Search results for ""springer verlag, singapore""

This book explores the history of modern human creativity/innovation, highlighting examples of solutions to basic human’ needs that have been developed over time. The title – Femina Problematis Solvendis – is a play on the scientific classifications of humans (Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens), but with special focus on inventions pioneered by women (“femina”) and is intended to suggest that a defining characteristic of modern humans is our fundamental ability to solve problems (i.e., problem-solving woman = Femina problematis solvendis), Written by David H. Cropley, an internationally recognised expert on creativity and innovation, it also builds on his previous book “Homo Problematis Solvendis –Problem-solving Man”, published in 2019. The book explores innovations over ten distinct “ages” of human history, beginning with “prehistory”, and moving up to the present “information age”. Each era is covered by a dedicated chapter that describes three key innovations that were either definitely invented by a woman or can be plausibly attributed to a female inventor. The book’s focus on female inventors also serves to highlight some of the ways women have been treated in societies over time.

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This open access book addresses how to help students find purpose in a rapidly changing world. In a probing and visionary analysis of the field of global education Fernando Reimers explains how to lead the transformation of schools and school systems in order to more effectively prepare students to address today’s’ most urgent challenges and to invent a better future. Offering a comprehensive and multidimensional framework for designing and implementing a global education program that combines cultural, psychological, professional, institutional and political perspectives the book integrates an extensive body of empirical literature on the practice of global education. It discusses several global citizenship curricula that have been adopted by schools and school networks, and ties them into an approach to lead school change into the uncharted territory of the future. Given its scope, the book will help teachers, school and district leaders tackle the change management needed in order to introduce global education, and more generally increase the relevancy of education. In addition, the book offers a “bridge” for more productive collaboration and communication between those who lead the process of educational change, and those who study and theorize this important work.At a time when the urgency of our shared global challenges calls for more understanding and collaboration and when the rapid transformation of societies requires that we help students develop a clear sense of relevancy and purpose, this book offers a way to pursue deep and sustainable change in instruction and school culture, so that students learn that nothing human is foreign and that they can find meaning in lives aligned with audacious purposes to make the world better.

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The book presents compression techniques for digital video stream, describing their design using various image transforms, such as discrete cosine transform (DCT), discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and singular value decomposition (SVD). It first discusses the basic requirements and applications of video compression techniques. The book then addresses video compression using DCT as well as the hybrid compression technique, designed and implemented using DCT, DWT and SVD, demonstrating the simulation results for both. Lastly, it proposes future research directions in the field.

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This book presents a collection of papers from RMIT’s annual learning and teaching conference, Transformations in Tertiary Education: The Scholarship of Engagement at RMIT. It discusses innovative curricula and assessments, examines transformative student experiences and showcases examples of curricular and extra-curricular activities to promote and develop intercultural awareness and competence. The book showcases high-quality, innovative papers on promising new directions in tertiary education, representing the breadth and depth of teaching and learning at a leading global Australian university. Authors from Australian and offshore campuses address compelling questions related to curricula, technology, and assessment. Further, they employ a variety of methodological approaches to illustrate 21st century global perspectives on learning and teaching.Readers will be introduced to the complex interrelationships between scholarship and practice, innovative learning design and learning outcomes, and the shifting scholarship roles of the university, the teacher and the learner.

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This book comprises select papers presented at the International Conference on Trends and Recent Advances in Civil Engineering (TRACE 2018). The topics covered include the utilization of industrial by-products as construction materials, sustainable and green materials in construction applications, and latest measures adopted for stabilization techniques. The book also discusses recent advances and techniques related to geotechnical and concrete domain that can be used as a reference guide for various researchers and practitioners around the globe.

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This book provides a comprehensive overview of the application of liquid biofuels to internal combustion (IC) engines. Biofuels are one of the most promising renewable and sustainable energy sources. Particularly, liquid biofuels obtained from biomass could become a valid alternative to the use of fossil fuels in the light of increasingly stringent environmental constraints. In this book, the discussion is limited to liquid biofuels obtained from triglycerides and lignocellulose among the many different kinds of biomass. Several liquid biofuels from triglycerides, straight vegetable oil, biodiesel produced from inedible vegetable oil, hydrotreated vegetable oil, and pyrolytic oil have been selected for discussion, as well as biofuels from lignocellulose bio-oil, alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and butanol, and biomass-to-liquids diesel. This book includes three chapters on the application of methanol, ethanol and butanol to advanced compression ignition (CI) engines such as LTC, HCCI, RCCI and DF modes. Further, the application of other higher alcohols and other drop-in fuels such as DMF, MF, MTHF, and GVL are also discussed. The book will be a valuable resource for graduate students, researchers and engine designers who are interested in the application of alcohols and other biofuels in advanced CI engines, and also useful for alternative energy planners selecting biofuels for CI engines in the future.

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This proceedings volume for the 4th international conference CIGOS 2017 (Congrès International de Géotechnique - Ouvrages - Structures) presents novel technologies, solutions and research advances, making it an excellent guide in civil engineering for researchers, students, and professional engineers alike. Since 2010, CIGOS has become a vital forum for international scientific exchange on civil engineering. It aims to promote beneficial economic partnerships and technology exchanges between enterprises, worldwide institutions and universities. Following the success of the last three CIGOS conferences (2010, 2013 and 2015), the 4th conference was held at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam on 26 to 27 October 2017. The main scientific themes of CIGOS 2017 were focused on ‘New Challenges in Civil Engineering’.

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This book provides a compendium of material properties, demonstrates several successful examples of bio-based materials’ application in building facades, and offers ideas for new designs and novel solutions. It features a state-of-the-art review, addresses the latest trends in material selection, assembling systems, and innovative functions of facades in detail. Selected case studies on buildings from diverse locations are subsequently presented to demonstrate the successful implementation of various biomaterial solutions, which defines unique architectural styles and building functions. The structures, morphologies and aesthetic impressions related to bio-based building facades are discussed from the perspective of art and innovation; essential factors influencing the performance of materials with respect to functionality and safety are also presented. Special emphasis is placed on assessing the performance of a given facade throughout the service life of a building, and after its end. The book not only provides an excellent source of technical and scientific information, but also contributes to public awareness by demonstrating the benefits to be gained from the proper use of bio-based materials in facades. As such, it will appeal to a broad audience including architects, engineers, designers and building contractors.

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This work provides the first classification theory of matrix-valued symmetry breaking operators from principal series representations of a reductive group to those of its subgroup.The study of symmetry breaking operators (intertwining operators for restriction) is an important and very active research area in modern representation theory, which also interacts with various fields in mathematics and theoretical physics ranging from number theory to differential geometry and quantum mechanics.The first author initiated a program of the general study of symmetry breaking operators. The present book pursues the program by introducing new ideas and techniques, giving a systematic and detailed treatment in the case of orthogonal groups of real rank one, which will serve as models for further research in other settings.In connection to automorphic forms, this work includes a proof for a multiplicity conjecture by Gross and Prasad for tempered principal series representations in the case (SO(n + 1, 1), SO(n, 1)). The authors propose a further multiplicity conjecture for nontempered representations.Viewed from differential geometry, this seminal work accomplishes the classification of all conformally covariant operators transforming differential forms on a Riemanniann manifold X to those on a submanifold in the model space (X, Y) = (Sn, Sn-1). Functional equations and explicit formulæ of these operators are also established.This book offers a self-contained and inspiring introduction to the analysis of symmetry breaking operators for infinite-dimensional representations of reductive Lie groups. This feature will be helpful for active scientists and accessible to graduate students and young researchers in representation theory, automorphic forms, differential geometry, and theoretical physics.

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This book argues that integrating artistic contributions – with an emphasis on culture and language – can make Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects more accessible, and therefore promote creativity and innovation in teaching and learning at all levels of education. It provides tools and strategies for managing interdisciplinary learning and teaching based on successful collaborations between researchers, practitioners and artists in the fields of the Arts and STEM subjects. Based on contributions by educators, scientists, scholars, linguists and artists from around the globe, the book highlights how we can demonstrate teamwork and collaboration for innovation and creativity in STEAM subjects in the classroom and beyond.The book reflects the core of human rights education, using local languages and local knowledge through art as a tool for teaching human rights at school, and bringing to light questions on diversity, ecology, climate change, environmental issues, health and the future of human beings, as well as power relations between non-dominant (minorities) and dominant (the majority) groups in society.

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This book is aimed at generating an updated reservoir of scientific endeavors undertaken to unravel the complicated yet intriguing topic of neurodegeneration. Scientists from Europe, USA and India who are experts in the field of neurodegenerative diseases have contributed to this book. This book will help readers gain insight into the recent knowledge obtained from Drosophila model, in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders and also unravel novel scopes for therapeutic interventions. Different methodologies available to create humanized fly models that faithfully reflects the pathogenicities associated with particular disorders have been described here. It also includes information on the exciting area of neural stem cells. A brief discussion on neurofibrillary tangles, precedes the elaborate description of lessons learnt from Drosophila about Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, Spinomuscular Atrophy, Huntington’s diseases, RNA expansion disorders and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. We have concluded the book with the use of Drosophila for identifying pharmacological therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. The wide range of topics covered here will not only be relevant for beginners who are new to the concept of the extensive utility of Drosophila as a model to study human disorders; but will also be an important contribution to the scientific community, with an insight into the paradigm shift in our understanding of neurodegenerative disorders. Completed with informative tables and communicative illustrations this book will keep the readers glued and intrigued. We have comprehensively anthologized the lessons learnt on neurodegeneration from Drosophila and have thus provided an insight into the multidimensional aspects of pathogenicities of majority of the neurodegenerative disorders.

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The 24th volume of this highly successful series includes new contemporary topics such as corrosive injuries of the oesophagus, post-gastrectomy complications, advances in imaging of inflammatory bowel disease, unusual presentations of gallstones, gall bladder cancer with jaundice, minimally invasive pancreatic surgery, and enhanced recovery after surgery. Finally, the chapter on advances in GI surgery, like in each past volume, reviews important new developments in the field. The GI Surgery Annual 24th Volume provides an overall roundup of selected topics that were deemed particularly relevant and topical by the series editors.

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This MATLAB exercise book accompanies the textbook Control Engineering, providing a platform for students to practice problem solving in the analysis and design of continuous and discrete control problems reflected in the main textbook. The book starts off with a brief introduction to MATLAB, control toolbox and Simulink. Subsequent chapters include a short theoretical summary of the topic followed by exercises on solving complex problems using MATLAB commands. These exercises are ideal for students in computer laboratory classes.

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The focus of this book is to introduce up-to-date information on applications and practical use of RNA for agriculture, biotechnology and medicine. It provides unique ideas, tools, and methods in detail from a variety of scientific and technical disciplines. RNA science has progressed enormously in recent decades, and vast amounts of information on RNA functions and their regulatory mechanisms are becoming available. Such a progress opened the door to an age of practical application of RNA in many fields including agriculture, plant science, medical science, brewing and fermentation technology, and material production. This book inspires its readership and contributes to not only expansion in application of RNA but also to basic research.

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The book titled Advanced Computational and Communication Paradigms: Proceedings of International Conference on ICACCP 2017, Volume 2 presents refereed high-quality papers of the First International Conference on Advanced Computational and Communication Paradigms (ICACCP 2017) organized by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, held from 8– 10 September 2017. ICACCP 2017 covers an advanced computational paradigms and communications technique which provides failsafe and robust solutions to the emerging problems faced by mankind. Technologists, scientists, industry professionals and research scholars from regional, national and international levels are invited to present their original unpublished work in this conference. There were about 550 technical paper submitted. Finally after peer review, 142 high-quality papers have been accepted and registered for oral presentation which held across 09 general sessions and 05 special sessions along with 04 keynote address and 06 invited talks. This volume comprises 77 accepted papers of ICACCP 2017.

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This book highlights how the properties and structure of materials are affected by dynamic high pressures generated by explosions, projectile impacts, laser compression, electric discharge or ball milling. Starting with the basics of shock-wave physics and an outline of experimental techniques, it then surveys dynamic compressibility and equations of state of various substances, phase transitions and syntheses of novel compounds under shock. It covers various industrial applications including hardening of metals and grinding (fragmentation) of solids, saturation of solids with defects for use as catalysts, production of superhard materials (synthetic diamond, BN (boron nitride)) and nanomaterials, especially nanodiamond, and discusses state-of-the-art techniques such as combining dynamic and static compression to obtain monolithic materials.

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The widespread acceptance among the oncology community at large of cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC as a potentially curative treatment for peritoneal metastases has paved the way for innovative new therapies that could benefit a larger proportion of patients. Much has been and continues to be published on this subject.This book provides comprehensive reviews on the various aspects of managing peritoneal metastases. The authors highlight essential practical issues that surgical oncologists encounter in their day-to-day practice, and try to before provide evidence based answers to address them. All chapters were written and/or reviewed by leading experts in this field.

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The purpose of this book is to convey to the worldwide scientific community the rapid and enthusiastic progress of state-of-the-art quantum chemistry. Quantum chemistry continues to grow with remarkable success particularly due to rapid progress in supercomputers. The usefulness of quantum chemistry is almost limitless. Its application covers not only physical chemistry but also organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, and life sciences. This book deals with all of these topics. Frontiers of Quantum Chemistry is closely related to the symposium of the same name held at Kwansei Gakuin University at Nishinomiya, Japan, in November 2015. The book's contributors, however, include not only invited speakers at the symposium but also many other distinguished scientists from wide areas of quantum chemistry around the world.

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This book is intended to serve as a text on dynamics for undergraduate students of engineering. The book provides in-depth discussions of the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, more commonly known as dynamics. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience in teaching the subject of dynamics at two Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), the book contains 498 line diagrams, 123 worked-out examples and 222 exercise problems. The answers to select exercise problems are provided at the end of the book. A wealth of detailed illustrations make the book ideally suited for both self self-study and classroom use at both introductory and secondary levels. Thus the book offers a valuable resource for both students and teachers of dynamics, addressing the main topics covered in core level courses on ‘Dynamics’ for students of civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering across the globe.

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This book discusses economic development in general and selected public policy issues with a focus on philosophy, Gandhian thoughts and sectoral issues in the Indian context. It presents scholarly contributions on growth and development in India, with particular emphasis on human development in connection with the economy of India and selected developing countries. It brings to the forefront a body of knowledge on philosophy and ethical issues within the domain of public policies relating to development in today’s world. The book includes contributions from leading economists and covering a range of issues such as the Indian government’s current ‘Make in India’ drive, the role of the World Bank, managing educational finances, development and higher education policy, inflation, decentralization, inequality, regional development, and linkages between health, nutrition and education. Accordingly, the book not only offers a useful resource for academics, economists and development practitioners, but also has important implications for public policymaking.

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This book reports on the latest findings concerning nonlinear control theory and applications. It presents novel work on several kinds of commonly encountered nonlinear time-delay systems, including those whose nonlinear terms satisfy high-order polynomial form or general nonlinear form, those with nonlinear input or a triangular structure, and so on. As such, the book will be of interest to university researchers, R&D engineers and graduate students in the fields of control theory and control engineering who wish to learn about the core principles, methods, algorithms, and applications of nonlinear time-delay systems.

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The main objective is to provide quick and essential knowledge for the subject with the help of summary and solved questions /case studies without going into detailed discussion. This book will be much helpful for the students as a supplementary text/workbook; and to the non-computer professionals, who deal with the systems analysis and design as part of their business. Such problem solving approach will be able to provide practical knowledge of the subject and similar learning output, without going into lengthy discussions.Though the book is conceived as supplementary text/workbook; the topics are selected and arranged in such a way that it can provide complete and sufficient knowledge of the subject.

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This book represents the work of some of the contemporary world leaders in marketing. The contributors are authors of a set of path-breaking books on marketing. To ensure sufficient depth of coverage, the contributors have taken the essence of their earlier books and combined it with their latest understanding and cases. This has served to enhance the content and put it in the readers’ current context. It is common knowledge that keeping pace with the growing application of marketing requires a novel approach. With new ideas and nuances being discovered every day, it has become a real challenge for marketers and students of marketing to keep up to date on important contemporary marketing concepts. Given its unique approach and thoughtful curation, this book presents readers with diversity of perspectives along with a unique depth of thinking.

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This book identifies and addresses subtle but important questions and issues associated with the configuration of International Relations as a discipline. Starting with a much-needed discussion of manifold implications and issues associated with pluralism, the book raises important questions, such as where does the field of IR stand in terms of epistemological, theoretical, and methodological diversity. The book also carries out a comparative analysis of the present status of post-positivist IR scholarship in the United States and China.Eun discusses these questions through a close reading of the key texts in the field and by undertaking a critical survey of publishing and teaching practices in IR communities. IR scholars will gravitate to this text that fills many gaps in international political theory.

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This book is a comprehensive guide to lower urinary tract dysfunction that draws extensively on actual urodynamic traces and patient cases to ensure that the imparted knowledge will be readily transferable to clinical practice. The impressive collection of clinical cases is used to illustrate basic concepts of lower urinary tract function and to document urodynamic findings and typical patterns in a wide range of commonly encountered conditions. In addition, attention is drawn to frequent pitfalls and artifacts. Readers will be able to assess their skill in reaching the correct diagnostic conclusion in each case, as in addition to the urodynamic trace a full set of information is provided on aspects such as patient history, physical examination, voiding diary, laboratory examination, imaging studies, and cystourethroscopy, thereby directly simulating real-life clinical practice. The presented cases are drawn from the large clinical database that Professor Seung-June Oh has prospectively accumulated during the past 16 years of clinical practice. The book will be invaluable for residents and other practitioners and will also be of interest for medical students.

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This book offers insights into the relationship between nation-state and education by problematizing and analyzing the assumed straightforwardness of the role of education and schooling.Placing the issue in very contemporary contested nation-state structures like Scotland, Catalonia, Ukraine and Belgium. These conflict situations and contested power relations are in a way some of Europe’s internal North-South struggles. In addition, the particular Nordic North-South example of the Saami with their status as indigenous people recognized in international law is viewed in terms of their educational struggle for better consideration of their cultural features in Saami land crossing the Nordic states. The book focuses on the Nordic countries, often viewed as globally exemplary in their educational arrangements, but casts deeper insight into Nordic education and points to problematic schooling issues in Northern Europe. This volume presents somewhat unexpected views on European educational arrangements with regard to the European growing diversity.

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This comprehensive work broadens readers' understanding of the rudimentary mechanism of the anti-cancer effect of hyperthermia. It also presents state-of-the-art clinical outcomes by hyperthermia treatment of cancer. In the past few decades, basic and clinical research have shown through in vitro experiments that hyperthermia inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), resulting in the prevention of metastasis. It also has been learned that hyperthermia shows its superior benefit when applied in combination with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or various immunotherapies as treatments of several types of carcinoma. The chapters here from expert contributors describe the details of their research for each type of cancer. This book provides not only an overview and the current status of hyperthermia but also its future perspectives. Therefore this volume will greatly benefit oncologists, radiologists and radiology technologists, and chemotherapists who are involved in immunotherapy for all kinds of cancer.

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This book presents various theories and algorithms to create a quantum computer. The concept of the classical and quantum computers, and the concept of circuits and gates are reviewed. The example of the Deutsch and the Deutsch-Josca algorithm is discussed to illustrate some key features of quantum computing. The Grover algorithm, considered to be of major milestone of the subject, is discussed in detail to exemplify the techniques used in computer algorithms. The role of quantum superposition (also called quantum parallelism) and of quantum entanglement is discussed in order to understand the key advantages of a quantum over a classical computer.

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This monograph represents a historic breakthrough in the field of linear programming (LP)since George Dantzig first discovered the simplex method in 1947. Being both thoughtful and informative, it focuses on reflecting and promoting the state of the art by highlighting new achievements in LP. This new edition is organized in two volumes. The first volume addresses foundations of LP, including the geometry of feasible region, the simplex method and its implementation, duality and the dual simplex method, the primal-dual simplex method, sensitivity analysis and parametric LP, the generalized simplex method, the decomposition method, the interior-point method and integer LP method. The second volume mainly introduces contributions of the author himself, such as efficient primal/dual pivot rules, primal/dual Phase-I methods, reduced/D-reduced simplex methods, the generalized reduced simplex method, primal/dual deficient-basis methods, primal/dual face methods, a new decomposition principle, etc.Many important improvements were made in this edition. The first volume includes new results, such as the mixed two-phase simplex algorithm, dual elimination, fresh pricing scheme for reduced cost, bilevel LP models and intercepting of optimal solution set. In particular, the chapter Integer LP Method was rewritten with great gains of the objective cutting for new ILP solvers {\it controlled-cutting/branch} methods, as well as with an attractive implementation of the controlled-branch method. In the second volume, the `simplex feasible-point algorithm' was rewritten, and removed from the chapter Pivotal Interior-Point Method to form an independent chapter with the new title `Simplex Interior-Point Method', as it represents a class of efficient interior-point algorithms transformed from traditional simplex algorithms. The title of the original chapter was then changed to `Facial Interior-Point Method', as the remaining algorithms represent another class of efficient interior-point algorithms transformed from normal interior-point algorithms. Without exploiting sparsity, the original primal/dual face methods were implemented using Cholesky factorization. In order to deal with sparse computation, two new chapters discussing LU factorization were added to the second volume. The most exciting improvement came from the rediscovery of the reduced simplex method. In the first edition, the derivation of its prototype was presented in a chapter with the same title, and then converted into the so-called `improved' version in another chapter. Fortunately, the author recently found a quite concise new derivation, so he can now introduce the distinctive fresh simplex method in a single chapter. It is exciting that the reduced simplex method can be expected to be the best LP solver ever.With a focus on computation, the current edition contains many novel ideas, theories and methods, supported by solid numerical results. Being clear and succinct, its content reveals in a fresh manner, from simple to profound. In particular, a larger number of examples were worked out to demonstrate algorithms. This book is a rare work in LP and an indispensable tool for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, practitioners, and researchers in LP and related fields.

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This open access book addresses self-care on sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV prevention and treatment in the most marginalized and vulnerable communities. Case studies and personal narratives are used to share their perspectives and experiences, sources of information for self-care products, motivations for self-care, and challenges and outcomes. Self-care provides the way to reach the last mile in achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. Issues related to stigma, discrimination and violence among these communities are highlighted. Changes in policies and programs to improve their sexual and reproductive health, education and employment are discussed. The last chapter in the book examines how the agenda on self-care can be advanced in the years ahead. The audience for this publication includes health professionals, researchers, those managing health institutions and service providers.

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This book presents a detailed study on the vibration analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric actuators excited under the shear effect. Two types of actuator geometries viz. beam and annular plate are considered, where the material properties are assumed to have a continuous variation in accordance with a power law distribution. The generalized differential quadrature method is used to obtain the solutions, and is compared to exact analytical results. The methodology reported and the numerical results presented will be useful for the design of devices utilizing functionally graded piezoelectric actuators under the influence of shear.

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This book provides a readable and thought-provoking analysis of the issues surrounding nuclear fuel reprocessing and fast-neutron reactors, including discussion of resources, economics, radiological risk and resistance to nuclear proliferation. It describes the history and science behind reprocessing, and gives an overview of the status of reprocessing programmes around the world. It concludes that such programs should be discontinued. While nuclear power is seen by many as the only realistic solution to the carbon emission problem, some national nuclear establishments have been pursuing development and deployment of sodium-cooled plutonium breeder reactors, and plutonium recycling. Its proponents argue that this system would offer significant advantages relative to current light water reactor technology in terms of greater uranium utilization efficiency, and that separating out the long-lived plutonium and other transuranics from spent fuel and fissioning them in fast reactors would greatly reduce the duration of the toxicity of radioactive waste. However, the history of efforts to deploy this system commercially in a number of countries over the last six decades has been one of economic and technical failure and, in some cases, was used to mask clandestine nuclear weapon development programs. Covering topics of significant public interest including nuclear safety, fuel storage, environmental impact and the spectre of nuclear terrorism, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of the issue for nuclear engineers, policy analysts, government officials and the general public. "Frank von Hippel, Jungmin Kang, and Masafumi Takubo, three internationally renowned nuclear experts, have done a valuable service to the global community in putting together this book, which both historically and comprehensively covers the “plutonium age” as we know it today. They articulate in a succinct and clear manner their views on the dangers of a plutonium economy and advocate a ban on the separation of plutonium for use in the civilian fuel cycle in view of the high proliferation and nuclear-security risks and lack of economic justification." (Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009), Nobel Peace Prize (2005))"The 1960s dream of a ‘plutonium economy’ has not delivered abundant low-cost energy, but instead has left the world a radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons proliferation and the real potential for nuclear terrorism. Kang, Takubo, and von Hippel explain with power and clarity what can be done to reduce these dangers. The governments of the remaining countries whose nuclear research and development establishments are still pursuing the plutonium dream should pay attention.” (Senator Edward Markey, a leader in the US nuclear-disarmament movement as a member of Congress since 1976)"The authors have done an invaluable service by putting together in one place the most coherent analysis of the risks associated with plutonium, and the most compelling argument for ending the practice of separating plutonium from spent fuel for any purpose. They have given us an easily accessible history of the evolution of thinking about the nuclear fuel cycle, the current realities of nuclear power around the world and, arguably most important, a clear alternative path to deal with the spent fuel arising from nuclear reactors for decades to centuries to come." (Robert Gallucci, Chief US negotiator with North Korea (1994); Dean, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (1996-2009); President, MacArthur Foundation (2009-2014))

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The 13-volume set LNCS 14425-14437 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th Chinese Conference on Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision, PRCV 2023, held in Xiamen, China, during October 13–15, 2023. The 532 full papers presented in these volumes were selected from 1420 submissions. The papers have been organized in the following topical sections: Action Recognition, Multi-Modal Information Processing, 3D Vision and Reconstruction, Character Recognition, Fundamental Theory of Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Vision Problems in Robotics, Autonomous Driving, Pattern Classification and Cluster Analysis, Performance Evaluation and Benchmarks, Remote Sensing Image Interpretation, Biometric Recognition, Face Recognition and Pose Recognition, Structural Pattern Recognition, Computational Photography, Sensing and Display Technology, Video Analysis and Understanding, Vision Applications and Systems, Document Analysis and Recognition, Feature Extraction and Feature Selection, Multimedia Analysis and Reasoning, Optimization and Learning methods, Neural Network and Deep Learning, Low-Level Vision and Image Processing, Object Detection, Tracking and Identification, Medical Image Processing and Analysis.

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The 13-volume set LNCS 14425-14437 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th Chinese Conference on Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision, PRCV 2023, held in Xiamen, China, during October 13–15, 2023. The 532 full papers presented in these volumes were selected from 1420 submissions. The papers have been organized in the following topical sections: Action Recognition, Multi-Modal Information Processing, 3D Vision and Reconstruction, Character Recognition, Fundamental Theory of Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Vision Problems in Robotics, Autonomous Driving, Pattern Classification and Cluster Analysis, Performance Evaluation and Benchmarks, Remote Sensing Image Interpretation, Biometric Recognition, Face Recognition and Pose Recognition, Structural Pattern Recognition, Computational Photography, Sensing and Display Technology, Video Analysis and Understanding, Vision Applications and Systems, Document Analysis and Recognition, Feature Extraction and Feature Selection, Multimedia Analysis and Reasoning, Optimization and Learning methods, Neural Network and Deep Learning, Low-Level Vision and Image Processing, Object Detection, Tracking and Identification, Medical Image Processing and Analysis.

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The 13-volume set LNCS 14425-14437 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th Chinese Conference on Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision, PRCV 2023, held in Xiamen, China, during October 13–15, 2023. The 532 full papers presented in these volumes were selected from 1420 submissions. The papers have been organized in the following topical sections: Action Recognition, Multi-Modal Information Processing, 3D Vision and Reconstruction, Character Recognition, Fundamental Theory of Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Vision Problems in Robotics, Autonomous Driving, Pattern Classification and Cluster Analysis, Performance Evaluation and Benchmarks, Remote Sensing Image Interpretation, Biometric Recognition, Face Recognition and Pose Recognition, Structural Pattern Recognition, Computational Photography, Sensing and Display Technology, Video Analysis and Understanding, Vision Applications and Systems, Document Analysis and Recognition, Feature Extraction and Feature Selection, Multimedia Analysis and Reasoning, Optimization and Learning methods, Neural Network and Deep Learning, Low-Level Vision and Image Processing, Object Detection, Tracking and Identification, Medical Image Processing and Analysis

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This open access book provides a comprehensive review of technological innovation in China, focusing on some existing challenges and the debate on the role of public policies in promoting innovation.

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This book focuses on the multi-beam phased array antenna as a satellite ground station. As there are already many excellent books on phased array antennas in the literature, this book focuses mainly on some engineering practices and fills the gap between principles and practices, such as array excitation error impact analysis and calibration methods, array geometry design for hemispherical coverage, multiple beam resource management, etc. This book is particularly suitable for readers interested in satellite constellation design or satellite ground station design. This book also benefits researchers and engineers in the fields of phased array antennas, aerospace engineering, telecommunications, etc.

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This book presents mercury toxicity with respect to remediation and health issues. It covers sources of mercury contamination, its impact on human health, and prospective remediation by both bioremediation and phytoremediation with the application of recent advanced techniques such as genetic engineering and nanotechnology.Both anthropogenic activities and natural processes cause the release of mercury into different spheres of the environment resulting in severe adverse impacts. Increased anthropogenic discharge of mercury leads to disturbance in its natural biogeochemical cycle, which results in unenviable diseases and hazardous health effects. Mercury pollution is responsible for causing neurobehavioral, kidney, heart, gastrointestinal, liver, and other diseases. Many published works about the impact of mercury on health are also available worldwide; however, there is no complete understanding available on toxicological studies of mercury that covers the broader spectrum of findings ranging from sources of exposure to mercury toxicity to its remediation strategies.This book brings together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability, and health researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by mercury contamination. The book also proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches.The book contains three sections. The first part describes the different sources and distribution of mercury in soil and plant ecosystems. The second part explains the health risks linked to mercury toxicity. The third part addresses sustainable mercury toxicity mitigation strategies and the potential applications of recent technology in providing solutions. This book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals working in the field of mercury contamination.

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This book introduces the various urinary formed elements comprehensively, mainly including exfoliated cells, crystals and casts. Since the urinary formed elements are affected by various factors and their morphology may change, these components are identified by combining a variety of staining techniques. Various kinds of clinical classic cases are introduced, which are illustrated by richness high-definition colour pictures.

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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Cryptology and Network Security, CANS 2023, which was held in October/November 2023 in Augusta, GA, USA.The 25 papers presented were thoroughly revised and selected from the 54 submissions. They are organized in the following topical sections: Schemes I; Basic Primitives; Security; MPC with Cards; Blockchain; MPC and Secret Sharing; Schemes II.

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This book includes original, peer-reviewed research papers from the 2023 4th International Symposium on Insulation and Discharge Computation for Power Equipment (IDCOMPU2023), held in Wuhan, China. The topics covered include but are not limited to: insulation, discharge computations, electric power equipment, and electrical materials. The papers share the latest findings in the field of insulation and discharge computations of electric power equipment, making the book a valuable asset for researchers, engineers, university students, etc.

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This book presents the select peer-reviewed proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Emerging Electronics & Automation (E2A) 2022. The proceedings aim to provide the reader with a view of the latest scientific efforts and achievements of the participants in the emerging fields including instrumentation, control, signal processing, communication, and associated computational techniques. It covers diverse fields of electronics, computation, automation, microelectronic technology, nanomaterials, and biomedical engineering applications. This volume will be of interest to those in academia and industry.

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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Visual Informatics, IVIC 2023, held in Selangor, Malaysia in November 2023.The 51 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 101 submissions. The conference focused on 6 tracks: Modeling and Simulation, Mixed Reality and HCI, Systems Integration and IoT, Cybersecurity, Energy Informatics and Intelligent Data Analytics.

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The 9-volume set LNAI 14267-14275 constitutes the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2023, which took place in Hangzhou, China, during July 5–7, 2023.The 413 papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 630 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Human-Centric Technologies for Seamless Human-Robot Collaboration; Multimodal Collaborative Perception and Fusion; Intelligent Robot Perception in Unknown Environments; Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application.Part II: Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application; Reliable AI on Machine Human Reactions; Wearable Sensors and Robots; Wearable Robots for Assistance, Augmentation and Rehabilitation of Human Movements; Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot.Part III: Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot; Medical Imaging for Biomedical Robotics; Advanced Underwater Robot Technologies; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Evaluation of Wearable Robots for Assistance and Rehabilitation; 3D Printing Soft Robots.Part IV: 3D Printing Soft Robots; Dielectric Elastomer Actuators for Soft Robotics; Human-like Locomotion and Manipulation; Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots.Part V: Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots; Robotic Tactile Sensation, Perception, and Applications; Advanced Sensing and Control Technology for Human-Robot Interaction; Knowledge-Based Robot Decision-Making and Manipulation; Design and Control of Legged Robots.Part VI: Design and Control of Legged Robots; Robots in Tunnelling and Underground Space; Robotic Machining of Complex Components; Clinically Oriented Design in Robotic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics.Part VII: Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics; Perception, Interaction, and Control of Wearable Robots; Marine Robotics and Applications; Multi-Robot Systems for Real World Applications; Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction.Part VIII: Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction; Advanced Motion Control Technologies for Mobile Robots; Intelligent Inspection Robotics; Robotics in Sustainable Manufacturing for Carbon Neutrality; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms.Part IX: Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Cutting-Edge Research in Robotics.

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This book studies an overarching question of the challenges faced by Chinese lawmakers, Chinese listed companies, Chinese companies’ external advisers, and securities regulators in dealing with Chinese cross-border listed companies’ continuous disclosure in Australia, and how can these challenges be addressed. Chinese listed companies are struggling to meet the continuous disclosure requirements while listing in Australia and have even been depicted as having poor corporate governance and transparency. Many get delisted from the securities market in Australia subsequently due to non-compliance in continuous disclosure or are straight rejected from listing because of continuous disclosure compliance concerns. This book cuts in from this angle and delves deep into the overarching question through the following four sub-questions: What are the theories and policies behind the continuous disclosure regimes in Australia and China and how have they been differently implemented in the securities markets in these two countries? What are the deficiencies, at the intracompany level, contributing to Chinese cross-border listed companies’ non-compliant continuous disclosure in Australia? What are the limitations, from the perspective of external advisers’ efforts, contributing to Chinese cross-border listed companies’ non-compliant continuous disclosure in Australia? What are the difficulties, at the regulatory level, contributing to Chinese cross-border listed companies’ non-compliant continuous disclosure in Australia? In addressing these questions and putting forward corresponding reform proposals, this book takes not only legal but also historical, cultural, and political-economic factors into consideration.

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This book aims to reflect the digital transformation of Chinese education toward smart education comprehensively and accurately. It is the first systematic summary of the progress of smart education in China. The book believes that smart education is a new education form in the digital era and is essentially distinct from education forms in the industrial era. This new education form is innovative in five dimensions. First is the new core concept. Smart education is not only a concrete action concerning people’s well-being, but also a vital strategy concerning national plans. Through technology empowerment and data drive, it empowers educational reform in all aspects, systematically constructs a new relationship between education and society, provides suitable education for each learner, and makes the aptitude-based teaching that we have been dreaming of for thousands of years a reality. For the first time in history, smart education helps to reach the full alignment between individual development and societal development. Second is the new system structure. Smart education will break through the boundaries of school education, drive the diversified combination of various education types, resources, and elements, promote the collaboration of school, family, and society in education, and build a high-quality, individualized lifelong learning system that is available for anyone anywhere anytime. Third is the new teaching paradigm. Smart education will integrate physical, social, and digital spaces to create new learning scenarios and promote human–technology integration, and cultivate cross-grade, cross-class, and cross-discipline learning communities across time and space to organically combine large-scale education with individualized cultivation. Fourth is the new educational content. Smart education will focus on developing all-round education, establishing digital knowledge graphs based on systematic logics of knowledge points, and innovating content presentation methods to make learning a wonderful experience and help learners develop higher-order thinking skills, comprehensive innovation capability, and lifelong learning ability. Fifth is the new education governance. With data governance at the core and digital intelligence technology as the driver, smart education will boost the holistic reengineering of education administration and business processes and enhance the modernization of the education governance system and governance capacity. This book is intended for teachers, education administrators, education policymakers, education researchers, and parents concerned about education innovation and development, as well as people from all walks of life who have aspirations for the education industry. It can also serve as a reference for international organizations and education research institutions of all countries to promote the joint exploration of the development path of smart education and create a better future for the world’s mutual development through educational reform.

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This book addresses a major gap in sound art scholarship: the role of audience participation. It offers a survey of participatory sound art from its origins in the historical avant-gardes to the non-institutionalized forms of sonic creativity in contemporary digital culture. In doing so, it proposes an innovative theoretical framework for analysing such phenomena, rooted in Pragmatist aesthetics, affordance theory and postcritique. Combining artwork analyses with qualitative studies, it focuses on three principal aspects of participatory sound art: the ways the materialities of the artworks facilitate and structure the participatory processes; the interplay of the creative agencies of the artists and the participants; and the postcritical approach to sound art’s politics, unfolding through the participants’ affective gestures. In considering these multiple dimensions, this book contributes to the growing fields of sound studies and participation studies, as well as to curatorial practice regarding sound art and participatory art.

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This book examines practices on the relationship between sign and meaning in the Pre-Imperial period of China from the semiotics perspective. Although the Chinese civilization did not develop a comprehensive semiotics system in that period, they are highly semiotic in many ways. The thinking and application of signs of Chinese people can be found in many classics, such as The Book of Changes, The Analects of Confucius, Tao De Jing and Zhuangzi. This book begins its study by re-examining the semiotic thoughts contained in The Book of Changes and inquiries into the thoughts of the major philosophers of different schools. It provides insights into the findings of these philosophers concerning the relationship between sign and meaning. In particular, it concentrates on how the prosperity of the various contending semiotic thoughts complemented each other in forming a sign system. In addition, the book also emphasizes the wholeness and associativity of observing things and studying relevant signs of Chinese people. As the first monograph in any language to systematically summarize Chinese semiotic thought in the Pre-Imperial period, this book helps promote understanding of the traditional Chinese culture and mindset.

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