ALBERT

Description: Veterinary medicine is advancing at a very rapid pace, particularly given the breadth of the discipline. This book examines new developments covering a wide range of issues from health and welfare in livestock, pets, and wild animals to public health supervision and biomedical research. As well as containing reviews offering fresh insight into specific issues, this book includes a selection of scientific articles which help to chart the advance of this science. The book is divided into several sections. The opening chapters cover the veterinary profession and veterinary science in general, while later chapters look at specific aspects of applied veterinary medicine in pets and in livestock. Finally, research papers are grouped by specialisms with a view to exploring progress in areas such as organ transplantation, therapeutic use of natural substances, and the use of new diagnostic techniques for disease control. This book was produced during World Veterinary Year 2011, which marked the 250th anniversary of the veterinary profession. It provides a fittingly concise and enjoyable overview of the whole science of veterinary medicine.

Description: Advances and Applications in Mobile Computing offers guidelines on how mobile software services can be used in order to simplify the mobile users' life. The main contribution of this book is enhancing mobile software application development stages as analysis, design, development and test. Also, recent mobile network technologies such as algorithms, decreasing energy consumption in mobile network, and fault tolerance in distributed mobile computing are the main concern of the first section. In the mobile software life cycle section, the chapter on human computer interaction discusses mobile device handset design strategies, following the chapters on mobile application testing strategies. The last section, mobile applications as service, covers different mobile solutions and different application sectors.

Description: Salmonella is an extremely diversified genus, infecting a range of hosts, and comprised of two species: enterica and bongori. This group is made up of 2579 serovars, making it versatile and fascinating for researchers drawing their attention towards different properties of this microorganism. Salmonella related diseases are a major problem in developed and developing countries resulting in economic losses, as well as problems of zoonoses and food borne illness. Moreover, the emergence of an ever increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance in salmonella makes it prudent to unveil different mechanisms involved. This book is the outcome of a collaboration between various researchers from all over the world. The recent advancements in the field of salmonella research are compiled and presented.

Description: Dramatic improvements in medicine over the last few years have resulted in more reliable and accessible diagnostics and treatment of rectal cancer. Given the complex physiopathology of this tumor, the approach should not be limited to a single specialty but should involve a number of specialties (surgery, gastroenterology, radiology, biology, oncology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, physiotherapy) in an integrated fashion. The subtitle of this book "A Multidisciplinary Approach to Management" encompasses this concept. We have endeavored, with the help of an international group of contributors, to provide an up-to-date and authoritative account of the management of rectal tumor.

Description: The aim of this book is to cover key aspects of existing problems in the field of development and future perspectives in gene therapy. Contributions consist of basic and translational research, as well as clinical experiences, and they outline functional mechanisms, predictive approaches, patient-related studies and upcoming challenges in this stimulating but also controversial field of gene therapy research. This source will make our doctors become comfortable with the common problems of gene therapy and inspire others to delve a bit more deeply into a topic of interest.

Description: "This book entitled “Engineering Steels and High Entropy-Alloys” presents an overview of various types of advanced steels and high entropy alloys. It also discusses the current research trends, problems, and applications of engineering steels and high entropy materials. The book also gives a brief overview of advances in surface protection strategies of steels and laser processing of materials (additive manufacturing). The various key features of this book include: 1. A comprehensive overview of various types of engineering steels, phase transformation, and applications in engineering. 2. A complete detailed understanding and mechanism of high entropy materials, including high entropy alloys and ceramics. 3. Descriptions of structure-property relationships in high entropy materials and their application in various fields such as biomedical implants. 4. A brief review of various laser processing (additive manufacturing) and surface protection of advanced materials."

Description: The changing face of psychiatry and clinical psychology is mostly illustrated by the hugely increasing prevalence of autism spectrum syndrome. There has been a rapid advance in research, and books like this are therefore necessary. The book focuses on controversies in the diagnosis of autism with an examination of stercobilin, autism, and gastrointestinal disease. It also focuses on an exploration of scalp acupuncture as a possible treatment. There is also critical examination of autism in the classroom and an investigation into an unusual phenomenon seen in Africa called ?nodding syndrome.?

Description: The purpose of this volume is to encourage and inspire the continual invention of robot manipulators for science and the good of humanity. The concepts of artificial intelligence combined with the engineering and technology of feedback control, have great potential for new, useful and exciting machines. The concept of eclecticism for the design, development, simulation and implementation of a real time controller for an intelligent, vision guided robots is now being explored. The dream of an eclectic perceptual, creative controller that can select its own tasks and perform autonomous operations with reliability and dependability is starting to evolve. We have not yet reached this stage but a careful study of the contents will start one on the exciting journey that could lead to many inventions and successful solutions.

Description: In this book, we can read about new technologies that enhance training and performance; discover new, exciting ways to design and deliver content; and have access to proven strategies, practices and solutions shared by experts. The authors of this book come from all over the world; their ideas, studies, findings and experiences are beneficial contributions to enhance our knowledge in the field of e-learning. The book is divided into three sections, and their respective chapters refer to three macro areas. The first section of the book covers Instructional Design of E-learning, considering methodology and tools for designing e-learning environments and courseware. Also, there are examples of effective ways of gaming and educating. The second section is about Organizational Strategy and Management. The last section deals with the new Developments in E-learning Technology, emphasizing subjects like knowledge building by mobile e-learning systems, cloud computing and new proposals for virtual learning environments/platforms.

Description: Long-term forecasting of technology has become extremely difficult due to the rapid realization of any suggested idea. Communication and software technologies can compensate for the problems that may arise during the transition period between idea generation and realization. However, this rapid process can cause problems for the automotive industry and transportation systems.Autonomous vehicles are currently a hot topic within the transportation sector. This development is related to the compatibility of vehicles of the near future with the development of the infrastructure on which these vehicles will be based. There are certain problems regarding the solutions that are currently being worked on, such as how autonomous should vehicles be, their control mechanisms, driving safety, energy requirements, and environmental use. The problem is not just about the design of autonomous vehicles. The user transportation systems of these vehicles also need problem-free solutions. The problem should not only be seen as financial because sociological effects are an important part of this feature.In this book, valuable research on the modeling, systems, transportation, technological necessity, and logistics of autonomous vehicles is presented. The content of the book will help researchers to create ideas for their future studies and to open up the discussion of autonomous vehicles.

Description: A multidisciplinary understanding of the various processes leading to colorectal cancer progression is important for creating promising methods of therapy. Therefore it is necessary to scrutinize the progression of cancer and the therapeutic process through various academic theories. This book examines colorectal cancer - its prevention, pathogenesis, and treatment - through a multidisciplinary lens in an effort to advance understanding of the disease and improve therapeutic efficacy.

Description: This book systematizes the concepts of contemporary coastal zone management and suggests possible structural and non-structural management tools for decision-making processes. Some successful adaptation measures and case studies on oceanic processes and coastal protection are discussed. High-frequency communications in coastal and marine environments are also addressed.All chapters contribute relevant information and useful content to scientists and other readers interested or concerned about the lack of adequate management actions and the installation of appropriate protections or their ineffectiveness in containing coastal vulnerabilities and risks.

Description: Authenticating data such as image, video, and audio is an important task in digital communication. Another critical task is establishing ownership of the copyright. Digital watermarking is a technique used to provide authentication and ownership of the copyright to the data. Too much digitalization of data in the form of image, video, and audio communicated through various web and mobile applications makes authentication a challenging task. Steganography, the art of hiding tiny pieces of data in image, video, and audio, can also help in copyright protection, authentication, and access control. This book provides three watermarking and two steganography methods and will be a useful resource for graduate students, researchers, and practicing engineers in the field of electrical engineering.

Description: The procedure of skin grafting has been performed since 3000BC and with the aid of modern technology has evolved through the years. While the development of new techniques and devices has significantly improved the functional as well as the aesthetic results from skin grafting, the fundamentals of skin grafting have remained the same, a healthy vascular granulating wound bed free of infection. Adherence to the recipient bed is the most important factor in skin graft survival and research continues introducing new techniques that promote this process. Biological and synthetic skin substitutes have also provided better treatment options as well as HLA tissue typing and the use of growth factors. Even today, skin grafts remain the most common and least invasive procedure for the closure of soft tissue defects but the quest for perfection continues.

Description: Capsicum, also known as chili or bell pepper, is one of the most economically important vegetable crops worldwide due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. This book provides information on many aspects of this plant, such as its botanical information, nutritional values, bioactive compounds, pharmacology, cultivation, its use in treating diseases, and its applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Description: Different types of mutation can vary in size, from structural variants to single base-pair substitutions, but what they all have in common is that their nature, size and location are often determined either by specific characteristics of the local DNA sequence environment or by higher order features of the genomic architecture. The genomes of higher organisms are now known to contain "pervasive architectural flaws" in that certain DNA sequences are inherently mutation prone by virtue of their base composition, sequence repetitivity and/or epigenetic modification. In this volume, a number of different authors from diverse backgrounds describe how the nature, location and frequency of different types of mutation causing inherited disease are shaped in large part, and often in remarkably predictable ways, by the local DNA sequence environment.

Description: This book represents the contributions of the top researchers in the field of robotics, automation and control and will serve as a valuable tool for professionals in these interdisciplinary fields. It consists of 25 chapter that introduce both basic research and advanced developments covering the topics such as kinematics, dynamic analysis, accuracy, optimization design, modelling , simulation and control. Without a doubt, the book covers a great deal of recent research, and as such it works as a valuable source for researchers interested in the involved subjects.

Description: Medical sonography is a medical imaging modality used across many medical disciplines. Its use is growing, probably due to its relative low cost and easy accessibility. There are now many high quality ultrasound imaging systems available that are easily transportable, making it a diagnostic tool amenable for bedside and office scanning. This book includes applications of sonography that can be used across a number of medical disciplines including radiology, thoracic medicine, urology, rheumatology, obstetrics and fetal medicine and neurology. The book revisits established applications in medical sonography such as biliary, testicular and breast sonography and sonography in early pregnancy, and also outlines some interesting new and advanced applications of sonography.

Description: Intelligent systems, known as expert systems, serve to this purpose in the extent that they have signed as facilitators in this process. These are systems that are based on expert knowledge, on any subject, in order to emulate human expertise in the specific field. To obtain this knowledge, the knowledge engineers, also called software engineers, need to develop methodologies for intelligent systems. In this area there is still no unified methodology that provides effective methods, notations and tools to aid in development.

Description: Geochemistry includes new contributions to the field of granite rocks geochemistry, mineralogy, petrology and microstructure studies, geochemistry of radioactive isotopes, and geochronology. It contains detailed geochemical, mineralogical, petrological, sedimentological and geostructural studies from Europa, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia Chapters present geochemical exploration methods, isotopic studies, and macro- and microstructural analyses.

Description: This book focuses on the numerous applications of Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes (BACs) in a variety of studies. The topics reviewed range from using BAC libraries as resources for marsupial and monotreme gene mapping and comparative genomic studies, to using BACs as vehicles for maintaining the large infectious DNA genomes of viruses. The large size of the insert DNA in BACs and the ease of engineering mutations in that DNA within the bacterial host, allowed manipulating the BAC-viral DNA of Varicella-Zoster Virus. Other reviews include the maintenance and suitable expression of foreign genes from a Baculovirus genome, including protein complexes, from the BAC-viral DNA and generating vaccines from BAC-viral DNA genomes of Marek's disease virus. Production of multi-purpose BAC clones in the novel Bacillus subtilis host is described, along with chapters that illustrate the use of BAC transgenic animals to address important issues of gene regulation in vertebrates, such as functionally identifying novel cis-acting distal gene regulatory sequences.

Description: Bacteriophages are viruses that utilise bacterial cells as factories for their own propagation and as safe havens for their genomic material. They are capable of equipping bacteria with properties that bestow environmental advantages. They are also capable of specifically and efficiently killing bacteria.Bacteriophages are resilient in a wide diversity of environments, presumed to be as ancient as life itself, and are estimated to be the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Their overarching capacity to survive via molecular adaptation is supported by an arsenal of encoded enzymatic tools, which also enabled biotechnology. This volume includes contributions that describe bacteriophages as nanomachines, genetic engineers, and also as medicines and technologies of the future, including relevant production and process issues.

Description: Over the last decades an enormous amount of technical advances was achieved in the field of laparoscopy. Many surgeons with surgical, urological, or gynaecological background have contributed to the improvement of this surgical approach which today has an important and fixed place in the daily routine. It is therefore comprehensible to compose a book entitled laparoscopy serving as a reference book for all three disciplines. Experts of each field have written informative chapters which give practical information about certain procedures, indication of surgery, complications and postoperative outcome. Wherever necessary, the appropriate chapter is illustrated by drawings or photographs. This book is advisable for both beginner and advanced surgeon and should find its place in the libraries of all specialties - surgery, urology, and gynecology.

Description: In the recent years the electrical power utilities have undergone rapid restructuring process worldwide. Indeed, with deregulation, advancement in technologies and concern about the environmental impacts, competition is particularly fostered in the generation side, thus allowing increased interconnection of generating units to the utility networks. These generating sources are called distributed generators (DG) and defined as the plant which is directly connected to distribution network and is not centrally planned and dispatched. These are also called embedded or dispersed generation units. The rating of the DG systems can vary between few kW to as high as 100 MW. Various new types of distributed generator systems, such as microturbines and fuel cells in addition to the more traditional solar and wind power are creating significant new opportunities for the integration of diverse DG systems to the utility. Interconnection of these generators will offer a number of benefits such as improved reliability, power quality, efficiency, alleviation of system constraints along with the environmental benefits. Unlike centralized power plants, the DG units are directly connected to the distribution system; most often at the customer end. The existing distribution networks are designed and operated in radial configuration with unidirectional power flow from centralized generating station to customers. The increase in interconnection of DG to utility networks can lead to reverse power flow violating fundamental assumption in their design. This creates complexity in operation and control of existing distribution networks and offers many technical challenges for successful introduction of DG systems. Some of the technical issues are islanding of DG, voltage regulation, protection and stability of the network. Some of the solutions to these problems include designing standard interface control for individual DG systems by taking care of their diverse characteristics, finding new ways to/or install and control these DG systems and finding new design for distribution system. DG has much potential to improve distribution system performance. The use of DG strongly contributes to a clean, reliable and cost effective energy for future. This book deals with several aspects of the DG systems such as benefits, issues, technology interconnected operation, performance studies, planning and design. Several authors have contributed to this book aiming to benefit students, researchers, academics, policy makers and professionals. We are indebted to all the people who either directly or indirectly contributed towards the publication of this book.

Description: The preterm parturition syndrome is one of the major obstetrical complications of our time. Understanding the mechanisms leading to prematurity may assist the clinician to tailor the desired treatment that is suitable to the mechanisms leading to preterm birth in a specific patient. In the first section of this book we present an update on the association of periodontal disease, maternal stress, and activation of the hemostatic system and preterm parturition. The second section of the book deals with short and long term effects of prematurity, with a long term aspect of late preterm birth. This book will expand the dialogue between obstetricians, pediatricians and other disciplines regarding the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of prematurity.

Description: Over the last fifty years, many studies of psychiatric medication have been carried out on the basis of psychopharmacology. At the beginning, researchers and clinicians found the unexpected effectiveness of some medications with therapeutic effects in anti-mood without knowing the reason. Next, researchers and clinicians started to explore the mechanism of neurotransmitters and started to gain an understanding of how mental illness can be. Antidepressants are one of the most investigated medications. Having greater knowledge of psychopharmacology could help us to gain more understanding of treatments. In total ten chapters on various aspects of antidepressants were integrated into this book to help beginners interested in this field to understand depression.

Description: Research in computer vision has exponentially increased in the last two decades due to the availability of cheap cameras and fast processors. This increase has also been accompanied by a blurring of the boundaries between the different applications of vision, making it truly interdisciplinary. In this book we have attempted to put together state-of-the-art research and developments in segmentation and pattern recognition. The first nine chapters on segmentation deal with advanced algorithms and models, and various applications of segmentation in robot path planning, human face tracking, etc. The later chapters are devoted to pattern recognition and covers diverse topics ranging from biological image analysis, remote sensing, text recognition, advanced filter design for data analysis, etc.

Description: E-Learning is a vast and complex research topic that poses many challenges in every aspect: educational and pedagogical strategies and techniques and the tools for achieving them; usability, accessibility and user interface design; knowledge sharing and collaborative environments; technologies, architectures, and protocols; user activity monitoring, assessment and evaluation; experiences, case studies and more. This book’s authors come from all over the world; their ideas, studies, findings and experiences are a valuable contribution to enriching our knowledge in the field of eLearning. The book is divided into three sections. The first covers architectures and environments for eLearning, while the second part presents research on user interaction and technologies for building usable eLearning environments, which are the basis for realizing educational and pedagogical aims, and the final last part illustrates applications, laboratories, and experiences.

Description: To design a team of robots which is able to perform given tasks is a great concern of many members of robotics community. There are many problems left to be solved in order to have the fully functional robot team. Robotics community is trying hard to solve such problems (navigation, task allocation, communication, adaptation, control, ...). This book represents the contributions of the top researchers in this field and will serve as a valuable tool for professionals in this interdisciplinary field. It is focused on the challenging issues of team architectures, vehicle learning and adaptation, heterogeneous group control and cooperation, task selection, dynamic autonomy, mixed initiative, and human and robot team interaction. The book consists of 16 chapters introducing both basic research and advanced developments. Topics covered include kinematics, dynamic analysis, accuracy, optimization design, modelling, simulation and control of multi robot systems.

Description: "Advanced Image Acquisition, Processing Techniques and Applications" is the first book of a series that provides image processing principles and practical software implementation on a broad range of applications. The book integrates material from leading researchers on Applied Digital Image Acquisition and Processing. An important feature of the book is its emphasis on software tools and scientific computing in order to enhance results and arrive at problem solution.

Description: We hope that among these chapters you will find a topic which will raise your interest and engage you to further investigate a problem and build on the presented work. This book could serve either as a textbook or as a practical guide. It includes a wide variety of concepts in FVM, result of the efforts of scientists from all over the world. However, just to help you, all book chapters are systemized in three general groups: New techniques and algorithms in FVM; Solution of particular problems through FVM and Application of FVM in medicine and engineering. This book is for everyone who wants to grow, to improve and to investigate.

Description: This book endeavors to give the reader a strong base in the advanced theory of electromagnetic waves and its applications, while keeping pace with research in various other disciplines that apply electrostatics/electrodynamics theory. The treatment is highly mathematical, which tends to obscure the principles involved.

Description: Biophysical chemistry is one of the most interesting interdisciplinary research fields. Some of its different subjects have been intensively studied for decades. Now the field attracts not only scientists from chemistry, physics, and biology backgrounds but also those from medicine, pharmacy, and other sciences. We aimed to start this version of the book Biophysical Chemistry from advanced principles, as we include some of the most advanced subject matter, such as advanced topics in catalysis applications (first section) and therapeutic applications (second section). This led us to limit our selection to only chapters with high standards, therefore there are only six chapters, divided into two sections. We have assumed that the interested readers are familiar with the fundamentals of some advanced topics in mathematics such as integration, differentiation, and calculus and have some knowledge of organic and physical chemistry, biology, and pharmacy. We hope that the book will be valuable to graduate and postdoctoral students with the requisite background, and by some advanced researchers active in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, medicine, pharmacy, and other sciences.

Description: The purpose of supply chain management is to make production system manage production process, improve customer satisfaction and reduce total work cost. With indubitable significance, supply chain management attracts extensive attention from businesses and academic scholars. Many important research findings and results had been achieved. Research work of supply chain management involves all activities and processes including planning, coordination, operation, control and optimization of the whole supply chain system. This book presents a collection of recent contributions of new methods and innovative ideas from the worldwide researchers. It is aimed at providing a helpful reference of new ideas, original results and practical experiences regarding this highly up-to-date field for researchers, scientists, engineers and students interested in supply chain management.

Description: The steroid scaffold continues to be the structural basis of new drugs for a variety of targets and diseases. Indeed, steroids interact with enzymes and receptors in a strikingly specific manner. Chemistry and Biological Activity of Steroids aims to provide an updated overview of recent advances in the medicinal chemistry of steroids. Novel synthetic methods in the steroids field, including steroid biotransformations, new steroids able to tackle steroid receptors, and steroid enzymes with clinical relevance, are critically reviewed in this book. Furthermore, the diverse physiopathological roles of oxysterols and their therapeutic value are also discussed.

Description: Micromachining is used to fabricate three-dimensional microstructures and it is the foundation of a technology called Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS). Bulk micromachining and surface micromachining are two major categories (among others) in this field. This book presents advances in micromachining technology. For this, we have gathered review articles related to various techniques and methods of micro/nano fabrications, like focused ion beams, laser ablation, and several other specialized techniques, from esteemed researchers and scientists around the world. Each chapter gives a complete description of a specific micromachining method, design, associate analytical works, experimental set-up, and the final fabricated devices, followed by many references related to this field of research available in other literature. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of this technology, the collection of articles presented here can be used by scientists and researchers in the disciplines of engineering, materials sciences, physics, and chemistry.

Description: Anxiety, whether an illness or emotion, is a term with historical roots even in the Bible, but it was not popular until the modern age. Today, we can group, diagnose and treat several anxiety disorders to an extent, but the assessment of symptoms and severity, dealing with resistant conditions, new treatment modalities and specific patient population, such as children, are still the challenging aspects of anxiety disorders. This book intends to present anxiety disorders from a different view and discuss a wide variety of topics in anxiety from a multidimensional approach. This Open Access book addresses not only psychiatrists but also a broad range of specialists, including psychologists, neuroscientists and other mental health professionals.

Description: This book highlights the pathophysiological complexities of the mechanisms and factors that are likely to be involved in a range of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, other Dementia, Parkinson Diseases and Multiple Sclerosis. The spectrum of diverse factors involved in neurodegeneration, such as protein aggregation, oxidative stress, caspases and secretase, regulators, cholesterol, zinc, microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, etc, have been discussed in the context of disease progression. In addition, novel approaches to therapeutic interventions have also been presented. It is hoped that students, scientists and clinicians shall find this very informative book immensely useful and thought-provoking.

Description: The book presents several advances in different research areas related to data storage, from the design of a hierarchical memory subsystem in embedded signal processing systems for data-intensive applications, through data representation in flash memories, data recording and retrieval in conventional optical data storage systems and the more recent holographic systems, to applications in medicine requiring massive image databases.

Description: Biophysics is a vast cross-disciplinary subject encompassing the fields of biology, physics and computational biology etc in microbes, plants, animals and human being. Wide array of subjects from molecular, physiological and structural are covered in this book. Most of these chapters are oriented toward new techniques or the application of techniques in the novel fields. The contributions from scientists and experts from different continents and countries focuss on major aspects of biophysics. The book covers a wide range of topics reflecting the complexity of the biological systems. Although the field of biophysics is ever emerging and innovative, the recent topics covered in this book are contemporary and application-oriented in the field of biology, agriculture, and medicine. This book contains mainly reviews of photobiology, molecular motors, medical biophysics such as micotools and hoemodynamic theory.

Description: The book presents new results of research advancing the field and applications of modulation. The information contained herein is important for improving the performance of modern and future wireless communication systems (CS) and networks. Chapters cover such topics as amplitude modulation, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signals, electro-optic lithium niobate (LiNbO3) modulators for optical communications, radio frequency signals, and more.

Description: It is our hope that this book will be of interest and use not only to scientists, but also to the food-producing industry, governments, politicians and consumers as well. If we are able to stimulate this interest, albeit in a small way, we have achieved our goal.

Description: Nanotechnology has experienced a rapid growth in the past decade, largely owing to the rapid advances in nanofabrication techniques employed to fabricate nano-devices. Nanofabrication can be divided into two categories: "bottom up" approach using chemical synthesis or self assembly, and "top down" approach using nanolithography, thin film deposition and etching techniques. Both topics are covered, though with a focus on the second category. This book contains twenty nine chapters and aims to provide the fundamentals and recent advances of nanofabrication techniques, as well as its device applications. Most chapters focus on in-depth studies of a particular research field, and are thus targeted for researchers, though some chapters focus on the basics of lithographic techniques accessible for upper year undergraduate students. Divided into five parts, this book covers electron beam, focused ion beam, nanoimprint, deep and extreme UV, X-ray, scanning probe, interference, two-photon, and nanosphere lithography.

Description: During the past decade, the superhydrophobic surfaces, bio-inspired non-wettable surfaces, have aroused worldwide interest. The super water-repellant surface has special characteristics such as low surface energy as well as hierarchical micro/nano surface roughness. These surfaces have many practical applications, from industrial to biomedical applications, including water/oil separation, self-cleaning, drag reduction, anti-fogging, anti-bacterial, anti-fouling, anti-icing, corrosion resistance, as well as many applications in industries such as marine, oil, and gas, aerospace, biomedicine etc. This book presents knowledge on the field of application of superhydrophobic surfaces. Superhydrophobicity has become a hot topic in the academics as well as industries in different engineering and biomedicine research fields.

Description: Electrophoresis is defined as the transport of electrically charged particles in a direct current electric field. Electrophoresis has been around for more than a century as a phenomenon in electrokinetics. Field effect electroosmosis is a novel phenomenon in electrokinetics that adds a new dimension in capillary electrophoresis. In this book, field effect electroosmosis is introduced, and a beautiful spectrum of applications of electrophoresis was presented.

Description: Factory automation has evolved significantly in the last few decades, and is today a complex, interdisciplinary, scientific area. In this book a selection of papers on topics related to factory automation is presented, covering a broad spectrum, so that the reader may become familiar with the various fields, and also study them in more depth where required. Within various chapters in this book, special attention is given to distributed applications and their use of networks, since it is one of the most relevant subjects in the evolution of factory automation. Different Medium Access Control and networks are analyzed, while Ethernet and Wireless networks are looked at in more detail, since they are among the hottest topics in recent research. Another important subject is everything concerning the increase in the complexity of factory automation, and the need for flexibility and interoperability. Finally the use of multi-agent systems, advanced control, formal methods, or the application in this field of RFID, are additional examples of the ideas and disciplines that experts around the world have analyzed in their work.

Description: The book summarizes the current state of the know-how in the field of perovskite materials: synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications. Most chapters include a review on the actual knowledge and cutting-edge research results. Thus, this book is an essential source of reference for scientists with research fields in energy, physics, chemistry and materials. It is also a suitable reading material for graduate students.

Description: Kidney transplantation is a complex field that incorporates several different specialties to manage the transplant patient. This book was created because of the importance of kidney transplantation. This volume focuses on the complexities of the transplant patient. In particular, there is a focus on the comorbidities and special considerations for a transplant patient and how they affect kidney transplant outcomes. Contributors to this book are from all over the world and are experts in their individual fields. They were all individually approached to add a chapter to this book and with their efforts this book was formed. Understanding the Complexities of Kidney Transplantation gives the reader an excellent foundation to build upon to truly understand kidney transplantation.

Description: Cellular automata have become a core subject in the sciences of complexity due to their conceptual simplicity, easiness of implementation for computer simulation, and ability to exhibit a wide variety of amazingly complex behavior. These features of cellular automata have attracted the researchers attention from a wide range of divergent fields of science. In this book, six outstanding emerging cellular automata applications have been compiled. These contributions underline the versatility of cellular automata as models for a wide diversity of complex systems. We hope that, after reading the outstanding contributions compiled in this book, we will have succeeded in bringing across what engineers and scientists are now doing about the application of cellular automata for solving practical problems in diverse disciplines. We also hope that this book will have been to your interest and liking. Lastly, we would like to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions in the different topics of cellular automata covered in this book.

Description: “Gynaecological Malignancies - Updates and Advances” aims to present a review of the significant advances in the understanding and management of gynaecological malignancies. Major areas of importance in this field will be covered, incorporating new knowledge that has arisen due to the advancements in molecular techniques and the ability to correlate these molecular changes with clinical behaviour of gynaecologic tumours. The therapeutic implications of molecular subtyping to match appropriate therapies and the appreciation of the use of up to date radiotherapy techniques will be explored.

Description: The book aims to cover the basics of the architecture, structure, evolution, and dynamics of the Earth?s crust through an anthology of contributed chapters that will enlighten readers about the various aspects of the Earth?s crust, including the existence, development, and sustainability of our modern lifestyles on its surface.

Description: Since the production of the first commercially available blue LED in the late 1980s, silicon carbide technology has grown into a billion-dollar industry world-wide in the area of solid-state lighting and power electronics. With this in mind we organized this book to bring to the attention of those well versed in SiC technology some new developments in the field with a particular emphasis on particularly promising technologies such as SiC-based solar cells and optoelectronics. We have balanced this with the more traditional subjects such as power electronics and some new developments in the improvement of the MOS system for SiC MOSFETS. Given the importance of advanced microsystems and sensors based on SiC, we also included a review on 3C-SiC for both microsystem and electronic applications.

Description: This book has been prepared to embody the major and efficient applications of the different duties and the role of sustainability in urban planning and design, by a new reading of the city structure and composition, as well as offering a solid and clear concept for this kind of science. The book aims to illustrate various theories and methods of the treatment of the modern ideas of metropolitan life. The book is divided into two parts and contains 23 chapters.

Description: The book addresses some of the most recent issues, with the theoretical and methodological aspects, of evolutionary multi-objective optimization problems and the various design challenges using different hybrid intelligent approaches. Multi-objective optimization has been available for about two decades, and its application in real-world problems is continuously increasing. Furthermore, many applications function more effectively using a hybrid systems approach. The book presents hybrid techniques based on Artificial Neural Network, Fuzzy Sets, Automata Theory, other metaheuristic or classical algorithms, etc. The book examines various examples of algorithms in different real-world application domains as graph growing problem, speech synthesis, traveling salesman problem, scheduling problems, antenna design, genes design, modeling of chemical and biochemical processes etc.

Description: Worldwide attention to environmental issues combined with the energy crisis force us to reduce greenhouse emissions and increase the usage of renewable energy sources as a solution to providing an efficient environment. This book addresses the current issues of sustainable growth and applications in renewable energy sources. The fifteen chapters of the book have been divided into two sections to organize the information accessible to readers. The book provides a variety of material, for instance on policies aiming at the promotion of sustainable development and implementation aspects of RES.

Description: This book is an example of a successful and excellent addition to the literature on the topic of Food Production and Industry within the scientific world. The book is divided into six chapters, consisting of selected topics in food production and consumption and food preservation. All the six chapters have been written by renowned professionals working in Food Production and Industry and related disciplines.

Description: The grandest accomplishments of engineering took place in the twentieth century. The widespread development and distribution of electricity and clean water, automobiles and airplanes, radio and television, spacecraft and lasers, antibiotics and medical imaging, computers and the Internet are just some of the highlights from a century in which engineering revolutionized and improved virtually every aspect of human life. In this book, the authors provide a glimpse of the new trends of technologies pertaining to control, management, computational intelligence and network systems.

Description: The Amazonia is the largest continuous river basin and rainforest ecosystem in the world. In all aspects it is a natural wonder, and the rainforest with its billions of trees is a vital carbon store that slows down the advance of global warming. It is home to one million indigenous people and some three million species of plants and animals. There have been many climate fluctuations during the last 55 million years of its existence, but never before have “the lungs of the world” been at greater risk than they are today due to uncontrolled fires, expanding agriculture and heavy industrial development in the forms of oil drilling, mining and large hydroelectric dams. Over twelve chapters, this book describes the anthropological, biological and industrial problems facing the Amazonia, and seeks to find new solutions.

Description: "Flow Cytometry - Recent Perspectives" is a compendium of comprehensive reviews and original scientific papers. The contents illustrate the constantly evolving application of flow cytometry to a multitude of scientific fields and technologies as well as its broad use as demonstrated by the international composition of the contributing author group. The book focuses on the utilization of the technology in basic sciences and covers such diverse areas as marine and plant biology, microbiology, immunology, and biotechnology. It is hoped that it will give novices a valuable introduction to the field, but will also provide experienced flow cytometrists with novel insights and a better understanding of the subject.

Description: The only known effective therapy for lethal disturbances in cardiac rhythm is de?brillation, the delivery of a strong electric shock to the heart. This technique constitutes the most important means for prevention of sudden cardiac death. The efficacy of defibrillation has led to an exponential growth in the number of patients receiving implantable devices. The objective of this book is to present contemporary views on the basic mechanisms by which the heart responds to an electric shock, as well as on the challenges and implications of clinical defibrillation. Basic science chapters elucidate questions such as lead configurations and the reasons by which a defibrillation shock fails. Chapters devoted to the challenges in the clinical procedure of defibrillation address issues related to inappropriate and unnecessary shocks, complications associated with the implantation of cardioverter/defibrillator devices, and the application of the therapy in pediatric patients and young adults. The book also examines the implications of defibrillation therapy, such as patient risk stratification, cardiac rehabilitation, and remote monitoring of patient with implantable devices.

Description: Concerned with production decline, shortages of new oil reserves, and increasing world energy demand, the oil sector continues to search for economic and efficient techniques to enhance their oil recovery from the existing oil field using several enhanced oil recovery techniques (EOR)methods. Despite its highefficiency, widely acclaimed potentials, and limitations, the Low Salinity Water Flooding (LSWF), hybrid, and nanotechnology applications have gained vast interest with promising future to increase ultimate oil recovery, tackle operational challenges, reduce environmental damage, and allow the highest feasible recoveries with lower production costs. This synergistic combination has opened new routes for novel materials with fascinating properties. This book aims to provide an overview of EOR technology such as LSWF, hybrid, and nanotechnology applications in EOR processes.

Description: This book is a collection of contributions from leading specialists on the topic of biosensors for health, environment and biosecurity. It is divided into three sections with headings of current trends and developments; materials design and developments; and detection and monitoring. In the section on current trends and developments, topics such as biosensor applications for environmental and water monitoring, agro-industry applications, and trends in the detection of nerve agents and pesticides are discussed. The section on materials design and developments deals with topics on new materials for biosensor construction, polymer-based microsystems, silicon and silicon-related surfaces for biosensor applications, including hybrid film biosensor systems. Finally, in the detection and monitoring section, the specific topics covered deal with enzyme-based biosensors for phenol detection, ultra-sensitive fluorescence sensors, the determination of biochemical oxygen demand, and sensors for pharmaceutical and environmental analysis.

Description: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities presents reports on a wide range of areas in the field of neurological and intellectual disability, including habitual human quadrupedal locomotion with associated cognitive disabilities, Fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, and intellectual developmental disability among children in an African setting. Studies are presented from researchers around the world, looking at aspects as wide-ranging as the genetics behind the conditions to new and innovative therapeutic approaches.

Description: Photogrammetry is widely accepted as one of the best surveying methods to acquire tridimensional data without direct contact with the object, but its high operational costs in equipment and personnel somewhat limit its application in mapping. However, with the development of digital photogrammetry in the 1990's, it was possible to introduce automated processes and reduce the personnel costs. In the following years, the cost of computer hardware, digital cameras and positioning sensors has been lowering, making photogrammetry more accessible to other engineering fields, such as architecture, archeology and health fields. This book shows the results of the work of researchers from different professional backgrounds, which evaluate the uses of photogrammetry, including issues of the data, processing, as well as the solutions developed for some surveying types that can be extended to many applications.

Description: Discovered almost fifty years ago at Bell Labs (1964), the Nd:YAG laser has undergone an enormous evolution in the years, being now widely used in both basic research and technological applications. Nd:YAG Laser covers a wide range of topics, from new systems (diode pumping, short pulse generation) and components (a new semiorganic nonlinear crystal) to applications in material processing (coating, welding, polishing, drilling, processing of metallic thin films), medicine (treatment, drug administration) and other various fields (semiconductor nanotechnology, plasma spectroscopy, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy).

Description: The book collects original and innovative research studies of the experienced and actively working scientists in the field of wave propagation which produced new methods in this area of research and obtained new and important results. Every chapter of this book is the result of the authors achieved in the particular field of research. The themes of the studies vary from investigation on modern applications such as metamaterials, photonic crystals and nanofocusing of light to the traditional engineering applications of electrodynamics such as antennas, waveguides and radar investigations.

Description: This book includes selected peer-reviewed chapters which cover novel aspects of cysticercosis and neurocysticercosis written by well known international researchers, representing the most relevant Working Group for Cysticercosis of Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, most of the Eastern and Southern Africa countries and Europe plus other contributions from Canada and United States of America. Unfortunately, our colleagues from Asia could not participate in this project for several reasons but we hereby acknowledge their contribution to the scientific level reached by the international scientific community. Apart from the classic issue that cannot be missing in any book about cysticercosis/ neurocysticercosis, we introduced a new hypotheses and novel aspects on historical background, clinical descriptions, investigations, and treatment modalities related to this zoonotic parasitic disease as a leading cause of epilepsy in developing countries. We are looking forward with confidence and pride in the vital role that this book will play for a new vision and mission.

Description: Climate change is likely to have an extensive impact on agriculture around the world through changes in temperature, precipitation, and CO2 concentration. This book provides the most recent research on the interaction between climate change and the agriculture sector. With contributions from internationally recognized scientists, this volume contains 13 chapters covering the key topics related to climate change hazards, risk assessment, mitigation strategies, and climate-smart agriculture innovations. It offers a solid foundation for the discussion of climate resilience in agricultural systems and the requirements to keep improving agricultural production in the face of mounting climate challenge. All the agriculturists, environmentalists, climate change specialists, policy makers, and research scholars will find this remarkable volume a welcome addition to their collection.

Description: Nonlinearity, Bifurcation and Chaos - Theory and Application is an edited book focused on introducing both theoretical and application oriented approaches in science and engineering. It contains 12 chapters, and is recommended for university teachers, scientists, researchers, engineers, as well as graduate and post-graduate students either working or interested in the field of nonlinearity, bifurcation and chaos.

Description: The infrared and Raman spectroscopy have applications in numerous fields, namely chemistry, physics, astronomy, biology, medicine, geology, mineralogy etc. This book provides some examples of the use of vibrational spectroscopy in supramolecular chemistry, inorganic chemistry, solid state physics, but also in the fields of molecule-based materials or organic-inorganic interfaces.

Description: This book deals with the design and analysis of Direct Torque Control (DTC). It introduces readers to two major applications of electrical machines: speed drive and position control and gives the readers a comprehensive overview of the field of DTC dedicated to AC machines. It includes new DTC approaches with and without control of commutation frequency. It also covers DTC applications using artificial intelligence. The book combines theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental concepts.To make the content as accessible as possible, the book employs a clear proposal in each chapter, moving from the background, to numerical development, and finally to case studies and illustrations. The book is a wide-ranging reference source for graduate students, researchers, and professors from related fields and it will benefit practicing engineers and experts from the industry.

Description: This book provides an excellent overview of how melanoma is treated in the clinic. Since oncologists and clinicians across the globe contributed to this book, each area also explores the unique burdens that geographical areas experience from melanoma subtypes and how these are treated in different settings. It also includes several chapters that illustrate novel methods for diagnosing melanoma in the clinic using new technologies, which are likely to significantly improve outcomes. Several chapters cover surgical techniques and other present very rare or challenging clinical cases of melanoma and how these were treated. The book is geared towards informing clinicians and even patients how melanoma arises, what tools are available and which decisions need to be made by patients and their families in order to treat this devastating disease.

Description: This edited volume presents a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of rodent behaviour, control, and management. The book contains contributions from various researchers and is edited by an expert active in the areas of pest management and ecology research. Chapters cover such topics as nutrition, nesting, and biological and physical properties of rodents.

Description: Simulated Annealing is a probabilistic meta-heuristic that is based on statistical mechanics: while at high temperatures molecules in a liquid move freely, the slow reduction of temperature decreases the thermal mobility of the molecules. The final state forms a pure crystal which also corresponds to a state of minimum energy. We encourage readers to explore SA in their work, mainly because it is simple and because it can yield very good results.

Description: This book focuses on the recent advancements in the process parameters, research, and applications of electrospinning and electrospraying. The first chapter introduces the techniques and the effect of the parameters on the morphology of the nanofiber and nanoparticles and then the subsequent chapters focus on the applications of these techniques in different areas. This book will attract a broad audience including postgraduate students and industrial and academic investigators in sciences and engineering who wish to enhance their understanding of the emerging technologies and use this book as reference.

Description: New applications in recurrent neural networks are covered by this book, which will be required reading in the field. Methodological tools covered include ranking indices for fuzzy numbers, a neuro-fuzzy digital filter and mapping graphs of parallel programmes. The scope of the techniques profiled in real-world applications is evident from chapters on the recognition of severe weather patterns, adult and foetal ECGs in healthcare and the prediction of temperature time-series signals. Additional topics in this vein are the application of AI techniques to electromagnetic interference problems, bioprocess identification and I-term control and the use of BRNN-SVM to improve protein-domain prediction accuracy. Recurrent neural networks can also be used in virtual reality and nonlinear dynamical systems, as shown by two chapters.

Description: Acoustic emission (AE) is one of the most important non-destructive testing (NDT) methods for materials, constructions and machines. Acoustic emission is defined as the transient elastic energy that is spontaneously released when materials undergo deformation, fracture, or both. This interdisciplinary book consists of 17 chapters, which widely discuss the most important applications of AE method as machinery and civil structures condition assessment, fatigue and fracture materials research, detection of material defects and deformations, diagnostics of cutting tools and machine cutting process, monitoring of stress and ageing in materials, research, chemical reactions and phase transitions research, and earthquake prediction.

Description: We are truly in an era of change not only in terms of technology but in the type of patient we are caring for. That is why I feel this book is exciting in that it presents the team approach to the transplant patient. I am confident that the pioneers of cardiac transplantation would be pleased with our response to challenges in healthcare today and be pleased with the final product.

Description: The methods for human identity authentication based on biometrics - the physiological and behavioural characteristics of a person have been evolving continuously and seen significant improvement in performance and robustness over the last few years. However, most of the systems reported perform well in controlled operating scenarios, and their performance deteriorates significantly under real world operating conditions, and far from satisfactory in terms of robustness and accuracy, vulnerability to fraud and forgery, and use of acceptable and appropriate authentication protocols. To address some challenges, and the requirements of new and emerging applications, and for seamless diffusion of biometrics in society, there is a need for development of novel paradigms and protocols, and improved algorithms and authentication techniques. This book volume on "Advanced Biometric Technologies" is dedicated to the work being pursued by researchers around the world in this area, and includes some of the recent findings and their applications to address the challenges and emerging requirements for biometric based identity authentication systems. The book consists of 18 Chapters and is divided into four sections namely novel approaches, advanced algorithms, emerging applications and the multimodal fusion. The book was reviewed by editors Dr. Girija Chetty and Dr. Jucheng Yang We deeply appreciate the efforts of our guest editors: Dr. Norman Poh, Dr. Loris Nanni, Dr. Jianjiang Feng, Dr. Dongsun Park and Dr. Sook Yoon, as well as a number of anonymous reviewers.

Description: The book discusses a very promising and effective approach in wireless communications called Wireless Mesh Networks (WMN) and its related issues. Meshes with external access capability, i.e. connected to the Internet, will be discussed. A full overview of WMNs with a technical assessment of mesh and multi-hop networking will be highlighted. Chapters in this book will provide a clear overview and summary and will evaluate some practical examples of upright mesh applications.

Description: Lipid peroxidation is the major molecular mechanism that induces oxidative damage to cell structures and is also involved in the toxicity process that leads to cell death.Lipid peroxidation is a chain reaction initiated by the hydrogen abstraction or addition of an oxygen radical, resulting in the oxidative damage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). PUFAs are more sensitive than saturated fatty acids because of the presence of a double bond adjacent to a methylene group that makes the methylene C-H bond weaker and therefore the hydrogen is more susceptible to abstraction. This leaves an unpaired electron on the carbon, forming a carbon-centered radical, which is stabilized by a molecular rearrangement of the double bonds to form a conjugated diene, which then combines with oxygen to form a peroxy-radical.In pathological situations the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are generated at higher than normal rates, and as a consequence, lipid peroxidation occurs with deficiency of endogenous antioxidants as alpha-tocopherol deficiency or reduced glutathione. In addition to containing high concentrations of PUFAs and transition metals, biological membranes of cells and organelles are constantly being subjected to various types of damage.This book presents systematic and comprehensive reviews on free radicals and their involvement in lipid peroxidation with special emphasis on their important role in different diseases.

Description: This book covers various aspects of Molecular Virology. The first chapter discusses HIV-1 reservoirs and latency and how these twin phenomena have remained a challenge to eradication. Aspects regarding the molecular evolution of hepatitis viruses including their genetic diversities with implications for vaccine development are treated in the second chapter. Metabolic disorders that are a consequence of hepatitis C virus infection are discussed in the succeeding chapter. The following two chapters discuss influenza C virus and the applications of viral vectors in therapeutic research. Avian influenza is handled in the sixth chapter and the therapeutic potential of belladonna-200 against japanese encephalitis virus infection is discussed in the succeeding chapter. The last two chapters discuss baculoviruses and their interaction with polydnaviruses. Researchers, lecturers and students will find this book an indispensable companion.

Description: 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: Implant dentistry has changed and enhanced significantly since the introduction of osseointegration concept with dental implants. Because the benefits of therapy became apparent, implant treatment earned a widespread acceptance. Therefore, the need for dental implants has caused a rapid expansion of the market worldwide. Dental implantology continues to excel with the developments of new surgical and prosthodontic techniques, and armamentarium. The purpose of this book named “Current Concepts in Dental Implantology” is to present a novel resource for dentists who want to replace missing teeth with dental implants. It is a carefully organized book, which blends basic science, clinical experience, and current and future concepts. This book includes ten chapters and our aim is to provide a valuable source for dental students, post-graduate residents and clinicians who want to know more about dental implants.

Description: The aim of this book is to present some advances in different aspects of oil and gas technology. Two chapters are dedicated to the scientific research in the domain of reservoir engineering and characterization. Four chapters are dedicated to the field of well drilling and performance and another chapter is related to oil and transport.

Description: Nano- or micro-encapsulation is used in many different fields and industries, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and agrochemicals. It offers advantages for various applications, especially drug delivery. Nano-encapsulation can help extend and control the release of drugs as well as increase drug bioavailability and efficacy. It improves the precision of targeted drug delivery and allows for fabricating nano-encapsulated drugs for diagnostic and theranaostic applications. This book covers recent advances in fabricating nano-/micro-capsules using natural carriers for therapeutic and diagnostic drug delivery applications as well as rheology and formulations of micro-emulsions for diverse applications. This book is essential for scientists and researchers with diverse backgrounds in chemistry, engineering, material sciences, pharmaceuticals, and drug delivery.

Description: Bulimia nervosa and eating disorders are common cause of distress and health related burden for young women and men. Despite major advances over the past three decades many patients come late to treatment and find that the therapy is incompletely addressed to the complex psychopathology and co-morbidities of the illness. The present book brings timely and contemporary understandings of bulimia nervosa to aid in current thinking regarding prevention and treatment. It will be read by therapists interested in enhancing their current approaches and those interested in earlier and more effective prevention and closing the gap between illness onset and accessing treatment. They will find practical guidance but also new ideas and ways of thinking about bulimia nervosa and the illness experience in this book.

Description: After the large-scale disasters that we have witnessed in the recent past, it has become apparent that complex and coordinated emergency management systems are required for efficient and effective relief efforts. Such management systems can only be developed by involving many scientists and practitioners from multiple fields. Thus, this book on emergency management discusses various issues, such as the impact of human behavior, development of hardware and software architectures, cyber security concerns, dynamic process of guiding evacuees and routing vehicles, supply allocation, and vehicle routing problems in preparing for, and responding to large scale emergencies. The book is designed to be useful to students, researchers and engineers in all academic areas, but particularly for those in the fields of computer science, operations research, and human factor. We also hope that this book will become a useful reference for practitioners.

Description: Innovations in Biotechnology provides an authoritative crystallization of some of the evolving leading-edge biomedical research topics and developments in the field of biotechnology. It is aptly written to integrate emerging basic research topics with their biotechnology applications. It also challenges the reader to appreciate the role of biotechnology in society, addressing clear questions relating to biotech policy and ethics in the context of the research advances. In an era of interdisciplinary collaboration, the book serves an excellent indepth text for a broad range of readers ranging from social scientists to students, researchers and policy makers. Every topic weaves back to the same bottom line: how does this discovery impact society in a positive way?

Description: Breeding of crop plants to make them more adapted to human agricultural systems has been on-going during domestication the last 10 000 years. However, only recently with the invention of the Mendelian principles of genetics and the subsequent development of quantitative genetics during the twentieth century has such genetic crop improvement become based on a general theory. During the last 50 years plant breeding has entered a molecular era based on molecular tools to analyse DNA, RNA and proteins and associate such molecular results with plant phenotype. These marker trait associations develop fast to enable more efficient breeding. However, they still leave a major part of breeding to be performed through selection of phenotypes using quantitative genetic tools. The ten chapters of this book illustrate this development.

Description: The prospect of producing clean, sustainable power from renewable energy sources is becoming a very important subject, stimulated by recent technological developments that have improved the cost-effectiveness of many renewables and by the increasing concern for the environmental impact and sustainability of conventional fossil and nuclear fuels. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the principal renewable energy sources with a wide range of case studies for each source. It explains the underlying physical and technological principles, and examines the environmental impact of renewable sources and their future prospects. The overall approach is interdisciplinary, covering the economic, social, environmental and policy issues from the point of research on renewable energy. It also tackles the physical and engineering aspects. The book will, therefore, strongly appeal to non-specialist readers who wish to improve their understanding of this complex, fascinating and increasingly important subject.

Description: Innovative developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) irrevocably change our lives and enable new possibilities for society. Telemedicine, which can be defined as novel ICT-enabled medical services that help to overcome classical barriers in space and time, definitely profits from this trend. Through Telemedicine patients can access medical expertise that may not be available at the patient's site. Telemedicine services can range from simply sending a fax message to a colleague to the use of broadband networks with multimodal video- and data streaming for second opinioning as well as medical telepresence. Telemedicine is more and more evolving into a multidisciplinary approach. This book project "Advances in Telemedicine" has been conceived to reflect this broad view and therefore has been split into two volumes, each covering specific themes: Volume 1: Technologies, Enabling Factors and Scenarios; Volume 2: Applications in Various Medical Disciplines and Geographical Regions. The current Volume 2 is structured into the following thematic sections: Cardiovascular Applications; Applications for Diabetes, Pregnancy and Prenatal Medicine; Further Selected Medical Applications; Regional Applications.

Description: The main idea and the driver of further research in the area of face recognition are security applications and human-computer interaction. Face recognition represents an intuitive and non-intrusive method of recognizing people and this is why it became one of three identification methods used in e-passports and a biometric of choice for many other security applications. This goal of this book is to provide the reader with the most up to date research performed in automatic face recognition. The chapters presented use innovative approaches to deal with a wide variety of unsolved issues.

Description: This book is devoted to recent developments in quantum mechanics. After an Introductory chapter, Chapter 2 describes the cooperative spontaneous lasing mechanism in gas in three level systems and their possible quantum retardation effects. Chapter 3 is concerned with the evolution of states of large quantum particle systems via marginal correlation operators. Chapter 4 studies the effects of electronic transfer using ab initio quantum calculation methods to access biological macromolecular system behaviors. Chapter 5 concentrates on new features of supersymmetric quantum mechanics using the adjunction of boson-fermion symmetry. The book will be of interest to graduate and Ph.D students as well as scientists from various backgrounds who are concerned with quantum effects.

Description: Chikungunya, an arbovirus, is a major global threat affecting multiple areas of the world, even Europe, but recently (2014 - 2015) with large epidemics in Latin America, causing an important acute and chronic morbidity with a low, but present, mortality. This book tries to update the significant epidemiological and clinical research in many aspects with a multinational perspective. This book has been organized in two major sections: (I) ''Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects'' and (II) ''Entomology.'' Section I includes topics covering experiences and studies in different countries, including the infection during pregnancy and children, imported cases, ocular manifestations, coinfections, and therapeutics. Section II includes topics on entomological aspects, related to vector control, and new options for biological control of Aedes aegypti.

Description: Among the modern materials, the composites have a few decades of history. However, there has been a tremendous advancement of this class of material in science and technology. During recent decades, composite materials have steadily gained ground in nearly all sectors. The composite materials have been used in various industrial applications such as buildings and constructions, aerospace, automotive and sports equipment, consumer products etc. Nanotechnology is rapidly evolving, and science, engineering, and technology have merged to bring nanoscale materials that much closer to reality. It is one of the fastest growing areas for research. Nanocomposite materials are helping improve products that we use every day and creating new, exciting products for the future. Composites and nanocomposites composed of reinforcements, nano-reinforcements, and matrices are well-known engineering materials. Keeping in mind the advantages of composite and nanocomposite materials, this book covers fundamental effects, product development, properties, and applications of the materials including material chemistry, designing, and manufacturing. The book also summarizes the recent developments made in the area of advanced composite and nanocomposite materials. A number of critical issues and suggestions for future work are discussed, underscoring the roles of researchers for the efficient development of composites and nanocomposites through value additions to enhance their use.

Description: Free radicals are constantly formed in living cells and removed by antioxidant defenses. Antioxidant enzymes are the main line of defense against free radicals in animal and plant cells. Uncontrolled generation ROS are involved in a number of human disease states, including diabetes and cancer due to disturbance in cellular and molecular processes including cell growth, differentiation and proliferation. When cells are exposed to oxidative stress a defense system endorses the expression and regulation of number of antioxidant enzymes as a defense mechanism to protect them from the damage induced by free radicals. Based on this fact, the book "Antioxidant Enzymes" was designed to overview the importance of the antioxidant enzymes in human and plant cells against toxic free radicals, their relationship with several pathophysiologic processes and their possible therapeutic application.

Description: In this book, the authors provide state-of-the-art research studies on electrostatic principles or include the electrostatic phenomena as an important factor. The chapters cover diverse subjects, such as biotechnology, bioengineering, actuation of MEMS, measurement and nanoelectronics. Hopefully, the interested readers will benefit from the book in their studies. It is probable that the presented studies will lead the researchers to develop new ideas to conduct their research.

Description: Many of the challenges facing farmers and human communities from hydrographical basins are not new. But, due to the fact that the nature and extents of the problems vary from one region to another and from one basin to another, the responses are highly diversified. There is no generally valid solution for all the problems. However, in addressing issues on ensuring the prevention or mitigation of the destructive consequences of flood damage or prolonged drought as for the optimal use of water by consumers, sustainable basin land use, biodiversity conservation, and environment protection as well, fourteen specialists and their colleagues present the state of the art in these important matters and new possible solutions to solve, identified from the scientific investigations undertaken.

Description: Orthodontics is a fast developing science as well as the field of medicine in general. The attempt of this book is to propose new possibilities and new ways of thinking about Orthodontics beside the ones presented in established and outstanding publications available elsewhere. Some of the presented chapters transmit basic information, other clinical experiences and further offer even a window to the future. In the hands of the reader this book could provide an useful tool for the exploration of the application of information, knowledge and belief to some orthodontic topics and questions.