BOOK REVIEXVS 53 Prof. Albert has his feet firmly on the ground when he forcefully argues for the essential role of clinical pharmacology in drug research. Cosmetic chemists generally do not become deeply involved in these matters but there is much to be said for grasping the main principles, for example, to avoid acquiring a narrow and routine attitude towards toxicological studies. If a fixed range of prescribed animal tests ever becomes the beginning and end of safety evalua- tion for cosmetics, the outlook for our purchasers will be a grim one. Digesting Prof. Albert's book would certainly help to avoid this eventuality. N.J. VAN ABBI• . ABWASSER, ABGAS, SCHWEBSTOFFTECHNIK. Dechema- Monographien Nr. 1045-1069. 59. Pp. 350 + I11. (1968). Verlag Chemie, Weinheim. In 1967 a symposium xvas held in Frankfurt (West Germany) concerning effluents, waste gases and atmospheric aerosols. In total 27 lectures were given, of which 25 have been printed in this book. With the exception of three French contribu- tions, all papers are given in the original language with summaries in German, English and French. Of special interest to cosmetic chemists seems the development of the laminar flow clean rooln system, which can maintain an atmosphere essentially free from particles «gm and larger. Since most known bacteria are in this range, the method would be ideal in the first place for maintaining a sterile atmosphere in critical areas of hospitals, e.g. the operating theatre. At this moment it seems far-fetched, but it might be worthwhile for manufacturers of toiletries to keep an eye on the further development of this technique. G. CARRIERE UNTERNEHMENSFORSCHUNG (OPERATIONS RE- SEARCH). Dechema-Monographien Nr. 1070-1082. 60. Pp. 217 + Ill. (1968). Verlag Chemie, Weinheim. This contains the thirteen papers given at the "Achema Tagung", 1967. All papers deal with the applications of operations research to chemical technology. Each paper has been printed in its original language, except one French article •vhich has been translated into English. But all papers have summaries in English, German and French. The principles of operations research, i.e. the rational application of quantitative methods to problems of planning and decision making, had been known for a long time, but its practical application has only been made possible by the intro- duction of the digital computer. For everyone who has to invite tenders or to place contracts, this little book is of great- interest, as it indicates the best exploitation of capacities in setting up time schedules, and, finally, in determining the optimal distribution from the point of costs. G. CARRIERE

54 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS MESSTECHNIK-STEUERUNG UND REGELUNG. Dechema-Monographien Nr. 1083-1101. 61. Pp. 249 q- Ill. (1968). Verlag Chemie, Weinheim. This contains the most important papers on measured value processing and process monitoring given at the 15th Exhibition of Chemical Apparatuses (Frankfurt, 1967). As usual the English and German contributions are given in their original lan- guages, two French papers have been translated into German, but all articles have an English, French and German summary. The primary appeal will be for all those who are interested in the various appli- cation possibilities of process computers, digital controllers and transmitters with their scanner and amplifier problems. G. CARRIERE GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ABSTRACTS- 1967. Editor: C. E. H. Knapman. Pp. xvii 3- 282. (1968). Institute of Petroleum, London. oe 3.15 (63s). This is the tenth volume in this series. For all those interested in gas chromato- graphy and its application these books make a compact yet comprehensive cover for the technique. The format of this volume is very similar to the previous one. One difference which will be welcomed is a considerably extended list of trade names, abbreviations and their chemical equivalents. The list in an incomplete form first appeared in the 1966 edition at the back of the book. In this edition it is included at the front of the book after the list of journals abstracted. The tables of retention indices have not been included in this issue presumably because there have been no changes and they can be found by reference to the previous volume. Articles and papers abstracted in 1967 number 1120. These show that there have been significant advances in the majority of areas of application. Several abstracts deal with the linking of gas chromatography with other analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry, uv and ir spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectro- merry etc., and it is clear that combination of techniques will become more general and widespread in due course. There are also papers on reaction and pyrolysis gas chromatography which open up further interesting possibilities. This volume, like its predecessors, will be welcomed since it is the only book of its kind which gives as wide a cover of journals abstracted and as detailed and com- prehensive an index of the year's publications relating to the field. MRs. D. M. GABRIEL. POLISHES. A. Davidsohn and B. M. Milwidsky. 5th edn. Pp. xiv 3- 205 3- Ill. (1968). Leonard Hill, London. •3.50 (70s.). This book is intended as a companion volume to "Synthetic Detergents"