Technology, Engineering & Agriculture Books

Book SynopsisThis book, the third in a series dedicated to Standardized Work, focuses on process improvement. Implementing Standardized Work: Process Improvement begins by explaining why standardization and process improvement are two sides of the same coinboth needing each other to achieve true sustainability.Describing how to use Standardized Work forms to identify easy opportunities for process improvement, the book includes simple tools and forms that readers can use to achieve quick improvements to boost morale and sustain motivation during the work ahead. Maintaining a focus on process improvement, it covers essential knowledge using a compelling story format. Following in the tradition of other books in The One-Day Expert series, this book tells the story of Thomas, a young, high-potential plant manager in an industrial group. In this installment, Thomas opens a new front line in his quest to turn around the plant''s inefficiency. HeTable of ContentsIntroduction. There Is No Panacea! Training Day. Sharing Black Books. Tachinbo. Prioritizing and Executing Actions. Updating Standardized Work Forms and Expanding. Focused Tachinbo: Workstation Assessment. Shop Floor Application and Takeaway.

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Book Synopsis''Great characters, fine writing, totally engrossing'' STEPHEN KING It might have been the end of days. Instead it was the beginning of something shockingly new. They called the comet Cain, after the astronomer who discovered it. It passed 500,000 miles from Earth. We were spared planetary destruction and granted a light show like no other. But, one year later, Earth span into the debris field left by the comet and a meteor storm struck. Roads, buildings and even a small town were annihilated.The meteors impacted heavily around the dying mining town of Northfall, Minnesota. It was the night of a mysterious double murder, the deed overshadowed by the discovery that the burning remains of the rock contained an unknown substance more precious than gold: the Ninth Metal. And with that discovery, everything changed.Benjamin Percy is an award-winning novelist, celebrated comic books writer and author of the WTrade ReviewPraise for THE NINTH METAL * : *When Benjamin Percy publishes a novel, I have got to read that novel. THE NINTH METAL continues his streak of thrilling, incisive genre bending goodness. It's a sci-fi novel, a crime novel and a super-hero novel, too. Audacious and intelligent and exactly what I was dying to read * Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling *Ben Percy will serve you the impossible-and by the end of every chapter, you will believe it and feel it as truth. Whether you choose to think of him as the Elmore Leonard of rural Minnesota or the Stephen King of Science Fiction, Percy-with his extraordinary and unrelenting eye-dishes up humanity like some kind of otherworldly blue plate special, at once deeply familiar and wildly new * Margaret Stohl, No. 1 New York Times Bestselling Author *Take one part dystopia, one part sci-fi, two parts apocalypse, then ride them roughshod through a bleak and bloody western, and it still wouldn't get close to what Ben Percy does here, which is blow open the core of humanity's dark heart * Marlon James, Booker Prize winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf *The plot is dynamic, featuring multiple viewpoints as well as corporate malfeasance, spooky cults, and family drama. This sounds complicated, and it is, but all of these moving parts work together due to strong characterization, especially the cheery rookie police officer Stacie Toal. The action is vivid without being too graphic, contributing to an overall cinematic feel. While the novel comes to a satisfying conclusion, this is the first book in an anticipated trilogy * Booklist *Debris from a comet drops a fabulously valuable new metal . . . turning it into a bloody, brawling boomtown. Great characters, fine writing, totally engrossing * Stephen King *Wildly entertaining * Publishers Weekly *A propulsive thriller that drops plenty of hints about a bigger picture to be discovered. Fast-paced and gripping, this will make you eager for the next in the Comet Cycle * Sci-Fi Bulletin *Percy's novel is a clever amalgamation of speculative fiction and family drama, of supercharged characters and regular folk, encompassing various viewpoints in a highly cinematic narrative. * Star Tribune *There's mystery and intrigue and a heavy dose of the Midwest in this book, which bills itself as a modern gold rush * Science Friday *The engine of the novel, first of a trilogy, has a lot of moving parts but Percy keeps them all meshing nicely together with sinewy prose and strong characterisation * Financial Times *It's a fast-paced book, full of gritty drama, surprising revelations that don't stray too far into incredulity, complex character dynamics and multiple layers of plot. It was great fun to read and had a real meteoric impact * ParSec *Reads like Stephen King, mixed with Lee Child with a dash of Marvel's Jessica Jones. I couldn't put it down * Concatenation *

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Book SynopsisMore than any other technology, cars have transformed our culture. Cars have created vast wealth as well as novel dreams of freedom and mobility. They have transformed our sense of distance and made the world infinitely more available to our eyes and our imaginations. They have inspired cinema, music and literature; they have, by their need for roads, bridges, filling stations, huge factories and global supply chains, re-engineered the world. Almost everything we now need, want, imagine or aspire to assumes the existence of cars in all their limitless power and their complex systems of meanings.This book celebrates the immense drama and beauty of the car, of the genius embodied in the Ford Model T, of the glory of the brilliant-red Mercedes Benz S-Class made by workers for Nelson Mandela on his release from prison, of Kanye West''s ''chopped'' Maybach, of the salvation of the Volkswagen Beetle by Major Ivan Hirst, of Elvis Presley''s 100 Cadillacs, of the Rolls-Royce Silver

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Book SynopsisThis must-have book will guide you through your first steps in 3D printing at home. Get started with a solid overview of concepts and techniques and learn the basics of 3D construction with essential information on data files, programs, and software, such as 3ds Max, Rhinoceros 5, ZBrushCore, SolidWorks, Sketchup Make, Blender, and more.

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Book SynopsisEnthusiastic and thorough, everything you need to know about discovering buried treasure from choosing your first metal detector to finding locations loaded with possibilities, and everything in between.There is an incredible amount of treasure buried right under our feet, but most people don’t even know this huge amount of untold wealth exists. Imagine how it must feel to uncover large caches of silver and gold coins or long-lost jewelry packed with shimmering, precious stones. These are not some made-up fairy tales—there are people who, at this very moment, are finding these treasures.Veteran metal detector and treasure hunter Mark Smith takes you under his wing and demystifies treasure hunting in Metal Detecting by revealing his most closely guarded secrets and sharing personal stories of success. These valuable lessons and truly amazing treasure hunting stories will make you wonder why you aren’t out there with a metal detector right now!Metal Detecting cuts right through the technical jargon and spells everything out with full-color illustrations and easy-to-understand terms, making this book simple to follow, regardless of your prior treasure-hunting experience. Novices and seasoned veterans will both find plenty of helpful information buried in the pages of this book—Mark shows you how to get out there and claim your own share of treasure, be it gold, silver, meteorites, old coins, jewelry, or relics.What are you waiting for? Grab a copy today and start uncovering history, adventure, and treasure!Trade Review"Outstanding! Mark Smith's Metal Detecting has it all covered." "A good read filled with great tips and information (and humor along the way)." "Absolutely excellent starting place for the beginning detectorist."

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Book SynopsisARM Microcontrollers: Theory and Practical Applications provides students with a concise yet complete introduction to embedded systems, namely microcontroller products based on the ARM microprocessor.Opening chapters offer students an introduction to digital logic, embedded system, and ARM processors, covering such topics as CMOS logic, number systems, embedded system design, and Cortex-M4 architecture. Additional chapters explore ARM Cortex-M assembly language, C programming in embedded systems, and peripheral modules, which provides many examples of how to program peripherals like Timers, ADC, PWM, UART, and more. Students learn about interrupts and exceptions, Bluetooth low energy, and Wi-Fi. The final chapter features nine projects designed to help students connect what they learn within the textbook to real-world applications, including traffic light controllers, smart plant watering systems, weather stations, solar panel trackers, and more. Exercises within each chapter encourage engagement and a collection of helpful appendices provide students with the reference materials they need to complete projects and apply critical skillsets.Featuring a highly accessible and practical approach, ARM Microcontrollers is an ideal textbook for courses and programs in electrical engineering.

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Book SynopsisTech experts Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Salkever describe dozens of astonishing technological advances in this fascinating and thought-provoking book, which asks what kind of future lies ahead—Star Trek or Mad Max?  Breakthroughs such as personalized genomics, drones, self-driving vehicles, and artificial intelligence could make our lives healthier, safer, and easier. On the other hand, the same technologies raise the specter of a frightening future—eugenics, a jobless economy, a complete loss of privacy, and ever-worsening economic inequality.  Wadhwa says that we need to ask three questions about every emerging technology: Does it have the potential to benefit everyone equally? What are the risks and the rewards? And does it promote autonomy or dependence? This edition is updated throughout and includes a new chapter on quantum computing, which promises vastly increased processing times—and vastly increased security risks. In the end, our future is up to us; our hands may not be on the wheel, but we will decide the driverless car''s destination.

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Book SynopsisVector Mechanics for Engineers helps students analyze problems in a simple and logical manner and then apply basic principles to their solutions, encouraging a strong conceptual understanding of these basic principles. Offering a unified presentation of the principles of kinetics and a systematic problem-solving approach, the text has proven to be an effective teaching tool, especially when paired with the digital resources available in Connect. The addition of Case Studies in every chapter are based on actual structures and systems, include failures, provide students with real-world engineering applications. And Sample Problems, liberally used at the end of each lesson, align with the SMART methodology to amplify the neat and orderly work students should cultivate in their own solutions.

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Book SynopsisThis latest volume includes contributions on the latest advances in energy research. Chapter One discusses stability assessment using direct methods. Chapter Two focuses on the geopolitical implications of the energy reserves in the Caspian Basin. Chapter Three reviews an investigation into the effect of various parameters on the evaporator performance. Chapter Four helps to understand the vapour compression cycle in which heat is absorbed from a low temperature region and released in a high temperature region. Chapter Five examines static voltage stability enhancements by incorporating voltage-sourced based converters in continuation power flow.

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Book SynopsisAbout 93 trains a day on average crossed into the continental United States from Canada and Mexico in 2014, according to U.S. Department of Transportation''s (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Trains enter and leave the United States through 30 port of entries (POEs) -- 23 on the northern border and 7 on the southern border. Although international freight rail plays an important role in U.S. economic and trade interests, the movement of rail through U.S. communities at the border can result in blocked highway-rail grade crossings and vehicle traffic congestion. This book describes the factors that affect the movement of freight rail and the actions taken by federal agencies and others to expedite freight rail in selected POEs; and examines what is known about the impacts of freight rail operations on highway-rail grade crossings in POE communities. Moreover, the book addresses recent changes in U.S. rail and truck freight flows and the extent to which related traffic congestion is reported to impact communities; and the extent to which DOTs efforts to implement Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) address freight-related traffic congestion in communities.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the latest developments in the field of engineering. Chapter One reviews an extensive study on the design of experiment methods. Chapter Two presents controller designs using the traditional proportional integral derivative (PID) control algorithm to control a planar two-link flexible manipulator. Chapter Three presents an active vibration control (AVC) system for trailed two-wheeled implements (TTWI) avoiding instruments damage. Chapter Four reports on the kinematics of a series-parallel manipulator whose architecture is based on the topology of the 3RPS tangential parallel manipulator where R, P and S stand, respectively, for Revolute, Prismatic and Spherical joints. Chapter Five discusses the estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity. Chapter Six proposes a new and robust model to predict the dynamical behavior of the Liquid Diffusion Phenomenon (LDP).

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses biodiversity, management and environmental issues of several national parks around the world. The first chapter presents general principles of access to national parks for tourism and recreation under the provisions of the Nature Conservation Act. Chapter Two examines the contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) exploitation to poverty alleviation in the Fako-Meme Forest region of Cameroon, as well as the nexus between NTFPs exploitation and forest conservation. Chapter Three studies the visitors'' profile and travel motivations for the Peneda-Gerês National Park of Portugal. Chapter Four focuses on the welfare of captive breeding stock for reintroductions into Saudi Arabian national parks.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the most up-to-date research in the agricultural field. The first chapter discusses growing techniques for raspberry plants suitable for subtropical areas. Chapter Two presents current information on raspberries postharvest technology and the main nutritional characteristics, composition in terms of macro and micronutrients, as well as the most abundant bioactive compounds in this fruit. Chapter Three provides a detailed analysis of reduction potential for methane emissions arising the the production of edible protein with Holstein cattle in Northern Germany. Chapter Four reviews farm management and feeding strategies for donkey milk production. Chapter Five focuses on the β-casein variant among different native and cross breed cattle maintain at India. Chapter Six presents the prospects of enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) via increasing soil organic matter (SOM) as a result of improving soil fertility. Chapter Seven analyses the detected spatial and temporal variations on grass aeroallergens as well as their possible interactions with air pollution as regards allergic diseases. Chapter Eight talks about the applications of rice hull carbonisation and their potential to provide farmers opportunities for added income as a way of enhancing their resilience to the impacts of climate change. Chapter Nine discusses recent advances in biocontrol of stored-grain insects using entomopathogenic fungi.

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Book SynopsisFault detection and identification (FDI) play a fundamental role in most modern industrial systems and processes. They are essential in ensuring safe and reliable operation. In this book, Chapter One and Chapter Two discuss general systems and the use of linearisations for active fault detection in nonlinear differential algebraic equations. Chapter Three provides a comparative analysis and comprehensive review of the existing fault detection methods, including manual picking and computer-aided automatic/semi-automatic extraction. Chapter Four studies self-adaptive expert systems for process monitoring and fault detection. The final chapter provides a review of an integrated Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) system for HVAC&R based on virtual sensors.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the most up-to-date research in the agricultural field. Chapter One reviews the role of plant cuticle in the postharvest of fruits and vegetables. Chapter Two provides a critical comparison between some emergent methods for bioactive compound extraction from fruits and vegetables residues. Chapter Three analyses the effect of exogenous abscisic acid spray on phenolic and scavenging free radical activity of olives during storage. Chapter Four studies the sustainable production of maguey (Agave salmiana) to improve the mezcal agroindustry competitiveness. Chapter Five describes the structure, sources, properties and potential applications of cereal arabinoxylans. Chapter Six focuses on the problems that arise from the wide use of pharmaceutical drugs and their entry routes to the natural systems. Chapter Seven describes the effect of a microwave-assisted hydrolytic treatment on the degradability of shrimp exoskeletons.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the latest developments in the field of engineering. Chapter One presents the mathematical modeling of an electric power distribution network segment using the PLC technology, through the use of a traditional model. Chapter Two proposes a framework which incorporates scale-reduction and offers two variants which use different scale reduction approaches. Chapter Three discusses recent advances in nonlinear shock vibration isolation. Chapter Four examines the modeling of biological neuron by electronic circuit and application for IC and MEMS microrobot. In Chapter Five, after an introductory part dealing with the basic of cosmic ray physics and with the main properties of the cosmic ray time variations, several numerical analyses of cosmic ray data collected by a neutron monitor station in small time steps over more than 50 years has been carried out with different methods, to investigate periodical and non-periodical patterns. Chapter Six investigates and evaluates an ensemble of approaches for skin detection based on different classifiers, color space and color constancy pre-processing.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides readers with the latest developments in materials science research. Chapter One discusses the properties of functionally graded material produced with additive manufacturing technology. Chapter Two reviews synthetic smectite materials as catalyst precursors and solid base catalysts. Chapter Three reviews current literature on metallic bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) focusing on the development of protective coatings for imparting both corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity to these components. Chapter Four examines layered hydrolyzed EVA films. Chapter Five focuses on the synthesis and characterization of polyphenylenes and their derivatives as well as their applications in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Chapter Six discusses the characterization of thermal conductivity and tool-part thermal resistance in composite processing. Chapter Seven examines the effect of biodeterioration on mechanical properties of hemp natural fiber reinforced composite. Chapter Eight provides a comparative study on the effective properties of equivalent fiber.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the most up-to-date research in the agricultural field. Chapter One discusses advances in seed-priming. Chapter Two examines the relationship between TFS (Total Foliar Surface) and EFS (Efficient Foliar Surface) and quality of grapes and production of vine stocks. Chapter Three focuses on the influence of plant-fungal interactions viz-a-viz other agroecosystem variables on the mechanism of agronomic systems selection, and determination of crop development and production. Chapter Four focuses on biocontrol and the influence of bacterial small molecules on these interspecies interactions and on the survival of Bacillus spp. Chapter Five reviews the addition of leonardites to increase soil available phophorus levels in vineyard calcareous soils. Chapter Six introduces the artificial neural network modeling of sugar beet osmotic dehydration. Chapter Seven discusses microwave assisted drying of sugar beet pulp.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the most up-to-date research in the agricultural field. Chapter One analyses the achievements, applications, potential and the future avenues of bioenergy production from sugarcane. Chapter Two discusses the importance of humic substances for soil quality and plant protection. Chapter Three studies corn production intercropping with the fodder plant Urochloa brizantha in different production systems. Chapter Four reviews the potential applications of the hydrolysates for the production of fuels and valuable chemicals. Chapter Five describes the characteristics, cultivation techniques, and post-harvest management of red kiwifruit. Chapter Six discusses the importance and methods for valorisation of five different fruits of the forest. Chapter Seven reports the development of an efficient and affordable micro-irrigation system that could help enhance farm productivity especially during conditions where water supply is very limiting.

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Book SynopsisDue to a high demand in construction and furniture industries worldwide, natural resources such as stones and wood as non-renewable resources are being depleted. Thus, researchers are focusing on renewable resources as alternative materials. As such, the utilisation of abundant solid wastes and byproducts, which are discharged from agriculture, industry and municipalities present an alternative to the conventional materials for the construction and furniture industries. These solid wastes and byproducts, when properly processed have shown to be effective and can readily meet design specifications. Agricultural solid wastes from oil palm distributors such as Oil Palm Shell (OPS) and Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB), which are abundant in agro-based countries, present an interesting alternative to the conventional aggregate in lightweight concrete and artificial plank production, respectively. At present, palm oil producing countries are Barkina Faso, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte dIvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela and others. In Malaysia, oil palm plantations cover over 5 million hectares, and annual production of OPS as solid waste from 450 oil palm mills is more than 6 million tons. This large amount of OPS as a renewable green aggregate can contribute to overcoming the over dependence on depletable resources for concrete production. The civil engineering projects are of a larger scale; they need sustainable materials in order to gain a greater momentum of growth. The major technical characteristics of OPS solid waste must be primarily understood before each particular use. Therefore, there is a need to highlight the importance of OPS to be used in the construction industry.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides readers with the latest developments in materials science research. Chapter One examines chiral metamaterials. Chapter Two discusses chitosan-based planar optical waveguides for relative humidity measurements. Chapter Three investigates the ultrafast magnon dynamics in antiferromagnetic 3d-transition-metal monoxides NiO and MnO using optical pump-probe spectroscopy and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Chapter Four analyzes luminescent Zn/Cd-based metalorganic frameworks and their applications. Chapter Five focuses on the development and characterization of textile-based strain sensors for healthcare applications. Chapter Six examines the electronic properties of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and its monomer using the Semi-Empirical Zerner Modified Intermediate Neglect of Differential Overlap (ZINDO) method of INDO/1 as a parameterization. Chapter Seven investigates the adhesion of the Legionella Pneumophila bacteria to the surfaces of plumbing materials. Chapter Eight discusses the mechanical behavior of borophene structures using molecular mechanics.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the most up-to-date research in the agricultural field. Chapter One reviews the use of agricultural waste as potential feedstock for activated carbon development. Chapter Two presents the potential uses of chlorogenic acid from vegetables and industrial waste. Chapter Three provides an overview consuming antioxidants from fruits and vegetables for sustainable human wellness. Chapter Four analyses advances in fruit growing technology. Chapter Five focuses on plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) mediated plant disease resistance.

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Book SynopsisAfter several decades of rapid technological advancement and economic growth, alarming levels of pollution and catastrophe-bound environmental degradations are emerging all over the world. Even sizable reduction in industrial pollutant emissions would only slow down the accumulation of pollution. Given the complexity of the problem and the over-simplicity of international environmental initiatives (like the Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol and Paris Agreement, which focused mainly on emissions reduction and regulations), limited success has been observed. The design of a comprehensive solution for solving this globally devastating problem is very much in order. Research in developing environmentally clean technology into efficient and affordable means of production plays a key role to effectively solving the continual worsening global industrial pollution problem and meeting the industrial growth needs. An essential element for success is that the participating nations well-being must not be worse than their non-cooperative well-being throughout the cooperation duration. In addition, for the cooperative scheme to be sustainable, the agreed-upon optimality principle in sharing the cooperative benefits must be upheld at every stage of the cooperation plan -- this condition is known as subgame consistency. This book provides an effective means for resolving the catastrophe-bound environmental problem through a Building Environmentally Sustainable Technology with Subgame Consistent, Optimal, Rational and Economically-viable Scheme (BEST SCORES). In particular, the solution scheme involves: (i) A set of policy instruments which includes levies on industrial pollution, royalties on natural resources, coordinated pollutant abatement efforts, cooperative development of clean technology, and transfer payments leading to an optimal cooperation solution; (ii) Joint development of environmentally sustainable technology and an optimal technology pattern over time; (iii) A cooperative maximisation program yielding the optimal (highest) joint payoff; (iv) An economically viable scheme for each participating nation with a cooperative payoff higher than its non-cooperative payoff through transfer payments; (v) A subgame consistent payoff distribution procedure, which ensures that the original agreed upon optimality principle in gain sharing will be maintainedl; (vi) An institutional mechanism design to guide the construction of relevant institutions and agencies to implement the cooperative scheme.

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Book SynopsisIn a society predicated on information, the media has a pervasive presence. From government policy to leisure television, the information age touches us all. The papers collected in this book constitute some of today''s leading analyses of the information industry. Together, these essays represent a needed foundation for understanding the present state and future development of the mass media. Current trends in communications as well as media impact on public opinion are studied and reported on. Topics include a brief introduction on software radio to ultra wideband radio communications; wideband slotted microstrip antennas for modern applications; Device-to-Device (D2D) communication in 5G networks; the use of mobile devices to support young people with disabilities; and singular optimal control of switched systems. The final chapter is a proposal to support the teaching of history with audiovisual content, including video game advertising.

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Book SynopsisNanotechnology is the study of the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale and is also very diverse, ranging from extensions of conventional device physics to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly. This book gathers and presents data on nanotechnology. Chapter One examines the role of atomic particles and nanoparticles in catalysis. Chapter Two reviews the preparations of nanoporous microelectrodes, their physical and electrochemical characterisation, their electrochemical behaviors, and their promising applications. Chapter Three studies controllable growth methods for device applications of gold nanorods. Chapter Four provides an overview of various antibody-nanoparticle conjugating modalities and their potential clinical application. Chapter Five reviews the numerous methods available to fabricate delivery systems depending upon the physicochemical properties of active ingredients and the polymers. Chapter Six discusses recent achievements in the field of development of different photoconverters (photodetectors and solar cells) based on nanoheterostructures with quantum dots of germanium on silicon.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the most up-to-date research in the agricultural field. Chapter One reviews the nutritional aspects and potential uses of safflower in livestock. Chapter Two discusses the antioxidant activities and phenolic composition of the safflower plant during its growth cycle. Chapter Three studies safflower production in Argentina. Chapter Four analyses the storage stability of a lemon fruit immersed in a calcium solution. Chapter Five focuses on the chemical and sensorial characteristics of red fruits imprinted by organic farming production. Chapter Six introduces a new process for producing solid biofuel from waste obtained from orange juice production using biodrying and composting techniques, to increase the value chain and evaluate its potential for energy cogeneration and application in citrus crops. Chapter Seven reviews urban agriculture in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. Chapter Eight studies the urban agriculture practice in Nigeria.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the latest developments in the field of engineering. Chapter One reviews terrain classification using single-pol synthetic aperture radars. Chapter Two analyzes Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) corrosion monitoring sensors. Chapter Three examines the concept of emergence in agent-based modeling and simulation by modeling several types of agent-based systems and examining simulations for potential emergent phenomena. Chapter Four discusses a mathematical modeling technique traditionally referred to as agent based modeling (ABM) but for purposes here, referred to as Zombie Based Modeling (ZBM). Chapter Five focuses on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) assistant procedures for future optical communication systems. Chapter Six provides intervention strategies for the operationalisation process of building maintenance regarding the design stages. Chapter Seven assesses the performance of auditorium acoustics. Chapter Eight reviews multivariate statistical factor and cluster analysis on selecting the optimum method for the recycling of kitchen waste.

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Book SynopsisThis book compiles research summaries from a number of different focuses in the important field of environment and agriculture.

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Book SynopsisThis book compiles research summaries from a number of different focuses in the important field of environment and agriculture.

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Book SynopsisThis book compiles research summaries from a number of different focuses in the important field of environment and agriculture.

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Book SynopsisBioactive phytochemicals contribute immensely to the operations and functions that occur within human beings. Scientists have coined the term nutraceuticals to describe any plant-based biochemical substances that positively affect physical condition and status. They promote health benefits and serve many purposes, such as acting as antioxidants, cancer inhibitors, hepatoprotectants, hypertensive inhibitors, and possessing antidiabetic and antidepressant properties, among other qualities. With these characteristics in mind, the authors describe how these nutraceuticals aid in the prevention and treatments of diseases. The authors intend for their research to aid in the further exploration and discovery of new drug designs and applications for nutraceuticals.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the latest developments in the field of engineering. Chapter One proposes and evaluates a fuzzy logic based freeway traffic control strategy to overcome the limitations of existing strategies. Chapter Two shows how the particle swarm optimization technique, PSO, can be successfully applied to elucidate several applied mathematical and chemical engineering problems. Chapter Three reviews off-state leakage currents of semiconductor devices and their performances. Chapter Four is directed towards estimating sensor failure of a networked control system subject to a random packet dropout. Chapter Five examines epitaxial oxide materials for functional and nano-electronic device applications. Chapter Six focuses on thermal deviation management in large machine tools. The final chapter reviews the most typical kinds of geotechnical damage caused by natural disasters, and presents the construction methods using geosynthetics that can be applied in order to minimize the consequences of natural disasters.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides readers with the latest developments in materials science research. Chapter One reviews the advances achieved over the last three years by exploiting photo-induced polymerization processes for the obtainment of functional (and often nanostructured) coatings. Chapter Two analyzes superalloy machining. Chapter Three examines a mechanistic exposure of welded Ni-Mo-Cr-Fe alloys in coal gasification syngas plants for morphological and microstructural examination and corrosion mechanism study. Chapter Four discusses atomistic investigations of ion migration in electroactive polymers. Chapter Five focuses on the property and electron shift kinetics of glassy carbon electrodes, and explores biosensor technology that bred diverse trends in detecting heavy metal ions with the adoption of glassy carbon electrode. Chapter Six provides a review of studies regarding antioxidant reaction mechanisms and their electroanalytical applications in glassy carbon electrodes. Chapter Seven investigates the effect of A-site and B-site isovalent doping in Bismuth Titanate ceramics on its dielectric and ferroelectric properties. Chapter Eight concludes with the current progress in the synthesis and luminescence properties of doped Bismuth complex oxides.

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Book SynopsisAs the inorganic constituents of skeletons, dentine and the enamel of teeth in all vertebrates, as well as antlers of male deer, calcium orthophosphates (CaPO4) appear to be the key materials to sustain all life on Earth. Therefore, biologically relevant CaPO4 possess all the necessary features of the biomaterials, such as biocompatibility, bioactivity, bioresorbability, osteoconductivity, osteoinductivity, and appear to be non-toxic, non-inflammatory and non-immunogenic. In this book, the author presents current state-of-the-art applications on three popular types of CaPO4: nano-scaled (nano-dimensional), multiphasic (polyphasic) and amorphous CaPO4. Topics discussed include the preparation, structure, composition, properties and biomedical applications of these types of CaPO4 combined with the specific information for each type. Namely, occurrence in the calcified tissue of mammals is discussed for both nano-scaled and amorphous types of CaPO4; both known and potential formulations, as well as their stability are discussed for multiphasic CaPO4, while both the morphology and the available knowledge on amorphous-to-crystalline transformations are discussed for amorphous CaPO4.

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Book SynopsisNanomaterials (NMs) or nanoparticles (NPs) are the small objects which behave as a simple single unit ranging in size from 1-100 nm. Chapter One is intended to provide detailed information on various aspects of nanomaterials including the types, characterisation, methods of preparation, physicochemical properties, optical and thermal properties and various applications. Chapter Two provides comprehensive information regarding the characteristics, advantages, composition, methods of preparation, factors affecting formulation, characterisation, applications, safety and toxicological considerations and future prospects for the use and preparation of nanosponges (NS). In Chapter Three, the fundamentals and applications of the mainstream top-down nanolithography techniques, which have been successfully applied in the fabrication of the graphene-based nano devices (such as the graphene nano-ribbon electronics, graphene quantum dot devices, graphene-based nano sensors and so on) are described. And in Chapter Four, the detailed method of tuning the bias voltage effect and the force effect during the AFM electric lithography is introduced and analysed.

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Book SynopsisThis book begins with a review of several land management practices, presented in Chapter One. The chapter aims to improve agricultural land conditions, ensure the sustainable cultivation of crops is achieved at optimum levels, and meet the need of ever increasing population and food demand crisis in developing countries of Africa. Chapter Two examines the main geographical patterns of change in land productivity over the past 100 years of the development of agriculture in the south of Ukraine. Chapter Three provides information on cultivation, common diseases, and properties of watermelon, as well as a potential pharmaceuticals agent. Chapter Four evaluates the production of beans cowpea fertigated with Human urine associated with Cassava Wastewater as an alternative source of nutrients. Chapter Five focuses on the possibility of LoaC platforms application for identification and quantification of wheat gluten proteins as well as their connection with technological quality of wheat. Chapter Six concludes the book by discussing several dairy farm management strategies that can be manipulated to reduce GHG emissions while improving productivity and likely farm profit.

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Book SynopsisElectrospinning is a simple and efficient process in producing nanofibers. The use of an electrospinning process in fabricating tissue engineering scaffolds has received great attention in recent years due to its simplicity and ability to fabricate ultrafine nanofibers. Chapter One investigates the process of formation of ultrafine fibres and nonwoven membranes by electrospinning from natural degradable polymers -- polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs); physical, mechanical, and biological properties of the products have been included. Chapter Two aims to give an insight into the use of this interesting class of polymers in electrospinning as well as to explore the wide range of possible applications. Chapter Three reveals the fundamental working principles of electrospinning process and the effect of electrospinning process parameters towards the nanofibers morphology. Chapter Four provides detailed information on the background of electrospinning, fundamental principles and theory, investigation on parameters involved in nanofibers structural/ biological/mechanical characteristics, advantages of superb properties and biomedical applications of electrospun nanofibres, particularly in tissue engineering heart valves. Chapter Five focuses on the fabrication and characterisation of electrospun PVDF, PVDF/PLA (50/50 wt %) and PVDF/G (99.5/0.5 wt %) membranes. Chapter Six presents the main results of recent experimental investigation of the electrodeposition and characterisation of Fe/TiO2 composite coatings obtained from an environmentally friendly methanesulfonate iron plating bath containing colloidal TiO2 particles.

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