Bücher der Reihe Advances in Life Sciences

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.

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.

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.

"The source of this book is a symposium on 'Populationsbiologische Aspekte des Artenschutzes' held in October 1989 at the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz, FRG"--Pref.

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.

Methods in protein sequence analysis constitute important fields in rapid progress. 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.

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.

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.

Preface.- The Maillard reaction by Ted Labuza.- Chemistry.- Chemical Pathways of the Maillard Reaction.- Roast Aroma Formation. The Role of Amino Acids During the Maillard Reaction.- Detection of Maillard Reaction Intermediates by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography.- Oxidative Degradation of Protein-Bound Amadori Products : Formation of Nc-Carboxymethyllysine and N-Carboxymethyl Amino Acids as Indicators of the Extent of Non-Enzymatic Glysosylation.- Glucose-Lysozyme Reactions in a Restricted Water Environment.- Model Experiments on the Formation of N-?-Carboxymethyllysine (CML) in Foods.- Maillard Reaction in Sugar-Protein Systems.- The Role of 3-Deoxyglucosone in the Maillard Reaction.- Characterization of the Major Browning Derivates of Lysine with 2-Amino-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose.- Intramolecular Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of Tryptophan and Lysine Amadori Rearrangement Products.- Related Ring Enlargement Reactions of Proline, Azetidinic Acid, Arginine and Lysine with Reducing Sugars.- Effect of Lipid in the Maillard Reaction.- Heterocycle Formation from Malondialdehyde and Amino Sugars.- Key Mechanistic Problems Posed by the Maillard Reaction.- Food Science.- The Influence of Maillard Reactions on the Sensory Properties of Foods.- Development of the Maillard Reaction During Food Processing.- Studies on Bakers Yeast as a Source of Maillard-Type Bread Flavor Compounds.- Flavor Problems Associated with the Microwave Cooking of Food Products.- Volatile Components of Okra (Hibiscus Esculentus L.) Formed as a Result of the Maillard Reaction.- The Mode of Action of Antibacterial Maillard Reaction Products.- Inhibitory Effects of Tea Extracts on the Formation of Advanced Glycosylation Products.- The Antibacterial Effect of Maillard Reaction Products and Sorbic Acid at Different pH Levels and Temperatures..- Safety of Amino Acids Heated with Sodium Ascorbate.- The Chemistry of Coloured Compounds Formed During Sugar Manufacture.- Nutrition.- Influence of the Maillard Reaction on the Nutritional Value of Foods.- Metabolism and Physiological Effects of Maillard Reaction Products (MRP).- Balance Studies with Glycosylated Proteins on Human Volunteers.- Separation and Characterization of Metal Chelating Compounds in Coffee.- Antioxidative Effect of Maillard Reaction Products in Vivo.- Effect of Melanoidin on Cholesterol in Plasma, Liver and Feces in Rats Fed a High-Cholesterol Diet.- Immunodominancy and Antigenic Structure of Lactose-Protein Maillard Adduct.- Antibody-Binding to a Maillard-Reacted Protein.- Physiological Activity and Metabolism of 3-Deoxyglucosone.- Allergenicity of Malondialdehyde-Protein Complex in Soybean-sensitive Individuals.- Toxicology.- Mutagens and Carcinogens Formed by Cooking Meat and Fish : Heterocyclic Amines.- Anticarcinogenic Effect of Browning Reaction Products.- Maillard Reactions and the Formation of Genotoxic Amino-imidazoazaarenes (AIA) Present in Fried Meat and Fish.- Micromethod for the Determination of Heterocyclic Amines.- Scavenging of Active Oxygens by Melanoidin.- Inhibition of in Vivo Mutagenicity by Maillard Reaction Products and Coffee.- Mutagen Formation in Wheat Gluten, Carbohydrates, and Amino Acid and Gluten Carbohydrate Blends.- 2-0xoaldehyde-Metabolizing Enzymes in Animal and Plant Tissues.- Inhibition of Formation of Mutagens/Carcinogens During Cooking of Meat.- In Vivo Reaction.- The Maillard Reaction as a Basis for a Theory of Aging.- Nonenzymatic Reaction of Reducing Sugars with DNA.- Accumulation of Maillard Reaction Products in Tissue Proteins.- In Vitro and In Vivo Glycation of Human IgG.- Formation of Early and Advanced Glycation Products of Lens Crystal1ins with Erythrose, Ribose and Glucose.- Increased Glycation of Human Erythrocyte Cu, Zn-Superoxide Dismutase in Diabetic Patients with Cataracts and Retinopathy.- Autoxidation and DNA Cleavage Reaction of Glycated Proteins.- Biological Recognition of Advanced End Product of the Maillard Reaction.- Prevention of the Maillard Reaction and Reversible Destruction of Advanced Glycation End Products (Age) by Novel Organic Germanium Compounds and Aminoguanidine.- Parent Ion Spectroscopy Use in the Identification of Advanced Glycation Products.- Autoxidation of Amadori Compounds in the Presence of Copper Ion and its Effects on the Oxidative Damage to Protein.- Acceleration of Fructose-Mediated Collagen Glycation.- Decreased Actin Activated Myosin ATPase Activity by Non-Enzymatic Glycation.- Generation of Superoxide During and Autoxidation of Glycated Protein : Participation in Phospholipids Peroxidation.- Secondary Glycation of Nonenzymatically Glycated Protein by Fructose : a Possible Source of Fluorescence Generation.- Involvement of Monosaccharide Autoxidation in DNA Glycation under Physiological Conditions.

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 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.

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.

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.

The Proceedings of the Fourth International Metallothionein Meeting (MT-97) feature the latest research on metallothionein. This is an increasingly important, multi-disciplinary area of study that has benefitted from recent advances in concepts and methodologies from other fields.

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.

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.

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.

Focuses on the modification of organisms through genetic manipulation. This work covers topics including molecular biology and ecology, aspects of evolutionary and population genetics, human genetics and genetically modified food. It considers the history of risk assessment and ethical implications with respect to the deliberate release of GMOs.