The papers collected in this volume represent the formal proceedings of the Third European Symposium on Calcified Tissues which was held in Davos, Switzerland from 11th to 16th April 1965 under the sponsorship of the Laboratorium fur experi mentelle Chirurgie, Schweizerisches Forschungsinstitut Davos. This Symposium fol lowed the now established tradition of the previous Symposia held in Oxford in 1963 and in Liege in 1964. Participation was again strictly on a residential basis. This year the Schatz alp Hotel provided a scenic and secluded meeting place high on a mountain side overlooking Davos yet close to the Forschungsinstitut in which the opening session of the Symposium was held. The papers and communications published in the volume are arranged in order of presentation and are grouped under the five main themes selected for discussion by the Symposium, namely, "Cell function in the formation, maintenance and destruc tion of osseous tissue," "Response of calcified tissues to mechanical factors," "Mecha nisms of mineralization and diseases related to mineral deposition," "Hormones and bone" and "Fundamental structure of dental hard tissues." The programme consisted of a number of review lectures given by invited speakers and of short communications in relation to each of the above themes. No attempt was made to record the dis cussions to the papers as, being a residential meeting, the more valuable and interest ing interchanges took place informally in small discussion groups and not within the time schedule of the prearranged programme."

In recent years, a growing interest has prompted increasing numbers of research publications and scientific conferences on the subject of urolithiasis. The aims of this symposium were three: a) to review and inte grate recent progress in major subject areas, b) to discuss current research developments and c) to stimulate interchange between investigators in Europe and in America. In a series of morning lectures, invited, recognized experts presented comprehensive reviews of major fields of urolithiasis research such as the physical chemistry of crystal formation, the metabolism of stone forming substances, and modes of therapy. A special emphasis was given to general renal physiology and the renal excretion of Ca++, Pi, Mg, oxalate and urate. Despite its obvious importance, renal function has been relatively neglected in uro lithiasis research. New research results were presented by the mechanism of after noon poster sessions. This procedure permitted informal lengthy discussions between those participants especially interested and the responsible investigator himself. In addition, informal group discussions were organized during the evenings on an ad hoc basis. In this volume, both the review lectures and brief summaries of the poster presentations have been collected. Interchange between European and American investigators was achieved by the direct participation of a large delegation from North America. This large attendance was made possible by the generous support of the National Institute for Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Disease U.S. N.I.H."

Volume 46 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains seven reviews and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the connection with the previous volumes. The articles in this volume deal with endo- genous sodium pump inhibition, with neurotransmitters involved in the central regulation of the cardiovascular system, with leukotrienes and development of novel anti-inflammatory agents, with antithrombotic stra- tegies and drugs affecting the plasma fibrinogen levels, with natural ami- noglycosides and polyamines and their effects in the mammalian orga- nism, with the latest developments in antidepressant agents and with immunopharmacological and biochemical bases of Chinese herbal medi- cine. These reviews provide valuable information on several new deve- lopments in the complex domain of drug research. In the 37 years that PDR has existed, the Editor has enjoyed the valua- ble help and advice of many colleagues. Readers, the authors of the reviews and, last but not least, the reviewers have all contributed greatly to the success of this series of monographs. Although the comments received so far have generally been favorable, it is nevertheless necessary to analyze and to reassess the current position and the future direction of such publi- cations.