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Although the terms "data mining" and "knowledge discovery and data mining" (KDDM) are sometimes used interchangeably, data mining is actually just one step in the KDDM process. Data mining is the process of extracting useful information from data, while KDDM is the coordinated process of understanding the business and mining the data in order to identify previously unknown patterns.Knowledge Discovery Process and Methods to Enhance Organizational Performance explains the knowledge discovery and data mining (KDDM) process in a manner that makes it easy for readers to implement. Sharing the insights of international KDDM experts, it details powerful strategies, models, and techniques for managing the full cycle of knowledge discovery projects. The book supplies a process-centric view of how to implement successful data mining projects through the use of the KDDM process. It discusses the implications of data mining including security, privacy, ethical and legal considerations. Provides an introduction to KDDM, including the various models adopted in academia and industry Details critical success factors for KDDM projects as well as the impact of poor quality data or inaccessibility to data on KDDM projects Proposes the use of hybrid approaches that couple data mining with other analytic techniques (e.g., data envelopment analysis, cluster analysis, and neural networks) to derive greater value and utility Demonstrates the applicability of the KDDM process beyond analytics Shares experiences of implementing and applying various stages of the KDDM process in organizations The book includes case study examples of KDDM applications in business and government. After reading this book, you will understand the critical success factors required to develop robust data mining objectives that are in alignment with your organization’s strategic business objectives.

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The growing complexity of projects today, as well as the uncertainty inherent in innovative projects, is making obsolete traditional project management practices and procedures, which are based on the notion that much about a project is known at its start. The current high level of change and complexity confronting organizational leaders and managers requires a new approach to projects so they can be managed flexibly to embrace and exploit change. What once used to be considered extreme uncertainty is now the norm, and managing planned projects is being replaced by managing projects as they evolve. Successfully managing projects in extreme situations, such as polar and military expeditions, shows how to manage successfully projects in today’s turbulent environment. Executed under the harshest and most unpredictable conditions, these projects are great sources for learning about how to manage unexpected and unforeseen situations as they occur. This book presents multiple case studies of managing extreme events as they happened during polar, mountain climbing, military, and rescue expeditions. A boat accident in the Artic is a lesson on how an effective project manager must be ambidextrous: on one hand able to follow plans and on the other hand able to abandon those plans when disaster strikes and improvise new ones in response. Polar expeditions also illustrate how a team can use "weak links" to go beyond its usual information network to acquire strategic information. Fire and rescues operations illustrate how one team member’s knowledge can be transferred to the entire team. Military operations provide case material on how teams coordinate and make use of both individual and collective competencies.This groundbreaking work pushes the definitions of a project and project management to reveal new insight that benefits researchers, academics, and the practitioners managing projects in today’s challenging and uncertain times.

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Up to date with the third edition of PMI’s Program Management Standard, The PgMP® Exam Challenge! contains more than 300 practice questions to help readers hone their knowledge and test their skills. It covers all five of the program management domains: Strategic Program Management, Program Management Life Cycle, Benefits Management, Stakeholder Management, and Governance. It also examines all of the sub domains of the lifecycle domain. With an easy-to-use format, this is an ideal resource for those preparing to take the PgMP exam.

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During recent decades, tremendous progress and innovations have been made in rice science with the goal of increasing production to meet the world’s growing demands. This new volume provides a concise overview of rice, covering the background and importance of rice; origin, evolution, and domestication of rice; and the world rice production. It goes on to provide new and important recent research advances on many different aspects of rice science and production. The authors look at advances in rice ideotypes, abiotic stress management techniques, biotic stress affecting crop productivity, new methods and technology for cultivation, and new methods and techniques in rice grain quality analysis and processing. It also describes new rice varieties, new hybrid rice technology, and new breeding methods for rice.

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This handbook series consists of three volumes focusing on food technology and chemistry, food biotechnology and microbiology, and functional foods and nutraceuticals. The volumes highlight new research and current trends in food science and technology, looking at the most recent innovations, emerging technologies, and strategies focusing on taking food design to sustainable levels. In particular, the handbooks include relevant information on modernization and improvements in the food industry.In volume 2 of the 3-volume set, the chapters examine bioactive compounds in food biotechnology, potential and risks of pigmented-grain corn, technological advances in the production of phytases, phytochemical molecules from food waste, control of food-borne pathogen bacteria, and more.

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Updated yearly to match changing requirements, this guide is designed to help you understand the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige criteria are being used by thousands of organizations around the world to evaluate their progress toward becoming the best in their fields. This 17th edition of The Pocket Guide to the Baldrige Criteria begins with commonly asked questions about the Award criteria. It then breaks down the 19 items under the seven category headings of the Baldrige criteria with concise explanation and quick tips of what excellent companies do in each area.

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The latest edition of this bestselling game development reference offers proven tips and techniques for the real-time rendering of special effects and visualization data that are useful for beginners and seasoned game and graphics programmers alike.Exploring recent developments in the rapidly evolving field of real-time rendering, GPU Pro6: Advanced Rendering Techniques assembles a high-quality collection of cutting-edge techniques for advanced graphics processing unit (GPU) programming. It incorporates contributions from more than 45 experts who cover the latest developments in graphics programming for games and movies.The book covers advanced rendering techniques that run on the DirectX or OpenGL runtimes, as well as on any other runtime with any language available. It details the specific challenges involved in creating games across the most common consumer software platforms such as PCs, video consoles, and mobile devices.The book includes coverage of geometry manipulation; rendering techniques, handheld devices programming, effects in image space, shadows, 3D engine design, graphics-related tools, and environmental effects. It also includes a dedicated section on general purpose GPU programming that covers CUDA, DirectCompute, and OpenCL examples.In color throughout, GPU Pro6 presents ready-to-use ideas and procedures that can help solve many of your daily graphics programming challenges. Example programs with downloadable source code are also provided on the book’s CRC Press web page.

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This volume is a thorough presentation of the state-of-the-art research and developments in drug delivery systems using nanotechnology and its applications. The second of this two-volume set, it addresses the applications of nanotechnology or nano-sized materials in the medical field and the real-world challenges and complexities of current drug delivery methodologies and techniques. This volume includes 11 chapters that focus on the targeting facet of drug delivery systems. Targeting is a focused maneuver to achieve the specified goals, including achieving the desired result and reaching the specific location. Targeting has now been successfully achieved for several diseases/disorders; however, its role is noteworthy in cancer treatment where chemotherapy is a main course of approach. Nanotechnology-based products have great potential by virtue of their inherent features.This edited book provides a detailed application of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems in health care. The book discusses general principles of drug targeting, material of construction and technological concerns of nanoparticles, and different drug delivery systems and their preparation.Taken together, the informative chapters will provide researchers and scientists as well as faculty and students with valuable research on the effective use of new approaches in advanced drug delivery nanosystems. Volume 1 of the two-volume series is subtitled Novel Drug Carriers. The volumes are available separately or as a set.

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This volume, the first of the two-volume Drug Delivery Approaches and Nanosystems series, presents a full picture of the state-of-the-art research and development in drug delivery systems using nanotechnology and its applications. It addresses the ever-expanding application of nanotechnology or nano-sized materials in the medical field and the real-world challenges and complexities of current drug delivery methodologies and techniques. Many methods of drug delivery systems have been used, but very few of them have been validated for medical use. A major reason for the above situation, the editors believe, is the gap between academia and research, and the gap between academic research and real-time clinical applications and needs. This volume addresses that gap.This volume presents 12 chapters that provide information about the preparation and characterization of nanocomposite materials used in drug delivery systems; advanced research of carbon nanotubes, nanocomposite materials, and polymer-clay, ceramics, and silicate glass-based nanocomposites; and the functionality of graphene nanocomposites. The book also provides detailed information on the application of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems in health care systems and medicine. The book describes how nanostructures are synthesized and draws attention to wide variety of nanostructures available for biological research and treatment applications. This valuable volume provides a wealth of information that will be valuable to scientists and researchers, faculty, and students. Volume 2 of the two-volume series is subtitled Drug Targeting Aspects of Nanotechnology. The volumes are available separately or as a set.

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The major goals of quantum chemistry include increasing the accuracy of the results for small molecular systems and increasing the size of large molecules that can be processed, which is limited by scaling considerations—the computation time increases as a power of the number of atoms. This book offers scope for academics, researchers, and engineering professionals to present their research and development works that have potential for applications in several disciplines of computational chemistry. Contributions range from new methods to novel applications of existing methods to gain an understanding of the concepts.

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Food Processing and Preservation Technology: Advances, Methods, and Applications confronts the challenges of food preservation by providing new research and information on the use of novel processing and preservation technologies during production, processing, and transportation in the food industry for the improvement of shelf life and the safety of foods.The book is organized in two main parts. The first section focuses on novel and nonthermal processing of food and food products. It looks at dielectric heating and ohmic heating as well as three-dimensional printing of foods and ozonization of food products.Part two delves into process interventions for food processing and preservations, discussing the applications of diverse novel food processing. The authors discuss drying technologies, advances in food fermentation technologies, mechanization of traditional indigenous products for preservation of food and safety, and different properties and concepts of bakery products.Key features: Examines different properties and attributes of some bakery foods, etc. Elucidates on novel nonthermal processing techniques and their mechanisms of actions for minimal loss of food nutrients and for food safety Discusses a variety of modern technologies that aim to reduce the spoilage of food products This volume presents valuable research on food processing, quality control, and safety measures for food products by means of novel processing and preservation technologies during production, processing, and transportation in the food industry.

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This new volume, Natural Polymers for Pharmaceutical Applications, Volume 1: Plant-Derived Polymers, presents some of the latest research on the applications of natural polymers in drug delivery and therapeutics for healthcare benefits. Polymers and their applications from several plants are discussed in depth, including tamarind gum, gum Arabic, natural carbohydrate polymer gum tragacanth, pectin, guar gum and its derivatives, locust bean gum, sterculia gum, okra gum, and others. The use of the polymers derived from plants as potential pharmaceutical excipients is expanding day by day because of their stability in the biological system, drug-releasing capability, drug-targeting abilities, as well as their bioavailability.

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This book covers the general properties of heterocyclic compounds and methods for their preparation to use in applications of green chemistry. Heterocyclic compounds are an important class of molecules in organic chemistry due to their presence in natural products and their use in pharmaceuticals and new materials. They also play a vital role in the metabolism of living cells. Heterocyclic compounds have a wide range of applications in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, veterinary products, etc. This research-oriented volume is ideal for readers who want to fully realize the almost limitless potential of heterocyclic compounds and to discover new and effective pharmaceuticals among heterocyclic compounds, the largest and most varied family of organic compounds. The book features several case studies and step-by-step descriptions of synthetic methods and practical techniques. It also serves as a guide for chemists, offering them new insights and new paths to explore for effective drug discovery.

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This volume helps to fill the gap between data analytics, image processing, and soft computing practices. Soft computing methods are used to focus on data analytics and image processing to develop good intelligent systems. To this end, readers of this volume will find quality research that presents the current trends, advanced methods, and hybridized techniques relating to data analytics and intelligent systems. The book also features case studies related to medical diagnosis with the use of image processing and soft computing algorithms in particular models. Providing extensive coverage of biometric systems, soft computing, image processing, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, the chapter authors discuss the latest research issues, present solutions to research problems, and look at comparative analysis with earlier results. Topics include some of the most important challenges and discoveries in intelligent systems today, such as computer vision concepts and image identification, data analysis and computational paradigms, deep learning techniques, face and speaker recognition systems, and more.

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There is increasing interest in the area of protective vests, either for protection against bullets or protection from the most realistic threats within domestic frontline operations: edged weapon, knives, and medical needles. This volume addresses that need. This new book provides an in-depth survey of the state-of-the-art research and practical techniques in the area of protected fabrics, especially stab-resistant and bulletproof fabrics.The book covers:• The history of protective armor: the long history of the art of protective armor manufacturing.• Materials used for body armor: the design and materials used for soft armor to increase its perforation-resistance utilizing high-performance fibers.• Anti-stab and anti-bullet armor design: the different design parameters required for the design of flexible armor in order to stop high-velocity projectiles.• The comfort of the body armor design: the flexibility, thermal resistivity, and evaporative moisture resistivity through the fabric.• Methods of testing the flexible body armors: testing the components of flexible body armor, according to the level of the protection required, such as NIJ Standards, HOSDB Body Armour Standards for UK Police, and the German SK1 Standard, among others.Written by an expert in textile composite material engineering, this volume fills an important gap in the area of protective fabric against stabbing or bullets and provides invaluable practical knowledge for body armor design.

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This new book deals with recent advanced research on natural products and health-promoting foods that work to reduce the risk of diseases while enhancing overall well-being. Plant-based functional foods are known to contain compounds (also referred to as phytochemicals) in the leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits of certain plants. These plant products are drawing the attention of researchers because of their demonstrated beneficial effects against disease, particularly diabetes, hypertension, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, among others. The medicinal and nutritional use of plant secondary metabolites is a hot topic and has been receiving extensive attention from both health professionals and the public. This book presents new information on the extraction of bioactive compounds from plants, plant-based drugs, and the innovative use of plant-based drugs for human health.

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This volume presents chapters that discuss secondary metabolites of marine origin, the industrial applications of phytochemicals, and recent advances in phytochemical research. It considers production of secondary metabolites and accumulations through in vitro cultures and also reviews the effects of natural products as biopesticides and as eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors. In addition, the volume discusses the effects of the environment on the distribution of phytochemicals and the roles of phytochelatins and heavy metal tolerance in plants.

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This first book in this three-volume set provides comprehensive coverage of a wide range of topics in phytochemistry. With chapters from professional specialists from key institutions around the world, the volume starts with an introduction to phytochemistry and details the fundamentals. Part II discusses the state-of-the-art modern methods and techniques in phytochemical research, while Part III provides an informative overview of computational phytochemistry and its applications. Part IV presents novel research findings in the discovery of drugs that will be effective in the treatment of diseases. The chapters are drawn carefully and integrated sequentially to aid flow, consistency, and continuity.

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This important volume provides new research on the design and application of ecologically safe formulations for protecting cultivated crops against pathogen-causing diseases and weeds—that also provide nitrogen fertilizers at the same time. The authors make a significant contribution to the development and agricultural use of environmentally safe and biodegradable new-generation pesticides with targeted and controlled release of active ingredients. They discuss the problems associated with the use and accumulation of xenobiotics in the biosphere and present highlights of modern trends in the design of new-generation formulations. The authors present their original research results on the properties of herbicides, fungicides, and nitrogen fertilizers deposited in a degradable polymer base and the effectiveness of the use of these formulations in laboratory ecosystems with higher plants infected with fusariosis and weeds. The research provided here provides a new direction for the use of degradable polymers, essential for the creation of ecologically safe agricultural technologies and reducing uncontrolled accumulation and spread of xenobiotics in the biosphere.

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The sugarcane crop, one of the most important crops commercially grown in about 115 countries of the world, faces a number of problems, such as low cane productivity, biotic and abiotic stresses, high cost of cultivation, postharvest losses, and low sugar recovery. This volume addresses these issues and provides a comprehensive account of the major advancements in sugarcane research. The book is compilation of recent achievements in sugarcane development and cultivation. It covers a number of improvements made in cane and sugar yield using both conventional and new biotechnological approaches by agricultural scientists and researchers.The comprehensive coverage includes sustainable sugarcane cultivation, development, and management of sugarcane production, covering farming and biotechnology, entomology, pathology, breeding, physiology, biotechnology, agronomy, seed production, and more. It also presents research on modern crop production methods in a comprehensive and easily understood manner.With chapters from expert researchers from internationally renowned institutes (primarily in India), the volume presents the latest information from the literature at the international level to make it usable to many agroecological regions of the world. It will be a valuable resource for agronomists, breeders, plant physiologists, farmers, and students of agricultural sciences.

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This volume presents a snapshot of some of the most important ongoing research in cancer. With cancer as the second leading cause of death worldwide, extensive research is going on globally to decipher the molecular mechanism underlying cancer that will help in finding better targets for drug therapy. The book brings together new research on molecular mechanism and cancer therapeutics in one place. With chapters from experts in their respective fields, chapters cover molecular mechanisms, etiology, prognosis, detection, and treatment of cancer. Emphasis has been given to the intricate mechanism behind the deregulation of cell division, disruption of cell cycle check points, mutation in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, apoptosis, and erratic cell signaling. The book discusses in detail topics such as angiogenesis and tumor microenvironment, which are increasingly receiving attention, especially in the field of neoplastic vascularization and metastasis. The book also includes chapters detailing the current understanding and the future perspective of cancer stem cells.

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Wireless networking covers a variety of topics involving many challenges. The main concern of clustering approaches for mobile wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is to prolong the battery life of the individual sensors and the network lifetime. For a successful clustering approach, the need of a powerful mechanism to safely elect a cluster head remains a challenging task in many research works that take into account the mobility of the network. In Mobile, Wireless and Sensor Networks: A Clustering Algorithm for Energy Efficiency and Safety, the authors use an approach based on computing of the weight of each node in the network as the proposed technique to deal with this problem. They present a virtual laboratory platform (VLP) of baptized mercury, allowing students and researchers to make practical work (PW) on different aspects of mobile wireless sensor networks. The authors’ choice of WSNs is motivated mainly by the use of real experiments needed in most college courses on WSNs. These usual experiments, however, require an expensive investment and many nodes in the classroom. The platform presented here aims at showing the feasibility, the flexibility, and the reduced cost using the authors’ approach. The authors demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithms that contribute to the familiarization of the learners in the field of WSNs.The book will be a valuable resource for students in networking studies as well as for faculty and researchers in this area.

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This new volume presents a plethora of new research on the use of nanoconjugate nanocarriers in drug delivery. Nanotechnology as drug carriers has been observed to increase the level of sophistication through a variety of ways. It helps to alleviate some of the pitfalls of conventional dosage forms, such as few pitfalls such as non-specific drug delivery, dose dumping, poor patient compliance, toxicities linked with higher doses, etc.With chapters from highly skilled, experienced, and renowned scientists and researchers, Nanoconjugate Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery is divided into four sections, providing an introduction to nanocarriers for drug delivery, physicochemical features of nanocarriers, and specific applications dealing with drug delivery in particular. The materials used as well as formulation and characterization have been discussed in detail. The nanocarriers covered in the book include nanoparticles, vesicular carriers, carriers having carbon as the core constituent, dispersed systems, etc. The book also delves into the interaction and associations between drug delivery research and its therapeutic applications in practice.The book integrates a wide variety of case studies, research, and theories in an attempt to reveal the diversity and capture the novel approaches of nanoconjugate nanocarriers for drug delivery employed by developers and content experts in the field. This timely publication will be an essential reference and current awareness source, building on the available literature in the field of pharmacy and biomedical science, while also providing ideas for further research opportunities in this dynamic field.

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This volume is based on different aspects of chemical technology that are associated with research and the development of theories for chemical engineers, helping to bridge the gap between classical analysis and modern, real-life applications. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the authors present the current state-of-the-art technology in key materials with an emphasis on the rapidly growing technologies.

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Here is a rich resource on recent research innovations in the field of food processing and food engineering. Chapters are written by eminent researchers in the field of food science and provide in-depth knowledge on the application of engineering aspects in food processing, food packaging, food quality, and food safety.The book looks at the latest nanotechnology aspects for the detection of foodborne pathogens to ensure safety with respect to these pathogens. It provides detailed kinetics of quality and safety aspects of food and goes on to discuss the characteristics of edible films prepared from plasticized guar gum. Other topics include the production of novel biomolecules and their characterization, the microstructural properties of arabionoxylan aerogels, the antioxidant activity of oats harvested from draught areas, the effect of quercetin isolated from Enicostemma littorale against cancer targets, the latest trends in production of ethanol and fructo-oligosachharides, and much more.

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Microbial lipases are industrially important and have gained attention due to their stability, selectivity, and broad substrate specificity. Lipases are used as medicine, and they also aid in indigestion, heartburn, allergy to gluten in wheat products (celiac disease), Crohn’s disease, and cystic fibrosis. This volume considers the industrial demand for new sources of lipases with different catalytic characteristics that stimulate the isolation, growth, and development of new microbial strains. The volume narrates the challenging metagenomic approach with the isolation of the lipase gene, its cloning into Escherichia coli, culture of the recombinant bacteria, and extraction and assessment of the lipase enzyme. Lipase-producing bacteria are available in different habitats, such as industrial wastes, vegetable oil processing factories, dairy plants, and soils contaminated with oil and oil seeds, among others. This volume is the effort of the authors to document the scientific findings carried out over the last eight years in the area of un-culturable soil microorganisms. The book presents the physic-chemical features of lipases and their specific applications in different commercial industries. The in-depth study looks at metagenomics for lipases from all angles and provides a truly informative resource. It describes the biochemical characterization of lipase enzymes with the high activity in the presence of 1% tributyrin. A wide review has been presented in the book on lipase enzymes purified from a large collection of microbes present in soil, seawater, waste-dumping sites, animal systems (including human beings), and the atmosphere. Stability of enzymes over changing environments of the industry is indeed a big issue, and the book deals at length with the changing temperatures and pH and metal ion concentrations.

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Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Volume 4: Experimental Techniques and Methodical Developments provides a detailed yet easy-to-follow treatment of various techniques useful for characterizing the structure and properties of engineering materials. This timely volume provides an overview of new methods and presents experimental research in applied chemistry using modern approaches. Each chapter describes the principle of the respective method as well as the detailed procedures of experiments with examples of actual applications and then goes on to demonstrate the advantage and disadvantages of each physical technique. Thus, readers will be able to apply the concepts as described in the book to their own experiments.The book is broken into several subsections: Polymer Chemistry and Technology Computational Approaches Clinical Chemistry and Bioinformatics Special Topics This volume presents research and reviews and information on implementing and sustaining interdisciplinary studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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Due to increasing demand for potable and irrigation water, new scientific research is being conducted to deal with wastewater from a variety of sources. Novel Water Treatment and Separation Methods: Simulation of Chemical Processes presents a selection of research related to applications of chemical processes for wastewater treatment, separation techniques, and modeling and simulation of chemical processes.Among the many topics are: degradation of herbicide removal of anionic dye efficient sun-light driven photocatalysis removal of copper and iron using green activated carbon defluoridation of drinking water removal of calcium and magnesium from wastewater using ion exchange resins degradation of vegetable oil refinery wastewater novel separation techniques, including microwave-assisted extraction and more The volume presents selected examples in wastewater treatment, highlighting some recent examples of processes such as photocatalytic degradation, emulsion liquid membrane, novel photocatalyst for degradation of various pollutants, and adsorption of heavy metals. The book goes on to explore some novel separation techniques, such as microwave-assisted extraction, anhydrous ethanol through molecular sieve dehydration, batch extraction from leaves of Syzygium cumini (known as jambul, jambolan, jamblang or jamun), and reactive extraction. These novel separation techniques have proved be advantageous over conventional methods.The volume also looks at modeling and simulation of chemical processes, including chapters on flow characteristics of novel solid-liquid multistage circulating fluidized bed, mathematical modeling and simulation of gasketed plate heat exchangers, optimization of the adsorption capacity of prepared activated carbon, and modeling of ethanol/water separation by pervaporation, along with topics on simulation using CHEMCAD software. The diverse chapters share and encourage new ideas, methods, and applications in ongoing advances in this growing area of chemical engineering and technology. It will be a valuable resource for researchers and faculty and industrialists as well as for students.

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This new volume, Information Security Management Systems: A Novel Framework and Software as a Tool for Compliance with Information Security Standard, looks at information security management system standards, risk management associated with information security, and information security awareness within an organization. The authors aim to improve the overall ability of organizations to participate, forecast, and actively assess their information security circumstances. It is important to note that securing and keeping information from parties who do not have authorization to access such information is an extremely important issue. To address this issue, it is essential for an organization to implement an ISMS standard such as ISO 27001 to address the issue comprehensively. The authors of this new volume have constructed a novel security framework (ISF) and subsequently used this framework to develop software called Integrated Solution Modeling (ISM), a semi-automated system that will greatly help organizations comply with ISO 27001 faster and cheaper than other existing methods. In addition, ISM does not only help organizations to assess their information security compliance with ISO 27001, but it can also be used as a monitoring tool, helping organizations monitor the security statuses of their information resources as well as monitor potential threats. ISM is developed to provide solutions to solve obstacles, difficulties, and expected challenges associated with literacy and governance of ISO 27001. It also functions to assess the RISC level of organizations towards compliance with ISO 27001.The information provide here will act as blueprints for managing information security within business organizations. It will allow users to compare and benchmark their own processes and practices against these results shown and come up with new, critical insights to aid them in information security standard (ISO 27001) adoption.

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This new book, Food Process Engineering and Quality Assurance, provides an abundance of valuable new research and studies in novel technologies used in food processing and quality assurance issues of food. The 750-page book gives a detailed technical and scientific background of various food processing technologies that are relevant to the industry.The food process related application of engineering technology involves interdisciplinary teamwork, which, in addition to the expertise of interdisciplinary engineers, draws on that of food technologists, microbiologists, chemists, mechanical engineers, biochemists, geneticists, and others. The processes and methods described in the book are applicable to many areas of the food industry, including drying, milling, extrusion, refrigeration, heat and mass transfer, membrane-based separation, concentration, centrifugation, fluid flow and blending, powder and bulk-solids mixing, pneumatic conveying, and process modeling, monitoring, and control. Food process engineering know-how can be credited with improving the conversion of raw foodstuffs into safe consumer products of the highest possible quality. This book looks at advanced materials and techniques used for, among other things, chemical and heat sterilization, advanced packaging, and monitoring and control, which are essential to the highly automated facilities for the high-throughput production of safe food products.With contributions from prominent scientists from around the world, this volume provides an abundance of valuable new research and studies on novel technologies used in food processing and quality assurance issues. It gives a detailed technical and scientific background of various food processing technologies that are relevant to the industry. Special emphasis is given to the processing of fish, candelilla, dairy, and bakery products. Rapid detection of pathogens and toxins and application of nanotechnology in ensuring food safety are also emphasized.Key features:• Presents recent research development with applications• Discusses new technology and processes in food process engineering• Provides several chapters on candelilla (which is frequently used as a food additive but can also be used in cosmetics, drugs, etc.), covering its characteristics, common uses, geographical distribution, and more

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Ethnobotany of India: Volume 4: Western and Central Himalayas is the 4th volume of the 5-volume set, an informative book series on the ethnobotanical aspects of India. The books cover different regions, including Volume 1: Eastern Ghats and Deccan Volume 2: Western Ghats and West Coast of Peninsular IndiaVolume 3: North-East India and Andaman and Nicobar IslandsVolume 4: Western and Central HimalayasVolume 5: The Indo-Gangetic RegionEach volume looks at the important ethnic plants of the specific region. Volume 4 covers the Western and Central Himalayas, the well-known mountain range on the Indian subcontinent. The unique flora and fauna of the Himalayas are varied, affected by climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils, and are vulnerable to impacts from climate change. The editors espouse that because indigenous non-Western societies form the vast majority of people now as well as in the past, a study of their plant interrelationships is necessary, and India is one of the most important regions of the old world for its ancient and culturally rich and diverse knowledge of ethnobotany. With this in mind, these volumes share a great deal of information that will be valuable to plant botanists and others working in and interested in ethnobotany. This important volume covers the ethnobotanical aspects of many plants of the region. It looks at ethnic diversity of people ethnic food plants and food preparation ethnomedical aspects of plants psychedelic plants and their possible link to soma, a vedic ritual drink whose plant origins are a mystery ethnoveterinary medicinal plants ethno-conservation practices biodiversity heritage sites The volume includes the details of the plants used, their scientific names, the parts used, and how the plants are used, providing the what, how, and why of plant usage. The book is well illustrated with 20 color and 67 b/w illustrations.Together, the five volumes in the Ethnobotany of India series presents the available ethnobotanical knowledge of India in one place. India’s ancient and culturally rich and diverse information and use of ethnobotany will be valuable to those in the fields of botany and plant sciences, pharmacognosy and pharmacology, nutraceuticals, and others. The books also consider the threat to plant biodiversity imposed by environmental degradation, which impacts cultural diversity.

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This valuable new book, Handbook of Research on Medicinal Chemistry: Innovations and Methodologies, presents some of the latest advancements in the various fields of combinatorial chemistry, drug discovery, biochemical aspects, pharmacology of medicinal agents, current practical problems, and nutraceuticals. The editors keep the drug molecule as the central component of the volume and aim to explain the associated features essential to exhibiting pharmacological activity. With a unique combination of chapters in biology, clinical aspects, biochemistry, synthetic chemistry, medicine and technology, the volume provides broad exposure to the essential aspect of pharmaceuticals. The volume many important aspects of medicinal chemistry, including techniques in drug discovery pharmacological aspects of natural products chemical mediators: druggable targets advances in medicinal chemistry The field of medicinal chemistry is growing at an unprecedented pace, and this volume takes an interdisciplinary approach, covering a range of new research and new practices in the field. The volume takes into account the latest therapeutic guidelines put forward by the World Health Organization and the U.S Food and Drug Administration..Topics include: drug design drug discovery natural products and supplements and nutraceuticals pharmaceutical approaches to sexual dysfunction drug resistance parasites new natural compounds and identification of new targets stereochemistry aspects in medicinal chemistry common drug interactions in daily practices Handbook of Research on Medicinal Chemistry: Innovations and Methodologies will be a valuable addition to the bookshelves of pharmaceutical scientists and faculty as well as for industry professionals.

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This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. This new compendium volume examines the significant impact of air quality on human health. Assessing air pollution in complex morphologies has become an important issue in order to implement mitigation measures and limit emissions from the most relevant sources, such as waste incineration, traffic emissions, emissions from fuel and electricity production, and household emissions. These pollutants result in adverse health effects, material damage, damage to ecosystems, and global climate change. The book looks at these issues and is divided into several sections, covering air pollution and where we came from and where we’re headed waste incineration and its impact on air quality air pollution vehicle and transportation emissions emissions from fuel and electricity production The chapters in Pollution and the Atmosphere: Designs for Reduced Emissions contain recent research looking at the two major components of air pollution: air pollution control and air-quality engineering. Air pollution control focuses on the fundamentals of air pollutant formation in process technologies and the identification of options for mitigating or preventing air pollutant emissions. Air quality engineering deals with large-scale, multi-source control strategies, with focus on the physics and chemistry of pollutant interactions in the atmosphere.

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In Pediatric Behavioral Nutrition Factors: Environment, Education, and Self-Regulation, the editor carefully selected each chapter individually to provide a nuanced look at how environment, education, and self-regulation impact pediatric nutrition. All the various factors that intertwine with and influence nutrition are not yet known, and we often assume that poor nutrition is a socioeconomic issue. This is a massive, multifaceted topic. The articles in this compendium make clear that this simplistic assumption is not accurate; they were chosen to present as accurate a total image as possible, based on recent research. The final chapters offer innovative interventions that should become the foundation for ongoing investigation.

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About 7,000 people lose their lives and nearly 100 million people are adversely affected by floods each year worldwide. Flooding occurs in almost every part of the world and is the result of extreme rainfall. Severe flooding also costs billions of dollars each year in damage and economic losses. This new volume focuses on two detailed studies that employ physically based hydrologic models to predict flooding in the particularly challenging environment of small watersheds with mountainous terrain and high intensity/high variability rainfall.

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This book provides a global perspective of present-age frontiers in food process engineering research, innovation, and emerging trends. It provides an abundance of new information on a variety of issues and problems in food processing technology. Divided into five parts, the book presents new research on new trends and technologies in food processing, ultrasonic treatment of foods, foods for specific needs, food preservation, and food hazards and their controls.

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The first comprehensive volume exclusively on marine cone snails, this book provides descriptions of over 100 species of hazardous marine snails along with their biological and ecological characteristics; the characteristics of conotoxins; information on cone snail injuries and their treatment along with prevention measures; and the therapeutic and medicinal value of conotoxins, including as a powerful nonaddictive painkiller, an epilepsy drug, and more. Over 275 color illustrations accompany the text for easy identification.

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Applied Natural Science: Environmental Issues and Global Perspectives provides the reader with a complete insight into the natural-scientific pattern of the world, covering the most important historical stages of the development of various areas of science, methods of natural-scientific research, general scientific and philosophical concepts, and the fundamental laws of nature. The book analyzes the main scientific trends and developments of modern natural science and also discusses important aspects of environmental protection.Topics include: The problem of "the two cultures": the mathematization of natural sciences and the informatization of society The non-linear nature of the processes occurring in nature and society Application of the second law of thermodynamics to describe the development of biological systems Global problems of the biosphere Theory and practice of stable organic paramagnetic materials Polymers and the natural environment Key features include: An interdisciplinary approach in considering scientific and technical problems A discussion of general scientific trends in modern natural science, including globalization challenges in nature and society, the organic chemistry of stable paramagnetic materials, the fundamentals of the environmental chemistry of polymeric materials, etc. A justification of applying classical (non-equilibrium) thermodynamics to studying the behavior of open (including biological) systems Of particular importance in the book is the discussion of some problems associated with the place of man in the biosphere, issues of the globalization of science and technology, new ideas about the universe, and the concept of universal evolutionism. At the same time, the book discusses more specific issues related to solving major global and regional environmental problems (particularities of organic paramagnetic materials, the influence of polymers on the man and environment, etc). All this leads to the fundamental conclusion of the unity of animate and inanimate nature, as well as improvement of the process of cognition of the real world, which consists in objective and natural changing of world views.The book is intended for professors, teachers, and students of classical and technological universities who are interested in the development of the foundations of modern natural sciences, as well as for professionals working in the field of chemical physics and applied ecology.

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This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The information contained in this compendium volume sets the stage for the future's large-scale production of biofuels. Biomass is an abundant carbon-neutral renewable feedstock for producing fuel. First-generation biofuels gained attention for their problems, but the authors of this book demonstrate that they are well on their way to creating practical and sustainable second-generation biofuels.The book begins with an introduction to synthetic biology. Next, it covers pretreatment technologies, advanced microbial technologies, genetic engineering as it relates to biofuel technologies, and nanotechnology and chemical engineering in relation to biofuels.Well-respected in his field, the editor's firsthand experience gives him the perspective to create a thorough review of the relevant literature. Each chapter is written by experts in biotechnologies, offering graduate and post-doctorate students, as well as other scientific researchers, a wide-angle look at biofuel technologies. At the same time, this volume points to promising directions for new research.

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This important new book provides innovative material, including peer-reviewed chapters and survey articles on new applied research and development, in the scientifically important field of QSAR in medicinal chemistry. QSAR is a growing field because available computing power is continuously increasing, QSAR’s potential is enormous, limited only by the quantity and quality of the available experimental input, which are also continuously improving. The number of possible structures for the design of new organic compounds is difficult to imagine, and QSAR helps to predict their activities even before synthesis.The book provides a wealth of valuable information and: • Presents an overview of recent developments in QSAR methodologies along with a brief history of QSAR• Covers the available web resource tools and in silico techniques used in virtual screening and drug discovery processes, compiling an extensive review of web resources in the following categories: databases related to chemical compounds, drug targets, and ADME/toxicity prediction; molecular modeling and drug designing; virtual screening; pharmacophore generation; molecular descriptor calculation software; software for quantum mechanics; ligand binding affinities (docking); and software related to ADME/toxicity prediction• Reviews the rm2 as a more stringent measure for the assessment of model predictivity compared to traditional validation metrics, being specifically important since validation is a crucial step in any QSAR study• Presents linear model improvement techniques that take into account the conformation flexibility of the modeled molecules• Summarizes the building processes of four different pharmacophore models: common-feature, 3D-QSAR, protein-, and protein-ligand complexes• Shows the role of different conceptual density functional theory based chemical reactivity descriptors, such as hardness, electrophilicity, net electrophilicity, and philicity in the design of different QSAR/QSPR/QSTR models• Reviews the use of chemometrics in PPAR research highlighting its substantial contribution in identifying essential structural characteristics and understanding the mechanism of action• Presents the structures and QSARs of antimicrobial and immunosuppressive cyclopeptides, discussing the balance of antimicrobial and haemolytic activities for designing new antimicrobial cyclic peptides• Shows the relationship between DFT global descriptors and experimental toxicity of a selected group of polychlorinated biphenyls, exploring the efficacy of three DFT descriptors• Reviews the applications of Quantitative Structure-Relative Sweetness Relationships (QSRSR), showing that the last decade was marked by an increase in the number of studies regarding QSAR applications for both understanding the sweetness mechanism and synthesizing novel sweetener compounds for the food additive industryThe wide coverage makes this book an excellent reference for those in chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine as well as for research centers, governmental organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and health and environmental control organizations.

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Child trauma and violence is not an issue that is constrained to one nationality or one ethnicity. A staggering number of children around the world are subjected to violence and abuse, both domestic and political. The current volume examines the issue of developmental trauma from a variety of viewpoints, including sociological, epidemiological, genetic, and psychiatric. The chapters contained within are broken into the following sections: Child neglect and violence from an international perspective The effects of war and armed conflict on children’s health and development The impact of childhood trauma on mental and physical health into adulthood Case studies of interventions that provide possibilities for treatment in a variety of different contexts Written by a researcher from Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital (Boston), this book provides an important resource for understanding violence as an almost ubiquitous presence in children’s lives around the world, as well as offering directions for treatment and interventions. This book is an important resource for researchers, counselors, psychologists, child advocates, and anyone who seeks to understand how adversity in childhood affects a person’s entire life.

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Deviant behavior is not a subject that you study in school and then file away. It is a study of life and is ever changing. Defining the concept of deviant behavior is one of the most difficult tasks to overcome when studying the subject. Sociologists probably disagree more over the meaning of deviant behavior than any other subject. Deviant Behavior is an easy-to-read text that defines and explains the concepts and issues involved in the study of deviant behavior.The book begins by exploring the nature and definition of deviance. It discusses why certain conduct is labeled as deviant and some is not. It examines the two major perspectives on what constitutes deviance—positivism and constructionism. It goes on to look at the various theoretical explanations for deviant behavior, including free will or lack thereof, rational choice, social control, cultural transmission, strain theories, and biological and psychological explanations.The book provides an in-depth explanation of the many categories of deviant behavior—interpersonal violence, self-destructive behavior, family violence, business and organized crime, governmental deviance, cybercrimes, and human trafficking and commercial sex. The authors take an international approach and emphasize that what is deviant in one culture may not be deviant in another. To aid understanding, each chapter concludes with a detailed summary, review questions, and definitions of the relevant key terms.

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As a result of a rigorous, methodical process that (ISC)² follows to routinely update its credential exams, it has announced that enhancements will be made to both the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credential, beginning April 15, 2015. (ISC)² conducts this process on a regular basis to ensure that the examinations and subsequent training and continuing professional education requirements encompass the topic areas relevant to the roles and responsibilities of today’s practicing information security professionals.Refreshed technical content has been added to the official (ISC)² CISSP CBK to reflect the most current topics in the information security industry today. Some topics have been expanded (e.g., asset security, security assessment and testing), while other topics have been realigned under different domains. The result is an exam that most accurately reflects the technical and managerial competence required from an experienced information security professional to effectively design, engineer, implement and manage an organization’s information security program within an ever-changing security landscape. The domain names have been updated as follows:CISSP Domains, Effective April 15, 2015 Security and Risk Management (Security, Risk, Compliance, Law, Regulations, Business Continuity) Asset Security (Protecting Security of Assets) Security Engineering (Engineering and Management of Security) Communications and Network Security (Designing and Protecting Network Security) Identity and Access Management (Controlling Access and Managing Identity) Security Assessment and Testing (Designing, Performing, and Analyzing Security Testing) Security Operations (Foundational Concepts, Investigations, Incident Management, Disaster Recovery) Software Development Security (Understanding, Applying, and Enforcing Software Security) Some candidates may be wondering how these updates affect training materials for the CISSP credential. As part of the organization’s comprehensive education strategy and certifying body best practices, (ISC)² training materials do not teach directly to its credential examinations. Rather, (ISC)² Education is focused on teaching the core competencies relevant to the roles and responsibilities of today’s practicing information security professional. It is designed to refresh and enhance the knowledge of experienced industry professionals.

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Most books on manufacturing focus on production. This book is different; it describes techniques for excelling in engineering design, marketing strategies, and customer service inside a manufacturing company. Managing a successful manufacturing company in today’s competitive global economy requires teamwork between the above disciplines. It is no longer enough just to be efficient on the production floor.Manufacturing companies employ hundreds and in many cases thousands of people with different skill sets, ideas, and values. Strategy + Teamwork = Great Products: Management Techniques for Manufacturing Companies explains how to mold employees from various walks of life into a cohesive and successful manufacturing team.It describes the best methods and programs to do that and includes examples that illustrate how to do so.After reading this book, you will understand how to avoid common pitfalls and steer clear of useless fads that can be destructive to your organization. The book details powerful methods for motivating people, reducing costs, and improving strategic decision making. It also identifies the role of human resources in providing the training required to help manufacturing management in their tasks.Managing a manufacturing company is about running a business rather than just producing parts and assembling them. That is why this book starts at the top—outlining the duties of the Board of Directors and going on to describe the strategic roles and responsibilities of marketing, engineering, manufacturing engineering, and human resources.Describing how to best organize your manufacturing company, this book not only outlines management theories relevant to a successful organization, it also gets down to the nitty-gritty implementation of processes and practices with potential application across a wide range of manufacturing organizations.

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During the author’s decades of experience consulting in the corporate world and teaching management theory at the university level, he has often questioned many modern-day management practices. For example, why do so many companies have evaluation and reward systems that force employees to compete against each other while these same organizations preach the gospel of cooperation and teamwork? Why do companies continue to downsize when this practice has proven antithetical to long-term success?Out of the Box Thinking for Successful Managers explains, in a user-friendly and sometimes humorous manner, why these practices are based on worn-out logic in some cases and complete falsehoods in others. Questioning numerous management practices that have been popular for decades, it details their weaknesses and explains why they continue to hamper attempts to improve productivity. The book reviews a range of management theories, including Six Sigma, downsizing, and management by objective. After showing where the holes lie, it offers alternative approaches that have proven effective in a growing number of private and public sector organizations, including some that enable a more positive workplace culture. Illustrating practical application with case studies, the book provides simple suggestions for change that can be highly beneficial to your organization. It addresses the major myths that managers need to examine and eventually do away with or, at least, replace with modified versions that make more sense in today’s increasingly competitive business environment.

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Create Genuine Visual Realism in Computer Graphics Digital Representations of the Real World: How to Capture, Model, and Render Visual Reality explains how to portray visual worlds with a high degree of realism using the latest video acquisition technology, computer graphics methods, and computer vision algorithms. It explores the integration of new capture modalities, reconstruction approaches, and visual perception into the computer graphics pipeline.Understand the Entire Pipeline from Acquisition, Reconstruction, and Modeling to Realistic Rendering and ApplicationsThe book covers sensors for capturing 3D scenes, including regular cameras, wide-angle omnidirectional cameras, active range scanners, and plenoptic (multi-viewpoint) cameras, as well as fundamental algorithms for processing the imagery, such as stereo correspondence and 3D structure and motion recovery. It describes 3D modeling techniques, from generic object models (such as 3D meshes) to more domain-specific models (such as human shape and motion models). The book also discusses how techniques, including image- and video-based rendering, meet speed and realism requirements.Overcome Challenges in Your Own Research ExperimentsThis book is both an accessible introduction to the emerging research of real-world visual computing and a practical guide that shows you how to start implementing frequently encountered methods.

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An examination of how information technology (IT) can be used in public administration, Information and Communication Technologies in Public Administration: Innovations from Developed Countries examines global perspectives on public administration and IT innovations. This book illustrates the theoretical context of current policies, issues, and implementation. It highlights e-government success stories from developed regions such as the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia then presents future trends and innovation. It explores innovative solutions with added value and impact to your organization.The book covers important issues such as open government, best practices, social media, democracy, and management challenges as well as topical issues such as systems failures, innovations in inter-organizational e-government projects, virtual currencies, and a cross-domain open data ecosystem. The authors outline four strategies to achieve success in e-governance: upgrading ICT infrastructure, improving human resource management, creating a corresponding political environment, and promoting administrative performance that you can put to immediate use. Governments have used information and communications technologies (ICT) to drastically change how the public sector interacts with citizens and businesses. It can improve government performance in delivering effective or highly sophisticated public services, reengineering or improving internal organization and processes, engaging social participation and dialogue, enabling transparency in procedures and outcomes to the public, and improving public sector’s efficiency in general. This book provides a roadmap that leads you from problem definitions to problem-solving methods and innovations for future progress.

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