One ofthe major drivers in biological research is the establishment ofstructures and functions of the 50,000 or so proteins in our bodies. Each has a characteristic- dimensional structure, highly "ordered" yet "disordered"! This structure is essential for a protein's function and, significantly, it must be sustained in the competitive and complex environment of the living cell. It is now being recognised that when a cell loses control, proteins can se- assemble into more complex supermolecular structures such as the amyloid fibres and plaques associated with the pathogenesis of prion (CJD) or age-related (Alzheimer's) diseases. This is a pointer to the wider significance of the self-assembling properties of polypeptides. It has been long known that, in silk, polypeptides are assembled into- sheet structures which impart on the material its highly exploitable properties of flexibility combined with high tensile strength. But only now emerging is the recognition that peptides can Self-assemble into a wide variety of non-protein-like structures, including fibrils, fibres, tubules, sheets and monolayers. These are exciting observations and, more so, the potential for materials and medical exploitations is so wide ranging that over 80 scientists from Europe, USA, Japan and Israel. met 1-6 July 1999 in Crete, to discuss the wide-ranging implications of these novel developments. There was a spirit of excitement about the workshop indicative of an important new endeavor. The emerging perception is that of a new class of materials set to become commercially viable early in the 21st century.

One ofthe major drivers in biological research is the establishment ofstructures and functions of the 50,000 or so proteins in our bodies. Each has a characteristic- dimensional structure, highly "ordered" yet "disordered"! This structure is essential for a protein's function and, significantly, it must be sustained in the competitive and complex environment of the living cell. It is now being recognised that when a cell loses control, proteins can se- assemble into more complex supermolecular structures such as the amyloid fibres and plaques associated with the pathogenesis of prion (CJD) or age-related (Alzheimer's) diseases. This is a pointer to the wider significance of the self-assembling properties of polypeptides. It has been long known that, in silk, polypeptides are assembled into- sheet structures which impart on the material its highly exploitable properties of flexibility combined with high tensile strength. But only now emerging is the recognition that peptides can Self-assemble into a wide variety of non-protein-like structures, including fibrils, fibres, tubules, sheets and monolayers. These are exciting observations and, more so, the potential for materials and medical exploitations is so wide ranging that over 80 scientists from Europe, USA, Japan and Israel. met 1-6 July 1999 in Crete, to discuss the wide-ranging implications of these novel developments. There was a spirit of excitement about the workshop indicative of an important new endeavor. The emerging perception is that of a new class of materials set to become commercially viable early in the 21st century.

China was steeped in the concepts and ideology of a planned economy for 30 years until reforms began in 1978. Although the country is now well on its way to becoming a market economy, its trading system remains shackled by its centrally planned past. Measuring the Costs of Protection in China analyzes some of the costs of trade protection and the corresponding benefits of liberalization for 25 highly protected sectors in China. The book begins with a description of the development of China's trade administration system, sketching the obstacles to and prospects for further liberalization. The authors analyze the structure of Chinese trade protection and present their estimates of its static costs. They then offer an in-depth analysis of the country's trade regime and of the administrative barriers to rationalization and liberalization.The final chapter presents the authors' recommendations for improving China's trade system. They conclude that the short-term costs of trade liberalization for goods examined in the study will be substantial in terms of lost domestic output and lost jobs. The long-term benefits, however, would provide some $35 billion worth of consumer benefits. Five appendices provide greater technical detail on the modeling and methodology applied in this study, as well as a brief description of some peculiarities of the Chinese trade regime-including copious levels of smuggling and monopolistic market structures. The study was conducted by a team of Chinese economists at the independent Unirule Institute in Beijing, whose president is the prominent reformer, Mao Yushi. It is part of the Institute's series on the costs of protection in several major countries, which has previously produced publications on the United States, Japan, and Korea.