This book represents the proceedings of a conference, Rheumaderm, that was held in December 1997. The meeting was a dialogue between the specialties of Rheumatology and Dermatology, exploring and discussing areas of common interest. The aim was to present problems common to both specialties, thereby emphasising the team approach to such problems and helping to combine various skills.

PUMIAO 1. The Subject Matter: Urban Public Places 2. The Location: Asia Pacific Region 3. The Purpose of the'"Book: For the Makers of Public Places 4. The Three Perspectives of the Book: Description, Criticism, and Intervention 5. Perspective One: Characteristics of Asia Pacific Cities and Their Public Places (1) High Population Density (2) Large Cities (3) Mixed Uses (4) Government-Centered and Pro-Development Culture (5) The East-versus-West Bipolarity (6) Small Amount of Public Space (7) Absence of Large Nodes and Overall Structure in Public Space (8) Intensive Use of Public Space (9) Ambiguous Boundary between the Public and the Private Summaries of Chapters 1-5 6. Perspective Two: Current Issues and Debates (1) Identity Formal Identity Functional Identity (2) Sustainability High-Tech versus Low-Tech High-Density versus Low-Density (3) Equality Equal Participation Equal Accessibility Summaries of Chapters 6-9 7. Perspective Three: Major Trends in Design and Theory (1) The "Grey" Relationship between the Public and the Private (2) The Transformation of Traditional Typology (3) Indigenous Decoration, Color and Material in New Applications (4) The Tropical Public Place Summaries of Chapters 10-17 8. Conclusion Pu Miao (ed. ), Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities, 1-45. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. 2 P. MIAO 1. The Subject Matter: Urban Public Places A visitor to Kuala Lumpur will hardly forget the experience of strolling among the fragrant fruits sold under the overhang of the five-foot walkway during a tropical downfall.

Food and raw material for its production was generally produced via the traditional agriculture. On the other hand, novel chemicals were manufactured in the laboratory or extracted from plant and animal sources. However, as the world population is steadily in creasing, there is a decrease in traditional agriculture productivity and concerns are also expressed over the damage inflicted to the environment and restrictions that might be en forced in food production. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for high qual ity agricultural products as well as for food ingredients related to both the traditional or newly discovered nutrients or phytochemicals. Trends and developments,~n the area of plant biotechnology and bioengineering has allowed manipulation of genes' !lnd/or insertion of new genes, thus production of trans genic plants. Starting from the introduction of agronomic traits, particularly stress resis tance to diverse environmental factors, process and sensory characteristics, food quality and production of novel varieties of plant-based products through genetic engineering, biotechnology is changing the,;agriculture and the concept of production of plant-ba~~d raw materials. Increasing attention is being paid on research for production of plants !pat can provide a wide array of food and non-food products. Perhaps the first non-food pro,d uct that plant biotechnology would achieve is production of large scale custom-designed industrial oils, but the list of chemicals is long, ranging" from oils and specific triacyl glycerols to biopolymers, enzymes, blood components, amo~g others.

A brief, clear, thorough, and highly enjoyable approach to clinical microbiology, brimming with mnemonics, humor, summary charts and illustrations, from AIDS to "flesh-eating bacteria" to ebola, mad cow disease, hantavirus, anthrax, smallpox, botulism, etc. Excellent Board review.

Autoimmune disorders of the skin remain an enigma for many clinicians and scientists not familiar with these mostly severe and chronic diseases. The book provides an overview and the latest information on the broad spectrum of cutaneous autoimmune disorders for clinicians, scientists and practitioners in dermatology, medicine, rheumatology, ENT, pediatrics and ophthalmology. The book is unique since it presents the state-of-the-art knowledge on pathophysiology, clinical diagnosis and management of these disorders provided by the world experts in the field. The primary intention is to broaden the understanding of the pathophysiology of cutaneous autoimmune disorders and to provide a practical guide to how to identify and handle these conditions. The book is illustrated with many tables, illustrative figures and clinical color photographs. The third edition has been thoroughly updated and extended by chapters on paraneoplastic cutaneous syndromes, atopic dermatitis and autoimmunity and Skin manifestations of rheumatic diseases.