"Crystallography in Molecular Biology," a NATO Advanced Study Institute, was held on September 12-21, 1985, at the Bi schenberg near Strasbourg, France. The meeting, co-sponsored by EMBO and CNRS (Centre National de 1 a Recherche Scientifique), was attended by partici pants from 18 countries. The aim of the course was to gi ve an overvi ew of crystallography related to molecular biology with special emphasis on recent results and new methodo 1 ogi ca 1 approaches. Thi s fi e 1 d of research is expandi ng enormously, partly due to its primordial contribution to biotechnology. Protei n engi...

This book includes the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Cesme (Turkey), from September 4 to 14, 1983. Recent advances in molecular biology have generated a wave of excitement about the prospective application of novel micro- biological techniques in a wide range of industrial roles. The new methodology, brought about by recombinant DNA technology, has given the biologist direct access to the genome which in turn, envisages the adaption of certain microorganisms to industrial production, much higher yields of such products as antibiotics and enzymes by biotechnological...

In July 1979, the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Bologna received a proposal from Professor Breccia to hold an International Conference on "Nitroimidazoles: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Clinical Application." Because of the great interest in these drugs in various fields, I was very pleased to accept the proposal and to give the conference the sponsorship of the University of Bologna. It was an added pleasure to accept the chairmanship of the meeting, together with Professors Sensi and Adams. At the same time, the Minister of Education approved a proposal which also came from the...

This monograph contains the contributions to the NATO Advanced Studies Institute on "Vascular Endothelium: Responses to Injury," which took place in Crete, Greece from June 18 to 27, 1994. This was the fourth in the series of NATO-supported ASIs in selected specific areas of endothelial cell biology, which began in 1988. Each time, it has combined clinical with basic scientists and renowned experts with novices in the field, in an attractive setting conducive to dissemination of knowledge, high quality discussions and exchange of ideas. This, as well as previous ASIs, reflects the hard work...

There has been an explosion of research activity related to angiogenesis in recent years, and hundreds of laboratories worldwide are actively involved in many aspects of angiogenesiS. The literature on angiogenesis increases exponentially every year, and more than 16,000 peer-reviewed articles have been published the past 25 years, which are scattered in basic science and clinical journals. The complexity of the cascade of events leading to new vessel formation from preexisting ones has challenged scientists in cell biology, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, molecular biology,...

A NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Light as Energy Source and Information Carrier in Plant Photo physiology" was held at Volterra, Italy, from September 26 to October 6, 1994, in order to consider the fundamental role that light plays in plant growth and development. This book summarises the main lectures given at this meeting which concentrated on both photochemical energy conversion and signalling (photosensing) aspects. Light harvesting and conversion into chemical energy in photosynthesis occurs at the level of chlorophyll/carotenoid containing photosystems in plants. Pigments are non...

The purpose of this workshop was to assess the value of DNA polymorphisms for the prediction, diagnosis or elucidation of aetiology for common metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis. The advent of recombinant DNA techniques has produced an explosion in knowledge of restriction site polymorphisms and hypervariable sequences around candidate genes for such common metabolic diseases as atherosclerosis, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes mellitus. These diseases are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Western societies today. Since 1983 it has become...

During recent years the subject of extreme environments and extremophiles has become a central topic in modern Biology. The capability of some microorganisms to withstand, and often prefer, the harsh conditions found in such environments is helping to define the physicho-chemicallimits of life and in consequence its essential nature. Halophiles are one of the most representative types of extremophiles, requiring high concentrations of inorganic salts, mostly sodium chloride, to grow and survive. They inhabit hypersaline environments, the distribution and abundance of which dur ing geological...

It is widely accepted that vaccination still renains the best answer to ITDst infectious diseases. Recently, vaccine developnent has been greatly facilitated by advances in ITDlecular and cell biology which have laid the foundations of a new generation of vaccines. ' hese are exemplified by submit vaccines produced through gene cloning and synthetic peptides mimicking snall regions of proteins on the outer coat of viruses and capable of eliciting virus neutralizing antibodies. However, submit and peptide vaccines are only weakly or non-inmmogenic in the absence of immunological adjuvants. The...

Advances in epilepsy in recent decades have allowed for improved algorithms for diagnosis and a common understanding of terminology with the development of the International Classifications of Seizures and the Epilepsies. Nevertheless, no common system exists for the estimation of epilepsy severity or its impact on quality of life. Therefore, epileptologists lack the ability to make quantitative assessments of individual patients for comparison of care or for meta-analyses in clinical trials. This book on the Quantitative Assessment of Epilepsy Care approaches this omission by addressing the...