The purpose of the symposium is to discuss current experimental and theoretical studies of weak and electromagnetic interactions in nuclei, emphasizing fundamental problems of particle, nuclear and astrophysics. Subjects discussed included symmetries and conservation laws, neutrino physics, nuclear weak process and weak form factors, electromagnetic probes for hadrons and nuclear structures, symmetries and flavornuclei, new facilities, and others.

This is the only book of its kind to provide an overview of the science of flavonoids in plants.

The birth of this monograph is partly due to the persistent efforts of the General Editor, Dr. Klaus Timmerhaus, to persuade the authors that they encapsulate their forty or fifty years of struggle with the thermal properties of materials into a book before they either expired or became totally senile. We recognize his wisdom in wanting a monograph which includes the closely linked properties of heat capacity and thermal expansion, to which we have added a little 'cement' in the form of elastic moduli. There seems to be a dearth of practitioners in these areas, particularly among physics postgraduate students, sometimes temporarily alleviated when a new generation of exciting materials are found, be they heavy fermion compounds, high temperature superconductors, or fullerenes. And yet the needs of the space industry, telecommunications, energy conservation, astronomy, medical imaging, etc. , place demands for more data and understanding of these properties for all classes of materials - metals, polymers, glasses, ceramics, and mixtures thereof. There have been many useful books, including Specific Heats at Low Tempera tures by E. S. Raja Gopal (1966) in this Plenum Cryogenic Monograph Series, but few if any that covered these related topics in one book in a fashion designed to help the cryogenic engineer and cryophysicist. We hope that the introductory chapter will widen the horizons of many without a solid state background but with a general interest in physics and materials.

Highlighting the current developments and future directions in GABA research, the ambitious aim of this topical volume is to cover GABA from the molecular mechanisms of its transmission to new targets for pharmaceutical research. Distinguished scientists at the forefront of GABA research were invited to contribute reviews on glutamate decarboxylase and autoimmunity, molecular structure and functional regulation of GABA transporters, transmitter release and GABA receptor regulation, GABA receptor subtypes and functional regulation, and GABA receptor ligands and their therapeutic application. Describing the latest advances in what has become a rapidly-evolving field, this volume will prove immensely valuable to neuroscientists, pharmacologists, biochemists, and physiologists working in the field of GABA research.

Nuclear molecules are analogous to ordinary electronic molecules. Valence nucleons are circling nuclear cores and thus bind them. They appear in collisions of nuclei on nuclei, and in fission and fusion processes. Here a lively field of research has developed over the past 20 years. Nuclear Molecules are the strongest deformed nuclear complexes and play an important role in nuclear structure (cluster) physics. They are also of considerable interest for the synthesis of elements in astrophysics (cosmology). Most of the various nuclear molecular phenomena are discussed.This book is the first monograph exclusively written to cover the theoretical aspects of nuclear molecular phenomena in heavy ion collisions. The experimental evidence is presented and confronted with theory.

The Nd:YAG laser has finally become the multidisciplinary and muitispeciaity tool of the 1980s. Primarily developed for gastrointestinal applications for controlling bleeding, at present it is also used for endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal tumors, endobronchial cancer, and bladder and gynecological lesions and finding applications in otorhinolaryngology and neurosurgery. De velopment of laser scalpels and focusing head-pieces has now allowed the Nd:YAG laser to be used for open surgical procedures in general and plastic surgery, head and neck surgery, urology, gynecology, dermatology, and neu rosurgery. The rapid development in ceramic technology has led to contact surgery allowing physicians a choice of excision, vaporization, coagulation, incision, or combinations thereof by easily changing probes rather than having to select new laser wavelengths. This technology is rapidly replacing the carbon dioxide laser which currently has no adequate flexible waveguide for fiberoptic en doscopy, cannot be used in a water medium (e.g., bladder), and has poor coagulation properties when compared to the Nd:YAG laser. Future developments may see the Nd:YAG laser even replacing electro cautery in the operating room due to its greater safety and efficacy. Local hyperthermia (laserthermia) with computer control, photodynamic therapy, and ophthalmic applications make the Nd:YAG laser the most exciting tech nological advancement in medicine and surgery for the 1980s.

Ascidians are the invertebrate group that gave rise to vertebrates, thus the biology of ascidians provides an essential key to understanding both invertebrates and vertebrates. This book is the first to cover all areas of ascidian biology, including development, evolution, biologically active substances, heavy metal accumulation, asexual reproduction, host-defense mechanisms, allorecognition mechanisms, comparative immunology, neuroscience, taxonomy, ecology, genome science, and food science. The 69 articles that make up the collection were contributed by leading ascidiologists from all over the world who participated in the First International Symposium on the Biology of Ascidians, held in June 2000 in Sapporo, Japan. For scientists and students alike, the book is an invaluable source of information from the latest, most comprehensive studies of ascidian biology.