The X-ray luminosity-temperature relation for nearby T \simeq 3.5 - 10 keV clusters is rederived using new ASCA temperatures ( Markevitch et al .
1998a ) and ROSAT luminosities .
Both quantities are derived by directly excluding the cooling flow regions .
This correction results in a greatly reduced scatter in the L _ { X } - T relation ; cooling flow clusters are similar to others outside the small cooling flow regions .
For a fit of the form L _ { bol } \propto T ^ { \alpha } , we obtain \alpha = 2.64 \pm 0.27 ( 90 % ) and a residual rms scatter in \log L _ { bol } of 0.10 .
The derived relation can be directly compared to theoretical predictions that do not include radiative cooling .
It also provides an accurate reference point for future evolution searches and comparison to cooler clusters .

The new temperatures and L _ { X } - T relation together with a newly selected cluster sample are used to update the temperature function at z \sim 0.05 .
The resulting function is generally higher and flatter than , although within the errors of , the previous estimates by Edge et al .
( 1990 ) and Henry & Arnaud ( 1991 , as rederived by Eke et al .
1996 ) .
For a qualitative estimate of constraints that the new data place on the density fluctuation spectrum , we apply the Press-Schechter formalism for \Omega _ { 0 } = 1 and 0.3 .
For \Omega _ { 0 } = 1 , assuming cluster isothermality , the temperature function implies \sigma _ { 8 } = 0.55 \pm 0.03 , while taking into account the observed cluster temperature profiles , \sigma _ { 8 } = 0.51 \pm 0.03 , consistent with the previously derived range .
The dependence of \sigma _ { 8 } on \Omega _ { 0 } differs from earlier findings , because of our treatment of the slope of the fluctuation spectrum n as a free parameter .
For the considered values of \Omega _ { 0 } , n = - ( 2.0 - 2.3 ) \pm 0.3 , somewhat steeper than derived from the earlier temperature function data , in agreement with the local slope of the galaxy fluctuation spectrum from the APM survey ( Baugh & Gaztañaga 1996 ) , and significantly steeper than the standard CDM prediction .