springer netherlands nov 2007 (68 risultati)

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Scientists have great passion. What could be more exhilarating than to go to work every day feeling as if you were once again a nine-year-old called up to he stage to help the magician with his trick To be a researcher is to always be in the position of having the chance to see how the trick works. No wonder that many researchers feel that each new day is the most exciting day to be a scientist. It therefore is not surprising that scientists have such trouble communicating with non-scientists. It is difficult for the scientist to understand a life not focused on the desire to understand. But the differences are not that. Everyone wants to understand; that is one of the factors that make us human. The difference is more that scientists limit their definition of comprehension to specific rules of logic and evidence. These rules apply and are used in everyday life, but often with less rigor or restrictions on evidence.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 456 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This is a comprehensive overview of the basics of fuzzy control, which also brings together some recent research results in soft computing, in particular fuzzy logic using genetic algorithms and neural networks.This book offers researchers not only a solid background but also a snapshot of the current state of the art in this field.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 472 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Ancient China was outstanding in mechanical technology before the 15th century. Numerous ingenious machines were invented. However, due to incomplete documentation and loss of finished objects, most of the original machines cannot be verified and many of the inventions did not pass down to later generations. This book, based on the author¿s research and teaching experiences over the last 20 years, is devoted to presenting an innovative methodology in the area of mechanical historiography for the systematic reconstruction design of ancient Chinese machines that have been lost to time. Its purpose is to generate all possible design concepts of lost machines. If the defined and/or concluded design specifications, topological characteristics, and - sign requirements and constraints are feasible, one of the resulting rec- struction designs should be the original design. Such an approach provides a logical tool for historians in ancient mechanical engineering and techn- ogy to further identify the possible original designs according to proven historical archives. However, this work will not deal with the credibility of historical literary works. It supposes that the lost machines existed, and tries to demonstrate the feasibility of reconstructing the lost designs. The book is organized in such a way that it can be used for teaching, research or self-study. Chapter 1 introduces the study, classifications, and process for the reconstruction design of ancient machinery.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 324 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In line with the Water Framework Directive, this book stresses the need for an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach to balance the competing demands on water-domestic, agricultural, industrial, tourism and environmental/ecological- and promote economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable water use in selected regions from Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and the developing world. Results from the research projects covered by this book, demonstrate that effective water management tools and decisions-making practices, are needed in order to complement integrated interventions for increasing the availability of supply and/or managing the growing demand for scarce water supplies. Further, the book attempts to bridge the gap between ideas and actions endorsed at the research-oriented environmental debate, and their translation into policy making structures and programs in developed and developing countries.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This volume collects the lecture notes (ordered alphabetically according to the first author surname) of the talks delivered by the main speakers at the Erice 2007 International School of Crystallography, generously selected by NATO as an Advanced Study Institute (# 982582). The aim of the school was to discuss the state-of-the-art in molecular materials design, that is, the rational analysis and fabrication of crystalline solids showing a predefined structural organization of their component molecules and ions, which results in the manifestation of a specific collective property of technological interest. The School was held on June 7¿17, 2007, in Erice (an old town, over 3000 years, located on the top of a Sicilian hill that oversees the sea near Trapani). The school developed following two parallel lines. First we established ¿where we are¿ in terms of modelling, design, synthesis and applications of crystalline solids with predefined properties. Second, we attempted to define current and possible futuristic lines of development in the quest for novel molecule-based materials with potential applications in magnetism, conductivity and superconductivity, non-lineal optics (NLO), drug delivery, and nanotechnology. In recent years, solid state chemistry and crystal engineering have evolved at the intersection between the top-down and bottom-up approaches towards materials design and fabrication. An ever-increasing number of scientists are learning how to control self-assembly, molecular recognition, and other fundamental processes on the way to achieving ¿tailor-made¿ materials, such as crystal nucleation, crystal growth, and polymorphism.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 536 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book examines the economic impact of changes in the global demand and supply for fossil fuels both on the major producers in Middle Eastern countries around the Persian Gulf, other producers, as well as the world at large. The economic, social and political life of most countries is not only intimately linked to and influenced by the energy market but also affected by historical developments. Among other issues, it shows how the economic, social and political development of societies in Arabia, the peoples of the Arab Peninsula are influenced by their historic and cultural environment, and what the future may bring to this region when their principal economic assets, petroleum and gas, start to lose markets as alternative sources of fossil fuel, alternative, and renewable energy supply the bulk of global energy needs. It also describes how changing fossil fuel costs, access, security of supply, and environmental impacts may affect future economic, social, and political developments as well as technological advances and changes in priorities.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 204 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Higher education finances lie at the crossroads in many Western countries. Hence, worldwide, the most common approach to the need for increasing revenue was to use some form or forms of cost sharing, or the shift of some of the higher educational per-student costs from governments and taxpayers to parents and students. This raises several important challenges to higher education systems. First, there is the political and social controversy associated with most forms of cost-sharing, particularly with tuition fees. Secondly, there are important issues in terms of the broad context of social policy, such as the role of families and students and the relationship that the state establishes with each of them. Third, there is the comparison of alternative instruments of cost-sharing and the direct and indirect effects of each of them, notably in terms of educational equality. Overall, underlying cost-sharing debates are fundamental questions about social choice, individual opportunities, and the role of government in society.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 372 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Graeme Hirst University of Toronto Of the many kinds of ambiguity in language, the two that have received the most attention in computational linguistics are those of word senses and those of syntactic structure, and the reasons for this are clear: these ambiguities are overt, their resolution is seemingly essential for any prac- cal application, and they seem to require a wide variety of methods and knowledge-sources with no pattern apparent in what any particular - stance requires. Right at the birth of artificial intelligence, in his 1950 paper ¿Computing machinery and intelligence¿, Alan Turing saw the ability to understand language as an essential test of intelligence, and an essential test of l- guage understanding was an ability to disambiguate; his example involved deciding between the generic and specific readings of the phrase a winter¿s day. The first generations of AI researchers found it easy to construct - amples of ambiguities whose resolution seemed to require vast knowledge and deep understanding of the world and complex inference on this kno- edge; for example, Pharmacists dispense with accuracy. The disambig- tion problem was, in a way, nothing less than the artificial intelligence problem itself. No use was seen for a disambiguation method that was less than 100% perfect; either it worked or it didn¿t. Lexical resources, such as they were, were considered secondary to non-linguistic common-sense knowledge of the world.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 392 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Dynamic Epistemic Logic is the logic of knowledge change. This is not about one logical system, but about a whole family of logics that allows us to specify static and dynamic aspects of multi-agent systems. This book provides various logics to support such formal specifications, including proof systems. Concrete examples and epistemic puzzles enliven the exposition. The book also contains exercises including answers and is eminently suitable for graduate courses in logic.A sweeping chapter-wise outline of the content of this book is the following. The chapter 'Introduction' informs the reader about the history of the subject, and its relation to other disciplines. 'Epistemic Logic' is an overview of multi-agent epistemic logic - the logic of knowledge - including modal operators for groups, such as general and common knowledge. 'Belief Revision' is an overview on how to model belief revision, both in the 'traditional' way and in a dynamic epistemic setting. 'Public Announcements' is a detailed and comprehensive introduction to the logic of knowledge to which dynamic operators for truthful public announcement are added. Many interesting applications are also presented in this chapter: a form of cryptography for ideal agents also known as 'the Russian cards problem', the sum-and-product riddle, etc. 'Epistemic Actions' introduces a generalization of public announcement logic to more complex epistemic actions. A different perspective on that matter is independently presented in 'Action Models'. 'Completeness' gives details on the completeness proof for the logics introduced in 'Epistemic Logic', 'Public Announcements', and 'Action Models'. 'Expressivity' discusses various results on the expressive power of the logics presented.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 312 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Semiconductor Device Physics and Design provides a fresh and unique teaching tool. Over the last decade device performances are driven by new materials, scaling, heterostructures and new device concepts. Semiconductor devices have mostly relied on Si but increasingly GaAs, InGaAs and heterostructures made from Si/SiGe, GaAs/AlGaAs etc have become important. Over the last few years one of the most exciting new entries has been the nitride based heterostructures. New physics based on polar charges and polar interfaces has become important as a result of the nitrides. Nitride based devices are now used for high power applications and in lighting and display applications. For students to be able to participate in this exciting arena, a lot of physics, device concepts, heterostructure concepts and materials properties need to be understood. It is important to have a textbook that teaches students and practicing engineers about all these areas in a coherent manner.Semiconductor Device Physics and Design starts out with basic physics concepts including the physics behind polar heterostructures and strained heterostructures. Important devices ranging from p-n diodes to bipolar and field effect devices is then discussed. An important distinction users will find in this book is the discussion presented on device needs from the perspective of various technologies. For example, how much gain is needed in a transistor, how much power, what kind of device characteristics are needed. Not surprisingly the needs depend upon applications. The needs of an A/D or D/A converter will be different from that of an amplifier in a cell phone. Similarly the diodes used in a laptop will place different requirements on the device engineer than diodes used in a mixer circuit. By relating device design to device performance and then relating device needs to system use the student can see how device design works in real world.This book is comprehensive without being overwhelming. The focus was to make this a useful text book so that the information contained is cohesive without including all aspects of device physics. The lesson plans demonstrated how this book could be used in a 1 semester or 2 quarter sequence.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 584 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds of natural or anthropogenic origin that resist photolytic, chemical and biological degradation. They are characterized by low water solubility and high lipid solubility, resulting in bioaccumulation in fatty tissues of living organisms. These properties of unusual high persistence and semi-volatility, coupled with other characteristics, have resulted in the presence of POPs all over the world, even in regions where they have never been used. With the evidence of long-range transport of these substances to regions, the international community has now, at several occasions called for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals. Many countries have already banned or severely restricted the production and use of the twelve POPs in recent decades. Yet they remain a serious problem around the world. Because these chemicals have the ability to travel long distances from their original sources, relying on national-level action alone is ultimately a futile effort.This book employs a science-based approach to identify and take action against POPs, and additionally, provides access to technical information on POPs. The book will be an overview of the existing POP monitoring activities and programs.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 492 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Research into the paraoxonase (PON) multigene family has really only blossomed in the last 10 years. Before this time only PON1 was known and research was restricted to toxicologists investigating the metabolism of organophosphate insecticides and nerve gases and a few ¿mad¿ scientists searching for ¿natural¿ substrates.Since this time two new members PON2 and PON3 have been discovered, all 3 PONs have been shown to act as antioxidants and the PON family has taken centre stage as major players in the development of a wide variety of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, rheumatism, Alzheimer and many more while remaining important in determining organophosphate toxicity.In September 2006 the 2nd International Conference on Paraoxonases took place in Hajdúszoboszló, Hungary, bringing together the world's foremost experts in the field. The current book is a distillation of the plenary lectures which took place at the meeting, resulting in a comprehensive up to date, state of the art review of current paraoxonase research.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 344 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Japanese government planners set out in the 1960s to build a barrage on the Nagara River, one of the last major free owing rivers in Japan. Conceived during a period of rapid growth in the Japanese economy, the barrage was part of a national effort to ensure adequate water supplies for future economic development as well as to reduce oodingrisks to downstream communities. A string of lawsuits brought by groups concerned about the impact of the dam on ecological and sheries - sourcesresulted incostlydelays:thedamwasnotcompletedformorethan25years. The 1990s witnessed the start of a kind of biotech gold rush toward the use of genetic modi cation (GM) as tool to develop more productive crops through the introduction of herbicide, insect and disease resistance to feed a growing world. Opponents of the rapid deployment of GM crops have raised concerns about the safety of the technology and about its socio-economic, cultural, and ethical implications. The debate over this issue divided the world ¿ for example, the US allowed the development of GM crops to move forward and now accounts for over half the GM crops grown worldwide whereas the European Union only recently lifted a de facto moratorium imposed in 1998 and now authorises products on a case by case basis. Worldwide, the development and use of GM crops is still barely covered by a patchwork of regulations and guidelines, ranging from strict prohibition to none at all, and creating its own sets of disparities and risks.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 400 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Interfacial electrochemistry of redox metalloproteins and DNA-based molecules is presently moving towards new levels of structural and functional resolution. This is the result of powerful interdisciplinary efforts. Underlying fundamentals of biological electron and proton transfer is increasingly well understood although with outstanding unresolved issues. Comprehensive bioelectrochemical studies have mapped the working environments for bioelectrochemical electron transfer, supported by the availability of mutant proteins and other powerful biotechnology. Introduction of surface spectroscopy, the scanning probe microscopies, and other solid state and surface physics methodology has finally offered exciting new fundamental and technological openings in interfacial bioelectrochemistry of both redox proteins and DNA-based molecules.'Inorganic Bioelectrochemistry' provides a thorough and didactic overview of state-of-the-art bioelectrochemistry with prospects for forthcoming development. The book is organized in eight chapters written by leading international experts and covers crucial relevant topics such as electron and proton transfer in metalloprotein systems, electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of redox enzymes, and electrochemistry of DNA-based molecules.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a theoretical and observational overview of the state of the art of gamma-ray astrophysics, and their impact and connection with the physics of cosmic rays and neutrinos. With the aim of shedding new and fresh light on the problem of the nature of the gamma-ray sources, particularly those yet unidentified, this book summarizes contributions to a workshop that continues with the series initiated by the meeting held at Tonantzintla in October 2000, and Hong-Kong in May 2004.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 552 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -CAAD Futures is a biennial conference that aims to promote the advancement of computer-aided architectural design research and teaching. The conferences are organised under the auspices of the CAAD Futures Foundation. The conference series started in 1985 in Delft and has since traveled to major cities in Europe, Asia, and USA.This volume is the proceedings of the 12th International Conference of CAAD Futures, which took place in Sydney, Australia. The internationally refereed papers in this book present the state of the art in computer-aided architectural design research. The papers in this year's conference theme, Integrating Technologies for Computer-Aided Design, provide the technological foundation for new ways of thinking about using computers in designing and the use of computers in design itself as well as in the education of designers.Information about the 2007 Conference and this book is available at: arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/conferences/cf07 616 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -language-specific competence within the acquisitional process. Together with the focus on acquisition of the verb and its grammar research in this domain provides a fruitful basis for discussion. The maturation model of language acquisition assumes that UG becomes the language specific grammar over time and that UG is entirely available only up until the time when the native language has been completely acquired (cf. Atkinson 1992, Wexler 1999). Constructivist models that may also be opposed to theories of UG alongside with the usage- based approaches m- tioned above mostly elaborate on the early acquisition of spatial relations (e. g. Bowerman and Choi 2001, Sinha et al. 1999); however, two main hy- theses of this approach ¿ a holistic view of universal spatial cognition and the language specific acquisition hypothesis are beyond the main scope ¿ of this book. The book presents original contributions based on analyses of naturalistic data from eleven languages: Croatian, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Hebrew, Jakarta Indonesian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. Three of the contributions make cross-linguistic comparisons ¿ between English and Russian; English, German and Spanish; and German, Croatian and English. All papers in the volume investigate first language acquisition and one paper studies both first and second language acquisition.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 360 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Beauty fulfils human existence. As it registers in our aesthetic experience, beauty enhances nature¿s enchantment around us and our inward experience lifting our soul toward moral elevation. Carried by creative imagination (Imaginatio Creatrix), beauty participates in the moulding of the forms of the intellective constitution of the mind in tandem with praxis and seeks deeper enigmas of the real in the labyrinth of the cosmos. Yet with the evolution of human development and in technological inventions, beauty, while suffusing all modalities of experience, seems to undergo transformations and expansion. Are there perduring norms and modalities of beauty or are we carried along blindly by human development Is there a measure intrinsic to our human ontopoietic unfolding and the growth of human life that we may follow instead of the whim of fancy and excess The present collection of art-explorations seeks the elemental ties of Human Condition. Together, the authors aim to answer the questions posed above.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Education is the transmission of knowledge and skill from one generation to another, and is vitally significant for the growth and unfolding of the living individual. It manifests the quintessential ability of the logos to differentiate life in self-individualization from within, and in its spread through inter-generative networks. Without reaching the evolutive phase of the human creative condition, the human being establishes a unique creative platform on which to conduct its co-existence. On this platform the progress of life is being transformed from a natural ontopoietic accomplishment into an autonomous achievement of the creative planning of the human mind. Specifically, human education focuses upon creative planning moving like a pendulum between nature and freedom.The present collection of papers focuses on the underpinnings of the creative workings of the human strategies of reason.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 468 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The Human Condition prompts our creative strivings beyond the natural round of life toward outstanding achievements. This book explains how the emergence of Human Condition lifts natural endowment of the individual to the level of excellence. It shows how natural forces and promptings of life transmute through creative Human Condition subliminal passions of the soul into innumerable streaks of spiritual significance.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 348 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Global awareness of environmental issues has increased on an unprecedented scale. Deforestation, land degradation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, global warming and climate change are some of the environmental issues linked directly to t- restrial ecosystems, both natural and human-managed. Forests, grasslands and c- plands constitute over 63% of the global land area. Terrestrial ecosystems play a critical role in the global carbon cycle. Global rise in demand for food, fodder, fuel and roundwood is increasing the pressure on land-use systems, and conservation and sustainable development of land-use systems are critical for meeting those demands sustainably and stabilizing CO concentration in the atmosphere to miti- 2 gate global climate change. My interest in carbon flows in forest ecosystems was initiated about 15 years ago with the global concern about the contribution of the growing CO emissions 2 to climate change. My first paper about carbon flows was published in 1996 in Climatic Change; since then my interest and the global interest have only increased (R).Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Since the end of the Cold War, the nuclear threats facing the world are dramatically evolving and have become even much more complex. However, the events of the past years have proved the necessity to reevaluate these threats on a level never before considered. The need to prevent, detect and respond to Nuclear/Radiological threats leads to many requirements that are not met by current scientific technologies and scientific communities.For this concern now we are aware and recognize, the first, that no single institution (no single country) possesses all the required assets to address these complex problems. It will require the formation of international science and technology teams that combine multiple scientific disciplines and span from basic research to systems engineering and manufacturing; the second, that fundamental scientific challenges must be overcome to achieve new and improved technologies that effectively counter radiological and nuclear threats.The primary goal of any counter-terrorism effort is to prevent an attack as early in the development stages as possible. Many current approaches employed to prevent a nuclear/radiological attack rely upon detection of materials. Another general category of threat reduction involves preventing acquisition or utilization of the materials. Therefore while the organizers and participants of this meeting recognize that the Nuclear/Radiological threats is extremely broad, we necessarily limited the scope of this NATO Advanced Research Workshop and the programme focused on science and technology challenges associated with our need to prevent, detect and respond to Nuclear/Radiological threats.The book can serve as a tool for communicating the outcomes of the workshop not only to the multi-national scientific and technical communities engaged in combating nuclear/ radiological terrorism, but also to those working at governmental and policy levels whose actions affect the directions thescience takes and how the technology is incorporated into country-specific national systems for combating nuclear/radiological terrorism.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -We are facing increasing environmental concerns associated with water, air, and soil pollution as well as climate change induced by human activities. Therefore accurate assessment of the state of the environment is a prerequisite for undertaking any course of action towards improvement. In particular, development of new environmental monitoring technologies for the detection of hazardous pollutants and environmental change has become increasingly important to scientists and to regulatory agencies. In recent years there has been much progress in the field of environmental monit- ing research, resulting in the development of more accurate, fast, compound-specific, convenient, and cost-effective techniques by integrating emerging technologies from various disciplines. th This book is a result of the 6 International Symposium on Advanced Environmental Monitoring, organized by ADvanced Environmental Monitoring Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Korea and held in Heidelberg, Germany on June, 27¿30, 2006. It presents recent advances in the research and development of forthcoming technologies, as well as in field applications in advanced environmental monitoring. It is our hope that the papers presented in this book will provide a glimpse of how cutting-edge technologies involving monitoring of poll- ants, determination of environmental status, and the detection and quantification of toxicity are being developed and applied in the field. We give many thanks to all authors for their participation and contributions and to the reviewers for their goodwill in providing a rapid turnover of the manuscripts and the critical comments necessary for ensuring the quality of this publication.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 444 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -¿Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.¿H. G. WellsDespite a growing awareness of the importance of freshwater, human actions continue to degrade the freshwater ecosystems upon which we depend. Most regions of the world face serious impending problems related to the availability and efficient/equitable distribution of freshwater ¿ these problems become exacerbated when both surface water and groundwater flows between and among multiple countries.As populations grow and the overall demand for water increases, the various and often competing demands for the finite stock of freshwater will increase. These shortages can lead to ecological/resource inefficiencies, economic/industrial problems, degradation of human health, social instability, and even conflict. The Central Asian republics and neighboring countries are currently experiencing these problems - problems that will become exacerbated by global climate change, increasing population and growing demands for water.In response to these growing concerns, on 20-22 June 2006, a NATO-sponsored Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) was organized in Almaty, Kazakhstan entitled, ¿Facilitating Regional Security in Central Asia through Improved Management of Transboundary Water Basin Resources¿. This scientific meeting convened leading environmental experts from Central Asia, the Caucasus and from NATO member countries to address the myriad of issues involving shared freshwater among the countries in this region. Issues involving ecology, law, economics, politics, water policy and integrated water management were discussed and evaluated. Against the backdrop of the widely known Aral Sea problem, these leading experts addressed a wide variety of current and emerging issues related to transboundary water management.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 324 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is the proceedings of the Falk Symposium 158, on Intestinal Inflammation and Colorectal Cancer, held in March 2007. It covers the current understanding of inflammation-driven colon carcinogenesis, highlights the most relevant mechanisms and discusses measures to interfere with this process. This is a true translational topic which will attract both basic scientists and clinicians, specifically those who can make a difference in preventing this type of cancer.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 340 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Automated question answering - the ability of a machine to answer questions, simple or complex, posed in ordinary human language - is one of today¿s most exciting technological developments. It has all the markings of a disruptive technology, one that is poised to displace the existing search methods and establish new standards for user-centered access to information. This book gives a comprehensive and detailed look at the current approaches to automated question answering. The level of presentation is suitable for newcomers to the field as well as for professionals wishing to study this area and/or to build practical QA systems. The book can serve as a 'how-to' handbook for IT practitioners and system developers. It can also be used to teach advanced graduate courses in Computer Science, Information Science and related disciplines. The readers will acquire in-depth practical knowledge of this critical new technology.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 596 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Molecules have for a long time been of central importance in chemistry as the basis on which all new products and materials have been designed, developed and interpreted. Since the discovery and characterization of active biomolecules, biology has also been transformed into a molecular science. With the new developments of molecular devices, single-molecule spectroscopy, time-resolved x-ray diffraction and the study of mass-selected clusters in molecular beams, materials science and electronics may move in the same direction.The understanding of molecules and the dynamics of their transition between isolated and assembled states rests on three pillars: structure, activity and function. Enormous progress has been made in the experimental study of molecules by diffraction and spectroscopic analysis, directed at all three of the basic aspects. In the process molecular scientists have developed efficient working models in terms of which to design and interpret their experiments. A vital feature of such models is an understanding of intra- and intermolecular cohesion and assembly, or chemical bonding. One challenging aspect is that the working models of chemistry are notoriously difficult to reduce to the fundamental theories of the physical sciences.The Indaba 5 meeting, held in South Africa during August 2006, was aimed at the progress that is being made to achieve first-principle understanding of molecular science: structure and dynamics (that includes bonding), activity and function. An interdisciplinary international team of experts came together to document and to probe various aspects of these fundamental questions and their startling conclusions confirm the need for a fresh look at the physical sciences with a view to better understand the mysteries and magic of molecules.This book explores the common ground to guide chemists, biologists, crystallographers, spectroscopists and theorists into a deeper recognition of their individual relevance towards painting a holistic picture of scientific endeavour. This effort to stimulate interest in multidisciplinary research is rare, if not unique.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 528 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Building on a range of disciplines ¿ from biology and anthropology to philosophy and linguistics ¿ this book draws on the expertise of leading names in the study of organic, mental and cultural codes brought together by the emerging discipline of biosemiotics.The book¿s 18 chapters present a range of experimental evidence which suggests that the genetic code was only the first in a long series of organic codes, and that it has been the appearance of new codes ¿ organic, mental and cultural ¿ that paved the way for the major transitions in the history of life.While the existence of many organic codes has been proposed since the 1980s, this volume represents the first multi-authored attempt to deal with the range of codes relevant to life, and to reveal the ubiquitous role of coding mechanisms in both organic and mental evolution. This creates the conditions for a synthesis of biology and linguistics that finally overcomes the old divide between nature and culture.The book will appeal to all those interested in the origins and evolution of life, including biologists (from molecular and cellular biologists to evolutionary and developmental biologists), ecologists, anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers of science, linguists, and researchers interested in the history of science, the origins of life, artificial life and intelligence, and information theory and communication technology.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 460 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Selection procedures used in plant breeding have gradually developed over a very long time span, in fact since settled agriculture was rst undertaken. Nowadays these procedures range from very simple mass selection methods, sometimes applied in an ine ective way, to indirect trait selection based on molecular markers. The procedures di er in costs as well as in genetic - ciency.Incontrasttothegenetice ciency,costsdependonthelocalconditions encountered by the breeder. The genetic progress per unit of money invested varies consequently from site to site. This book considers consequently only the genetic e ciency, i.e. the rate of progress to be expected when applying a certain selection procedure. Ifabreederhasacertainbreedinggoalinmind,aselectionprocedureshould be chosen. A wise choice requires a wellfounded opinion about the response to be expected from any procedure that might be applied. Such an opinion should preferably be based on the most appropriate model when considering the crop and the trait (or traits) to be improved. Sometimes little knowledge is available about the genetic control of expression of the trait(s). This applies particularly in the case of quantitative variation in the traits. It is, therefore, important to be familiar with methods for the elucidation of the inheritance of the traits of interest. This means, in fact, that the breeder should be able to develop population genetic and quantitative genetic models that describe the observed mode of inheritance as satisfactorily as possible.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 476 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -It is widely stipulated that the world¿s water supply will come to symbolize the blue gold of the 21st century. As such, it is essential that further efforts be invested in developing practical means for managing this natural wealth, in order to avoid any possible threat of depletion, contamination or adverse side effects for the societies who depend on it. Water is a limited resource, and human beings and their subsequent anth- pogenic processes can cause subtle but drastic variations in its quantity and quality, which can in turn result in changes to the source¿s related ecosystem. The EC directive 2000/60 introduced a whole range of specific definitions, objectives and constraints regarding the various aspects of water management, including water quality management, policies, economic aspects, ecology, price, and sustainable development. These issues all require the formulation of common, integrated, sustainable approaches for managing the water system from a multidisciplinary perspective, and the definition of new professional skills, requirements which become even more evident where transboundary areas are concerned. In order to take decisions in an equitable, sustainable, and ethical fashion, water resource management does in fact call for extensive knowledge of the complex relationships between citizens and their water system. The book represents a practical contribution made possible thanks to the efforts of scientists from NATO countries and partners, along with Belgium and Italy¿s collaboration on Integrated Water Management and its possible risk factors, including problems related to targeted terrorist acts.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 376 pp. Englisch.