This volume contains papers that were presented and discussed at The 1996 Interna tional Symposium on Programmed Cell Death, which was held in the Shanghai Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on September 8-12, 1996. Apoptosis has attracted great attention in the past several years. This is reflected in part by the exponential increase in the number of papers published on the subject. While several major scientific conferences have been held in recent years, this meeting repre sents the first major international scientific meeting on programmed cell death held in Asia, where fast economic growth promises a bright future for both basic and applied re search in biomedical sciences. We organized the meeting with the belief that such a gath ering would foster a closer interaction between scientists from the West and those in Asia. Research on programmed cell death has expanded so extensively that no one meet ing can cover all the important subjects related to apoptosis. The Shanghai meeting fo cused on several key areas ranging from well-established ones, such as cell death in the immune system, to emerging ones, such as the role ofECM in regUlating cell fate. Specifi cally, the subjects presented and discussed included programmed cell death during devel opment, the regulation and biochemical mechanisms of lymphocyte apoptosis, the involvement of extracellular matrix and its remodeling in programmed cell death, genes that cause or prevent cell death, and the application of apoptosis toward cancer therapy."

This volume contains papers that were presented and discussed at The 1996 Interna tional Symposium on Programmed Cell Death, which was held in the Shanghai Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on September 8-12, 1996. Apoptosis has attracted great attention in the past several years. This is reflected in part by the exponential increase in the number of papers published on the subject. While several major scientific conferences have been held in recent years, this meeting repre sents the first major international scientific meeting on programmed cell death held in Asia, where fast economic growth promises a bright future for both basic and applied re search in biomedical sciences. We organized the meeting with the belief that such a gath ering would foster a closer interaction between scientists from the West and those in Asia. Research on programmed cell death has expanded so extensively that no one meet ing can cover all the important subjects related to apoptosis. The Shanghai meeting fo cused on several key areas ranging from well-established ones, such as cell death in the immune system, to emerging ones, such as the role ofECM in regUlating cell fate. Specifi cally, the subjects presented and discussed included programmed cell death during devel opment, the regulation and biochemical mechanisms of lymphocyte apoptosis, the involvement of extracellular matrix and its remodeling in programmed cell death, genes that cause or prevent cell death, and the application of apoptosis toward cancer therapy."

This book aims to provide readers advanced information on the clinical application of MRI and ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound ablation for benign uterine diseases. Followed by a brief introduction of the principle and method of focused ultrasound ablation, and imaging diagnosis of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, typical cases of focused ultrasound ablation treatment for uterine fibroids, adenomyosis and other benign uterine diseases are presented, accompanying with high-resolution illustrations. Key points in imaging diagnosis, efficacy prediction, ablation procedure, and posttreatment evaluation are included. The possible complications and treatment strategies are also discussed. It will be a useful reference for gynaecologists and practitioners to perform focused ultrasound ablation for the treatment of benign uterine diseases.