Search results for ""scientific publishing""

The Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the National University of Singapore hosted a research program on Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases: Dynamics and Control from 15 August to 9 October 2005. As part of the program, tutorials for graduate students and junior researchers were given by leading experts in the field.This invaluable volume is a collection of three expanded lecture notes of those tutorials which cover a wide range of topics including basic mathematical details for various epidemic models, statistical distribution theory, and applications with real-life examples with implications for health policy makers.

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Just 10 years ago, ophthalmic research was almost unheard of in Singapore. With little money and no infrastructure, ophthalmologists and scientists expressed scant interest in research. Today, however, ophthalmic research in Singapore is at a high international level, as exemplified by the activities of the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), which is capable of competing with and challenging the world's leading eye research centers. Indeed, the world-class research carried out at SERI has helped to extend Singapore's international reach as the country moves towards its goal of becoming a global city and a leading nation influencing developments across Asia and the world.This book summarizes a decade of hard work, dedication, and commitment by a handful of doctors and researchers in their efforts to establish SERI and ensure its success. In particular, the remarkable contributions of two of Singapore's ophthalmic pioneers, the late Associate Professor Chew Sek Jin and current Professor Donald Tan, are acknowledged. The book will inspire leaders of developing nations in visualizing how research can develop rapidly in their own country, and how support and facilities may materialize if they can gather a few dedicated, intelligent researchers.

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This prestigious volume consists of the proceedings of the 1st ever Water Summit to be convened in the world. Under the theme, Water Security: Leadership and Commitment, the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit (1st APWS) convened political leaders of the region and high level dignitaries in December 2007 in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture in Japan, offering them a platform to make commitments and launch initiatives to tackle the water challenges. The contents include speeches by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan, Chairman of the UNSGAB His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, President of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum Mr Yoshiro Mori, Prime Minister of Japan Mr Yasuo Fukuda, Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of Singapore Professor Tommy Koh, United Nations Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon, and 10 Heads of Government from the region. Summaries of sessions cover matters relating to sanitation, climate change, water financing and capacity development, water-related disaster management, water for development and ecosystems, developing knowledge and lessons, increasing local capacity, monitoring investments and results, and the CEO Water Mandate. Also included are the Policy Brief 2007 and the Message from Beppu, the two seminal outcome documents of the 1st APWS.

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This book presents all the computational techniques and tools needed to start doing scientific research using computer simulations. After working through this book, the reader will possess the necessary basic background knowledge, from program design, programming in C, fundamental algorithms and data structures, random numbers, and debugging, all the way to data analysis, presentation and publishing. In each of these fields, no preliminary knowledge is assumed. The reader will be equipped to successfully perform complete projects from the first idea until the final publication. All techniques are explained using many examples in C; these C codes, as well as the solutions to exercises, are readily available in the accompanying CD-ROM.The techniques in this book are independent of the fields of research, and hence they are suitable for conducting research projects in physics, chemistry, computer science, biology and engineering. This also means that no problem-dependent algorithms are introduced; therefore, this book does NOT explain molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, finite elements and other special-purpose techniques, which would be beyond the scope of a general-purpose book.There has been no similar comprehensive book written so far. Currently, one needs many different books to learn all the necessary elements. With this book, however, one basically needs only a second book on field-specific algorithms in order to be fully equipped to perform computer simulations research.

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This text provides a pedagogical tour through mechanics from Newton to Einstein with detailed explanations and a large number of worked examples. From the very beginning relativity is kept in mind, along with its relation to concepts of basic mechanics, such as inertia, escape velocity, Newton's potential, Kepler motion and curvature. The Lagrange and Hamilton formalisms are treated in detail, and extensive applications to central forces and rigid bodies are presented. After consideration of the motivation of relativity, the essential tensor calculus is developed, and thereafter Einstein's equation is solved for special cases with explicit presentation of calculational steps. The combined treatment of classical mechanics and relativity thus enables the reader to see the connection between Newton's gravitational potential, Kepler motion and Einstein's corrections, as well as diverse aspects of mechanics. The text addresses students and others pursuing a course in classical mechanics, as well as those interested in a detailed course on relativity.

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This book is the first in a series of assessments of regional climate change. Irreversible changes to regional biogeochemistry, and terrestrial and marine ecosystem functioning are brought about by increases in population, intensified land use, urbanization, industrialization and economic development. These may have global as well as regional consequences. The objectives of the assessments are, (i) to better understand how human activities in regions are altering regional atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine environments, (ii) to provide a sound scientific basis for sustainable regional development, and (iii) to develop the capability of predicting changes in global-regional linkages in the Earth System and to recognize the future consequences of such changes. This book describes such a study for monsoon East Asia, providing a state-of-the-art summary of what we already know, and serves as a basis for identifying knowledge gaps that require study.

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How to Succeed in Breastfeeding Without Really Trying provides new mothers with humorous, easy-to-use, hands-on advice and step-by-step instructions on how to initiate, sustain, and actually succeed in breastfeeding. After giving birth, many women are shocked to discover that breastfeeding does not come naturally; rather, it is painful and awkward. Feeling both frustrated and exhausted, they often find themselves without help or support from hospital staff. Not surprisingly, many do not initiate or prematurely quit breastfeeding. This book is written not only to help women breastfeed, but also to help them feel better overall, especially postpartum — perhaps the most joyful yet tearful time in a woman's life.

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The theory of connections is central not only in pure mathematics (differential and algebraic geometry), but also in mathematical and theoretical physics (general relativity, gauge fields, mechanics of continuum media). The now-standard approach to this subject was proposed by Ch. Ehresmann 60 years ago, attracting first mathematicians and later physicists by its transparent geometrical simplicity. Unfortunately, it does not extend well to a number of recently emerged situations of significant importance (singularities, supermanifolds, infinite jets and secondary calculus, etc.). Moreover, it does not help in understanding the structure of calculus naturally related with a connection.In this unique book, written in a reasonably self-contained manner, the theory of linear connections is systematically presented as a natural part of differential calculus over commutative algebras. This not only makes easy and natural numerous generalizations of the classical theory and reveals various new aspects of it, but also shows in a clear and transparent manner the intrinsic structure of the associated differential calculus. The notion of a “fat manifold” introduced here then allows the reader to build a well-working analogy of this “connection calculus” with the usual one.

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This book aims to provide the readers with a wide panorama of different aspects related to Chaos, Complexity and Transport. It consists of a collection of contributions ranging from applied mathematics to experiments, presented during the CCT'07 conference (Marseilles, June 4-8, 2007). The book encompasses different traditional fields of physics and mathematics while trying to keep a common language among the fields, and targets a nonspecialized audience.

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Piecewise constant systems exist in widely expanded areas such as engineering, physics, and mathematics. Extraordinary and complex characteristics of piecewise constant systems have been reported in recent years. This book provides the methodologies for analyzing and assessing nonlinear piecewise constant systems on a theoretically and practically sound basis. Recently developed approaches for theoretically analyzing and numerically solving the nonlinear piecewise constant dynamic systems are reviewed. A new greatest integer argument with a piecewise constant function is utilized for nonlinear dynamic analyses and for establishing a novel criterion in diagnosing irregular and chaotic solutions from the regular solutions of a nonlinear dynamic system. The newly established piecewise constantization methodology and its implementation in analytically solving for nonlinear dynamic problems are also presented.

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This book highlights the achievements of the self-taught inventor, scientist, manufacturer and entrepreneur, Stanford R Ovshinsky. This remarkable individual could, without special training, compete with the well-funded establishments of learning and industry in the second half of the last century and leave us an incredible legacy of brilliant innovations with a lasting impact on our lives. His achievements extend over amazingly diverse fields and have or are prone to create new industries of great societal value.The phase change memories of commonly used rewritable CDs and DVDs as well as of new flash memories are his invention; so are the Ni Metal hydride batteries which are the enabling batteries for electric and hybrid/electric vehicles. The future hydrogen economy will utilize his efficient and safe hydrogen storage alloys. He has developed light and ultralight photovoltaic solar panels for converting sunlight into electricity and built the largest manufacturing facility for thin film flexible solar roofing materials. A common theme of his inventions is the synthesis of new materials utilizing novel aspects of structural and compositional disorder.The book explains for each of Ovshinsky's innovations the essence of his pioneering ideas and inventions. These introductions are followed by a selection of Ovshinsky's seminal publications and, for each subject category, a list of his patents which reveal the inventive mind of this unusually creative person. Ovshinsky's example of gaining a deep understanding of the science underlying his inventions, his perseverance as well as his ability to attract and inspire talented collaborators will be a role model for entrepreneurs of this century.

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Functional analysis is a well-established powerful method in mathematical physics, especially those mathematical methods used in modern non-perturbative quantum field theory and statistical turbulence. This book presents a unique, modern treatment of solutions to fractional random differential equations in mathematical physics. It follows an analytic approach in applied functional analysis for functional integration in quantum physics and stochastic Langevin-turbulent partial differential equations.

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Particle Physics and High Energy Physics have stagnated since the early 1970s. Now, the underlying principle of reductionism — so sacred to twentieth-century physics — is itself being questioned. This book examines these tumultuous developments that are leading to a paradigm shift and a new horizon for Physics.Presenting the new paradigm in fuzzy spacetime, this book is based on some 100 papers published in peer-reviewed journals including Foundations of Physics, Nuovo Cimento and The International Journal of Modern Physics (A&E), as well as two recently published books, The Chaotic Universe (Nova Science, New York) and The Universe of Fluctuations (Springer). The work had predicted correctly in advance epoch-turning observations, for example, that the Universe is accelerating with a small cosmological constant driven by dark energy when the prevalent line of thinking was the exact opposite. Similarly, the prediction of a minimum thermodynamic residual energy in the Universe has also been realized more recently. Further to a unified description of gravitation and electromagnetism via fluctuations, several other features are presented in complete agreement with experiments, in sharp contrast to the present ideas which are neither verifiable nor disprovable.

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This book provides a comprehensive overview of the mathematical aspects of quantum computing. It will be useful for graduate students and researchers interested in quantum computing from different areas of physics, mathematics, informatics and computer science. The lecture notes in this volume are written in a self-contained style, and hence are accessible for graduate students and researchers with even less background in the topics.

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This volume is a collection of written versions of the talks given at the Workshop on Computational Prospects of Infinity, held at the Institute for Mathematical Sciences from 18 June to 15 August 2005. It consists of contributions from many of the leading experts in recursion theory (computability theory) and set theory. Topics covered include the structure theory of various notions of degrees of unsolvability, algorithmic randomness, reverse mathematics, forcing, large cardinals and inner model theory, and many others.

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The Conference on Statistical Physics, High Energy, Condensed Matter and Mathematical Physics was held in honor of Professor Chen-Ning Yang's 85th birthday in Singapore in Oct-Nov 2007. The conference paid tribute to the breadth and depth of Professor Yang's achievements in physics and science education since he received his Nobel Prize in Physics fifty years ago.This notable birthday volume is a collection of the presentations made at the conference by many eminent scientists who had worked closely with him or who have been influenced to some extent by his work.

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This volume develops the techniques of perturbative QCD in great pedagogical detail starting with field theory. Aside from extensive treatments of the renormalization group technique, the operator product expansion formalism and their applications to short-distance reactions, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to gauge theories. Examples and exercises are provided to amplify the discussions on important topics. This is an ideal textbook on the subject of quantum chromodynamics and is essential for researchers and graduate students in high energy physics, nuclear physics and mathematical physics.

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The phenomenon of South-South FDI flows, particularly those arising from multinational companies from China and India, has generated considerable interest among policymakers, academics and the popular press in recent times. This phenomenon raises several questions such as: What is behind the rise of such intra-regional investment flows? What is the magnitude of such flows, and can they be expected to persist/accelerate over time? What are the challenges faced by emerging market multinationals and the future prospects of intra-Asian FDI flows?This book, written by top scholars from academia, international organizations as well as think tanks, consists of a set of papers focusing on these issues. The book is unique in its coverage — focusing on China, India and Southeast Asia rather than limiting itself to a sub-regional or country-specific focus. The chapters in this book highlight important policy issues but are supported with relevant data and empirics, with rigorous empirical analysis being applied to important practical policy issues. The book also provides pertinent overviews of recent research on the questions explored. While the chapters have been crafted to be able to stand up to academic scrutiny, they are also written in a manner that makes them easily accessible to all policymakers, students and business/financial journalists who are interested in Asia and in the emergence of South-South FDI flows.

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The notion of renormalization is at the core of several spectacular achievements of contemporary physics, and in the last years powerful techniques have been developed allowing to put renormalization on a firm mathematical basis. This book provides a self-consistent and accessible introduction to the sophisticated tools used in the modern theory of non-perturbative renormalization, allowing an unified and rigorous treatment of Quantum Field Theory, Statistical Physics and Condensed Matter models. In particular the first part of this book is devoted to Constructive Quantum Field Theory, providing a mathematical construction of models at low dimensions and discussing the removal of the ultraviolet and infrared cut-off, the verification of the axioms and the validity of Ward Identities with the relative anomalies. The second part is devoted to lattice 2D Statistical Physics, analyzing in particular the theory of universality in perturbed Ising models and the computation of the non-universal critical indices in Vertex or Ashkin-Teller models. Finally the third part is devoted to the analysis of complex quantum fluids showing Luttinger of Fermi liquid behavior, like the 1D or 2D Hubbard model.

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Differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) provide an essential tool for system modeling and analysis within different fields of applied sciences and engineering. This book addresses modeling issues and analytical properties of DAEs, together with some applications in electrical circuit theory.Beginning with elementary aspects, the author succeeds in providing a self-contained and comprehensive presentation of several advanced topics in DAE theory, such as the full characterization of linear time-varying equations via projector methods or the geometric reduction of nonlinear systems. Recent results on singularities are extensively discussed. The book also addresses in detail differential-algebraic models of electrical and electronic circuits, including index characterizations and qualitative aspects of circuit dynamics. In particular, the reader will find a thorough discussion of the state/semistate dichotomy in circuit modeling. The state formulation problem, which has attracted much attention in the engineering literature, is cleverly tackled here as a reduction problem on semistate models.

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Developing a positive attitude towards science and mathematics is essential to developing proficiency in these subjects. Recognizing this, Bringing Science and Mathematics to Life for All Learners provides interesting teaching methods and connects them to recent pedagogical approaches that span the scientific and mathematical curricula. It builds upon the expanding knowledge of what works in classrooms, and suggests how new approaches to teaching and learning can transform science and mathematics instructions.The book is designed to help students in learning science and mathematics. It has many research-based and standards-driven activities, lesson plans, and active learning techniques to reach diverse student groups. Active group engagement and continuity in scientific and mathematical experiences are stressed as motivating factors for students. Presented in a creative manner, the ultimate goal of this book is to deepen the collective conversation, challenge existing ways of thinking, and provide up-to-date tools for educators so that they can help improve the science and mathematics skill levels of others.

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In the last fifteen years, various areas of high energy physics, astrophysics and theoretical physics have converged on the study of cosmology so that any graduate student in these disciplines today needs a reasonably self-contained introduction to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This book presents the essential theoretical tools necessary to acquire a modern working knowledge of CMB physics. The style of the book, falling somewhere between a monograph and a set of lecture notes, is pedagogical and the author uses the typical approach of theoretical physics to explain the main problems in detail, touching on the main assumptions and derivations of a fascinating subject.

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There is a great deal of confusion regarding the factors that led to Enron's collapse. This important book addresses this problem by providing a coherent explanation of the accounting and finance problems associated with the collapse. The Skilling-Lay trial, as it is related to accounting or finance issues, is critically described as well. Through its well-balanced take on events surrounding the trial, the book therefore enables readers to analyze the validity of the arguments offered by the U.S. attorneys.

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The second volume of the Annual Review of Nano Research focuses mainly on nanofabrication, nanomaterials and nanostructures, and energy application of nanomaterials. All of the review chapters are contributed by well-published scientists and bring the most recent advancements in selected topics to the readers. This review volume will perfectly serve dual purposes: either as an excellent introduction to scientists whose expertise lies in different fields but who are interested in learning about nanotechnology, or as a quick reference for experts active in the field of nanotechnology and nanoscience.

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This unique book provides a collection of more than 200 mathematical problems and their detailed solutions, which contain very useful tips and skills in real analysis. Each chapter has an introduction, in which some fundamental definitions and propositions are prepared. This also contains many brief historical comments on some significant mathematical results in real analysis together with useful references.Problems and Solutions in Real Analysis may be used as advanced exercises by undergraduate students during or after courses in calculus and linear algebra. It is also useful for graduate students who are interested in analytic number theory. Readers will also be able to completely grasp a simple and elementary proof of the prime number theorem through several exercises. The book is also suitable for non-experts who wish to understand mathematical analysis.

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The role played by structural proteomics in the first decade of the 21st century is equivalent to that played by the Human Genome Project in the last decade of the 20th century. The development of high-throughput technologies that permit the solution of hundreds of 3D structures of individual proteins, protein-protein complexes and protein-drug complexes, just by one laboratory in a single year, will provide a knowledge base which will change the face of structural biology. This will have an immediate influence on medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, as well as an increasing impact on such disciplines as neurobiology, developmental biology, immunology and molecular medicine.This book presents a state-of-the-art overview of the structural proteomics field, ranging from policy issues related to funding and goals, through the high-throughput procedures for protein production, to the solution of the structures of proteins and higher-order entities, via a multidisciplinary approach involving molecular biology, X-ray crystallography, NMR and electron microscopy, as well as bioinformatics analysis. This is the first book to provide such a comprehensive coverage of a rapidly evolving field.

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This book provides a fundamental knowledge of robotic grasping and fixturing (RGF) manipulation. For RGF manipulation to become a science rather than an art, the content of the book is uniquely designed for a thorough understanding of the RGF from the multifingered robot hand grasp, basic fixture design principle, and evaluating and planning of robotic grasping/fixturing, and focuses on the modeling and applications of the RGF. Compared with existing publications, this volume concentrates more on abstract formulation, i.e. mathematical modeling of robotic grasping and fixturing. Thus, it will be a good reference text for academic researchers, manufacturing and industrial engineers and a textbook for engineering graduate students.The book provides readers an overall picture and scientific basis of RGF, the comprehensive information and mathematic models of developing and applying RGF in industry, and presents long term valuable information which is essential and can be used by technical professions as a good reference.

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Since the mid-1820s, a series of lectures has been delivered each year over the Christmas period in the world-famous Faraday Lecture Theatre at The Royal Institution of Great Britain by prominent scientists, addressed specifically to an audience of children. Initially made accessible in book form, the lectures have been nationally televised throughout the UK and distributed worldwide since the 1960s, making them accessible to an even larger audience. The importance of these lectures in promoting science to a broad audience is perhaps best gauged by the fact that an image of one of Faraday's lectures appeared on the Bank of England £20 note in the 1990s.This anthology brings together, for the first time, a carefully chosen selection of 11 lectures from the 1860s to the 1990s. The selection includes lectures by Michael Faraday, arguably the most important and influential 19th-century physicist, and Lawrence Bragg, the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Prize. Through this work, readers will come to grips with the changing nature of popular science lectures over the past 140 years.

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Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) are electronic systems that can be used as a synchronized oscillator, a driver or multiplier of frequency, a modulator or demodulator and as an amplifier of phase modulated signals. This book updates the methods used in the analysis of PLLs by drawing on the results obtained in the last 40 years. Many are published for the first time in book form. Nonlinear and deterministic mathematical models of continuous-time and discrete-time PLLs are considered and their basic properties are given in the form of theorems with rigorous proofs. The book exhibits very beautiful dynamics, and shows various physical phenomena observed in synchronized oscillators described by complete (not averaged) equations of PLLs. Specially selected mathematical tools are used — the theory of differential equations on a torus, the phase-plane portraits on a cyclinder, a perturbation theory (Melnikov's theorem on heteroclinic trajectories), integral manifolds, iterations of one-dimensional maps of a circle and two-dimensional maps of a cylinder. Using these tools, the properties of PLLs, in particular the regions of synchronization are described. Emphasis is on bifurcations of various types of periodic and chaotic oscillations. Strange attractors in the dynamics of PLLs are considered, such as those discovered by Rössler, Henon, Lorenz, May, Chua and others.

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This book is devoted to the description of Bosonic and Fermionic systems: metallic clusters; quantum dots, wires, rings and molecules; trapped Fermi and Bose atoms; liquid drops of Helium; electron gas in different dimensions and geometries with and without magnetic fields.Extensively updated with 200 extra pages, the new edition of this successful book includes the field's cutting-edge areas: spin-orbit coupling in heterostructures and spintronics; the conductivity problem: conductivity of quantum wires, magnetoconductivity of nanostructures, spin-Hall conductivity; atomic Fermi gases in traps; non-collinear local spin density approximation calculations; and Brueckner-Hartree-Fock in finite size systems.

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New developments in bio- and nanotechnologies and also in information and communication technologies have shaped the research environment in the last decade. Increasingly, highly educated experts in R&D departments are collaborating with scientists and researchers at universities and research institutes to develop new technologies. Transnational companies that have acquired various firms in different countries need to manage diverse R&D strategies and cultures. The new knowledge-based economy permeates across companies, universities, research institutes and countries, creating a cross-disciplinary, global environment. Clearly, managing technology in this new climate presents significant challenges.This book comprises selected papers from the 14th International Conference on Management of Technology, which was convened under the auspices of IAMOT and UNIDO on 22-26 May 2005 in Vienna, Austria. It deals with some important aspects of these challenges, and discusses in detail the changing dynamics of innovation and technology management. It will certainly appeal to academics, scientists, managers, and policy makers alike.

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The Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the National University of Singapore hosted a research program on “Nanoscale Material Interfaces: Experiment, Theory and Simulation'' from November 2004 to January 2005. As part of the program, tutorials for graduate students and junior researchers were given by leading experts in the field.This invaluable volume collects the expanded lecture notes of four of those self-contained tutorials. The topics covered include dynamics in different models of domain coarsening and coagulation and their mathematical analysis in material sciences; a mathematical and computational study for quantized vortices in the celebrated Ginzburg-Landau models of superconductivity and the mean field Gross-Pitaevskii equations of superfluidity; the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and applications in Bose-Einstein condensation and plasma physics as well as their efficient and accurate computation; and finally, an introduction to constitutive modeling of macromolecular fluids within the framework of the kinetic theory.This volume serves to inspire graduate students and researchers who will embark upon original research work in these fields.

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In Interpreting China's Development, leading experts on China provide an overview of this growing superpower, highlighting key issues in the country's political, economic and social development.Underpinned by up-to-date scholarly research yet written in a readable and concise style, this volume of over 40 short chapters offers a very accessible way to understanding the major events and dominant issues that had emerged in China over the last few decades. The essays are grouped under four thematic sections — challenges of governance, growth and structural changes, coping with rising social problems and relations with major powers and neighbours — covering salient topics such as the emerging mode of leadership succession, sustainability of China's high growth, widening inequalities, environmental crisis and the external impact of China's rise.Non-specialists in particular, should find this volume useful in keeping up with China's fast changing developments.

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This volume consists of 15 articles written by experts in stochastic analysis. The first paper in the volume, Stochastic Evolution Equations by N V Krylov and B L Rozovskii, was originally published in Russian in 1979. After more than a quarter-century, this paper remains a standard reference in the field of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) and continues to attract the attention of mathematicians of all generations. Together with a short but thorough introduction to SPDEs, it presents a number of optimal, and essentially unimprovable, results about solvability for a large class of both linear and non-linear equations.The other papers in this volume were specially written for the occasion of Prof Rozovskii's 60th birthday. They tackle a wide range of topics in the theory and applications of stochastic differential equations, both ordinary and with partial derivatives.

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The oneness of China is the norm. Periods of divisions are aberrations. This is how Chinese thinkers, leaders and ultimately the majority of Chinese people have regarded Chinese politics and history for more than 2,000 years.The oneness was never perfect. As long as certain minimal conditions were met and the polity which proclaimed that oneness was widely acknowledged, that was enough. Chinese ruling elites adopted this pragmatic approach so they could ensure that the ideal could always approximate China's reality.This is a revised edition of a study undertaken to explain what happened during one of the worst periods of division in Chinese history. What were the key factors that helped the centripetal forces to get back to the imperial norm? It begins with the final stage of decline of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and ends 50 years later when it became clear that the foundations for a last push towards unification were in place.

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This is the first book that provides a comprehensive review of the entire area of artificial cells. The author, a pioneer of the field, invented the first artificial cells some 50 years ago and has continued to carry out active research in this field. Since then, there have been explosive research activities around the world on artificial cells, especially in fields related to biotechnology, nanomedicine, cell therapy, blood substitutes, drug delivery and others. However, instead of the term “artificial cells,” many authors use other terminologies such as blood substitutes, bioencapsulation, liposomes, nanoparticles and so on. Furthermore, papers in this highly interdisciplinary area are published in numerous journals specializing in chemistry, medicine, surgery, bioengineering and others, while books in this area are mostly multi-authored, describing very specific and narrow areas. As a result, any meaningful literature search for a complete idea of the present status of the whole field of artificial cells is impossible.This monograph is written to fill this gap by including all those areas in artificial cells that are disguised under different terminologies. Each chapter begins with a detailed overview, followed by detailed examples of the author's own research and a full description of his methods and procedures. Readers interested in a detailed overview of the whole area can read from cover to cover, omitting the methods section at the end of each chapter; while those entering this area of research will find the detailed methods and procedures very useful.

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This book takes a very practical approach to radiation protection and presents very readable information for anyone working in the radiation field or with radioactive material. Offering information rarely found elsewhere, the authors describe in detail both the basic principles and practical implementation recommendations of radiation protection. Each chapter includes self-assessment review questions and problems, with answers provided, to help readers master important information. Coupled with a teacher's manual, this book is highly suitable as an undergraduate text for students preparing for careers as X-ray, radiation oncology, or nuclear medicine technologists. It can also be used as a reference for residents in radiology and radiation oncology, medical personnel, or anyone working with radioactive materials such as those involved in homeland security/emergency services, or employed at a nuclear power plant.

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The spatial aspects of epidemics have been a largely ignored feature of plant ecology, yet an understanding of the spatial dynamics of pathogens is essential to quantifying the impact of diseases on wild plants. Moreover, it may provide valuable information for the control of human diseases. This seminal work fulfills such a role by describing the basics of botanical epidemiology within the context of plant ecology. A variety of models are covered to estimate key parameters at both the individual plant and population levels, with emphasis on the value of spatial-temporal models in the evolutionary dynamics of pathogens. Practical methods are presented to validate these models, thus making this book accessible to theorists and empiricists alike.

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Labor is the most important of the three traditional factors of production (land, labor and capital), accounting for some 75% of the GDP. It is therefore important to focus on issues of labor economics. In this book the approach taken will be that of the free market philosophy of libertarianism, the perspective that allows the maximum of freedom, consistent with the responsibility of all to respect the equal rights of all others.The position of this book on unions is unique outside of the libertarian movement, and this is indicative of its analysis of several other issues, such as minimum wages. For scholars on the left, it is almost true that unions can do no wrong (for Marxists, they do not do enough, but that is another story). Their role is to raise wages for the workingman, and this task is almost unstintingly applauded. Conservatives, on the other hand, oppose unions root and branch (except for their support of foreign wars, which is also another story). To this end they support a welter of regulations, designed to reduce their power: limitations of check offs, forced secret ballots, etc.For libertarians, the analysis depends, intimately, on whether or not these are voluntary organizations. If they are, there is no more justification for imposing secret ballots on them than to do so for the chess or garden club. If they are not, they should not be weakened by restrictions, but, rather, banned, and their leaders imprisoned.

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The Asia-Pacific Conferences on Few-Body Problems in Physics tackle cover the various aspects of few-body systems in physics, with high caliber contributions from internationally renowned researchers. Readers will gain a clear picture of the latest developments in the field in both the theoretical and experimental sectors.The scope of these proceedings covers research in the following areas: three-body forces and few-nucleon dynamics, hadron structure and QCD; exotic hadrons and atoms; effective field theory in few-body physics; electromagnetic and weak processes in few-body systems; few-body dynamics in atoms, molecules, Bose-Einstein condensates and quantum dots; few-body approaches to unstable nuclei, nuclear astrophysics and nuclear clustering aspects; and hypernuclear physics.

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This book addresses the innovative themes in characterizing the cellular membrane platforms and intracellular networking, as well as the architectural aspects of cell compartments mediated by the entry and replication cycles of viruses. The instrumentation of modern molecular and cellular biology provides a potent array of wave packets to image, detect and manipulate major dynamics of macromolecular and subviral assemblies as in the host cellular context.The book includes case studies presented with highly coherent and structured illuminations, including microscopy, spectroscopy and scanning probes. The compilation and integration of the methodology provides time-resolved observations on the reactivity of structures from near-atomic resolution to various molecular or cellular levels of descriptors. The book provides a broad introduction to the various fascinating virus systems and may be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students in biomedicine. It provides adequate background material to explore further the research problems of epidemics in the 21st century.

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This book provides the reader with a unique opportunity to understand the basic and applied research and technology areas that support applications to enable Transformational capabilities for US Soldiers. The research papers are in line with the theme of the 24th Army Science Conference: “Transformational Science and Technology for the Current and Future Force,” emphasizing the critical role of Science and Technology in addressing the significant challenges posed by Global War On Terrorism while simultaneously developing Transformational capabilities for the Future Force.

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This book investigates how different types of Japanese management systems are able to motivate stakeholders, including employees, top management, stockholders, customers and transaction partners, to participate actively in the organizational behavior that improves business performance.The various systems motivating stakeholders are examined in five sections: Strategy and Business Restructuring for Enhancing the Business Value; Management Control Systems and Budgeting; Cost Management; Management Accounting for Supply Chain and Shared Services; and Process Management.

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NewsProfessor Cheng-Few Lee ranks #1 based on his publications in the 26 core finance journals, and #163 based on publications in the 7 leading finance journals (Source: Most Prolific Authors in the Finance Literature: 1959-2008 by Jean L Heck and Philip L Cooley (Saint Joseph's University and Trinity University).Advances in Quantitative Analysis of Finance and Accounting is an annual publication to disseminate developments in the quantitative analysis of finance and accounting. The publication is a forum for statistical and quantitative analyses of issues in finance and accounting as well as applications of quantitative methods to problems in financial management, financial accounting, and business management. The objective is to promote interaction between academic research in finance and accounting and applied research in the financial community and the accounting profession.The papers in this volume cover a wide range of topics including earnings management, management compensation, option theory and application, debt management and interest rate theory, and portfolio diversification.

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The ICGA series of conferences is specially aimed to serve the needs of the workers in this research area in the Asia-Pacific region. The previous conferences of this series have attracted a growing number of local, regional and international participants. 2005 was an auspicious year. Not only was it the International Year of Physics, commemorating Einstein's great achievements of 1905, it also was the anniversary of Einstein's development of General Relativity: he submitted the final form of his field equations on 25 November, 1915. Nine decades years later, around 40 Taiwan-based participants were joined by over 40 distinguished visitors from Canada, China, France, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the USA, and this volume includes many of the papers that were presented. The depth and breadth of these contributions reflect the high quality of the meeting and the development of the field in the Asia-Pacific region.

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This volume includes a representative selection of Sidney Drell's recent writings and speeches (circa 1993 to the present) on public policy issues with substantial scientific components. Most of the writings deal with national security, nuclear weapons, and arms control and reflect the author's personal involvement in such issues dating back to 1960.Fifteen years after the demise of the Soviet Union, the gravest danger presented by nuclear weapons is the spread of advanced technology that may result in the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Of most concern would be their acquisition by hostile governments and terrorists who are unconstrained by accepted norms of civilized behavior. The current challenges are to prevent this from happening and, at the same time, to pursue aggressively the opportunity to escape from an outdated nuclear deterrence trap.

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This book covers different topics on optimal design and operations with particular emphasis on chemical engineering applications. A wide range of optimization methods — deterministic, stochastic, global and hybrid — are considered.Containing papers presented at the bilateral workshop by British and Lithuanian scientists, the book brings together researchers' contributions from different fields — chemical engineering including reaction and separation processes, food and biological production, as well as business cycle optimization, bankruptcy, protein analysis and bioinformatics.

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This volume comprises the papers presented at the Seventh International Workshop on Scattering Theory and Biomedical Engineering, focusing on the hottest topics in scattering theory and biomedical technology.All the contributions are state-of-the-art and have been fully reviewed. The authors are recognized as being eminent both in their field and in the science community.

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