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  • Nanoporous Materials IV

    Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Nanoporous Materials, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada June 7-10, 2005
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 156
    • Abdel Sayari + 1 more
    • English
    Nanoporous Materials IV contains the invited lectures and peer-reviewed oral and poster contributions to be presented at the 4th International Symposium on Nanoporous Materials, which will be hosted in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, June 7-10, 2005. This volume covers complementary approaches to and recent advances in the field of nanostructured materials with pore sizes larger than 1nm, such as periodic mesoporous molecular sieves (e.g., MCM-41 and SBA-15) and related materials including clays, ordered mesoporous carbons, colloidal crystal templated materials, porous polymers and sol gels. The broad range of topics covered in relation to the synthesis and characterization of ordered mesoporous materials are of great importance for advanced adsorption, catalytic, separation and environmental processes as well as for the development of nanotechnology.This volume contains over 120 contributions related to the synthesis of ordered mesoporous silicas, organosilicas, nonsiliceous inorganic materials, carbons, polymers and related materials, their characterization and applications in adsorption, catalysis and environmental clean up.
  • A Practical Logic of Cognitive Systems

    The Reach of Abduction: Insight and Trial
    • 1st Edition
    • Dov M. Gabbay + 1 more
    • English
    The present work is a continuation of the authors' acclaimed multi-volume APractical Logic of Cognitive Systems. After having investigated the notion ofrelevance in their previous volume, Gabbay and Woods now turn to abduction. Inthis highly original approach, abduction is construed as ignorance-preserving... in which conjecture plays a pivotal role. Abduction is a response to acognitive target that cannot be hit on the basis of what the agent currently knows.The abducer selects a hypothesis which were it true would enable the reasoner to attain his target. He concludes from this fact that the hypothesis may be conjectured. In allowing conjecture to stand in for the knowledge he fails to have, the abducer reveals himself to be a satisficer, since an abductive solution is not a solution from knowledge. Key to the authors' analysis is the requirement that a conjectured proposition is not just what a reasoner might allow himself to assume, but a proposition he must defeasibly release as a premiss for further inferences in the domain of enquiry in which the original abduction problem has arisen.The coverage of the book is extensive, from the philosophy of science tocomputer science and AI, from diagnostics to the law, from historical explanation to linguistic interpretation. One of the volume's strongest contributions is its exploration of the abductive character of criminal trials, with special attention given to the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.Underlying their analysis of abductive reasoning is the authors' conception ofpractical agency. In this approach, practical agency is dominantly a matter of thecomparative modesty of an agent's cognitive agendas, together with comparatively scant resources available for their advancement. Seen in these ways, abduction has a significantly practical character, precisely because it is a form of inference that satisfices rather than maximizes its response to the agent's cognitive target.The Reach of Abduction will be necessary reading for researchers, graduatestudents and senior undergraduates in logic, computer science, AI, belief dynamics, argumentation theory, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, linguistics, forensic science, legal reasoning and related areas.Key features:- Reach of Abduction is fully integrated with a background logic of cognitive systems.- The most extensive coverage compared to competitive works.- Demonstrates not only that abduction is a form of ignorance preservinginference but that it is a mode of inference that is wholly rational.- Demonstrates the satisficing rather than maximizing character ofabduction.- The development of formal models of abduction is considerably more extensive than one finds in existing literature. It is an especially impressive amalgam of sophisticatedconcept... analysis and extensive logical modelling.
  • Elsevier's Dictionary of Automation Technics

    In English, German, French and Russian
    • 1st Edition
    • B. Zhelyazova
    • English
    This dictionary contains 13,000 terms with more than 4,000 cross-references used in the following fields: automation, technology of management and regulation, computing machine and data processing, computer control, automation of industry, laser technology, theory of information and theory of signals, theory of algorithms and programming, philosophical bases of cybernetics, cybernetics and mathematical methods.Automation pertains to the theory, art, or technique of making a machine, a process or a device more fully automatic. Computers and information processing equipment play a large role in the automation of a process because of the inherent ability of a computer to develop decision that will, in effect, control or govern the process from the information received by the computer concerning the status of the process. Thus automation pertains to both the theory, and techniques of using automatic systems in industrial applications and the processes of investigation, design and conversion to automatic methods. Automatic control, automatic materials handling, automatic testing, automatic packaging, for continuous as well as batch processing, are all considered parts of the overall or completely automatic process.The Dictionary consists of two parts, Basic Table and Indexes. In the first part the English terms are listed alphabetically, numbered consecutively and followed by its German, French and Russian equivalents. English synonyms appear as cross-references to the main entries in their proper alphabetical order. The second part of the Dictionary, the Indexes, contains separate alphabetical indexes of the German, French and Russian terms. The reference number(s) with each term stands for the number of the English term(s) in the basic table.Elsevier's Dictionary of Automatic Technics will be a valuable tool for specialists, scientists, students and everyone who takes interest in the problems of investigation devoted to the design, development, and applications of methods and techniques for rendering a process of group of machines self-actuating, self-moving, or self-controlling.
  • Iceland - Modern Processes and Past Environments

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 5
    • C. Caseldine + 3 more
    • English
    Iceland provides an unique stage on which to study the natural environment, both past and present, and it is understanding both aspects of reconstructing the past and observing and interpreting the present that form the focus of the contributions to this volume. The papers are all written by active researchers and incorporate both reviews and new data. Although concentrating largely on the recent Quaternary timescale a wide range of topics is explored including subglacial volcanism, onshore and offshore evidence for the Last Glacial Maximum and subsequent deglaciation, current glacial characteristics including jökulhlaups and glacial landsystems, soil development, Holocene ecosystem change, current oceanography, impacts of volcanic sulphur loading, chemical weathering and the CO2 budget and documentary evidence for historical climate. The key element of the volume is that for the first time it provides a wide overview of a range of topics for which Iceland provides an almost unparalleled laboratory emphasizing the importance of research on this small island for studies over a much broader global scale. These reviews point the way to future research directions and are supplemented by extensive illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography.
  • New Theories for Chemistry

    • 1st Edition
    • Jan C.A. Boeyens
    • English
    Many new developments, related to the interpretation and importance of symmetry relationships, quantum mechanics, general relativity, field theory and mathematics have occurred in the second half of the 20th century without having a visible impact on chemical thinking. By re-examining basic theories, The New Theories for Chemistry aims to introduce a new understanding of old concepts, such as electron spin, The Periodic Table and electronegativity. The book focuses on the new mathematical concepts that enable the exploration of interactions between particles, waves and fields within a chemical context, and is packed with examples to support its arguments. The author adopts a practical approach and topics are arranged sequentially, from the mathematical basis through to general concepts. An essential reference source, this book is suitable for physicists, theoretical and physical chemists, as well as students and researchers working in the field.
  • Long-Term Performance of Permeable Reactive Barriers

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • K.E. Roehl + 3 more
    • English
    While extensive research has been performed on many technological aspects of permeable reactive barriers and a number of contaminants have so far been successfully treated by PRB systems, long-term performance has not been extensively considered and little is known about the processes influencing long-term behaviour. This gap in our knowledge is all the more disadvantageous as design life has a decisive influence on the economic viability of PRBs. The book describes methods for evaluation and enhancement of the long-term performance of PRB systems, especially of those targeting heavy metals, specifically uranium, and organic contaminants by sorption and/or precipitation mechanisms. Major topics in the book are: Selection and characterisation of suitable reactive materials Characterisation of the relevant contaminant attenuation processes Developing new contaminant-binding chemical compounds ("ligands") Accelerated testing methods to assess the long-term performance of the attenuation mechanisms in PRBs Evaluation of the influence of site characteristics on PRB performance Monitoring of existing and new field installations Coupling of electrokinetic techniques and PRB systems Large-scale laboratory and field tests and their results It addresses the long-term performance of PRBs, an important feature of this novel remediation technology, systematically. It deals extensively with heavy metal removal, with special emphasis on uranium. A number of case studies, experiences with large-scale modelling and test site experiments provide insight into the practical application of the results. This volume will contribute to the science underpinning groundwater remediation, and this will result in the improvement of quality of life and health and safety.
  • Ten Mathematical Essays on Approximation in Analysis and Topology

    Ten Mathematical Essays
    • 1st Edition
    • Juan Ferrera + 2 more
    • English
    This book collects 10 mathematical essays on approximation in Analysis and Topology by some of the most influent mathematicians of the last third of the 20th Century. Besides the papers contain the very ultimate results in each of their respective fields, many of them also include a series of historical remarks about the state of mathematics at the time they found their most celebrated results, as well as some of their personal circumstances originating them, which makes particularly attractive the book for all scientist interested in these fields, from beginners to experts. These gem pieces of mathematical intra-history should delight to many forthcoming generations of mathematicians, who will enjoy some of the most fruitful mathematics of the last third of 20th century presented by their own authors.This book covers a wide range of new mathematical results. Among them, the most advanced characterisations of very weak versions of the classical maximum principle, the very last results on global bifurcation theory, algebraic multiplicities, general dependencies of solutions of boundary value problems with respect to variations of the underlying domains, the deepest available results in rapid monotone schemes applied to the resolution of non-linear boundary value problems, the intra-history of the the genesis of the first general global continuation results in the context of periodic solutions of nonlinear periodic systems, as well as the genesis of the coincidence degree, some novel applications of the topological degree for ascertaining the stability of the periodic solutions of some classical families of periodic second order equations, the resolution of a number of conjectures related to some very celebrated approximation problems in topology and inverse problems, as well as a number of applications to engineering, an extremely sharp discussion of the problem of approximating topological spaces by polyhedra using various techniques based on inverse systems, as well as homotopy expansions, and the Bishop-Phelps theorem.Key features:- It contains a number of seminal contributions by some of the most world leading mathematicians of the second half of the 20th Century. - The papers cover a complete range of topics, from the intra-history of the involved mathematics to the very last developments in Differential Equations, Inverse Problems, Analysis, Nonlinear Analysis and Topology. - All contributed papers are self-contained works containing rather complete list of references on each of the subjects covered. - The book contains some of the very last findings concerning the maximum principle, the theory of monotone schemes in nonlinear problems, the theory of algebraic multiplicities, global bifurcation theory, dynamics of periodic equations and systems, inverse problems and approximation in topology. - The papers are extremely well written and directed to a wide audience, from beginners to experts. An excellent occasion to become engaged with some of the most fruitful mathematics developed during the last decades.
  • Sleep and Aging

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 17
    • English
    Alterations in sleep are common manifestations of aging that can lead to significant health problems and contribute to behavioural problems associated with age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Recent advances have revealed key cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in sleep regulation, and this knowledge is helping to advance an understanding of both the normal functions of sleep and the mechanisms responsible for abnormalities in sleep in various neurological conditions and during normal aging. This volume of Advances in Cell Aging and Gerontology brings together chapters by leaders in the fields of sleep research and the neurobiology of aging. The book starts with chapters describing fundamental aspects of the neurocircuitry involved in sleep, patterns of brain activity during the different stages of sleep and disturbances of sleep during aging. The links between depression, anxiety and insomnia are reviewed in regards to the underlying neurochemical alterations that appear to involve abnormalities in neurotransmitter and neurotrophic factor signalling. The evolutionary basis of sleep is reviewed and the emerging evidence supporting a major role for sleep in learning and memory is described. The bulk of the book focuses on specific sleep disorders associated with aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders. A comprehensive consideration of this topic is woven through a number of chapters that address both basic research and clinical aspects of sleep abnormalities during aging and in disease. The impact of sleep on the immune system is described. The articles are written in a high level of detail and are comprehensive, thus providing valuable information for a range of scientists and other well-educated people. In particular, the book will be a valuable resource for graduate students, postdoctoral and senior scientists in the fields of sleep, aging, neurodegenerative disorders and learning and memory. In addition, clinicians will find this book valuable as it provides a bridge between basic research and the treatment of the patients with sleep disorders.
  • Chemical Thermodynamics of Selenium

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • English
    In order to quantitatively predict the chemical reactions that hazardous materials may undergo in the environment, it is necessary to know the relative stabilities of the compounds and complexes that may be found under certain conditions. This type of calculations may be done using consistent chemical thermodynamic data, such as those contained in this book for inorganic compounds and complexes of selenium.
  • Progress in Medicinal Chemistry

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 43
    • English
    The Progress in Medicinal Chemistry series spans a wide range of topics of interest to the drug discovery community. This particular volume touches upon the following:* The Herg ion channel * Fluorescence-based high throughput assay * Aprepitant and neurokinin receptors * Muscarinic receptor targets * Gene activation pathways * Malaria and antimalarial drugs * HIV virus mutation and new therapeuticsProgress in Medicinal Chemistry is available online on ScienceDirect — full-text online of volumes 41 onwards. Elsevier book series on ScienceDirect gives multiple users throughout an institution simultaneous online access to an important compliment to primary research. Digital delivery ensures users reliable, 24-hour access to the latest peer-reviewed content. The Elsevier book series are compiled and written by the most highly regarded authors in their fields and are selected from across the globe using Elsevier’s extensive researcher network. For more information about the Elsevier Book Series on ScienceDirect Program, please visit:http://www.inf...