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Elsevier Science

  • Analytical Pyrolysis of Natural Organic Polymers

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 20
    • S.C. Moldoveanu
    • English
    Analytical pyrolysis is one of the many tools utilized for the study of natural organic polymers. This books describes in three parts the methodology of analytical pyrolysis, the results of pyrolysis for a variety of biopolymers, and several practical applications of analytical pyrolysis on natural organic polymers and their composite materials. Analytical pyrolysis methodology covers two distinct subjects, the instrumentation used for pyrolysis and the analytical methods that are applied for the analysis of the pyrolysis products. A variety of pyrolytic techniques and of analytical instruments commonly coupled with pyrolysis devices are given.The description of the results of pyrolysis for biopolymers and some chemically modified natural organic polymers is the core of the book. The main pyrolysis products of numerous compounds as well as the proposed mechanisms for their pyrolysis are described. In this part an attempt is made to present as much as possible the chemistry of the pyrolytic process of natural organic polymers.The applications of analytical pyrolysis include topics such as polymer detection used for example in forensic science, structure elucidation of specific polymers, and identification of small molecules present in polymers (anti-oxidants, plasticizers, etc.). Also, the degradation during heating is a subject of major interest in many practical applications regarding the physical properties of polymers. The applications to composite polymeric materials are in the fields of classification of microorganisms, study of a variety of biological samples, study of fossil materials, etc. Analytical pyrolysis can also be used for obtaining information on the burning area generate pyrolysates that have complex compositions. Their analysis is important in connection with health issues, environmental problems, and taste of food and cigarettes.Features of this book:• Presents analytical pyrolysis as a uniform subject and not as a conglomerate of scientific papers.• Puts together in an organized manner a large volume of available information in this specific field.• Provides original results which address subjects with relatively scarce information in literature.• Gives original views on subjects such as the parallel between the pyrolytic process and the ion fragmentation in mass spectrometry.• Includes the role of pyrolysis in the burning process.The three parts of the book are covered in 18 chapters, each divided into sections. Some sections are further divided by particular subjects. References are given for each chapter, and an effort has been made to include as much as possible from the available representative information. A few unpublished personal results are also included.

  • Vibration of Mindlin Plates

    Programming the p-Version Ritz Method
    • 1st Edition
    • K.M. Liew + 3 more
    • English
    Over the last several years, the four authors have jointly conducted research into the analysis of vibrating Mindlin plates as a collaborative project between Nanyang Technological University, The National University of Singapore, and The University of Queensland. The research was prompted by the fact that there is a dearth of vibration results for Mindlin plates when compared to classical thin plate solutions. To generate the vibration results, the authors have successfully employed the Ritz method for general plate shapes and boundary conditions. The Ritz method, once thought to be awkward for general plate analysis, can be automated through suitable trial functions (for displacements) that satisfy the geometric plate boundary conditions a priori. This work has been well-received by academics and researchers, as indicated by the continual requests for the authors' papers and the Ritz software codes. This monograph is written with the view to share this so-called p-Ritz method for the vibration analysis of Mindlin plates and its software codes with the research community. To the authors' knowledge, the monograph contains the first published Ritz plate software codes of its kind.

  • Fullerenes and Carbon Based Materials

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 68
    • P. Delhaes + 1 more
    • English
    This special issue of Carbon, a collection of reviewed papers, was presented at Symposium A, Fullerenes and Carbon Based Materials at the combined 1997 International Conference on Applied Materials/European Materials Research Society Spring meeting (ICAM'97/E-MRS'97) held in Strasbourg (France) from 16-20 June 1997. 140 presentations were given at the conference in seven different sessions. The most extensively addressed research fields were carbon materials in general, diamond-like carbon, pristine, polymeric and endohedral fullerenes, nanotubes, and carbonitrides. Of accepted manuscripts, the largest number of contributions is dedicated to carbon materials in general and to fullerenes. Highlights in the former are the discussions on hydrogen-free carbons and on hard carbon coatings. In the fullerenes group many new results on polymeric structures and on endohedrally-doped higher fullerenes are reported.The field of carbon nanotubes is strongly represented with reports on new techniques for the production of the tubes and where the analyses by scanning probe microscopy and light scattering are the central problems. Carbonitrides as well as a few contributions from related molecular materials like cubanes or oligophenylenes are included. The symposium proved to be a valuable venue where new scientific and technological problems in the field of new materials were reported.

  • Stability and Stabilization of Biocatalysts

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 15
    • F.J. Plou + 2 more
    • A. Ballesteros
    • English
    Six years after the symposium on Stability and Stabilization of Enzymes, a second symposium, Stability and Stabilization of Biocatalysts, on which this book is based, was organized. At the symposium, 210 participants representing all continents came together to learn from 150 oral and poster communications.The volume brings up-to-date the work already going on, and identifies possible breakthroughs in the research. This timely book therefore presents cutting edge developments in topics such as non-covalent processes in solution, protein engineering and thermophile enzymes, immobilized enzymes, non-conventional media, and whole cells.An excellent addition to the available literature, it will make a useful contribution to this key area of applied biocatalysis.

  • Inverse Problems in Engineering Mechanics

    • 1st Edition
    • Masataka Tanaka + 1 more
    • English
    Inverse problems can be found in many topics of engineering mechanics. There are many successful applications in the fields of inverse problems (non-destructive testing and characterization of material properties by ultrasonic or X-ray techniques, thermography, etc.). Generally speaking, the inverse problems are concerned with the determination of the input and the characteristics of a mechanical system from some of the output from the system. Mathematically, such problems are ill-posed and have to be overcome through development of new computational schemes, regularization techniques, objective functionals, and experimental procedures.Seventy-t... papers were presented at the International Symposium on Inverse Problems in Mechanics (ISIP '98) held in March of 1998 in Nagano, where recent developments in the inverse problems in engineering mechanics and related topics were discussed. The main themes were: mathematical and computational aspects of the inverse problems, parameter or system identification, shape determination, sensitivity analysis, optimization, material property characterization, ultrasonic non-destructive testing, elastodynamic inverse problems, thermal inverse problems, and other engineering applications.

  • Neuronal Degeneration and Regeneration: From Basic Mechanisms to Prospects for Therapy

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 117
    • F.W. Van Leeuwen + 4 more
    • English
    This book is the result of the 20th International Summer School in Brain Research, organized in August 1997 in Amsterdam, by the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. It is the first book that provides a complete overview of the field of neurodegeneration and regeneration including spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative diseases and therapy. Divided into five sections, the first two sections give an overview of fundamental research on nerve cell death, neuronal survival, neurite outgrowth and guidance. Extensive attention is given to the role of neurotrophins, their receptor tyrosine kinases and cell-adhesion molecules in development and regeneration of the nervous system. The third section of the book is devoted to research involving human neurodegenerative diseases and emerging treatment strategies. Section four focusses on recent advances in the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases along with prion diseases. Novel insights into the neuropathological hallmarks of these diseases, as well as into transgenic animal models, the involvement of environmental factors, and genomic and mRNA changes that can cause neurodegeneration. The final section of this volume reveals recent developments in the use of cell and gene therapy to treat neurodegenerative disease and lesion-related deficits. Implantation of genetically modified cells, direct gene transfer with viral vectors and the first clinical trials with encapsulated genetically modified cells in patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral scelerosis are examples of new therapeutic strategies treating neurodegenerative diseases.The book is of particular interest to departments of neuroscience, neurological clinics and departments, the pharmalogical industry and medical libraries.

  • Nitric Oxide in Brain Development, Plasticity, and Disease

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 118
    • R.R. Mize + 3 more
    • English
    Nitric oxide, "Molecule of the Year" in 1995, continues to be one of the most widely studied molecules in brain research. This excellent volume elucidates the implications of this gas in a variety of brain processes.The volume is divided into five sections, describing: the mechanisms underlying the release and action of Nitric Oxide in the CNS, and the distribution of Nitric Oxide in the brain using various techniques; how Nitric Oxide interacts with and regulates the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor; the role of Nitric Oxide in pathway refinement and synapse stabilization in the developing CNS; the role of Nitric Oxide in adult brain plasticity including long-term potentiation and depression; and the role of Nitric Oxide in brain injury such as occurs during ischemia and other events produced by glutamate neurotoxicity, and in neuroprotective mechanisms that promote neuron survival.Nitric Oxide in Brain Development, Plasticity, and Disease is the first Progress in Brain Research volume to be published in abstracted form on the World Wide Web. It includes title pages, abstracts, selected figures, and complete references. It also includes a digital brain atlas for readers to view a mouse brain in a three-dimensional full-color rendition, and much more.

  • The Glutamate Synapse as a Therapeutic Target

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 116
    • English
    This volume provides a comprehensive update on basic glutamate research, from a clinical perspective. Thus, emphasis is placed on how the different molecular players at the glutamate synapse interact to produce a postsynaptic response, how synaptic transmission is perturbed in epilepsy and other pathological conditions, and how glutamate may acquire toxic properties and lead to acute or chronic neurodegeneration. Promising targets for therapeutic strategies are discussed.A coherent picture is provided of the glutamate synapse and its molecular organization. The book therefore deals with each step in the signal process, from synthesis and vesicular uptake of glutamate to its clearance following receptor activation.

  • Elsevier's Dictionary of Environment

    In English, French, Spanish and Arabic
    • 1st Edition
    • M. Bakr
    • English
    The main objective of Elsevier's Dictionary of Environment is to assist those involved in environmental activities in their attempt to make the world cleaner and to sustain its natural resources for future generations. It will help with the production of documentation for meetings and conferences as well as for drafting papers for training, information and communication purposes.Environment... concerns are important items on the political and economic agendas of most countries, whether developed or developing. In a world conscious of its environmental problems, studies in this domain have become an established discipline. Every new branch of science needs to define relevant terms to be used through the medium of language.The subject of environment is global because it touches everyone. Individuals, specialists or institutions concerned with the health of our planet need to mean the same thing when communicating with each other, notwithstanding language differences. The compilation of a multilingual dictionary on environment is not easy. The inclusion or omission of certain terms is an important question. However, the choice of terms, in this text, is based on two assumptions: (1) the most commonly used terms, (2) their translatability into other languages without losing their intended meaning. Consideration of regional differences of the same languages has been taken into account.This dictionary contains terms covering the following fields and subfields: air pollution, biological diversity, biomass energy, biosafety, biotechnology, climate change, coastal environment, deforestation, desertification, endangered species, energy conservation, environmental economics, environmental impact assessment, forest conservation, freshwater pollution, global warming, greenhouse gases, human settlements, living marine resources, marine environment, mountain ecosystems, ozone layer, resources management, soil degradation, sustainable development, tropical ecosystem, wetland ecosystem.The layout of this dictionary is such that each language included may be used as a target as well as a source language.

  • Checklist for Sustainable Landscape Management

    Final Report of the EU Concerted Action AIR3-CT93-1210
    • 1st Edition
    • J.D. van Mansvelt + 1 more
    • English
    This work is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, widely-calibrated checklist for EU sustainable landscape management, which is intended to serve both as an analytical tool of reference as well as a design tool for local, regional and European policy making on sustainable developments.The tool has been developed out of a multidisciplinary study in EU countries which was designed to find out what would be the overall requirements for a sustainable management of the landscape of rural areas. Could these stipulations be brought together in a comprehensive system with sufficient consistency to comply with the notion that the landscape is an entity, which should be managed accordingly? Cooperation of the scientific experts with those involved in the practical side, and alternating plenary reporting with subgroup visits to farms in the rural landscapes of the participants' countries, allowed for the development of some truly interdisciplinary teamwork. Organic agriculture has been included to find out how organic agriculture contributes to the rural landscape.

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