The ISOTT 2001 local organizing committee was pleased to welcome over 140 delegates from around the world to the 29th annual general meeting of the International Society for Oxygen Transport to Tissue. The meeting was held in historic Philadelphia, USA, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania from August 11 to 15, 2001. In the tradition of ISOTT, the conference was a total immersion experience. Attendees were encouraged to eat together and spend their evenings relaxing together in a style that maximized exchange of ideas and interactions of younger scientists with their more senior colleagues. Delegates participated in a total of 122 presentations including poster displays, selected oral presentations, seminars by invited speakers and a round table discussion. In choosing invited speakers and oral presenters, special emphasis was placed on methods for oxygen measurement in living tissue and application of these technologies to understanding physiological and biochemical basis for pathology related to tissue oxygenation. All of the manuscripts contained in this volume underwent both an editorial and scientific review, and only those meeting both criteria have been published. However, while all efforts have been made to eliminate editorial errors, some have undoubtedly been overlooked, for which the editors apologize.

This book contains the refereed contributions from the 43rd annual meeting of ISOTT. The annual meetings of ISOTT bring together scientists from various fields (medicine, physiology, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, etc.) in a unique international forum. ISOTT conferences are a place where an atmosphere of interaction is created, where many questions are asked after each presentation and lively discussions occur at a high scientific level. This vivid interaction is the main motivation for members to participate and gain new ideas and knowledge in the broad field of oxygen transport to tissue. The proceedings include sessions covered various research topics including Multi-Modal Imaging/Spectroscopy & Instrumentation; Cancer Metabolism; Cellular Hypoxia and Mitochondrial Function; Brain Oxygenation and Function; Other Organ Function and Metabolism; Oxygen Transport in Sports, Diseases and Clinical Care; Acupuncture, Meridians, and Primo Vascular System; EPR, MRS and MRI.

The 23rd annual meeting of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue took place from August 23-27, 1995, at the Station Square Sheraton along the shores of the Monongahela River where it meets with the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to form the "Point" of the city of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was a convenient location for the meeting be ing between both the East and West coasts of the United States and between the Asian and European continents. It is easily accessible by air via its large international airport. In ad dition, Pittsburgh has just recently undergone a transition from the steel mills and indus tries of old to an age of computers and biotechnology as evidenced by the new Biotechnology Center of the University of Pittsburgh where a lunch and tour were pro vided for interested participants. On the tour, the participants got to see the mix of projects ranging from molecular biology to clinical projects studying membrane oxygenators, ven tricular assist devices, oxygen carriers, and more, representing the forefront of research on oxygen delivery systems to tissue.

The ISOTT 2001 local organizing committee was pleased to welcome over 140 delegates from around the world to the 29th annual general meeting of the International Society for Oxygen Transport to Tissue. The meeting was held in historic Philadelphia, USA, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania from August 11 to 15, 2001. In the tradition of ISOTT, the conference was a total immersion experience. Attendees were encouraged to eat together and spend their evenings relaxing together in a style that maximized exchange of ideas and interactions of younger scientists with their more senior colleagues. Delegates participated in a total of 122 presentations including poster displays, selected oral presentations, seminars by invited speakers and a round table discussion. In choosing invited speakers and oral presenters, special emphasis was placed on methods for oxygen measurement in living tissue and application of these technologies to understanding physiological and biochemical basis for pathology related to tissue oxygenation. All of the manuscripts contained in this volume underwent both an editorial and scientific review, and only those meeting both criteria have been published. However, while all efforts have been made to eliminate editorial errors, some have undoubtedly been overlooked, for which the editors apologize.

Critical care clinicians must be knowledgeable about the anatomic, physiologic, and biochemical processes that are critical to the restoration of a functioning microvascular affecting organ perfusion. These basic physiologic processes critical to tissue perfusion and cellular oxygenation are presented in this issue on Monitoring Tissue Perfusion and Oxygenation. A working knowledge of oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption at the microvascular level will provide critical information needed for clinicians to continuously question the adequacy of tissue perfusion given our current lack of microvascular bedside monitoring.

"Contents of this Ph.D. dissertation include: Cerebral complications in the neonatal intensive care, Gastro-intestinal complications in neonatal intensive care, Near-infrared spectroscopy, Measurement of cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume by NIRS, Measurement of cerebral oxygenation, Literature review of measurements of cerebral oxygenation and cerebral blood flow using near-infrared spectroscopy in neonates, Continuous measurement of cerebral blood flow and cerebral haemoglobin oxygen saturation with NIRO 300 in Neonatology, Use of NIRO 300 monitor, Measurement of the different parameters, Measurement of normal values of TOI in prematurely born infants, Conclusions."

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research on the molecular players in the tumor microenvironment, including Cathepsin D, galectins, iron, oxygen, Phospholipase D1, leptin, extracellular vesicles, and more. Taken alongside its companion volumes, these books update us on what we know about the tumor microenvironment as well as future directions. Tumor Microenvironment: Molecular Players – Part A is essential reading for advanced cell biology and cancer biology students as well as researchers seeking an update on research in the tumor microenvironment.