springer us aug 2008 (50 risultati)

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Jupiter's ice moon Europa is widely regarded as the most likely place to find extraterrestrial life. This book tells the engaging story of Europa, the oceanic moon. It features a large number of stunning images of the ocean moon¿s surface, clearly displaying the spectacular crack patterns, extensive rifts and ridges, and refrozen pools of exposed water filled with rafts of displaced ice. Coverage also features firsthand accounts of Galileös mission to Jupiter and its moons. The book tells the rough and tumble inside story of a very human enterprise in science that lead to the discovery of a fantastic new world that might well harbor life.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 296 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Anemia in the elderly has been properly defined as the silent epidemic, representing 3 million people in the United States aged 65 years and older. Incidence and prevalence of this condition increase with age. It differs in its etiology, pathogenesis and treatment from anemia in children and younger adults. Anemia is associated with reduced survival, increased risk of functional dependence and hospitalization, increased risk of congestive heart failure and stage renal disease and cognitive disorders. Approximately 70% of anemia in older individuals is reversible.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Until recent decades, there was little emphasis on studying death threats as a social or psychological phenomenon. However, since the 1960s, attacks on public officials and celebrities and the ubiquitous nature of homicidal threats in face-to-face re- tions have spawned research and new organizational responses to death threats and related behaviors, such as stalking. Publicized workplace-related death threats and shootings, such as the 21 separate incidents since 1986 in which U.S. Postal Service employees were shot, and the death threats and attacks directed at schools and universities have helped to transform death threats from a private phenomenon into a social problem. Political leaders have developed new policies, organizational structures, and laws in an attempt to prevent death threats and related violence. Moreover, in the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. government and other governments around the world have formulated new policies and organizational structures to deal with the threat of terrorist attacks. At the level of interpersonal relations, the weakening of social control processes allows individuals to make homicidal threats against people and organizations in different settings. This book will address such questions as, Under what conditions are individuals able to evade social control by making death threats What factors trigger the response of social control mechanisms to death threat makers How effective are the institutional responses to death threats At the macrolevel, this book assesses how governments and paramilitary and terrorist groups also employ death threats to achieve their desired social and political objectives.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 200 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Programming Languages: An Active Learning Approach introduces students to three programming paradigms: object-oriented/imperative languages using C++ and Ruby, functional languages using Standard ML, and logic programming using Prolog. This interactive textbook is intended to be used in and outside of class. Each chapter follows a pattern of presenting a topic followed by a practice exercise or exercises that encourage students to try what they have just read. This textbook is best-suited for students with a 2-3 course introduction to imperative programming.Key Features: (1) Accessible structure guides the student through various programming languages. (2) Seamlessly integrated practice exercises. (3) Classroom-tested. (4) Online support materials.Advance praise:¿The Programming Languages book market is overflowing with books, but none like this. In many ways, it is precisely the book I have been searching for to use in my own programming languages course. One of the main challenges I perpetually face is how to teach students to program in functional and logical languages, but also how to teach them about compilers. This book melds the two approaches very well.¿ -- David Musicant, Carleton CollegeSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 300 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -WhenZhouEnlai,PremierofthePeople¿sRepublicofChina(1949¿1976),was asked his opinion of the French Revolution (1789¿1799) he replied ¿It¿s too early to tell¿, see Rosenberg (1999). I believe that the same can be said about wavelets. Although particular wavelets were discovered many years ago, the substantial body of literature that we might today call ¿wavelet theory¿ began to be established during the 1980s. Wavelets were introduced into statistics during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and they were initially popular in the curve estimation literature. From there they spread in di erent ways to many areassuchassurvivalanalysis,statisticaltimeseriesanalysis,statisticalimage processing, inverse problems, and variance stabilization. The French Revolution was also the historical backdrop for the introd- tion of Fourier series which itself raised considerable objections from the s- enti c establishment of the day, see Westheimer (2001). Despite those early objections, we nd that, 200 years later, many new Fourier techniques are regularly being invented in many di erent elds. Wavelets are also a true s- enti c revolution. Some of their interesting features are easy to appreciate: e.g., multiscale, localization, or speed. Other important aspects, such as the unconditional basis property, deserve to be better known. I hope that this book, in some small way, enables the creation of many new wavelet methods.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 272 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Financial globalization has increased the significance of methods used in the evaluation of country risk, one of the major research topics in economics and finance. Written by experts in the fields of multicriteria methodology, credit risk assessment, operations research, and financial management, this book develops a comprehensive framework for evaluating models based on several classification techniques that emerge from different theoretical directions. This book compares different statistical and data mining techniques, noting the advantages of each method, and introduces new multicriteria methodologies that are important to country risk modeling.Key topics include: (1) A review of country risk definitions and an overview of the most recent tools in country risk management, (2) In-depth analysis of statistical, econometric and non-parametric classification techniques, (3) Several real-world applications of the methodologies described throughout the text, (4) Future research directions for country risk assessment problems.This work is a useful toolkit for economists, financial managers, bank managers, operations researchers, management scientists, and risk analysts. Moreover, the book can also be used as a supplementary text for graduate courses in finance and financial risk management.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 128 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This monograph is the first to provide a comprehensive, self-contained and rigorous presentation of some of the most powerful preconditioning methods for solving finite element equations in a common block-matrix factorization framework.The book covers both algorithms and analysis using a common block-matrix factorization approach which emphasizes its unique feature. Topics covered include the classical incomplete block-factorization preconditioners, the most efficient methods such as the multigrid, algebraic multigrid, and domain decomposition.This text can serve as an indispensable reference for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners. It can also be used as a supplementary text for a topics course in preconditioning and/or multigrid methods at the graduate level.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 544 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -ITIL® Version 3 At a Glance takes a graphical approach to consolidating the information of ITIL® version 3. ITIL® is an internationally-recognized set of best practices for providing IT service management. IT organizations worldwide are implementing ITIL® as a vehicle for improving IT service quality and improve return on investment for IT services.The desk reference¿s unique graphical approach takes otherwise complex textual descriptions and makes the information accessible in a series of consistent, simple diagrams. ITIL® Version 3 At a Glance will be of interest to organizations looking to train their staffs in a consistent and cost-effective way. Further, this book is ideal for anyone involved in planning consulting, implementing, or testing an ITIL® Version 3 implementation.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 92 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Bandwidth Extension of Speech Signals describes the theory and methods for quality enhancement of clean speech signals and distorted speech signals such as those that have undergone a band limitation, for instance, in a telephone network. Problems and the respective solutions are discussed for the different approaches. The different approaches are evaluated and a real-time implementation of the most promising approach is presented. The book includes topics related to speech coding, pattern- / speech recognition, speech enhancement, statistics and digital signal processing in general.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 196 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote in the Preface to his famous Discourse on Inequality that ¿I consider the subject of the following discourse as one of the most interesting questions philosophy can propose, and unhappily for us, one of the most thorny that philosophers can have to solve. For how shall we know the source of inequality between men, if we do not begin by knowing mankind ¿ (Rousseau, 1754). This citation of Rousseau appears in an article in Spanish where Dagum (2001), in the memory of whom this book is published, also cites Socrates who said that the only useful knowledge is that which makes us better and Seneca who wrote that knowing what a straight line is, is not important if we do not know what rectitude is. These references are indeed a good illustration of Dagum¿s vast knowledge, which was clearly not limited to the eld of Economics. For Camilo the rst part of Rousseaüs citation certainly justi ed his interest in the eld of inequality which was at the centre of his scienti c preoccupations. It should however be stressed that for Camilo the second part of the citation represented a ¿solid argument in favor of giving macroeconomic foundations to microeconomic behavior¿ (Dagum, 2001). More precisely, ¿individualism and methodological holism complete each other in contributing to the explanation of individual and social behavior¿ (Dagum, 2001).Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 340 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The idea that the microbial communities within the GI tract have a profound influence on general human health actually originated with Russian scientist Elie Metchnikov at the turn ofthe last century. Also known as the 'fatherofimmunol ogy', Metchnikovbelievedthat putrefactivebacteriain the gut were responsible for enhancing the aging process. He theorized that ingestion ofhealthy bacteria found in fermented foods could counteract toxic bacteria and was the key to good health. His theories concerning good bacteria and health can be found in his treatise 'The ProlongationofLife: Optimistic Studies'.Thesewritings promptedJapanesescientist Minoru Shirotatobegin investigationofhow fermentative bacteriaimprove health. He succeededin isolating astrainofLactobacillusthat could survive passage through the intestine, while promoting a healthy balance ofmicrobes. The 'Shirota strain' is still used today in the fermented beverage Yakult.It is clear from a commercial standpoint that these ideas have inspired the development of a probiotic industry, which has expanded greatly in the U.S. over the past 5-10 years.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 168 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In trying to make a satisfactory decision when imprecise and multicriteria situations are involved, a decision maker has to use a fuzzy multicriteria decision making method. 'Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making' (MCDM) presents fuzzy multiattribute and multiobjective decision-making methodologies by distinguished MCDM researchers.In summarizing the concepts and results of the most popular fuzzy multicriteria methods, using numerical examples, this work examines all the fuzzy multicriteria methods recently developed, such as fuzzy AHP, fuzzy TOPSIS, interactive fuzzy multiobjective stochastic linear programming, fuzzy multiobjective dynamic programming, grey fuzzy multiobjective optimization, fuzzy multiobjective geometric programming, and more. Each of the 22 chapters includes practical applications along with new developments/results.This book may be used as a textbook in graduate operations research, industrial engineering, and economics courses. It will also be an excellent resource, providing new suggestions and directions for further research, for computer programmers, mathematicians, and scientists in a variety of disciplines where multicriteria decision making is needed.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 608 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Cyclin Dependent Kinase 5 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of reviews on the discovery, signaling mechanisms and functions of Cdk5, as well as the potential implication of Cdk5 in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Since the identification of this unique member of the Cdk family, Cdk5 has emerged as one of the most important signal transduction mediators in the development, maintenance and fine-tuning of neuronal functions and networking. Further studies have revealed that Cdk5 is also associated with the regulation of neuronal survival during both developmental stages and in neurodegenerative diseases. These observations indicate that precise control of Cdk5 is essential for the regulation of neuronal survival. The pivotal role Cdk5 appears to play in both the regulation of neuronal survival and synaptic functions thus raises the interesting possibility that Cdk5 inhibitors may serve as therapeutic treatment for a number of neurodegenerative diseases.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 348 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Adaptive Structural Systems with Piezoelectric Transducer Circuitry provides a comprehensive discussion on the integration of piezoelectric transducers with electrical circuitry for the development and enhancement of adaptive structural systems.Covering a wide range of interdisciplinary research, this monograph presents a paradigm of taking full advantage of the two-way electro-mechanical coupling characteristics of piezoelectric transducers for structural control and identification in adaptive structural systems. Presenting descriptions of algorithm development, theoretical analysis and experimental investigation, engineers and researchers alike will find this a valuable reference.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 312 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Probably the most interesting and influential class to the authors about video compression was EE E6830 (Digital Image Processing and Understanding) at Columbia University in 1995, offered by adjunct Professors Dr. Netravali, Dr. Haskell and Dr. Puri at AT&T. In the class, they impressed the authors with how such difficult and mysterious statements in video standards could be interpreted/ understood in plain human languages. Since then, the authors had had a dream that similar services could also be provided to interpret difficult video subjects into reasonable level of explanations in the future. The VC-1 standard is fundamentally the same as WMV-9. WMV-x video compression technologies of Microsoft have long been the most popular over the Internet due to popularity of Microsoft Operating Systems. The technologies were published in August 2005 for the first time in a formal SMPTE document in the name of VC-1, and the official standard then was finalized in April 2006. In contrast, the MPEG committee recently standardized the MPEG AVC (H.264) video coding standard, whose first version was officially published in May 2003, and several subsequent amendments and corrigenda then followed until recently. These two are highly efficient compression standards that can make hi- quality video services possible for Digital Storage Media (e.g., Blu-ray DVD or HD DVD) and/or broadband networks applications (e.g., IPTV).Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 516 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Land in the tropics and sub tropics occupy approximately 40 percent of the Earth¿s surface and is currently home to a a large portion of the world¿s population. This book provides a detail ed scientific account of the current state and condition of land change in the Tropics. The main themes of tropical land change science include not only extensification and intensifi cation, butal so diversification and co mpetition for land; resilience of land systems; the multiple roles of institutions, markets, societies, and individu als; andth e effects of decisions made at manifold spatial, temporal, and organizational scales in influencing land change. These themes together with issues such as frontier settleme nt, dynamics of plant invasions and other changes in environmental qualitya ssociated with alternate land uses clearly demonstrate the importanceof an integrateda nd interdisciplinary understanding of socio economic and human systems aswell as environ mental systems. This book takes such a coupled approach to human and natural systems and investigates land change as anexe mplar oft he funda mental interdependence of society, economy, and environment. Development of methodologies required for achieving a more integrated and interdisciplinary understanding of land change in coupled natural and human systems are an important effort in the international land change sci ence community. This book addresses and explores manyof t hese meth odologies,provi ding detailed case studies that demonstrate the importance of strong methodologies.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 292 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Depression ranks as a leading mental health problem among Hispanic immigrants and their US-born children. And a wide array of issues - starting with the widespread stereotype of the ¿illegal immigrant¿ - makes the Latino experience of this condition differ from that of any other group. Depression in Latinos consolidates the conceptual, diagnostic, and clinical knowledge based on this salient topic, providing coverage from prevalence to prevention, from efficient screening to effective interventions.In this concise yet comprehensive volume, leading clinicians, researchers, and academics offer extensive research and clinical findings, literature reviews (e.g., an in-depth chapter on the Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey), and insights gathered from first-hand experience in clinical practice. Perceptive information is offered on the most urgent and complex issues on depression in this diverse and dynamic population, including: (1) The impact language, culture, and societal factors have on depression and its diagnosis. (2) The most relevant assessment instruments. (3) How depression manifests among Latino children, youth, and seniors as well as in Latinas. (4) The relationship between depression and substance abuse. (5) The most effective evidence-based treatment methods. (6) The efficacy of interventions for depression at the community level.Depression in Latinos is vital reading for clinicians, counseling and school psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and public health professionals interested in providing their Hispanic clients with the most effective treatment possible. In addition, its coverage of the broader issues of access to care makes this volume essential reading for mental health administrators, volunteer/outreach agencies, and policymakers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 356 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - One of the hallmarks of generalized anxiety disorder, along with diffuse pathological worry and somatic complaints, is its resistance to therapy. Of available treatment modalities for GAD, cognitive-behavioral therapy garners the best empirical support in terms of successful long-term results. Psychological Approaches to Generalized Anxiety Disorder offers clinicians a wide variety of CBT strategies to help clients develop core anxiety-reduction skills, presented so that readers can hone their own clinical skills.Concise without skimping on information, this book reviews current theory and research, addresses important diagnostic issues, and provides salient details in these key areas: Assessment procedures and treatment planning; Latest therapy outcome data, including findings on newer therapies; Specific CBT techniques, including cognitive strategies, psychoeducation, anxiety monitoring, relaxation exercises, and more; Dealing with noncompliance, client ambivalence, and other challenges to therapy; Special considerations for treating older adults with GAD; Relapse prevention, transition issues, and ending treatment.Psychological Approaches to Generalized Anxiety Disorder has much information of interest to new and seasoned clinicians, clinical researchers, and academic psychologists. It is also an especially valuable reference for graduate students treating or studying the anxiety spectrum.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - DAPSYS (International Conference on Distributed and Parallel Systems) is an international biannual conference series dedicated to all aspects of distributed and parallel computing. DAPSYS 2008, the 7th International Conference on Distributed and Parallel Systems was held in September 2008in Hungary.Distributed and Parallel Systems: Desktop Grid Computing, based on DAPSYS 2008, presents original research, novel concepts and methods, and outstanding results. Contributors investigate parallel and distributed techniques, algorithms, models and applications; present innovative software tools, environments and middleware; focus on various aspects of grid computing; and introduce novel methods for development, deployment, testing and evaluation. This volume features a special focus on desktop grid computing as well.Designed for a professional audience composed of practitioners and researchers in industry,this book is also suitable for advanced-level students in computer science.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Recently, there has been a significant and healthy shift to establish the effectiveness of clinical practice, widely referred to as ¿evidence-based medicine.¿ This book fills a major gap in the practice literature for healthcare professionals engaged in providing psychosocial care for their patients suffering from chronic pain or illness. Oxford University, a leader in evidence-based medicine, now has a master¿s program in evidence-based social work, the only one of its kind. Much of the practice of medicine is evidence based; however, much of the psychosocial care provided to patients is not. This is not due to the absence of such evidence; rather, practice has traditionally relied on clinical evidence, common sense, and practitioner ¿wisdom.¿ However, given the demand for results from governments, from insurance companies, and, most importantly, from patients, psychosocial care must move in the direction of evidence-based practice, for which a great deal of research is available.This book will (1) provide empirically derived support and understanding of psychosocial problems encountered by patients and (2) explore the efficacy of the interventions available for patient care. Chapter 1 will take a historical view of the development of evidence-based practice in medicine and psychology. Chapter 2 will examine the concept of empirically supported evidence, ie, the extent to which the impact of psychosocial problems on health has been measured. The remaining eight chapters will explore a range of psychosocial issues through case illustration and examine both the problems and their management from an evidence-based approach. This book is a departure from reports on evidence-based practice to the extent that the empirical bases of the problems reported, and not just their treatment, are subjected to scrutiny.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 192 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -t this will enable readers to acquire an appreciationof this developmentalprocess in all its facets.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 212 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Over the past decade the financial and business environments have undergone significant changes. During the same period several advances have been made within the field of financial engineering, involving both the methodological tools as well as the application areas.This comprehensive edited volume discusses the most recent advances within the field of financial engineering, focusing not only on the description of the existing areas in financial engineering research, but also on the new methodologies that have been developed for modeling and addressing financial engineering problems.This book is divided into four major parts, each covering different aspects of financial engineering and modeling such as portfolio management and trading, risk management, applications of operation research methods, and credit rating models.Handbook of Financial Engineering is intended for financial engineers, researchers, applied mathematicians, and graduate students interested in real-world applications to financial engineering.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 512 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Since the previous M.D. Anderson Solid Tumor Oncology Series publication on pancreatic cancer, there have been major advances in our understanding of molecular events which underlie pancreatic cancer development, both in the sporadic and inherited forms. We have seen the development of the first mouse models that accurately recapitulate features of the human disease. Several landmark clinical trials in both resectable and metastatic pancreatic cancer have been completed, raising new questions about the standard of care in this disease. Finally, the era of targeted biologic therapies has engendered new excitement about the prospects of more rapid progress in understanding and successfully treating this dreadful disease. Therefore, it is an appropriate time to review these important advances and outline areas of controversy and question in pancreatic cancer biology and treatment.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 764 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Atomistic Modeling of Materials Failure is an introduction to molecular and atomistic modeling techniques applied to solid fracture and deformation. Focusing on a variety of brittle, ductile, geometrically confined and biological materials, this detailed overview includes computational methods at the atomic scale, and describes how these techniques can be used to model the dynamics of cracks and other deformation mechanisms.A full description of molecular dynamics (MD) as a numerical modeling tool covers the use of classical interatomic potentials and implementation of large-scale massively parallelized computing facilities in addition to the general philosophies of model building, simulation, interpretation and analysis of results. Readers will find an analytical discussion of the numerical techniques along with a review of required mathematical and physics fundamentals. Example applications for specific materials (such as silicon, copper, fibrous proteins) are provided as case studies for each of the techniques, areas and problems discussed.Providing an extensive review of multi-scale modeling techniques that successfully link atomistic and continuum mechanical methods, Atomistic Modeling of Materials Failure is a valuable reference for engineers, materials scientists, and researchers in academia and industry.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Some of our day-to-day situations dealing with self-organization, mobility management, and energy efficient design directly relate to ad hoc wireless (mobile or static) network applications. This book surveys state-of-the-art research regarding several rapidly growing areas in the field with a focus on four such topics from both theoretical and experimental standpoints: network security and trust, broadcasting and multicasting, power control and energy efficiency, and QoS provisioning. This book is a great reference tool for professionals in the field of networking and telecommunications, graduate students and researchers interested in wireless networks, and practitioners working on sensor networks.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The objective of this book is to provide timely and comprehensive coverage of the principles, technology, practice, and future of tra c grooming in op- cal networks. Tra c grooming considerations are already shaping new switch designs and standards, including next generation Synchronous Optical N- work/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) and Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), are a ecting future optical network technologies, and are creating new business opportunities. Yet information on the topic is sc- tered and there is a shortage of technical sources where relevant material can be accessed in a single location. The motivation for this book was to bridge this gap by providing a single authoritative point of reference to the tra c grooming state of the art. Tra c grooming is a complex subject, involving a number of interrelated concepts, standards, and technologies. It is also a rapidly growing eld of study,makingitdi cultforasinglebooktocoverallaspectsindetail.Tocope with this scope and complexity, this book provides appropriate background information, followed by an in-depth study of a few key issues and challenges. It has been our intention to bring together a broad range of perspectives from preeminent researchers in both academia and industry. We believe that these multiple, diverse points of view add considerable value and make the contents more interesting to the reader.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -¿Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.¿ advised Albert Einstein. In recent years, the research communities in Computer Science, Engineering, and other disciplines have taken this message to heart, and a relatively new field of ¿biologically-inspired computing¿ has been born. Inspiration is being drawn from nature, from the behaviors of colonies of ants, of swarms of bees and even the human body. This new paradigm in computing takes many simple autonomous objects or agents and lets them jointly perform a complex task, without having the need for centralized control. In this paradigm, these simple objects interact locally with their environment using simple rules. Applications include optimization algorithms, communications networks, scheduling and decision making, supply-chain management, and robotics, to name just a few. There are many disciplines involved in making such systems work: from artificial intelligence to energy aware systems. Often these disciplines have their own field of focus, have their own conferences, or only deal with specialized s- problems (e.g. swarm intelligence, biologically inspired computation, sensor networks). The Second IFIP Conference on Biologically-Inspired Collaborative Computing aims to bridge this separation of the scientific community and bring together researchers in the fields of Organic Computing, Autonomic Computing, Self-Organizing Systems, Pervasive Computing and related areas. We are very pleased to have two very important keynote presentations: Swarm Robotics: The Coordination of Robots via Swarm Intelligence Principles by Marco Dorigo (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium), of which an abstract is included in this volume.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -For centuries the analysis of the heart rhythm has belonged to the foundations of medical art. We know that doctors in ancient Tibet used the interpretation of the heart rate to draw prognostic conclusions-somehow a modern rationale-that deserves further attention. The rapid advancement of science is providing more and more information about the details, but the subatomic resolution of structures hides the risk and the complex procedures are fragmented into static impressions. The same has happened to the ECG. The revolutionary development, acknowledged by the Nobel Prize for Einthoven, ledfromtheanalysisofthedynamicheartratetothestaticanalysisofthe heartstream curve. It is only with the ECG Holter recording over longer periods that the cardiologists rediscovered the old dynamic. With the continuous recording of the heart rate and its periodicity, it became accessible to a new dimension, a dim- sion that requires technically well-de ned foundations for accurate data coll- tion, detailed knowledge of the electrocardiologic particularities of arrhythmia, and medical knowledge for the translation of the results into a diagnostic synthesis. With the ECG Holter the issue is no longer just to detect an arrhythmia, but also to determine dynamic circumstance in which the critical event occurred. In fact, we investigate the trigger, the event, and the context, and we have to integrate all of that information within the clinical picture, from the pathology right through to the symptom-indeed a multi-dimensional task. 90 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Optimization has pervaded all spheres of human endeavor. Although op- mization has been practiced in some form or other from the early prehistoric era, this area has seen progressive growth during the last ve decades. M- ern society lives not only in an environment of intense competition but is also constrained to plan its growth in a sustainable manner with due concern for conservation of resources. Thus, it has become imperative to plan, design, operate, and manage resources and assets in an optimal manner. Early - proaches have been to optimize individual activities in a standalone manner, however,thecurrenttrendistowardsanintegratedapproach:integratings- thesis and design, design and control, production planning, scheduling, and control. The functioning of a system may be governed by multiple perf- mance objectives. Optimization of such systems will call for special strategies for handling the multiple objectives to provide solutions closer to the systems requirement. Uncertainty and variability are two issues which render op- mal decision making di cult. Optimization under uncertainty would become increasingly important if one is to get the best out of a system plagued by uncertain components. These issues have thrown up a large number of ch- lenging optimization problems which need to be resolved with a set of existing and newly evolving optimization tools. Optimization theory had evolved initially to provide generic solutions to optimizationproblemsinlinear,nonlinear,unconstrained,andconstrained- mains. Theseoptimization problems wereoften called mathematical progr- mingproblemswithtwodistinctiveclassi cations,namelylinearandnonlinear programming problems. 291 pp. Englisch.