Search results for ""River Publishers""

Driven by advanced CMOS technology, power management units, RF transceivers, and sensors, analog and mixed-signal circuits can now be fully integrated with VLSI digital systems for applications ranging from mobile, internet-of-things (IoT), wearable, and implantable medical devices. Evidently, the circuit- and system-level innovations have pushed the device performance boundaries to become orders of magnitude higher, whilst keeping the same or even lower power consumption.Selected Topic in Power, RF, and Mixed-Signal ICs provides a practical overview and state-of-the-art advancements on several selected topics in the areas of power, RF, and mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems.Topics covered in the book include:• Very-High-Frequency DC-DC Switching Converters• Analog and Digital Low-Dropout Regulators• Analog and Digital Sub-Sampling Frequency Synthesizers• Hybrid ADC Architecture with Digital Assisted Techniques• CMOS Image Sensors and Their Biomedical Applications• CMOS Temperature Sensors• CMOS Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers• Zigbee/BLE Transmitter for IoT Applications

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Activities on integrated communications, navigation, sensing and services are urgently needed in a wide range of human-centered and/or device-centered system applications. They require a multi-disciplinary approach. It is foreseen that the economic scale of these activities are comparable with the present scale of wireless communications. The area in which systems operate can vary from personal area network to global network. This book covers the following topics; • CONASENSE Architecture • Performance Analyses of Integrated Communication Systems • Cognitive Radio Networks • Brain Computer Interfacing • Quality Improvement of Generic Services • Machine to Machine communications • Chip to Chip Communications Thus, the multi-disciplinary approach get attention in the book.

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DAQ and data processing is a basic part of all automated production systems, diagnostic systems, watching over quality of production, energy distribution, transport control or in various other areas. Demands on the speed, accuracy and reliability increase in general. It is possible to achieve not only using superior (but also more expensive) hardware, but also applying advanced data acquisition and intelligent data processing. It deals e.g. optimal data fusion of a number of sensors, new stochastic methods for accuracy increasing, new algorithms for acceleration of data processing, etc. These are the grounds for publishing this book. Advanced Data Acquisition and Intelligent Data Processing offers 10 up-to-date examples of different applications of advanced data acquisition and intelligent data processing used in monitoring, measuring and diagnostics systems. The book arose based on the most interesting papers from this area published at IDAACS?2013 conference. However, the indivudual chapters include not only designed solution in wider context but also relevant theoretical parts, achieved results and possible future ways.Technical topics discussed in this book include: • advanced methods of data acquisition in application that are not routine;• measured data fusion using up-to-date advanced data processing;• nonlinear dynamical systems identification;• multidimensional image processing.Advanced Data Acquisition and Intelligent Data Processing is ideal for personnel of firms deals with advanced instrumentation, energy consumption monitoring, environment monitoring, non-descructive diagnostics robotics, etc., as well as academic staff and postgraduate students in electrical, control and computer engineering.Content: 1. Introduction; 2. Waveform acquisition with resolutions exceeding those of the ADC employed; 3. Different Disaggregation Algorithms in Non-Intrusive Home Energy Monitoring Systems; 4. Design and testing of an electronic nose system sensitive to the aroma of truffles; 5. DAQ System for Ultrasonic Transducer Evaluation under Spread Spectrum Excitation; 6. Optimal Data Fusion in Decentralized Stochastic Unknown Input Observers; 7. Odor Classification by Neural Networks; 8. ANFIS Based Approach for Improved Multisensors Signal Processing; 9. Neuro-Fuzzy Sensor's Linearization Based FPGA; 10. Interpolation Method of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Identification Based on Volterra Model in Frequency Domain ; 11. Training Cellular Automata for Hyperspectral Image Segmentation

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As a promising educational approach, PBL (Problem Based Learning) has been adopted by an increasing number of higher education institutions worldwide to replace the traditional lectured based educational approach. However, the organizational change towards PBL is not easy for higher education institutions, especially for those with a long history of Lecture Based Learning. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the challenges and obstacles for higher education institutions which are implementing PBL. In order to address the research concern, this book involves in an intensive exploration of two universities which are transforming their traditional educational approaches to PBL. Specifically, this book is concerned with how managers, staff members, and students interpret PBL and its implementation. It reveals that the challenges for implementing PBL are closely linked to organizational members’ conception of PBL, social learning and motivation at the university. The conclusions are specified as: firstly, the organizational members’ understanding of PBL and social learning are quite diverse, and some of them are not consistent with the managerial attempts. They may create huge tensions or chaos at the university, depending on which strategy the mangers have employed. Further, the organizational members’ understandings of PBL are more concerned with teaching and curriculum design rather than learning, which should be highlighted within PBL context. Besides, staff members have to struggle between different roles due to the complexity of the university in modern society, and some tasks such as researching will distract them from participating in teaching activities and thus undermine PBL implementation. Finally, the university has to make reflections on how to keep a balance between the use of normative approaches to guarantee organizational effectiveness and the intention of giving staff more freedom to make innovations and create new possibilities.

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Owing to the revolution in information technology, the face ofthe contemporary workplace has changed and systems have been made more effective by introducing new techniques of Information Technology. In this book, we focus on HRM and how modern technology is helping in ensuring the effectiveness of HR functions. This would indicate that HRIS was viewed rather favorably as an administrative tool, but not a strategic one. This volumecovers all these aspects.Topics discussed in the book include:• E-learning tools in Higher education (Mudri system)• Human Resource Information systems (HRIS)• HRM Trends• Organizational strategy using IT tools• HRM Research/Innovation• Talents and Skills• Development management

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Network traffic has fractal properties such as impulsiveness, selfsimilarity, and long-range dependence over several time scales, from milliseconds to minutes. These features have motivated the development of new traffic models and traffic control algorithms. This book presents a new statespace model for Internet traffic, which is based on a finite-dimensional representation of the Autoregressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) random process. The modeling via Autoregressive (AR) processes is also investigated.

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Relay systems have become a subject of intensive research interest over the recent years, as it is recognized that they can improve performances and extend the coverage area of wireless communication systems. Special attention has been dedicated to them since the proposal appeared for their implementation in mobile cellular systems. Numerous researches conducted after that proposal have enabled incorporation of OFDM based relay systems in both accepted standards for IMT-Advanced systems. Nowadays, researches are ongoing with the aim to define new solutions for performance improvement of the standardized OFDM relay systems for cellular networks and one of the interesting solutions is implementation of subcarrier permutation (SCP) at the relay (R) station. The book "OFDM based relay systems for future wireless communications" presents a comprehensive research results in analyzing behavior and performance of the OFDM based relay systems with SCP. Dual-hop relay scenario with three communication terminals, and no direct link between the source (S) and the destination (D) has been analyzed, as it is compliant with the accepted solutions for IMT-Advanced systems. The book includes performance analysis and performance comparison of OFDM based: • amplify-and-forward (AF) relay systems with fixed gain (FG), • amplify-and-forward (AF) relay systems with variable gain (VG), • decode-and-forward (DF) relay systems, each including two SCP schemes, known to maximize the system capacity and/or improve the bit error rate (BER) performances. Performance comparisons have enabled definition of optimal solutions for the future wireless communication systems in a given conditions, and for the given optimality criteria. OFDM based relay systems for future wireless communications contains recent research results in this area and is ideal for the academic staff and master/research students in area of mobile communication systems, as well as for the personnel in communication industry.

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Over the past decade the tremendous development of Wireless Communications has changed human life incredibly. Considerable advancement has been made in the design and architecture of communications related RF and Microwave circuits. This book is focused on special circuits dedicated to the RF level of wireless Communications. From Oscillators to Modulation and Demodulation and from Mixers to RF and Power Amplifier Circuits, the topics are presented in a sequential manner. A wealth of analysis is provided in the text alongside various worked out examples. Related problem sets are given at the end of each chapter.

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Cybersecurity needs a change in communication. It is time to show the world that cybersecurity is an exciting and diverse field to work in. Cybersecurity is not only about hackers and technical gobbledygook. It is a diverse field of work with a lot of collaboration with other disciplines. Over the years, security professionals have tried different awareness strategies to promote their work and to improve the knowledge of their audience but without much success. Communication problems are holding back advances in in the field.Visual Communication for Cybersecurity explores the possibilities of visual communication as a tool to improve the communication about cybersecurity and to better connect with non-experts. Visual communication is useful to explain complex topics and to solve complex problems. Visual tools are easy to share through social media and have the possibility to reach a wide audience. When applied strategically, visual communication can contribute to a people-centric approach to security, where employees are encouraged to actively engage in security activities rather than simply complying with the policies.Cybersecurity education does not usually include communication theory or creative skills. Many experts think that it is not part of their job and is best left to the communication department or they think that they lack any creative talent. This book introduces communication theories and models, gives practical tips, and shows many examples. The book can support students in cybersecurity education and professionals searching for alternatives to bullet-point presentations and textual reports. On top of that, if this book succeeds in inspiring the reader to start creating visuals, it may also give the reader the pleasure of seeing new possibilities and improving their performance.

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Cyber-physical systems are the natural extension of the so-called “Internet of Things”. They are “systems of collaborating computational elements controlling physical entities”. Cyber Physical Systems of Systems (CPSoS) are considered “The Next Computing Revolution” after Mainframe computing (60’s-70’s), Desktop computing & Internet (80’s-90’s) and Ubiquitous computing (00’s); because all aspects of daily life are rapidly evolving towards humans interacting amongst themselves as well as their environment via computational devices (often mobile), and because in most cases systems will employ their computational capabilities to interact amongst themselves. CPSoS enable the physical world to merge with the cyber one. Using sensors, the embedded systems monitor and collect data from physical processes, such as the steering of a vehicle, energy consumption or human health functions. The systems are networked making the data globally available. CPSoS make it possible for software applications to directly interact with events in the physical world, for example to measure and react to changes in blood pressure or peaks in energy consumption. Embedded hardware and software systems crucially expand the functionality and competitiveness of vehicles, aircraft, medical equipment, production plants and household appliances. Connecting these systems to a virtual environment of globally networked services and information systems opens completely new areas of innovation and novel business platforms. Future CPSoS will have many sophisticated, interconnected parts that must instantaneously exchange, parse, and act on detailed data in a highly coordinated manner. Continued advances in science and engineering will be necessary to enable advances in design and development of these complex systems. Multi- scale, multi-layer, multi-domain, and multi-system integrated infrastructures will require new foundations in system science and engineering. Scientists and engineers with an understanding of otherwise physical systems will need to work in tandem with computer and information scientists to achieve effective, workable designs. In this tutorial, basic and advanced issues on the design of the future heterogeneous CPSoS are presented including relevant Blockchain technologies, reconfigurable systems, advanced sensor interfaces and human-centered design processes. Certain advanced tools for the design and implementation of the cyber parts of the CPSoS (i.e. FPGA design tools from Xilinx) are also covered.

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Nanoscale devices attracted significant research effort from the industry and academia due to their operation principals being based on different physical properties which provide advantages in the design of certain classes of circuits over conventional CMOS transistors. Neuromorphic Circuits for Nanoscale Devices contains recent research papers presented in various international conferences and journals to provide insight into how the operational principles of the nanoscale devices can be utilized for the design of neuromorphic circuits for various applications of non-volatile memory, neural network training/learning, and image processing. The topics discussed in the book include:Nanoscale Crossbar Memory DesignQ-Learning and Value Iteration using Nanoscale DevicesImage Processing and Computer Vision Applications for Nanoscale DevicesNanoscale Devices based Cellular Nonlinear/Neural Networks

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The future society would be ushered in a new communication era with the emergence of 5G. 5G would be significantly different, especially, in terms of architecture and operation in comparison with the previous communication generations (4G, 3G...). This book discusses the various aspects of the architecture, operation, possible challenges, and mechanisms to overcome them. Further, it supports users? interac- tion through communication devices relying on Human Bond Communication and COmmunication-NAvigation- SENsing- SErvices (CONASENSE).Topics broadly covered in this book are; • Wireless Innovative System for Dynamically Operating Mega Communications (WISDOM)• Millimeter Waves and Spectrum Management• Cyber Security• Device to Device Communication

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In most IT system development processes, the identification or elicitation of user requirements is recognized as a key building block. In practice, the identification of user needs and wants is a challenge and inadequate or faulty identifications in this step of an IT system development can cause huge problems with the final product. The elicitation of user requirements as such changes according to age groups;, to gender,; to cultural settings,; and into time; and experience in the use of the system/software. User requirements, therefore, cannot be used between projects, IT systems, and different software. That makes the elicitation of user requirements an inherent part of any software development project and a resourceful activity as well. This book provides insights to the process of identifying user requirements and to different types by describing varying case studies in which technologies or software has been developed. A variety of user requirements are provided illustrating the effect of changing the targeted user group with respect to age,; to the context and the different technologies or software as well as to the difference in viewpoint on ways of involving users in the elicitation process. Cases and user requirement elements discussed in the book include: • User requirements elicitation processes for children, construction workers, and farmers• User requirements for personalized services of a broadcast company• Variations in user involvement• Practical elements of user involvement and requirements elicitation• Usable security requirements for design of privacy.

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Future Internet and Internet of Things set out a new vision for connectivity, real-time applications and services. Data procured from the use of a large number of heterogeneous physical and virtual devices must be real-time processed and analyzed for the goal of effective resource management and control while maintaining the required performance and quality of service. In addition, the development of the communication networks towards heterogeneous and new generation broadband connectivity brings up new requirements towards the way of managing and controlling of the available resources. Thus for the effective resource management in future internet novel approaches must be proposed and developed. It could be seen that recently a considerable amount of effort has been devoted on behalf of industry and academia, towards the research and design of methods for effective management of resources in internet and multimedia communications. The book reviews some specific topics in the field of future internet and internet technologies that are closely related to the issue of finding effective solutions for the management of resources and performance. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • Future Internet Technologies; • Internet of things; • Multimedia Networks; • Wireless Access Networks; • Software Communications; • Positioning and Localization in Communications; • Resource Management. Resource Management in future Internet is recommended for specialists working in the field of information and communication industries as well as academic staff and researchers working in the field of multimedia communications and telecommunication networks.

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India is showing incredibly strong appearance in Information Technology (IT) sector worldwide, but the benefits of IT revolution have not actually percolated into the everyday life of the common man, particularly in rural areas. National E Governance Plan is a major initiative of the Government of India, the first time under which a concerted effort is being made to take Information Technology to the masses in areas of concern to the common man. It aims to make services available online, ensuring that all citizens would have access to them, thereby improving the quality of basic governance on an unprecedented scale. This book attempts to disseminate information about several E Governance projects and possible Data Mining benefits which are the future of good governance in India. Strategic Management of these projects through Data Mining would certainly encourage policy makers to understand better models of E Governance, thorough evaluation of projects, perceptive interrelations between projects, keeping track of the objectives and outcomes and to develop a more collaborative approach towards implementation of the National e- Governance Plan. This revolutionary approach will help the government in assessing the upcoming requirements and developing competencies for further project management, thereby making a difference in the lives of millions. It will help innovators to find out optimum solutions to achieve the end objectives of E Governance. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • E Governance • Fundamental of Data, Data Warehousing, Data Mining, E Governance • World Wide Status of E Governance • Status of E Governance projects in India • E Governance Data Management Framework • E Governance Data Center • Perspective Application of Data Warehousing and Data Mining in E Governance • Case Studies on Education and Health Data Mining • E Governance Data Mining Applications in Various Government Departments, Public Sector, Private Sector • SWOT and PESTLE Analysis for Data Warehousing, Data Mining, E Governance Data Warehousing and Data Mining are related technologies which have seen a significant boost in the last decades, in a way that many of their concepts and techniques have reached a significant level of maturity. They are applied today in most fields of human activity, from commercial to scientific or industrial areas. Today, decision support, data mining, trend analysis and pattern discovery have a large impact on businesses and science alike. Given this evolution, it is important to understand the potential advantages of Data Mining and Data Warehousing and their positive effects on E Governance applications. The book “E Governance Data Center, Data Warehousing and Data Mining: Vision to Realities” is useful for students, application developers, government officials, policy makers, as well as researchers involved in E Governance and Data Mining Applications. This book presents an overall picture of the E Governance Data Mining applications, including Data Management Framework, Data Center and Data Warehousing applications along with possible research directions. An important motivation for writing this book was the need to build an organized framework for E Governance using Data Mining—a challenging task, owing to the extensive multidisciplinary nature of this fastdeveloping field. We hope that this book will encourage people with different backgrounds and experiences to exchange their views regarding Data Mining applications in E Governance so as to contribute toward the establishment of good governance for the developed society.

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Multirate Signal processing can improve system performance and reduce costs in applications ranging from laboratory instruments, cable modems, wireless systems, satellites, Radar, Sonar, and consumer entertainment products. This second edition continues to offer a systematic, clear, and intuitive introduction to multirate signal processing for working engineers and system designers. Significant new material and fresh concepts, including Green Signal Processing techniques have been introduced.The author uses extensive examples and figures to illustrate a wide range of multirate techniques, from basic resampling to leading-edge cascade and multi-stage filter structures. Along the way he draws on extensive research and consulting experience to introduce processing “tricks” shown to maximize performance and efficiency. Coverage includes:• Effect of sampling and resampling in time and frequency domains• Relationships between FIR filter specifications and filter length (# of taps)• Window design and equal-ripple (Remez) design techniques• Square-Root Nyquist and Half-band Filters including new enhancements• Polyphase FIR filters: up-sampling, down-sampling• Polyphase M-path analysis and synthesis channelizers and cascade pairs• Polyphase interpolators for arbitrary sample rate changes• Dyadic half-band filters, quadrature mirror filters• Channel banks for multiple arbitrary bandwidths and center frequencies • Comprehensive coverage of recursive all-pass filters and channelizers, non-uniform and uniform phase, mixed recursive and non-recursive• Comparisons with traditional DSP designs• Extensive applications coverage throughout

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This book explores quantum computing as a transformative technology and its applications in cryptography, teleportation, IoT, AI, Blockchain, and the futurist concept of quantum internet. It explains the fundamentals of quantum computing and how it’s different from classic computing. The challenges facing quantum computing will be discussed, and the types of quantum computing will be introduced and explained. The concept and types of Qubit and its implications on quantum computing applications will be explained.

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Over the past two decades we have witnessed the increasing popularity of the internet of things. The vision of billions of connected objects, able to interact with their environment, is the key driver directing the development of future communication devices. Today, power consumption as well as the cost and size of radios remain some of the key obstacles towards fulfilling this vision. Ultra-Low Power FM-UWB Transceivers for IoT presents the latest developments in the field of low power wireless communication. It promotes the FM-UWB modulation scheme as a candidate for short range communication in different IoT scenarios. The FM-UWB has the potential to provide exactly what is missing today. This spread spectrum technique enables significant reduction in transceiver complexity, making it smaller, cheaper and more energy efficient than most alternative options.The book provides an overview of both circuit-level and architectural techniques used in low power radio design, with a comprehensive study of state-of-the-art examples. It summarizes key theoretical aspects of FM-UWB with a glimpse at potential future research directions. Finally, it gives an insight into a full FM-UWB transceiver design, from system level specifications down to transistor level design, demonstrating the modern power reduction circuit techniques.Ultra-Low Power FM-UWB Transceivers for IoT is a perfect text and reference for engineers working in RF IC design and wireless communication, as well as academic staff and graduate students engaged in low power communication systems research.

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The operational theme permeating most definitions of the IoT concept, is the wireless communication of networked objects, in particular, smart sensing devices and machines, exchanging data a la Internet. In this book, a detailed look is taken at the fundamental principles of devices and techniques whose exploitation will facilitate the development of compact, power-efficient, autonomous, smart, networked sensing nodes underlying and encompassing the emerging IoT era.The book provides an understanding of nanoelectromechanical quantum circuits and systems (NEMX), as exemplified by firstly the uncovering of their origins, impetus and motivation, and secondly by developing an understanding of their device physics, including, the topics of actuation, mechanical vibration and sensing. Next the fundamentals of key devices, namely, MEMS/NEMS switches, varactors and resonators are covered, including a wide range of implementations. The book then looks at their energy supply via energy harvesting, as derived from wireless energy and mechanical vibrations. Finally, after an introduction to the fundamentals of IoT networks and nodes, the book concludes with an exploration of how the NEMX components are encroaching in a variety of emerging IoT applications.

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Almost all the systems in our world, including technical, social, economic, and environmental systems, are becoming interconnected and increasingly complex, and as such they are vulnerable to various risks. Due to this trend, resilience creation is becoming more important to system managers and decision makers, this to ensure sustained performance. In order to be able to ensure an acceptable sustained performance under such interconnectedness and complexity, resilience creation with a system approach is a requirement. Mathematical modeling based approaches are the most common approach for system resilience creation.Mathematical Modelling of System Resilience covers resilience creation for various system aspects including a functional system of the supply chain, overall supply chain systems; various methodologies for modeling system resilience; satellite-based approach for addressing climate related risks, repair-based approach for sustainable performance of an engineering system, and modeling measures of the reliability for a vertical take-off and landing system. Each of the chapters contributes state of the art research for the relevant resilience related topic covered in the chapter. Technical topics covered in the book include:1. Supply chain risk, vulnerability and disruptions 2. System resilience for containing failures and disruptions3. Resiliency considering frequency and intensities of disasters4. Resilience performance index5. Resiliency of electric Traction system6. Degree of resilience7. Satellite observation and hydrological risk8. Latitude of Resilience9. On-line repair for resilience10. Reliability design for Vertical Takeoff and landing Prototype

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"Created by professors for professors, the Faculty Awards compendium is the first and only university awards program in the United States based on faculty peer evaluations. The Faculty Awards series recognizes and rewards outstanding faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Voting was not open to students or the public at large.

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"Created by professors for professors, the Faculty Awards compendium is the first and only university awards program in the United States based on faculty peer evaluations. The Faculty Awards series recognizes and rewards outstanding faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Voting was not open to students or the public at large.

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In spite of intensive investments and investigations carried out in the last decade, many aspects of the stem cell physiology, technology and regulation remain to be fully defined. After the enthusiasm that characterized the first decade of the discovery that when given the right cue, stem cells could repair all the different tissues in the body; it is now time to start a serious and coordinated action to define how to govern the stem cell potential and to exploit it for clinical applications. This can be achieved only with shared research programs involving investigators from all over the world and making the results available to all.The Disputationes Workshop series (http://disputationes.info) is an international initiative aimed at disseminating stem cell related cutting edge knowledge among scientists, healthcare workers, students and policy makers. The present book gathers together some of the ideas discussed during the third and fourth Disputationes Workshops held in Florence (Italy) and Aalborg (Denmark), respectively. The aim of this book is to preserve those ideas in order to contribute to the general discussion on organ repair and to bolster a fundamental scientific and technological leap forwards the treatment of otherwise incurable diseases.

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During the last decades, our society is witnessing an authentic revolution that, in a dizzying manner has deeply influenced, modified, and transformed the way of life of human beings. This constant and unstoppable revolution is transmuting all areas of our life: social, cultural, personal, labor, economic, training, etc. This new society is characterized by a high generation of knowledge and the constant and fluid processing of information. In this macro-context, the MOOC phenomenon emerged. MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) courses are based on the principles of massive, free access to all materials and resources offered online. This new didactic path can be constituted in an innovative techno-social tendency, especially oriented in the panorama of Higher Education to stimulate university improvement, open opportunities at the same time for education and training or, simply, derive towards a new business model for the universities. In addition to being an entry point for the popularization of science and knowledge, the future possibilities are enormous and are being studied in all their various dimensions. Many initiatives as a result have been developed to implement this new form of education. MOOC Courses and the Future of Higher Education presents the latest research theories and current examples of MOOC courses practices in Higher Education. The chapters represent an extensive assortment of interpretations and practices examples of MOOC courses, across areas as varied as teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, educational technology, etc. This work is structured in three sections, the first one covers the university institution in the knowledge society, the second analyzes the MOOC training proposals, and the third discusses the future role of MOOCs. Technical topics discussed in the book include: - The Virtualization of Teaching in Higher Education - Training and Professional Development at the e-University - Taxonomy of MOOCs - MOOC: Strengths and Weaknesses - MOOCs and the Scientific Community: Challenges and Innovation - MOOC Platforms - Directory of MOOC Resources - MOOC: Reflections of the Future

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Circuits and Systems for Biomedical Applications-UKCAS 2018 covers several advanced topics in the area of Devices, Analog and Mixed-Signal Circuits and Systems for Biomedical Applications. The fundamental aspects of these topics are discussed, and state-of-the-art developments are presented. The book proceeds the 1st United Kingdom Circuits and Systems (UKCAS 2018) Workshop. It addresses multidisciplinary theme areas such as Biosensing, Memristors, next-generation medical diagnostics, neural-inspired circuits, neural implants, neuro-prostheses, prosthetic hand and neuro-rehabilitation. Having perceived the device and circuit assets for such technologies and knowing what challenges these present for the biomedical scientists and engineers, integrated circuits for addressable biosensing are reviewed in the first chapter. The Second Chapter is harnessing the power of the brain using metal­oxide Memristors. The third chapter contains construction of an endoscopic capsule for the diagnostics of dysmotilities in the gastro­intestinal track. The next three chapters are on neural interfaces: analogue building blocks of neural inspired circuits are described in the fourth chapter while chapter five focuses on circuits for bio-potential recording from the brain. Networked Integrated circuits and their use in creating advanced implantable stimulation systems will be discussed in chapter six. This topic will be completed by circuits and systems for control of Prosthetic Hands in seventh chapter and genetically enhanced brain­implants for neuro-rehabilitation in chapter eight.

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There is a great worldwide desire to launch new technology-based business. In this sense, and increasingly, entrepreneurship courses have arisen in several universities and many of the courses in the management, administration and engineering areas already offer entrepreneurship curricular units. Throughout those programs, the teams develop key integrated competencies in innovation, entrepreneurship and technology that will ultimately enable the students to create and develop new technology-based businesses. The Business Plan Reference Manual for IT Businesses provides a reference manual for undergraduate and graduate students that intend to launch their start-up business in the IT field. It helps them to create and model the business plan of their business. Therefore, this manual is mainly aimed at instructors who want to offer a practical view of the process of modeling, designing and developing an IT start-up. Additionally, it can be individually used by entrepreneurs who wish to launch their start-up businesses in IT field. The structure of the book was defined taking into account different approaches to the construction of the business plan, which basically consider a disaggregation of some of these chapters in others smaller (e.g., marketing plan into products/services and market, financial plan into investment plan and economic-financial projections). We chose to aggregate these dimensions into a single chapter, which in our view facilitates the process of analyzing a business plan. It is also relevant to mention the inclusion of “Chapter V – Prototype description” which is innovative and intends to take into account the application of this business plan template to the information technology sector.

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This book is based on our most recent investigations revealing the complexity of the determinants of burn out in different populations at risk (health care professions, teachers, social workers etc.). Based on our empirical study we have developed a model of vulnerability to burn out which explains it as a specific complementary interaction between certain personality profile and the psychological climate at work place. In the course of evaluation there have been employed different inventories which are now validated as an assessment battery in about 300 subjects. Temperament and Character Inventory (revised) has been exclusively standardized for Bulgarian population as well Although burn out syndrome (BOS) is thoroughly discussed in modern literature, the present proposal is unique in the following aspects:It emphasizes the role of personality profiling understood as complementary construct to the dimensional measures of psychological climate. In this way the authors challenge traditional views of BOS as systematic phenomenonThis book aims at establishment of the vulnerability to BOS (proneness) as well as to revealing of the protective factors and therefore to underpin early diagnosis and prevention programs.Our book brings together several perspectives: the clinical (psychological and psychopathological) with the management perspective. In this way it is most suitable for both general and specialized audience, including health care managers and mental health professionals, such as trainees in psychiatryThis book consist of entirely original investigation of BOS in specific populations at risk with novel battery of assessment tools

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Integrated circuits and microsystems play a vital role in a variety of biomedical applications including life-saving/changing miniature medical devices, surgical procedures with less invasiveness and morbidity, low-cost preventive healthcare solutions for daily life, solutions for effective chronic disease management, point-of-care diagnosis for early disease detection, high-throughput bio sequencing and drug screening and groundbreaking brain-machine interfaces based on a deep understanding of human intelligence. In response to such strong demands for biomedical circuits and systems, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted to the research and development in this area, both by industry and academia, over recent years.This book, which belongs to the “Tutorials in Circuits and Systems” series, provides readers with an overview of new developments in the field of biomedical circuits and systems. It covers basic information about system-level and circuit-level requirements, operation principles, key factors of considerations, and design/implementation techniques, as well as recent advances in integrated circuits and microsystems for emerging biomedical applications.Technical topics covered in this book include: Biomedical Microsystem Integration; Biomedical Sensor Interface Circuits; Neural Stimulation Circuits; Wireless Power Transfer Circuits for Biomedical Microsystems; Artificial Intelligence Processors for Biomedical Circuits and Systems; Neuro-Inspired Computing and Neuromorphic Processors for Biomedical Circuits and Systems.This book is ideal for personnel in medical devices and biomedical engineering industries as well as academic staff and postgraduate/research students in biomedical circuits and systems.

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This second edition of the book, “Green Web-II: Standards and Perspectives from the IUCN Program / Policy Development in Environment Conservation Domain- with reference to India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh” investigates the IUCN’s role in global biodiversity conservation policy as well as in national program development in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It explores how nature protection priorities and approaches are promoted or addressed by IUCN, and how environment conservation policies are created and maintained in states of South Asia with different capacities. It also evaluates IUCN's competency in biodiversity, climate change, nature conservation and environmental policy formulation at the global, regional and country levels.This book adds to our knowledge firstly by contributing to a small but growing body of work on the sociology of international organizations. International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), have previously been mainly the subject of political science. Secondly, it critically explores one of the largest and most active nature conservation organizations in the world. Thirdly, it also explores how IUCN actually goes about building protectoral programs with individual member nations. Finally, the research also shows the historical development of global institutions and IUCN’s activities with member nations in helping to define or redefine the concept of global governance. The outcomes of this research will also be beneficial for global collaboration, networking, and for the identification of common concerns among the many environmental and conservational organizations at the international and national level. In this broader sense, the research outcomes might be beneficial to constituencies of the global North as well as global South because of the nature and coverage of IUCN and its role in conservation policy formation. This effort may serve as a model for additional research on international organizations.Technical topics discussed in the book include: The Motivation for Environmental Conservation- How personal efforts make a difference The Role of International Environment Conservation Organizations The Political Economy of Organizations, Network theory, Institutional theory, Stakeholder theory, Governance theory Governance performance and Competitiveness Popularity indices Knowledge creation and diffusion Conservation commons

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The field of AI is not new to researchers, as its foundations were established in the 1950s. After many decades of inattention, there has been a dramatic resurgence of interest in AI, fueled by a confluence of several factors. The benefits of decades of Dennard scaling and Moore’s law miniaturization, coupled with the rise of highly distributed processing, have led to massively parallel systems well suited for handling big data. The widespread availability of big data, necessary for training AI algorithms, is another important factor. Finally, the greatly increased compute power and memory bandwidths have enabled deeper networks and new algorithms capable of accuracy rivaling that of human perception. Already AI has shown success in many diverse areas, including finance (portfolio management, investment strategies), marketing, health care, transportation, gaming, defense, robotics, computer vision, education, search engines, online assistants, image/facial recognition, anomaly detection, spam filtering, online customer service, biometric sensors, and predictive maintenance, to name a few. Despite these remarkable advances, the human brain is still superior in many ways – including, notably, energy efficiency and one-shot learning – giving researchers new areas to explore. In summary, AI research and applications will continue with vigor in software, algorithms, and hardware accelerators. These exciting developments have also brought new questions of ethics and privacy, areas which must be studied in tandem with technological advances. To continue the success story of AI, the AI Compute symposium was launched with the sponsorship of IBM, IEEE CAS and EDS for the first time. The aim of this publication is to compile all the materials presented by the renowned speakers in the symposium into a book format, serving as a learning tool for the audience. This book contains two broad topics: general AI advances (chapters 1-5) and neuromorphic computing directions (chapters 6-9). Technical topics discussed in the book include: 1. Research Directions in AI algorithms and systems 2. An ARM perspective on hardware requirements and challenges for AI 3. The new Era of AI hardware 4. AI and the Opportunity for Unconventional Computing Platforms 5. Thermodynamic Computing 6. Brain-like cognitive engineering system 7. BRAINWAY and Nano - Abacus architecture: Brain-inspired Cognitive Computing using Energy Efficient Physical Computational Structures, Algorithms and Architecture Co-Design 8. Applying Lessons from Nature for Today’s Computing Challenges 9. Emerging Memories - RRAM Fabric for Neuromorphic Computing Applications

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Getting Started for Internet of Things with Launch Pad and ESP8266 provides a platform to get started with the Ti launch pad and IoT modules for Internet of Things applications. The book provides the basic knowledge of Ti launch Pad and ESP8266 based customized modules with their interfacing, along with the programming.The book discusses the application of Internet of Things in different areas. Several examples for rapid prototyping are included, this to make the readers understand the concept of IoT.The book comprises of twenty-seven chapters, which are divided into four sections and which focus on the design of various independent prototypes. Section-A gives a brief introduction to Ti launch pad (MSP430) and Internet of Things platforms like GPRS, NodeMCU and NuttyFi (ESP8266 customized board), and it shows steps to program these boards. Examples on how to interface these boards with display units, analog sensors, digital sensors and actuators are also included, this to make reader comfortable with the platforms. Section-B discusses the communication modes to relay the data like serial out, PWM and I2C. Section-C explores the IoT data loggers and shows certain steps to design and interact with the servers. Section-D includes few IoT based case studies in various fields. This book is based on the practical experience of the authors while undergoing projects with students and partners from various industries.

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Video is the main driver of bandwidth use, accounting for over 80 per cent of consumer Internet traffic. Video compression is a critical component of many of the available multimedia applications, it is necessary for storage or transmission of digital video over today's band-limited networks. The majority of this video is coded using international standards developed in collaboration with ITU-T Study Group and MPEG. The MPEG family of video coding standards begun on the early 1990s with MPEG-1, developed for video and audio storage on CD-ROMs, with support for progressive video. MPEG-2 was standardized in 1995 for applications of video on DVD, standard and high definition television, with support for interlaced and progressive video. MPEG-4 part 2, also known as MPEG-2 video, was standardized in 1999 for applications of low- bit rate multimedia on mobile platforms and the Internet, with the support of object-based or content based coding by modeling the scene as background and foreground. Since MPEG-1, the main video coding standards were based on the so-called macroblocks. However, research groups continued the work beyond the traditional video coding architectures and found that macroblocks could limit the performance of the compression when using high-resolution video. Therefore, in 2013 the high efficiency video coding (HEVC) also known and H.265, was released, with a structure similar to H.264/AVC but using coding units with more flexible partitions than the traditional macroblocks. HEVC has greater flexibility in prediction modes and transform block sizes, also it has a more sophisticated interpolation and de blocking filters. In 2006 the VC-1 was released. VC-1 is a video codec implemented by Microsoft and the Microsoft Windows Media Video (VMW) 9 and standardized by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). In 2017 the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) released a call for proposals for a new video coding standard initially called Beyond the HEVC, Future Video Coding (FVC) or known as Versatile Video Coding (VVC). VVC is being built on top of HEVC for application on Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), High Dynamic Range (HDR) and 360° Video. The VVC is planned to be finalized by 2020. This book presents the new VVC, and updates on the HEVC. The book discusses the advances in lossless coding and covers the topic of screen content coding. Technical topics discussed include: Beyond the High Efficiency Video CodingHigh Efficiency Video Coding encoderScreen contentLossless and visually lossless coding algorithmsFast coding algorithmsVisual quality assessmentOther screen content coding algorithmsOverview of JPEG Series

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In recent years, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted, both in industry and academia, towards the development of advanced methods of control theory with focus on its practical implementation in various fields of human activity such as space control, robotics, control applications in marine systems, control processes in agriculture and food production. Control Systems: Theory and Applications consists of selected best papers which were presented at XXIV International conference on automatic control “Automatics 2017” (September 13-15, 2017, Kyiv, Ukraine) organized by Ukrainian Association on Automatic Control (National member organization of IFAC – International Federation on Automatic Control) and National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine. More than 120 presentations where discussed at the conference, with participation of the scientists from the numerous countries. The book is divided into two main parts, a first on Theory of Automatic Control (5 chapters) and the second on Control Systems Applications (8 chapters). The selected chapters provide an overview of challenges in the area of control systems design, modeling, engineering and implementation and the approaches and techniques that relevant research groups within this area are employing to try to resolve these. This book on advanced methods of control theory and successful cases in the practical implementation is ideal for personnel in modern technological processes automation and SCADA systems, robotics, space and marine industries as well as academic staff and master/research students in computerized control systems, automatized and computer-integrated systems, electrical and mechanical engineering.

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The digital age has introduced a deeper sense of connectivity in business environments. By relying more heavily on current technologies, organizations now experience more effective communication and opportunities for collaboration between individuals.The Use of Online Collaboration Tools for Employee Volunteering is one of the latest scholarly research works on the design and implementation of e-collaboration technology in a workplace setting. Featuring extensive coverage on a range of topics relating to the benefits and challenges of these tools, this book is an essential reference source for students, researchers, and practitioners seeking relevant research on the use of digital spaces within organizational contexts. Technical topics discussed in the book include: .• Communities of Practice (CoP)• E-Collaborative Learning• Computer-supported collaborative learning• Social Networking Sites• Web-Based Learning

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Female scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians worldwide are making historic contributions to their fields. The modern workforce is closer to gender-equal than it has ever been, and many efforts are in place to support further progress. The Internet of Women provides an exciting look at personal narratives and case studies of female leaders and cultural shifts around the globe that illustrate this promising trend. From the United Nations' emphasis on girls and technology education in the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to the increased female labor force in Zambia, a policy change that was inspired by the MDGs (UN Millennial Development Goals), The Internet of Women captures stunning examples of progress from around the world and men working hand in hand with women advocating for cultural change. Scholars and practitioners lament the lack of women leading and working in leading organizations in the technology industry. Gender equality and female participation in the tech field is critical to both developing and developed economies; nevertheless, this gap remains a global phenomenon. The lack of female leadership is particularly extreme at the highest echelons of leading technology organizations. Few publicly traded tech companies have female CEOs - in fact, most nations have zero female leadership in the tech industry. This gap does indicate a slow pace of progress for gender equality in tech employment. Women's pay still lags nearly a decade behind, according to the World Economic Forum, meaning that women's on average pay today is the equivalent to that of similarly qualified and similarly employed men in 2006. Without significant progress, the current rate of change will not lead to parity for 118 years, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). However there's significant work being done to shift this tide. Take for instance Michelle Lee, the first female Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), reflects on her childhood Girl Scout badge in sewing and cooking and how that memory inspired to create an IP badge that exposes young women to the process of invention. Social entrepreneur, investor, and Malala Fund co-founder Shiza Shahid shares her efforts beginning from mentoring young women in Pakistan to her current work directing more investment to women innovators around the globe. And Elizabeth Isele, a senior fellow in Social Innovation at Babson College, shares her research on women and ageism saying we need to retire the word retirement. The book is divided into six parts, each with unique areas of focus:• Millennials Leading: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Next Generation of Women in Technology• Men and Women Empowering One Another• Bold Leadership: Women Changing the Culture of Investment and Entrepreneurship• Educating for the 21st Century• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: A Generation of Women Forging into Technology Leadership• Emerging Fields of TechnologyThe Internet of Women gathers examples about the increasingly inclusive and progressive gender culture in technology from over 30 countries. Stories range from an entrepreneur in Dubai partnering with private and public sector entities to accelerate blockchain technology to a young British woman moving to Silicon Valley to launch an artificial intelligence platform and incubator. The book is intended for corporations, academic institutions, the private sector, government agencies, gender experts, and the general public, and its key benefit is to let the reader understand a path towards implementing diversity overall globally. It also showcases the strategies, tools, and tactical execution on how create cultural change in all parts of the world.

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In recent years, major results were reported on Brain-Computer Interface / Brain-Machine Interface (BCI/BMI) applied to rehabilitation in scientific reports and papers. This subject received much attention within the Society on Communication, Navigation, Sensing and Services (CONASENSE) during the period 2013-2015. Describing the state of the art on various BCI/BMI activities related to neuro-rehabilitation is the central theme of this book.The latest insights coming from neurophysiologists, neuropsychologists, ICT experts specialized in clinical data management and from representatives of patient organizations are elucidated and new ways for “BCI/BMI applied to rehabilitation” using advanced ICT are introduced. The book describes the latest progress in and is an appeal for an approach leading to more cost-saving multi-disciplinary neuro-rehabilitation. This book covers the following topics: • Overview on BCI/BMI applied to rehabilitation• ICT for Neuro-rehabilitation• ICT for new generation prostheses• Gaze tracking, facial orientation determination, face and emotion recognition in 3D space for neuro-rehabilitation applications• Integrated perspective for future wide spread integration of motor neuro-rehabilitation• Ethical issues in the use of Information and Communication Technologies in the health care of patients with neurological disorders

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Wireless communication is one of the fastest growing fields in the engineering world today. Rapid growth in the domain of wireless communication systems, services and application has drastically changed the way we live, work and communicate. Wireless communication offers a broad and dynamic technological field, which has stimulated incredible excitements and technological advancements over last few decades. The expectations from wireless communication technology are increasing every day. This is placing enormous challenges to wireless system designers. Moreover, this has created an ever increasing demand for conceptually strong and well versed communication engineers who understand the wireless technology and its future possibilities. In recent years, significant progress in wireless communication system design has taken place, which will continue in future. Especially for last two decades, the research contributions in wireless communication system design have resulted in several new concepts and inventions at remarkable speed. A text book is indeed required to offer familiarity with such developments and underlying concepts, to be taught in the classroom to future engineers. This is one of the motivations for writing this book. Practically no book can be up to date in this field, due to the fast ongoing research and developments. The new developments are announced almost every day. Teaching directly from the research papers in the classroom cannot build the necessary foundation. Therefore need for a textbook is unavoidable, which is integral to learning, and is an essential source to build the concept. The prime goal of this book is to cooperate in the learning process.

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Simulation of brain neurons in real-time using biophysically-meaningful models is a pre-requisite for comprehensive understanding of how neurons process information and communicate with each other, in effect efficiently complementing in-vivo experiments. In spiking neural networks (SNNs), propagated information is not just encoded by the firing rate of each neuron in the network, as in artificial neural networks (ANNs), but, in addition, by amplitude, spike-train patterns, and the transfer rate. The high level of realism of SNNs and more significant computational and analytic capabilities in comparison with ANNs, however, limit the size of the realized networks. Consequently, the main challenge in building complex and biophysically-accurate SNNs is largely posed by the high computational and data transfer demands. Real-Time Multi-Chip Neural Network for Cognitive Systems presents novel real-time, reconfigurable, multi-chip SNN system architecture based on localized communication, which effectively reduces the communication cost to a linear growth. The system use double floating-point arithmetic for the most biologically accurate cell behavior simulation, and is flexible enough to offer an easy implementation of various neuron network topologies, cell communication schemes, as well as models and kinds of cells. The system offers a high run-time configurability, which reduces the need for resynthesizing the system. In addition, the simulator features configurable on- and off-chip communication latencies as well as neuron calculation latencies. All parts of the system are generated automatically based on the neuron interconnection scheme in use. The simulator allows exploration of different system configurations, e.g. the interconnection scheme between the neurons, the intracellular concentration of different chemical compounds (ions), which affect how action potentials are initiated and propagate.

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