Search results for ""Imperial College Press""

Colossal magnetoresistance materials, to which manganites and conventional ferromagnetic semiconductors belong, draw great attention because of their intriguing physical properties and the excellent prospects for their practical applications in electronic devices. In addition, magnetic semiconductors are basic materials for high-temperature conductors, and it is impossible to construct a theory of the latter without elucidating properties of the former.This book presents theoretical and experimental results on manganites and conventional magnetic semiconductors, with emphasis on the former. It is addressed mainly to researchers dealing with manganites or high-temperature superconductors, but is also useful for undergraduate and graduate students.

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In this textbook, basic aspects of the cardiovascular system in health and disease are described in relation to a series of 30 case descriptions. This style of presentation mirrors that required for the new medical curriculum, as recommended by the General Medical Council. The clinical relevance of preclinical knowledge is immediately made apparent to the student by its description as applied to the clinical cases.

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Latest Edition: From Knowledge Management to Strategic Competence: Assessing Technological, Market and Organisational Innovation (3rd Edition)The business and academic communities pay much interest to the concept of knowledge management and strategic competencies or core capabilities; that is, how organizations define and differentiate themselves. This book attempts to establish the links between strategic competencies, knowledge management, organizational learning and innovation management — specifically, how an organization identifies, assesses and exploits its competencies, and translates these into new processes, products and services.The contributors to the book include leading researchers and consultants in the field. Adopting a practical but rigorous approach to the subject, they focus on the measurement, management and improvement of organizational, technological and market competencies, and identify the relationships with strategic, operational and financial performance.

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Near-field optics studies the behaviour of light fields in the vicinity of matter, where light is structured in propagating and evanescent fields. Near-field optical microscopy is the straightforward application of near-field optics.This textbook provides an overview for undergraduates and anyone who has an interest in peculiar optical phenomena, and serves as a technical manual for engineers and researchers. It consists of 12 chapters dealing with the history of near-field optics, non-radiating optics, optical noise, inverse problems, theory, instrumentation and applications; there is an appendix including the basic elements of Fourier optics and Maxwell equations.

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This book deals with key issues and trade-offs in R&D strategy and organisation, paying attention especially to dynamic competitive contexts where technology plays a key role. These topics are treated from the perspective of the decision taker, i.e. the manager who makes decisions in terms of R&D strategy and organisation. The book addresses typical problems of large firms having structured R&D and operating businesses where R&D is a source of competitive advantages. Although it focuses strongly on R&D, it sees R&D as a part (a key part) of the process of technological innovation, and therefore as an activity to be strongly and appropriately integrated with other functions to make innovation successful.This book is primarily conceived as an academic review of research topics. Therefore the main audience is composed of scholars, researchers and PhD students. However, the book can be useful for postgraduate students taking MBA electives, or students attending courses on technology management. It is also relevant to R&D managers and, more generally, people responsible for units concerned with technological innovation.

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Porous materials are of scientific and technological importance because of the presence of voids of controllable dimensions at the atomic, molecular, and nanometer scales, enabling them to discriminate and interact with molecules and clusters. Interestingly the big deal about this class of materials is about the “nothingness” within — the pore space. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) classifies porous materials into three categories — micropores of less than 2 nm in diameter, mesopores between 2 and 50 nm, and macropores of greater than 50 nm. In this book, nanoporous materials are defined as those porous materials with pore diameters less than 100 nm.Over the last decade, there has been an ever increasing interest and research effort in the synthesis, characterization, functionalization, molecular modeling and design of nanoporous materials. The main challenges in research include the fundamental understanding of structure-property relations and tailor-design of nanostructures for specific properties and applications. Research efforts in this field have been driven by the rapid growing emerging applications such as biosensor, drug delivery, gas separation, energy storage and fuel cell technology, nanocatalysis and photonics. These applications offer exciting new opportunities for scientists to develop new strategies and techniques for the synthesis and applications of these materials.This book provides a series of systematic reviews of the recent developments in nanoporous materials. It covers the following topics: (1) synthesis, processing, characterization and property evaluation; (2) functionalization by physical and/or chemical treatments; (3) experimental and computational studies on fundamental properties, such as catalytic effects, transport and adsorption, molecular sieving and biosorption; (4) applications, including photonic devices, catalysis, environmental pollution control, biological molecules separation and isolation, sensors, membranes, hydrogen and energy storage, etc.

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Plant breeding, animal breeding, medical genetics and the genetics of industrial fungi are usually taught separately, but they are all linked by strong central concepts regarding the generation, control, fate and use of genetic variation at the levels of genes, chromosomes, genomes and populations. Mutation, recombination, selection, population genetics and karyotype changes are involved, together with breeding systems.This book constitutes an integrated undergraduate course in applied genetics based on those central concepts. It is suitable for those interested in working with plants, animals, humans or fungi. Such a course, or selected parts of it, is applicable to students of biological, microbiological, agricultural and biomedical sciences.

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Congenital malformations of the heart are often dismissed as a form of complex heart disease, which is too difficult to understand, and is best referred to the specialists. The authors of this handbook, however, aim to dispel this myth. The advent of cross-sectional and, more recently, three-dimensional echocardiography, enables the structural malformations to be visualised virtually non-invasively. Without a thorough understanding of the arrangement of cardiac structures, interpretation of these images can be very frustrating, not to mention having to cope with difficult terminology. Contrary to popular belief, however, the reader does not require any knowledge of cardiac embryology in order to understand the morphology of a malformed heart.This book takes the reader through the subject in a straightforward fashion, beginning with recognition of the normal cardiac chambers, progressing through the process of analysing the layout of the chambers in a sequential way, and then dealing with the more common cardiac defects in turn. Each chapter deals with the anatomical arrangement illustrated with diagrams and complemented with echocardiographic images of the most important cross-sections. The text is succinct, and is accompanied by numerous diagrams and cross-sectional echocardiographic images of the highest quality. The most common defects are described chapter by chapter, emphasising the salient anatomical features.

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This book covers topics of equilibria and kinetics of adsorption in porous media. Fundamental equilibria and kinetics are dealt with for homogeneous as well as heterogeneous particles. Five chapters of the book deal with equilibria and eight chapters deal with kinetics. Single component as well as multicomponent systems are discussed. In kinetics analysis, we deal with the various mass transport processes and their interactions inside a porous particle. Conventional approaches as well as the new approach using Maxwell-Stefan equations are presented. Various methods to measure diffusivity, such as the Differential Adsorption Bed (DAB), the time lag, the diffusion cell, chromatography, and the batch adsorber methods are also covered by the book. It can be used by lecturers and engineers who wish to carry out research in adsorption. A number of programming codes written in MatLab language are included so that readers can use them directly to better understand the behavior of single and multicomponent adsorption systems.

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The analysis of well tests constitutes one of the most powerful tools for the effective description of a petroleum reservoir and its subsequent management. This requires that the well test be placed in the proper context of related disciplines, especially geoscience, production and reservoir engineering. Modern methods of automated data processing can conceal mathematical limitations and overlook the need for realistic physical and geologic models. This book emphasizes the plausible physical contexts and mathematical models and limitations, and also the importance of realistic geologic models in analysis.Although the book is clearly targeted at petroleum engineers, the approach taken by the authors will no doubt find favour with practitioners in other areas of fluid flow in porous media, such as hydrology and the flow of pollutants. Scattered throughout the book are worked examples of the use of the methods described in the text. It also contains extensive appendices on permeability, application of Laplace transforms to flow equations valid for single and multi-layered systems, convolution and deconvolution, dimensionless parameters and P-theorems, and physical and thermodynamic properties of gases. This book should appeal to students as well as practitioners in industry; many in the latter group may have benefited before from formal exposure to the underlying theory and its limitations in real reservoir environments.

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Professor Fenner's definitive text is now back in print, with added corrections. It serves as an introduction to finite element methods for engineering undergraduates and other students at an equivalent level. Postgraduate and practising engineers will also find it useful if they are comparatively new to finite element methods.The main emphasis is on the simplest methods suitable for solving two-dimensional continuum mechanics problems, particularly those encountered in the fields of stress analysis, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Complete FORTRAN programs are presented, described and discussed in detail, and several practical case studies serve to illustrate the methods developed in the book.Finite element methods are compared and contrasted with finite difference methods, and throughout the level of computer programming, continuum mechanics, numerical analysis, matrix algebra and other mathematics employed corresponds to that normally covered in undergraduate engineering courses.

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In the first part of this book, classical nonequilibrium statistical mechanics is developed. Starting from the Hamiltonian dynamics of the molecules, it leads through the irreversible kinetic equations to the level of fluid mechanics. For simple systems, all the transport coefficients are determined by the molecular properties.The second part of the book treats complex systems that require a more extensive use of statistical concepts. Such problems, which are at the forefront of research, include: continuous time random walks, non-Markovian diffusion processes, percolation and related critical phenomena, transport on fractal structures, transport and deterministic chaos. These “strange transport processes” differ significantly from the usual (diffusive) transport. Their inclusion in a general treatise on statistical mechanics is a special feature of this invaluable book.

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Tolerance design techniques are playing an increasingly important role in maximizing the manufacturing yield of mass-produced electronic circuits. Tolerance Design of Electronic Circuits presents an account of design and analysis methods used to minimize the unwanted effects of component tolerances.Highlights of the book include• An overview of the concepts of Tolerance Analysis and Design• A detailed discussion of the Statistical Exploration Approach to tolerance design• An engineering discussion of the Monte Carlo statistical method• A presentation of several successful examples of the application of tolerance designThis book will be highly appropriate for professional Electronic Circuit Designers, Computer Aided Design Specialists, Electronic Engineering undergraduates and graduates taking courses in Advanced Electronic Circuit Design.

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This is a concise guide for anyone who has ever found the prospect of speaking technically to be daunting.The author draws upon his observations of people speaking technically in after-dinner speeches; conference presentations; coping with visitors; inaugural lectures; industrial presentations; industrial tourism; lectures to students; presentations to funding bodies; project reports; public inquiries; school talks; section and departmental meetings; telephone calls and consultations.He offers the reader practical tools and principles for organising information and making technical communication lively and memorable.Complete with highlighted points, checklists and review points for easy reference and practice, Speaking Technically is for anyone who has ideas and information to communicate, wants to do so effectively, finds the process stressful and has little time to prepare.

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This book provides a concise introduction to practical aspects of atomic-resolution imaging in aberration-corrected electron microscopy. As such, it addresses recent advances in electron optical instrumentation used for ultra-high resolution imaging in materials and nano-science. It covers two of the most popular atomic resolution imaging techniques' namely high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The book bridges the gap between application-oriented textbooks in conventional electron microscopy and books in physics covering dedicated topics in charged-particle optics and aberration correction.The book is structured in three parts which can be read separately. While in the first part the fundamentals of the imaging techniques and their limits in conventional electron microscopes are explained, the second part provides readers with the basic principles of electron optics and the characteristics of electron lenses. The third part, focusing on aberrations, describes the functionality of aberration correctors and provides readers with practical guidelines for the daily work with aberration-corrected electron microscopes. The book represents a detailed and easy readable guide to aberration-corrected electron microscopy.

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This is a practical guide for the management of common fractures of the hand and carpus. Hand fractures constitute a large proportion of all fractures and are treated by a variety of practitioners, ranging from orthopaedic and plastic surgeons to emergency nurse practitioners.This book systematically addresses all common hand fracture patterns with illustrative radiographs for each type. The reader can see a patient, take a radiograph of their injury and find an almost exact match to one in this book. He or she will then be guided to the correct treatment, supported by clear and practical instructions from the immediate management to technical tips on definitive surgical fracture fixation. The treatments described emphasise simple and reliable treatments that can be applied in most medical settings. This makes the book applicable in both first and third world countries.Versions of this book have been used and have proven popular in a number of Orthopaedic and A&E departments across the UK. It is an easy-to-use reference for medical and non-medical staff including nurses, physiotherapists as well as junior and senior hospital doctors and general practitioners.

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Most books on environmental science focus on ecological or biological aspects of environmental conservation, often with a polemic agenda. The physics, if covered at all, is generally superficial. Using pertinent examples from the environment and the ways in which people interact with it, Physics of the Environment sets out to provide a cogent account of the underlying physical laws with a lucidity and rigor appropriate to an undergraduate course in the subject. Students will gain an understanding of the physical concepts that govern the world as well as an appreciation of the technologies of power generation and transport, and the impact these have on the environment.

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This book represents a collection of papers from one of the founders of the new Philosophy of Chemistry. It is only the second single-author collection of papers on the Philosophy of Chemistry.The author is the editor-in-chief of Foundations of Chemistry, the leading journal in the field. He has recently gained worldwide success with his book on the periodic table of the elements titled The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance. This volume provides an in-depth examination of his more philosophical and historical work in this area and further afield.

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This is perhaps the first book containing biographical information of Sir James Lighthill and his major scientific contributions to the different areas of fluid mechanics, applied mathematics, aerodynamics, linear and nonlinear waves in fluids, geophysical fluid dynamics, biofluiddynamics, aeroelasticity, boundary layer theory, generalized functions, and Fourier series and integrals. Special efforts is made to present Lighthill's scientific work in a simple and concise manner, and generally intelligible to readers who have some introduction to fluid mechanics. The book also includes a list of Lighthill's significant papers.Written for the mathematically literate reader, this book also provides a glimpse of Sir James' serious attempt to stimulate interest in mathematics and its diverse applications among the general public of the world, his profound influence on teaching of mathematics and science with newer applications, and his deep and enduring concern on enormous loss of human lives, economic and marine resources by natural hazards. By providing detailed background information and knowledge, sufficient to start interdisciplinary research, it is intended to serve as a ready reference guide for readers interested in advanced study and research in modern fluid mechanics.

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In this Completely Revised and Extended Edition with a significantly enhanced content, all Chapters have been updated considering relevant literature and recent developments until 2016 together with application oriented examples with a focus on Industrial Biocatalysis. Newly treated topics comprise among others systems metabolic engineering approaches, metagenome screening, new tools for pathway engineering, and de-novo computational design as actual research areas in biocatalysis. Information about different aspects of RNA technologies, and completely new Chapters on 'Fluorescent Proteins' and 'Biocatalysis and Nanotechnology' are also included.

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Precipitating atmospheric convection is fundamental to the Earth's weather and climate. It plays a leading role in the heat, moisture and momentum budgets. Appropriate modelling of convection is thus a prerequisite for reliable numerical weather prediction and climate modelling. The current standard approach is to represent it by subgrid-scale convection parameterization.Parameterization of Atmospheric Convection provides, for the first time, a comprehensive presentation of this important topic. The two-volume set equips readers with a firm grasp of the wide range of important issues, and thorough coverage is given of both the theoretical and practical aspects. This makes the parameterization problem accessible to a wider range of scientists than before. At the same time, by providing a solid bottom-up presentation of convection parameterization, this set is the definitive reference point for atmospheric scientists and modellers working on such problems.Volume 1 of this two-volume set focuses on the basic principles: introductions to atmospheric convection and tropical dynamics, explanations and discussions of key parameterization concepts, and a thorough and critical exploration of the mass-flux parameterization framework, which underlies the methods currently used in almost all operational models and at major climate modelling centres. Volume 2 focuses on the practice, which also leads to some more advanced fundamental issues. It includes: perspectives on operational implementations and model performance, tailored verification approaches, the role and representation of cloud microphysics, alternative parameterization approaches, stochasticity, criticality, and symmetry constraints.

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This textbook is an introduction and guide to undergraduate surgery. It has been a bestseller since its first edition in 2001.The philosophy of this book is to focus on the level of knowledge and the approach that would be expected of the better students reaching the end of their undergraduate training. Avoiding a book that is too cumbersome, we have tried to make this volume readable and enjoyable, using various techniques to help the reader remember key facts: the text has been deliberately written in a tutorial-like story format as opposed to a set of lists, since this makes it easier to understand and remember.In addition to general surgery, the book contains sections on trauma, orthopaedics, urology and ENT, making it the only comprehensive textbook for medical students wishing to learn top tips in surgery.Subjects that are poorly covered in other main texts — such as fluid balance management and minor surgical procedures — are dealt with in a tutorial fashion in this book, and there is a section on how to problem-solve even in the context of areas unknown to the student.This book is useful for medical students and also for junior doctors during their day-to-day working lives, as well as those coming up to postgraduate exams.Each chapter is written by an authoritative author, alongside the book editors, and they have ensured it remains in the spirit of the bestselling previous editions.

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This book is designed to enable non-native English speakers to write science research for publication in English. It can also be used by English speakers and is a practical, user-friendly book intended as a fast, do-it-yourself guide for those whose English language proficiency is above intermediate. The approach is based on material developed from teaching graduate students at Imperial College London and has been extensively piloted. The book guides the reader through the process of writing science research and will also help with writing a Master's or Doctoral thesis in English.Science writing is much easier than it looks because the structure and language are conventional. The aim of this book is to help the reader discover a template or model for science research writing and then to provide the grammar and vocabulary tools needed to operate that model. There are five units: Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion/Conclusion and Abstract. The reader develops a model for each section of the research article through sample texts and exercises; this is followed by a Grammar and Writing Skills section designed to respond to frequently-asked questions as well as a Vocabulary list including examples of how the words and phrases are to be used.

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This book is intended for self-study or as a companion of lectures delivered to post-graduate students on the subject of the computational prediction of complex turbulent flows. There are several books in the extensive literature on turbulence that deal, in statistical terms, with the phenomenon itself, as well its many manifestations in the context of fluid dynamics. Statistical Turbulence Modelling for Fluid Dynamics — Demystified differs from these and focuses on the physical interpretation of a broad range of mathematical models used to represent the time-averaged effects of turbulence in computational prediction schemes for fluid flow and related transport processes in engineering and the natural environment. It dispenses with complex mathematical manipulations and instead gives physical and phenomenological explanations. This approach allows students to gain a 'feel' for the physical fabric represented by the mathematical structure that describes the effects of turbulence and the models embedded in most of the software currently used in practical fluid-flow predictions, thus counteracting the ill-informed black-box approach to turbulence modelling. This is done by taking readers through the physical arguments underpinning exact concepts, the rationale of approximations of processes that cannot be retained in their exact form, and essential calibration steps to which the resulting models are subjected by reference to theoretically established behaviour of, and experimental data for, key canonical flows.

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Advances in Earth Science outlines the latest developments and new research directions currently being made world-wide in the earth sciences. It contains invited and refereed articles by leading younger researchers on their cutting-edge research, but aimed at a general scientific audience.This exciting volume explains how powerful methodologies such as satellite remote sensing and supercomputing simulations are now profoundly changing research in the earth sciences; how the earth system is increasingly being viewed in a holistic way, linking the atmosphere, ocean and solid earth; and how the societal impact of the research in the earth sciences has never been more important.Published by Imperial College Press in collaboration with the Royal Society of London, the book features many articles originating from invited papers published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Eleven of the distinguished contributors hold prestigious Royal Society Research Fellowships.

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The two most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia — a Malaysian and a Singaporean — are on the run in the Philippines, but they manage to keep their friends and family updated on Facebook. Filipinos connect with al-Qaeda-linked groups in Somalia and Yemen. The black flag — embedded in al-Qaeda lore — pops up on websites and Facebook pages from around the world, including the Philippines, Indonesia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Australia, and North Africa. The black flag is believed to herald an apocalypse that brings Islam's triumph. These are a few of the signs that define terrorism's new battleground: the Internet and social media.In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, Maria Ressa traces the spread of terrorism from the training camps of Afghanistan to Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Through research done at the International Center for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore and sociograms created by the CORE Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School, the book examines the social networks which spread the virulent ideology that powered terrorist attacks in the past 10 years.Many of the stories here have never been told before, including details about the 10 days during which Ressa led the crisis team in the Ces Drilon kidnapping case by the Abu Sayyaf in 2008. The book forms the powerful narrative that glues together the social networks — both physical and virtual — which spread the jihadi virus from bin Laden to Facebook.

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This textbook introduces the tools and language of modern geometric mechanics to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics, physics and engineering. It treats the dynamics of ray optics, resonant oscillators and the elastic spherical pendulum from a unified geometric viewpoint, by formulating their solutions using reduction by Lie-group symmetries. The only prerequisites are linear algebra, calculus and some familiarity with the Euler-Lagrange variational principles and canonical Poisson brackets in classical mechanics at the beginning undergraduate level.The ideas and concepts of geometric mechanics are explained in the context of explicit examples. Through these examples, the student develops skills in performing computational manipulations, starting from Fermat's principle, working through the theory of differential forms on manifolds and transferring these ideas to the applications of reduction by symmetry to reveal Lie-Poisson Hamiltonian formulations and momentum maps in physical applications.The many Exercises and Worked Answers aid the student to grasp the essential aspects of the subject. In addition, the modern language and application of differential forms is explained in the context of geometric mechanics, so that the importance of Lie derivatives and their flows is clear. All theorems are stated and proved explicitly.The book's many worked exercises make it ideal for both classroom use and self-study. In particular, a substantial appendix containing both introductory examples and enhanced coursework problems with worked answers is included to help the student develop proficiency in using the powerful methods of geometric mechanics.

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This is the essential aide memoir for clinicians who are dealing with children with acutely life-threatening disorders. Written by Imperial College healthcare NHS trust consultants, it is packed with guidelines and tips on how best to address a comprehensive range of clinical conditions.In paediatrics, the prognosis of acute diseases is very much dependent on the quality of clinical management during the initial hours after presentation. This pocket guide can be used immediately, at the bedside, to provide that all-important quick access to the correct information. The unique double-page organisation means the relevant information is accessible as soon as the book is opened. There is also space for the clinician to jot down personal comments and notes.Armed with this little book, clinicians will have all the correct information on hand, to use ‘on the ground’ in the emergency room.

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This book has been developed over many years from several popular courses taught to students at both Birmingham and London universities. It provides an important step in introducing principles and concepts within the field of toxicology. The underlying mechanisms of toxicity are highlighted through examples taken from gases, minerals, plants, fungi, bacteria, marine creatures, industrial chemicals and pharmacological agents.In this second edition, the text has been completely revised and expanded with the addition of six new chapters — carbon monoxide, hydrofluoric acid, lead, mushroom, toxins, paracetamol, paraquat and diquat. Each chapter is self-sufficient, enabling readers to dip into chapters of interest at random without any lack of understanding. The book is informative, with numerous clinical details, and will appeal to those who wish to delve into this fascinating subject.

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This book proposes a set of models to describe fuzzy multi-objective decision making (MODM), fuzzy multi-criteria decision making (MCDM), fuzzy group decision making (GDM) and fuzzy multi-objective group decision-making problems, respectively. It also gives a set of related methods (including algorithms) to solve these problems. One distinguishing feature of this book is that it provides two decision support systems software for readers to apply these proposed methods. A set of real-world applications and some new directions in this area are then described to further instruct readers how to use these methods and software in their practice.

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A product of the Framework V research project, this book addresses one of the key problems facing the EU today: Why is the ‘new’ EU so much poorer than the ‘old’, and how will EU enlargement help to solve the problem? Focusing on the productivity problems underlying the East-West gap, it looks in particular at the role that foreign investment and R&D can play in closing it. Against that background, the book assesses what role proactive development policy might play in attacking the roots of low social productivity. Concluding that there will be a clear-cut process of convergence between East and West, albeit an incomplete one, it finishes with an assessment of the patterns of competitiveness, East and West, that are likely to emerge from this process of incomplete convergence.The material is based on a rich archive of empirical material which no competing title can match, and combines in-depth interviews with standard quantitative approaches and critical policy analysis.

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This book brings together some of the leading researchers in the actively investigated field of oxidative stress, an area of study which is of importance to human health and disease. It examines oxidative stress in a variety of models, at rest and after exercise, in young and old. Key concepts of oxidative stress, exercise and aging are presented in clear and easy-to-understand terms. Oxidative stress in different types of exercises — isometric, isotonic and sports — is explained in detail, with several chapters focusing on acute and chronic adaptations of skeletal muscles following both aerobic and non-aerobic exercises. The book includes current knowledge of the underlying mechanisms influencing health and disease processes associated with oxidative stress.

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This book presents a selective collection of papers from the 20th International Symposium on Computer and Information Sciences, held in Istanbul, Turkey. The selected papers span a wide spectrum of topics in computer networks, including internet and multimedia, security and cryptography, wireless networks, parallel and distributed computing, and performance evaluation. These papers represent the results of the latest research of academicians from more than 30 countries.

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We often forget that the science underpinning our contemporary civilization is not a marmoreal edifice. On the contrary, at each moment in its development over past centuries, it grew and advanced through the efforts of individuals and the institutions they created. As Director of the Royal Institution and its Davy Faraday Research Laboratory throughout the 1990s, the author had a unique vantage point to observe how places and people condition the way science has been shaped in the past and continues to be today. The author's background as a practicing solid state chemist, with a lively concern for issues engaging public awareness of science, have led him to recognize and celebrate, not just the remarkable contributions and unusual lives of past scientific heroes like Rumford and Faraday, but also their present day successors. Over the years, this insight has resulted in a wide variety of articles and essays, spread through many publications; a selection of these is collected in this book.The tapestry of science does not just consist of facts uncovered about the natural world and the laws that connect them. As perhaps the finest product of the human mind, its substance and direction are strongly conditioned (some might even say determined) by the people drawn to take part in it and the environments in which they work. This book is an edited collection of essays on aspects of the lives of some famous (as well as less well-known) scientists and places where science is carried out, combined with popular accounts of some of the science the author himself has been involved in. Although it focuses on the Royal Institution and some of those associated with it, it ranges more widely to embrace some contemporary scientists known personally to the author, each of whom had an unusual and distinctive career. At the same time, the science itself, while at the cutting edge, is placed firmly in its historical perspective. The essays are collected into themes, each of which is prefaced and put in context by a short introduction.

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This unique volume presents the first successful surgical strategy to repair the spinal root and the associated spinal cord injury that follows from severe traction injuries to the brachial and lumbosacral nerve plexus. The basic science background to this novel surgical technique is described, and the contemporary palliative procedures as well as clinical and ancillary assessments are given together with a meticulous description of the functional outcome of the surgery.Covering the research that led to the author's pioneering application of this surgical technique to the clinical human situation, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the author's work as a leading basic scientist and nerve surgeon. It is a journey from ideas born in the laboratory to successful application to a difficult human problem involving loss of function and severe pain from a certain type of spinal cord injury.The first step leading to the treatment of a severe and devastating spinal cord injury has been taken and is described in this book.

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This book provides a broad introduction to the fascinating subject of sleep, a behavioral state in which human beings spend a third of their life span, and a topic which interests not only the specialist but also the layperson. Everybody knows that well-being also depends on undisturbed, normal sleep.The Physiologic Nature of Sleep is self-contained in presentation. It may be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students and even ambitious undergraduates in biology, medicine and psychology. It is also suitable for the expert hypnologist who wishes to have an overview of some of the classic and fundamental achievements in sleep research. The explanations in the book are detailed enough to capture the interest of the curious reader, and complete enough to provide the necessary background material needed to go further into the subject and explore the research literature.

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A new approach to the character theory of the symmetric group has been developed during the past fifteen years which is in many ways more efficient, more transparent, and more elementary. In this approach, to each permutation is assigned a class function of the corresponding symmetric group. Problems in character theory can thereby be transferred into a completely different setting and reduced to combinatorial problems on permutations in a natural and uniform way.This is the first account in book form entirely devoted to the new “noncommutative method”. As a modern and comprehensive survey of the classical theory the book contains such fundamental results as the Murnaghan-Nakayama and Littlewood-Richardson rules as well as more recent applications in enumerative combinatorics and in the theory of the free Lie algebra. But it is also an introduction to the vibrant theory of certain combinatorial Hopf algebras such as the Malvenuto-Reutenauer algebra of permutations.The three detailed appendices on group characters, the Solomon descent algebra and the Robinson-Schensted correspondence makes the material self-contained and suitable for undergraduate level. Students and researchers alike will find that noncommutative character theory is a source of inspiration and an illuminating approach to this versatile field of algebraic combinatorics.

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As final examinations approach, medical students often become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of knowledge required to pass all subjects in one go, including surgery, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, pharmacology, and psychiatry. Students cannot know each of these subjects in as much detail as they did during their individual attachments and they need to concentrate on important topics rather than minutiae.Whereas existing textbooks cover many topics very well and in great detail, they are lengthy and difficult to read in a short space of time; some subjects are poorly covered and give no real understanding of practical management and logical thought processes — the exact requirements for passing finals.In this second edition, each chapter has been extensively rewritten and updated with the help of experts in their respective subjects.

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This book is a significant contribution to the state of the art in the field of computational bioengineering — from the need for a living human database to meshless methods in biomechanics, from computational mechanobiology to the evaluation of stresses in hip prosthesis replacement, from lattice Boltzmann methods for analyzing blood flow to the analysis of fluid movement in long bones, among other interesting topics treated herein. Well-known international experts in bioengineering have contributed to the book, giving it a unique style and cutting-edge material for graduate students, academic researchers and design bioengineers, as well as those interested in getting a better understanding of such complex and fascinating human and living processes.

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Focus on Financial Management by Ivan Cohen offers a concise, enthusiastic and highly focused approach to introducing finance to both undergraduates and MBAs. It closely integrates practical applications and the underlying financial concepts so that the reader gets a clear picture of theory and how it can be applied in practice.The book has been carefully crafted and classroom-tested to provide an easy-to-read textbook that will engage the student and instructor alike. It has been designed to be used by students of business, finance and economics, and is equally accessible to students in other areas, such as engineering. It requires no preliminary knowledge of finance.

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This book enables readers without specialist knowledge to understand the ways in which materials can be used to enhance people's lives. The range is vast — from simple contact uses, through artificial limbs, to permanently implanted devices.To appreciate the medical applications of materials, it is necessary to understand why they are used. Therefore, a discussion on the nature and behaviour of materials is preceded by a survey of the evolution of modern surgical techniques. The effect of “foreign” materials on the body's immune system is then considered, followed by a study of specific uses of materials, including extra-corporeal machines and implanted devices.The last chapter deals with new and highly sophisticated techniques — including minimal access surgery, robotics, nanotechnology, natural polymers, and the growth of “artificial” organs — and concludes with a look at the future.

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In a brilliant flash about fourteen billion years ago, time and matter were born in a single instant of creation. An immensely hot and dense universe began its rapid expansion everywhere, creating space where there was no space and time where there was no time. In the intense fire just after the beginning, the lightest elements were forged, later to form primordial clouds that eventually evolved into galaxies, stars, and planets. This evolution is the story told in this fascinating book. Interwoven with the storyline are short pieces on the pioneering men and women who revealed those wonders to us.

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This book gives a systematic exposition of abrasive erosion and corrosion of hydraulic machinery in both theory and engineering practice, and is the first comprehensive volume to cover this area in depth.All the important subjects are discussed including fundamentals, calculation, analysis and numerical simulation of liquid-solid flow design, erosion-resistant materials, interaction between cavitation and abrasive erosion, and corrosion of hydraulic machinery.

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This volume in the Hydraulic Machinery Book series deals with cavitation and its effects in turbines and pumps. After introducing cavitation and its relation with hydraulic machines, the invited contributors throughout the world review in detail relevant cavitation subjects from fundamental phenomena to various problems and solution measures in hydraulic machines. The authors are internationally recognized experts in their fields.

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Throughout history, flow visualization has been an important tool in fluid dynamics research. It has been used extensively in the fields of engineering, physics, medical science, meteorology, oceanography and sport aerodynamics, to name just a few. The importance of flow visualization led Professor F N M Brown (1971) of the University of Notre-Dame to comment, “… A man is not a dog to smell out each individual track, he is a man to see, and seeing, to analyze…” This statement encapsulates the importance of first visualizing the flow before proceeding with detailed measurement and mathematical modeling. In addition, there is a great deal of esthetic pleasure to be gained from seeing the results of flow visualization. This aspect of flow visualization reaches out to the general public: we are all familiar with the aspect of clouds in the sky, the trail of cigarette smoke, and the swirling patterns to be seen in rivers and seas.Unlike previous publications which concentrated mainly on the theoretical aspect of flow visualization, this book focuses on the techniques required to perform high quality flow visualization. It is aimed primarily at the practitioner of flow visualization studies. Obtaining good flow visualization results is, in many ways, more an art than a science, and experience plays a deciding role. Hence each chapter of this invaluable volume has been written by an expert in a particular technique.

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Price and quality alone are no longer sufficient to gain competitive advantage. It is high quality knowledge which provides the opportunities for adding exclusive value to products and services. At the same time, the development of knowledge is gaining momentum. Knowledge is becoming obsolete more quickly and becomes more complex. The danger of this development is that organizations will continue to play the same competitive game and are often unaware that they are lagging behind.This book provides organizations with a way to shift the knowledge ambition and realize it in practice. For this purpose, an intelligent business strategy is offered based on the experiences of seven market leaders in The Netherlands, combined with modern insights from the organizational theory.The authors devote much attention to the tools available to the knowledge enterprise, such as lateral structures, personnel management and information technology.

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The concern over groundwater contamination has focused attention on the processes that influence the fate of chemicals in soil water systems. A major concern of groundwater contamination is the passage of these chemcials through the unsaturated zone and the relatively thin cover layers overlying the aquifers. Pollution due to diffuse sources is probably the most difficult to model. This is because the loads are usually non-homogeneous and they are also governed by spatially and temporally non-homogeneous, but dynamic, processes of chemical and biochemical phenomena.In this book, the estimation techniques and transfer functions of required input data from existing databases in geographic information systems are provided. Spatially variable input data, such as the type of soil, hydrological conditions, intensity of land use and atmospheric deposit of pollutants, are derived from basic land and climate characteristics. A model for the evaluation of land use and water management is also described. In addition, examples of field and regional studies on water management and policy analysis are provided.

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This is a unique book with a different aim from other books on the subject. The idea is to provide readers with the “big picture” first, yet at a level that helps further the study of physical chemistry. The text covers all the important topics in physical chemistry — thermodynamics, statistical thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, and chemical kinetics — staying rigorously close to the basic theory, using appropriate mathematics but avoiding long derivations. Moreover, the book is supplemented by a CD-ROM to make it more comprehensive, interactive and useful for a wider audience. The CD-ROM contains examples, extended discussion, exercises and details of important derivations to reinforce understanding of physical chemistry.

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