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Books in Interdisciplinary physics

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91-100 of 159 results in All results

Neuro-informatics and Neural Modelling

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 4
  • June 26, 2001
  • F. Moss + 1 more
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 3 7 4 2 - 9
How do sensory neurons transmit information about environmental stimuli to the central nervous system? How do networks of neurons in the CNS decode that information, thus leading to perception and consciousness? These questions are among the oldest in neuroscience. Quite recently, new approaches to exploration of these questions have arisen, often from interdisciplinary approaches combining traditional computational neuroscience with dynamical systems theory, including nonlinear dynamics and stochastic processes. In this volume in two sections a selection of contributions about these topics from a collection of well-known authors is presented. One section focuses on computational aspects from single neurons to networks with a major emphasis on the latter. The second section highlights some insights that have recently developed out of the nonlinear systems approach.

Molecular Mechanisms in Visual Transduction

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 3
  • November 30, 2000
  • D.G. Stavenga + 2 more
  • English
  • Hardback
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 0 1 0 2 - 8
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 3 6 7 7 - 4
Molecular mechanisms in visual transduction is presently one of the most intensely studied areas in the field of signal transduction research in biological cells. Because the sense of vision plays a primary role in animal biology, and thus has been subject to long evolutionary development, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying vision have a high degree of sensitivity and versatility. The aims of visual transduction research are firstto determine which molecules participate, and then to understand how they act in concert to produce the exquisite electrical responses of the photoreceptor cells.Since the 1940s [1] we have known that rod vision begins with the capture of a quantum of energy, a photon, by a visual pigment molecule, rhodopsin. As the function of photon absorption is to convert the visual pigment molecule into a G-protein activating state, the structural details of the visual pigments must beexplained from the perspective of their role in activating their specific G-proteins. Thus, Chapters 1-3 of this Handbook extensively cover the physico-chemical molecular characteristics of the vertebrate rhodopsins. Following photoconversion and G-protein activation, the phototransduction cascade leads to modifications of the population of closed and open ion channels in the photoreceptor plasma membrane, and thereby to the electrical response. The nature of the channels of vertebrate photoreceptors is examined in Chapter 4, and Chapter 5 integrates the present body of knowledge of the activation steps in the cascade into a quantitative framework. Once the phototransduction cascade is activated, it must be subsequently silenced. The various molecular mechanisms participating in inactivation aretreated in Chapters 1-4 and especially Chapter 5. Molecular biology is now an indispensable tool in signal transduction studies. Numerous vertebrate (Chapter 6) and invertebrate (Chapter 7) visual pigments have been characterized and cloned. The genetics and evolutionary aspects of this great subfamily of G-protein activating receptors are intriguing as they present a natural probe for the intimate relationship between structure and function of the visual pigments. Understanding the spectral characteristics from the molecular composition can be expected to

Applied Nanotechnology

  • 1st Edition
  • April 1, 2000
  • Jeremy Ramsden
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 8 1 5 5 - 2 0 2 4 - 5
Applied Nanotechnology: The Conversion of Research Results to Products examines the commercial and social aspects of nanotechnology. The book is organized into four parts. Part 1 presents an overview of nanotechnology. It discusses the definition of nanotechnology; the relationship between wealth, technology, and science; the relationship between nanotechnology and innovation; and the question of why one might wish to introduce nanotechnology. Part 2 explains the nanotechnology business and the applications of nanotechnology in a wide range of industries, including engineering, aerospace, automotive, food, textiles, information technologies, and health. Part 3 deals with specific commercial and financial aspects. These include business models for nanotechnology enterprises, demand assessment for nanotechnology products, and the design of nanotechnology products. Part 4 looks at the future of nanotechnology. It examines how nanotechnology can contribute to the big challenges faced by humanity, such as climate change and terrorism. Ethical issues are also considered, including risk, uncertainty, and regulation.

Biology in Physics

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 2
  • October 13, 1999
  • Konstantin Yu. Bogdanov
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 0 0 1 3 - 3
Biology in Physics is a radical new book which bridges the gap between biology and physics. The aim is to promote an interdisciplinary exchange of scientific information and ideas, in order to stimulate cooperation in research. The scope of this volume explores both the concepts and techniques of biophysics and illustrates the latest advances in our understanding of many of the specific mechanisms that are used by living organisms. This volume represents a special effort to bring together the information that would allow a nonbiologically oriented physicist to appreciate the important role that physics plays in life sciences.

Composition, Deep Structure and Evolution of Continents

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 24
  • October 1, 1999
  • R.D. van der Hilst + 1 more
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 2 9 4 5 - 5
The ensemble of manuscripts presented in this special volume captures the stimulating cross-disciplinary dialogue from the International Symposium on Deep Structure, Composition, and Evolution of Continents, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 15-17 October 1997. It will provide an update on recent research developments and serve as a starting point for research of the many outstanding issues.After its formation at mid-oceanic spreading centers, oceanic lithosphere cools, thickens, and subsides, until it subducts into the deep mantle beneath convergent margins. As a result of this continuous recycling process oceanic lithosphere is typically less than 200 million years old (the global average is about 80 Myr). A comprehensive, multi-disciplinary study of continents involves a wide range of length scales: tiny rock samples and diamond inclusions may yield isotope and trace element signatures diagnostic for the formation age and evolution of (parts of) cratons, while geophysical techniques (e.g., seismic and electromagnetic imaging) constrain variations of elastic and conductive properties over length scales ranging from several to many thousand kilometers. Integrating and reconciling this information is far from trivial and, as several papers in this volume document, the relationships between, for instance, formation age and tectonic behavior on the one hand and the seismic signature, heat flow, and petrology on the other may not be uniform but may vary both within as well as between cratons. These observations complicate attempts to determine the variations of one particular observable (e.g., heat flow, lithosphere thickness) as a function of another (e.g., crustal age) on the basis of global data compilations and tectonic regionalizations.Important conclusions of the work presented here are that (1) continental deformation, for instance shortening, is not restricted to the crust but also involves the lithospheric mantle; (2) the high wavespeed part of continental lithospheric mantle is probably thinner than inferred previously from vertically travelling body waves or form global surface-wave models; and (3) the seismic signature of ancient continents is more complex than expected from a uniform relationship with crustal age.

Fundamentals of Radiation Chemistry

  • 1st Edition
  • July 16, 1999
  • A. Mozumder
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 3 2 1 7 - 2
This book describes the physical and chemical effects of radiation interaction with matter. Beginning with the physical basis for the absorption of charged particle radiations, Fundamentals of Radiation Chemistry provides a systematic account of the formation of products, including the nature and properties of intermediate species. Developed from first principles, the coverage of fundamentals and applications will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience of radiation physicists and radiation biologists. Only an undergraduate background in chemistry and physics is assumed as a prerequisite for the understanding of applications in research and industry.

Thermodynamics

  • 2nd Edition
  • June 14, 1999
  • Jurgen M. Honig
  • J. M. Honig
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 4 2 8 2 - 9
This book provides a concise overview of thermodynamics, and is written in a manner which makes the difficult subject matter understandable. Thermodynamics is systematic in its presentation and covers many subjects that are generally not dealt with in competing books such as: Carathéodory's approach to the Second Law, the general theory of phase transitions, the origin of phase diagrams, the treatment of matter subjected to a variety of external fields, and the subject of irreversible thermodynamics.The book provides a first-principles, postulational, self-contained description of physical and chemical processes. Designed both as a textbook and as a monograph, the book stresses the fundamental principles, the logical development of the subject matter, and the applications in a variety of disciplines. This revised edition is based on teaching experience in the classroom, and incorporates many exercises in varying degrees of sophistication. The stress laid on a didactic, logical presentation, and on the relation between theory and experiment should provide a reader with a more intuitive understanding of the basic principles.Graduate students and professional chemists in physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry, as well as graduate students and professionals in physics who wish to acquire a more sophisticated overview of thermodynamics and related subject matter will find this book extremely helpful.

Materials Science and Engineering Serving Society

  • 1st Edition
  • December 23, 1998
  • R.P.H. Chang + 3 more
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 3 5 8 7 - 6
This symposium was organised with the aim of encouraging collaboration in international science and engineering communities for the benefit of human kind. It consisted of invited talks by experts on materials and poster presentation papers. Approximately 140 scientists participated and the resulting proceedings present an up-to-date review of the research in this area.

From Cell to Brain

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 65
  • December 16, 1998
  • G. Zaccai + 2 more
  • English
  • Hardback
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 0 0 8 6 - 1
The first section of this volume corresponds to courses on the cytoskeleton, its various structures and its dynamics, especially during the cell cycle. The reductionist approach is favoured in this field and considerable effort is spent on finding out how these structures are built up from their component molecules, how they grow or decrease in size, how they interact with each other and with other cell components. The second section describes the endo membrane system of a eukaryotic cell and the regulated protein traffic that flows through it. Part III deals with the onset of higher levels of organization. Topics covered include the development of the central nervous system, the role of time in biology and theoretical models to describe biochemical and cellular oscillations. The volume concludes with a reflection on physics and biology and the author shares some of his thoughts on the different ways in which physicists and biologists tackle problems in their respective fields.

Quantitative Functional Brain Imaging with Positron Emission Tomography

  • 1st Edition
  • August 28, 1998
  • Richard E. Carson + 2 more
  • English
  • Hardback
    9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 1 6 1 3 4 0 - 2
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 4 0 1 1 - 5
This book presents the latest scientific developments in the field of positron emission tomography (PET) dealing with data acquisition, image processing, applications, statistical analysis, tracer development, parameter estimation, and kinetic modeling. It covers improved methodology and the application of existing techniques to new areas. The text also describes new approaches in scanner design and image processing, and the latest techniques for modeling and statistical analyses. This volume will be a useful reference for the active brain PET scientist, as well as a valuable introduction for students and researchers who wish to take advantage of the capabilities of PET to study the normal and diseased brain.

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