ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Volcanism and tectonism are the dominant endogenic means by which planetary surfaces change. This book aims to encompass the broad range in character of volcanism, tectonism, faulting and associated interactions observed on planetary bodies across the inner solar system - a region that includes Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, Mars and asteroids. The diversity and breadth of landforms produced by volcanic and tectonic processes is enormous, and varies across the inner solar system bodies. As a result, the selection of prevailing landforms and their underlying formational processes that are described and highlighted in this volume are but a primer to the expansive field of planetary volcanism and tectonism. This Special Publication features 22 research articles about volcanic and tectonic processes manifest across the inner solar system.

Description / Table of Contents: The superposition of stratified rocks is an unmistakable manifestation of the history of sedimentary processes through deep time. However, the relationship between the preserved strata of the rock record and the passage of geological time, indisputable in principle, is unknowable in detail; incompleteness is an essential property of the record. That gaps exist at all scales in sedimentary successions is easily demonstrated from consideration of sediment accumulation rates, and expectations of continuity and completeness at any scale are correspondingly inadvisable. Locating and quantifying the gaps in the record is, however, very much less straightforward. Predictive modelling of strata – essential for their practical exploitation – requires such geohistorical understanding, yet over-simplified assumptions about how time is represented in rock can still lead to inadequate or even false conclusions. The contributions to this volume describe a range of practical studies, theoretical investigations, and numerical experiments in which the nature of the strata–time relationship is explored.

Description / Table of Contents: Global warming has become perhaps the most complicated issue facing world leaders. It is becoming clear that humans have caused most of the past century's warming by releasing heat-trapping gases as we power our modern lives mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests. Whatever the uncertainties of climate models are, mankind has to strive very fast toward reduction in the huge amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere in order to preserve natural resources and living organisms by introducing new advances on alternative fuels and other related technologies. This book presents the state-of-the-science fundamentals on the origin of Global Warming. The aim of the book is to create awareness among the energy engineers, academicians, researchers, industry personnel and society as a whole to help to stop the impact of climate change. In this book, chapters received from various authors are placed in three sub- sections - Causes of Global Warming, Impacts / Threats / Consequences of Global Warming and Remedies to the Global Warming.

Description / Table of Contents: The book Earthquake Engineering - From Engineering Seismology to Optimal Seismic Design of Engineering Structures contains fifteen chapters written by researchers and experts in the fields of earthquake and structural engineering. This book provides the state-of-the-art on recent progress in the field of seimology, earthquake engineering and structural engineering. The book should be useful to graduate students, researchers and practicing structural engineers. It deals with seismicity, seismic hazard assessment and system oriented emergency response for abrupt earthquake disaster, the nature and the components of strong ground motions and several other interesting topics, such as dam-induced earthquakes, seismic stability of slopes and landslides. The book also tackles the dynamic response of underground pipes to blast loads, the optimal seismic design of RC multi-storey buildings, the finite-element analysis of cable-stayed bridges under strong ground motions and the acute psychiatric trauma intervention due to earthquakes.

Description / Table of Contents: The sustainability of irrigation and drainage in the face of many variants and constraints like availability of water as a resource, ecological balance, socio-cultural impacts, and climate change effects lies in the strategies adopted and systems emplaced. It has always remained a challenge for the users of irrigation waters to maintain sustainability in quality and quantity. This book aims ?to explore frontiers of knowledge in coining sustainable strategies and systems direly needed in managing the quality and quantity of water required for crop irrigation, surface and root zone drainage and flood management using available tools of research and development?. Eminent authors and their colleagues possessing varied professional backgrounds and expertise have dealt with these issues concerning the strategies and systems of irrigation and drainage. This book will prove to be beneficial for crop growers, agricultural engineers, water resource managers, academicians and graduate students alike.

Description / Table of Contents: Long-term Climate Change: Climatic Change during the Holocene (Past 12,000 Years) --- The Historical Timeframe (Past 1000 Years) --- Recent Climate Change (Past 200 years): Recent Change – Atmosphere --- Recent Change – River Runoff --- Recent Change – Terrestrial Cryosphere --- Recent Change – Marine Circulation and Stratification --- Recent Change – Sea Ice --- Recent Change – Sea Level and Wind Waves --- Future Climate Change: Projected Change – Models and Methodology --- Projected Change – Atmosphere --- Projected Change – Hydrology --- Projected Change – Marine Physics --- Projected Change – Sea Level --- Environmental Impacts of Climate Change: Environmental Impacts – Atmospheric Chemistry --- Environmental Impacts – Coastal Ecosystems, Birds and Forests --- Environmental Impacts – Freshwater Biogeochemistry --- Environmental Impacts – Marine Biogeochemistry --- Environmental Impacts – Marine Ecosystems --- Environmental Impacts – Coastal Erosion and Changing Coastlines --- Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Change: Socio-Economic Impacts – Forestry and Agriculture --- Socio-Economic Impacts – Urban Settlements --- Drivers of Regional Climate Change: Evidence of Warming --- Regional Change Drivers – Aerosols --- Regional Change Drivers – Land Cover

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Gastrointestinal digestion models, general introduction --- Static digestion models general introduction --- InfoGest consensus method --- Approaches to static digestion models --- Dynamic digestion models general introduction --- The TNO gastro-Intestinal Model (TIM) --- Dynamic Gastric Model (DGM) --- Human Gastric Simulator (Riddet model) --- The DIDGI® System --- General introduction to cells, cell lines and cell culture --- Epithelial cell models; General introduction --- Caco-2 cell line --- HT29 cell line --- The IPEC-J2 cell line --- Co-cultivation of Caco-2 and HT-29MT --- Innate and adaptive immune cells; General introduction --- THP-1 and U937 cells --- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells --- PBMC-derived T cells --- Dendritic Cells --- Co-culture Caco-2/ immune cells --- Enteroendocrine Cell Models: General introduction --- STC-1 cells --- NCI-H716 cells --- Murine GLUTag cells --- In vitro intestinal tissue models: General introduction --- Intestinal crypt organoids as experimental models --- Porcine ex vivo intestinal segment model --- Ussing chamber --- In vitro fermentation models: General Introduction --- One compartment fermentation model --- The TNO in vitro model of the colon - TIM-2 --- The Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem – SHIME® --- The computer-controlled multicompartmental dynamic model of the gastrointestinal system SIMGI

Description / Table of Contents: Our understanding of the physical and chemical processes that regulate the evolution of magmatic systems has improved tremendously since the foundations were laid down 100 years ago by Bowen. The concept of crustal magma chambers has progressively evolved from molten-rock vats to thermally, chemically and physically heterogeneous reservoirs that are kept active by the periodic injection of magma. This new model, while more complex, provides a better framework to interpret volcanic activity and decipher the information contained in intrusive and extrusive rocks. Igneous/metamorphic petrology, geochemistry, geochronology and numerical modelling all contributed towards this new picture of crustal magmatic systems. This book provides an overview of the wide range of approaches that can nowadays be used to understand the chemical, physical and temporal evolution of magmatic and volcanic systems.

Description / Table of Contents: Understanding the behaviour of gases in the context of radioactive waste disposal is a fundamental requirement in developing a safety case for the disposal of radioactive waste. Of particular importance are the long-term performance of bentonite buffers and cement-based backfill materials that may be used to encapsulate and surround the waste in a repository, and the behaviour of plastic clays, indurated mudrocks and crystalline formations that may be the host rocks for a repository. The EC Euratom programme funded project, FORGE, has provided new insights into the processes and mechanisms governing gas generation and migration with the aim of reducing uncertainty. This volume brings together papers on aspects of this topic arising from both the FORGE project and work undertaken elsewhere. This has been achieved by the acquisition of new experimental data coupled with modelling, through a series of laboratory and field-scale experiments performed at a number of underground research laboratories throughout Europe.

Description / Table of Contents: This edited book, Emerging Pollutants in the Environment Current and Further Implications, includes overviews by significant researchers on the topic of emerging pollutants toxicology, which covers the hazardous effects of common emerging xenobiotics employed in our every day anthropogenic activities. We hope that this book will meet the expectations and needs of all those who are interested in the negative implications of several emerging pollutants on living species.

Description / Table of Contents: The pollution of soil and groundwater by heavy metals and other chemicals is becoming a serious issue in many countries. However, the current bioremediation processes do not often achieve sufficient remediation, and more effective processes are desired. This book deals with advances in the bioremediation of polluted soil and groundwater. In the former chapters of this book, respected researchers in this field describe how the optimization of microorganisms, enzymes, absorbents, additives and injection procedures can help to realize excellent bioremediation. In the latter chapters, other researchers introduce bioremediation processes that have been performed in the field and novel bioremediation processes. Thus, the readers will be able to obtain new ideas about effective bioremediation as well as important information about recent advances in bioremediation.

Description / Table of Contents: Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water for the purposes intended for. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed. The most common standards used to assess water quality relate to health of ecosystems, safety of human contact and potable drinking water. A range of diverse topics in the field of water quality modelling, statistical evaluation and guidelines pertaining to the best management practices in different locations around the world is given herein. Modelling of water quality in rivers and lakes, statistical methods and membrane filter performance are subject matters of interest considering in-situ water, potable water, water re-use, etc.

Description / Table of Contents: The European Commission's in-house science service today publishes the first ever comprehensive overview of the soils of Latin America and the Caribbean. Through colourful maps and illustrations the atlas explains in a simple and clear manner the diversity of soil across Central and South America and the Caribbean. It highlights the vital importance of a natural non-renewable resource which provides food, fodder and fuel for 580 million people. The atlas shows the delicate relationships between soils and the functions that they provide. It raises awareness of the inter-relationships with climate and land use while illustrating the role of soil in food security, particularly in relation to climate change. Latin America's soils also support some of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems. In Latin America and the Caribbean, soils have to meet the needs of a population that is in continuous and rapid growth. More than half of the 576 million hectares of arable land of Latin America are estimated to be affected by degradation processes, notably in South America and Mesoamerica. The main causes are change in land use (especially deforestation), over-exploitation, climate change and social inequality. The atlas presents a number of strategies for soil preservation and conservation.

Description / Table of Contents: Classifications of circulation weather systems have a long history in meteorology and climatology. Starting with manual classifications over specific regions of the globe, these tools (generally called “catalogs of synoptic types”) were restricted mainly to weather forecasting and historical climate variability studies. In the last decades, the advance of computing resources and the availability of datasets have fostered the development of fast and objective methods that process large amount of data. In recent years numerous methods of circulation type classification have been designed, showing their usefulness on a wide range of applications in scientific domains related to weather, climate, and environment. This Research Topic highlights methodological advances in circulation weather types and also their applications to different research areas. The articles included in this research topic show that circulation weather types can be used not only in Europe, where they have been always more frequent, but also applied to other regions of the world.

Description / Table of Contents: In the last three decades, research has extensively focused on the role of Fe and other mineral nutrients in regulating biological processes, ranging from the surface to the deep ocean. This has produced major breakthroughs in our understanding of the fundamental role of those bioactive elements on the carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycles and ecosystem function. However, biological processes cannot be entirely sustained by that small set of chemical elements, and new scientific evidence suggests that trace metals other than Fe (e.g., Co, Mo and Ni) as well as essential organic growth factors (e.g., vitamins) may also be crucial in most aquatic systems.

Description / Table of Contents: Deep subsurface microbiology is a highly active and rapidly advancing research field at the interface of microbiology and the geosciences; it focuses on the detection, identification, quantification, cultivation and activity measurements of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes that permeate the subsurface biosphere of deep marine sediments and the basaltic ocean and continental crust. The deep subsurface biosphere abounds with uncultured, only recently discovered and – at best - incompletely understood microbial populations. In spatial extent and volume, Earth’s subsurface biosphere is only rivaled by the deep sea water column. So far, no deep subsurface sediment has been found that is entirely devoid of microbial life; microbial cells and DNA remain detectable at sediment depths of more than 1 km; microbial life permeates deeply buried hydrocarbon reservoirs, and is also found several kilometers down in continental crust aquifers. Severe energy limitation, either as electron acceptor or donor shortage, and scarcity of microbially degradable organic carbon sources are among the evolutionary pressures that have shaped the genomic and physiological repertoire of the deep subsurface biosphere. Its biogeochemical role as long-term organic carbon repository, inorganic electron and energy source, and subduction recycling engine continues to be explored by current research at the interface of microbiology, geochemistry and biosphere/geosphere evolution. This Research Topic addresses some of the central research questions about deep subsurface microbiology and biogeochemistry: phylogenetic and physiological microbial diversity in the deep subsurface; microbial activity and survival strategies in severely energy-limited subsurface habitats; microbial activity as reflected in process rates and gene expression patterns; biogeographic isolation and connectivity in deep subsurface microbial communities; the ecological standing of subsurface biospheres in comparison to the surface biosphere – an independently flourishing biosphere, or mere survivors that tolerate burial (along with organic carbon compounds), or a combination of both? Advancing these questions on Earth’s deep subsurface biosphere redefines the habitat range, environmental tolerance, activity and diversity of microbial life.

Description / Table of Contents: Hydrothermally influenced microbial habitats and communities represent a much wider spectrum of geological setting, chemical in-situ regimes, and biotic community than the classical examples from basalt-hosted black smoker chimneys at active mid-ocean spreading centers. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems now include hydrothermally heated and chemically altered sediments, microbiota fueled by serpentinization reactions, and low-temperature vents with unusual menus of electron donors. Novel marine provinces and hydrothermal areas are being charted and explored, such as new hydrothermal vent systems in the Arctic, around Antarctica, in the Western Pacific and in the Indian Ocean. Novel environmental gradients and niches provide habitats for unusual or unprecedented microorganisms and microbial ecosystems. The discovery of novel extremophiles such as Aciduliprofundum and the Nanoarchaeota underscores that hydrothermal vent microbial communities can no longer be characterized as assemblages of only “typical” sulfur oxidizers, methanogens and heterotrophs. Different stages of hydrothermal activity, from early onset to peak activity, gradual decline, and persistence of cold and fossil vent sites, correspond to different colonization waves by microorganisms as well as megafauna. This research topic will continue to stretch the limits of hydrothermal vent microbiology, and also provide a forum for the chemical and microbial linkages of hydrothermal vents to the ocean water column and the ocean crust or sedimentary subsurface.

Description / Table of Contents: Nitrogen is an essential element in biological systems, and one that often limits production in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. Due to its requirement in biological macromolecules, its acquisition and cycling have the potential to structure microbial communities, as well as to control productivity on the ecosystem scale. In addition, its versatile redox chemistry is the basis of complex biogeochemical transformations that control the inventory of fixed nitrogen, both in local environments and over geological time. Although many of the pathways in the microbial nitrogen cycle were described more than a century ago, additional fundamental pathways have been discovered only recently. These findings imply that we still have much to learn about the microbial nitrogen cycle, the organisms responsible for it, and their interactions in natural and human environments. Progress in nitrogen cycle research has been facilitated by recent rapid technological advances, especially in genomics and isotopic approaches. In this Research Topic, we reviewed the leading edge of nitrogen cycle research based on these approaches, as well as by exploring microbial processes in modern ecosystems.

Description / Table of Contents: Viruses infect numerous microorganisms including, predominantly, Bacteria (bacteriophages or phages) but also Archaea, Protists, and Fungi. They are the most abundant and ubiquitous biological entities on Earth and are important drivers of ecosystem functioning. Little is known, however, about the vast majority of these viruses of microorganisms, or VoMs. Modern techniques such as metagenomics have enabled the discovery and description of more presumptive VoMs than ever before, but also have exposed gaps in our understanding of VoM ecology. Exploring the ecology of these viruses – which is how they interact with host organisms, the abiotic environment, larger organisms, and even other viruses across a variety of environments and conditions – is the next frontier. Integration of a growing molecular understanding of VoMs with ecological studies will expand our knowledge of ecosystem dynamics. Ecology can be studied at multiple levels including individual organisms, populations, communities, whole ecosystems, and the entire biosphere. Ecology additionally can consider normal, equilibrium conditions or instead perturbations. Perturbations are of particular interest because measuring the effect of disturbances on VoM-associated communities provides important windows into how VoMs contribute to ecosystem dynamics. These disturbances in turn can be studied through in vitro, in vivo, and in situ experimentation, measuring responses by VoM-associated communities to changes in nutrient availability, stress, physical disruption, seasonality, etc., and could apply to studies at all ecological levels. These are considered here across diverse systems and environments.

Description / Table of Contents: Part I  - The Theory of Rewilding --- 1. Rewilding Abandoned Landscapes in Europe --- 2. European Wilderness in a Time of Farmland Abandonment --- 3. Ecosystem Services: the Opportunities of Rewilding in Europe --- Part II - Rewilding and Biodiversity --- 4. Bringing Large Mammals Back: Large Carnivores in Europe --- 5. Top Scavengers in a Wilder Europe --- 6. Rewilding: Pitfalls and Opportunities for Moths and Butterflies --- 7. Vegetation Restoration and Other Actions to Enhance Wildlife in European Agricultural Landscapes --- 8. Maintaining Disturbance-dependent Habitats.- Part III - Rewillding in Practice --- 9. Rewilding Europe: A New Strategy for an Old Continent --- 10. Preparing a New Generation of Wilderness Entrepreneurs --- 11. Towards a European Policy for Rewilding --- Index

Description / Table of Contents: Earthquake rupture is a process of remarkable complexity. Over the past few decades, scientists have become aware of its high variability on all scales as well as its wide dynamic range. At the same time, a thorough understanding of the seismic source process is a key element of reliable earthquake ground motion prediction. The present book contains a comprehensive collection of contributions originating from the 2012 ECGS Workshop Earthquake Source Physics on Various Scales, held in Luxembourg. The seventeen articles in this volume cover theoretical and observational aspects of the earthquake source process, ranging from tiny, laboratory-generated M -6 events to the source complexity and radiated energy of the world’s greatest earthquakes. Among other aspects, the papers provide new insights into the relationship of earthquake recurrence time with fault frictional parameters, how the results of lab-based friction experiments relate to observational source studies, and how geometrical source complexity can be quantified. In particular, several papers are devoted to the question whether small and large earthquakes scale self-similarly or if they show differences in their dynamic source characteristics, which is one of the most hotly debated aspects of modern seismology. The volume provides an integrated view of the current state-of-the-art knowledge on the earthquake source process on all scales and will be useful to students and professional researchers who are interested in these phenomena.

Description / Table of Contents: Sediment transport is a significant part of the scientific area of river hydraulics. Therefore, the first section of the present book presents effects of sediment transport on hydraulic structures, that concern alluvial channel hydraulics. The second section refers to a serious consequence of river sediment transport, namely reservoir sedimentation. Sediment transported in a river originates from the corresponding basin, that is eroded by rainfall water. Hence, the quantification of soil erosion is also addressed in the second section. While soil erosion is the original physical process that causes reservoir sedimentation, the latter process may increase coastal erosion in case that the river feeding the reservoir, discharges its water into the sea. So, the effect of reservoir sedimentation on coastal erosion is further treated in the second section. Finally, the third section of the book is dedicated to the phenomenon of local scour around bridge piers, in particular the conditions of ice cover.

Description / Table of Contents: Thermodynamics is a branch of physics concerned with heat and temperature and their relation to energy and work. It defines macroscopic variables, such as internal energy, entropy, and pressure, that partly describe a body of matter or radiation. It states that the behavior of these variables is subject to general constraints that are common to all materials, not to the peculiar properties of particular materials. These general constraints are expressed in the three laws of thermodynamics which had a deep influence on the development of physics and chemistry. The book aims to present novel ideas that are crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries and introducing a wide spectrum of viewpoints and approaches in applied thermodynamics of the third millennium. The book will be of interest to those working in the fields of propulsion systems, power generation systems, chemical industry, quantum systems, refrigeration, fluid flow, combustion, and other phenomena.

Description / Table of Contents: This book contains chapters in which the problems of modern photovoltaics are considered. The majority of the chapters provide an overview of the results of research and development of different types of solar cells. Such chapters are completed by a justification for a new solar cell structure and technology. Of course, highly effective solar energy conversion is impossible without an in-depth examination of the solar cell components as physical materials. The relations between structural, thermodynamic, and optical properties of the physical material without addressing the band theory of solids are of both theoretical and practical interest. Requirements formulated for the material are also to be used for maximally efficient conversion of solar radiation into useful work.

Description / Table of Contents: This book contains five chapters detailing significant advances in and applications of new turbulence theory and fluid dynamics modeling with a focus on wave propagation from arbitrary depths to shallow waters, computational modeling for predicting optical distortions through hypersonic flow fields, wind strokes over highway bridges, optimal crop production in a greenhouse, and technological appliance and performance concerns in wheelchair racing. We hope this book to be a useful resource to scientists and engineers who are interested in the fundamentals and applications of fluid dynamics.

Description / Table of Contents: Hydrogen, as an energy carrier, is widely regarded as a potential cost-effective, renewable, and clean energy alternative to fossil fuels in order to mitigate the energy shortage and environmental pollution that are currently being faced. The rapid development of advanced materials in hydrogen production, storage, and utilization has opened up a new avenue for the conversion and utilization of hydrogen energy. This book summarizes the current research progress in these areas and is expected to aid in the development and design of advanced materials to improve hydrogen production, storage, and utilization.

Description / Table of Contents: 1 Introduction: Overview of Our Research on Impacts of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident on Fish and Fishing Grounds --- Part I Seawater and Plankton --- 2 134Cs and 137Cs in the Seawater Around Japan and in the North Pacific --- 3 Temporal Changes in 137Cs Concentration in Zooplankton and Seawater off the Joban–Sanriku Coast, and in Sendai Bay, After the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Accident --- Part II Sediments and Benthos --- 4 Three-Dimensional Distribution of Radiocesium in Sea Sediment Derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- 5 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Organic Fraction of Sea Sediments --- 6 Bottom Turbidity, Boundary Layer Dynamics, and Associated Transport of Suspended Particulate Materials off the Fukushima Coast --- 7 Investigation of Radiocesium Translation from Contaminated Sediment to Benthic Organisms --- Part III Marine Fish --- 8 Detection of 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs Released into the Atmosphere from FNPP in Small Epipelagic Fishes, Japanese Sardine and Japanese Anchovy, off the Kanto Area, Japan --- 9 Radiocesium Concentration of Small Epipelagic Fishes (Sardine and Japanese Anchovy) off the Kashima-Boso Area --- 10 Why Do the Radionuclide Concentrations of Pacific Cod Depend on the Body Size? --- 11 Radiocesium Contamination Histories of Japanese Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) After the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- Part IV Mechanisms of Severe Contamination in Fish --- 12 Evaluating the Probability of Catching Fat Greenlings (Hexagrammos otakii) Highly Contaminated with Radiocesium off the Coast of Fukushima --- 13 Analysis of the Contamination Process of the Extremely Contaminated Fat Greenling by Fukushima-Derived Radioactive Material --- 14 Contamination Levels of Radioactive Cesium in Fat Greenling Caught at the Main Port of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- Part V Freshwater Systems --- 15 Comparison of Radioactive Cesium Contamination of Lake Water, Bottom Sediment, Plankton, and Freshwater Fish Among Lakes of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 16 Radiocesium Concentrations and Body Size of Freshwater Fish in Lake Hayama 1 Year After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- 17 Spatiotemporal Monitoring of 134Cs and 137Cs in Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, a Microalgae-Grazing Fish, and in Their Freshwater Habitats in Fukushima --- 18 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Muscle and Eggs of Salmonids from Lake Chuzenji, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 19 Assessment of Radiocesium Accumulation by Hatchery-Reared Salmonids After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Description / Table of Contents: Part I The Road to Reconstruction from the Tsunami and Radioactive Contamination: Two and a Half Years On --- 1 Dealing with Disasters of Unprecedented Magnitude: The Local Government’s Tribulations and the Road to Reconstruction (Hidekiyo Tachiya) --- 2 Tokyo University of Agriculture East Japan Assistance Project Assisting with Reconstruction: Guiding Principles, Planning, and Propagation of Benefits (Toshiyuki Monma) --- 3 Characteristics of the Agricultural and Forestry Industries in the Soma Area and Damage Sustained as a Result of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Takahiro Yamada, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- Part II Reconstruction from Tsunami Damage --- 4 Reconstruction Support for the Farmland Struck by Tsunami (Itsuo Goto and Kaisei Inagaki) --- 5 Tsunami Damage to Farming Operations and the New Generation of Farmers and Farm Management (Yukio Shibuya, Takahiro Yamada, Nyamkhuu Batdelger, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Gentaro Suzumura, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- 6 Presenting a Model for Revival of Rural Communities in Japan’s Disaster Zones (Shigeyuki Miyabayashi, Yasushi Takeuchi, Hiromu Okazawa, Tomonori Fujikawa, and Yutaka Sasaki) --- 7 Contributing to Restoration of Tidal Flats in Miyagi Prefecture’s Moune Bay Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (Susumu Chiba, Takeshi Sonoda, Makoto Hatakeyama, and Katsuhide Yokoyama) --- Part III Reconstruction from Radioactive Contamination --- 8 Initiatives by the Soil Fertilization Team to Develop Agricultural Technologies for Paddy Fields with Radioactive Contamination (Itsuo Goto and Kaisei Inagaki) --- 9 The Potential for Producing Rice for Feed and Whole Crop Rice Silage in Radiation-Contaminated Areas (Seiji Nobuoka) --- 10 Developing and Trialing a System to Monitor Radionuclide in Individual Plots of Farmland to Help Reconstruction Farming in Contaminated Areas (Toshiyuki Monma, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Youichi Kawano, Dambii Byambasuren, Yuta Ono, and Quar Evine) --- 11 New Decontamination Methods for Parks and Other Areas in Which Radionuclide Have Accumulated (Mitsuo Kondo and Chizuko Mizuniwa) --- 12 Forest Restoration (Takahisa Hayashi) --- 13 Nuclear Radiation Levels in the Forest at Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture (Iwao Uehara, Tomoko Seyama, Fumio Eguchi, Ryuichi Tachibana, Yukito Nakamura, and Hiroya Obayashi ) --- 14 Radioactive Contamination of Ostriches in a Potentially Permanent Evacuation Zone (Hiroshi Ogawa, Hidehiko Uchiyama, Koji Masuda, Takeshi Sasaki, Tadao Watanabe, Toshiaki Tomizawa, and Schu Kawashima) --- 15 The Radioactive Contamination in Some Arthropod Species in Fukushima (Tarô Adati and Sota Tanaka) --- 16 A Consumer Survey Approach to Reputation-Based Damage Affecting Agricultural Products and How to Overcome It (Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Shizuka Matsumoto, Makoto Hoshi, Sayaka Yamaguchi, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- Part IV Activities and Impressions of Students and Farmers Who Supported the Project --- 17 Staking Recovery Hopes on Soma Revival Rice (Kaisei Inagaki, Tomoko Ninagi, Saburo Sasaki, and Akiko Sato) --- 18 Impression of the Students Participated in the Radioactivity Monitoring System of Farmland (Volodymyr Ganzha, Keiji Kanamori, Hana Fujimoto, and Ryo Itakura) --- 19 Impression of the Forestry managers and students participated in the Radioactivity Damage Investigation of Forests (Eihachi Horiuchi, Kiyoaki Sasaki, Masaaki Itakura, Chisato Yasukawa, and Chihiro Kinoshita)

Description / Table of Contents: The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project: Phase I Activities by a Global Community of Science (Cynthia Rosenzweig, James W Jones, Jerry L Hatfield, John M Antle, Alexander C Ruane, and Carolyn Z Mutter) --- AgMIP's Transdisciplinary Agricultural Systems Approach to Regional Integrated Assessment of Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation (John M Antle, Roberto O Valdivia, Kenneth J Boote, Sander Janssen, James W Jones, Cheryl H Porter, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Alexander C Ruane, and Peter J Thorburn) --- AgMIP Climate Data and Scenarios for Integrated Assessment (Alexander C Ruane, Jonathan M Winter, Sonali P McDermid, and Nicholas I Hudson) --- Cropping Systems Modeling in AgMIP: A New Protocol-Driven Approach for Regional Integrated Assessments (Peter J Thorburn, Kenneth J Boote, John N G Hargreaves, Perry L Poulton, and James W Jones) --- Representative Agricultural Pathways and Scenarios for Regional Integrated Assessment of Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation (Roberto O Valdivia, John M Antle, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Alexander C Ruane, Joost Vervoort, Muhammad Ashfaq, Ibrahima Hathie, Sabine Homann-Kee Tui, Richard Mulwa, Charles Nhemachena, Paramasivam Ponnusamy, Herath Rasnayaka, and Harbir Singh) --- Data Interoperability Tools for Regional Integrated Assessments (Cheryl H Porter, Chris Villalobos, Dean Holzworth, Roger Nelson, Jefffrey W White, Ioannis N Athanasiadis, Meng Zhang, Sander Janssen, Rob Knapen, James W Jones, Kenneth J Boote, John Hargreaves, and John M Antle) --- The AgMIP GRIDded Crop Modeling Initiative (AgGRID) and the Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison (GGCMI) (Joshua Elliott and Christoph Müller) --- The AgMIP Coordinated Climate-Crop Modeling Project (C3MP): Methods and Protocols (Sonali P McDermid, Alexander C Ruane, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Nicholas I Hudson, Monica D Morales, Prabodha Agalawatte, Shakeel Ahmad, L R Ahuja, Istiqlal Amien, Saseendran S Anapalli, Jakarat Anothai, Senthold Asseng, Jody Biggs, Federico Bert, Patrick Bertuzzi, Virender S Bhatia, Marco Bindi, Ian Broad, Davide Cammarano, Ramiro Carretero, Ashfaq Ahmad Chattha, Uran Chung, Stephanie Debats, Paola Deligios, Giacomo De Sanctis, Thanda Dhliwayo, Benjamin Dumont, Lyndon Estes, Frank Ewert, Roberto Ferrise, Thomas Gaiser, Guillermo Garcia, Sika Gbegbelegbe, Vellingiri Geethalakshmi, Edward Gerardeaux, Richard Goldberg, Brian Grant, Edgardo Guevara, Jonathan Hickman, Holger Hoffmann, Huanping Huang, Jamshad Hussain, Flavio Barbosa Justino, Asha S Karunaratne, Ann-Kristin Koehler, Patrice K Kouakou, Soora Naresh Kumar, Arunachalam Lakshmanan, Mark Lieffering, Xiaomao Lin, Qunying Luo, Graciela Magrin, Marco Mancini, Fabio Ricardo Marin, Anna Dalla Marta, Yuji Masutomi, Theodoros Mavromatis, Greg McLean, Santiago Meira, Monoranjan Mohanty, Marco Moriondo, Wajid Nasim, Lamyaa Negm, Francesca Orlando, Simone Orlandini, Isik Ozturk, Helena Maria Soares Pinto, Guillermo Podesta, Zhiming Qi, Johanna Ramarohetra, Muhammad Habib ur Rahman, Helene Raynal, Gabriel Rodriguez, Reimund Rötter, Vaishali Sharda, Lu Shuo, Ward Smith, Val Snow, Afshin Soltani, K Srinivas, Benjamin Sultan, Dillip Kumar Swain, Fulu Tao, Kindie Tesfaye, Maria I Travasso, Giacomo Trombi, Alex Topaj, Eline Vanuytrecht, Federico E Viscarra, Syed Aftab Wajid, Enli Wang, Hong Wang, Jing Wang, Erandika Wijekoon, Lee Byun-Woo, Yang Xiaoguang, Ban Ho Young, Jin I Yun, Zhigan Zhao, and Lareef Zubair) --- Uncertainty in Agricultural Impact Assessment (Daniel Wallach, Linda O Mearns, Michael Rivington, John M Antle, and Alexander C Ruane) --- Uncertainties in Scaling-Up Crop Models for Large-Area Climate Change Impact Assessments (Frank Ewert, Lenny G J van Bussel, Gang Zhao, Holger Hoffmann, Thomas Gaiser, Xenia Specka, Claas Nendel, Kurt-Christian Kersebaum, Carmen Sosa, Elisabet Lewan, Jagadeesh Yeluripati, Matthias Kuhnert, Fulu Tao, Reimund Rötter, Julie Constantin, Helene Raynal, Daniel Wallach, Edmar Teixeira, Balasz Grosz, Michaela Bach, Luca Doro, Pier Paolo Roggero, Zhigan Zhao, Enli Wang, Ralf Kiese, Edwin Haas, Henrik Eckersten, Giacomo Trombi, Marco Bindi, Christian Klein, Christian Biernath, Florian Heinlein, Eckart Priesack, Davide Cammarano, Senthold Asseng, Joshua Elliott, Michael Glotter, Bruno Basso, Guillermo A Baigorria, Consuelo C Romero, and Marco Moriondo) --- Statistical Analysis of Large Simulated Yield Datasets for Studying Climate Change Effects (David Makowski, Senthold Asseng, Frank Ewert, Simona Bassu, Jean-Louis Durand, Pierre Martre, Myriam Adam, Pramod K Aggarwal, Carlos Angulo, Christian Baron, Bruno Basso, Patrick Bertuzzi, Christian Biernath, Hendrik Boogaard, Kenneth J Boote, Nadine Brisson, Davide Cammarano, Andrew J Challinor, Sjakk J G Conijn, Marc Corbeels, Delphine Deryng, Giacomo De Sanctis, Jordi Doltra, Sebastian Gayler, Richard Goldberg, Patricio Grassini, Jerry L Hatfield, Lee Heng, Steven Hoek, Josh Hooker, Tony L A Hunt, Joachim Ingwersen, Cesar Izaurralde, Raymond E E Jongschaap, James W Jones, Armen R Kemanian, Christian Kersebaum, Soo-Hyung Kim, Jon Lizaso, Christoph Müller, Naresh S Kumar, Claas Nendel, Garry J O'Leary, Jorgen E Olesen, Tom M Osborne, Taru Palosuo, Maria V Pravia, Eckart Priesack, Dominique Ripoche, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Alexander C Ruane, Fredirico Sau, Mickhail A Semenov, Iurii Shcherbak, Pasquale Steduto, Claudio Stöckle, Pierre Stratonovitch, Thilo Streck, Iwan Supit, Fulu Tao, Edmar I Teixeira, Peter Thorburn, Denis Timlin, Maria Travasso, Reimund Rötter, Katharina Waha, Daniel Wallach, Jeffrey W White, Jimmy R Williams, and Joost Wolf) --- Crop Diseases and Climate Change in the AgMIP Framework (Ariena H C van Bruggen, James W Jones, Jose Mauricio C Fernandes, Karen Garrett, and Kenneth J Boote) --- Perspectives on Climate Effects on Agriculture: The International Efforts of AgMIP in Sub-Saharan Africa (Job Kihara, Dilys S MacCarthy, Andre Bationo, Saidou Koala, Jonathan Hickman, Jawoo Koo, Charles Vanya, Samuel Adiku, Yacob Beletse, Patricia Masikate, Karuturi P C Rao, Carolyn Z Mutter, Cynthia Rosenzweig, and James W Jones) --- Climate Change Impacts on West African Agriculture: An Integrated Regional Assessment (CIWARA) (Samuel G K Adiku, Dilys S MacCarthy, Ibrahima Hathie, Madina Diancoumba, Bright S Freduah, Joseph Amikuzuno, P C Sibiry Traore, Seydou Traore, Eric Koomson, Alhassane Agali, Jon I Lizaso, Dougbedji Fatondji, Myriam Adams, Lodoun Tigana, Daouda Z Diarra, Ousmane N'diaye, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Agricultural Systems in East Africa (Karuturi P C Rao, Gummadi Sridhar, Richard M Mulwa, Mary N Kilavi, Anthony Esilaba, Ioannis N Athanasiadis, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Projected Impacts of Climate Change Scenarios on the Production of Maize in Southern Africa: An Integrated Assessment Case Study of the Bethlehem District, Central Free State, South Africa (Yacob G Beletse, Wiltrud Durand, Charles Nhemachena, Olivier Crespo, Weldemichael A Tesfuhuney, Matthew R Jones, Mogos Y Teweldemedhin, Sunshine M Gamedze, Pontsho M Bonolo, Syanda Jonas, SueWalker, Patrick Gwimbi, Thembeka N Mpuisang, Davide Cammarano, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Crop-Livestock Intensification in the Face of Climate Change: Exploring Opportunities to Reduce Risk and Increase Resilience in Southern Africa by Using an Integrated Multi-modeling Approach (Patricia Masikati, Sabine Homann-Kee Tui, Katrien Descheemaeker, Olivier Crespo, Sue Walker, Christopher J Lennard, Lieven Claessens, Arthur C Gama, Sebastiao Famba, Andre F van Rooyen, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Integrated Assessments of the Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture: An Overview of AgMIP Regional Research in South Asia (Sonali P McDermid, Guntuku Dileepkumar, K M Dakshina Murthy, S Nedumaran, Piara Singh, Chukka Srinivasa, B Gangwar, N Subash, Ashfaq Ahmad, Lareef Zubair, and S P Nissanka) --- Impact of Climate Change on the Rice–Wheat Cropping System of Pakistan (Ashfaq Ahmad, Muhammad Ashfaq, Ghulam Rasul, Syed Aftab Wajid, Tasneem Khaliq, Fahd Rasul, Umer Saeed, Muhammad Habib ur Rahman, Jamshad Hussain, Irfan Ahmad Baig, Syed Asif Ali Naqvi, Syed Ahsan Ali Bokhari, Shakeel Ahmad, Wajid Naseem, Gerrit Hoogenboom, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Integrated Climate Change Assessment through Linking Crop Simulation with Economic Modeling — Results from the Indo-Gangetic Basin (Nataraja Subash, Babooji Gangwar, Harbir Singh, Guillermo Baigorria, Alok Kumar Sikka, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Integrated Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Maize Farms and Farm Household Incomes in South India: A Case Study from Tamil Nadu (Paramasivam Ponnusamy, Geethalakshmi Vellingiri, Raji Reddy Danda, Lakshmanan Arunachalam, Dakshina Murthy, Sunandini Prema, Sreenivas Gade, Sonali P McDermid, and Roberto O Valdivia) --- Climate Change Impacts on Rice Farming Systems in Northwestern Sri Lanka (Lareef Zubair, Sarath P Nissanka, W M W Weerakoon, Dumindu I Herath, Asha S Karunaratne, A S M Prabodha, M B Agalawatte, Rasnayaka M Herath, S Zeenas Yahiya, B V R Punyawardene, Janan Vishwanathan, Punya Delpitiya, A Erandika N Wijekoon, Janaka Gunaratna, Sewwandhi S K Chandrasekara, P Wickramagamage, K D N Weerasinghe, Champa M Navaratne, Ruchika S Perera, Asela I Gunesekara, G M Pradeep Kumara, Daniel Wallach, Roberto O Valdivia, and Sonali P McDermid) --- AgMIP Regional Activities in a Global Framework: The Brazil Experience (Eduardo D Assad, Fábio R Marin, Roberto O Valdivia, and Cynthia Rosenzweig) --- AgMIP Regional Activities in a Global Framework: The China Experience (Fulu Tao and Erda Lin) --- AgMIP Training in Multiple Crop Models and Tools (Kenneth J Boote, Cheryl H Porter, John Hargreaves, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Peter Thorburn, and Carolyn Mutter) --- Major Findings and Future Activities (Cynthia Rosenzweig and Daniel Hillel)

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- 1. The Transition Debate: Theories and Critique --- 2. Rethinking the Origins of Capitalism: The Theory of Uneven and Combined Development --- 3. The Long Thirteenth Century: Structural Crisis, Conjunctural Catastrophe --- 4. The Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry over the Long Sixteenth Century --- 5. The Atlantic Sources of European Capitalism, Territorial Sovereignty and the Modern Self --- 6. The ‘Classical’ Bourgeois Revolutions in the History of Uneven and Combined Development --- 7. Combined Encounters: Dutch Colonisation in South-East Asia and the Contradictions of ‘Free Labour’ --- 8. Origins of the Great Divergence over the Longue Durée: Rethinking the ‘Rise of the West’ --- Conclusion --- Notes --- Index

Description / Table of Contents: Humanity’s ability to produce enough food is mostly due to adoption of new methods and technologies by the agricultural industries as they became available. New information, communication and high speed processing and precision agriculture technologies have the potential to transform the agricultural industry. These technologies incorporate radio-frequency and microwave radiation into their systems. This book presents an overview of how these technologies are being used in agricultural systems. The main purpose of the book is to provide a glimpse of what is possible and encourage practitioners in the engineering and agricultural industries to explore how radio-frequency and microwave systems might further enhance the agricultural industry. The authors have extensive experience in agricultural and microwave engineering, instrumentation and communication systems.

Description / Table of Contents: The continental crust is our archive of Earth history, and the store of many natural resources; however, many key questions about its formation and evolution remain debated and unresolved: - What processes are involved in the formation, differentiation and evolution of continental crust, and how have these changed throughout Earth history? - How are plate tectonics, the supercontinent cycle and mantle cooling linked with crustal evolution? - What are the rates of generation and destruction of the continental crust through time? - How representative is the preserved geological record? A range of approaches are used to address these questions, including field-based studies, petrology and geochemistry, geophysical methods, palaeomagnetism, whole-rock and accessory-phase isotope chemistry and geochronology. Case studies range from the Eoarchaean to Phanerozoic, and cover many different cratons and orogenic belts from across the continents.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume provides a synopsis of current research on volcanic processes, as gained through the use of palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic techniques. Thermoremanent magnetization information provides a powerful means of deciphering thermal processes in volcanic deposits, including estimating the emplacement temperature of pyroclastic deposits, which allows us to understand better the rates of cooling during eruption and transport. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and anisotropy of remanence are used primarily to investigate rock fabrics and to quantify flow dynamics in dykes, lava flows, and pyroclastic deposits, as well as identify vent locations. Rock-magnetic characteristics allow correlation of volcanic deposits, but also provide means to date volcanic deposits and to understand better their cooling history. Because lava flows are typically good recorders of past magnetic fields, data from them allow understanding of changes in geomagnetic field directions and intensity, providing clues on the origin of Earth's magnetic field.

Description / Table of Contents: This Special Publication arises from the UNESCO-sponsored IGCP 586-Y project ‘The tectonics and geomorphology of the Andes (32°–34°S): interplay between short-term and long-term processes’. It includes state-of-the-art reviews and original articles from a multidisciplinary perspective that investigate the complex interactions of tectonics and surface processes in the subduction-related orogen of the Andes of central Chile and Argentina (c. 27°–39°S). It aims to improve our understanding of tectonic and landscape evolution of the Andean range at different time scales, as well as the mutual relationship between internal and external mechanisms in Cenozoic deformation, mountain building, topographic evolution, basin development and mega-landslides occurrence across the flat slab to normal subduction segments. The geodynamic processes of the Andes of central Chile and Argentina are analysed from a number of subdisciplines of the Earth sciences, including tectonics, petrology, geophysics, geochemistry, structural geology, geomorphology, engineering geology, stratigraphy and sedimentology.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Selection of Plants that Demonstrated Nitrate Removal Characteristics --- Inspection and Maintenance Guidelines

Description / Table of Contents: This book is a collection of chapters, concerning the developments within the Agroecology field of study. The book includes scholarly contributions by various authors pertinent to Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Each contribution comes as a separate chapter complete in itself but directly related to the book's topics and objectives. The target audience comprises scholars and specialists in the field.

Description / Table of Contents: The application of Fourier transform (FT) in signal processing and physical sciences has increased in the past decades. Almost all the textbooks on signal processing or physics have a section devoted to the FT theory. For this reason, this book focuses on signal processing and physical sciences. The book chapters are related to fast hybrid recursive FT based on Jacket matrix, acquisition algorithm for global navigation satellite system, determining the sensitivity of output parameters based on FFT, convergence of integrals of products based on Riemann-Lebesgue Lemma function, extending the real and complex number fields for treating the FT, nonmaterial structure, Gabor transform, and chalcopyrite bioleaching. The book provides applications oriented to signal processing and physics written primarily for engineers, mathematicians, physicians and graduate students, will also find it useful as a reference for their research activities.

Description / Table of Contents: The propulsion system behaviour is a key aspect for the overall dynamics of a ship. However, despite its great importance, numerical methodologies for detailed investigations on marine propulsion dynamics are not yet widely covered in scientific literature. This book presents the main steps for the development of a multi-physic simulation platform, able to represent the motions of a twin screw ship in six degrees of freedom, taking into account the whole propulsion system and automation effects. A number of mathematical sub-models had been developed and calibrated by a set of experimental tests, in model and full scale. Finally, the sea trials campaign of a ship is used to validate and tune the developed simulator. The proposed simulation methodology can be used in the ship preliminary design phase, in order to plan and test the propulsion system and automation. Further applications can include the design optimization and crew training.

Description / Table of Contents: The textbook begins with exercises related to radioactive sources and decay schemes. The problems covered include series decay and how to determine the frequency and energy of emitted particles in disintegrations. The next chapter deals with the interaction of ionizing radiation, including the treatment of photons and charged particles. The main focus is on applications based on the knowledge of interaction, to be used in subsequent work and courses. The textbook then examines detectors and measurements, including both counting statistics and properties of pulse detectors. The chapter that follows is dedicated to dosimetry, which is a major subject in medical radiation physics. It covers theoretical applications, such as different equilibrium situations and cavity theories, as well as experimental dosimetry, including ionization chambers and solid state and liquid dosimeters. A shorter chapter deals with radiobiology, where different cell survival models are considered. The last chapter concerns radiation protection and health physics. Both radioecology and radiation shielding calculations are covered. The textbook includes tables to simplify the solutions of the exercises, but the reader is mainly referred to important websites for importing necessary data.

Description / Table of Contents: The book focuses on the educational perspective of Riemann-Roch spaces and the computation of algebraic structures connected to the Riemann-Roch theorem, which is a useful tool in fields of complex analysis and algebraic geometry. On one hand, the theorem connects the Riemann surface with its topological genus, and on the other it allows us to compute the algebraic function field spaces. In the first part of this book, algebraic structures and some of their properties are presented. The second part shows efficient algorithms and examples connected to Riemann-Roch spaces. What is important, a variety of examples with codes of algorithms are given in the book, covering the majority of the cases.

Description / Table of Contents: In the wake of energy crisis due to rapid growth of industries, the efficient heat transfer could play a vital role in energy saving. Industries, household equipment, transportation, offices, etc., all are dependent on heat exchanging equipment. Considering this, the book has incorporated different chapters on heat transfer phenomena, analytical and experimental heat transfer investigations, heat transfer enhancement and applications.

Description / Table of Contents: A Practical Guide to TPM 2.0: Using the Trusted Platform Module in the New Age of Security is a straight-forward primer for developers. It shows security and TPM concepts, demonstrating their use in real applications that the reader can try out. Simply put, this book is designed to empower and excite the programming community to go out and do cool things with the TPM. The approach is to ramp the reader up quickly and keep their interest.A Practical Guide to TPM 2.0: Using the Trusted Platform Module in the New Age of Security explains security concepts, describes the TPM 2.0 architecture, and provides code and pseudo-code examples in parallel, from very simple concepts and code to highly complex concepts and pseudo-code. The book includes instructions for the available execution environments and real code examples to get readers up and talking to the TPM quickly. The authors then help the users expand on that with pseudo-code descriptions of useful applications using the TPM

Description / Table of Contents: Chapter 1 Introduction: Embedding Ethics in Science and Technology Policy – A Global Perspective --- Chapter 2 Institutionalizing Ethical Debates in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy: A Comparison of Europe, India and China.-Chapter 3 Public Perceptions of Science and Technology in Europe, China and India --- Chapter 4 Public Engagement in the Governance of Science and Technology --- Chapter 5 Science and Technology Governance and European Values --- Chapter 6 The Values Demonstrated in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China --- Chapter 7 Science and Technology for Socio-Economic Development and Quest for Inclusive Growth: Emerging Evidence from India --- Chapter 8 A Comparative Framework for Studying Global Ethics in Science and Technology --- Chapter 9 New Food Technologies in Europe, India and China --- Chapter 10 Discourses on Nanotechnology in Europe, China and India --- Chapter 11 Discourses on Synthetic Biology in Europe, India and China --- Chapter 12 Conclusions: Incorporating Ethics into Science and Technology Policy

Description / Table of Contents: Could oil prices stay lower for longer? What would it take for this to happen and what it would mean for energy security and for the energy transition? - India is set for a period of rapid, sustained growth in energy demand: how could this re-shape the energy scene? - What do new climate pledges mean for the way that the world meets its rising needs for energy?- What are the implications of the rising coverage of energy efficiency policies and the growing competitiveness of renewables? - Is the unconventional gas revolution going to go global, or to remain a North American phenomenon? These issues – and many more – are discussed here, with a special focus on India accompanying the customary, in-depth WEO analysis of the prospects for all fossil fuels, renewables, the power sector and energy efficiency around the world to 2040.

Description / Table of Contents: This joint report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is the eighth in a series of studies on electricity generating costs, presenting levilised cost of electricity projections for baseload and renewable generation plants commissioned in 2020, except where noted, in 22 countries. As policy makers work to ensure that the power supply is reliable, secure and affordable, while making it increasingly clean and sustainable in the context of the debate on climate change, it is becoming more crucial that they understand what determines the relative cost of electricity generation using fossil fuel, nuclear or renewable sources of energy. A wide range of fuels and technologies are presented in the report, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, solar, onshore and offshore wind, biomass and biogas, geothermal, and combined heat and power, drawing on a database from surveys of investment and operating costs that include a larger number of countries than previous editions. The analysis of more than 180 plants, based on data covering 22 countries, reveals several key trends, pointing, for example, to a significant decline in recent years in the cost of renewable generation. The report also reveals that nuclear energy costs remain in line with the cost of other baseload technologies, particularly in markets that value decarbonisation. Overall, cost drivers of the different generating technologies remain both market-specific and technology-specific. Readers will find a wealth of details and analysis, supported by over 200 figures and tables, underlining this report’s value as a tool for decision makers and researchers concerned with energy policies, climate change and the evolution of power sectors around the world.

Description / Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Needs for New Global Strategies --- Part I. Global Business Strategy --- 2. Management Strategies for Global Businesses --- 3. Changes in the Global Economic Environment --- 4. Comparison of Economic Institutions in China and India --- 5. New Business Model as Response to Competition from Emerging Economies --- 6. India’s Neemrana Industrial Park for Japanese Firms --- Part II. Fundamentals Of Strategic Planning --- 7. Alliance-based Global Strategy --- 8. Hitachi Construction Machinery: Becoming a Wholly Owned Chinese Entity --- 9. Marketing Theory in Global Business Context --- 10. Shiseido Marketing in China --- 11. International R&D Management --- 12. Multinationals’ R&D in China and India --- 13. Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency and Japanese Firms --- 14. Suzuki Motor’s Expansion in India --- 15. Strategy Integration at the Global Level

Description / Table of Contents: Acknowledgments --- Chapter 1: Introduction and Summary to Poverty Reduction Policies and Practices in Developing Asia --- Part One: Poverty Alleviation with Microfinance --- Chapter 2: Poverty Alleviation with Microfinance: Bangladesh Evidence --- Chapter 3: Does Microcredit Help the Poor and Financially Marginalized Communities? Experience of Pakistan --- Part Two: Climate Change, Disaster Management and Poverty Reduction --- Chapter 4: Climate Change, Agricultural Production and Poverty in India --- Part Three: Urban Poverty Reduction Policies --- Chapter 5: Urban Poverty in Developing Asia—Dichotomy between the Income and Non-Income Dimensions: Are We Not Grossly Underestimating Its Incidence? --- Chapter 6: Housing Poverty and Inequality in Urban India --- Part Four: Rural Poverty Reduction Policies --- Chapter 7: Evaluation of the Policy of Crop Diversification as a Strategy for Reduction of Rural Poverty in India --- Chapter 8: Conflict and Livelihood Decisions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh --- Part Five: Dimensions of Poverty and its Reductions --- Chapter 9: Decomposing Spatial Inequality in Sri Lanka: A Quantile Regression Approach --- Chapter 10: Non-Income Dimensions, Prevalence, Depth and Severity of Poverty: Spatial Estimation with Household Level Data in India --- Chapter 11: Is Poverty Comparable Across Varying Size of Population Among Indian States? --- Part Six: Sustainability in Poverty Reduction --- Chapter 12: The Significance of Foreign Labour Migration and Land for Poverty Reduction in Nepal --- Chapter 13: Does Poverty Alone Keep Children Out of School? The Case of Children under Kinship Care in the Philippines --- Part Seven: Alleviation of Poverty in Asia and the Pacific --- Chapter 14: Economic Class and Labour Market Segregation: Poor and Middle Class Workers in Developing Asia and the Pacific --- Chapter 15: Foreign Direct Investment and the Poverty Reduction Nexus in Southeast Asia

Description / Table of Contents: Bayesian methods for statistical analysis is a book on statistical methods for analysing a wide variety of data. The book consists of 12 chapters, starting with basic concepts and covering numerous topics, including Bayesian estimation, decision theory, prediction, hypothesis testing, hierarchical models, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, finite population inference, biased sampling and nonignorable nonresponse. The book contains many exercises, all with worked solutions, including complete computer code. It is suitable for self-study or a semester-long course, with three hours of lectures and one tutorial per week for 13 weeks.

Description / Table of Contents: The world is witnessing the paradox of simultaneous increase in income and insecurity. According to available data, global average per capita income has increased in recent decades, while at the same time actual and perceived insecurity has also increased. This paradox is true for both developed and developing countries. However, the concrete form and causes of insecurity differs across these two groups of countries. To the extent that income levels in many developing countries are very low, economic insecurity in these countries takes a starker and chronic form. In Financing for Overcoming Economic Insecurity, leading experts examine the causes and consequences of rising economic insecurity and policy measures that can be adopted to overcome insecurity. The volume contains papers addressing issues of economic insecurity pertaining to both developed and developing countries and caused by both economic factors and natural hazards. It also discusses the issues at both macro and micro levels. The volume’s focus on policy measures, such as redistribution and reinvestment of profit income in developed countries and imposition of capital control and promotion of micro insurance in developing countries, should be of much help to policymakers as well as researchers.

Description / Table of Contents: This book covers a wide variety of topics related to advancements in different stages of mass transfer modelling processes. Its purpose is to create a platform for the exchange of recent observations, experiences, and achievements. It is recommended for those in the chemical, biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and nanotechnology industries as well as for students of natural sciences, technical, environmental and employees in companies which manufacture machines for the above-mentioned industries. This work can also be a useful source for researchers and engineers dealing with mass transfer and related issues.

Description / Table of Contents: The petrochemical industry is an important area in our pursuits for economic growth, employment generation, and basic needs. It is a huge field that encompasses many commercial petrochemical and polymer-enabled products. The book is designed to help the reader, particularly students and researchers of petroleum science and engineering, to understand synthesis, processing, mechanics, and simulation of the petroleum processes. The selection of topics addressed and the examples, tables, and graphs used to illustrate them are governed, to a large extent, by the fact that this book is aimed primarily at petroleum science and engineering technologists. Undoubtedly, this book contains must read materials for students, engineers, and researchers working in the area of petrochemicals and petroleum and provides valuable insights into the related synthesis, processing, mechanisms, and simulation. This book is concise, self-explanatory, informative, and cost-effective.

Description / Table of Contents: Table of Contents --- Introduction --- Barents Sea oil and gas 2025 : Three scenarios --- Norwegian–Russian political relations and Barents oil and gas developments

Description / Table of Contents: Foreword --- Preface --- Part 1 A brief history of marine litter research --- Part 2 Abiotic aspects of marine litter pollution --- Global distribution, composition and abundance of marine litter --- Persistence of plastic litter in the oceans --- Part 3 Biological implications of marine litter --- Deleterious effects of litter on marine life --- The complex mixture, fate and toxicity of chemicals associated with plastic debris in the marine environment --- Marine litter as habitat and dispersal vector --- Part 4 Micro plastics --- Micro plastics in the marine environment: sources, consequences and solutions --- Methodology used for the detection and identification of micro plastics – a critical appraisal --- Sources and pathways of micro plastics to habitats --- Micro plastics in the marine environment: distribution, interactions and effects --- Modeling the role of micro plastics in bioaccumulation of organic chemicals to marine aquatic organisms. A critical review --- Nano plastics in the aquatic environment. Critical review --- Part 5 Socio-economic implications of marine anthropogenic litter --- Micro and nano-plastics and human health --- The economics of marine litter --- Regulation and management of marine litter --- Marine litter and the contribution of citizen science

Description / Table of Contents: Preface --- Part 1. Physiology of HDL --- Part 2. Pathology of HDL --- Part 3. Possible Indications and Target Mechanisms of HDL Therapy --- Part 4. Treatments for Dyslipidemias and Dysfunction of HDL

Description / Table of Contents: 1 Introduction: Overview of Our Research on Impacts of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident on Fish and Fishing Grounds --- Part I Seawater and Plankton --- 2 134Cs and 137Cs in the Seawater Around Japan and in the North Pacific --- 3 Temporal Changes in 137Cs Concentration in Zooplankton and Seawater off the Joban–Sanriku Coast, and in Sendai Bay, After the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Accident --- Part II Sediments and Benthos --- 4 Three-Dimensional Distribution of Radiocesium in Sea Sediment Derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- 5 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Organic Fraction of Sea Sediments --- 6 Bottom Turbidity, Boundary Layer Dynamics, and Associated Transport of Suspended Particulate Materials off the Fukushima Coast --- 7 Investigation of Radiocesium Translation from Contaminated Sediment to Benthic Organisms --- Part III Marine Fish --- 8 Detection of 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs Released into the Atmosphere from FNPP in Small Epipelagic Fishes, Japanese Sardine and Japanese Anchovy, off the Kanto Area, Japan --- 9 Radiocesium Concentration of Small Epipelagic Fishes (Sardine and Japanese Anchovy) off the Kashima-Boso Area --- 10 Why Do the Radionuclide Concentrations of Pacific Cod Depend on the Body Size? --- 11 Radiocesium Contamination Histories of Japanese Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) After the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- Part IV Mechanisms of Severe Contamination in Fish --- 12 Evaluating the Probability of Catching Fat Greenlings (Hexagrammos otakii) Highly Contaminated with Radiocesium off the Coast of Fukushima --- 13 Analysis of the Contamination Process of the Extremely Contaminated Fat Greenling by Fukushima-Derived Radioactive Material --- 14 Contamination Levels of Radioactive Cesium in Fat Greenling Caught at the Main Port of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- Part V Freshwater Systems --- 15 Comparison of Radioactive Cesium Contamination of Lake Water, Bottom Sediment, Plankton, and Freshwater Fish Among Lakes of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 16 Radiocesium Concentrations and Body Size of Freshwater Fish in Lake Hayama 1 Year After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- 17 Spatiotemporal Monitoring of 134Cs and 137Cs in Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, a Microalgae-Grazing Fish, and in Their Freshwater Habitats in Fukushima --- 18 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Muscle and Eggs of Salmonids from Lake Chuzenji, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 19 Assessment of Radiocesium Accumulation by Hatchery-Reared Salmonids After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Description / Table of Contents: Part I Basic Research for Innovative Medicine --- 1. Diverting Glycolysis to Combat Oxidative Stress --- 2. Metabolic Regulation by Nuclear Receptors --- 3. Fighting Fire with Fire in Cancer --- 4. Linear Polyubiquitination: a Crucial Regulator of NF-kB Activation --- 5. VCP, a major ATPase in the cells, as a novel drug target for currently incurable disorders --- 6. Roles of E-cadherin in hepatocarcinogenesis --- 7. The Hippo Signaling Pathway: A Candidate New Drug Target for Malignant Tumors --- 8. Inhibitory immunoreceptors on mast cells in allergy and inflammation --- 9. Doxycycline-inducible Autoimmune Blistering Skin Disease Model --- 10. T-cell Senescence and Autoimmunity --- Part II Translational Research for Innovative Medicine --- 11. IL-6: A new era for the treatment of autoimmune inflammatory diseases --- 12. Pathogenesis of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Its Potential Therapeutic Strategies --- 13. Multifaceted translational approach of major mental illness --- 14. Translational research of leptin in lipodystrophy and its related diseases --- 15. Translational research of the activation of the C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP)-guanylyl cyclase-B pathway for skeletal dysplasia --- 16. Clarity and Challenges in Tissue Fibrosis --- 17. TRP Channels: Their Function and Potentiality as Drug Targets --- 18. Autophagic Cell Death and Cancer Chemotherapeutics --- 19. Adrenomedullin as a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Refractory Ulcerative Colitis --- 20. RNA activation --- Part III New Technology for Innovative Medicine --- 21. Cardiac Reprogramming for Heart Repair --- 22. Development of a new in vivo optical probe for biological diagnosis and therapy --- 23. Introduction of mesenchymal stem cells for liver surgery (hepatectomy and transplantation) --- 24. Synaptic and axonal plasticity induction in the human cerebral cortex --- 25. TIM-3 is a novel therapeutic target for eradicating acute myelogenous leukemia stem cells --- 26. TGF-beta LAP degradation products, a novel biomarker and promising therapeutic target for liver fibrogenesis --- 27. Cell-based regenerative therapy for liver disease

Description / Table of Contents: This book discusses the common principles of morality and ethics derived from divinely endowed intuitive reason through the creation of al-fitr' a (nature) and human intellect (al-‘aql). Biomedical topics are presented and ethical issues related to topics such as genetic testing, assisted reproduction and organ transplantation are discussed. Whereas these natural sources are God’s special gifts to human beings, God’s revelation as given to the prophets is the supernatural source of divine guidance through which human communities have been guided at all times through history. The second part of the book concentrates on the objectives of Islamic religious practice – the maqa' sid – which include: Preservation of Faith, Preservation of Life, Preservation of Mind (intellect and reason), Preservation of Progeny (al-nasl) and Preservation of Property. Lastly, the third part of the book discusses selected topical issues, including abortion, assisted reproduction devices, genetics, organ transplantation, brain death and end-of-life aspects. For each topic, the current medical evidence is followed by a detailed discussion of the ethical issues involved

Description / Table of Contents: Discovery of the Arbroath, Montrose and Forties fields initiated intensive exploration of the Tertiary deep-marine play in the North Sea region. Subsequent discoveries demonstrated the success of this play and the geological diversity of the depositional systems. The play is now mature and in many areas the remaining exploration potential is likely to be dominated by small, subtle traps with a major component of stratigraphic trapping. Economically marginal discoveries need an in-depth understanding of subsurface uncertainty to mitigate risk with limited appraisal wells. Mature fields require detailed geological understanding in the search for the remaining oil. This volume focuses on the regional depositional setting of these deep-marine systems, providing a stratigraphic and palaeogeographical context for exploration, and development case histories that outline the challenges of producing from these reservoirs. The fields are arranged around the production life cycle, describing the changing needs of geological models as the flow of static and dynamic data refines geological understanding and defines the nature of new opportunities as fields mature.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume highlights key challenges for fluid-flow prediction in carbonate reservoirs, the approaches currently employed to address these challenges and developments in fundamental science and technology. The papers span methods and case studies that highlight workflows and emerging technologies in the fields of geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir modelling and computer science. Topics include: detailed pore-scale studies that explore fundamental processes and applications of imaging and flow modelling at the pore scale; case studies of diagenetic processes with complementary perspectives from reactive transport modelling; novel methods for rock typing; petrophysical studies that investigate the impact of diagenesis and fault-rock properties on acoustic signatures; mechanical modelling and seismic imaging of faults in carbonate rocks; modelling geological influences on seismic anisotropy; novel approaches to geological modelling; methods to represent key geological details in reservoir simulations and advances in computer visualization, analytics and interactions for geoscience and engineering.

Description / Table of Contents: The subduction zone volatile cycle is key to understanding the petrogenesis, transport, storage and eruption of arc magmas. Volatiles control the flux of slab components into the mantle wedge, are responsible for melt generation through lowering the solidi of mantle materials and influence the crystallizing phase assemblages in the overriding crust. Further, the rates and extents of degassing during magma storage and decompression affect magma rheology, ultimately control eruption style and have consequences for the environmental impact of explosive arc volcanism. This book highlights recent progress in constraining the role of volatiles in magmatic processes. Individual book sections are devoted to tracing volatiles from the subducting slab to the overriding crust, their role in subvolcanic processes and eruption triggering, as well as magmatic-hydrothermal systems and volcanic degassing. For the first time, all aspects of the overarching theme of volatile cycling are covered in detail within a single volume.

Description / Table of Contents: Ernie Rutter has made, and continues to make, a significant impact in the field of rock deformation. He has studied brittle and plastic deformation processes that occur within both the oceanic and continental crust, as well as other key properties such as the permeability and seismic velocities of these rocks. His approach has been one that integrates field observations, laboratory experiments and theoretical analyses. This volume celebrates Ernie's key contribution to rock deformation and structural geology by bringing together a collection of papers that represent this broad approach. The papers within the volume address key issues that remain within these fields. These range from fundamental studies of brittle and plastic behaviour along with the resultant structures and microstructures from both the field and laboratory, to applied problems where a better understanding of the deformation and properties of the crust is still needed.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction / D. Pereira, B. R. Marker, S. Kramar, B. Cooper and B. Schouenborg / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 1-4, 23 February 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.18 --- Procedures and criteria for the definition of Global Heritage Stone Resources / Brian R. Marker / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 5-10, 10 June 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.3 --- The ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’ designation: past, present and future / Barry J. Cooper / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 11-20, 21 May 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.5 --- Global stone heritage: Larvikite, Norway / Tom Heldal, G. B. Meyer and R. Dahl / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 21-34, 27 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.14 --- The Hallandia gneiss, a Swedish heritage stone resource / B. Schouenborg, J. Andersson, M. Göransson and Inger Lundqvist / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 35-48, 4 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.17 --- The Kolmården serpentine marble in Sweden: a stone found both in castles and people's homes / Anders Wikström and Dolores Pereira / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 49-56, 28 January 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.22 --- Global Heritage Stone: Estremoz Marbles, Portugal / Luís Lopes and Ruben Martins / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 57-74, 15 August 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.10 --- Contribution of Portuguese two-mica granites to stone built heritage: the historical value of Oporto granite / Angela Almeida and Arlindo Begonha / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 75-91, 27 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.16 --- Piedra Pajarilla: a candidacy as a global heritage stone resource for Martinamor granite / Dolores Pereira, Ana Gimeno and Santiago Del Barrio / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 93-100, 21 May 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.6 --- The Sierra Nevada serpentinites: the serpentinites most used in Spanish heritage buildings / Rafael Navarro, Dolores Pereira, Carlos Rodríguez-Navarro and Eduardo Sebastián-Pardo / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 101-108, 10 June 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.7 --- Villamayor Stone (Golden Stone) as a Global Heritage Stone Resource from Salamanca (NW of Spain) / J. Garcia-Talegón, A. C. Iñigo, G. Alonso-Gavilán and S. Vicente-Tavera / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 109-120, 27 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.19 --- Colmenar Limestone, Madrid, Spain: considerations for its nomination as a Global Heritage Stone Resource due to its long term durability / R. Fort, M. J. Varas-Muriel, M. Alvarez de Buergo and E. M. Perez-Monserrat / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 121-135, 3 September 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.8 --- Carrara Marble: a nomination for ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’ from Italy / P. Primavori / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 137-154, 23 February 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.21 --- Rosa Beta granite (Sardinian Pink Granite): a heritage stone of international significance from Italy / N. Careddu and S. Grillo / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 155-172, 21 May 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.1 --- Pietra Serena: the stone of the Renaissance / F. Fratini, E. Pecchioni, E. Cantisani, S. Rescic and S. Vettori / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 173-186, 3 September 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.11 --- Ornamental stones of the Verbano Cusio Ossola quarry district: characterization of materials, quarrying techniques and history and relevance to local and national heritage / Giovanna A. Dino and Alessandro Cavallo / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 187-200, 15 October 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.15 --- Stone materials used for monumental buildings in the historical centre of Turin (NW Italy): architectonical survey and petrographic characterization of Via Roma / Alessandro Borghi, Valentina Berra, Anna d'Atri, Giovanna A. Dino, Lorenzo M. Gallo, Elena Giacobino, Luca Martire, Gianluca Massaro, Gloria Vaggelli, Carlo Bertok, Daniele Castelli, Emanuele Costa, Simona Ferrando, Chiara Groppo and Franco Rolfo / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 201-218, 27 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.20 --- Podpeč limestone: a heritage stone from Slovenia / S. Kramar, M. Bedjanič, B. Mirtič, A. Mladenović, B. Rožič, D. Skaberne, M. Gutman, N. Zupančič and B. Cooper / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 219-231, 10 June 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.2 --- Stone heritage in Southeast Slovenia / M. Golež and B. Mirtič / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 233-242, 27 August 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.12 --- Ornamental stone in the history of St Petersburg architecture / A. G. Bulakh / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 243-252, 10 June 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.4 --- Natural stone in the built heritage of the interior of Brazil: the use of stone in Minas Gerais / A. G. Costa / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 253-261, 22 July 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.13 --- ‘Piedra Mar del Plata’: An Argentine orthoquartzite worthy of being considered as a ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’ / F. Cravero, M. B. Ponce, M. R. Gozalvez and S. A. Marfil / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 407, 263-268, 8 July 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.9

Description / Table of Contents: This book covers essential aspects of transmutation technologies, highlighting especially the advances in Japan. The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has caused us to focus attention on a large amount of spent nuclear fuels stored in NPPs. In addition, public anxiety regarding the treatment and disposal of high-level radioactive wastes that require long-term control is growing. The Japanese policy on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle is still unpredictable in the aftermath of the accident. Therefore, research and development for enhancing the safety of various processes involved in nuclear energy production are being actively pursued worldwide. In particular, nuclear transmutation technology has been drawing significant attention after the accident. This publication is timely with the following highlights: 1) Development of accelerator-driven systems (ADSs), which is a brand-new reactor concept for transmutation of highly radioactive wastes; 2) Nuclear reactor systems from the point of view of the nuclear fuel cycle. How to reduce nuclear wastes or how to treat them including the debris from TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power stations is discussed; and 3) Environmental radioactivity, radioactive waste treatment, and geological disposal policy. State-of-the-art technologies for overall back-end issues of the nuclear fuel cycle as well as the technologies of transmutation are presented here. The chapter authors are actively involved in the development of ADSs and transmutation-related technologies. The future of the back-end issues in Japan is very uncertain after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and this book provides an opportunity for readers to consider the future direction of those issues

Description / Table of Contents: The term biodiversity has become a mainstream concept that can be found in any newspaper at any given time. Concerns on biodiversity protection are usually linked to species protection and extinction risks for iconic species, such as whales, pandas and so on. However, conserving biodiversity has much deeper implications than preserving a few (although important) species. Biodiversity in ecosystems is tightly linked to ecosystem functions such as biomass production, organic matter decomposition, ecosystem resilience, and others. Many of these ecological processes are also directly implied in services that the humankind obtains from ecosystems. The first part of this book will introduce different concepts and theories important to understand the links between ecosystem function and ecosystem biodiversity. The second part of the book provides a wide range of different studies showcasing the evidence and practical implications of such relationships.

Description / Table of Contents: Part I Markets, Regulation, and Model Risk --- A Random Holding Period Approach for Liquidity-Inclusive Risk Management --- Regulatory Developments in Risk Management: Restoring Confidence in Internal Models --- Model Risk in Incomplete Markets with Jumps --- Part II Financial Engineering --- Bid-Ask Spread for Exotic Options Under Conic Finance --- Derivative Pricing Under the Possibility of Long Memory in the supOU Stochastic Volatility Model --- A Two-Sided BNS Model for Multicurrency FX Markets --- Modeling the Price of Natural Gas with Temperature and Oil Price as Exogenous Factors --- Copula-Specific Credit Portfolio Modeling --- Implied Recovery Rates—Auctions and Models --- Upside and Downside Risk Exposures of Currency Carry Trades via Tail Dependence --- Part III Insurance Risk and Asset Management --- Participating Life Insurance Contracts Under Risk Based Solvency Frameworks: How to Increase Capital Efficiency by Product Design --- Reducing Surrender Incentives Through Fee Structure in Variable Annuities --- A Variational Approach for Mean-Variance-Optimal Deterministic Consumption and Investment --- Risk Control in Asset Management: Motives and Concepts --- Worst-Case Scenario Portfolio Optimization Given the Probability of a Crash --- Improving Optimal Terminal Value Replicating Portfolios --- Part IV Computational Methods for Risk Management --- Risk and Computation --- Extreme Value Importance Sampling for Rare Event Risk Measurement --- A Note on the Numerical Evaluation of the Hartman–Watson Density and Distribution Function --- Computation of Copulas by Fourier Methods --- Part V Dependence Modelling --- Goodness-of-fit Tests for Archimedean Copulas in High Dimensions --- Duality in Risk Aggregation --- Some Consequences of the Markov Kernel Perspective of Copulas --- Copula Representations for Invariant Dependence Functions --- Nonparametric Copula Density Estimation Using a Petrov–Galerkin Projection

Description / Table of Contents: This book presents an analysis of the results of studies of motor fuels ageing, conducted in laboratory and model conditions, in terms of building a system operating on-line, allowing continuous assessment of the operational usability of gasoline and diesel fuels, including those containing the addition of ethanol and FAME, respectively. This research was carried out in the framework of the project: "A system for the continuous control of the degree and rate of the liquid fuels ageing process during storage, which received co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme "Innovative Economy". The book presents an evaluation of the impact of fuel production processes on its stability and an analysis of changes in normative parameters of fuels during their storage and use. The book presents also the results of tests on the corrosive effects of fuels during storage processes.

Description / Table of Contents: This edited book, Toxicity and Hazard of Agrochemicals, is intended to provide an overview of toxicology that examines the hazardous effects of common agrochemicals employed every day in our agricultural practices. Furthermore, it is hoped that the information in the present book will be of value to those directly engaged in the handling and use of agrochemicals and that this book will continue to meet the expectations and needs of all interested in the different aspects of human and environmental risk toxicities.

Description / Table of Contents: Is planting grass margins around fields beneficial for wildlife? Which management interventions increase bee numbers in farmland? Does helping migrating toads across roads increase populations? How do you reduce predation on bird populations? What Works in Conservation has been created to provide practitioners with answers to these and many other questions about practical conservation. This book provides an assessment of the effectiveness of 648 conservation interventions based on summarized scientific evidence relevant to the practical global conservation of amphibians, reducing the risk of predation for birds, conservation of European farmland biodiversity and some aspects of enhancing natural pest control and soil fertility. It contains key results from the summarized evidence for each conservation intervention and an assessment of the effectiveness of each by international expert panels. The volume is published in partnership with the Conservation Evidence project and is fully linked to the project's website where more detailed evidence and references can be freely accessed.

Description / Table of Contents: Issue Mapping for an Ageing Europe is a seminal guide to mapping social and political issues with digital methods. The issue at stake concerns the imminent crisis of an ageing Europe and its impact on the contemporary welfare state. The book brings together three leading approaches to issue mapping: Bruno Latour's social cartography, Ulrich Beck's risk cartography and Jeremy Crampton's critical neo-cartography. These modes of inquiry are put into practice with digital methods for mapping the ageing agenda, including debates surrounding so-called 'old age', cultural philosophies of ageing, itinerant care workers, not to mention European anti-ageing cuisine. Issue Mapping for an Ageing Europe addresses an urgent social issue with new media research tools.

Description / Table of Contents: ‘Landscape Biographies’ explores the long and complex histories of landscapes from personal and social perspectives. As an essential part of human life-worlds, landscapes have the potential to absorb something of people's lives, works, and thoughts. But landscapes also shape their own life-histories at different timescales, transcending human life-cycles and generating their own temporalities and rhythms. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the co-scripting of landscapes and people figures prominently in the (auto-)biographical works of writers and attracts the interest of geographers, archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists. This has even resulted in a new genre in landscape research, rapidly gaining in popularity, under the heading of 'landscape biography'. In ‘Landscape Biographies’, twenty geographers, archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists investigate the diverse ways in which landscapes and monuments have been constructed, transmitted, and transformed from prehistory up to the present, from Manhattan to Shanghai, from Iceland to Portugal, and from England to Estonia. Among the authors are distinguished scholars like Gísli Pálsson, Cornelius Holtorf, Joshua Pollard, and Mark Gillings.

Description / Table of Contents: Two essential components of solar energy which are derivable from the sun-radiant light (passive solar power) and heat (active solar powers) have been harnessed for decades using a range of continuously-evolving and cutting-edge technologies. Such technologies include solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and photo emitters. Recently, there has been active research in solar energy resources due to improvements in solar panel geometry, photo-cell materials, glazing and panel orientation. Equally, more rigorous methods of modeling inter-reflections within curvilinear surfaces are now being evaluated for simplified analytical evaluations. Therefore, this book, Solar Radiation Applications, presents the outcomes of selective and classic works on the optimization of these essential fields in active solar energy research.

Description / Table of Contents: The present book on Hydrodynamics - Concepts and Experiments contains six chapters, each of which devoted to a topic considered interesting to compose this book. Although the tools used in the different chapters are somewhat superposed, a first classification may be presented as: the first two chapters describe numerical models; the third and fourth chapters use experimental tools and results; and the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters present conceptual aspects of fluid dynamics. A more detailed description is furnished in the sequence. The six topics that compose this book may be resumed as: Flow-Structure Interactions, Hydrodynamic Models and Biological processes in Coastal Waters, Useful Cavitation, New Concepts in Hydraulic Jumps, Lagrangian Formulation of Fluid Dynamics, and Small Perturbations in Viscous Fluids.

Description / Table of Contents: Satellite positioning techniques, particularly global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), are capable of measuring small changes of the Earths shape and atmosphere, as well as surface characteristics with an unprecedented accuracy. This book is devoted to presenting recent results and development in satellite positioning technique and applications, including GNSS positioning methods, models, atmospheric sounding, and reflectometry as well their applications in the atmosphere, land, oceans and cryosphere. This book provides a good reference for satellite positioning techniques, engineers, scientists as well as user community.

Description / Table of Contents: This document presents the Policy-makers Summary of the 2015 AMAP Assessments of Pollution Issues (POPs Trends; Radioactivity in the Arctic; Human Health in the Arctic).

Description / Table of Contents: This document presents the Policy-maker’s Summary of the 2015 AMAP Assessments of Short-lived Climate Pollutants (Methane, Black carbon and Ozone).

Description / Table of Contents: As we move from the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) it is important to consider how development agendas are set, the progress that has been made over the past 15 years, and how current debates are shaping global development efforts for the next 15. This book was, produced as part of a University College London-London International Development Centre research collaboration entitled, "Thinking Beyond Sectors for Sustainable Development". The aim of the book is to provide a concise introduction to the debates in a number of vital development sectors, review progress made in each sector, and to consider how looking beyond sectors might open new opportunities for inclusive, sustainable development. Each chapter in this book was produced collaboratively by academics from a wide number of disciplines. As such, it represents a truly interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral effort, of the kind that will be necessary for successful development and implementation of future international development goals.

Description / Table of Contents: The fourth edition of the World Ocean Review (WOR) focuses on sustainability and explores how that concept can guide the management of our marine environment. WOR 4 explains the key ecosystem services supplied by our seas and identifies the main threats to them. It offers an overview of current marine policy at regional and transnational level and shows how conservation and sustainable use of our oceans can be reconciled in future.

Description / Table of Contents: Continuation along current development pathways is not sustainable. Available technology and production practices and the consumption patterns of modern societies are leading to global warming and ecological destruction. Business as usual is not an option. There is an urgent need to find a new development paradigm that ensures environmental sustainability while managing to provide, now and in the future, a decent livelihood for all of humankind. In Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development, experts in the area provide a variety of insights about the technical transformation needed for sustainable development. It spells out the behavioural and policy changes that would need to accompany the next technological transformation, taking into account the complexity of inducing technological change in the energy and agricultural sectors. The assessment suggests that this will require major, but doable improvements in national innovation systems and major, but affordable shifts in investment patterns and related macroeconomic adjustments.

Description / Table of Contents: Questo volume è l’esito del confronto e delle riflessioni sviluppate durante il II Workshop “AIIG Giovani” organizzato a Roma nell’aprile del 2013. Nasce da un desiderio, quello di presentare l’importanza della combinazione tra metodi d’indagine tradizionali e nuovi per costruire sapere geografico, e da una passione, sostenuta dall’intreccio di relazioni umane che si evolvono nel tempo. Per chiarire quale possa essere il contributo della geografia alla comprensione del mondo contemporaneo, sempre più complesso, gli autori presentano le principali metodologie geografiche in quattro sezioni: “Territori della tecnologia”, “Identità, spazi, luoghi”, “Nodi della rete” e “Approcci sperimentali nella scuola che cambia”. Emerge dal lavoro un quadro multifocale che rispecchia la poliedricità e la trasversalità della geografia contemporanea, ancorato al comune bisogno di sviluppare strumenti interpretativi e d’azione. Ci si muove nell’ambito di una geografia critica e della complessità in grado di fornire ai cittadini globali differenti strumenti di interpretazione e comprensione del mondo, nuove metafore a partire dalle quali costruire e sperimentare forme alternative di cittadinanza consapevole ed attiva. Qui la geografia ritrova lo slancio di una disciplina fertile capace non solo di descrivere la Terra, ma anche di immaginare e creare nuovi mondi possibili. L’approdo naturale di questo percorso è la realtà scolastica dove è possibile sperimentare nuove forme di sapere e azione per rispondere alla sfida educativa contemporanea.

Description / Table of Contents: The practical application of structural geology in industry is varied and diverse; it is relevant at all scales, from plate-wide screening of new exploration areas down to fluid-flow behaviour along individual fractures. From an industry perspective, good structural practice is essential since it feeds into the quantification and recovery of reserves and ultimately underpins commercial investment choices. Many of the fundamental structural principles and techniques used by industry can be traced back to the academic community, and this volume aims to provide insights into how structural theory translates into industry practice. Papers in this publication describe case studies and workflows that demonstrate applied structural geology, covering a spread of topics including trap definition, fault seal, fold-and-thrust belts, fractured reservoirs, fluid flow and geomechanics. Against a background of evolving ideas, new data types and advancing computational tools, the volume highlights the need for structural geologists to constantly re-evaluate the role they play in solving industrial challenges.

Description / Table of Contents: Nous assistons actuellement au peuplement des zones périurbaines de la planète par des centaines de millions d’individus. Cette évolution pose de redoutables problèmes et des difficultés inédites pour les politiques publiques. Si les effets de la périurbanisation sont relativement bien connus dans les pays du Nord, les analyses dédiées aux pays du Sud sont bien moins développées. L’ouvrage « Territoires périurbains : développement, enjeux et perspectives dans les pays du Sud » permet de lever un coin du voile sur cette problématique et sur les grands défis que la périurbanisation pose pour le Sud en général et pour l’Afrique centrale en particulier. L’ouvrage débute en cherchant à clarifier ce qu’il faut exactement entendre par « territoire périurbain ». À la suite de cette mise en contexte, il se poursuit par cinq parties organisées autour des problématiques des ressources naturelles, de la sécurité alimentaire, de la santé publique, des services publics et de l’aménagement des territoires. Pour chacune de ces problématiques, des chercheurs spécialisés issus de disciplines variées apportent des contributions qui, tout en soulignant l’ampleur des défis, permettent la mise en avant de solutions innovantes pour améliorer la gouvernance et le bien-être des populations. Cet ouvrage s’adresse d’abord aux chercheurs préoccupés par les défis du développement. En parallèle, par les pistes pour l’action publique qu’il esquisse, il ne manquera pas d’également intéresser les décideurs et les praticiens qui opèrent dans le contexte des territoires périurbains des pays du Sud.

Description / Table of Contents: Foreword --- Preface --- Part 1 A brief history of marine litter research --- Part 2 Abiotic aspects of marine litter pollution --- Global distribution, composition and abundance of marine litter --- Persistence of plastic litter in the oceans --- Part 3 Biological implications of marine litter --- Deleterious effects of litter on marine life --- The complex mixture, fate and toxicity of chemicals associated with plastic debris in the marine environment --- Marine litter as habitat and dispersal vector --- Part 4 Micro plastics --- Micro plastics in the marine environment: sources, consequences and solutions --- Methodology used for the detection and identification of micro plastics – a critical appraisal --- Sources and pathways of micro plastics to habitats --- Micro plastics in the marine environment: distribution, interactions and effects --- Modeling the role of micro plastics in bioaccumulation of organic chemicals to marine aquatic organisms. A critical review --- Nano plastics in the aquatic environment. Critical review --- Part 5 Socio-economic implications of marine anthropogenic litter --- Micro and nano-plastics and human health --- The economics of marine litter --- Regulation and management of marine litter --- Marine litter and the contribution of citizen science

Description / Table of Contents: Contents --- Foreword --- Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview --- Chapter 2: The Three Phases of Global Liquidity --- 2.1: Conceptual and Measurement Issues --- 2.2: First Phase of Global Liquidity --- 2.2.1: Round-trip Bank Flows to the US --- 2.2.2: Banking Sector Flows to the Rest of the World --- 2.2.3: Exchange Rates and Leverage --- 2.3: Second Phase of Global Liquidity --- 2.4: The Case of Emerging Asia --- 2.5: Third Phase and Onward --- 2.6: References --- Chapter 3: Early Warning Indicators for Financial Vulnerabilities --- 3.1: Principles for Selection of Early Warning Indicators --- 3.2: Core and Noncore Liabilities --- 3.3: References --- Chapter 4: Emerging Asia’s Noncore Liabilities and Policy Effectiveness --- 4.1: Bank-led Flows, Noncore Liabilities, and Credit Growth --- 4.2: Reassessing Monetary Policy --- 4.3: Appendix --- 4.4: References --- Chapter 5: Capital Flows and Income Distribution --- 5.1: National Policy Remains Key --- 5.2: How Capital Flows Affect Income Inequality --- 5.3: Prioritization for a Multi-Objective Goal --- 5.4: Appendix --- 5.5: References --- Chapter 6: Policy Implications --- 6.1 Tailoring Policies to Vulnerabilities --- 6.2 Macroprudential Tools --- 6.2.1 Bank Capital-Oriented Tools --- 6.2.1.1 Capital Requirements that Adjust Over the Cycle --- 6.2.1.2 Forward-Looking Provisioning --- 6.2.1.3: Leverage caps --- 6.2.1.4: Loan-To-Value and Debt-Service-To-Income Caps --- 6.2.1.5: Loan-to-Deposit caps --- 6.2.1.6: Levy on Noncore Liabilities --- 6.2.1.7: Unremunerated Reserve Requirements --- 6.2.2: Relative Merits of URR versus Levies/Taxes --- 6.2.3: Relationship with other Stabilization Policies --- 6.3: Financial Integration and Institutional Design --- 6.4: Policy Choices --- 6.5: References

Description / Table of Contents: Part I Markets, Regulation, and Model Risk --- A Random Holding Period Approach for Liquidity-Inclusive Risk Management --- Regulatory Developments in Risk Management: Restoring Confidence in Internal Models --- Model Risk in Incomplete Markets with Jumps --- Part II Financial Engineering --- Bid-Ask Spread for Exotic Options Under Conic Finance --- Derivative Pricing Under the Possibility of Long Memory in the supOU Stochastic Volatility Model --- A Two-Sided BNS Model for Multicurrency FX Markets --- Modeling the Price of Natural Gas with Temperature and Oil Price as Exogenous Factors --- Copula-Specific Credit Portfolio Modeling --- Implied Recovery Rates—Auctions and Models --- Upside and Downside Risk Exposures of Currency Carry Trades via Tail Dependence --- Part III Insurance Risk and Asset Management --- Participating Life Insurance Contracts Under Risk Based Solvency Frameworks: How to Increase Capital Efficiency by Product Design --- Reducing Surrender Incentives Through Fee Structure in Variable Annuities --- A Variational Approach for Mean-Variance-Optimal Deterministic Consumption and Investment --- Risk Control in Asset Management: Motives and Concepts --- Worst-Case Scenario Portfolio Optimization Given the Probability of a Crash --- Improving Optimal Terminal Value Replicating Portfolios --- Part IV Computational Methods for Risk Management --- Risk and Computation --- Extreme Value Importance Sampling for Rare Event Risk Measurement --- A Note on the Numerical Evaluation of the Hartman–Watson Density and Distribution Function --- Computation of Copulas by Fourier Methods --- Part V Dependence Modelling --- Goodness-of-fit Tests for Archimedean Copulas in High Dimensions --- Duality in Risk Aggregation --- Some Consequences of the Markov Kernel Perspective of Copulas --- Copula Representations for Invariant Dependence Functions --- Nonparametric Copula Density Estimation Using a Petrov–Galerkin Projection

Description / Table of Contents: Recent theoretical developments, acquisitions of large seismic and other data sets, detailed geological studies, and novel laboratory experiments offer new opportunities for advancing the understanding of fault zone and earthquake processes. The present and a follow up volume provide broad state-of-the-art perspectives on earthquakes and crustal fault zones. Subjects discussed in this volume include fluids and faulting, characterization of fault zone materials, seismic ground motion, geodetic deformation, seismicity and hazard, imaging fault zone structures, experiments on fault evolution, and damage-based rheologies for shear deformation. The volume will be useful to students and professional researchers from Earth Sciences, Material Sciences, Physics and other disciplines, who are interested in properties and processes of earthquakes and faults.

Description / Table of Contents: The 2011 Tohoku earthquake generated a catastrophic tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people along the coast of Japan and caused the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The tsunami propagated throughout the Pacific Ocean and also affected many other countries, including Russia, the USA, New Zealand, French Polynesia and Chile, demonstrating once again the terrible threat that tsunami waves pose for Pacific countries and the need for basin-wide international scientific collaboration. Following a brief introduction, this volume presents 21 scientific papers, including 12 on aspects of the 2011 Tohoku event. A first group of papers provides detailed field survey results from the coasts of Japan and Russia and examines the wave dynamics on the basis of these surveys, the source mechanism of the earthquake, and the far-field impacts of the Tohoku tsunami. The second group reports on the 2012 tsunamis in El Salvador, the Philippines, off the east coast of Honshu and the landmark Haida Gwaii event off the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, while the papers in a third set discuss a number of remaining challenging questions in tsunami science and warning. The volume will be of interest to scientists and practitioners involved in all aspects of tsunamis from earthquake source processes to transoceanic wave propagation and coastal impacts. Postgraduate students in geophysics, oceanography and coastal engineering – as well as those in the broader geosciences, civil and environmental engineering – will also find the book a valuable resource, as it combines recent case studies with the latest advances in tsunami science and natural hazards mitigation.

Description / Table of Contents: Recent theoretical developments, acquisitions of large seismic and other data sets, detailed geological studies and novel laboratory experiments offer new opportunities for advancing the understanding of fault zone and earthquake processes. The present and a previous volume provide broad state-of-the-art perspectives on earthquakes and crustal fault zones. Subjects discussed in this volume include imaging of fault zones and the crust, microstructural analyses of fault zone rocks, long paleoseismic record, inferences on stress, stress drops and fault geometries, properties of dynamic ruptures, generation and healing of rock damage, temporal changes of attenuation, postseismic deformation and scaling of earthquake source properties. The volume will be useful to students and professional researchers from Earth Sciences, Material Sciences, Physics and other disciplines, who are interested in properties and processes of earthquakes and faults.

Description / Table of Contents: This is the first volume of a collection of essays focusing on progress in tsunami science since the great tsunami of 26 December. A magnitude Mw 9.1 earthquake (third strongest ever instrumentally recorded) generated a global tsunami that killed about 230,000 people along the coasts of 14 countries in the Indian Ocean and propagated as far as the North Pacific and North Atlantic. Since then, various countries from around the globe contributed major funding to tsunami research and mitigation, enabling the installation of hundreds of new high-precision instruments, the development of new technology and the establishment of more modern communication systems. As a result, incredible progress has been achieved in tsunami research and operation during the ten years after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The papers presented in this first of two special volumes of Pure and Applied Geophysics reflect the state of tsunami science during this time. Eight papers are related to case studies highlighting regional hazards around the globe, while five papers record progress in tsunami warning systems. Benchmark studies that describe the accuracy of numerical models for tsunami impact, as well as a variety of inundation and generation studies, are presented by 7 additional papers.

Description / Table of Contents: Mathematical models and methods are required for diverse studies in Geosciences and simultaneously, new problems are posing new needs where Mathematics is needed. At the initiative of American and Canadian research mathematical institutes and societies, year 2013 was declared a thematic year in Mathematics and the Planet Earth, under the patronage of UNESCO. To mark the MPE2013, and highlight the two-way street between Mathematics and Earth Sciences, the workshop “Mathematics and Geosciences: Global and Local Perspectives” was hold in Madrid at ICMAT from 4-8 November, 2013. This is the first volume of the Topical Issue on “Mathematics and Geosciences: Global and Local Perspectives” and contains 13 papers, most of which were presented at the congress. They address different topics under both global and local perspectives such as the percolation theory to observe micro seismicity in fracking, fractional differential analysis to model complex dynamics, climate change, earthquake statistics, earth rotation, geomagnetic field, fire models, Mars exploration, numerical methods in meteorology and environmental conservation, probabilistic models in study of soils and fluid mechanics. This volume addresses the interest of scientists of many of the branches in Earth Sciences as well as postgraduate students, covering both approaches, applied and theoretical ones, to solve different problems in Geosciences with the help of mathematical models and methods.

Description / Table of Contents: Prior to May 2015, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta had, for over four decades, been a one-party state. During that time, the rule of the Progressive Conservatives essentially went unchallenged, with critiques of government policy falling on deaf ears and Alberta ranking behind other provinces in voter turnout. Given the province’s economic reliance on oil revenues, a symbiotic relationship also developed between government and the oil industry. Cross-national studies have detected a correlation between oil-dependent economies and authoritarian rule, a pattern particularly evident in Africa and the Middle East. Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada sets out to test the “oil inhibits democracy” hypothesis in the context of an industrialized nation in the Global North.In probing the impact of Alberta’s powerful oil lobby on the health of democracy in the province, contributors to the volume engage with an ongoing discussion of the erosion of political liberalism in the West. In addition to examining energy policy and issues of government accountability in Alberta, they explore the ramifications of oil dependence in areas such as Aboriginal rights, environmental policy, labour law, women’s equity, urban social policy, and the arts. If, as they argue, reliance on oil has weakened democratic structures in Alberta, then what of Canada as whole, where the short-term priorities of the oil industry continue to shape federal policy? In Alberta, the New Democratic Party is in a position to reverse the democratic deficit that is presently fuelling political and economic inequality. The findings in this book suggest that, to revitalize democracy, provincial and federal leaders alike must find the courage to curb the influence of the oil industry on governance.

Description / Table of Contents: The pore scale is readily recognizable to geochemists, and yet in the past it has not received a great deal of attention as a distinct scale or environment that is associated with its own set of questions and challenges. Is the pore scale merely an environment in which smaller scale (molecular) processes aggregate, or are there emergent phenomena unique to this scale? Is it simply a finer-grained version of the “continuum” scale that is addressed in larger-scale models and interpretations? We would argue that the scale is important because it accounts for the pore architecture within which such diverse processes as multi-mineral reaction networks, microbial community interaction, and transport play out, giving rise to new geochemical behavior that might not be understood or predicted by considering smaller or larger scales alone. Fortunately, the last few years have seen a marked increase in the interest in pore-scale geochemical and mineralogical topics, making a Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry volume on the subject timely. The volume had its origins in a special theme session at the 2015 Goldschmidt Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, August 16-21, 2015, where at least some of the contributors to this volume gave presentations. From the diversity of pore-scale topics in the session that spanned the range from multi-scale characterization to modeling, it became clear that the time was right for a volume that would summarize the state of the science. Based in part on the evidence in the chapters included here, we would argue that the convergence of state of the art microscopic characterization and high performance pore scale reactive transport modeling has made it possible to address a number of long-standing questions and enigmas in the Earth and Environmental Sciences. Among these is the so-called “laboratory-field discrepancy” in geochemical reaction rates, which may be traceable in part to the failure to consider porescale geochemical issues that include chemical and physical heterogeneity, suppression of precipitation in nanopores, and transport limitations to and from reactive mineral surfaces. This RiMG volume includes contributions that review experimental, characterization, and modeling advances in our understanding of pore-scale geochemical processes. The volume begins with chapters authored or co-authored by two of the éminences grises in the field of pore-scale geochemistry and mineralogy, two who have made what is perhaps the strongest case that the pore-scale is distinct and requires special consideration in geochemistry. The chapter by Andrew Putnis gives a high level overview of how the pore-scale architecture of natural porous media impacts geochemical processes, and how porosity evolves as a result of these. The chapter makes the first mention of what is an important theme in this volume, namely the modification of thermodynamics and kinetics in small pores. In a chapter authored by Røyne and Jamtveit, the authors investigate the effects of mineral precipitation on porosity and permeability modification of rock. Their principal focus is on the case where porosity reduction results in fracturing of the rock, in the absence of which the reactions will be suppressed due to the lack of pore space. The next chapter by Emmanuel, Anovitz, and Day-Stirrat addresses chemo-mechanical processes and how they affect porosity evolution in geological media. The next chapter by Anovitz and Cole provides a comprehensive review of the approaches for characterizing and analyzing porosity in porous media. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) plays prominently as a technique in this chapter. Stack presents a review of what is known about mineral precipitation in pores and how this may differ from precipitation in bulk solution. Liu, Liu, Kerisit, and Zachara focus on porescale process coupling and the determination of effective (or upscaled) surface reaction rates in heterogeneous subsurface materials. Micro-continuum modeling approaches are investigated by Steefel, Beckingham, and Landrot, where the case is made that these may provide a useful tool where the computationally more expensive pore and pore network models are not feasible. The next chapter by Noiriel pursues the focus on characterization techniques with a review of X-ray microtomography (especially synchrotron-based) and how it can be used to investigate dynamic geochemical and physical processes in porous media. Tournassat and Steefel focus on a special class of micro-continuum models that include an explicit treatment of electrostatic effects, which are particularly important in the case of clays or clay-rich rock. Navarre-Sitchler, Brantley, and Rother present an overview of our current understanding of how porosity increases as a result of chemical weathering in silicate rocks, bringing to bear a range of characterization and modeling approaches that build toward a more quantitative description of the process. In the next chapter, Druhan, Brown, and Huber demonstrate how isotopic gradients across fluid–mineral boundaries can develop and how they provide insight into pore-scale processes. Yoon, Kang, and Valocchi provide a comprehensive review of lattice Boltzmann modeling techniques for pore-scale processes. Mehmani and Balhoff summarize mesoscale and hybrid models for flow and transport at the pore scale, including a discussion of the important class of models referred to as “pore network” that typically can operate at a larger scale than is possible with the true pore-scale models. Molins addresses the problem of how to represent interfaces (solid–fluid) at the pore scale using direct numerical simulation.

Description / Table of Contents: China’s road to sustainability has attracted global attention. Since the “Reform & Opening Up” policy, China’s rapid pace of both urbanization and industrialization has made its being the second largesteconomy but meantime a heavy environmental price has been paid over the past few decades for addressing the economic developmental target. Today, as the biggest developing country, China needs to take more responsibilities for constructing its local ecological-civilization society as well as for addressingthe global challenges such as climate change, resources scary and human beings well-fare; therefore, weneed to have deeper understandings into China’s way to sustainability at very different levels, bothspatially and structurally, concerns ranging from generating sustainable household livelihoods to globalclimate change, from developing technological applications to generate institutional changes. In thisspirit, this publication, “Sustainability in China: Bridging Global Knowledge with Local Action” aims to investigate the intended and spontaneous issues concerning China’s road to sustainability in a combined top-down and bottom-up manner, linking international knowledge to local-based studies.

Description / Table of Contents: The earth is experiencing the adverse effect of climate change. In response to growing global warming issues and the constant increase of energy prices, house-builders and housing manufacturers today are becoming more responsive to the delivery of net zero energy and carbon dioxide emission sustainable homes than ever. Within this context, the sustainability may embrace housing economy and adequacy beyond the legitimacy in which the quality barely coincides with individuals' dynamic various needs, desires and expectations. In this special issue, "mass customisation" is reviewed being considered as a paradoxical concept which has been recognised as a means to lessen production costs of end-user products whilst achieving the customisability through economies of scope rather than economies of scale. Nevertheless, the housing industry's business operation tends to follow routines and the close system mode of operation often hinders the enterprises from adopting unfamiliar inn ovations which may be inevitable in realising the delivery and operation of socially, economically and environmentally sustainable homes. In order to deliver a marketable and replicable zero energy/emission mass custom home, or ZEMCH, the strategic balance between the optional and standard features seems to be critical. The optional features may be provided with the aim to enhance design quality (or customizability) that helps contribute to satisfying desires and expectations of individual stakeholders. The standard equipment, on the other hand, needs to be installed in buildings as it aims to exceed product quality whose levels can be adjusted in conjunction with societal demands and requirements. This edition encompasses a wide spectrum of hopes and fears around the design, production and marketing approaches to the ZEMCH delivery and operation, and showcases some exemplars budding out in different climates around the globe.

Description / Table of Contents: CIRIAF (Inter-University Research Center on Pollution and Environment “Mauro Felli” is a research center, based at the University of Perugia, which promotes interdisciplinary research activities in the fields of environmental pollution and its health and socio-economic effects, sustainable development, renewable and alternative energy, energy planning, and sustainable mobility. One hundred professors from fourteen different Italian universities are involved in the activities of the center. The CIRIAF National Congress (e.g., the fourteenth one in 2014), has become, over time, an important event for researchers and experts (engineers, physicists, chemists, architects, doctors, and economists). These individuals are not simply academics; they also hail from ministries, environmental agencies, and local authorities. The annual meeting in Perugia is an opportunity to discuss the issues related to energy, environment and sustainable development. The Special Issue will include the best papers presented at the Congress. These were selected by the Scientific Committee with the help of the various Chairmen of the Sessions. The papers cover all the various aspects of sustainability, from an interdisciplinary point of view, with a strong emphasis on the link between energy production, use and conservation, and environmental impact.

Description / Table of Contents: Geothermal energy has been harnessed for recreational uses for millennia, but only for electricity generation for a little over a century. Although geothermal is unique amongst renewables for its baseload and renewable heat provision capabilities, uptake continues to lag far behind that of solar and wind. This is mainly attributable to (i) uncertainties over resource availability in poorly-explored reservoirs and (ii) the concentration of full-lifetime costs into early-stage capital expenditure (capex). Recent advances in reservoir characterization techniques are beginning to narrow the bounds of exploration uncertainty, both by improving estimates of reservoir geometry and properties, and by providing pre-drilling estimates of temperature at depth. Advances in drilling technologies and management have potential to significantly lower initial capex, while operating expenditure is being further reduced by more effective reservoir management—supported by robust models—and increasingly efficient energy conversion systems (flash, binary and combined-heat-and-power). Advances in characterization and modelling are also improving management of shallow low-enthalpy resources that can only be exploited using heat-pump technology. Taken together with increased public appreciation of the benefits of geothermal, the technology is finally ready to take its place as a mainstream renewable technology, exploited far beyond its traditional confines in the world’s volcanic regions.

Description / Table of Contents: Part I: Introducing Life Cycle Management --- Introduction: Life Cycle Management --- Life Cycle Management: Implementing Sustainability in Business Practice --- Life Cycle Management as a Way to Operationalize Sustainability Within Organizations --- How to Implement Life Cycle Management in Business? --- Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: A Tool for Exercising due Diligence in Life Cycle Management --- Life Cycle Management: Labeling, Declarations and Certifications at the Product Level —Different Approaches --- Mainstreaming the Use of Life Cycle Management in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Using a Sector Based and Regional Approach --- Part II: Advancing the Implementation of Life Cycle Management in Business Practice --- From Projects to Processes to Implement Life Cycle Management in Business --- How to Make the LCA Team a Business Partner --- Sustainability Improvements and Life Cycle Approaches in Industry Partnerships --- Sustainable Value Creation with Life Cycle Management --- Part III: Life Cycle Management as Part of Sustainable Consumption and Production Strategies and Policies --- Hotspots Analysis: Providing the Focus for Action --- From Sustainable Production to Sustainable Consumption.-Life Cycle Management Responsibilities and Procedures in the Value Chain --- Policy Options for Life Cycle Assessment Deployment in Legislation --- Part IV: Mainstreaming and Capacity Building on Life Cycle Management --- Taking Life Cycle Management Mainstream: Integration in Corporate Finance and Accounting --- Building Organizational Capability for Life Cycle Management --- Promoting Life Cycle Thinking, Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Management Within Business in Brazil --- Mainstreaming Life Cycle Sustainability Management in Rapidly Growing and Emerging Economies Through Capacity-building.-Communication and Collaboration as Essential Elements for Mainstreaming Life Cycle Management.-Part V: Implementation and Case Studies of Life Cycle Management in Different Business and Industry Sector --- Exploring Challenges and Opportunities of Life Cycle Management in the Electricity Sector --- Life Cycle Management Applied to Urban Fabric Planning --- Implementing Life Cycle Engineering in Automotive Development as a Helpful Management Tool to Support Design for Environment --- Managing Life cycle Sustainability Aspects in the Automotive Industry --- Life Cycle Management as a Way to Operationalize the Creating Shared Value Concept in the Food and Beverage Industry: A Case Study

Description / Table of Contents: The role of fossil planktonic foraminifera as markers for biostratigraphical zonation and correlation underpins most drilling of marine sedimentary sequences and is key to hydrocarbon exploration. Biostratigraphic and Geological Significance of Planktonic Foraminifera unifies existing biostratigraphic schemes and provides an improved correlation reflecting regional biogeographies. It presents a comprehensive analysis of existing data on fossil planktonic foraminifera genera and their phylogenetic evolution in time and space. Coverage includes presentation and discussion of rarely studied thin sections of planktonic foraminifera, allowing for new developments in dating planktonic foraminifera in carbonates and expanding their usefulness in hydrocarbon exploration.

Description / Table of Contents: This book on multiscale seismic tomography, written by one of the leaders in the field, is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professionals in Earth and planetary sciences who need to broaden their horizons about seismotectonics, volcanism, and interior structure and dynamics of the Earth and Moon. It describes the state-of-the-art in seismic tomography, with emphasis on the new findings obtained by applying tomographic methods in local, regional, and global scales for understanding the generating mechanism of large and great earthquakes such as the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0), crustal and upper mantle structure, origin of active arc volcanoes and intraplate volcanoes including hotspots, heterogeneous structure of subduction zones, fate of subducting slabs, origin of mantle plumes, mantle convection, and deep Earth dynamics. The first lunar tomography and its implications for the mechanism of deep moonquakes and lunar evolution are also introduced