Advances in Life Sciences – serie

The Second International CBT (Center for Biotechnology) Synposium was held in Stockholm November 4-5 1988 and had the title "The steroid/thyroid hoITIDne receptor family and gene regulation". This meeting contained contributions from most leading laboratories within the field of steroid/thyroid hOITIDne receptors and gave a very exciting perspective on the dynamic development of this i:ntx>rt. ant research field. Today all known steroid hoITIDne receptors have been cloned and sequenced and novel members of this supergene family are constantly being discovered. Sane of these new receptors remain to be characterized regarding the nature of their ligand. Access to probes for steroid receptors has enabled studies on mechanisms of regulation of receptor gene expression. Deletion and II'Altational analysis of steroid receptor cDNAs followed by expression in cells together with suitable reporter genes has yielded a detailed knowledge about the functional significance of the various domains the receptors are composed of. In certain cases, steroid resistance in patients have been shown to be due to point mutations in the corresponding steroid receptor genes resulting in non-functional receptors. The availability of receptor cDNAs also makes it possible to express receptors at high levels in procaryotic and eucaryotic cells. It is e. g. possible to express the DNA-binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor in E. coli as a fusion protein with protein A which interacts specifically with DNA. Such studies are necessary for production of sufficient quantities of receptors to allow crystallization and X-ray crystallography for detailed structural information.

Methods in protein sequence analysis constitute important fields in rapid progress. We have experienced a continuous increase in analytical sensitivity coupled with decreases in time necessary for purification and analysis. Several generations of sequencers, liquid/solid/gas-phase, have passed by and returned in other shapes during just over two decades. Similarly, the introduction of HPLC permitted an enormous leap forward in this as in other fields of biochemistry, and we now start to see new major advances in purification/analysis through capillary electrophoresis. Furthermore, progress in the field of mass spectrometry has matched that in chemical analysis and we witness continuous development, now emphasizing ion spray and other mass spectrometric approaches. In short, protein analysis has progressed in line with other developments in modern science and constitutes an indispensable, integral part of present-day molecular biology. Even the available molecular tools, in the form of proteases with different specificities, have increased in number, although we still have far to go to reach an array of "restriction proteases" like the sets of nucleases available to the molecular geneticist. Of course, conferences have been devoted to protein sequence analysis, in particular the MPSA (Methods in Protein Sequence Analysis) series, of which the 8th conference took place in Kiruna, Sweden, July 1-6 1990. Again, we witnessed much progress, saw new instruments, and experienced further interpretational insights into protein mechanisms and functions.

Donald Kennedy President, Stanjord University Alnwst exactly a dozen years elapsed between the time I set aside (I thought temporarily!J my own interest in crustacean nervous systems and the arrival of an invitation from Konrad Wiese to participate in this symposium. The intervening years have plainly been productive ones for the field; indeed, I can only hope that there is no causal connection between its properity and my absence. Discontinuous contact with an intellectual venture, whatever disappointments it may present. does oifer one virtue; it provides a nwre dramatic. alnwst stroboscopic view of progress. To the lapsed practitioner, the rate of advance in crustacean neurobiology over the decade seems remarkable; equally remarkable is the number of able young researchers. many of them the scientific progeny of my colleagues from the "sixties" and "seventies" . How to summarize the changes they have wrought? Those of us who began working with crustacean nervous systems thirty years 090 or so were attracted by several features. First of alt there was a limited nwtor system with readily identifiable neurons. It was diJft.cult to look at those old methylene blue stains of Retzius and not want to do an experiment immediately!Kees Wiersma ojten did, and it was he who nwst persuasively called our attention to the advantages oifered by neuronal parsinwny in combination with stereotyped motor output patterning. Ted Bullock exploited these features in his elegant early experiments on cardiac ganglia.

About 80 scientists from allover the world have gathered at the Parc Valrose Scientific Campus of Nice -Sophia Antipolis University, for the 5th UNESCO International Conference on "Water and Ions in Biornolecular Systems", to present and discuss current problems in the field. The Conference proceedings comprise selected and reviewed contributions of invited plenary lectures, lectures and posters presentations which cover all the Biophysical sectors of research on the following three major topics : * Water, Ions and Nucleic Acids * Water, Ions and Membranes * Water, Ions and Proteins The organizers of the 5th UNESCO International Conference on "Water and Ions in Biomolecular Systems" have obtained financial support from various sponsors. They would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to these organizations for the valuable moral and financial support which has made the arrangement of these Conference in Nice possible. The Meeting has been sponsored by : * United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization * The University of Nice -Sophia Antipolis * D. R. E. T.(Defence Ministery) * Conseil General des Alpes Maritimes * Ville de Nice * The International Union of BiochernistIy * The International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics * Banque Nationale de Paris * Air Liquide * Nice Congres The Executive Committee, Professors J. JAZ, B. PULLMAN and D.

In evolutionary time scales natural disturbances have affected the vegetation on Earth. During the Quaternary the forest biomes of the tropics were subjected to manifold disturbances. Climate changes and climate oscillations were associated with changing precipitation and drought regimes, flooding, siltation, landslides, etc. The prehistorical forest was also influenced by the effects of large wildlife populations. Large-scale catastrophies in the forest biomes were mainly caused by abiotic environmental alterations, the small-scale disturbances were and still are related to both biotic and abiotic processes. Both the large-and the small-scale disturbances have played a significant role in shaping distribution, dynamics, structure and composition of the paleoforest. After the expansion of hominids and early humans, and later, by modern humans, the anthropogenic influences on the tropical forest began to overlap natural disturbances. Today's anthropogenic impacts on the tropical forests differ qualitatively and quanitatively from the natural disturbances. The speed of tropical deforestation and savannization is dramatically increasing. The physical and chemical impacts of forest conversion and biomass burning add to other anthropogenic influences on the atmosphere and climate. The expected anthropogenic climate change will also have considerable impacts on the tropical flora and fauna. The book on "Tropical Forests in Transition" synthesizes information on changing environmental conditions and human impacts on the tropical forest by looking back to the paleoecology, analyzing the impact of modern human populations and modeling the future of the tropical forest in a changing environment. The aim of the book is to strengthen multidisciplinary thinking in disturbance ecology.

The Intemational Meeting on Vitamin B6 and Carbonyl Catalysis took place on Capri, Italy from 22nd to 27th May 1994 and was organized in conjunction with the 3rd Symposium on PQQ and Quinoproteins. It was an extraordinary occasion for scientists from all over the world to meet and discuss new developments in these overlapping fields. Several sessions were dedicated to the molecular aspects of Vitamin B6 and Quinone dependent enzymes, as well as to the cellular, biomedical and nutritional aspects. The congress was inaugurated by Paolo Fasella in his capacity as General Director of Science, Research and Development of the Commission of the European Communities, with an overview on Intemational Scientific Collaboration. The scientific sessions started with a talk on the History of Vitamin B6 given by David Metzler who at the very last minute presented Esmond Snell's paper adding some personal remarks. Unfortunately, both Esmond Snell and Alton Meister had to unexpectedly cancel the trip to Capri. These proceedings contain the papers presented as oral contributions and a few selected poster presentations. The limited number of pages meant we could not publish many interesting poster presentations, including those selected for the three lively and exciting evening poster discussion sessions called by the organizers "Vino, taralli and ... discussion".

It is well known that basic science can trigger an invention of considerable technological and commercial importance. Indeed basic science and invention are often inextricably linked, each being able to catalyse the other. To engender such developments it is important that there should be good communication between the scientist and the technologist. The field of membrane biotechnology is a growing field where such communication is increasingly taking place and where new inventions are occurring. This book provides an overview of this developing field. It contains chapters by scientist and technologists working in the field of Membrane Biotechnology. The chapters cover the latest advances in basic science as well as some recent technological applications. The basic topics include the application of dynamic X-ray diffraction to lipid water systems, FTIR spectroscopy applied to membrane proteins, fluorescent analogues of phosphoinositides, studies of platelet activating factor, antibody binding to model membranes and phospholipase C induced fusion. The technological topics described include the development of new haemocompatible materials based upon biomembrane mimicry, new lung surfactant materials, drug delivery systems including liposomes and the development of new biosensors including Langmuir Blodgett films. The meeting showed that there are many other useful applications in the pipeline. The potential for new polymeric drug delivery systems, of ion selective systems based on the knowledge of ion-channel protein structures, of new plastics for cell growth and cellular engineering for artificial organs. These are among the interesting developments that are emerging in this field.

This book, prepared by participants of the European network COST ACTION 810 (1989-93) is the outcome of a meeting held in Switzerland (Einsiedeln, September 29 to October 2, 1993) on the "Impact of arbuscular mycorrhizas on sustainable agriculture and natural ecosystems". COST(Cooperation Scientifique et Technique) Networks were created in 1971 by the Commission of European Communities, and later enlarged to include non-European Member States, to promote pre-competitive scientific and technical research in fields of common interest. During the eighties, COST ACTIONS were launched in bio­ technological fields, including the network on arbuscular mycorrhizas. Arbuscular mycorrhizas are a universally found symbiosis between plants and certain soil fungi and essential components of soil-plant systems. They act as a major inter­ face by influencing or regulating resource allocation between abiotic and biotic components of the soil-plant system. Arbuscular mycorrhizas are involved in many key ecosystem processes including nutrient cycling and conservation of soil struc­ ture, and have been shown to improve plant health through increased protection against abiotic and biotic stresses. Sustainability can be defined as the successful management of resources to satisfy changing human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of the environ­ ment and conserving resources. Increasing environmental degradation and instability, due to anthropogenic activities and in particular the increasing fragility of the soil resource, has led to an increased awareness of the need to develop practices resulting in more sustainable natural and agroecosystems.

At present, we do not fully understand at what stage of the evolution of living matter the first traces of defense reactions occurred. We even do not fully understand how and why immune systems reached their contem­ porary state in advanced vertebrates and man. It may be expected that in the near future these questions will be answered by comparative and develop­ mental biology. Together with an extraordinary explosion of our knowledge about immunity of mammals including man, an increase in the interests concerning origin and development of immune mechanisms at lower stages of the phylogeny can be observed. The search for simple types of immune mechanisms in less complex but still evolutionary successful animals is promising and may contribute to better understanding of highly complex immune adaptive responses in mammals. It is important to note that comparative and evolutionary immunology differs greatly from other branches of biomedical science. Apart from immunology and molecular biology, a specialist in this discipline has to be familiar with every detail of taxonomy, comparative anatomy, physiology, embryology, and even with the phyletic relationships of animals. Probably no monography could deal with the entire animal kingdom, because, in many cases, the insights into questions about immune mecha­ nisms of many animal groupings or phyla, and their possible evolutionary implications, are unknown or just now beginning to take shape. For the moment, our knowledge on such matters relies upon reconstructions of ideas that we have deduced from studies on members of relative taxa.

The Proceedings of the Fourth International Metallothionein Meeting (MT-97) feature the latest research on metallothionein. The book covers a broad range of topics which provide important information for both basic and clinical investigators. The selected 94 articles in this book are written by the leading scientists in the field around the world. This is an increasingly important, multi-disciplinary area of study that has benefitted from recent advances in concepts and methodologies from other fields.

Neuropeptides rank among the phylogenetically oldest interneuronal signal substances. In the concept of neuro-secretion they were identified as neurohormones by which - via the blood - the brain regulates peripheral functions. It is now evident that the neuropeptides act as neurotransmitters/-modulators, as (neuro-)hormones, and paracrine or autocrine signal substances in diverse parts of the body. This book reviews, in several comprehensive articles written by distinguished specialists, the state of the art in the field of neuropeptides and peptidergic neurons. Special topics concern molecular aspects of processing, release and degradation of neuropeptides, receptors and signal transduction, comparative and behavioural aspects, and immunoregulatory effects of neuropeptides and their involvement on pathology of the central nervous system.

Two events have recently improved the prospects of protecting fish and their environment in Switzerland: the acceptance of a new Federal Water Protection Law in the plebiscite of May 17th 1992, and the new Federal Legislation on Fisheries, in force since January 1st 1994. With this legal framework, the possibilities for protection of nature and landscape have now considerably improved in Switzerland. The most important aims of the Federal Law on Water Protection are to safeguard the natural habitats of the native flora and fauna and water as the habitat of aquatic organisms. This includes not only the preservation or restoration of water quality in lakes and rivers, but also, in rivers used for hydroelectricity, irrigation or as industrial or other water supplies, the maintenance of sufficient water to fulfill the minimal requirements for fish. However, good quality water in sufficient quan­ tities alone is not enough to guarantee the survival of fish. Intact fish habitats comprise various phYsical structures including plenty of hiding places, hunting grounds, reproduction and nursery areas within suitable distances from each other. This third aspect of conservation and restoration of aquatic habitats is a central point in the new Federal Law on Fisheries. Whereas the former versions of this law were more concerned with fishery regulations, the recent legislation defines new areas of responsibility for the federal and the cantonal governments.

The field of neuroscience is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth. The range of ap- proaches used to investigate the fundamental mechanisms underlying different aspects of somatosen- sory perception has expanded substantially since the last International Symposium on Informa- tion Processing in the Somatosensory System. Diversity of approach has become the hallmark of somatosensory research, and I believe that the impact of this diversity continues to be positive. of this symposium with previous symposia will show that researchers are employing Comparison an array of new methods and technologies and that they are offering new insights into old ques- tions. The techniques range from studies of ionic channels, single unit recordings, functional brain imaging to psychophysics. A careful reading ofthe chapters reveals subtle and, on occasion, also obvious differences of opinion about experimental outcomes, approaches, and views. These differences are healthy signs of venture into new and uncharted territories.It is my hope that read- ers will appreciate both the diversity of the research addressing somesthesis, and the personal commitment, enthusiasm, and scientific rigor of the participants who made this symposium and volume meaningful for all involved. We all look forward to tracking the progress of somatosensory research at our next Symposium at the turn of the century. OveFranzen November 1995 xv List of Contributors David T. Blake Harold Burton Krieger MindlBrain Institute Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology Department of Neuroscience Washington University The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21218, USA St.

In 1992, a group of scientists including molecular biologists, microbiologists, population biolo- gists, ecologists, human geneticists, moral philosophers and others met discussing the state of affairs regarding the deliberate or unintentional release of genetically modified organisms. The proceedings of this meeting were subsequently published by Birkhauser Verlag as Transgenic Organisms: Risk Assessment of Deliberate Release (K. Wohrmann and J. Tomiuk). Since then we have gained many new insights that are also worthy of discussion. And although other equally important scientific views on the release of genetically modified organisms exist, we have mainly concentrated on aspects of population biology and evolution. The results of a second meeting in 1995 are summarized here. We are grateful to colleagues and friends for their help in the translation, correction and review of the authors' contributions. We especially want to thank Jutta Bachmann, Donna Devine, Diana von Finck, Friedrich Laplace, Volker Loeschcke, Rolf Lorenz, Dave Parker and Trevor Petney.A grant (BMFT N' 0311035) from the Ministerium fUr Forschung und Technologie der Bundesrepublik Deutschland again made possible the continuation of this cooperative endeavour.

The ~ecent Vitamin Be-Meeting in Tu~ku, FinLand, has continued a Long-standing t1'O.dition; it ws the seventh intemationaL congNss devoted to the "ChemicaL and BioLogicaL Aspects of Vitamin Be-Cata- Lysis". The fi~st meeting ws heLd 1962 in Rome foUo1JJed by the meetings in Moscow (1966), Nagoya (1967), Lening1'O.d (1974), To~onto (1979), and Athens (1983). The p~oceedings of a meeting p~ovide a "snapshot" of a pa~ticuLa~ fieLd of science. Not unLike the photog~phic p~oduct they affo~d a topicaL ~eco~ of the goings-on, at pe~haps the expense of some inforrmation on detaUs. These Proceedings focus on the st~uctu~L and mechanistic aspects of vitamin B6-dependent enaymes; h01JJeve~, othe~ topics discussed ~nge f~om nonenaymic ~eactions of vitamin B6 compounds to nut~tionaL, medicaL, and even appLied indust~aL as- pects. The Opening Session of the Meeting ws dedicated to the memo~y of the Late ALe:x:ande~ E. B~unstein, who fifty yea~s ago discove~ed t~nsamination as a metaboUc ~eaction. The contT'ibutions honoT'ing P~ofesso~ B~unstein and his Ufewo~k a~e coUected in the fi~st section of the ~oceedings.

As early as in the twenties and thirties of our century Ernst Scharrer published papers suggesting, on the basis of morphological findings, that the brain exhibits secretory function which he called neurosecretion. Only a few decades later Scharrer's presumption was fully confirmed by the isolation of a number of neuropeptides and by the disclosure of their chemical stuctures. Neuropeptide research is one of the most rapidly expanding fields in biomedicin. Initially investigators focused their attention on the existence and role of neuropeptides within the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system. This particular area of research still provides plenty of interesting and fruitful findings. Neuropeptides -including those which were discovered as "hypothalamic" hormones­ can also be detected in other parts of the brain and even in peripheral organs. In fact, several neuropeptides were found to be synthesized not only by neurones but also by non-neuronal cells. These observations imply much wider functional relevance of neuropeptides than it had been supposed initially. It appears from present day knowledge, that neuropeptides are not only involved in neurotransmission and in the control of pituitary function but also in direct regulation of numerous peripheral biological processes, including reproduction, digestion, immune functions, and even cell growth. This volume includes the invited papers of the Symposium on "Progress in Neuropeptide Research" wh ich was held in Looz/Poland on September 8-10,1988. Topics ofthe symposium reflect upon newly discovered peptides, new localizations, new functions, and new technical approaches.

Focuses on the biological roles and medical implications of metallothioneins, and related chemical and biochemical developments. The contributors present and discuss findings on the roles of metallothionein in various kinds of stress conditions, including exposure to heavy metals.