Climatic Change and its Impacts : An Overview Focusing on Switzerland
This book focuses upon climate processes, variability and change and applies the general principles related to these issues, particularly in Switzerland. Although a small country, Switzerland is characterized by complex topography where climatic processes are often enhanced due to the presence of the Alps. In addition, there is a remarkable density of observational data in both the natural and social sciences that enable a comprehensive assessment of climate processes, their long-term trends and their impacts. This book is intended for students from the undergraduate level onwards and researchers interested in climate issues specific to the alpine region.
Climate Variability, Predictability and Climate Risks : A European Perspective
This book provides an integrated assessment of issues related to climate variability and change, predictability and risks. It details both the technical aspects of variability and abrupt climate change and the agricultural and economical impacts and consequences.
Climate Variability and Extremes during the Past 100 Years
This volume provides an up to date overview of climate variability during the 20th century in the context of natural and anthropogenic variability. It compiles a number of contributions to a workshop held in Gwatt, Switzerland, in July 2006 dealing with different aspects of climate change, variability, and extremes during the past 100 years.
Climate prediction and agriculture : Advances and challenges
Improved adaptation of food production, particularly in areas where climate variability is large, holds the key to improving food security for human populations. Increasing climate knowledge and improved prediction capabilities facilitate the development of relevant climate information and prediction products for applications in agriculture to reduce the negative impacts due to climate variations and to enhance planning activities based on the developing capacity of climate science. This book, based on an International Workshop held in Geneva in 2005, reviews the advances made so far in seasonal climate predictions and their applications for management and decision-making in agriculture and identifies the challenges to be addressed in the next 5 to 10 years to further enhance operational applications of climate predictions in agriculture, especially in the developing countries.
Climate Change and Community Resilience : Insights from South Asia
Documents myriads of ways community-based climate change adaptation and resilience programs are being implemented in South Asian countries. The narrative style of writing in this volume makes it accessible to a diverse audience from academics and researchers to practitioners in various governmental, non-governmental and international agencies. At a time when climate change presents humanity with a gloomy future, the stories of innovation, creativity, grassroots engagement and locally applicable solutions highlighted in this book provides insights into hopeful ways of approaching climate solutions.
Climate and Land Degradation
In many parts of the world, climatic variations are recognized as one of the major factors contributing to land degradation impacting on agricultural systems performance and management. To accurately assess sustainable land management practices, the climate resources and the risk of climate-related or induced natural disasters in a region must be known. Only when climate resources are paired with management or development practices can the land degradation potential be assessed and appropriate mitigation technologies be developed. This book is based on an International Workshop held in Arusha, Tanzania and should be of interest to all organizations and agencies interested in sustainable land management to arrest land degradation.
Clays
Here is a comprehensive and up to-do-date presentation of the origins, and properties of clay minerals at the Earths surface. Concluding chapters show that clay minerals can form in variety of different environments: meteorites, lavas, subduction zones, among others.
Classification and Clustering for Knowledge Discovery
This book covers recent advances in unsupervised and supervised data analysis methods in Computational Intelligence for knowledge discovery. In its first part the book provides a collection of recent research on distributed clustering, self organizing maps and their recent extensions. If labeled data or data with known associations are available, we may be able to use supervised data analysis methods, such as classifying neural networks, fuzzy rule-based classifiers, and decision trees. Therefore this book presents a collection of important methods of supervised data analysis. "Classification and Clustering for Knowledge Discovery" also includes variety of applications of knowledge discovery in health, safety, commerce, mechatronics, sensor networks, and telecommunications.
Classical Methods of Statistics : With Applications in Fusion-Oriented Plasma Physics
Classical Methods of Statistics is a blend of theory and practical statistical methods written for graduate students and researchers interested in applications to plasma physics and its experimental aspects. It can also fruitfully be used by students majoring in probability theory and statistics. In the first part, the mathematical framework and some of the history of the subject are described. Many exercises help readers to understand the underlying concepts. In the second part, two case studies are presented exemplifying discriminant analysis and multivariate profile analysis. The introductions of these case studies outline contextual magnetic plasma fusion research. In the third part, an overview of statistical software is given and, in particular, SAS and S-PLUS are discussed. In the last chapter, several datasets with guided exercises, predominantly from the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak, are included and their physical background is concisely described. The book concludes with a list of essential keyword translations.
Classes of Finite Groups
Many group theorists all over the world have been trying in the last twenty-five years to extend and adapt the magnificent methods of the Theory of Finite Soluble Groups to the more ambitious universe of all finite groups. This is a natural progression after the classification of finite simple groups but the achievements in this area are scattered in various papers.Our objectives in this book were to gather, order and examine all this material, including the latest advances made, give a new approach to some classic topics, shed light on some fundamental facts that still remain unpublished and present some new subjects of research in the theory of classes of finite, not necessarily solvable, groups.
Clashes of Knowledge : Orthodoxies and Heterodoxies in Science and Religion
"Clashes of Knowledge" is the first volume of a series called "Knowledge and Space" dealing with spatial disparities of knowledge and the impact of the spatial context on the production and application of knowledge. The contributions in this book explore the conflicts between various types of knowledge, especially between orthodox and heterodox knowledge systems, which range from religious fundamentalism to heresies within the scientific community itself.
China: Bioethics, Trust, and The Challenge Of The Market
This volume provides a unique perspective on the market reforms currently taking place in Chinese health care. The authors come to grips with the changes taking place in Chinese health care and its effect on the traditional doctor-patient relationship, but also its positive effects on the availability and quality of health care particularly in urban areas. In doing so the various authors wrestle with moral, political and social issues deeply ingrained in Chinese culture as well as the perceived practical and moral difficulties associated with the change to a market oriented economy especially in area of health care.
Chemical Sensors : An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers
Research in the area of chemical and biochemical sensors and the development of respective applications is still growing rapidly. In the last decade it has become evident that the successful development of chemical and biochemical sensors resistant to the harsh conditions in the various routine applications calls for a cooperation between chemists and engineers.Thus, this book aims at instructing researcher and practitioners in both disciplines in a strictly systematic, interdisciplinary and practice-oriented way about the basic technology of chemical and biochemical sensors. This concise volume bridges the gap between the different "ways of thinking" in chemistry, physics and engineering
Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Dynamics
Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Dynamics brings together the major facts and theories relating to the rates with which chemical reactions occur from both the macroscopic and microscopic point of view. This book helps the reader achieve a thorough understanding of the principles of chemical kinetics and includes: *Detailed stereochemical discussions of reaction steps *Classical theory based calculations of state-to-state rate constants *A collection of matters on kinetics of various special reactions such as micellar catalysis, phase transfer catalysis, inhibition processes, oscillatory reactions, solid-state reactions, and polymerization reactions at a single source. The growth of the chemical industry greatly depends on the application of chemical kinetics, catalysts and catalytic processes.
Chemical Genomics ; Vol.58 : Small Molecule Probes to Study Cellular Function
Chemical genomics is a highly interdisciplinary and very exciting field of research both in academics and in the life sciences industry.Various aspects of the interface between chemistry and biology are covered in this volume, such as chemogenomics efforts in the pharmaceutical industry, diversity-oriented synthesis, chemogenomic approaches to the study of cell function, screening technologies, and natural products as tools in chemical biology.
Characterization II
Molecular Sieves - Science and Technology covers, in a comprehensive manner, the science and technology of zeolites and all related microporous and mesoporous materials. Authored by renowned experts, the contributions to this handbook-like series are grouped together topically in such a way that each volume deals with a specific sub-field. Volume 5 complements Volume 4 (Characterization I) in that it is devoted to the characterization of molecular sieves by a variety of non-spectroscopic techniques (Characterization II). Thus, Volume 5 comprises Chemical Analysis, Thermal Analysis, Pore-Size Characterization by Molecular Probes, Characterization by 129Xe NMR, Coke Characterization, Synthesis and Characterization of Isomorphously Substituted Molecular Sieves.
Characterisation in Federations : Six Countries Compared
In this work Dr. Taylor surveys the federal countries of the world and asks how they divide power among the constituent units of the federation. In so doing, he considers not only the formal constitutional text, but, far more importantly, the case law that has grown up around it as the Courts develop approaches to interpreting provisions for the distribution of powers. This enables conclusions to be drawn about the effectiveness of various structural and interpretative approaches to the distribution of powers within federations.
Chance Rules : An informal guide to probability, risk and statistics
This second edition of Chance Rules again recounts the story of chance through history and the various ways it impacts on our lives. Here you can read about the earliest gamblers who thought that the fall of the dice was controlled by the gods, as well as the modern geneticist and quantum theory researcher trying to integrate aspects of probability into their chosen speciality. Example included in the first addition such as the infamous Monty Hall problem, tossing coins, coincidences, horse racing, birthdays and babies remain, often with an expanded discussion, in this edition. Additional material in the second edition includes, a probabilistic explanation of why things were better when you were younger, consideration of whether you can use probability to prove the existence of God, how long you may have to wait to win the lottery, some court room dramas, predicting the future, and how evolution scores over creationism. Chance Rules lets you learn about probability without complex mathematics.
Challenges to the second law of thermodynamics : Theory and experiment
The second law of thermodynamics is considered one of the central laws of science, engineering and technology. For over a century it has been assumed to be inviolable by the scientific community. Over the last 10-20 years, however, more than two dozen challenges to it have appeared in the physical literature - more than during any other period in its 150-year history. The number and variety of these represent a cogent threat to its absolute status. This is the first book to document and critique these modern challenges. Written by two leading exponents of this rapidly emerging field, it covers the theoretical and experimental aspects of principal challenges. In addition, unresolved foundational issues concerning entropy and the second law are explored. This book should be of interest to anyone whose work or research is touched by the second law.
Cellulose : Molecular and Structural Biology : Selected Articles on the Synthesis, Structure, and Applications of Cellulose
Cellulose: Molecular and Structural Biology is an up-to-date treatise on the most advanced and provocative research into the biosynthesis, structure, and applications of nature’s most abundant macromolecule and renewable resource, cellulose.Molecular, biochemical, and evolutionary aspects of cellulose biosynthesis are reviewed in a variety of living organisms, including cyanobacteria, eubacteria, (Acetobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli), vascular plants (including Arabidopsis, forest trees, and maize), and tunicates.



















