The transduction of signals from the extracellular space across the plasma membrane into the interior of cells and ultimately to the nucleus, where in - sponse to such external signals the transcription of the genetic code is inf- enced,belongs to the most fundamental and important events in the regulation of the life cycle of cells. During recent years several signal transduction cascades have been elucidated which regulate,for instance,the growth and the prolife- tion of organisms as diverse as mammals, flies, worms and yeast. The general picture which emerged from these investigations is that nature employs a c- bination of non-covalent ligand/protein and protein/protein interactions together with a set of covalent protein modifications to generate the signals and transduce them to their destinations. The ligands which are recognized may be low molecular weight compounds like lipids, inositol derivatives, steroids or microbial products like cyclosporin. They may be proteins like, for instance, growth factors or intracellular adaptor proteins which carry SH2 or SH3 domains, and they may be specific DNA stretches which are selectively rec- nized by transcription factors. These and other aspects of biological signal transduction provide an open and rewarding field for investigations by scientists from various different dis- plines of biology,medical research and chemistry working in academic research institutions or in industry.

The transduction of signals from the extracellular space across the plasma membrane into the interior of cells and ultimately to the nucleus, where in - sponse to such external signals the transcription of the genetic code is inf- enced,belongs to the most fundamental and important events in the regulation of the life cycle of cells. During recent years several signal transduction cascades have been elucidated which regulate,for instance,the growth and the prolife- tion of organisms as diverse as mammals, flies, worms and yeast. The general picture which emerged from these investigations is that nature employs a c- bination of non-covalent ligand/protein and protein/protein interactions together with a set of covalent protein modifications to generate the signals and transduce them to their destinations. The ligands which are recognized may be low molecular weight compounds like lipids, inositol derivatives, steroids or microbial products like cyclosporin. They may be proteins like, for instance, growth factors or intracellular adaptor proteins which carry SH2 or SH3 domains, and they may be specific DNA stretches which are selectively rec- nized by transcription factors. These and other aspects of biological signal transduction provide an open and rewarding field for investigations by scientists from various different dis- plines of biology,medical research and chemistry working in academic research institutions or in industry.

The appropriate and rational use of drugs by the elderly is a matter of growing medical and social concern. Persons aged 65 years and older constitute about 12%-15% of the population in the Western world, and the total number of the elderly will increase significantly in the coming years. This population accounts for 30% of all the prescription drugs used. Aging, specifically the transition from middle to old age, is a complex process. From the perspective of clinical pharmacology, these pathophysiological changes may reasonably be expected to alter responsiveness to drugs. The age-related differences in response to drugs can arise from alterations in pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics. This makes it mandatory that clinical pharma cological studies be carried out in the elderly during extended phase I studies. The older the population likely to use the drug, the more important it is to include the very old. It is also important not to exclude ....: ''lecessarily patients with concomitant illnesses; it is only by observing, such patients that drug-disease interactions can be detected. Reports from surveillance systems have greatly increased our awareness of problems associated with drug therapy in old age."

For avid readers as well as academics, Sue Monk Kidd: A Collection of Critical Essays offers seven analytic studies of several of Kidd's novels, including The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees, and The Book of Longings, plus the film version of The Secret Life of Bees, to bring expanded perspectives to her work. These literary essays can serve as examples for students of literature, find a place in college English classrooms as well as libraries for both secondary and higher education, and appeal to scholars of American literature. A discourse is launched here regarding Kidd's place in postcolonialism, identity, feminism, voice, perception, spirituality, and humor. Much like other notable Southern authors before her, namely William Faulkner, Kate Chopin, Tennessee Williams, Alice Walker, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Zora Neale Hurston, and Harper Lee, Kidd's vision is more tragedy than morality play or melodrama, closer to Realism but not without Romanticism. These essays reveal how oppression, abuse, abandonment, injustice, and other tragedies find their way into Kidd's novels. The characters' plights are met not with easy or tension-free resolutions, but love, humor, insight, transcendence, and grit are rendered as they struggle with inhumane difficulties. Sue Monk Kidd's worldview is at once inclusive and expansive, transitional and transformative, heartbreaking and healing, and this collection imparts that, inviting more scholarly discourse and investigation of her exceptional works.