الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
Open and distance education in Asia, Africa and the Middle East : National perspectives in a digital age
This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: China, India, Russia, Turkey, South Africa and South Korea. It describes how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of the national higher education systems in these countries. It also explores the similarities and differences between how their open and distance higher education systems are managed and structured. The book compare and draw conclusions about the nature of open and distance education in the context of various national higher education systems. In a digital era characterized by the growing use of online, open and distance education, this book will prove particularly valuable for policy-makers and senior administrators who want to learn about establishing or expanding open and distance education services. In addition, it offers a valuable reference guide for researchers, academics and students interested in understanding the different approaches to open and distance education.
NF-kB/Rel Transcription Factor Family
Since its first discovery in the early 90’s, the NF-kB/Rel transcription factor family has drawn the attention of experimental biologists, medical profession, and biotech/pharmaceutical industries for its broad and diverse roles in all aspects of human biology and disease. NF-kB/Rel Transcription Factor Family intends to provide an up-to-date guide to the ever-expanding knowledge in the field of NF-kB/Rel transcription factor family.
NASAs Scientist-Astronauts
Mounting pressure in the early 1960s from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study ways of expanding the role of astronauts to conduct science on future space missions led to NASA’s conclusion that flying scientifically trained crewmembers would generate greater returns from each mission. NASA and industry studies continued investigating possibilities that could lead to the eventual creation of the first space stations using surplus Apollo hardware, through the Apollo Applications Programme (AAP).
Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptogenesis
Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptogenesis is a compilation of recent exciting findings that summarizes the ever-expanding knowledge of how neuronal contacts develop in the normal brain and how their functions are affected in mental disorders. In the last decade, advances in molecular and cellular biology, combined with the development of sophisticated fluorescence microscopy tools to visualize synapses in live neurons, have revealed many intriguing and unexpected findings regarding the dynamics of synapse formation. Studies by a number of researchers have identified several critical protein components of synapses and shown the time course of their arrival at the synapse. Several molecules serve to hold the synaptic contacts between nerve cells and regulate their function.
Molecular autoimmunity
The autoimmune disease paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria, a rare hemolytic disorder. After a century of research, the list of autoimmune diseases has become impressive. With a prevalence of approximately 5% of the world-wide population, these chronic, debilitating conditions affect almost every major organ of the body and, for reasons that remain unclear, are much more prevalent in woman than in men. Despite our rapidly expanding knowledge of the cellular and molecular pathways that govern a normal immune response, deciphering the precise etiology of autoimmune diseases remains an important challenge. Over the last few years, our understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases has improved rapidly, leading to the emergence of elegant immunointervention strategies. Molecular Autoimmunity illustrates how cutting-edge research is continuing to advance our understanding of autoimmune disease mechanisms and identifies novel therapeutic targets that provide a hope for effective future treatments. This volume contains a selected number of exciting advances in unraveling autoimmune reactions, and the resulting new armory of experimental immunotherapies that may lead to new ways of controlling autoimmune reactions.
Modeling and computations in electromagnetics ; A volume dedicated to Jean-Claude Nédélec
Modeling and computations in electromagnetics is a quite novel and growing discipline, expanding as a result of the steadily increasing demand for designing electrical devices, modeling electromagnetic materials, and simulating electromagnetic fields in nanoscale structures. The aim of this volume is to bring together prominent worldwide experts to review state-of-the-art developments and future trends of modeling and computations in electromagnetics. This volume is devoted to merging the expertise of scientists working in this dynamic discipline, and to raising interest for challenging issues. The most significant advances in computational techniques have been made only in the last few years, and several challenging technological applications are presented in this volume.
Microwave Methods in Organic Synthesis
We are delighted to present this volume with contributions from some of themost renowned and experienced microwave chemists today.The delivery and introduction of energy has been closely connected withthe discovery and investigation of new chemistry. It is with pleasure thatwe have seen an increased use of microwave irradiation over the years andwe hope that this volume will reflect the current interest in expanding thescope of microwave applications in both organic and medicinal chemistry. Oneimportant explanation behind the growth of microwave-enhanced chemistryhas been the introduction of dedicated microwave reactors.As a result of this development we are proud to present a diverse set of re-views.
Metabolome Analyses : Strategies for Systems Biology
Metabolome Analyses is intended as a follow-up to Metabolic Profiling: Its Role in Biomarker Discovery and Gene Function Analysis (Kluwer, 2003). That text offered guidelines to currently available technology, bioinformatics and databases. Evidence was presented showing metabolic profiling as a valuable addition to genomics and proteomics strategies devoted to drug discovery and development. This book focuses on how metabolic profiling is being more comprehensively integrated with the other "omics" technologies. It provides more practical applications of such "panomics" or "Systems Biology" approaches. The expanding use of mass spectrometry as a measurement technology in metabolic profiling is addressed through demonstrated applications. The integration of metabolic profiling and proteomics is probably most developed for plant-based studies, which was not addressed in Volume 1. Other areas related to metabolic profiling continue to show significant development. These include database strategies and an increased acceptance by the pharmaceutical industry of metabolic profiling. Also covered is the use of in silico metabolic networks. Again the focus is primarily on the pharmaceutical industry but the importance of metabolic profiling to studies on human nutrition (a burgeoning area) is discussed.
Medical Informatics : Knowledge Management and Data Mining in Biomedicine
Knowledge Management and Data Mining in Biomedicine covers the basic foundations of the area while extending the foundational material to include the recent leading-edge research in the field. The newer concepts, techniques, and practices of biomedical knowledge management and data mining are introduced and examined in detail. It is the research and applications in these areas that are raising the technical horizons and expanding the utility of informatics to an increasing number of biomedical professionals and researchers. These concepts and techniques are illustrated with detailed case studies.
Mechanics of Biological Tissue
The mechanics of biological tissues is a multidisciplinary and rapidly expanding area of research. This book highlights some important research directions that combine mechanical sciences with exciting new developments in biology. This collection of papers should be of interest to theoretical, computational and experimental researchers and doctoral students in the area of biomechanics and in related areas of engineering, biology and medicine.
Measurement, Control, and Communication Using IEEE 1588
IEEE 1588, published in November 2002, is a technology new to the engineering community expanding the performance capabilities of Ethernet networks so that they become relevant for measurement and control; this monograph embodies the first unified treatment of the associated technology, standards and applications. Readers unfamiliar with IEEE 1588 will gain understanding of the context of the technology it represents and, from three chapters of case studies, its role in a variety of application settings.
Mathematical Morphology : 40 Years On ; Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Mathematical Morphology, April 18-20, 2005
Mathematical Morphology is a speciality in Image Processing and Analysis, which considers images as geometrical objects, to be analyzed through their interactions with other geometrical objects. It relies on several branches of mathematics, such as discrete geometry, topology, lattice theory, partial differential equations, integral geometry and geometrical probability. It has produced fast and efficient algorithms for computer analysis of images, and has found applications in bio-medical imaging, materials science, geoscience, remote sensing, quality control, document processing and data analysis. This book contains the 43 papers presented at the 7th International Symposium on Mathematical Morphology, held in Paris on April 18-20, 2005. It gives a lively state of the art of current research topics in this field. It also marks a milestone, the 40 years of uninterrupted development of this ever-expanding domain.
Islamic banking and finance
Explores the nature and role of money in modern economies and elaborates on the process of credit deposit creation, trade cycles and instruments for the creation of value in financial markets through the perspectives of Islamic finance. The author explains its characteristics, especially the rationale for the lack of interest-based financial activities. He examines the intrinsic ethical and humanistic frameworks that govern financial theories and practices and the models for the creation of value, risk-sharing and socially responsible investing, as well as the governance and regulation that these systems follow. The author also does a comparative assessment of conventional financial systems with Islamic finance with relevant examples, assesses the performance of Islamic systems and examines existing and expanding markets for Islamic finance.
Introducing Blockchain with Java : Program, Implement, and Extend Blockchains with Java
Includes numerous exercises and test questions to help you solidify what you have learned as you progress through the book, and provides ideas on expanding the codebase to make it your own. You will have access to a fully-functioning repository with Java code. You will have the knowledge necessary to program your own blockchains with Java and you will have a completed project for your portfolio. You will: Know the most important theoretical concepts of the blockchain / Code the blockchain in Java / Create a user interface with JavaFX / Implement SQLite DB using JDBC Driver / Create a P2P multi-threaded app / Create your own cryptocurrency app with full functionality / Implement blockchain technology on a P2P network from scratch using Java, JavaFX, and SQL
International Handbook of Career Guidance
In this handbook bred together a collection that summarises the diverse aspects of career guidance. It is a synthesis of the domain of career and vo- tional guidance firstly for an international readership and secondly it is designed to act as a reference for academics, researchers and professionals in the expanding field of career development. For this reason the Handbook includes coverage of the ba- ground and history of guidance right through to poignant issues relating to careers in the modern world of work. Policy issues relating to the provision of careers services as well as professional issues relating to career education, career counselling, career assessment, program evaluation and research methodologies are covered.
International Competitiveness in Africa : Policy Implications in the Sub-Saharan Region
The effects of international trade and foreign direct investment on developing economies have always been controversial. With the unstoppable spread of globalization and the supremacy of "open" policies over "closed" ones, the debate between "participating" and "not participating" in the world economy has been superseded by discussions on the best policy measures for expanding participation and enhancing the accrued welfare gains. Policies to strengthen international competitiveness are almost unanimously considered important means towards those ends. This book examines two policies frequently used to enhance international competitiveness in Sub-Saharan African economies: exchange rate policy and productivity-related policy.
Infection Control in the Intensive Care Unit
Infection Control in the Intensive Care Unit has been entirely rewritten in this second edition. All statements are justified by the best available evidence, avoiding unsubstantiated expert opinion. The book contains a new section dedicated to the microbiology of the critically ill, specifically, how to process and interpret surveillance cultures to distinguish the ‘normal’ from the ‘abnormal’ carrier state. There are five totally new chapters dealing with evidence-based infection control molecular techniques for outbreak analysis; clinical virology in neonatal, paediatric and adult intensive care; the six basic principles of the therapy of an infection; and the role of the pharmacist in infection control. Attention is given to special topics such as nutrition, gut mucosal protection and the control of antimicrobial resistance. The addition of enteral to parenteral antimicrobials contributes to the control of multi-resistant micro-organisms. This completely revised second edition is a ‘must have’ for anyone requiring in depth knowledge in the ever expanding field of infection control.
High value fermentation products ; Vol.1 : Human health
This book describes relevant aspects of industrial-scale fermentation, an expanding area of activity, which already generates commercial values of over one third of a trillion US dollars annually, and which will most likely radically change the way we produce chemicals in the long-term future. From biofuels and bulk amino acids to monoclonal antibodies and stem cells, they all rely on mass suspension cultivation of cells in stirred bioreactors, which is the most widely used and versatile way to produce.
Healthy Longevity in China : Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Psychological Dimensions
China is aging at an extraordinary speed and has the largest quantity of elderly persons in the world. Scholars utilize this unprecedented living experience of human being and the unique Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) datasets with the aim to answer in this volume the following questions critical to the aging population world wide. Is the period of disability compressing or expanding with increasing life expectancy and what factors are associated with these trends in the recent decades? Is it possible to realize morbidity compression with a prolongation of the life span in the future?The first section of the book presents the CLHLS project’s study design, sample distribution, contents of data collected, and assessments of age reporting and data quality. The remaining chapters are grouped into sections dealing with the demographic, social, economic, familial and psychological dimensions of healthy longevity.
Handbook of Spatial Logics
The aim of this handbook is to create, for the first time, a systematic account of the field of spatial logic. The book comprises a general introduction, followed by fourteen chapters by invited authors. Each chapter provides a self-contained overview of its topic, describing the principal results obtained to date, explaining the methods used to obtain them, and listing the most important open problems. Jointly, these contributions constitute a comprehensive survey of this rapidly expanding subject.
