Search results for ""Imperial College Press""

In this book, the issues regarding the theory of optics and quantum optics of spherical multilayered systems are studied. In such systems the spatial scale of layers becomes comparable with the wavelength of radiation, which complicates the analysis of important quantities such as reflectivity and transmission. Often, a large amount of time is spent on performing numerical calculations and simulation to elucidate the behavior of such electromagnetic properties. The author has written down the calculation details of important properties of multilayered microspheres in a more comprehensive manner, so that undergraduates and practitioners can follow them freely.From a skill-oriented point of view the book covers the following: electrodynamics of multilayered environments in the spherical geometry; methods of calculating both reflection and transmission coefficients from an alternating stack; calculations of eigenfrequencies and quality factors of electromagnetic oscillations; radial distribution of the electromagnetic field in a spherical cavity; computer methods of calculations with C++ as basic languages and construction of the graphic user interface (GUI); the object-oriented approach as a basis of the modern methods of calculation.

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This is a collection of 43 essays about the economics and management of information technology markets. The first part of the book focuses on events, notable birth dates and longstanding trends. The unifying theme revolves around the role of human economic behavior in the face of uncertainty and confusion. The contributors' intent is to explain, educate and entertain — to go beyond the obvious.The next part contains writing about the Internet. It discusses the development of the online commercial world, and analyzes the macroeconomic side of the investment boom and bust related to Internet activities. It also focuses on the measurement of economic activity in the digital economy.In addition, the book deals with how computers get used in organizations and discusses the Microsoft antitrust case. Finally, there are two long essays about economic constraints on strategic behavior in markets where standards and platforms matter.

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Engineering represents an ordered activity of creative design and inventive manufacture of ingenious devices. Its practitioners have thereby stimulated individuals, enlivened communities, enriched civilizations, and contributed to the shaping of cultures.The authors of this innovative text develop a systematic framework for engineering in time, making extensive use of adaptive heterogeneous progressions. When combined with considerations of feedback, feedforward, recursion, and branching, an evolving and comprehensive characterization of engineering becomes evident. It is in this blending of chronology, emerging theory, and professional practice that engineering finds its foundational role in innovative design, device reliability, intellectual property, technology risks, public safety, professional ethics, material accounting, and other recurring themes relevant to contemporary engineering. Engineering clearly emerges as a complex and increasingly important profession.The authors introduce concepts and methods — including a critical definition of engineering -and selectively adapt symbolic-mathematical relations. The technical level of analysis is suitable for the undergraduate curriculum commonly encountered in colleges of engineering.

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This book provides a summary of the various aspects of corneal transplantation — the clinical, experimental (including multimedia display of the surgical techniques), immunological, therapeutic and prosthetic components — in one volume. The interested specialist in one field can thus have access to information from the other fields and develop a broad concept of the challenges to be faced in achieving the ultimate goal, i.e. an optically clear, visually satisfactory, functioning corneal graft which is tolerated in the long term without the need for systemic immunosuppression. A second purpose of the book is to provide information regarding current immunological concepts of the process of corneal graft rejection. In particular, recent work in the fields of innate versus adaptive immunity, novel therapeutics and corneal xenografts is presented.

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This book presents a practical guide to the analysis of materials and includes a thorough description of the underlying theories and instrumental aberrations caused by real experiments. The main emphasis concerns the analysis of thin films and multilayers, primarily semiconductors, although the techniques are very general. Semiconductors can be very perfect composite crystals and therefore their study can lead to the largest volume of information, since X-ray scattering can assess the deviation from perfection.The description is intentionally conceptual so that the reader can grasp the real processes involved. In this way the analysis becomes significantly easier, making the reader aware of misleading artifacts and assisting in the determination of a more complete and reliable analysis. The theory of scattering is very important and is covered in such a way that the assumptions are clear. Greatest emphasis is placed on the dynamical diffraction theory including new developments extending its applicability to reciprocal space mapping and modelling samples with relaxed and distorted interfaces.A practical guide to the measurement of diffraction patterns, including the smearing effects introduced to the measurement, is also presented.

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Fully updated, this revised edition describes the statistical aspects of both the design and analysis of trials, with particular emphasis on the more recent methods of analysis.About 8000 clinical trials are undertaken annually in all areas of medicine, from the treatment of acne to the prevention of cancer. Correct interpretation of the data from such trials depends largely on adequate design and on performing the appropriate statistical analyses. This book provides a useful guide to medical statisticians and others faced with the often difficult problems of designing and analysing clinical trials.

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This book describes a search for geological evidence of meteorite impact structures in Britain. The statistics of impact structures indicate that Britain should have Phanerozoic impact structures up to tens of kilometres in diameter. A constant theme is the importance of atmospheric break-up of small asteroids and comets. These fragmenting bodies produce anomalously shallow craters with low rims and central peaks; three British structures of this type are identified.Analysis of fireball statistics implies that damaging fireball explosions occur over the British Isles on a time-scale of decades. On a time-scale of millennia, however, more damage is done by Atlantic impact tsunami.

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The discovery of superconductivity at 30 K by Bednorz and Müller in 1986 ignited an explosion of interest in high temperature superconductivity. The initial development rapidly evolved into an intensive worldwide research effort — which still persists after more than a decade — to understand the phenomenon of cuprate superconductivity, to search for ways to raise the transition temperature and to produce materials which have the potential for technological applications.During the past decade of research on this subject, significant progress has been made on both the fundamental science and technological application fronts. A great deal of experimental data is now available on the cuprates, and various properties have been well characterized using high quality single crystals and thin films. Despite this enormous research effort, however, the underlying mechanisms responsible for superconductivity in the cuprates are still open to question.This book offers an understanding from the phase transition point of view, surveys and identifies thermal and quantum fluctuation effects, identifies material-independent universal properties and provides constraints for the microscopic description of the various phenomena. The text is presented in a format suitable for use in a graduate level course.

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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is part of a range of emerging microscopic methods for biologists which offer the magnification range of both the light and electron microscope, but allow imaging under the 'natural' conditions usually associated with the light microscope. To biologists AFM offers the prospect of high resolution images of biological material, images of molecules and their interactions even under physiological conditions, and the study of molecular processes in living systems. This book provides a realistic appreciation of the advantages and limitations of the technique and the present and future potential for improving the understanding of biological systems.

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This is a unique book about natural catastrophes, focusing on the mathematical aspects of these phenomena. Although academic in style and didactic in purpose, it is practical in the treatment of the diverse issues covered, which range from hazard warning and forecasting to engineering design criteria and insurance loss estimation. Addressing as it does many mathematical topics not found together in a single volume, the book should be of value to all those with a quantitative educational interest in or professional concern for natural catastrophes.

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The fact that the World Health Organization has declared tuberculosis a “global emergency” indicates the serious inadequacy of the ways in which the control methods at our disposal are used. Several books on tuberculosis have been published in recent years, but none have taken a deep and detailed look at the “holistic” aspects of global tuberculosis control, even though international agencies are increasingly aware of the importance of the numerous factors other than the design and efficacy of therapeutic drug regimens. This unique book fills that gap. Although it deals specifically with tuberculosis, the principles outlined and discussed are relevant to many other areas of global medicine, including the ever-growing problem of HIV/AIDS.The book is aimed principally at those involved in the design, establishment and management of disease control programmes at international, national and local levels, and also at a more general readership of epidemiologists, public health officers, community psychologists, and others interested in understanding the human dimension of disease control.

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Venous diseases are among the most commonly encountered problems at primary care level, yet they are poorly understood and often mismanaged. This concise, highly illustrated book will fill the need of all primary care staff and trainees for clear information on the diagnosis and management of the different conditions and their complications.

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This book offers a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in both total oxidation and combustion and also in selective oxidation. For each topic, fundamental aspects are paralleled with industrial applications. The book covers oxidation catalysis, one of the major areas of industrial chemistry, outlining recent achievements, current challenges and future opportunities. One distinguishing feature of the book is the selection of arguments which are emblematic of current trends in the chemical industry, such as miniaturization, use of alternative, greener oxidants, and innovative systems for pollutant abatement. Topics outlined are described in terms of both catalyst and reaction chemistry, and also reactor and process technology.

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Current research in genomics and pharmacogenomics is increasingly highlighting the need to move towards stratified disease descriptions and individualized treatment plans. This book explains how a confluence of recent biological, technological and methodological developments is making it possible to provide personalized diagnoses and treatments.By virtue of treating each person's condition as unique, personal genomics and personalized medicine require health professionals to understand the nature of the data, its health implications, and its limitations.This book provides a detailed scientific treatment of the emerging disciplines of personal genomics and personalized medicine. It also includes a comprehensive treatment of both the promises and challenges of personal genomics and medicine from technological, societal and medical perspectives. It offers a wide-ranging review of the state of the art across all aspects of a highly multi-disciplinary subject. This book will be immensely useful for practicing health professionals and researchers, as well as senior undergraduates and graduate students in biomedical sciences.

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This book compiles a collection of original scientific articles written by Professor Sir Alan Fersht over 40 years of his scientific career. A long-standing icon in the fields of enzymology, protein folding, and protein engineering, Sir Alan Fersht is also one of the world's greatest protein chemists, whose work has been extensively recognized by countless international awards in both chemistry and molecular biology. He has produced a number of classic papers that are cited regularly because of the originality of his work and his insightful analysis. The study of his work on the fusion of physical chemistry and molecular biology provides a course on how to approach the analysis of complex systems in a simple logical manner. His papers are models of clarity, benefitting students of protein chemistry in their understanding of the subject.The beginning of Sir Alan Fersht's career coincided with the birth of modern protein science based on structural biology, which started in earnest momentum in the 1960s. He worked in the then Mecca of molecular biology, the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and was one of the first protein chemists to exploit the new area of structural biology. The papers are interlaced with personal comments on how each article was important in his career and how he was influenced by the galaxy of legendary scientists in the MRC.

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In terms of structural complexity, the natural world presents innumerable examples of stunning beauty and high functionality, usually with the minimum of material and energy expenditure. Materials chemists can harness these amazing structures as ready-made scaffolds on which to grow inorganic phases which replicate the underlying complexity, thereby producing materials with greatly enhanced physical properties. This book comprehensively describes the entire range of natural materials that have been used in this way and the inorganic phases which result from them. The book covers simple molecules such as cellulose and chitin, to large biological constructs such as bacterial proteins, viruses and pollen. Practically every inorganic material has been synthesized using biotemplating methods and the book reflects this, ranging from simple oxides and carbonates such as silica and calcite, to complex semi- and superconducting materials. The book also discusses the formation of these materials from a mechanistic point of view, thereby enabling the reader to better understand the processes involved in biotemplated mineralization.

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This book is an impressive compilation of contributions on the hot topic of cardiac stem cell therapy from leading groups all over the world. In the assembly of chapters, a structured approach is adopted; starting from the clinician's perspective, all developments in both the experimental and clinical research areas are covered. This journey will take the reader from the bench-top to the bedside, with all chapters written by leading authorities in their respective fields, including data still in press with medical journals.So, beyond being excellent as an overall update for scientists in the field of cardiac stem cell therapy, this book will likely prove an indispensable tool for every budding scientist considering a research project within this field.

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The year 2007 marked not only the centenary of Imperial College London but also the 50th anniversary of the late Nobel Laureate Professor Abdus Salam's arrival at the College. Accordingly, a conference entitled “Salam + 50” organized by the Theoretical Physics Group was held at Imperial College on 7 July 2007.Many distinguished guests attended and paid their respects to the great man. Their contributions recorded in these proceedings are divided into three sections, designed to reflect the three dimensions of Salam's character: 1) Salam the Scientist, 2) Salam the Humanitarian, and 3) Salam the Man.

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As the first in the “Clinical Talk” series, the philosophy of this book is to have a set of question-based sections to help a final-year medical student prepare for exams. These sections include multiple choice questions (MCQs), extended matching questions (EMQs) and case studies. The idea is to have not just a “test yourself” book, but one which students can work through as a learning exercise as well as for revision purposes. For that reason, the answers and explanations provided here are just as important as the questions themselves.Stansby and Goldberg have structured this book such that it complements one of their bestselling textbooks, Surgical Talk: Revision in Surgery.

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This textbook introduces the tools and language of modern geometric mechanics to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics, physics, and engineering. It treats the dynamics of rotating, spinning and rolling rigid bodies from a geometric viewpoint, by formulating their solutions as coadjoint motions generated by Lie groups. The only prerequisites are linear algebra, multivariable calculus and some familiarity with Euler-Lagrange variational principles and canonical Poisson brackets in classical mechanics at the beginning undergraduate level.Variational calculus on tangent spaces of Lie groups is explained in the context of familiar concrete examples. Through these examples, the student develops skills in performing computational manipulations, starting from vectors and matrices, working through the theory of quaternions to understand rotations, and then transferring these skills to the computation of more abstract adjoint and coadjoint motions, Lie-Poisson Hamiltonian formulations, momentum maps and finally dynamics with nonholonomic constraints.The 120 Exercises and 55 Worked Answers help the student to grasp the essential aspects of the subject, and to develop proficiency in using the powerful methods of geometric mechanics. In addition, all theorems are stated and proved explicitly. The book's many examples and worked exercises make it ideal for both classroom use and self-study.

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

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How to achieve unlimited, safe, clean and low-cost energy by laser- or beam-driven inertial nuclear fusion has preoccupied all winners of the Edward Teller Medal since its inception in 1991. This book presents their findings, meeting discussions, and personal insights from Edward Teller himself. Expect discussion of important advances anticipated in the future such as multi-billion dollar fusion research projects (NIF), and new schemes such as the petawatt-picosecond laser-plasma interactions evoking new physics and coupling mechanisms.For the first time, laser technology of the new century is providing the very short and extremely intense energetic pulses needed for fusion energy from next generation power stations, which produce energy at cost several times lower than any other source. The long-sought dream to directly ignite frozen heavy hydrogen for controlled use is close to being realized. Years of research on plasmas and lasers carried out worldwide in highly sophisticated experiments is summarized. The coverage begins with the work of John Nuckolls and Nobel Laureate Nikolai Basov and leads to the new scheme of plasma block acceleration via the nonlinear ponderomotive force. Edward Teller Lectures is one of the first guides to these new developments.

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This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the physics of the photovoltaic cell. It is suitable for undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers new to the field. It covers: basic physics of semiconductors in photovoltaic devices; physical models of solar cell operation; characteristics and design of common types of solar cell; and approaches to increasing solar cell efficiency. The text explains the terms and concepts of solar cell device physics and shows the reader how to formulate and solve relevant physical problems. Exercises and worked solutions are included.

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

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The global trend of increasingly ageing societies and long term illnesses has meant a growth in demand for intensive care resources. This book advises on leadership and organizational development of intensive care units, in order to give best practices for governance, performance, emergency response and safety. Written by international experts in the field, each chapter allows researchers, clinicians and service providers worldwide to be able to refer to this single reference book. In seven parts, the volume will tackle aspects of intensive care management in both global and local contexts, and interrogate the key concerns that service providers face. It works as an informative guide for the practical administration of intensive care, as well as being international in its design and information.

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This book is a step by step illustrated guide to planning and writing dissertations and theses for undergraduate and graduate science students. Topics covered include advice on writing each section of a thesis as well as general discussions on collecting and organizing references, keeping records, presenting data, interacting with a supervisor and avoiding academic misconduct. Recommendations about how to use word processors and other software packages effectively are included, as well as advice on the use of other resources. A concise summary of important points of English grammar is given, along with appendices listing frequently confused words and wordy phrases to avoid. Further appendices are provided, including one on SI units. The aim is to provide an easy-to-read guide that gives students practical advice about all aspects of writing a science thesis or dissertation, starting from writing a thesis plan and finishing with the viva and corrections to the thesis.

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

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Britain was the first country to exploit atomic energy on a large scale, and at its peak in the mid-1960s, it had generated more electricity from nuclear power than the rest of the world combined.The civil atomic energy programme grew out of the military programme which produced plutonium for atomic weapons. In 1956, Calder Hall power station was opened by the Queen. The very next year, one of the early Windscale reactors caught fire and the world's first major nuclear accident occurred.The civil programme ran into further difficulty in the mid-1960s and as a consequence of procrastination in the decision-making process, the programme lost momentum and effectively died. No nuclear power stations have been built since Sizewell B in the late 1980s.This book presents a study of Government papers that have recently become available in the public domain. For the first time in history, the research reactor programme is presented in detail, along with a study of the decision-making by the Government, the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA), and the Central Electricity Board (CEGB). This book is aimed at both specialists in nuclear power and the interested public as a technical history on the development and ultimate failure of the British atomic energy programme.

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Taking patients through all aspects of cancer care, this book provides specific, accurate information on various tumour types and treatment modalities, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and complementary therapy. Unlike many patient guides, it explores holistic health and wellbeing as well as psychological responses, recognising distress and the treatments and interventions to help.World-renowned surgeon Richard Smith, founder of Uterine Transplant UK, uses inclusive, accessible language as well as pictorial models of doctor-patient communication to describe all of the common gynaecological cancers, their epidemiology, staging and treatment. Speaking directly to the patient and her family, he discusses not only the medical but also the psychological, spiritual and religious aspects to coping and living with a cancer diagnosis.Written for patients and their families, this book will also be an invaluable resource for nurses, and medical and nursing students, working within the field of gynaecological cancers.All royalties from this book are being donated by the authors to Womb Transplant UK, Registered Charity no.1138559. For more information please visit wombtransplantuk.org/.

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Engineering structures considered include bars, columns, struts, tubes, vessels, beams, springs and frames. The loadings imposed upon them are, typically, tension, compression and shear, bending, torsion and pressure, separately and in combination. The mechanics of such structures examine the manner in which they each bear their respective loading in a safe predictable way. This aids design considerations upon choice of material and its physical shape when seeking, say, a safe design with low weight.The presentation of chapters is intended to guide the reader from a basic to more advanced understanding of common engineering structures. Thus, the consideration of stress and strain under elastic and plastic conditions is required for a full understanding of a structure that may bend, twist and buckle as it is deflected by its loading. The approach adopted is to intersperse theory with examples and exercises that emphasise practical application. Standard analytical techniques including stress transformation, energy methods and yield criteria precede a final chapter on finite element analysis.Worked examples and exercises have been devised and compiled by the author to support the topics within each chapter. Some have been derived, with a conversion to SI units, from past examination papers set by institutions with which the author has been associated, namely: Brunel, Kingston and Surrey Universities and the Council of Engineering Institutions.The contents should serve most courses in mechanical, civil, aeronautical and materials engineering.

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Over 500 prokaryotic genomes have been sequenced to date, and thousands more have been planned for the next few years. While these genomic sequence data provide unprecedented opportunities for biologists to study the world of prokaryotes, they also raise extremely challenging issues such as how to decode the rich information encoded in these genomes. This comprehensive volume includes a collection of cohesively written chapters on prokaryotic genomes, their organization and evolution, the information they encode, and the computational approaches needed to derive such information. A comparative view of bacterial and archaeal genomes, and how information is encoded differently in them, is also presented. Combining theoretical discussions and computational techniques, the book serves as a valuable introductory textbook for graduate-level microbial genomics and informatics courses.

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Stem cells have generated considerable interest recently in the scientific, clinical, and public arenas. The third book in the Stem Cell Repair and Regeneration series offers contributions from numerous areas bridging medicine and the life sciences.Significant research activities in the tissue engineering or regenerative medicine (the term recently used) field started in the 1970s, and there is currently great excitement over the possibility of replacing damaged body parts through regenerative medicine. Potential strategies to replace, repair and restore the function of damaged tissues or organs include stem cell transplantation, transplantation of tissues engineered in the laboratory, and the induction of regeneration by the body's own cells. It is believed that novel cellular therapeutics outperform any medical device, recombinant protein or chemical compound.This volume explores novel stem cell therapeutic strategies for myriad diseases, including renal failure, retinal disease and myocardial infarction.

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This book contains the first systematic exposition of the global and local theory of dynamics equivariant with respect to a (compact) Lie group. Aside from general genericity and normal form theorems on equivariant bifurcation, it describes many general families of examples of equivariant bifurcation and includes a number of novel geometric techniques, in particular, equivariant transversality. This important book forms a theoretical basis of future work on equivariant reversible and Hamiltonian systems.This book also provides a general and comprehensive introduction to codimension one equivariant bifurcation theory. In particular, it includes the bifurcation theory developed with Roger Richardson on subgroups of reflection groups and the Maximal Isotropy Subgroup Conjecture. A number of general results are also given on the global theory. Introductory material on groups, representations and G-manifolds are covered in the first three chapters of the book. In addition, a self-contained introduction of equivariant transversality is given, including necessary results on stratifications as well as results on equivariant jet transversality developed by Edward Bierstone.

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This book provides an in-depth treatment of the study of the stability of engineering structures. Contributions from internationally recognized leaders in the field ensure a wide coverage of engineering disciplines in which structural stability is of importance, in particular the analytical and numerical modelling of structural stability applied to aeronautical, civil, marine and offshore structures. The results from a number of comprehensive experimental test programs are also presented, thus enhancing our understanding of stability phenomena as well as validating the analytical and computational solution schemes presented. A variety of structural materials are investigated with special emphasis on carbon-fibre composites, which are being increasingly utilized in weight-critical structures. Instabilities at the meso- and micro-scales are also discussed. This book will be particularly relevant to professional engineers, graduate students and researchers interested in structural stability.

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Pseudo-Riemannian geometry is an active research field not only in differential geometry but also in mathematical physics where the higher signature geometries play a role in brane theory. An essential reference tool for research mathematicians and physicists, this book also serves as a useful introduction to students entering this active and rapidly growing field. The author presents a comprehensive treatment of several aspects of pseudo-Riemannian geometry, including the spectral geometry of the curvature tensor, curvature homogeneity, and Stanilov-Tsankov-Videv theory.

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This book outlines a selection of exciting advances currently being made worldwide in the field of modern engineering at the nanometer scale. Leading scientists and engineers give a general overview of research advances in their specialized subject areas. They also describe some of their own cutting-edge research and give their visions of the future.Written in a popular and well-illustrated style, the articles are written by young scientists many of whom hold, or have held, prestigious Royal Society or EPSRC Fellowships. Carefully selected by Professor A G Davies and Professor J M T Thompson FRS, topics include: the fabrication and measurement of nanoelectronic devices, organic conductors, and bioelectronic materials; the assembly of such structures into appropriate configurations, including the use of biological processes to drive the assembly; the development of new materials including both organic and inorganic wires, carbon nanotubes, and magnetic materials; and finally, the analysis and characterization of these structures.The book conveys the excitement and enthusiasm of the authors for their work at the frontiers of modern engineering nanotechnology. All are definitive reviews for readers with a general interest in the future directions of science and engineering at the nanometer scale.

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This volume is concerned with functional nanomaterials: materials containing specific, predictable nanostructure whose chemical composition or interfacial structure enable them to perform a specific job — destroy, sequester or detect some material that constitutes an environmental threat. Nanomaterials have a number of features that make them ideally suited for this job: high surface area, high reactivity, easy dispersability, and rapid diffusion. The purpose of this book is to showcase how these features can be tailored to address some of the environmental remediation and sensing/detection problems faced today. The leading researchers contributing to this volume paint a picture of diverse synthetic strategies, structures, materials and methods. The book is organized into sections on nanoparticle-based remediation strategies, nanostructured inorganic materials (such as layered materials like the apatites), nanostructured organic/inorganic hybrid materials, and the use of nanomaterials to enhance the performance of sensors. The chemistries captured by the contributors form a rich and colorful tapestry.

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This book provides an introduction for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students to the field of astrophysical fluid dynamics. Although sometimes ignored, fluid dynamical processes play a central role in virtually all areas of astrophysics.No previous knowledge of fluid dynamics is assumed. After establishing the basic equations of fluid dynamics and the physics relevant to an astrophysical application, a variety of topics in the field are addressed. There is also a chapter introducing the reader to numerical methods. Appendices list useful physical constants and astronomical quantities, and provide handy reference material on Cartesian tensors, vector calculus in polar coordinates, self-adjoint eigenvalue problems and JWKB theory.

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Communication networks and computer systems research is entering a new phase in which many of the established models and techniques of the last twenty years are being challenged. The research community is continuing to free itself from past intellectual constraints so that it may fully exploit the convergence of computing and communications. Evaluating the performance of emerging communications and computer systems constitutes a huge challenge. Thus, current research provides a set of heterogeneous tools and techniques embracing the uncertainties of time and space varying environments when the requests for diverse services are made in real time, and with very different quality of service expectations.These novel techniques will lead to fast and economic service deployment and effective dynamic resource management, and hence to new business strategies and infrastructures that will facilitate the emergence of future services and applications.This volume contains contributions and presentations made by leading international researchers at a workshop which was held in April 2004 to honour Professor Erol Gelenbe on the occasion of his inaugural lecture as the Dennis Gabor Chair at Imperial College London.

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The last decade has seen major advances in our understanding of the basic scientific principles that underpin clinical neurology. Many of these advances have already had a major impact on routine clinical practice, and this is likely to continue in the future. Although this makes it an exciting time to practice neurology, it also presents new challenges. How can established general neurologists keep up-to-date with clinically relevant scientific advances, and how can the specialist remain competent outside his own field? What should trainee neurologists learn to prepare themselves for the future career?Written by experts in the field, this timely book presents the scientific principles behind neurology. It aims to take the reader from the human genome, through gene expression, to molecular and cellular pathology, and subsequently to contemporary clinical investigations and clinical trials. Each contribution includes a discussion about the future of the field and highlights areas of potential growth and their relevance to routine clinical practice over the next decade. The succinctly written chapters will be easily accessible to both neurologists and trainees who have no expertise in the area.Many of the chapters are co-written by a clinician and a basic scientist, and each has been subject to peer review — both by experts in the field and a “jobbing” general neurologist. This has ensured that the contributions reflect contemporary scientific thinking which is presented in a way that is easy to digest. The book includes generous use of diagrams to help explain difficult concepts, a glossary explaining the terminology, and provides information on links to web-based resources for further information.

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This book is based on lectures presented over many years to second and third year mathematics students in the Mathematics Departments at Bedford College, London, and King's College, London, as part of the BSc. and MSci. program. Its aim is to provide a gentle yet rigorous first course on complex analysis.Metric space aspects of the complex plane are discussed in detail, making this text an excellent introduction to metric space theory. The complex exponential and trigonometric functions are defined from first principles and great care is taken to derive their familiar properties. In particular, the appearance of π, in this context, is carefully explained.The central results of the subject, such as Cauchy's Theorem and its immediate corollaries, as well as the theory of singularities and the Residue Theorem are carefully treated while avoiding overly complicated generality. Throughout, the theory is illustrated by examples.A number of relevant results from real analysis are collected, complete with proofs, in an appendix.The approach in this book attempts to soften the impact for the student who may feel less than completely comfortable with the logical but often overly concise presentation of mathematical analysis elsewhere.

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The manufacture of silicon single crystals is one of the most important processes in the information technology industry. This book explains the details of liquid metal convection, providing a guide for the elegant operation and control of Czochralski crystal growth, including the effect of magnetic control. Also covered is the newly emerging research field of the application of strong magnetic field using a superconducting magnet. Model equations for the phenomena in the magnetic field are treated in detail, which will be of much use to researchers and engineers in the field.The coverage includes the effect of the Lorentz force in materials processing and the magnetic force of recently developed superconducting magnets. It examines heat, mass and momentum transfer in electro-conducting and non-conducting fluids under normal and very strong magnetic fields. The book also treats the Czochralski single crystal growth process and continuous steel casting process as the most important current applications of magnetic fields. Numerical approaches are compared with the corresponding experimental measurements.

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An essential graduate level text on the asymptotic analysis of ordinary differential equations, this book covers all the important methods including dominant balance, the use of divergent asymptotic series, phase integral methods, asymptotic evaluation of integrals, and boundary layer analysis. The construction of integral solutions and the use of analytic continuation are used in conjunction with the asymptotic analysis, to show the interrelatedness of these methods. Some of the functions of classical analysis are used as examples, to provide an introduction to their analytic and asymptotic properties, and to give derivations of some of the important identities satisfied by them. There is no attempt to give a complete presentation of all these functions. The emphasis is on the various techniques of analysis: obtaining asymptotic limits, connecting different asymptotic solutions, and obtaining integral representation.

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Building on the material learned by students in their first few years of study, this book presents an advanced level course on statistical and thermal physics. It begins with a review of the formal structure of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics considered from a unified viewpoint. After a brief revision of non-interacting systems, emphasis is laid on interacting systems. First, weakly interacting systems are considered, where the interest is in seeing how such interactions cause small deviations from the non-interacting case. Second, systems are examined where interactions lead to drastic changes, namely phase transitions. A number of specific examples are given, and these are unified within the Landau theory of phase transitions. The final chapter of the book looks at non-equilibrium systems and the way these evolve towards equilibrium. Here, fluctuations play a vital role, as is formalized in the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem.

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Atomic clusters are the bridge between molecules and the bulk matter. Following two key experiments — the observation of electronic shells in metallic clusters and the discovery of the C60 fullerence — the field of atomic clusters has experienced a rapid growth, and is now considered a mature field. The electrons of the cluster are confined to a small volume, hence, quantum effects are manifested on many properties of the clusters. Another interesting feature is that the properties often change in a non-smooth way as the number of atoms in the cluster increases. This book provides an updated overview of the field, and presents a detailed description of the structure and electronic properties of different types of clusters: Van der Waals clusters, metallic clusters, clusters of ionic materials and network clusters. The assembling of clusters is also considered, since specially stable clusters are expected to play a role in the future design and synthesis of new materials.

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The book presents exact results for one-dimensional models (including quantum spin models) of strongly correlated electrons in a comprehensive and concise manner. It incorporates important results related to magnetic and hybridization impurities in electron hosts and contains exact original results for disordered ensembles of impurities in interacting systems. These models describe a number of real low-dimensional electron systems that are widely used in nanophysics and microelectronics.An important method of modern theoretical and mathematical physics — the Bethe's Ansatz (BA) — is introduced to readers. This book presents different forms of the BA for periodic and open quantum chains. Other forms dealt with are the co-ordinate BA, thermodynamic BA, nested BA, algebraic BA, and thermal BA. The book also contains a compact description of other theoretical methods such as scaling, conformal field theory, Abelian and non-Abelian bosonizations.The book is suitable for use as a textbook by graduate students in non-perturbative methods of low-dimensional quantum many-body theory. It will also be a useful source of reference for qualified physicists, as well as non-experts in low-dimensional physics, as it explores material necessary for further studies in the fields of exactly solvable quantum models and low-dimensional correlated electron systems.

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This book provides an introduction to representations of both finite and compact groups. The proofs of the basic results are given for the finite case, but are so phrased as to hold without change for compact topological groups with an invariant integral replacing the sum over the group elements as an averaging tool. Among the topics covered are the relation between representations and characters, the construction of irreducible representations, induced representations and Frobenius reciprocity. Special emphasis is given to exterior powers, with the symmetric group Sn as an illustrative example. The book concludes with a chapter comparing the representations of the finite group SL2(p) and the non-compact Lie group SL2(P).

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Ultrafiltration is a pressure-driven, membrane-based separation process, which is used for a broad variety of applications, ranging from the processing of biological macromolecules to wastewater treatment. It has significant advantages over competing separation technologies. Food and biotechnological applications account for nearly 40% of the current total usage of ultrafiltration membranes. Protein bioseparation is an important component of this application segment. Ultrafiltration is used for protein concentration, desalting, clarification and fractionation (i.e. protein-protein separation). Concentration, desalting and clarification are technologically less demanding and have been in used in the bioprocess industry for some time. Protein fractionation, on the other hand, is a challenging proposition and is definitely a more recent development. This book focuses primarily on protein fractionation.

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