Bücher veröffentlicht von Springer International Publishing

This book discusses plant invasions and environmental impacts on the Himalayas through a novel procedure, and helps to understand the influences of climate, physiography, soil, and disturbance on plant richness in mountain systems. Assessing invasion risks to mountain space under future climate change scenarios is highly significant for appropriate preparedness, and this book details analytical and modeling techniques to assess the conditions of mountain ecosystem and ecology to better inform our preparation for future environmental challenges. The book presents the state-of-the-art understanding of the species-environment relationships in a global biodiversity hotspot, relatively unexplored areas for the Himalayan life-form richness. The book provides not only the academic but also the professional community and policymakers a review and update on modeling applications for determining interactions of the plant species with the environment of a subtropical mountain ecosystem across a climatic gradient. Currently, there is no book in the market addressing the implementation and applications of modeling in the Himalayan plant and environment continuum, and most of the existing books cover the species richness pattern along the elevation gradient and basic ethnobotanical features of a mountain system. Since the book covers the applications of novel methods and modeling for ecological analysis of mountain ecosystems, it will also be significant for the professional market. Therefore, the book aims to fill the gap between scientists and professionals in the use of modeling strategies to monitor biodiversity in mountain systems for the formulation of conservation, adaptation, and mitigation principles.

This book surveys the distinctions that underlie the unbound potential and existential risks of life expansion and radical modifications posed by a transhuman world. Humanness is in flux as human bodies are being hacked and altered in their quest for super wellness, super intelligence and super longevity. Now is the time to discuss how best to think about dealing with bodies that have been hacked to exceed natural physical limits or more technically, species typical functioning. Enter the advent of transhumanism to take uncertainty by the horns. According to transhumanists, death is unnecessary and medical conventions undermine the possibility to radically evolve. To biohackers, there is no need to wait to explore the risks that conventional medicine dares not. This book is of interest to anyone interested in tapping into this growing movement of modifying the human body as it is right now.

This book explores how robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance human lives but also have unsettling "e;dark sides."e;  It examines expanding forms of negativity and anxiety about robots, AI, and autonomous vehicles as our human environments are reengineered for intelligent military and security systems and for optimal workplace and domestic operations. It focuses on the impacts of initiatives to make robot interactions more humanlike and less creepy (as with domestic and sex robots).  It analyzes the emerging resistances against these entities in the wake of omnipresent AI applications (such as "e;killer robots"e; and ubiquitous surveillance). It unpacks efforts by developers to have ethical and social influences on robotics and AI, and confronts the AI hype that is designed to shield the entities from criticism. The book draws from science fiction, dramaturgical, ethical, and legal literatures as well as current research agendas of corporations. Engineers, implementers, and researchers have often encountered users' fears and aggressive actions against intelligent entities, especially in the wake of deaths of humans by robots and autonomous vehicles. The book is an invaluable resource for developers and researchers in the field, as well as curious readers who want to play proactive roles in shaping future technologies.  

Groundwater is the world's largest source of fresh water, but its safe and sustainable exploitation remains a challenge. Egypt's Nile Valley aquifer is the most important renewable aquifer, accounting for approximately 85% of total groundwater use in Egypt. Egypt's long-term development and socioeconomic growth in the Nile Valley depends on this groundwater. Concerns about groundwater assessment, quality, management, and sustainability frame the current status of Nile Valley groundwater supplies. Proper knowledge of the current state of the groundwater quantity and quality in the Nile Valley is vital for the development and management of groundwater resources in Egypt. Due to Egypt's water scarcity, the projected decline in Nile River flow due to climate change, and the development of numerous Nile River basin projects, the situation is critical, and the consequences might be severe. Furthermore, Egypt's growing population puts significant strain on groundwater, which is the second most significant freshwater supply next to the surface water supply coming from the Nile River as Egypt's share. Several books on the various aspects of Egypt's water resources have been published, but there is insufficient recent information on groundwater in the Nile Valley aquifer, which is essential for Egyptian populations for domestic and irrigation purposes. As a result, this book on the groundwater in the Nile Valley aquifer emerges to complete the picture of Egypt's water resources as a good example of arid country located in MENA regions with many arid countries. Consequently, the lessons learned from this book could be beneficial to other countries in MENA regions, particularly those in North Africa.

This handbook in two volumes offers a heretofore unavailable compilation of detailed information on foraminifera of the Caspian-Black Sea-Mediterranean Corridors ("e;CORRIDORS"e;), including their taxonomy, ecology, and applications in the study of Quaternary stratigraphy, paleogeographic reconstruction, and environmental stress. This subject is significant in light of the ongoing debates regarding the Flood Hypotheses because foraminifera can provide more information about many of the disputed questions. Foraminifera are highly reliable paleoenvironmental indicators, ubiquitous in marine environments, and taxonomically diverse, which gives them the potential for a wide range of biological responses to varied environmental factors. Their tests are readily preserved and can record evidence of environmental change through time, thus providing historical baseline data even in the absence of background studies. This book presents taxonomic descriptions for about 500 species and subspecies from the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Sea of Marmara, and the Eastern Mediterranean. This catalogue is supplemented by ecological remarks, stratigraphic distributions, paleogeography, and environmental/paleoenvironmental applications, including responses to environmental stress, e.g., river discharge, pollution by different contaminants, etc. The book will be useful to specialists in Quaternary history of the "e;CORRIDORS"e; as well as those in environmental monitoring and risk assessment. This handbook offers detailed taxonomic descriptions of foraminifera from the Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, Aral Sea (in Volume 1) and Eastern Mediterranean and Sea of Marmara (in Volume 2). 

This book gathers selected contributions in the field of civil and construction engineering, as presented by international researchers and engineers at the 3rd International Scientific Conference on Socio-Technical Construction and Civil Engineering (STCCE), held in Kazan, Russia on April 21-29 2022. The book covers a wide range of topics including building constructions and structures, bridges, roads and tunnels, building materials and products, energy efficiency and thermal protection of buildings, ventilation, air conditioning, gas supply and lighting in buildings, innovative and smart technologies in construction, transport system development. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.

The book covers alternative lending using the emergence of Debt Funds in the EU as a case study. The book explores the risks that they can pose to financial stability, and the regulatory and supervisory tools available to mitigate these risks. Through this analysis, the book uncovers the risks and potential risk mitigation tools that can be applied to the alternative lenders-including debt funds and other potential alternative lenders. After identifying the reasons behind the growth of alternative lenders (using as example the assets of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and in particular debt funds) and the simultaneous decrease of the banks' assets, the book analyses the systemic importance of the alternative lenders and the risk channels through which the systemic risk can spread to the banking sector and the financial system. Then, the book deals with the financial innovation-market failure theory and demonstrates that financial innovations (e.g. debt funds, securitisations) can cause market failures, resulting in regulatory interventions. Of interest to banking and financial regulation academics, researchers, and practitioners this book analyses the regulatory provisions in place for both credit institutions and debt funds, including the Basel Accords, the Capital Requirements Directives and Regulations, and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and its implementation in various EU jurisdictions, before offering a proposal for a new three-defensive framework applicable to debt funds and to other potential alternative lenders.

This book covers synthesis, characterization, and applications of diverse types of nanomaterials. Specifically, it describes carbon, graphene, and graphene oxide-based nanomaterials and their use for environmental remediation; rare-earth ions-activated nanophosphors and their application; lanthanide-based oxides as advanced nanostructured materials for organic decontamination; and advanced functional nanomaterials for pollutant sensing and water remediation. The chapters explore the use of nanomaterials in solid-phase extraction technique, design of colorimetric sensor based on gold nanoparticles, optical sources and waveguides based on flexible 1D nanomaterials, synthesis and property characterization of 2D materials with applications, and the scale effects on the value of the surface energy of a solid. The developments of some nanomaterials such as zinc and nickel sulfides as photocatalysts and electrocatalysts, effects of reducing size and incorporation of nanoadditives, advanced carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and graphene and its derivations as adsorbents, and carbon spheres and carbon soot for tribological applications are also presented in this book. In addition, nanomaterials for concrete coating applications and advances in the processing of high-entropy alloys by means of mechanical alloying are also covered. Subsequently, the use of nanomaterials in endodontics and the use of nanotechnology strategies to enhance restorative resin-based dental nanomaterials are reported.

This book provides a selection of recent developments in scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) technology and applications. In recent years, SICM has been applied in an ever-increasing number of areas in the bioanalytical sciences. SICM is based on an electrolyte-filled nanopipette with a nanometer-scale opening, over which an electric potential is applied. The induced ion current is measured, which allows to directly or indirectly quantify various physical quantities such as pipette-sample distance, ion concentration, sample elastic modulus among many others. This makes SICM well suited for applications in electrolytes - most prominently for the study of live cells.This book starts with a historic overview starting from the days of the invention of SICM by Paul Hansma at the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989. SICM is a member of the family of scanning probe microscopies. It is related to another prominent member of the family, atomic force microscopy (AFM), which has found application in almost any field of nanoscale science. The advantages and disadvantages of SICM over AFM are also outlined. One of the most effective and break-through applications of SICM nanopipettes is in electrochemistry. The different routes and applications for doing electrochemistry using nanopipettes are also discussed. In addition the book highlights the ability of SICM for surface positioning with nanometer precision to open up new vistas in patch clamp measurements subcellular structures. Finally the book presents one research area where SICM has been making a lot of contributions, cardiac research and the endeavors to combine SICM with super-resolution optical microscopy for highest-resolution joint topography and functional imaging.

The book discusses the study and implementation of controlling in the modern enterprise from the perspective of Industry 4.0, which helps ensure the efficient and effective use of organizational resources in order to achieve planned goals. The aim of this book is to provide the most comprehensive and effective exchange of information on current developments in Enterprise Controlling. The authors describe lean/agile approaches that enterprises can use to reach the highest level of competitiveness in a global environment and help establish channels of communication and disseminate knowledge among professionals working in manufacturing and related institutions. The authors aim to help facilitate corporate coordination and help with its planning without deviating from standards. The publication is dedicated to all who want to learn in the field of controlling from researchers and academics to students.

Historically, communication was described as a secondary, or 'soft skill' for surgeons. Now, astute communication, both with patients and with colleagues, forms a fundamental element of holistic surgical practice and comprises a core component of the 'Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons' that are increasingly recognised in modern surgical practice.Good communication is required during each patient interaction: history taking, explanation, consent, breaking bad news, and managing difficult encounters such as the demanding or angry patient. Good communication with patients improves patient trust, compliance and overall satisfaction, reduces complaints and malpractice claims.High quality communication is also fundamental when interacting with colleagues: in theatre, on the ward, whilst making referrals and organising special tests. In the busy schedules of medical professionals, such communication must be succinct and relevant. Team structures must empower all members to speak up, so as to prevent harm being done. Suboptimal communication is a root cause for the majority of serious adverse events. Furthermore, good communication reduces job stress and enhances satisfaction for the surgeon.Good communication is not an inborn behaviour; it is a learned skill that is based on key principles. Studies have clearly demonstrated that education in communication improves patient outcomes and satisfaction. Several frameworks have been described, to facilitate good communication in certain scenarios: SPIKES for breaking bad news, SBAR for handover, surgical briefs and de-briefs, to name a few. This textbook will be aimed towards medical students, surgical trainees and surgical consultants internationally. It is relevant to every-day practice, examinations and OSCEs, such as medical finals, MRCS, FRCS and international equivalents, and interviews where role play is often featured.

This book follows the public life of Michael Palaiologos from his early days and upbringing, through to his assumption of the Byzantine imperial throne in 1258. It explores multiple narratives, highlighting the various public communities in the Byzantine polity, primarily focusing on intellectuals and clerks rather than the emperor himself. Drawing on insights from power relations, studies of class and the public sphere, this book provides an account of thirteenth-century Byzantium that highlights the role of communicative and symbolic actions in the public sphere, and argues they were integral to Palaiologos' political success.

Complex variable theory is attractive for engineers as it offers elegant approaches for certain types of differential equations in engineering including heat transfer, solid mechanics, and fluid mechanics. However, a gap exists between books written by mathematicians and books written by engineers in their specific fields. Naturally, mathematicians tend to emphasize rigorousness and consistency while less emphasizing applications. On the other hand, books written by engineers often jump directly to the specific topics assuming that the readers already have sufficient background of complex variables and the pathway from theory to the application is not clearly elucidated. This book closes the gap in the literature. providing a smooth transition from basic theory to the application is accomplished. Although it is not possible to cover all the topics in engineering exhaustively, the readers can at least find the logic of how and why complex variables are effective for some of the engineering problems. Another motivation for writing this book is to demonstrate that the readers can take advantage of a computer algebra system, Mathematica, to facilitate tedious algebra and visualize complex functions so that they can focus on principles instead of spending endless hours on algebra by hand. Unlike numerical tools such as MATLAB and FORTRAN, Mathematica can expand, differentiate, and integrate complex-valued functions symbolically. Mathematica can be used as a stand-alone symbolic calculator or a programming tool using the Wolfram Language. If Mathematica is not available locally, Wolfram Cloud Basic can be used online as a free service to execute Mathematica statements.

This book presents an alternative, critical perspective on the political economy of development and business. The everyday issues experienced by those on the margins are examined to highlight the Eurocentric bias at the centre of development theory, public policy, and business practices. Ruling class projects within these areas are critically evaluated in order to present a vision of development that recognises pluralistic traditions and people's everyday experiences. Eurocentric liberal myopia and its praxis are outlined in development theory, public policy, and business practices. Particular focus is given to tribal planning, needs based development, public private partnerships, modes of capital accumulation, conscious capitalism, and creative business education.This book stands in defense of critical inquiry and pluriversal knowledge against the monolithic knowledge traditions and use of ruling class projects in development, public policy, and business ethics. It aims to explore new forms of economic transformation that are inclusive and worker led. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the political economy, development economics, and international business.

This book provides a collection of recent research works on learning from decentralized data, transferring information from one domain to another, and addressing theoretical issues on improving the privacy and incentive factors of federated learning as well as its connection with transfer learning and reinforcement learning. Over the last few years, the machine learning community has become fascinated by federated and transfer learning. Transfer and federated learning have achieved great success and popularity in many different fields of application. The intended audience of this book is students and academics aiming to apply federated and transfer learning to solve different kinds of real-world problems, as well as scientists, researchers, and practitioners in AI industries, autonomous vehicles, and cyber-physical systems who wish to pursue new scientific innovations and update their knowledge on federated and transfer learning and their applications.

This book is a pioneering effort in critical Arctic studies. The contributions identify and investigate some of the blind spots in human development in the Arctic that research in the social sciences had yet to broach. To this end, the authors tap a variety of critical approaches in fields spanning aesthetics, affect theory, biopolitics, critical geopolitics, Indigenous archaeology, intersectionality, legal anthropology, moral economy, narrative studies, neoliberal governmentality, queer studies and socio-legal studies. The chapters probe topics such as representations of the Arctic in contemporary art, the role of affects in postcolonial Greenland, Canada's Arctic policies and China's engagement with the Arctic. The book provides a rich knowledge base for researchers in Arctic social sciences and offers an absorbing textbook for students interested in Arctic issues.

Bacteria and fungi are able to aggregate together or on surfaces in densely packed microcolonies, facilitated by extracellular polymeric substances for cell protection and stability. These biofilms have proven to be extremely hard to eradicate and remove once established. In chronic infections, this condition can result in a high degree of morbidity and mortality as regular antibiotic treatments are ineffective against biofilms. In industrial facilities, the formation of biofilms can ruin production and result in enormous financial losses.In this book, the current state of antibiofilm research is presented by experts from around the world. Novel, cutting-edge techniques and new optimized strategies based on established methods are discussed in chapters focused on biofilm prevention, treatment and control for the application in clinical, industrial and veterinary settings.Antibiofilm strategies, such as chemical and enzymatic treatments, surface modification and coatings, quorum sensing inhibition and dispersal induction, phage therapy, cold plasma treatment, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, and metal-based nanomedicine are covered, among many others.This book contributes to the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being and is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals, microbiologists, academics and for educators to inform curricula of universities and colleges.

This book describes for first time the synthesis and intensified process design in the production of top biofuels. The production of biofuels is not new. In 2019, global biofuel production levels reached 1,841 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, in stark comparison to the 187 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day that was produced in 2000. Growth has largely been driven by policies that encourage the use and production of biofuels due to the perception that it could provide energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in relevant sectors. From a technical point of view, almost all fuels from fossil resources could be substituted by their bio-based counterparts. However, the cost of bio-based production in many cases exceeds the cost of petrochemical production. Also, biofuels must be proven to perform at least as good as the petrochemical equivalent they are substituting and to have a lower environmental impact. The low price of crude oil acted as a barrier to biofuels production and producers focussed on the specific attributes of biofuels such as their complex structure to justify production costs. Also, the consumer demand for environmentally friendly products, population growth and limited supplies of non-renewable resources has now opened new windows of opportunity for biofuels. The industry is increasingly viewing chemical production from renewable resources as an attractive area for investment. This book uniquely introduces the application of new process intensification techniques that will allow the generation of clean, efficient and economical processes for biofuels in a competitive way in the market.

When a customer, employee, or investor is faced with a choice of companies amidst a sea of competitors, they increasingly consider how responsible that organization is. Customers want to buy ethical and sustainable; employees want to feel a sense of purpose at work, and investors need reassurance that their investments are good for the long term. To be competitive and valuable to society, firms need to develop an organizational conscience that drives key strategic decisions and spurs sustainable and responsible innovation. In this book, the authors argue that organizations need to think critically about their role and to use their conscience to guide actions. With plenty of concrete suggestions based on substantive research, it shows how firms can reconcile the competing interests of stakeholders, create an organization that is fair, open and transparent and do the right thing while building a profitable business.With integrated videos and international case studies featuring multinational companies as well as small firms, this book explains how firms can make the transition to becoming conscientious.

This book provides a detailed, self-contained description of automatic indexing of crystal diffraction patterns, considering both ab initio indexing and indexing of patterns originating from known structures. Introductory chapters equip the reader with the necessary basic knowledge of geometric crystallography, as well as kinematic and dynamic theories of crystal diffraction. Subsequent chapters delve and describe ab initio indexing of single crystal diffraction patterns and indexing of patterns for orientation determination. The book also reviews methods of indexing powder diffraction and electron spot-type patterns, as well the subject of multigrain indexing. Later chapters are devoted to diffraction by helical structures and quasicrystals, as well as some aspects of lattice parameter refinement and strain determination.The book is intended equally for materials scientists curious about 'nuts and bolts' of diffraction pattern indexing and orientation mapping systems, as well as interdisciplinary researchers from physics, chemistry, and biology involved in crystallographic computing. It provides a rigorous, yet accessible, treatment of the subject matter for graduate students interested in understanding the functioning of diffraction pattern indexing engines.

This book discusses the role of the property market cycle in real estate valuation. Challenging traditional property valuation methods that rely on current market conditions and economic trends, this book argues for a re-evaluation of the relationship between property valuation and cycles in property markets. The book is divided into two parts. The first part gathers research on property market cycle analysis and the delicate problems dealing with property market information including the development of the real estate market index, appraisal bias, and the use of time series in plotting the market cycle. The second part proposes several possible modifications to the traditional income approach methodologies, including cyclical capitalization and the hedonic price method. Furthermore, this part also addresses the need for amendments to current s property valuation standards and institutional regulations. Written by an international cross-section of expert voices in market cycles and property valuation, the book is a comprehensive resource for any researcher or upper-level student studying economic volatility.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of how EU state aid law is shaping the future of EU investment policy in a global context. It examines in detail how EU state aid policy and practice interact with the EU investment regime on the internal market and affect the external trade relations of the Member States and the EU alike. The debate this book engages in concerns competence, i.e., which body delineates the scope of state aid law and policy (now and in the future) when and where it intersects and collides with another distinct legal field: investment protection. Pursuing a doctrinal approach to the topic in the light of EU law and international law, the book analyses the interaction of the EU's trade, state aid and investment policy. This is done by posing the following research question: How is EU state aid law shaping the future of EU investment policy in a global context? Further, the book puts forward three corresponding arguments. First, this influence can be seen in the EU's incorporation of clauses promoting fair competition and state aid policy in international trade agreements. Second, EU state aid law and policy contributed to recent internal developments which led the Member States to terminate their bilateral agreements with each other (intra-EU BITs) by the end of 2019. Third, the EU has been working to replace the BITs between its Member States and third countries (extra-EU BITs) with its own trade agreements, which are aligned with EU legislation. This combined analysis of EU law and international law yields a number of interesting conclusions.The book addresses a highly topical and rapidly evolving area of EU law and international investment law. It is also the first book to provide a comprehensive approach to the interplay of state aid rules and EU investment policy internally and externally, i.e., within the EU and on a global scale. As such, it closes an important gap in the extant literature on international and EU law. 

This book provides a principled data-driven framework that progressively constructs, enriches, and applies taxonomies without leveraging massive human annotated data. Traditionally, people construct domain-specific taxonomies by extensive manual curations, which is time-consuming and costly. In today's information era, people are inundated with the vast amounts of text data. Despite their usefulness, people haven't yet exploited the full power of taxonomies due to the heavy curation needed for creating and maintaining them. To bridge this gap, the authors discuss automated taxonomy discovery and exploration, with an emphasis on label-efficient machine learning methods and their real-world usages. Taxonomy organizes entities and concepts in a hierarchy way. It is ubiquitous in our daily life, ranging from product taxonomies used by online retailers, topic taxonomies deployed by news outlets and social media, as well as scientific taxonomies deployed by digital libraries across various domains. When properly analyzed, these taxonomies can play a vital role for science, engineering, business intelligence, policy design, e-commerce, and more. Intuitive examples are used throughout enabling readers to grasp concepts more easily.

The Freshwaters of Patagonia adopts a socioecological approach, in which experts from across Patagonia review recent, scientifically rigorous literature and data of their own, thus synthesizing the current knowledge directly relevant to understand the present state and future trends of icefields, freshwater and wetland ecosystems in this region.The book's organization into three parts provides a studied and comprehensive view on the patterns and processes of the various ecosystems in Patagonia, and describes the sociological aspects of freshwater ecosystems, as well as characterizes the conservation of the freshwater and wetland ecosystems, in Patagonia. The chapters offer a broad, state-of-the-art overview of the current status of glaciers, freshwater and wetland ecosystems of this region, as well as studies of both local and large scale biodiversity patterns, and study cases of extreme and naturally polluted environments.The volume concludes with the current status of Patagonian freshwaters, and discusses the scientific, legal and administrative tools aimed at their sustainable management within the framework of the UNEP Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda. A broad audience of students, scientists, engineers, environmental managers, and policy makers will be interested in this volume.

Swarm Intelligence (SI) has grown significantly, both from the perspective of algorithmic development and applications covering almost all disciplines science and technology. This book emphasizes the studies of existing SI techniques, their variants and applications. The book also contains reviews of new developments in SI techniques and hybridizations. Algorithm specific studies covering basic introduction and analysis of key components of these algorithms, such as convergence, balance of solution accuracy, computational costs, tuning and control of parameters. Application specific studies incorporating the ways of designing objective functions, solution representation and constraint handling. The book also includes studies on application domain specific adaptations in the SI techniques. The book will be beneficial for academicians and researchers from various disciplines of engineering and science working in applications of SI and other optimization problems. 

This book is an attempt to address this wide topic with a multi-disciplinary approach. Nowadays, robotics is developing at a much faster pace than ever in the past, both inside and outside industrial environments. While other publications focus on describing the theoretical basis of robot motion, this book pays special attention to explain the fundamentals through real applications. Thus, it represents a perfect combination for studying this topic along with other theoretical books. Each chapter has been authored by experts in specific areas spanning from the mechanics of machinery to control theory, informatics, mechatronics. Chapters have been divided into two sections. The first one is aiming to give a theoretical background. The second section is focused on applications. This book project can be foreseen as a reference for young professionals/researchers to overview the most significant aspects in robotics.