Chemical Recognition in Biology

The field of olfactory research and chemical communication is in the early stages of revolutionary change, and many aspects of this revolution are reflected in the chapters in this book. Thus, it should serve admirably as an up-to-date reference. First, a wide range of vertebrate groups and species are represented. Second, there are excellent reviews of specific topics and theoretical approaches to communication by odors, including chapters on signal specialization and evolution in mammals, the evolution of hormonal pheromones in fish, alarm pheromones in fish, chemical repellents, the chemical signals involved in endocrine responses in mice, and the controversy over human pheromones.

Over the past decade, pattern recognition has been one of the fastest growth points in chemometrics. This has been catalysed by the increase in capabilities of automated instruments such as LCMS, GCMS, and NMR, to name a few, to obtain large quantities of data, and, in parallel, the significant growth in applications especially in biomedical analytical chemical measurements of extracts from humans and animals, together with the increased capabilities of desktop computing. The interpretation of such multivariate datasets has required the application and development of new chemometric techniques such as pattern recognition, the focus of this work.

This book is about the novel aspects and future trends of the hyperspectral imaging in agriculture, food, and environment. This book is a general reference work for students, professional engineers, and readers with interest in the subject.