air pollution, changes in atmospheric ozone, and the effects of carbon dioxide and other trace gases in the atmosphere; issues related to land and water such as land and soil loss, water quality, and food production; and power-related issues such as energy production and consumption, nuclear power, and energy conservation. Also included are other issues such as chemical wastes and other harmful substances, diseases such as malaria and cancer, and the effects of population on the environment.
The text is recommended for environmentalists and scientists who would like to know more about the issues related to the environment.

Contents
Contributors

Preface

Introduction: Chitin: Accomplishments and Perspectives

Part I Drug Delivery, Sustained Release, and Pharmaceuticals

Partially Deacetylated Chitin: Its Use in Self-Regulated Drug Delivery Systems

Application of Chitin and Chitosan to Pharmaceutical Preparations

Synthesis and Characterization of Chitin Pendently Substituted with the Herbicide Metribuzin

Part II Novel Applications of Chitin, Chitosan,and Their Derivatives

The Effect of Chitinous Materials on the Intestinal Microflora and the Utilization of Whey in Monogastric Animals

Several Novel Attempts for the Use of the Potential Functions of Chitin and Chitosan

Action of Amino Polymers on Iron Status, Gut Morphology, and Cholesterol Levels in the Rat

Biomedical Applications of Chitin and Chitosan

The Permeability of Chitin Films to Water and Solutes

Part III Enzymology and Genetic Enzyme Engineering

Purification and Characterization of Chitosanase from Streptomyces Griseus

Chitosanases: Occurrence, Production, and Immobilization

Chitinolytic Activity of Commercially Available /ß-Glucosidase

Genetic Improvement of Chitinase Production by Serratia Marcescens

Cloning Of Vibrio harveyi Chitinase and Chitobiase Genes in Escherichia Coli

Part IV Chemical and Physical Structure of Chitin and Chitosan

Chitin Solvents and Solubility Parameters

Chemical Composition and Some Properties of Crustacean Chitin Prepared by Use of Proteolytic Activity of Pseudomonas Maltophilia LC102

The Structure of Chitin-Protein Complexes

Ultraviolet Absorption Spectra of Microcrystalline Chitins

Part V Biological and Physicochemical Properties of Chitin and Its Derivatives

Chitosan, a Natural Regulator in Plant-Fungal Pathogen Interactions, Increases Crop Yields

Physicochemical, Biochemical, and Biological Properties of Chitin Derivatives

X-Ray Diffraction Study on Chitosan-Metal Complexes

Attachment of Sugars on Lipid-Linked Chitobiosyl Unit for the Initial Assembly of Oligosaccharide Moieties of Asparagine-Linked Glycoproteins in Different Eukaryotic Systems

Chitin-Binding Lectins from Fungi

Solution Properties of Chitosan: Chain Conformation

Part VI Supplemental Paper and Notes

Effects of Phosphate on Streptomyces Griseus Chitinase Production

Development of Absorbable Sutures from Chitin

Characteristics of Chitin for Orthopedic Use

Index