Skip to main content

Elsevier Science

Acoustic and Elastic Wave Fields in Geophysics, Part I
1st Edition
Volume 32
Avital Kaufman + 1 more
English
This book is dedicated to basic physical principles of the propagation of acoustic and elastic waves. It consists of two volumes. The first volume includes 8 chapters and extended Appendices explaining mathematical aspects of discussed problems. The first chapter is devoted to Newton's laws, which, along with Hooke's law, govern the behavior of acoustic and elastic waves. Basic concepts of mechanics are used in deriving equations which describe wave phenomena. The second and third chapters deal with free and forced vibrations as well as wave propagation in one dimension along the system of elementary masses and springs which emulates the simplest elastic medium.In addition, shear waves propagation along a finite and infinite string are discussed.In chapter 4 the system of equations describing compressional waves is derived.The concepts of the density of the energy carried by waves, the energy flux, and the Poynting vector are introduced. Chapter 5 is dedicated to propagation ofspherical, cylindrical, and plane waves in homogeneous media, both in time andfrequency domains. Chapter 6 deals with interference and diffraction. Thetreatment is based on Helmholtz and Kirchhoff formulae. The detailed discussion of Fresnel's and Huygens's principles is presented. In Chapter 7 the effects of interference of waves with close wave numbers and frequencies are considered. Concepts such as the wave group, the group velocity, andthe stationary phase important for understanding propagation of dispersive waves are introduced. The final chapter of the first volume is devoted to the principles of geometrical acoustics in inhomogeneous media.
Quantum Coherence and Decoherence
1st Edition
K. Fujikawa + 1 more
English
Just as in the pervious five symposia, the aim of this symposium was to link the recent advances in technology with fundamental problems in quantum mechanics. It provided a unique interdisciplinary forum where scientists with different backgrounds were given the opportunity to discuss basic problems of common interest in quantum science and technology from various aspects. This included not only an examination of the topic in terms of quantum optics and mesoscopic physics, but also in terms of the physics of precise measurement, macroscopic quantum phenomena, complex systems, and other fundamental problems in quantum physics. Two new important fields were also dealt with - the field of quantum computing, including quantum teleportation, quantum information, and cryptography, and the field of laser cooling, including Bose-Einstein condensation and atom interferometry.The resulting proceedings will be welcomed both as a good introductory book on quantum coherence and decoherence by newcomers to the field and as a reference book for experts in this dynamic area.
A Computational Framework for Segmentation and Grouping
1st Edition
G. Medioni + 2 more
English
This book represents a summary of the research we have been conducting since the early 1990s, and describes a conceptual framework which addresses some current shortcomings, and proposes a unified approach for a broad class of problems. While the framework is defined, our research continues, and some of the elements presented here will no doubt evolve in the coming years.It is organized in eight chapters. In the Introduction chapter, we present the definition of the problems, and give an overview of the proposed approach and its implementation. In particular, we illustrate the limitations of the 2.5D sketch, and motivate the use of a representation in terms of layers instead.In chapter 2, we review some of the relevant research in the literature. The discussion focuses on general computational approaches for early vision, and individual methods are only cited as references. Chapter 3 is the fundamental chapter, as it presents the elements of our salient feature inference engine, and their interaction. It introduced tensors as a way to represent information, tensor fields as a way to encode both constraints and results, and tensor voting as the communication scheme. Chapter 4 describes the feature extraction steps, given the computations performed by the engine described earlier. In chapter 5, we apply the generic framework to the inference of regions, curves, and junctions in 2-D. The input may take the form of 2-D points, with or without orientation. We illustrate the approach on a number of examples, both basic and advanced. In chapter 6, we apply the framework to the inference of surfaces, curves and junctions in 3-D. Here, the input consists of a set of 3-D points, with or without as associated normal or tangent direction. We show a number of illustrative examples, and also point to some applications of the approach. In chapter 7, we use our framework to tackle 3 early vision problems, shape from shading, stereo matching, and optical flow computation. In chapter 8, we conclude this book with a few remarks, and discuss future research directions.We include 3 appendices, one on Tensor Calculus, one dealing with proofs and details of the Feature Extraction process, and one dealing with the companion software packages.
Progress in Medicinal Chemistry
1st Edition
Volume 37
English
This volume reviews recent advances in five important areas of medicinal chemistry which will be of interest both to chemists and to scientists of other disciplines engaged in medicines research and development. Included are accounts of successful drug discovery programmes, disease targets of unmet medical need, and recent progress in new technologies which are considered by many to hold the key to future developments in medicinal chemistry.The style and organisation of chapters follow a similar pattern to previous volumes but references, where appropriate, now include website addresses of the World Wide Web.
Handbook of Oxidants and Antioxidants in Exercise
1st Edition
C. Sen + 2 more
English
Interest in the science of exercise dates back to the time of ancient Greece. Today exercise is viewed not only as a leisurely activity but also as an effective preventive and therapeutic tool in medicine. Further biomedical studies in exercise physiology and biochemistry reports that strenuous physical exercise might cause oxidative lipid damage in various tissues. The generation of reactive oxygen species is elevated to a level that overwhelms the tissue antioxidant defense systems resulting in oxidative stress.The Handbook of Oxidants and Antioxidants in Exercise examines the different aspects of exercise-induced oxidative stress, its management, and how reactive oxygen may affect the functional capacity of various vital organs and tissues. It includes key related issues such as analytical methods, environmental factors, nutrition, aging, organ function and several pathophysiological processes.This timely publication will be of relevance to those in biomedical science and was designed to be readily understood by the general scientific audience.
Fundamentals of Equilibrium and Steady-State Thermodynamics
1st Edition
N.W. Tschoegl
English
This book summarizes the salient features of both equilibrium and steady-state thermodynamic theory under a uniform postulatory viewpoint. The emphasis is upon the formal aspects and logical structure of thermodynamic theory, allowing it to emerge as a coherent whole, unfettered by much of those details which - albeit indispensable in practical applications - tend to obscure this coherent structure. Largely because of this, statistical mechanics and reference to molecular structure are, barring an occasional allusion, avoided. The treatment is, therefore, 'classical', or - using a perhaps more appropriate word - 'phenomenological'. The volume almost exclusively deals with 'ideal' systems, given that the treatment of 'real' systems properly belongs in the realm of applied, rather than theoretical thermodynamics. For these reasons, only selected ideal systems are covered. Ideal gases are discussed extensively. The ideal solution is treated as an example of a liquid system. The amorphous ideal rubber serves as an example of a solid. The formalism developed in these sections is a model for the treatment of other, more complex systems. This short structural overview is written in the hope that a knowledge of steady-state theory will deepen readers' understanding of thermodynamics as a whole.
Plant Genetic Engineering
Towards the Third Millennium
1st Edition
Volume 5
A.D. Arencibia
English
Plant biotechnology offers important opportunities for agriculture, horticulture, and the pharmaceutical and food industry by generating transgenic varieties with altered properties. This is likely to change farming practice and reduce the potential negative impact of plant production on the environment. This volume shows the worldwide advances and potential benefits of plant genetic engineering focusing on the third millennium. The authors discuss the production of transgenic plants resistant to biotic and abiotic stress, the improvement of plant qualities, the use of transgenic plants as bioreactors, and the use of plant genomics for genetic improvement and gene cloning. Unique to this book is the integrative point of view taken between plant genetic engineering and socioeconomic and environmental issues. Considerations of regulatory processes to release genetically modified plants, as well as the public acceptance of the transgenic plants are also discussed.This book will be welcomed by biotechnologists, researchers and students alike working in the biological sciences. It should also prove useful to everyone dedicated to the study of the socioeconomic and environmental impact of the new technologies, while providing recent scientific information on the progress and perspectives of the production of genetically modified plants.The work is dedicated to Professor Marc van Montagu.
The Chemistry and Technology of Furfural and its Many By-Products
1st Edition
Volume 13
K.J. Zeitsch
English
This book is a "world first", since the furfural industry has been traditionally secretive to the point of appearing shrouded in clouds of mystery. Even renowned encyclopedic works have published but scant and often erroneous information on the subject. Striking a healthy balance between theory and practice, the book leads the reader from reaction mechanisms and kinetics to the technology of making furfural by various old and new processes, using conventional raw materials or sulfite waste liquor. Detailed discussions of means of increasing the yield are of great chemical and technological interest as well as of immense economic importance.From furfural proper, the treatise shifts to the fascinating field of wanted and unwanted by-products ranging from largely unutilized carboxylic acids to troublesome impurities such as 5-methyl furfural and 2-furyl methyl ketone, and then to extremely valuable serendipitous flavor compounds such as diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione. A wide variety of derivatives are discussed; considerable space is devoted to polytetrahydrofuran, an important building block of stretchable synthetic fibers, while furan resins from both furfural and furfuryl alcohol are given the attention commensurate with their industrial importance. Notable supplementary chapters cover the in-line measurement of furfural, the treatment of furfural waste water, and various aspects of corrosion. A chapter on the applications of furfural elaborates not only traditional uses in extracting petroleum and vegetable oils but also the sensational discovery that furfural is a highly effective "indirect nematocide". Without becoming toxic, it changes the microflora of the soil by stimulating bacteria antagonistic to nematodes, thereby reducing the nematode population to zero, at an unprecedented low price. It is believed that this application will be the principal outlet for furfural in the future.A comprehensive list of physical properties, some never published before, make the book an indispensable companion for producers, users and researchers alike.
Frontiers in Dusty Plasmas
1st Edition
Y. Nakamura + 2 more
English
The study of dusty plasmas is now in a vigorous state of development. Dust and plasma coexist in a vast variety of cosmic environments and their research received a major boost in the early 80's with the Voyager spacecraft observations of peculiar features in the Saturnian ring system (e.g. the radial spokes) which could not be explained purely in gravitational terms. In addition, dust streams were measured by the Galileo spacecraft in the Jovian magnetosphere and charged dust in the earth's mesosphere was detected by a direct rocket experiment. Since then the area has greatly expanded with dedicated laboratory experiments verifying aspects of basic physics of charged dust grains in plasmas.These proceedings contain invited and poster papers which were presented by scientists active in the field from more than twenty countries. The material contains new aspects of collective interactions in dusty plasmas. For example, discoveries of dust-acoustic Mach cones, dust ion-acoustic shocks, great dust voids, vortex formation, dust crystallization under microgravity, coexistence of positive negative dust grains in the mesosphere and dust in tokamaks. The more theoretical and simulation studies focus on dynamical and structural properties and kinetic theories of strongly coupled dusty plasmas, as well as on self-organizations and structures, in addition to identifying forces (viz. wakefields, electrostatic and dipolar interactions etc.), which are responsible for charged dust grain attraction and phase transitions.The resulting book is a valuable, state-of-the-art review of the field of dusty plasma physics and will be welcomed by both researchers and graduate students who want to keep up to date in this rapidly growing field.
The Biological Basis for Mind Body Interactions
1st Edition
Volume 122
E.A. Mayer + 1 more
English
The current volume focuses on several key aspects of mind/brain/body interactions in health and disease, including specific examples of interactions between body and brain, mechanisms underlying the response of the system to stressors, the role of early life events in permanently biasing the responsiveness of the system and practical implications of mind body interactions in human disease.The volume on Biological Basis for Mind Body Interactions is organized into 6 major sections, each dealing with a unique aspect of the general topic: After establishing the relationship between mind, brain and emotions, the first section deals with general neurobiological aspects mediating the effect of stress on various organ systems, including the immune and cardiovascular system. The second section covers the topic of how early life stressor can permanently alter responsiveness of the nervous system in animals and in man. The third section deals with influences of the internal environment, mediated by neuroendocrine and visceral afferent pathways on the CNS. The fourth section which deals with influences of body on the brain, focuses on mechanisms involved in perception and modulation of pain. The fifth section deals with influences of the mind/brain on the body, with an emphasis on central and peripheral mechanisms of autonomic control of body functions. The last section deals with a series of practical issues of mind body treatments, including acupuncture, breathing, body work and meditation. In addition, issues such as cost effectiveness and research aspects are discussed. Authors in this last section frequently refer to topics and mechanisms addressed in the early sections, making it a truly integrated volume.The unique aspect of the volume is the integration of state of the art research information on biological and practical aspects of mind/brain/body interactions. It is based on the beliefs of the editors and participants that the traditional separation of mind and body in research and in treatment of human disease is obsolete and needs to be replaced with a new unifying paradigm. Ironically, this evolving paradigm shares many similarities with ancient pre-Cartesian paradigms of health and disease.

Browse by Publisher