Bücher veröffentlicht von In Tech

Liver biopsy is recommended as the gold standard method to determine diagnosis, fibrosis staging, prognosis and therapeutic indications in patients with chronic liver disease. However, liver biopsy is an invasive procedure with a risk of complications which can be serious. This book provides the management of the complications in liver biopsy. Additionally, this book provides also the references for the new technology of liver biopsy including the non-invasive elastography, imaging methods and blood panels which could be the alternatives to liver biopsy. The non-invasive methods, especially the elastography, which is the new procedure in hot topics, which were frequently reported in these years. In this book, the professionals of elastography show the mechanism, availability and how to use this technology in a clinical field of elastography. The comprehension of elastography could be a great help for better dealing and for understanding of liver biopsy.

Clinical usage of artificial pacing dates back to 1958, when the battery powered cardiac pacemakers became available. Modern implantable pacemakers are the complicated electronic devices operating 10 years continuously without battery exchange. Though the development of devices is not a primary topic of the book, certain efforts towards developing of biologic pacemakers through tissue engineering and studying of cell synchronization are discussed. The main attention is paid to implementations of pacemakers in different medical situations oriented towards widening the clinical indications for implanting the cardiac pacemakers. New methods and devices in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) have received particular attention. Placing of pacing electrodes has been treated soundly. Furthermore, emerging of complexities and complications in new clinical situations and other safety problems have been discussed thoroughly. The authors have derived the used information from their own clinical practice and experiences of their medical colleagues. These and other pragmatic features can be acknowledged as the most valuable asset of the book.

This book has assembled an array of chapters on the social and psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS and their impact on HIV/AIDS and related behaviours. The book addresses key areas of HIV and AIDS, including, but not in any way limited to, care-seeking behaviour, adherence, access, psychosocial needs and support services, discrimination and the impact the epidemic has on various sectors of the economy. The book has seventeen chapters; seven chapters deal with social aspects of HIV/AIDS, four with psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS, and the remaining six chapters with the impact of social and psychosocial factors on HIV/AIDS and related behaviours. The book is an essential reading for academics, students and other people interested in the field of HIV and AIDS.

Nowadays it is difficult to imagine an area of knowledge that can continue developing without the use of computers and informatics. It is not different with biology, that has seen an unpredictable growth in recent decades, with the rise of a new discipline, bioinformatics, bringing together molecular biology, biotechnology and information technology. More recently, the development of high throughput techniques, such as microarray, mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing, has increased the need of computational support to collect, store, retrieve, analyze, and correlate huge data sets of complex information. On the other hand, the growth of the computational power for processing and storage has also increased the necessity for deeper knowledge in the field. The development of bioinformatics has allowed now the emergence of systems biology, the study of the interactions between the components of a biological system, and how these interactions give rise to the function and behavior of a living being. This book presents some theoretical issues, reviews, and a variety of bioinformatics applications. For better understanding, the chapters were grouped in two parts. In Part I, the chapters are more oriented towards literature review and theoretical issues. Part II consists of application-oriented chapters that report case studies in which a specific biological problem is treated with bioinformatics tools.

This book provides a concise yet comprehensive source of current information on Down syndrome. Research workers, scientists, medical graduates and paediatricians will find it an excellent source for reference and review. This book has been divided into four sections, beginning with the Genetics and Etiology and ending with Prenatal Diagnosis and Screening.Inside, you will find state-of-the-art information on: 1. Genetics and Etiology2. Down syndrome Model3. Neurologic, Urologic, Dental

This book presents some aspects of the cosmological scientific odyssey that started last century. The chapters vary with different particular works, giving a versatile picture. It is the result of the work of many scientists in the field of cosmology, in accordance with their expertise and particular interests. Is a collection of different research papers produced by important scientists in the field of cosmology. A sample of the great deal of efforts made by the scientific community, trying to understand our universe. And it has many challenging subjects, like the possible doomsday to be confirmed by the next decade of experimentation. May be we are now half way in the life of the universe. Many more challenging subjects are not present here: they will be the result of further future work. Among them, we have the possibility of cyclic universes, and the evidence for the existence of a previous universe.

For this book, the term "desalination" is used in the broadest sense of the removal of dissolved, suspended, visible and invisible impurities in seawater, brackish water and wastewater, to make them drinkable, or pure enough for industrial applications like in the processes for the production of steam, power, pharmaceuticals and microelectronics, or simply for discharge back into the environment.This book is a companion volume to "Desalination, Trends and Technologies", INTECH, 2011, expanding on the extension of seawater desalination to brackish and wastewater desalination applications, and associated technical issues. For students and workers in the field of desalination, this book provides a summary of key concepts and keywords with which detailed information may be gathered through internet search engines. Papers and reviews collected in this volume covers the spectrum of topics on the desalination of water, too broad to delve into in depth. The literature citations in these papers serve to fill in gaps in the coverage of this book. Contributions to the knowledge-base of desalination is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the coming years.

There are well-founded concerns that current air transportation systems will not be able to cope with their expected growth. Current processes, procedures and technologies in aeronautical communications do not provide the flexibility needed to meet the growing demands. Aeronautical communications is seen as a major bottleneck stressing capacity limits in air transportation. Ongoing research projects are developing the fundamental methods, concepts and technologies for future aeronautical communications that are required to enable higher capacities in air transportation.The aim of this book is to edit the ensemble of newest contributions and research results in the field of future aeronautical communications. The book gives the readers the opportunity to deepen and broaden their knowledge of this field. Today's and tomorrow's problems / methods in the field of aeronautical communications are treated: current trends are identified; IPv6 aeronautical network aspect are covered; challenges for the satellite component are illustrated; AeroMACS and LDACS as future data links are investigated and visions for aeronautical communications are formulated.

This book provides an interdisciplinary view of how to prepare the ecological and socio-economic systems to the reality of climate change. Scientifically sound tools are needed to predict its effects on regional, rather than global, scales, as it is the level at which socio-economic plans are designed and natural ecosystem reacts. The first section of this book describes a series of methods and models to downscale the global predictions of climate change, estimate its effects on biophysical systems and monitor the changes as they occur. To reduce the magnitude of these changes, new ways of economic activity must be implemented. The second section of this book explores different options to reduce greenhouse emissions from activities such as forestry, industry and urban development. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that climate change can be minimized, but not avoided, and therefore the socio-economic systems around the world will have to adapt to the new conditions to reduce the adverse impacts to the minimum. The last section of this book explores some options for adaptation.

Soils play multiple roles in the quality of life throughout the world, not only as the resource for food production, but also as the support for our structures, the environment, the medium for waste disposal, water, and the storage of nutrients. A healthy soil can sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health. Understanding the impact of land management practices on soil properties and processes can provide useful indicators of economic and environmental sustainability. The sixteen chapters of this book orchestrate a multidisciplinary composition of current trends in soil health. Soil Health and Land Use Management provides a broad vision of the fundamental importance of soil health. In addition, the development of feasible management and remediation strategies to preserve and ameliorate the fitness of soils are discussed in this book.Strategies to improve land management and relevant case studies are covered, as well as the importance of characterizing soil properties to develop management and remediation strategies. Moreover, the current management of several environmental scenarios of high concern is presented, while the final chapters propose new methodologies for soil pollution assessment.

Biometrics uses methods for unique recognition of humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. In computer science, particularly, biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance. The book consists of 13 chapters, each focusing on a certain aspect of the problem. The book chapters are divided into three sections: physical biometrics, behavioral biometrics and medical biometrics. The key objective of the book is to provide comprehensive reference and text on human authentication and people identity verification from both physiological, behavioural and other points of view. It aims to publish new insights into current innovations in computer systems and technology for biometrics development and its applications. The book was reviewed by the editor Dr. Jucheng Yang, and many of the guest editors, such as Dr. Girija Chetty, Dr. Norman Poh, Dr. Loris Nanni, Dr. Jianjiang Feng, Dr. Dongsun Park, Dr. Sook Yoon and so on, who also made a significant contribution to the book.

Gas turbine engines will still represent a key technology in the next 20-year energy scenarios, either in stand-alone applications or in combination with other power generation equipment. This book intends in fact to provide an updated picture as well as a perspective vision of some of the major improvements that characterize the gas turbine technology in different applications, from marine and aircraft propulsion to industrial and stationary power generation. Therefore, the target audience for it involves design, analyst, materials and maintenance engineers. Also manufacturers, researchers and scientists will benefit from the timely and accurate information provided in this volume. The book is organized into five main sections including 21 chapters overall: (I) Aero and Marine Gas Turbines, (II) Gas Turbine Systems, (III) Heat Transfer, (IV) Combustion and (V) Materials and Fabrication.

The past decade has seen the field of proteomics expand from a highly technical endeavor to a widely utilized technique. The objective of this book is to highlight the ways in which proteomics is currently being employed to address issues in the biological sciences. Although there have been significant advances in techniques involving the utilization of proteomics in biology, fundamental approaches involving basic sample visualization and protein identification still represent the principle techniques used by the vast majority of researchers to solve problems in biology. The work presented in this book extends from overviews of proteomics in specific biological subject areas to novel studies that have employed a proteomics-based approach. Collectively they demonstrate the power of established and developing proteomic techniques to characterize complex biological systems.

In modern research and development, materials manufacturing crystal growth is known as a way to solve a wide range of technological tasks in the fabrication of materials with preset properties. This book allows a reader to gain insight into selected aspects of the field, including growth of bulk inorganic crystals, preparation of thin films, low-dimensional structures, crystallization of proteins, and other organic compounds.

The term Lithography encompasses a range of contemporary technologies for micro and nano scale fabrication. Originally driven by the evolution of the semiconductor industry, lithography has grown from its optical origins to demonstrate increasingly fine resolution and to permeate fields as diverse as photonics and biology. Today, greater flexibility and affordability are demanded from lithography more than ever before. Diverse needs across many disciplines have produced a multitude of innovative new lithography techniques. This book, which is the final instalment in a series of three, provides a compelling overview of some of the recent advances in lithography, as recounted by the researchers themselves. Topics discussed include nanoimprinting for plasmonic biosensing, soft lithography for neurobiology and stem cell differentiation, colloidal substrates for two-tier self-assembled nanostructures, tuneable diffractive elements using photochromic polymers, and extreme-UV lithography.

Nanotechnology has experienced a rapid growth in the past decade, largely owing to the rapid advances in nanofabrication techniques employed to fabricate nano-devices. Nanofabrication can be divided into two categories: "bottom up" approach using chemical synthesis or self assembly, and "top down" approach using nanolithography, thin film deposition and etching techniques. Both topics are covered, though with a focus on the second category. This book contains twenty nine chapters and aims to provide the fundamentals and recent advances of nanofabrication techniques, as well as its device applications. Most chapters focus on in-depth studies of a particular research field, and are thus targeted for researchers, though some chapters focus on the basics of lithographic techniques accessible for upper year undergraduate students. Divided into five parts, this book covers electron beam, focused ion beam, nanoimprint, deep and extreme UV, X-ray, scanning probe, interference, two-photon, and nanosphere lithography.

This volume, of a two volume set on ionic liquids, focuses on the applications of ionic liquids in a growing range of areas. Throughout the 1990s, it seemed that most of the attention in the area of ionic liquids applications was directed toward their use as solvents for organic and transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. Certainly, this interest continues on to the present date, but the most innovative uses of ionic liquids span a much more diverse field than just synthesis. Some of the main topics of coverage include the application of RTILs in various electronic applications (batteries, capacitors, and light-emitting materials), polymers (synthesis and functionalization), nanomaterials (synthesis and stabilization), and separations. More unusual applications can be noted in the fields of biomass utilization, spectroscopy, optics, lubricants, fuels, and refrigerants. It is hoped that the diversity of this volume will serve as an inspiration for even further advances in the use of RTILs.

Type 2 diabetes "mellitus" affects nearly 120 million persons worldwide- and according to the World Health Organization this number is expected to double by the year 2030. Owing to a rapidly increasing disease prevalence, the medical, social and economic burdens associated with the microvascular and macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes are likely to increase dramatically in the coming decades. In this volume, leading contributors to the field review the pathogenesis, treatment and management of type 2 diabetes and its complications. They provide invaluable insight and share their discoveries about potentially important new techniques for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diabetic complications.

Brain Tumors: Current and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies focuses on tumor models, the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of this disease, and on the new diagnostic and treatment strategies utilized to stage and treat this malignancy. A special section on immunotherapy and gene therapy provides the most up-to-date information on the pre-clinical and clinical advances of this therapeutic venue. Each chapter in Brain Tumors: Current and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies is authored by international experts with extensive experience in the areas covered.

This book is devoted to different aspects of tectonic research. Syntheses of recent and earlier works, combined with new results and interpretations, are presented in this book for diverse tectonic settings. Most of the chapters include up-to-date material of detailed geological investigations, often combined with geophysical data, which can help understand more clearly the essence of mechanisms of different tectonic processes. Some chapters are dedicated to general problems of tectonics. Another block of chapters is devoted to sedimentary basins and special attention in this book is given to tectonic processes on active plate margins.

Sediment Transport in Aquatic Environments is a book which covers a wide range of topics. The effective management of many aquatic environments, requires a detailed understanding of sediment dynamics. This has both environmental and economic implications, especially where there is any anthropogenic involvement. Numerical models are often the tool used for predicting the transport and fate of sediment movement in these situations, as they can estimate the various spatial and temporal fluxes. However, the physical sedimentary processes can vary quite considerably depending upon whether the local sediments are fully cohesive, non-cohesive, or a mixture of both types. For this reason for more than half a century, scientists, engineers, hydrologists and mathematicians have all been continuing to conduct research into the many aspects which influence sediment transport. These issues range from processes such as erosion and deposition to how sediment process observations can be applied in sediment transport modeling frameworks. This book reports the findings from recent research in applied sediment transport which has been conducted in a wide range of aquatic environments. The research was carried out by researchers who specialize in the transport of sediments and related issues. I highly recommend this textbook to both scientists and engineers who deal with sediment transport issues.

The exciting world of crystalline silicon is the source of the spectacular advancement of discrete electronic devices and solar cells. The exploitation of ever changing properties of crystalline silicon with dimensional transformation may indicate more innovative silicon based technologies in near future. For example, the discovery of nanocrystalline silicon has largely overcome the obstacles of using silicon as optoelectronic material. The further research and development is necessary to find out the treasures hidden within this material. The book presents different forms of silicon material, their preparation and properties. The modern techniques to study the surface and interface defect states, dislocations, and so on, in different crystalline forms have been highlighted in this book. This book presents basic and applied aspects of different crystalline forms of silicon in wide range of information from materials to devices.

This book titled Advances in Malignant Melanoma - Clinical and Research Perspectives represents an international effort to highlight advances in our understanding of malignant melanoma from both clinical and research perspectives. The authors for this book consist of an international group of recognized leaders in melanoma research and patient care, and they share their unique perspectives regarding melanoma epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic and prognostic tools, phenotypes, treatment, and future research directions. The book is divide into four sections: (1) Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Melanoma, (2) Clinical Phenotypes of Melanoma, (3) Investigational Treatments for Melanoma and Pigmentary Disorders, and (4) Advances in Melanoma Translational Research. This book does not attempt to exhaustively cover all aspects of the aforementioned topics. Rather, it is a compilation of our authors' pearls and unique perspectives on the relevant advances in melanoma during the recent years.

The heat transfer and analysis on heat pipe and exchanger, and thermal stress are significant issues in a design of wide range of industrial processes and devices. This book includes 17 advanced and revised contributions, and it covers mainly (1) thermodynamic effects and thermal stress, (2) heat pipe and exchanger, (3) gas flow and oxidation, and (4) heat analysis. The first section introduces spontaneous heat flow, thermodynamic effect of groundwater, stress on vertical cylindrical vessel, transient temperature fields, principles of thermoelectric conversion, and transformer performances. The second section covers thermosyphon heat pipe, shell and tube heat exchangers, heat transfer in bundles of transversely-finned tubes, fired heaters for petroleum refineries, and heat exchangers of irreversible power cycles. The third section includes gas flow over a cylinder, gas-solid flow applications, oxidation exposure, effects of buoyancy, and application of energy and thermal performance index on energy efficiency. The forth section presents integral transform and green function methods, micro capillary pumped loop, influence of polyisobutylene additions, synthesis of novel materials, and materials for electromagnetic launchers. The advanced ideas and information described here will be fruitful for the readers to find a sustainable solution in an industrialized society.

The Microwave heating has not only revolutionized the food industry but also has extended its wings widely towards its multidimensional applications. Thus it has opened new vistas of potential research in science and technology. The book is compiled into Seventeen Chapters highlighting different aspects varying from epistemological discussion to applicability of conceptual constructs. The inclusion of discussion on the avenues in the field of Chemistry, Health

This book provides an excellent overview of how melanoma is treated in the clinic. Since oncologists and clinicians across the globe contributed to this book, each area also explores the unique burdens that geographical areas experience from melanoma subtypes and how these are treated in different settings. It also includes several chapters that illustrate novel methods for diagnosing melanoma in the clinic using new technologies, which are likely to significantly improve outcomes. Several chapters cover surgical techniques and other present very rare or challenging clinical cases of melanoma and how these were treated. The book is geared towards informing clinicians and even patients how melanoma arises, what tools are available and which decisions need to be made by patients and their families in order to treat this devastating disease.

The concept of acoustic wave is a pervasive one, which emerges in any type of medium, from solids to plasmas, at length and time scales ranging from sub-micrometric layers in microdevices to seismic waves in the Sun's interior. This book presents several aspects of the active research ongoing in this field. Theoretical efforts are leading to a deeper understanding of phenomena, also in complicated environments like the solar surface boundary. Acoustic waves are a flexible probe to investigate the properties of very different systems, from thin inorganic layers to ripening cheese to biological systems. Acoustic waves are also a tool to manipulate matter, from the delicate evaporation of biomolecules to be analysed, to the phase transitions induced by intense shock waves. And a whole class of widespread microdevices, including filters and sensors, is based on the behaviour of acoustic waves propagating in thin layers. The search for better performances is driving to new materials for these devices, and to more refined tools for their analysis.

The first book of this four-volume edition is dedicated to one of the most promising areas of photovoltaics, which has already reached a large-scale production of the second-generation thin-film solar modules and has resulted in building the powerful solar plants in several countries around the world. Thin-film technologies using direct-gap semiconductors such as CIGS and CdTe offer the lowest manufacturing costs and are becoming more prevalent in the industry allowing to improve manufacturability of the production at significantly larger scales than for wafer or ribbon Si modules. It is only a matter of time before thin films like CIGS and CdTe will replace wafer-based silicon solar cells as the dominant photovoltaic technology. Photoelectric efficiency of thin-film solar modules is still far from the theoretical limit. The scientific and technological problems of increasing this key parameter of the solar cell are discussed in several chapters of this volume.

Much has evolved in the field of aortic valve disease because of the increase in knowledge in the last decade, especially in the area of its management. This book "Aortic Valve" is comprised of 18 chapters covering basic science, general consideration of aortic valve disease, infective endocarditis, aortic sclerosis and aortic stenosis, bioprosthetic valve, transcatheter aortic valve implantation and a special section on congenital anomalies of the aortic valve. We hope this book will be particularly useful to cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons and trainees. We also believe that this book will be a valuable resource for radiologists, pathologists, cardiovascular anesthesiologists, and other healthcare professionals who have a special interest in treating patients with aortic valve disease. We are certain that information in this book will help to provide virtually most new areas of aortic valve disease that will be employed in the current era.

This book presents a collection of major developments in chaos systems covering aspects on chaotic behavioral modeling and simulation, control and synchronization of chaos systems, and applications like secure communications. It is a good source to acquire recent knowledge and ideas for future research on chaos systems and to develop experiments applied to real life problems. That way, this book is very interesting for students, academia and industry since the collected chapters provide a rich cocktail while balancing theory and applications.