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A comprehensive treatment of statistical applications for solving real-world environmental problems A host of complex problems face today's earth science community, such as evaluating the supply of remaining non-renewable energy resources, assessing the impact of people on the environment, understanding climate change, and managing the use of water. Proper collection and analysis of data using statistical techniques contributes significantly toward the solution of these problems. Statistics for Earth and Environmental Scientists presents important statistical concepts through data analytic tools and shows readers how to apply them to real-world problems. The authors present several different statistical approaches to the environmental sciences, including Bayesian and nonparametric methodologies. The book begins with an introduction to types of data, evaluation of data, modeling and estimation, random variation, and sampling—all of which are explored through case studies that use real data from earth science applications. Subsequent chapters focus on principles of modeling and the key methods and techniques for analyzing scientific data, including: Interval estimation and Methods for analyzinghypothesis testing of means time series data Spatial statistics Multivariate analysis Discrete distributions Experimental design Most statistical models are introduced by concept and application, given as equations, and then accompanied by heuristic justification rather than a formal proof. Data analysis, model building, and statistical inference are stressed throughout, and readers are encouraged to collect their own data to incorporate into the exercises at the end of each chapter. Most data sets, graphs, and analyses are computed using R, but can be worked with using any statistical computing software. A related website features additional data sets, answers to selected exercises, and R code for the book's examples. Statistics for Earth and Environmental Scientists is an excellent book for courses on quantitative methods in geology, geography, natural resources, and environmental sciences at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable reference for earth scientists, geologists, hydrologists, and environmental statisticians who collect and analyze data in their everyday work.

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The purpose of this book is to provide a working knowledge and an exposure to cutting edge developments in operation and control of electric energy processing systems. The book focuses on the modeling and control of interdependent communications and electric energy systems, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), and the interdisciplinary education component of the EPNES initiative.

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Lasers are active ingredients of our modern life, but they are inconspicuous as they often go unnoticed. This intuitive introductory guide will tell you all you want to know about laser technologies in very diverse fields from nuclear and particle physics to medicine, astronomy and ultra-precise metrology. The book is coherently focused on fundamentals, and is aimed to stimulate intuition about present and future applications, while unveiling the halo of myths around lasers. Written by reputable laser experts who think that science should be entertaining, this useful reference relies on simple analogies and illustrations rather than complex mathematics, and will be suitable for students and end-users of laser technologies, including novices. Voted a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2012

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This book provides a simplified visionary approach about the future direction of IoT, addressing its wide-scale adoption in many markets, its interception with advanced technology, the explosive growth in data, and the emergence of data analytics. IoT business applications span multiple vertical markets. The objective is to inspire creative thinking and collaboration among startups and entrepreneurs which will breed innovation and deliver IoT solutions that will positively impact us by making business processes more efficient, and improving our quality of life. With increasing proliferation of smart-phones and social media, data generated by user wearable/mobile devices continue to be key sources of information about us and the markets around us. Better insights will be gained through cognitive computation coupled with business intelligence and visual analytics that are GIS-based.

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Computational methods for the modeling and simulation of the dynamic response and behavior of particles, materials and structural systems have had a profound influence on science, engineering and technology. Complex science and engineering applications dealing with complicated structural geometries and materials that would be very difficult to treat using analytical methods have been successfully simulated using computational tools. With the incorporation of quantum, molecular and biological mechanics into new models, these methods are poised to play an even bigger role in the future. Advances in Computational Dynamics of Particles, Materials and Structures not only presents emerging trends and cutting edge state-of-the-art tools in a contemporary setting, but also provides a unique blend of classical and new and innovative theoretical and computational aspects covering both particle dynamics, and flexible continuum structural dynamics applications. It provides a unified viewpoint and encompasses the classical Newtonian, Lagrangian, and Hamiltonian mechanics frameworks as well as new and alternative contemporary approaches and their equivalences in [start italics]vector and scalar formalisms[end italics] to address the various problems in engineering sciences and physics. Highlights and key features Provides practical applications, from a unified perspective, to both particle and continuum mechanics of flexible structures and materials Presents new and traditional developments, as well as alternate perspectives, for space and time discretization Describes a unified viewpoint under the umbrella of Algorithms by Design for the class of linear multi-step methods Includes fundamentals underlying the theoretical aspects and numerical developments, illustrative applications and practice exercises The completeness and breadth and depth of coverage makes Advances in Computational Dynamics of Particles, Materials and Structures a valuable textbook and reference for graduate students, researchers and engineers/scientists working in the field of computational mechanics; and in the general areas of computational sciences and engineering.

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A comprehensive look at the latest research findings and clinical applications of oncogenic viruses Written by a panel of academic experts, Viral Oncology is the first self-contained and comprehensive book to present both scientific and clinical information on viruses linked to some of the most important human cancers. Readers can turn to this book for the most in-depth and up-to-date coverage of: HPV-associated cancers; molecular events associated with HPV-induced human cancer; the role of the HPV E6 oncoprotein in malignant progression; virus association with brain tumors; involvement of the polyomavirus JCV in colorectal cancer; possibleassociation of BKV with prostate cancer; oncogenic transformation bypolyomavirus large T antigen; SV40 and human cancer; SV40 and mesothelioma; molecular immunology of hepatitis B–associated viral cancer; hepatitis B vaccine and hepatocellular carcinoma; pathogenesis of acute and chronic hepatitis Cvirus infection; molecular mechanisms of hepatitis C virus-induced cellulartransformation; clinical aspects of HTLV-1 associated cancer; oncogenic potential of the HTLV-1 tax protein; HIV-associated malignancy; HIV-related lymphoma; biology and epidemiology of HHV-8; the role of KSHV in pathogenesis of Kaposi'ssarcoma; molecular pathobiology of EBV infection; and EBV as a pathogen. Several chapters are devoted to the basic science of oncogenic viruses for thestudy of their pathogenesis, drug development, and employment of viral vectorsfor vaccine and gene therapy. The book also includes complementary clinically based chapters describing natural courses and treatments. Additionally, bonusclinical materials are embedded within chapters and an easy-to-use indexcompletes the book. Viral Oncology is an essential resource for clinical and research oncologists in medical facilities and biological research laboratories; clinicians and scientists working in related biomedical areas; medical students working toward a first or higher degree in the life sciences and other biomedical fields; and pharmaceutical scientists and developers.

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An engaging and fresh take on the rules and politics of English grammar, written in lively prose. It goes a step further than most books on grammar by providing an overview of the field, with a discussion of historical and current debates about grammar, and how we define, discuss, and approach it. Presents a novel, inquiry-based approach to understanding speakers' unconscious knowledge of English grammar Makes lucid connections, when relevant, with current linguistic theory Integrates language change and variation into the study of grammar Examines historical sources of socially evaluative perceptions of grammar, as 'good' or 'bad', and notions of language authority Provides syntactic explanations for many modern punctuation rules Explores some of the current controversies about grammar teaching in school and the role of Standard English in testing and assessment

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The long separation of health and International Relations, as distinct academic fields and policy arenas, has now dramatically changed. Health, concerned with the body, mind and spirit, has traditionally focused on disease and infirmity, whilst International Relations has been dominated by concerns of war, peace and security. Since the 1990s, however, the two fields have increasingly overlapped. How can we explain this shift and what are the implications for the future development of both fields? Colin McInnes and Kelley Lee examine four key intersections between health and International Relations today – foreign policy and health diplomacy, health and the global political economy, global health governance and global health security. The explosion of interest in these subjects has, in large part, been due to «real world» concerns – disease outbreaks, antibiotic resistance, counterfeit drugs and other risks to human health amid the spread of globalisation. Yet the authors contend that it is also important to understand how global health has been socially constructed, shaped in theory and practice by particular interests and normative frameworks. This groundbreaking book encourages readers to step back from problem-solving to ask how global health is being problematized in the first place, why certain agendas and issue areas are prioritised, and what determines the potential solutions put forth to address them? The palpable struggle to better understand the health risks facing a globalized world, and to strengthen collective action to deal with them effectively, begins – they argue – with a more reflexive and critical approach to this rapidly emerging subject.

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The evolution of the human brain and cognitive ability is one of the central themes of physical/biological anthropology. This book discusses the emergence of human cognition at a conceptual level, describing it as a process of long adaptive stasis interrupted by short periods of cognitive advance. These advances were not linear and directed, but were acquired indirectly as part of changing human behaviors, in other words through the process of exaptation (acquisition of a function for which it was not originally selected). Based on studies of the modem human brain, certain prerequisites were needed for the development of the early brain and associated cognitive advances. This book documents the energy and nutrient constraints of the modern brain, highlighting the significant role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in brain development and maintenance. Crawford provides further emphasis for the role of essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, in brain development, by discussing the evolution of the eye and neural systems. This is an ideal book for Graduate students, post docs, research scientists in Physical/Biological Anthropology, Human Biology, Archaeology, Nutrition, Cognitive Science, Neurosciences. It is also an excellent selection for a grad student discussion seminar.

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What does it mean to live dangerously? This is not just a philosophical question or an ethical call to reflect upon our own individual recklessness. It is a deeply political issue, fundamental to the new doctrine of ‘resilience’ that is becoming a key term of art for governing planetary life in the 21st Century. No longer should we think in terms of evading the possibility of traumatic experiences. Catastrophic events, we are told, are not just inevitable but learning experiences from which we have to grow and prosper, collectively and individually. Vulnerability to threat, injury and loss has to be accepted as a reality of human existence. In this original and compelling text, Brad Evans and Julian Reid explore the political and philosophical stakes of the resilience turn in security and governmental thinking. Resilience, they argue, is a neo-liberal deceit that works by disempowering endangered populations of autonomous agency. Its consequences represent a profound assault on the human subject whose meaning and sole purpose is reduced to survivability. Not only does this reveal the nihilistic qualities of a liberal project that is coming to terms with its political demise. All life now enters into lasting crises that are catastrophic unto the end.