A comprehensive, up-to-date review of the physics and applications of a major class of laser, the most important example of which is the copper vapour laser. A collection of 50 papers written by the world's leaders in the field. Papers cover: the early history of pulsed metal vapour lasters; the plasma kinetics and excitation mechanisms of self terminating and recombination metal vapour lasers; beam quality issues for applications; frequency harmonic generation for mid-UV applications; high-precision processing of metals, ceramics, glasses and plastics using metal vapour lasers; applications in medicine, including oncology and dermatology; applications in science such as spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. A practical source of information on the physics, engineering and applications of metal vapour lasers. Audience: scientists, teachers and graduate researchers working in the fields of gas lasers, laser optics, gas discharges, optoelectronics and laser applications in industry, science and medicine.

Over the last decades, the study of surfactants (detergents, for example) has been profoundly changed by ideas and techniques from physics, chemistry, and materials science. Among these are: self assembly; critical phenomena, scaling, and renormalization; high-resolution scattering, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This book represents the first systematic account of these new developments, providing both a general introduction to the subject as well as a review of recent developments. The book will be a very useful tool for the biophysist, biochemist or physical chemist working in the field of surfactants.

Markedly apart from elementary particle physics, another current has been building up and cont i nuous ly growi ng within contemporary phys i cs for severa 1 decades, and even expanding into many other disciplines, especially chemistry, biology and, quite recently, economics. Several reasons account for this: presumably the most impor- tant one lies in the fact that, whatever the specific problem, model or material concerned, the same basic mathematical features are always involved. In this way, a general phenomenology has emerged which, unlike thermodynamics, is no longer depen- dent upon the details or specifics: what largely prevails is the nonlinear charac- ter of the underlying dynamics. Perhaps we are witnessing the emergence of a "non- linear physics" - in a way similar to the birth of "quantum physics" in the twen- ties - a physics which deals with the general behaviour of systems, whatever they are or may be. Over the past fifteen years, chemical systems evolving sufficiently far from equilibrium have proved to be particularly well fitted to experimental research on nonlinear behaviour: oscillation, multistability, birhythmicity, chaotic evolution, spatial self-organization and hysteresis are displayed by chemical reactions whose number is growing each year. In this volume are collected the lectures, communica- tions and posters (abstracts) presented at an international meeting entitled: "Non-Equilibrium Dynamics in Chemical Systems", held in Bordeaux (France), Septem- ber 3 rd-lth, 1984.

7 Les Houches The purpose of this workshop was to bring together, for the first time, active scientists from very different fields, such as physics, chemistry, physiology and the behavioural sciences, all having a common interest: The interac tion of static magnetic fields with biological and macromolecular matter. As physicists, biologists and medical scientists naturally have different scientific competences, attitudes and abilities, this appeared to be an enterprise of un certain issue. However, it turned out that all participants tried to find (and many succeeded in reaching) a mutual basis of understanding. Thanks to a fair number of outstanding, comprehensive talks and to very active discus sions, most of us, we believe, have substantially enlarged our insight into the actual hard facts within a research area that was considered for a long time - and still remains in many aspects - somewhat controversial. The perhaps most striking and useful reaction to magnetic fields at the supermolecular level is the alignment of biopolymers, proteins, viruses, large assemblies such as retinal rods and membranes when suspended in a solvent, usually water. The ease of alignment depends on the anisotropy of the dia magnetic susceptibility of the constituent groups and bonds and, in addition, on the extent of their mutual orientational order inside a macromolecular assembly. Here very strong fields above I-lOT appear to be necessary, in general, to achieve measurable alignment."

The fourth Oxford Conference entitled "Control of Breathing: A Model ing Perspective" was held in September of 1988 at Grand Lake, Colorado. Grand Lake, also called Spirit Lake, was chosen for the fourth meet i ng so as to continue the meditative atmosphere of the previ ous meetings and to put the conference on a new higher plane (8,500 feet). The weather, as promised, exhibited its random-like rain showers. The snow report became essential for traveling the 12,000 foot passes to and from Grand Lake. Even the servi ces such as telephone and elect ri city proved to be uncertain. In all, the overall atmosphere of Spirit Lake contributed to an uninhibited free-style of presentation and interaction. All of us who attend the Oxford Conferences share a common interest in exploring respiratory control and the regulation of breathing. Modeling has become an adjunct to our exploration process. For us, models are tools that extend our ability to conceptualize just as instruments are tools that extend our ability to measure. And so these meetings attract physicians, physiologists, mathematicians and engineers who are modelers and modelers who are engineers, mathematicians, physiologists and physicians. Four of these physician-modelers have now passed away. They have been very important mentors for many of us. J. W. Bellville was my Ph.D. dissertation advisor at Stanford who introduced me to the intrigue of respiratory control. G. F. Filley was my colleague at the University of Colorado who enhanced my thinking about respiratory control. E. S.

Despite the fact that many years have elapsed since the first microcalorimetric measurements of an action potential were made, there is still among the research workers involved in the study of bioelectrogenesis a complete overlooking of the most fundamental principle governing any biological phenomenon at the molecular scale of dimension. This is surprising, the more so that the techniques of molecular biology are applied to characterize the proteins forming the ionic conducting sites in living membranes. For reasons that are still obscure to us the molecular aspects of bioelectrogenesis are completely out of the scope of the dynamic aspects of biochemistry. Even if it is sometimes recognized that an action potential is a free energy-consuming, entropy-producing process, the next question that should reasonably arise is never taken into consideration. There is indeed a complete evasion of the problem of biochemical energy coupling thus reducing the bioelectrogenesis to only physical interactions of membrane proteins with the electric field: the inbuilt postulate is that no molecular transformations, in the chemical sense, could be involved.

This volume contains invited and contributed papers of the Ninth International Conference on Hot Carriers in Semiconductors (HCIS-9), held July 3 I-August 4, 1995 in Chicago, Illinois. In all, the conference featured 15 invited oral presentations, 60 contributed oral presentations, and 105 poster presentations, and an international contingent of 170 scientists. As in recent conferences, the main themes of the conference were related to nonlinear transport in semiconductor heterojunctions and included Bloch oscillations, laser diode structures, and femtosecond spectroscopy. Interesting questions related to nonlinear transport, size quantization, and intersubband scattering were addressed that are relevant to the new quantum cascade laser. Many lectures were geared toward quantum wires and dots and toward nanostructures and mesoscopic systems in general. It is expected that such research will open new horizons to nonlinear transport studies. An attempt was made by the program committee to increase the number of presen tations related directly to devices. The richness of nonlocal hot electron effects that were discussed as a result, in our opinion, suggests that future conferences should further encourage reports on such device research. On behalf of the Program and International Advisory Committees, we thank the participants, who made the conference a successful and pleasant experience, and the support of the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Beckman Institute of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We are also indebted to Mrs. Sara Starkey and Mrs."

The Sixth International Congress on Quantum Chemistry convened at the Campus of the Hebrew University. Jerusalem. Israel. on August 22-25. 1988. The International Congresses on Quantum Chemistry are held under the auspices of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Previous International Congresses on Quantum Chemistry were held in France. Japan, the United States, Sweden and Canada. These prestigious meetings provided a central contribution to the important modern area of theoretical chemistry. The major goals of the Sixth International Congress on Quantum Chemistry were: A) To provide an overview of recent novel developments. advances and directions of research in the broad area of quantum molecular sciences. B) To establish strong interaction between the theoretical discipline of quantum molecular sciences and experiment. The general topics of the Sixth International Congress were: a) Molecular Quantum Mechanics b) Many-Body Theory of Molecular Structure c) Intermolecular Forces d) Complexes and Clusters e) Molecular Spectroscopy f) Intramolecular Dynamics g) Chemical Reactions h) Molecular Dynamics Simulations i) Condensed-Phase Chemistry j) Surface Phenomena and Catalysis k) Quantum Biochemistry 1) Biophysics The format of the Sixth International Congress consisted of plenary lectures. symposia and poster sessions. In the opening session of the Congress. commemorative addresses were delivered in honoured memory of the late Louis de Broglie and the late Robert S. Mulliken. Nobel Prize Laureates and Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. A com memorative symposium was devoted to the honoured memory of the late Massimo Simonetta."

In the decades the of the formation of structures past subject spontaneous in far from has into a branch of - systems equilibrium major physics grown search with ties to It has become evident that strong neighboring disciplines. a diverse of can be understood within a common mat- phenomena range matical framework which has been called nonlinear of continuous dynamics This name the close to the field of nonlinear systems. emphasizes relationship of with few of freedom which has evolved into a dynamics systems degrees mature in the recent features mathematically subject past. Many dynamical of continuous be described reduction few can a to a systems actually through of freedom and of the latter of continue to degrees properties type systems of continuous the inspire study systems. The of this book is to demonstrate the numerous goal through examples that exist for the of nonlinear the opportunities study phenomena through tools of mathematical and use of common analyses dynamical interpretations. Instead of overview of the a providing comprehensive rapidly evolving field, the contributors to this book are to communicate to a wide scientific trying audience the of what have learnt about the formation of essence they spon- neous structures in continuous and about the dissipative systems competition between order and chaos that characterizes these It is that systems. hoped the book will be even to those scientists whose not helpful are disciplines the authors.

In recent years there has been a growth in interest in studying the heart from the perspective of the physical sciences: mechanics, fluid flow, electromechanics. This volume is the result of a workshop held in July 1989 at the Institute for Nonlinear Sciences at the University of California at San Diego that brought together scientists and clinicians with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who shared an interest in the heart. The chapters were prepared by the invited speakers as didactic reviews of their subjects but also include the structure, mechanical properties, and function of the heart and the myocardium, electrical activity of the heart and myocardium, and mathematical models of heart function.

Since the appearance of Vol. 1 of Models of Neural Networks in 1991, the theory of neural nets has focused on two paradigms: information coding through coherent firing of the neurons and functional feedback. Information coding through coherent neuronal firing exploits time as a cardinal degree of freedom. This capacity of a neural network rests on the fact that the neuronal action potential is a short, say 1 ms, spike, localized in space and time. Spatial as well as temporal correlations of activity may represent different states of a network. In particular, temporal correlations of activity may express that neurons process the same "object" of, for example, a visual scene by spiking at the very same time. The traditional description of a neural network through a firing rate, the famous S-shaped curve, presupposes a wide time window of, say, at least 100 ms. It thus fails to exploit the capacity to "bind" sets of coherently firing neurons for the purpose of both scene segmentation and figure-ground segregation. Feedback is a dominant feature of the structural organization of the brain. Recurrent neural networks have been studied extensively in the physical literature, starting with the ground breaking work of John Hop field (1982)."

For ten days at the end of September, 1987, a group of about 75 scientists from 21 different countries gathered in a restored monastery on a 750 meter high piece of rock jutting out of the Mediterranean Sea to discuss the simulation of the transport of electrons and photons using Monte Carlo techniques. When we first had the idea for this meeting, Ralph Nelson, who had organized a previous course at the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture, suggested that Erice would be the ideal place for such a meeting. Nahum, Nelson and Rogers became Co-Directors of the Course, with the help of Alessandro Rindi, the Director of the School of Radiation Damage and Protection, and Professor Antonino Zichichi, Director of the "Ettore Majorana" Centre. The course was an outstanding success, both scientifically and socially, and those at the meeting will carry the marks of having attended, both intellectually and on a personal level where many friendships were made. The scientific content of the course was at a very high caliber, both because of the hard work done by all the lecturers in preparing their lectures (e. g. , complete copies of each lecture were available at the beginning of the course) and because of the high quality of the "students", many of whom were accomplished experts in the field. The outstanding facilities of the Centre contributed greatly to the success. This volume contains the formal record of the course lectures.

The contemplation of truth and beauty is the proper object for which we were created, which calls forth the most intense desires of the soul, and of which it never tires -Hazlitt In his Nobel lecture Purcell commented that when he saw snow in New England after the discovery of NMR, it appeared like "heaps of protons quietly precessing in earth's magnetic field. " If he were to make the comment in the context of how NMR is being used today, he could have conjured up an image of hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen nuclei in proteins of an earthbound 8rganism subtly orchestrating a quiet symphony of frequencies, from 150 Hz to 2 kHz, carrying clues to the three-dimensional structure of the macromolecules. The manner in which the basic discoveries of Bloch and Purcell have led to the emergence of NMR, several decades later, as a major technique of biological and medical physics (and chemistry) is a striking example of the power of basic research. It is also a fascinating saga whereby whenever it was felt that the field had reached a plateau, new directions, new technologies, and sometimes serendipity produced new developments that revolutionized the technique and enhanced its capability. As Richard Ernst points out "NMR is intellectually attractive, . . . the practical importance of NMR is enormous, and can justify much of the playful activities of an addicted spectroscopist" (Nobel lecture).

We present this special topics volume on an area which has not received thorough coverage for over 12 years. Spin Labeling: Theory and Applications represents a complete update on new theoretical aspects and applications of the spin-label method. In the "line-shape theory" sections, we are especially pleased to include an IBM-compatible diskette supplied by David Schneider and Jack Freed which contains fast, accurate, ready-to-use software for slow-motion simulations. Barney Bales discusses inhomogeneous broadening phenomena in detail. Several developments in techniques and interpretation in saturation transfer spectroscopy have appeared since the publica tion of Spin Labeling II: Theory and Applications (L. J. Berliner, ed., Academic Press, 1979). We have included an up-to-date chapter on spin-label applications by M. A. Hemminga and P. A. de Jager. By incorporating 15N and deuterium into nitroxide spin labels, several unique advantages are derived in line-shape analysis. Albert Beth and Bruce Robinson have contributed a detailed chapter on the analysis of these labels in the slow-motion regime while Jane Park and Wolfgang Trommer present the advantages for specific biochemical examples in our "applications" section. Derek Marsh's contri bution on spin-label spectral analysis may be regarded as a summary chapter which touches on several of the detailed spectral analysis methods described in the earlier chapters."

Ever since the early 1940's, electromagnetic energy in the nonionizing spectrum has contributed to the enhanced quality of life in a variety of ways. Aside from their well-known roles in communication, entertainment, industry and science, electromagnetic energy has come into wide spread use in biology and medicine. In addition to the intended purposes, these energies produce other effects which have been shown to influence the life processes of living organisms. It is noteworthy that these energies are not only harmless in ordinary quantities but are actually necessary for modern life, indeed without which life as we know it would be impossible. The purpose of this book is to present a succinct summary of the interaction of electromagnetic fields and waves with biological systems as they are now known. The subject matter is interdisciplinary and is based primarily on presentations scheduled for a joint symposium at the XXII General Assembly of the International Union of Radio Science, held in Tel Aviv, Israel from Tuesday, August 25 to Wednesday, September 2, 1987. The symposium was jointly sponsored by the Bioelectromagnetics Society in cooperation with the International Radiation Protection Association. The choice of topics was made to facilitate the application and to stimulate the use of nonioni zing electromagnetic energy in biology and medicine, and to increase the awareness and to promote the consideration of radiation safety by electrical engineers and experimental physicists.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Castera-Verduzan, France, June 1-5, 1987

This monograph contains the contributions to the NATO Advanced Studies Institute on "Vascular Endothelium: Responses to Injury", which took place in Crete, Greece from June 18 to 27, 1994. This was the fourth in the series of NATO-supported ASIs in selected specific areas of endothelial cell biology, which began in 1988. Each time, it has combined clinical with basic scientists and renowned experts with novices in the field, in an attractive setting conducive to dissemination of knowledge, high quality discussions and exchange of ideas. This, as well as previous ASIs, reflects the hard work of numerous people. As Co- Directors, we have been particularly fortunate to benefit from the expert advice of the Organizing Committee, which included Elizabetta Dejana, Alberto Mantovani and Magdi Yacoub. Their insightful suggestions helped formulate the scientific program of the ASI. We are also grateful for the work and dedication of the local organizing committee of Thomie Douraki, Stylianos Orfanos, Panayotis Behrakis, Michael Maragoudakis and Lydia Argyropoulos who tirelessly looked after the main details necessary to ensure that all of us enjoyed the meeting. Similarly, we wish to thank Jim Parkerson, Connie Snead, Andreas Papapetropoulos and Nandor Marczin for their assistance in various aspects of the many preparations for the conference. A very special thanks goes to Annie Cruz, the ASI Co- ordinator, for her efficient, solicitous and pleasant demeanor during the months prior to the ASI and especially during the ten days of the conference.

The hand commonly is considered to have exerted great influence on the evolution of typically human characteristics, like upright posture, stereoscopic vision, "manipulative" handling of parts of the environment. The German term "Begreifen", which is commonly used for the understanding of complex relationships in a generalised, abstract sense, always implies the original meaning of seizing objects with the aid of the hands. The hands are also of greatest importance for the survival of the other, non-human primates. Hands are absolutely essential for locomotion in an arboreal habitat, and the intake of food is dependant on the use of the hands as well: primates very rarely take in food directly with their mouths, in the wast majority of cases they seize food items with their hands. Even drinking is often performed by dipping the hand into the water and licking the drops from hand and forearm. An organ of such importance will very probably be "adapted" to its "function". This statement is made so often, that any further considerations seem superfluous. Nobody doubts, that the hands of primates are highly adaptive organs, the general form and internal structure of which are closely related to the necessities of life. However, if one tries to go beyond this general statement, he finds himself confront ed with several problems: First of all, a point which W. GUTMANN has emphasized repeatedly: according to the results obtained by genetics, the first thing to appear is the mutated character.

nd The 22 meeting of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue (LS. O. T. T. ) of which this volume is the scientific proceedings, was held in Istanbul, Turkey on August 22-26, 1994. It was a historical occasion in that it was almost 200 years to the day that one of the founding fathers of oxygen research, Antoine Lavoisier, on May 8, 1794 found his early demise at the hands of the guillotine. This spirit of history set the tone of the conference and in the opening lecture the contribution that this part of the world has given to the understanding of oxygen transport to tissue was highlighted. In particular, the contribution of Galen of Pergamon (129-200) was discussed who for the first time demon strated that blood flowed through the arteries and whose view on the physiology of the circulation dominated the ancient world for well over a millennium. A forgotten chapter in the history of the circulation of the blood is the contribution made by Ibn al Nafis of Damascus (1210-1280) who for the first time described the importance of the pulmonary circulation by stating that all venous blood entering the right ventricle ofthe heart passes to the left ventricle, not through pores in the septum of the heart as had been postulated by Galen, but through the circulation of the lungs."

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the current state, and the new concepts for the future directions of modern cancer therapy. Bringing together all the relevant aspects from basic and applied science, and the clinical experiences of this new direction in medicine, it is an up-to-date summary of the activities in the field and will be the basis for evaluating future progress in this area.

B. Raymond Fink Sheldon Roth and Keith Miller have asked me to record that the Third Conference on Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Anesthesia was held in Calgary last May "in my honor. " Such was my dear friends' gracious way of continuing a series that began at the University of Washington, where I hosted two, four, or five previous ones, 1,3-6 depending 2 on how far back one wishes to count. At that, Seattle took up where Paris left off in 1951. These occasions create their own unforgettable memories. This book captures the fine, invigorating ambience of the University of Calgary and the exciting explorations and com panionship of a gathering in a frontier territory of neuroscience. So, floreant symposia. They have progressively refined the quarry, from pathway to synapse to lipoprotein membrane to receptor and single channel, in heuristic convergences of neuronal physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Nevertheless, the anesthesiologist in me senses a certain disquiet, a certain claustrophobia provoked by the narrow confines of micropipettes. How much more tubular must tunnel vision become before the desired broad view emerges? At present, the advances in molecular neurobiology seem continually to increase the apparent complexity of the total problem and the conceptual distance between the reductionists in the laboratories and the holists in the operating rooms. Happily, what is also growing is the excitement in trying to bridge the gap. Perhaps it would be timely to regard general anesthesia not as a state but as a syndrome."

This volume contains reviews on five different aspects of bioclimatology: (1) The establishment, maintenance and use of data from automatic weather station networks for agricultural purposes; (2) Techniques for estimating global and ultraviolet irradiance at the earth's surface, and the net radiation balance from operational satellite observations; (3) Mathematical models of the effects of climate on energy and mass balance in crop production; (4) Paleoecological and experimental studies of the response of stomatal density to changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentrations; and (5) The sensory and behavioral responses of insects and other invertebrates to small CO2 gradients resulting from plant and animal metabolism, considering the global changes in CO2 concentration and air temperature.

This volume contains the papers presented at the International Symposium on "Cirrhosis, Hyperammonemia and Hepatic Encephalopathy," held in Valencia, Spain, De- cember 2nd_4th, 1996. Liver cirrhosis is one of the main causes of death in occidental countries. There are other hepatic dysfunctions such as fulminant hepatic failure, Reye's syndrome, or congenital deficiencies of urea cycle enzymes which can also lead to hepatic encephalopathy, coma and death. However, the molecular bases ofthe pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy remain unclear. One ofthe consequences of hepatic failure is the reduced ability to detoxify ammonia by incorporating it into urea. This leads to increased blood ammonia levels. Hyperam- monemia is considered one of the main factors responsible for the mediation of hepatic encephalopathy and classical clinical treatments are directed towards reducing blood ammo- nia levels. Altered neurotransmission is an essential step in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. The first part of the book is devoted to the discussion of the recent advances in the understanding of the alterations of different neurotransmitter systems in hepatic encephalopathy. The alterations of tryptophan metabolism and neurotransmission in hepatic encephalopathy and the implications for the clinical use of neuropsychoactive drugs are reviewed. The alterations in glutamate transport and neurotransmission in hepatic encephal- opathy due to acute liver failure are also reviewed. The role of NMDA receptors in the molecular mechanism of acute ammonia toxicity is discussed as well as its modulation by metabotropic glutamate receptors and muscarinic receptors.

The Third International Symposium on Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscle, organized by George Frank, C. Paul Bianchi, and Henk E. DJ. ter Keurs, was held in Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada during June 26 to June 30, 1991. The theme of these symposia has been to recognize the similarities and dissimilarities of excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. Cross fertilization of concepts of excitation-contraction coupling in these three types of muscle has occurred since the early studies in the late fifties and early sixties on skeletal muscle. Investigators in each field meet only at specialized symposia which exclude investigators in the other fields. The purpose of the symposia has been to bring together international investigators studying excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle so that we may learn from each other and hence provide a more global concept of excitation-contraction. The Third International Symposia has accomplished its objective as we recognize that calcium channels of the sarcolemma and the sarcoplasmic reticulum play key essential roles in excitation-contraction coupling in all three types of muscles. In skeletal muscle the recognition that E-C coupling consists of two parallel mechanisms, one dependent upon a dihydropyridine voltage-sensitive sensors coupled to calcium release from the terminal cisternae via the ryanodine sensitive channel in the foot structure of the triad.