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Elsevier Science

  • Biotic Indicators for Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture

    • 1st Edition
    • W. Buchs
    • English
    This volume highlights aspects and approaches to questions on the development and findings of biotic indicator (systems), considering the complex problems of conversion into practice. Biotic indication in relation to sustainable land use and biodiversity is discussed from many angles. Covered in this volume are the following topics: Political requirements and statements on biotic agri-environmental indicators; Requirements regarding agri-environmental indicators from a scientific as well as an applied point of view; Scientific reviews and critical discussions of "state of the art" knowledge regarding several kinds of agri-environmental indicators for biodiversity and/or sustainable agriculture; Original experiments on certain aspects regarding indication of biodiversity in agroecosystems; Practical experience with the application and suitability of agri-environmental indicators (as far as they are already established); Conceptions and models to show the economic effects and possibilities of practical application of such indicators.
  • Manufacturing Processes for Advanced Composites

    • 1st Edition
    • Flake C Campbell Jr
    • English
    • One of very few books available to cover this subject area.• A practical book with a wealth of detail.This book covers the major manufacturing processes for polymer matrix composites with an emphasis on continuous fibre-reinforced composites. It covers the major fabrication processes in detail.Very few books cover the details of fabrication and assembly processes for composites. This book is intended for the engineer who wants to learn more about composite processing: any one with some experience in composites should be able to read it. The author, who has 34 years experience in the aerospace industry, has intentionally left out mathematical models for processes so the book will be readable by the general engineer. It differs from other books on composites manufacturing in focussing almost solely on manufacturing processes, while not attempting to cover materials, test methods, mechanical properties and other areas of composites.
  • Life Cycle of the Phosphoria Formation

    From Deposition to the Post-Mining Environment
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 8
    • J.R. Hein
    • English
    Geological, geoenvironmental, and resource studies were completed to study a world-class phosphate ore in the Western US Phosphate Field. This integrated, multi-agency, multidisciplinary research emphasized: (1) Geological and geochemical baseline characterization of the deposit and associated rocks, (2) Delineation, assessment, and spatial analysis of phosphate resources and lands disturbed by mining, (3) Contaminant residence, reaction pathways, and environmental fate associated with the occurrence, development, and use of phosphate rock, and (4) Depositional origin and evolution of the Phosphoria Formation and deposit and geoenvironmental modeling.
  • Stability Analysis and Modelling of Underground Excavations in Fractured Rocks

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 1
    • Jian Zhao + 1 more
    • English
    Provides practical solutions to the challenge of modeling and analyzing rock masses Consolidates a wealth of previously published technical papers on the subject and introduces previously unseen material This authoritative title is a key reference for any Geo-engineer. Rock masses differ considerably from man-made materials, and their properties can vary with location, direction and time. As a result there is a critical need to capture these variations via modeling and analysis. Zhu and Zhao provide an expert introduction to the techniques and analytical methods needed for studying underground excavations in fractured rock masses. The book brings together previously published and new material to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date reference.
  • Air Pollution, Global Change and Forests in the New Millennium

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 3
    • D.F. Karnosky + 4 more
    • English
    The chapters in this book present a snapshot of the state of knowledge of air pollution effects at the beginning of the 21st century. From their different disciplines, a distinguished collection of authors document their understanding of how leaves, trees, and forests respond to air pollutants and climate change. Scenarios of global change and air pollution are described. The authors describe responses of forests to climate variability, tropospheric ozone, rising atmospheric CO2, the combination of CO2 and ozone, and deposition of acidic compounds and heavy metals. The responses to ozone receive particular attention because of increasing concern about its damaging effects and increasing concentrations in rural areas. Scaling issues are addressed - from leaves to trees, from juvenile trees to mature trees, from short-term responses to long-term responses, and from small-scale experiments and observations to large-scale forest ecosystems. This book is one major product of a conference sponsored by the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, the USDA Forest Service Global Change Northern Stations Program, the Arthur Ross Foundation, NCASI, the Canadian Forest Service, and Michigan Technological University. The conference, held in May 2000 in Houghton, Michigan, USA, was appropriately titled "Air Pollution, Global Change, and Forests in the New Millennium". The Editors, David Karnosky, Kevin Percy, Art Chappelka, Caroline Simpson, and Janet Pikkarainen organized the conference and edited this book.
  • Cryptosporidium: From Molecules to Disease

    • 1st Edition
    • R.C.A. Thompson + 2 more
    • English
    In the relatively short period since Cryptosporidium was recognised as a human pathogen, and that it could be transmitted in water as well as directly between animals and people, it has been the subject of intense investigations. Its status as an opportunistic pathogen, especially in AIDS patients, and the lack of effective anti-cryptosporidial drugs have served to emphasise the public health importance of this organism. This has to some extent overshadowed the fact that Cryptosporidium is also an important pathogen of domestic animals and wildlife. In recent years, the application of molecular biology and culture techniques have had an enormous impact on our understanding of the aetiological agents of cryptosporidial infections and our ability to study the causative agents in the laboratory. As a consequence, a wealth of information and novel data has been produced during the last 3-4 years, particularly in the areas of taxonomy, biology, pathogenesis, epidemiology - particularly zoonotic and water borne transmission, and treatment.It is thus very timely to bring together in this book the international research community involved to review the major advances in research and identify the important research priorities for the future, thus enabling as wide an audience as possible to benefit from and share in this comprehensive look at Cryptosporidium and cryptosporidiosis.
  • Biosensors: Kinetics of Binding and Dissociation Using Fractals

    • 1st Edition
    • Ajit Sadana
    • English
    This title brings to the attention of researchers in the industry, and in academia, the application of fractals to help in modeling the analyte/receptor binding and dissociation kinetics on biosensor surfaces.The work builds on that done in Engineering Biosensors: Kinetics and Design Applications, published by Academic Press in 2002. In particular, more examples are provided of where biosensors may be effectively used. This sequel is extremely timely, given the anticipation that the applications and reliance on biosensors will increase due to the advances in miniaturization, (wireless) communications, and the development of new materials (especially biological and chemical). Other applications of biosensors on the increase can be found in: the protection of civilian structures and infrastructures; protection from possible biological and chemical threats; health care; energy; food safety; and the environment to name a few.
  • The Quaternary Period in the United States

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 1
    • A.R. Gillespie + 2 more
    • English
    This book reviews advances in understanding of the past ca. two million years of Earth history - the Quaternary Period - in the United States. It begins with sections on ice and water - as glaciers, permafrost, oceans, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Six chapters are devoted to the high-latitude Pleistocene ice sheets, to mountain glaciations of the western United States, and to permafrost studies. Other chapters discuss ice-age lakes, caves, sea-level fluctuations, and riverine landscapes. With a chapter on landscape evolution models, the book turns to essays on geologic processes. Two chapters discuss soils and their responses to climate, and wind-blown sediments. Two more describe volcanoes and earthquakes, and the use of Quaternary geology to understand the hazards they pose. The next part of the book is on plants and animals. Five chapters consider the Quaternary history of vegetation in the United States. Other chapters treat forcing functions and vegetation response at different spatial and temporal scales, the role of fire as a catalyst of vegetation change during rapid climate shifts, and the use of tree rings in inferring age and past hydroclimatic conditions. Three chapters address vertebrate paleontology and the extinctions of large mammals at the end of the last glaciation, beetle assemblages and the inferences they permit about past conditions, and the peopling of North America. A final chapter addresses the numerical modeling of Quaternary climates, and the role paleoclimatic studies and climatic modeling has in predicting future response of the Earth's climate system to the changes we have wrought.
  • Advances in Antiviral Drug Design

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 4
    • E. De Clercq
    • English
    The fourth volume of Advances in Antiviral Drug Design is keeping up with the recent progress made in the broad field of antiviral drug research and encompasses six specific directions that have opened new avenues for the treatment of HIV and other virus infections.First, as the introductory chapter, the different new anti-HIV agents that are now in preclinical or clinical development are reviewed by E. De Clercq. This includes new NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs, but also HIV entry/fusion inhibitors as well as integrase inhibitors, and some of these agents, such as the NRTI emtricitabine [(-)FTC] and the PI atazanavir, may soon be licensed for clinical use.Second, high expectations are vested in the potential therapeutic usefulness of inhibitors of HIV integration, a point of no return in the life cycle of HIV, and this approach is highlighted by D.J. Hazuda and S.D. Young.Third, as all currently available PIs can be described as "peptidomimetic", and, therefore, expected to demonstrate overlapping virus-drug resistance and side effect profiles, it would be interesting to see how a non-peptidic protease inhibitor such as tipranavir behaves, and this is covered by D. Mayers, K. Curry, V. Kohlbrenner and S. McCallister.Fourth, neuraminidase inhibitors such as zanamivir (that has to be inhaled) and oseltamivir (that can be administered via the oral route) have gained a definitive status as antiviral drugs useful for both therapy and prophylaxis of influenza A and B virus infections; as they target a specific influenza viral enzyme, neuraminidase (or sialidase), they may be expected to block newly emerging influenza viruses as well, and the design of neuraminidase inhibitors has received due attention of H. Jin and C.U. Kim.Fifth, while the major current efforts in antiviral drug development have shifted from herpesviruses towards HIV and hepatitis viruses [hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV)], it is interesting to note that by switching from the classical five-membered sugar or acyclic nucleoside strategy, J. Wang, M. Froeyen and P. Herdewijn have gone "upstream" in designing six-membered carbocyclic nucleosides as potential anti-herpesvirus agents.Sixth, following up on the nucleotide prodrug strategy introduced above under ix, to deliver the biologically active nucleotides inside the cells, C. Meier has elaborated on a particular class of such pronucleotides, namely that of the cyclosaligenyl pronucleotides, an approach that should have far reaching implications for compounds effective against HIV, HBV and other viruses.The six topics covered in this fourth volume of Advances in Antiviral Drug Design are in the front line of the present endeavors towards the design and development of new therapeutic agents for virus infections. They pertain to the combat against three of the most important viral pathogens of current times: HIV, HBV, influenza virus and herpesviruses.
  • Plastics Engineered Product Design

    • 1st Edition
    • D.V. Rosato
    • English
    • A comprehensive book which collates the experience of two well-known US plastic engineers.• Enables engineers to make informed decisions.• Includes a unique chronology of the world of plastics.The use of plastics is increasing year on year, and new uses are being found for plastics in many industries. Designers using plastics need to understand the nature and properties of the materials which they are using so that the products perform to set standards.This book, written by two very experienced plastics engineers, provides copious information on the materials, fabrication processes, design considerations and plastics performance, thus allowing informed decisions to be made by engineers.It also includes a useful chronology of the world of plastics, a resource not found elsewhere.