Understanding the mechanisms involved in intracellular movement and localization of proteins is a central issue in cell biology. This volume is concerned with the events involved in the transport of membrane proteins, and the contents of vesicular compartments, to their ultimate destinations. In several chapters, particular attention is given to studies with viruses that are assembled by budding at specific membrane sites within the cell or at the cell surface; studies with such viral systems have provided significant insights into membrane biogenesis.

At one time or another, everyone has said "I am thirsty". Yet what causes this sensation of thirst? It is obvious that a certain quantity of fluid must be present for the body to function normally. How does a water deficit in the body then influence drinking habits? But supposing the physiological need is met, what about the psychological need or social need? Water is certainly the most necessary fluid; then why do we humans often prefer other beverages, even at great cost of effort or money or health? The subject of thirst and drinking behavior are uniquely discussed in this book. For the first time both the physiological and the psychological aspects of water and beverage consumption are examined in one volume. The many recent developments concerning how a lack of water is signalled physiologically and processed neurally to affect drinking behavior are critically surveyed. Prospects for understanding the cultural and sensory influences on beverage consumption are mapped out. The thirty-one chapters by authorities in the field were all mutually reviewed and revised in the light of precirculated comments and round-table discussions. Together they provide a complete picture of the current state of knowledge on what determines fluid consumption in human beings and animals.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Walter Brendel, late Professor of Experimental Surgery and Chairman of the Institute for Surgical Research at the University of Munich, Germany. For 20 years Walter Brendel organized the renowned Round Table Symposium on Applied Immunology, first in Kitzbiihel and later in Axams, Austria. On the occasion of the 20th symposium in January 1989 he gathered together a number of scientists who have been leaders in the field of transplantation immunology and clinical transplantation for the past two decades. All of them had participated at previous meetings, some on a regular basis. Many of the new discoveries in applied immunology and transplantation medicine were first presented and vividly dis cussed at the Round Table Symposia. The annual Kitzbiihel! Axams meetings became well-known and invitations much sought after, not only for this reason but also because of the uniquely intimate atmosphere that promoted the free exchange of research findings and theoretical cut and thrust.

Recent research has given great insight into the physiological and pharmaceutical effects of histamine on the central nervous system and especially on the brain. This volume focuses on these many new findings, including the role of brain histamine in the arousal system, learning, and memory. Also featured are the mechanisms of histamine release in bone marrow and mast cells and the role of histamine in neutrophil differentiation. These are analyzed using the most up-to-date techniques of molecular pharmacology and refined immunoelectroscopy. In addition, the pharmacological profiles of newly developed H1 antagonists are described, making this book invaluable to those who want to understand the very latest advances in histamine research.

Catecholamines are important transmitter substances in the autonomic and central nervous systems. These two volumes provide a comprehensive presentation of the state-of-the-art of catecholamine research and development in the past 15 years. The volumes present in-depth reviews of topical areas of catecholamine research in which substantial progress has been made and which are of current interest to various theoretical and clinical disciplines. Each topic has been dealt with by an established expert. Clinical subjects of relevant importance are included. Catecholamines are of interest in pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry, as well as in neurology, psychiatry, internal medicine (cardiology, hypertension, asthma), ophthalmology and anesthesiology.

After a little more than 20 years since the original discovery of neuropeptide Y (NPY) by Tatemoto and colleagues, the field of NPY research has made remarkable progress and is coming of age.The present volume addresses all major topics in connection with NPY and related peptides by established leaders in their respective areas. Experienced NPY-aficionados will certainly find new and useful additional information in this volume and newcomers to the field will hopefully discover how much exciting research this still has to offer.

Well over one decade has passed since the appearance of the original four volumes of Membrane Transport in Biology. Since the publication of the last volume there have been spectacular advances in this field. These advances have been in part the result of the application of exciting new methodologies, and in part the result of new insights into the regulation and integration of transport processes. This volume, as well as a sixth volume, which is in preparation, are intended to cover key areas in which the development has been particularly striking. For many years the trend in studies of membrane transport had been that of increasing specialization with regard to the transporter of interest and of the cell or tissue studied. This trend was supported by the enormous number of publications directed at understanding the cellular physiology of specific organ systems and tissues, and also by the fact that different tissues often seemed to react so differently to the same conditions that mechanisms unique to each appear to be at play. One of the happy developments in recent years has been the realization that this apparent disparity of behaviors in different tissues is based on varying combinations of a limited number of transport mechanisms, all mediated by the same or similar proteins. Some of these transport proteins have already been isolated and analyzed with respect to amino acid sequence whereas others are just entering this phase.

ILSI Human Nutrition Reviews provide an account of current thought in the field under review and point to problems and questions yet to be elucidated. They are intended to fill the gap between the textbook on the one hand and the specialist publication on the other. They are written by leading international authorities and are reviews for workers in the medical, nutritional and allied sciences rather than the expert. Dietary Starches and Sugar in Man presents the latest thinking of leading research scientists in a unique, multi-authored book. Leading European experts have collaborated to prepare a multi-disciplinary update on the subject. Each chapter was submitted to peer review by every other author, after which the commentaries were either incorporated into a revision of the original text or added at the end of the chapter. In many cases the group discussion raised new points, so that the final product truly represents a complete picture of international expertise. This book thus gives nutrition experts in the medical sciences and the food industry all current information on the latest research, and the critiques of this research, concerning these two groups of carbohydrates.

Measuring the Skin presents all techniques devoted to non-invasive normal or diseased skin measurement. As opposed to other books, this text embraces old and new validated techniques for all skin suborgans and functions, and is ideal as a small encyclopedia since it provides the answer to any question concerning skin measurement. Within each chapter, the meaning of the obtained parameters is highlighted so that the user is able to interpret the results correctly, and each technique is discussed to help select the most appropriate one for each special case. Another novel feature is that the book bases the skin investigation on the physiology and anatomy. A compendium of current knowledge on the structure or function dealt with precedes each chapter. The book may also be used as a research tool. This comprehensive text contains an innovative and unique list of more than 400 physical and biological skin constants, which are all referenced. The clinical dermatologist will also find this text useful as some chapters contain valuable maps and are devoted to clinical scoring of current skin diseases. Measuring the Skin is a resource for all those interested in or already dealing with the skin.

Major epidemiologists from the UK, USA and Europe contribute to the first ever, much needed comprehensive review of the epidemiology of peripheral vascular disease in the lower limbs.

Glutamine is a key aminoacid for the synthesis of numerous biologic- ally important compounds in mammalian cells and is a carrier form of ammonia. The advance in knowledge on the metabolic significance of this amino acid is presented in in-depth treatments by experts in this active research field. This includes the enzymology of glutamine synthe- tase and glutaminase activities in different mammalian organs, notably liver, kidney and brain; properties of glutamine transport across bio- logical membranes; role of glutamine metabolism in the liver, with emphasis on the recent discovery of intercellular heterogeneity with respect to enzyme distribution and its functional consequences for ammonia/urea metabolism and pH regulation; renal and intestinal glutamine metabolism; cerebral glutamine/ glutamate interrelationships; skeletal muscle; role of glutamine in cell culture; and finally the clinical aspects, including the new outlook of glutamine antagonists in cancer therapy as well as the role of glutamine in hepatic coma and encephalo- pathy. Some, but not all, of the contributors to this work attended the 48th Conference of the Gesellschaft fur Biologische Chemie on glutamine metabolism held in Gottingen, W. Germany, in September 1983. This conference was supported by the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk, Dr. H. Falk Foundation, Freiburg, and the J. Pfrimmer Co. , Erlangen. The abstracts of the contributions to the conference were published in Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 364,1237-125,6,1983, and this book is not intended as the proceedings of that meeting.

Taste receptors monitor the quality of all the food ingested. They are intimately involved in both food acceptance and rejection. The sensation of taste is also important in the regulation of many specific chemicals necessary for maintenance of the body. For example, disturbance of the adrenal glands results in a change in the intake of salt which is necessary for regulation of the sodium balance. Curt Richter's early studies on specific hungers and preference thresholds initiated a large number of studies in this field. The relationship between taste and food intake is now well recognized by physiologists, psychologists and nutritionists. Our current concepts of the neural coding of taste quality and intensity are largely based upon the classical paper by PFAFFMANN in 1941. Many subsequent single nerve fiber studies have added to our understanding. In recent years Zotterman and Diamant have successfully recorded from the human taste nerves as they pass through the middle ear. This allowed them to study the relationships between the response of taste receptors and the resultant taste sensation. No similar feat has yet been accomplished with the visual and auditory systems.

During the last years much attention has been given to the investigation of the roles of specific growth modulators acting on liver cell populations. HGF functions as a pleotropic factor in the liver as well as in other extrahepatic tissues. The hepatic stem cell compartment is thought to play a major role in liver tissue restoration. Mechanisms of cell growth and cell death of the liver are described in detail, with particular emphasis on apoptosis. The functions of HBV-pX protein and the roles of hepatitis B virus gene expression relation to hepatocellular carcinoma are discussed. Techniques for obtaining human and nonhuman hepatocytes and other liver cell types and for efficient transfer and expression of genes in hepatocytes and liver-derived cell lines are presented.

The serene phrase, Lest I forget thee, glutathione ..., coined by the Kosowers (1) to describe the state in the 1960's, must be replaced now by something like "Inevitable GSH" in order to characterize the current situation. The surge in interest on the ubiquitous tripeptide has been ama- zing, with publications on GSH running at rates as high as one per day, so that it seemed appropriate to convene international experts for a discussion of recent develop- ments this year. Unlike the two previous meetings in this decade held in Tlibingen in 1973 (2) and in santa Ynez in 1975 (3), the scope was restricted to Functions of Gluta- thione in Liver and Kidney. Only in this way did an in-depth discussion of the current state of knowledge in a limit- ed topic appear possible. The last couple of years have seen a fascinating pro- ductivity in the fields of (a) Regulation of the Glutathione Level in the Liver, (b) Role of y-Glutamyltransferase in Gluta- thione Turnover with emphasis on the renal enzyme, and a critical appraisal of the y-Glutamyl Cycle, (c) Hyd:roperox- ide and Disulfide Metaholism, enriched by the discovery of the nonseleniurn-dependent glutathione peroxidase activ- ity and its relation to the glutathione-S-transferases, and the participation of the 2GSH/GSSG system in redox transitions in intact organ, cells and isolated mito- chondria, and (d) a multitude of Pharmacological and Toxi- cological Aspects related to glutathione, mainly centered on the events leading to liver damage and the protective

La pathologie vasculaire a ete tres marquee par les progres biologiques de ces vingt demieres annees. Le systeme arteriel est main tenant considere comme un organe a part entiere. Modelee au cours de l'organogenese par les facteurs hemodynamiques, Ie paroi arterielle maintient une structure hautement organisee et des proprietes mecaniques qui dependent directement des conditions de pression et de debit. La monocouche endotheliale developpe 2 une surface de plusieurs centaines de m a l'interface sang-tissu; elle est a la fois un organe endocrine complexe synthetisant de nombreuses proteines qui participent a l'hemostase, une surface thromboresistante et hemocompatible, une barriere de permeabilite contr6lant les echanges sang-tissus. Les cellules musculaires lisses constituent un tissu multifonctionnel, contractile, assurant la synthese des composants structuraux responsables des proprietes mecaniques de la paroi arterielle, la transmission de la force contractile, et une etonnante activite reparatrice en reponse aux agressions. Tout ceci est soumis a un ensemble complexe de communications cellulaires qui font de l'endothelium un veritable systeme recepteur pour la paroi vasculaire. Parallelement, ou a la suite de ces progres, l'angeiologie s'est progressivement affirmee comme une specialite clinique. Debordant Ie cadre de la chirurgie vasculaire, elle integre les concepts physiopathologiques au diagnostic et au traitement des maladies arterielles. De cet effort d'integration est ne cet ouvrage, cherchant a concilier les connaissances fondamentales es plus recentes et la demarche clinique.

MOTOOMI NAKAMURA As we approach the 21st century, ischemic heart disease is the major cause of death in most of the developed nations of the world. Since the 1970s, much effort and expense have led to designs of coronary thrombolytic therapy, percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PTCA), coronary artery bypass grafting, heart transplantation, automatic defibrillators, as well as to the formation of beta blockers and com pounds which block the calcium channel. Socio-educational programs directed at exercise, diet, instruction in the risk factors of smoking, hyperlipidemia and hypertension have contributed to the decrease in the rate of morbidity and mortality of patients with ischemic heart disease. However, the first clinical event of ischemic heart disease, the so-called "heart attack" and sudden cardiac death continues to present problems, as the mechanisms involved in these events are poorly understood. It has long been thought that ischemic heart disease is the sequence of an organic fixed atherosclerotic obstruction of the epicardial coronary arteries and the role of coronary vasomotion has been given much less attention. Recent clinical and laboratory animal studies revealed that increased tonus and spasm of the large epicardial coronary arteries are the cause of various stages of ischemic heart disease. The role of coronary vasospasm in the development of un stable angina, sudden cardiac death and acute myocardial infarction remains open to debate. Pharmacophysiological studies showed that the epicardial large coronary artery contributes only 5% to regulation of normal coronary flow."

Physiologists have long been interested in the interaction, or coupling, between the heart and the vasculature. The early literature consists mainly of phenomenological descriptions of cardiac alterations resulting from specific interventions in the vasculature. Hundreds of studies, for example, describe functional aspects of hypertrophied myocardium associated with the excessive vascular loading produced by various types of experimental hypertension. Recently, the concepts of ventricular/vascular interaction have found important clinical application. The widespread use of vaso dilators and of intraaortic counterpUlsation balloons for unloading an ov erburdened, diseased heart is a prime example. Despite the interest in this field, until as recently as 20 years ago we were not able to describe ventricular or vascular function in a framework suitable for quantitatively expressing the interaction between these two complex systems. Three major developments-description of ventricular function in terms of both the time-varying elastance and the pump function graph and quantification of vascular function in terms of impedance have changed this. These functional descriptions now enable systems en gineers, bioengineers, physiologists, and clinicians to address very specific quantitative aspects of ventricular/vascular interaction and have resulted in a flurry of papers and symposia devoted to this subject."

Major advances have been made in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, the disease that still affects more than 50 percent of the population in the highly industrialized countries. This volume covers the most recent advances in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. It represents a necessary update because molecular mechanisms of atherogenesis have been discovered in the past few years and their molecular mechanisms of action identified. Extensively treated are the molecular mechanisms of disease etiology of arteriosclerosis in relation to the major risk factor "hyperlipidemia," rationale for more effective treatment of this disease by dietary means, the treatment of associated or causing diseases, and the treatment using hypolipidemic drugs.

Stability of the internal environment in which neuronal elements are situated is unquestionably an important prerequisite for the effective transmission of information in the nervous system. During the past decade our knowledge on the microenvironment of nerve cells has expanded. The conception that the microenvironment of neurones comprises a fluid with a relatively simple and stable composition is no longer accepted; the microenvironment is now envisaged as a dynamic structure whose composition, shape, and volume changes, thereby significantly influencing neuronal function and the trans mission of information in the nervous system. The modern conception of the neuronal microenvironment is based on the results of research over the last 20 years. The extracellular space (ECS) is comprehended not only as a relatively stable microenvironment containing neurones and glial cells (Bernard 1878), but also as a channel for communica tion between them. The close proximity of the neuronal elements in the CNS and the narrowness of the intercellular spaces provides a basis not only for interaction between the elements themselves, but also between the elements and their microenvironment. Substances which can cross the cell membranes can easily find their way through the microenvironment to adjacent cellular elements. In this way the microenvironment can assure non-synaptic com munication between the relevant neurones. Signalization can be coded by modulation of the chemical composition of the ECS in the vicinity of the cell membrane and does not require classic connection by axones, dendrites, and synapses.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the Serono Symposium on Pre implantation Embryo Development, held in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1991. The idea for the symposium grew out of the 1989 Serono Symposium on Fertilization in Mammals* at which preimplantation development was the predominant suggestion for a follow-up topic. This was indeed a timely subject in view of the recent resurgence of interest in this funda mental phase of embryogenesis and its relevance to basic research and applied fertility studies in humans, food-producing animals, and endangered species. The symposium brought together speakers from a broad range of disciplines in order to focus on key regulatory mechanisms in embryo development, using a wide variety of animal models, and on representative topics in human preimplantation embryogenesis. The culmination of preimplantation development is a blastocyst con taining the first differentiated embryonic tissues and capable of initiating and sustaining pregnancy. The central objective of the symposium was to throw light on the regulation of cellular and molecular events underlying blastocyst formation. It was particularly appropriate that the date of the symposium marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of the classic volume Biology of the Blastocyst, the proceedings of an international workshop held in 1970. This book, which summarized most of the information then available on this topic in mammals, was edited by the pioneer in blastocyst research, Dr. Richard B1andau, who was the guest speaker at the symposium."

Biologic System Evaluation with Ultrasound is a reference book for engineers in the field of ultrasonics and is intended to inform those unfamiliar with current methods of ultrasonic analysis. Explaining the mathematical and physical principles of ultrasound imaging of living tissue with effective precision, the book encompasses the following topics: relationships between the biological and scattering hierarchies; graphic description of scattering; class 1,2,3,4 scattering and their association with the biological hierarchy; instruments used for biologic system evaluation; computed tomographic methods of imaging. The authors have provided an effective explanation of the ultrasound scattering of image and image acquisition that will benefit engineers, physicists, and radiologists alike.

The interrelated syndromes of shock and the adult respiratory distress to attract the attention of both clinical and syndrome (ARDS) continue laboratory scientists. This reflects both the size of the problem and its unresponsiveness to current lines of treatment. Doubtless, a greater appreciation of the underlying pathophysiological disturbances during the past two decades has led to appropriate action and increased survival in the early stages but once established these syndromes have remained remarkably immune to a wide spectrum of therapeutic modalities. This observation stresses the importance of prevention but also indicates the need for continued research into the nature of the established syndromes and the means whereby they may be reversed. Drs Kox and Bihari are to be congratulated on bringing together within the covers of this volume many of the acknowledged European experts in these two fields of investigation. Each author has provided an up-to-date account of his current experimental and clinical research, and their com bined contributions makes fascinating reading. Undoubtedly, these are exciting times in the development of understanding of shock and ARDS. Inevitably, more questions are raised than answers provided, but the accumulated knowledge presented here adds significantly to our under standing of this complex biological jigsaw. From this corporate endeavour will come the clinically useful developments of the future and with them the ultimate hope that the term 'refractory' shock may be finally removed from our vocabulary.