Purpose ofthe Workshop In the spirit of enhancing developments in science and technology by facilitating international scientific cooperation, the Science Committee of NATO is sponsoring AR W's in several selected priority areas. The objective of this workshop was to discuss what microbial mediated problems have been experienced in the area of nuclear waste management and spent fuel storage. Long term storage of high-level wastes in repositories is just starting in some countries. However, low and medium level wastes have been stored for several decades. In the area of spent fuel interim, storage has been extended at many locations far beyond the intended time. It was a priority of the workshop to examine and discuss what deleterious effects have been observed under these storage conditions or under conditions used in simulated trial tests for predicting material performance under the storage conditions. For example, one chronic problem that was discussed was possibility that microbial influenced corrosion (MIC) could be taking place in the wet storage of spent fuel thereby initiating or accelerating the process of corrosion. Another discussion in the area of waste forms, focused on the presence ofbiofilms which may be breaking down the structure of the waste form and thereby jeopardizing its integrity. The meeting focused on discussing the observations and data collected relating to problems encountered in the storage of these types of wastes, and sharing this information with others that have not monitored their facilities for similar problems.

Collection of papers presented at three workshops, hosted by the Centre for Clean Environment Technology, Bangalore University during 1998-2001 and some contributed atricles.

MARK FINKELSTEIN National Renewable Energy Laboratory BRIAN H. DAVISON Oak Ridge National Laboratory The proceedings of the 19th symposium on Biotechnologyfor Fuels and Chemicals, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 4-8, 1997, had over 200 attendees. This meeting continues to provide a unique forum for the presentation of new applications and recent research advances in the production of fuels and chemicals through biotech nology. The utilization of renewable resources, and in particular cellulosic biomass, has broad implications in today's world of green house gases, global warming, ozone layers, climate change, energy sustainability, and carbon emissions. It also has relevance to the chemical industry's continuing need to both lower current chemi cal production costs and produce novel chemicals. Biotechnology and bioprocessing are now making it possible to convert this bio mass to fuels and chemicals in a commercially attractive fashion. The 19th Symposium captures a wide range of technical topics from an academic, industrial, or government perspective. A vari ety of biomass feedstocks are discussed in Session 1, along with several updated and innovative pretreatment processing approaches. The ability to turn lignocellulosic materials into simple sugars offers great opportunities to generate cost-effective feed stocks to be used in biotechnological processes for the production of fuels and chemicals. Through the advent of genetic engineering, the development of a series of exciting new biocatalysts and microbes were presented in Session 2.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Advances in Marine Chitin and Chitosan" that was published in Marine Drugs

Discover a comprehensive and current overview of microbial bioprospecting written by leading voices in the field In Bioprospecting of Microorganism-Based Industrial Molecules, distinguished researchers and authors Sudhir P. Singh and Santosh Kumar Upadhyay deliver global perspectives of bioprospecting of biodiversity. The book covers diverse aspects of bioprospecting of microorganisms demonstrating biomass value of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and bioenergetic importance. The authors present an amalgamation of translational research on bioresource utilization and ecological sustainability that will further the reader’s knowledge of the applications of different microbial diversity and reveal new avenues of research investigation. Readers will also benefit from: A thorough introduction to microbial biodiversity and bioprospecting An exploration of anti-ageing and skin lightening microbial products and microbial production of anti-cancerous biomolecules A treatment of UV protective compounds from algal biodiversity and polysaccharides from marine microalgal sources Discussions of microbial sources of insect toxic proteins and the role of microbes in bio-surfactants production Perfect for academics, scientists, researchers, graduate and post-graduate students working and studying in the areas of microbiology, food biotechnology, industrial microbiology, plant biotechnology, and microbial biotechnology, Bioprospecting of Microorganism-Based Industrial Molecules is an indispensable guide for anyone looking for a comprehensive overview of the subject.