Bücher der Reihe NATO Science Series A

Proceedings of a NATO ASI held in Cape Sounion, Greece, June 24-July 5, 1994.

The NATO Advanced Study Institute held in the Hotel Metropole Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales from July 26th to August 4th 1981 provided an excellent platform for presentation and appraisal of our current knowledge of neurotransmitter systems.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Siena, Italy, June 3-7, 1990

Proceedings of the Second International NATO ARW held in Baarn, The Netherlands, May 8-12, 1989

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Miami, Florida, October 14-18, 1995.

Proceedings of a NATO ASI held in Antalya, Turkey, August 31 - September 11, 1997

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Salamanca, Spain, September 14-17, 1991

Proceedings of a NATO ASI held in Antalya, Turkey, August 31 - September 11, 1997

Proceedings of a NATO ASI and of the International School on Biological Magnetic Resonance Second Course on Dynamics and the Problem of Recognition in Biological Macromolecules held in Erice, Italy, May 19-30, 1995.

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Miami, Florida, October 14-18, 1995.

The NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Cerebral Blood Flow: Mathematical Models, Instrumentation, and Imaging Techniques" was held in L'Aquila, Italy, June 2-13, 1986.

Plant parasitic nematodes are a main pest to crops. For ex am pie, the root-knot nematodes belonging to the genus Meloidogyne are worldwide in their distribution and attack almost every type of crop, causing considerable losses of yield and affecting quality of produce. The cyst nematodes within the genera Globodera and Heterodera constitute a major group of plant pathogens in many countries throughout the world, suppressing yields of potato, sugar beet, soybean and cereals. Several nematodes such as longidorids and trichodorids are implicated in the transmission of numerous plant viruses. Many others cause constraints to agricultural production either locally or on large areas. However, despite their economic importance (they account for worldwide crop reduction in excess of 10%), plant parasitic nematodes are still poorly understood, because most of them are obligate parasites of roots. Environmental concerns over the agricultural use of pesticides demand the development of alternative measures to control them. To achieve environmentally sound control, knowledge of the basic biology of nematodes must be expanded. Important research areas include understanding the molecular bases for pathogenicity, the molecular mechanisms of the host- parasite interactions and the genetic bases for population fluctuations. The workshop has, for the first time, brought together an international group of researchers using molecular approaches to study plant parasitic nematodes and their host responses.

This volume is based on the NATO Advanced Study Institute, "e;Advances in Mor- phometries"e; held in 11 Ciocco, Tuscany, Italy from July 18-30, 1993, and directed by Leslie F. Marcus. The "e;Advances in Morphometries"e; ASI was advertised in Nature and a number of professional journals. Announcements were sent to relevant institutions and departments throughout the world. Because NATO required that the majority of attendees be from NATO countries, the 71 persons attending represented nine NATO countries, four eastern European countries, now recognized as equal partners for AS Is, and a few participants from non-NATO countries. Participants were all active scholars in different disciplines within biology, as well as computer science, statistics, geology and paleontology. Their experience ranged from that of graduate students to senior faculty, as well as one emeritus scholar. A complete list of the those attending and their addresses, phone and FAX numbers and, where available, e-mail addresses is given in the participants list. All the local arrangements were made by Marco Corti and Anna Loy of the University of Rome "e;Ia Sapienza. "e; They made the initial contact with the II Ciocco conference center and then arranged for computer and Xerox rentals, design of logos, organization of posters, and publication of poster abstracts.

The incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (100M) varies dramatically across racial groups and countries, with annual age-adjusted rates of approximately 40/100,000 per year in Finland, but only 0.51100,000 per year in China. Although reasons for these marked geographic differences are unknown, it is likely that genetic variations across populations play a m~or role. To determine the contribution of genetic factors to the global patterns of 100M incidence, international comparative studies are now being undertaken as part of the WHO Multinational Project for Childhood Oiabetes, known as the DIAMOND Project. It is, therefore, necessary to develop and implement epidemiologic standards for these investigations which can be applied across populations. This will ensure that comparable data are obtained in all countries, and that relevant scientific questions can be properly addressed. The development of standards for molecular epidemiologic studies of 100M is the of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop. During this meeting at the objective University of Pittsburgh, scientists from across the world convened to discuss issues relating to the standardization of: 1. the collection of family history data to assess the risk of 100M in first degree relatives, 2. case-control molecular epidemiology studies of 100M susceptibility, 3. HLA family studies, 4. laboratory methods and ONA technology transfer for genetic marker evaluations.