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Old and New Perspectives on Mortality Forecasting
This book describes methods of mortality forecasting and discusses possible improvements. It contains a selection of previously unpublished and published papers, which together provide a state-of-the-art overview of statistical approaches as well as behavioural and biological perspectives. The different parts of the book provide discussions of current practice, probabilistic forecasting, the linearity in the increase of life expectancy, causes of death, and the role of cohort factors.
Novel mouse model for future autism research
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by a deficit in social behaviors and nonverbal interactions such as reduced eye contact, facial expression, and body gestures in the first 3 years of life. It is not a single disorder, and it is broadly considered to be a multi-factorial disorder resulting from genetic and non-genetic risk factors and their interaction. Genetic studies of ASD have identified mutations that interfere with typical neurodevelopment in utero through childhood. These complexes of genes have been involved in synaptogenesis and axon motility. Recent developments in neuroimaging studies have provided many important insights into the pathological changes that occur in the brain of patients with ASD in vivo. Especially, the role of amygdala, a major component of the limbic system and the affective loop of the cortico-striatothalamo-cortical circuit, in cognition and ASD has been proved in numerous neuropathological and neuroimaging studies.
Nordic consumer culture : State, market and consumers
Unpacking the complexities of Nordic consumer culture, this edited collection responds to the growing interest in regionalism within consumer research and marketing. By taking a closer look at the interaction between the state and the market in Nordic countries, The authors examine how consumer behaviour is impacted by the region’s unique context. Important elements of Nordic culture are explored, Such as its underlying element of mythology and the concept of ‘hygge,’ an object of global consumption.
Non-spectral Asymptotic Analysis of One-Parameter Operator Semigroups
In this book, non-spectral methods are presented and discussed that have been developed over the last two decades for the investigation of asymptotic behavior of one-parameter operator semigroups in Banach spaces. This concerns in particular Markov semigroups in L1-spaces, motivated by applications to probability theory and dynamical systems. Recently many results on the asymptotic behaviour of Markov semigroups were extended to positive semigroups in Banach lattices with order-continuous norm, and to positive semigroups in non-commutative L1-spaces. Related results, historical notes, exercises, and open problems accompany each chapter.
Nonlinear Parabolic-Hyperbolic Coupled Systems and Their Attractors
This book presents recent results concerning the global existence in time, the large-time behaviour, decays of solutions and the existence of global attractors for some nonlinear parabolic-hyperbolic coupled systems of evolutionary partial differential equations arising from physics, mechanics and material science, such as the compressible Navier-Stokes equations, thermo(visco)elastic systems and elastic systems. To keep the book as self-contained as possible, the first chapter introduces to the needed results and tools from functional analysis, Sobolev spaces, differential and integral inequa.
Nonlinear Optimization with Financial Applications
The book introduces the key ideas behind practical nonlinear optimization. Computational finance—an increasingly popular area of mathematics degree programmes—is combined here with the study of an important class of numerical techniques. The essentials of most currently popular algorithms are described and their performance is demonstrated on a range of optimization problems arising in financial mathematics. Theoretical convergence properties of methods are stated and formal proofs are provided in enough cases to be instructive rather than overwhelming. Practical behaviour of methods is illustrated by computational examples and discussions of efficiency, accuracy and computational costs. Supporting software for the examples and exercises is available
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) : Examining the impact on consumers and marketing strategies
Focuses on the relevance of non-fungible token-based products in the current hyper-digitalized and hyper-connected world. Connecting the new NFTs’ technologies with academic literature on marketing, the authors highlight future research streams as well as strategies and factors that marketers and managers can use to promote this new type of product.
Non-Equilibrium Phase Transitions ; Vol. I : Absorbing Phase Transitions
This book describes two main classes of non-equilibrium phase-transitions: (a) static and dynamics of transitions into an absorbing state, and (b) dynamical scaling in far-from-equilibrium relaxation behaviour and ageing. The first volume begins with an introductory chapter which recalls the main concepts of phase-transitions, set for the convenience of the reader in an equilibrium context. The extension to non-equilibrium systems is made by using directed percolation as the main paradigm of absorbing phase transitions and in view of the richness of the known results an entire chapter is devoted to it, including a discussion of recent experimental results. Scaling theories and a large set of both numerical and analytical methods for the study of non-equilibrium phase transitions are thoroughly discussed.
Nitrogen-fixing Leguminous Symbioses
This book is the self-contained final volume of a comprehensive seven-volume series covering the basic and applied science relating to nitrogen fixation. It addresses the most important nitrogen-fixing symbiosis of all – that between legumes and their root-nodule bacteria – and therefore deals with the properties and behaviour of both macro- and micro-symbiont.
Nexus Network Journal 9,2 : Architecture and Mathematics
This volume is dedicated to "Mechanics in Architecture", that is, the science of structural mechanics, including the behaviour of structures, internal forces, and deformation, as well as the development of new structural systems to resist thrusts as a result of new architectural forms. It is a field of enquiry that examines a particular aspect of the relationships between architecture and the mathematical sciences. Some of the papers in this issue were presented at the Nexus 2006 conference during a special session dedicated to mechanics. Other research papers focus on an eighteenth-century Belgian pyramid, aspects of "fractal" architecture, and properties of a family of irrational values. The issue also includes a description and evaluation of a university-level course in architecture and mathematics, Rachel Fletcher's Geometer's Angle column, and book reviews.
New Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policies and the Enlargement of the Eurozone
This work examines the political economy of exchange-rate policies in the context of the eastward enlargement of the eurozone. The analysis shows that prospective members of the EMU are likely to pass on some of the incurred Maastricht costs of convergence to the current EMU-members. The transmission mechanism is an altered exchange-rate policy that is carried out utilizing a "threaten-thy-neighbour"-strategy. The nature of the arising conflict between current and prospective EMU-members originates from both parties' admitted inclination to complete the enlargement process, complicated by their disinclination to bear the costs. The ensuing moral-hazard behaviour of the CEECs proves to be one of brinkmanship.
New Developments in Classification and Data Analysis ; Proceedings of the Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group (CLADAG) of the Italian Statistical Society, University of Bologna, September 22-24, 2003
This volume contains revised versions of selected papers presented during the biannual meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of SocietA Italiana di Statistica, which was held in Bologna, September 22-24, 2003. The scientific program of the conference included 80 contributed papers. the conference provided a large number of scientists and experts from home and abroad with an attractive forum for discussions and mutual exchange of knowledge. The talks in the different sessions focused on methodological developments in supervised and unsupervised classification and in data analysis, also p- viding relevant contributions in the context of applications. This suggested the presentation of the 43 selected papers in three parts as follows: CLASSIFICATION AND CLUSTERING Non parametric classification Clustering and dissimilarities MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS AND DATA ANALYSIS APPLIED MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS Environmental data Microarray data Behavioural and text data Financial data
New Advances in Virtual Humans: Artificial Intelligence Environment
In this book, various aspects of cognitive and emotional behaviour is described. In chapter one, a state of the art introduction to VH is presented and the associated research is given. In Chapter 2, cognitive and emotions processes are described. A Comprehensive context model for multi-party interactions with the VH is given in the next chapter. Finally, it is very important to model the socializing of groups of virtual humans. This is discussed in Chapter 4. The automatic modelling of expressions for VH is described in Chapter 5. The last chapter gives a case study of an intelligent kios avatar and its usability.
Networked Embedded Sensing and Control ; Workshop NESC'05 : University of Notre Dame, USA, October 2005 Proceedings
Recent technological developments in sensing, communications, control and computation have created an emerging class of complex systems hereon called networked embedded systems. These systems can be roughly described as collections of spatially distributed sensors, actuators and controllers whose behaviour is coordinated through wired or wireless communication links. This integration between different technologies and scientific domains presents new and challenging fundamental problems underlying the theoretical foundations for this class of systems. This workshop aims at bringing together researchers working of different aspects of networked embedded systems in order to exchange research experiences and to identify the main scientific challenges in this exciting new area.
Multiscale fatigue crack initiation and propagation of engineering materials ; Structural integrity and microstructural worthiness : Fatigue crack growth behaviour of small and large bodies
This book elucidates the correlation of fatigue crack growth data to multiscale cracking, particularly to the understanding of micrographs influenced by mechanical disturbance and thermodynamic variables. Attention is given to the interpretation of test data by fatigue crack growth rate using two empirical parameters in consistence with the fracture control methodology currently used by industry.
Multi-Agent Systems and Applications ; 9th ECCAI Advanced Course ACAI 2001 and Agent Link's 3rd European Agent Systems Summer School, EASSS 2001, Prague, Czech Republic, July 2-13, 2001. Selected Tutorial Papers
The Advanced Course on Artificial Intelligence ACAI 2001 with the subtitle M ulti- Agent Systems and Their Applications , held in Prague, Czech Republic, was a joint event of ECCAI (the European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence) and AgentLink, the European Network of Excellence for Agent-Based Computing. Whereas ECCAI organizes two-week ACAI courses on different topics every second year, AgentLink s European Agent Systems Summer School (EASSS) has been an annual event since 1999. This year, both of these important events were merged together, giving weight to the fact that multi-agent systems currently represent one of the hottest topics in AI research. The name, ACAI 2001 Summer School, is intended to emphasize that this event continues the tradition of regular ECCAI activities (ACAI), as well as the EASSS summer schools of AgentLink.
MSC Maximal Stress Cooperation
In 1996 my book ‘The Nature of Cultures’ appeared in Vi- na and New York. It describes cultures as systems which are controlled by MSC and decorum. While MSC is a neologism meaning ‘maximal stress cooperation’ decorum is a very old term. It is as old as Western culture itself, and is furthermore, the translation of the even older Greek word ‘prepon’. Decorum and prepon mean ‘to be suitable, to be fitting’. It is all about the fitting of cultural medial contents to elementary cultural behavioural types and behavioural phases. These behavioural units are subject to a type of ranking system in which that which is essential is sorted from that which less essential. - corum then means – the representations of the media must ‘fit’ the ranking of the cultural behaviour. It is MSC which assumes the top position in this ranking. In 1996 and the two previous years when I was working on my book ‘The Nature of Cultures’ less than 5 years had passed since the Iron Curtain had been lifted. Many believed at that time that with ending of the Cold War, which was more or less de facto peace anyway, that a new and better age of peace was dawning.
Mosquito Ecology : Field Sampling Methods
The purpose of this book is in keeping with the original vision of Professor Service to describe the methods and rationale for sampling mosquitoes, with particular emphasis on the ecology and behaviour of those species that play a role as vectors of human and animal diseases and infections. The book is designed to serve as a practical reference for field entomologists and mosquito control specialists and describes the sampling methods and available trapping technologies and tools for the collection of all life-stages of mosquitoes, from egg to adult. It also describes the techniques available for data analysis and discusses ecological principles of relevance to the study of field populations of mosquitoes. While concentrating primarily on mosquitoes, many of the techniques described are suitable for the study of other Diptera, including Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, Simuliidae, Phlebotominae, etc.
Models, Mysteries, and Magic of Molecules
Molecular behaviour, which is no less than magical, holds the key to the understanding, not only of chemistry, but of all biology and of life itself. It is a mystery why molecular behaviour should remain poorly understood and why the authoritative theories of physics have produced no more than superficial models to elucidate this vital issue. This book explores the common ground to guide chemists, biologists, crystallographers, spectroscopists and theorists into a deeper recognition of their individual relevance towards painting a holistic picture of scientific endeavour. This effort to stimulate interest in multidisciplinary research is rare, if not unique.
Modelling, Monitoring and Diagnostic Techniques for Fluid Power Systems
Modelling, Monitoring and Diagnostic Techniques for Fluid Power Systems covers the background theory of fluid power and indicates the range of concepts necessary for a modern approach to condition monitoring and fault diagnosis in a readable and understandable fashion. The theory is constantly leavened by 15 years' worth of practical measurements by the author, working in association with major fluid power companies, and real industrial case studies – hot-strip-mill monitoring in conjunction with Corus p.l.c. being just one example. Comprising four parts, it provides: • an introduction to component behaviour. • a guide to the modelling methods employed for circuit analysis. • methods for doing condition monitoring. • common faults and breakdowns.
