الصفحة 14
الصفحة 14
Arctic Alpine ecosystems and people in a changing environment
This book addresses the significant environmental changes experienced by high latitude and high altitude ecosystems at the beginning of the 21st c- tury. Increased temperatures and precipitation, reduction in sea ice and glacier ice, the increased levels of UV-radiation and the long-range tra- ported contaminants in arctic and alpine regions are stress factors that challenge terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The large natural variation in the physical parameters of these extreme environments is a key factor in structuring the biodiversity and biotic productivity, and the effect of the new stress factors can be critical for the population structures and the - teraction between species. These changes may also have socio-economic effects if the changes affect the bio-production, which form the basis for the marine and terrestrial food chains. The book is uniquely multidisciplinary and provides examples of va- ous aspects of contemporary environmental change in arctic and alpine - gions. The 21 chapters of the book are organised under the fields of •Climate change and ecosystem response, •Long range transport of poll- ants and ecological impacts, and •UV radiation and biological effects, each also including aspects of the •Socio-economic effects of environmental change. The introductory chapter presents and explains the internal c- nection and integration of all chapters.
Aquatic Biodiversity II : The Diversity of Aquatic Ecosystems
The present book comprises a unique collection of primary research papers spanning a wide range of topics in aquatic biodiversity studies, and including a first global assessment of specific diversity of freshwater animals. The book also presents a section on the interaction between scientists and science policy managers
Applied Research in Environmental Economics
Sustainable development, climate policy, and biodiversity conservation are examples of issues on the current political agenda in many countries. These themes are also subject to economic research, and economic insights are increasingly finding their way into the design of environmental policy. Still, the reception of academic findings by policy makers as well as the timely identification of policy-relevant questions by economic researchers often seem to be problematic. This volume attempts to vitalise the exchange between policy makers and academics. It offers a snapshot of environmental economic research on a range of policy-relevant problems.
Antimalarial medicinal plants
Malaria continues to affect a large population of the world, especially in third world countries. The spread of drug-resistant parasites demonstrates the need for antimalarial agents with various modes of action. The search for remedies derived from medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria is reliant on accurate ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological information obtained from traditional medical practitioners. Antimalarial Medicinal Plants provides information on bioactive compounds and therapeutic potentials of several antimalarial plant species found around the globe. This book evaluates these plant species with respect to their biology, diversity, distribution, and pharmacological values.
Anti-fragile ICT Systems
Introduces a novel approach to the design and operation of large ICT systems. It views the technical solutions and their stakeholders as complex adaptive systems and argues that traditional risk analyses cannot predict all future incidents with major impacts. To avoid unacceptable events, it is necessary to establish and operate anti-fragile ICT systems that limit the impact of all incidents, and which learn from small-impact incidents how to function increasingly well in changing environments. The book applies four design principles and one operational principle to achieve anti-fragility for different classes of incidents. It discusses how systems can achieve high availability, prevent malware epidemics, and detect anomalies. Analyses of Netflix’s media streaming solution, Norwegian telecom infrastructures, e-government platforms, and Numenta’s anomaly detection software show that cloud computing is essential to achieving anti-fragility for classes of events with negative impacts.
Analysis and Development of Sustainable Urban Production Systems
Manufacturing of products in urban production sites is connected to unique potentials, yet also to specific challenges. Urban factories can provide functional diversity and contribute positive impacts to a city. The concept of urban production receives rising attention in research and industry and it is recognized in its interdisciplinary nature. With a holistic approach from both the urban perspective and the factory perspective, negative impacts can be minimized, positive effects enabled and mutually beneficial, symbiotic combinations created. The presented framework and methods for the evaluation and implementation of sustainable urban production systems allow the assessment of impacts and provide the means to control and utilize the unique strengths of urban factories for cities and industry. This will allow a structured derivation of methods and measures from the concept of urban production for producing enterprises and the urban stakeholders.
An Introduction To Chemoinformatics
This, the first text written specifically for this field, aims to provide an introduction to the major techniques of chemoinformatics. The first part of the book deals with the representation of 2D and 3D molecular structures, the calculation of molecular descriptors and the construction of mathematical models. The second part describes other important topics including molecular similarity and diversity, the analysis of large data sets, virtual screening, and library design. Simple illustrative examples are used throughout to illustrate key concepts, supplemented with case studies from the literature.
An Energy Analysis of Household Consumption : Changing Patterns of Direct and Indirect Use in India
The book presents a novel socio-economic approach to analysing the - ergy system and energy consumption in India from a household persp- tive. In doing so, it views households as the ultimate end-consumers and estimates and analyses the direct and indirect energy requirements of household consumption, both at an aggregate national level as well as at a disaggregate household level. In addition, the work incorporates two c- cial aspects often ignored by many energy studies that are characteristic of most developing countries, namely the importance of non-commercial sources of biomass energy in the energy systems of these countries, and the enormous diversity and inequity in the patterns of energy access and use across households with different lifestyles and levels of well being.
An ecological and societal approach to biological control
Biological control is among the most promising methods for control of pests (including vectors), diseases and weeds. In this book ecological and societal aspects are for the first time treated together. In an ecological approach the aim is to evaluate the significance of certain biological properties like biodiversity and natural habitats. Also, it is important to see biological control from an organic (or ecological) farming point of view. In a societal approach terms like ‘consumer’s attitude’, ‘risk perception’, ‘learning and education’ and ‘value triangle’ are recognised as significant for biological production and human welfare.
Alternative Splicing and Disease
Splicing of primary RNA transcript, i.e. removal of introns and joining of exons to produce mature mRNAs competent for translation into proteins, is a quasi-systematic step of gene expression in higher organisms. However, this process is not unequivocal but can follow alternate pathways. Alternative splicing of a given transcript can therefore yield several distinct mRNAs encoding as many different proteins. Its full biological significance has not been appreciated until it was recognized that alternative splicing is so general as to affect about 75% of all human genes. Therefore, alternative splicing not only vastly increases protein diversity but also offers numerous opportunities for aberrant splicing events with pathological consequences.
Altering nature ; Vol.2 : Religion, Biotechnology, and Public Policy
The two volumes of Altering Nature consider the complex ways that concepts of 'nature' and 'the natural' are understood and the relevance of those understandings to discussions of biotechnology.Volume Two, Religion, Biotechnology, and Public Policy, reviews recent religious and ethical analyses of four specific areas of biotechnology: assisted reproduction, genetic therapy and enhancement, human-machine incorporation, and biodiversity. It identifies and explores the richer normative themes that inform particular debates and suggests ways that policy choices in biotechnology may be illuminated by devoting greater attention to religious perspectives.
Algorithms and architectures for parallel processing ; 7th International Conference, ICA3PP 2007, Hangzhou, China, June 11-14, 2007, Proceedings
The improvements in computation and communication capabilities have enabled the creation of demanding applications in critical domains such as the environment, health, aerospace, and other areas of science and technology. Similarly, new classes of applications are enabled by the availability of heterogeneous large-scale distributed systems which are becoming available nowadays (based on technologies such as grid and peer-to-peer systems).Parallel computing systems exploit a large diversity of computer architectures, from supercomputers, shared-memory or distributed-memory multi processors, to local networks and clusters of p- sonal computers. With the recent emergence of multi core architectures, parallel computing is now set to achieve “mainstream” status. Approaches that have been advocated by parallel computing researchers in the past are now being utilized in a number of software libraries and hardware systems that are available for everyday use. Parallel computing ideas have also come to dominate areas such as multi user gaming (especially in the development of gaming engines based on “cell” arc- tectures).
Algebraic Groups and Lie Groups with Few Factors
Algebraic groups are treated in this volume from a group theoretical point of view and the obtained results are compared with the analogous issues in the theory of Lie groups. The main body of the text is devoted to a classification of algebraic groups and Lie groups having only few subgroups or few factor groups of different type. In particular, the diversity of the nature of algebraic groups over fields of positive characteristic and over fields of characteristic zero is emphasized. This is revealed by the plethora of three-dimensional unipotent algebraic groups over a perfect field of positive characteristic, as well as, by many concrete examples which cover an area systematically. In the final section, algebraic groups and Lie groups having many closed normal subgroups are determined.
Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments
ALGAE AND CYANOBACTRIA IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS is a unique collection of essays, contributed by leading scientists from around the world, devoted to algae – and some related microbes – observed in unexpected harsh habits, which it seems are an oasis or Garden of Eden for these organisms. This timely book on Extremophilic alga, including its especially impressive micrographs, may provide clues about the edges of life on Earth and possibly elsewhere in the universe. This volume is a must for students of the field of biodiversity, as well as those in Phycology, ecology and general biological research.
Agroforestry in Europe : Current Status and Future Prospects
Brings together some of the most important current research in European agroforestry, and evaluates the current scope and future potential of agroforestry across the EU.While the majority of Europe’s agroforestry practices are currently focused in the Mediterranean, this volume draws together examples from a wide range of countries – including Greece, Spain, the UK, Hungary, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Slovenia. The book also covers a range of agroforestry types, including silvopastoralism – Europe’s predominant form of agroforestry – as well as alley cropping, forest farming, silvoarable systems and the use of trees for shelter. Through these examples the book also discusses the potential roles for these traditional land management systems in addressing both environmental issues such as water quality, biodiversity conservation, desertification, ecosystem services and socioeconomic issues such as rural population stabilization.
Agroecology now! : Transformations towards more just and sustainable food systems
Develops a framework for advancing agroecology transformations focusing on power, politics and governance. It explores the potential of agroecology as a sustainable and socially just alternative to today’s dominant food regime. Agroecology is an ecological approach to farming that addresses climate change and biodiversity loss while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals
Agricultural biodiversity and biotechnology in economic development
The topics addressed in this book are of vital importance to the survival of humankind. Agricultural biodiversity, encompassing genetic diversity as well as human knowledge, is the base upon which agricultural production has been built, and protecting this resource is critical to ensuring the capacity of current and future generations to adapt to unforeseen challenges. Agricultural biodiversity underpins the productivity of all agricultural systems and is particularly important for poor and food-insecure farmers, who maintain highly diverse production systems in response to the marginal and risky production conditions they operate under. Understanding the importance of agricultural biodiversity in the livelihoods of the food insecure and enhancing its performance through the use of a variety of tools, including biotechnology, is a critically important issue in the world today
African Biodiversity : molecules, organisms, ecosystems
BIOTA is an interdisciplinary research project focusing on sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in Africa (http://www.biote-africa.de). Session titles were Biogeography and Speciation Processes, Phylogenetic Patterns and Systematics, Diversity Declines and Conservation, and Applied Biodiversity Informatics
Advances in wheat genetics : From genome to field : Proceedings of the 12th International wheat genetics symposium
Provides a comprehensive review of the forefront of wheat research, across various important topics such as germplasm and genetic diversity, cytogenetics and allopolyploid evolution, genome sequencing, structural and functional genomics, gene function and molecular biology, biotic stress, abiotic stress, grain quality, and classical and molecular breeding. Following an introduction, 9 parts of the book are dedicated to each of these topics. A final, 11th part entitled “Toward Sustainable Wheat Production” contains 7 excellent papers that were presented in the 12th IWGS Special Session supported by the OECD.
Advances in Integrated Soil Fertility Research in sub-Saharan Africa : Challenges and Opportunities
Food insecurity is a central concern and a fundamental challenge for human welfare and economic growth in Africa. Low agricultural production, results in low incomes, poor nutrition, vulnerability to risks and lack of empowerment. Land degradation and soil fertility depletion are considered the major threats to food security and natural resource conservation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Investments in technology, policy and institutional reforms are needed to increase agricultural productivity to ensure food security and sustained national economies. Past research has generated numerous soil fertility management technologies which if adopted could propel the African continent out of the poverty trap. However, these technologies have had little, if any, impact due to low adoption by the smallholder farmers.
