The complex relationships between alcohol use and human health represent an area of increasing interest to specialists interested in preventive cardiology. The inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, especially myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, has in fact gained sound scientific support in the last few years of the 20th century. This book, based in an international symposium on the topic held in Venice, October 30-31, 1999, analyzes in depth the epidemiological association between alcohol consumption and human diseases and discusses the possible mechanisms involved in alcohol-associated protection from atherosclerotic diseases. The oxidative effects of different amounts of alcohol intake and of various alcoholic beverages in the production of these effects - subjects of considerable debate - are also analyzed. This book should be of interest to clinicians and researchers active in the areas of atherosclerosis, public health, preventive medicine, and preventive cardiology. It is intended to specifically help practising clinicians provide their patients with evidence-based answers to the most commonly asked questions regarding alcohol use.

The effects of alcohol consumption on human health have fuelled a vigorous scientific debate in recent years. This volume, based on the scientific sessions of the International Meeting on MODERATE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, held in Venice October 30-31, 1999, is intended to offer an up-to-date view of the most recent information on this complex topic. While comprehension ofthe damages associated with alcohol abuse has improved, an increasing number of epidemiological studies performed in different countries of the world, have shown that individuals consuming moderate amounts of alcohol (l 0-30 g/day, approximately equivalent to not more than two drinks per day in men and one drink per day in women) are less affected by acute coronary events than total abstainers. The apparent protection is evident (the rate of coronary events in most studies is reduced by about 30%) and has been observed and documented among various population groups (men, women, several racial groups, middle-aged and older individuals). Protection is seen in patients with no known history of coronary heart disease, as well as in those with coronary heart disease, diabetes, etc. Recent data suggest that the protection induced by a moderate alcohol use extends to the risk of ischemic strokes and of ischemic damage to the lower limbs. Since adverse alcohol effects are less frequent at these low daily intakes, total mortality is also favourably affected in moderate alcohol consumers as compared to abstainers.

This volume, based on the International Congress Creatine: From Basic Science to Clinical Application, held in Milan on June 4, 1999, outlines the physiological role of creatine in the human body as well as its possible role in different pathological conditions. Creatine is already used as a dietary supplement to augment muscle performance in healthy individuals and inpatients with immobilizing diseases, such as complex fractures. There is also an increasing interest in its administration in a growing number of clinical conditions. A specific deficit of endogenous synthesis of creatine which responds to high dosage exogenous supplementation has been described. In cardiac failure and in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, creatine improves the contractility of the muscular system. Promising effects of this substance have also been described in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and in some mitochondrial cytopathies. This volume is of obvious interest to basic scientists working on the physiology of creatine and to clinicians interested in its medical indications.

Reflecting the recent surge of activity in food web research fueled by new empirical data, this authoritative volume successfully spans and integrates the areas of theory, basic empirical research, applications, and resource problems. Written by recognized leaders from various branches of ecological research, this work provides an in-depth treatment of the most recent advances in the field and examines the complexity and variability of food webs through reviews, new research, and syntheses of the major issues in food web research. Food Webs features material on the role of nutrients, detritus and microbes in food webs, indirect effects in food webs, the interaction of productivity and consumption, linking cause and effect in food webs, temporal and spatial scales of food web dynamics, applications of food webs to pest management, fisheries, and ecosystem stress. Three comprehensive chapters synthesize important information on the role of indirect effects, productivity and consumer regulation, and temporal, spatial and life history influences on food webs. In addition, numerous tables, figures, and mathematical equations found nowhere else in related literature are presented in this outstanding work. Food Webs offers researchers and graduate students in various branches of ecology an extensive examination of the subject. Ecologists interested in food webs or community ecology will also find this book an invaluable tool for understanding the current state of knowledge of food web research.