Modelling water and nutrient dynamics in soil-crop systems : Applications of different models to common data sets - Proceedings of a workshop held 2004 in Müncheberg, Germany
This book contains articles from a workshop on "Modelling water and nutrient dynamics in crop-soil systems". Data sets from lysimeters and experimental fields of multiyear crop rotations were provided for modellers. A unique data set is provided of a 100 year long term field experiment regarding crop yield and organic carbon development under different management systems. The book includes a detailed description of data sets which can be used by modellers and the papers describe the applications of 18 different modelling approaches describing soil-crop-atmosphere interactions for water, nitrogen and carbon dynamics.
Modelling Regional Scenarios for the Enlarged Europe : European Competitiveness and Global Strategies
The aim of this book is to tackle the question of what the European territory will look like over the next fifteen years by providing quali-quantitative territorial scenarios for the enlarged Europe, under different assumptions on future globalisation strategies of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and East and West European countries. The approach is as neutral as possible vis-à-vis the results, leaving to a new forecasting model, the MASST model, built by the authors, to produce the tendencies and behavioural paths of regional GDP and population growth in each individual European region under alternative assumptions on the competitiveness strategies of different blocks of countries. The results are accompanied by strong policy messages intended to encourage long-term strategic thinking among a wide range of actors, scientists and policy makers in response to the risks and opportunities that the European territory will face.
Modeling Solid Oxide Fuel Cells : Methods, Procedures and Techniques
The volume is structured in two parts. Part one presents the basic theory, and the general equations describing SOFC operation phenomena. Part two deals with the application of the theory to practical examples, where different SOFC geometries, configurations (from single cells to hybrid systems), operating conditions (steady-state and dynamic), and different phenomena (e.g. performance, temperature and chemical species, and mechanical stress distribution) are analyzed in detail.
Modeling and Retrieval of Context ; 2nd International Workshop, MRC 2005, Edinburgh, UK, July 31-August 1, 2005, Revised Selected Papers
Computing in context has become a necessity in modern and intelligent IT - plications. With the use of mobile devices and current research on ubiquitous computing, context-awareness has become a major issue. However, context and context-awareness are crucial not only for mobile and ubiquitous computing. They are also vital for spanning various application areas, such as collaborative softwareand Web engineering,personaldigital assistantsand peer-to-peer inf- mation sharing, health care work?ow and patient control, and adaptive games and e-learning solutions. In these areas, context serves as a major source for reasoning, decision making, and adaptation, as it covers not only application knowledge but also environmental knowledge.Likewise, modeling and retrieving context is an important part of modern knowledge management processes.
Mobility, data mining and privacy : Geographic knowledge discovery
This book assesses this research frontier from a computer science perspective, investigating the various scientific and technological issues, open problems, and roadmap. The editors manage a research project called GeoPKDD, Geographic Privacy-Aware Knowledge Discovery and Delivery, funded by the EU Commission and involving 40 researchers from 7 countries, and this book tightly integrates and relates their findings in 13 chapters covering all related subjects, including the concepts of movement data and knowledge discovery from movement data; privacy-aware geographic knowledge discovery; wireless network and next-generation mobile technologies; trajectory data models, systems and warehouses; privacy and security aspects of technologies and related regulations; querying, mining and reasoning on spatiotemporal data; and visual analytics methods for movement data.
Mobile Professional Voluntarism and International Development : Killing Me Softly?
This book explores the impact that professional volunteers have on the low resource countries they choose to spend time in. Whilst individual volunteering may be of immediate benefit to individual patients, this intervention may have detrimental effects on local health systems; distorting labour markets, accentuating dependencies and creating opportunities for corruption. Improved volunteer deployment may avoid these risks and present opportunities for sustainable systems change. The empirical research presented in this book stems from a specific volunteering intervention funded by the Tropical Health Education Trust and focused on improving maternal and newborn health in Uganda.
Mitigation of Natural Hazards and Disasters : International Perspectives
This book examines the aspects of prevention, mitigation, and management of environmental hazards and disasters from an international perspective. In light of the recent debate on climate change and the possible effects of such a change upon increasing frequency and magnitude of extreme environmental events, this publication overviews various policy and response discourse. Several case studies, from various countries and world regions, depicting recent experience in mitigation policy and program development and implementation and establishing interlinks between vulnerability and mitigation are presented to provide further insights.
Mirror Geometry of Lie Algebras, Lie Groups and Homogeneous Spaces
As K. Nomizu has justly noted [K. Nomizu, 56], Differential Geometry ever will be initiating newer and newer aspects of the theory of Lie groups. This monograph is devoted to just some such aspects of Lie groups and Lie algebras. New differential geometric problems came into being in connection with so called subsymmetric spaces, subsymmetries, and mirrors introduced in our works dating back to 1957 [L.V. Sabinin, 58a,59a,59b]. In addition, the exploration of mirrors and systems of mirrors is of interest in the case of symmetric spaces. Geometrically, the most rich in content there appeared to be the homogeneous Riemannian spaces with systems of mirrors generated by commuting subsymmetries, in particular, so called tri-symmetric spaces introduced in [L.V. Sabinin, 61b]. As to the concrete geometric problem which needs be solved and which is solved in this monograph, we indicate, for example, the problem of the classification of all tri-symmetric spaces with simple compact groups of motions. Passing from groups and subgroups connected with mirrors and subsymmetries to the corresponding Lie algebras and subalgebras leads to an important new concept of the involutive sum of Lie algebras [L.V. Sabinin, 65]. This concept is directly concerned with unitary symmetry of elementary par- cles (see [L.V. Sabinin, 95,85] and Appendix 1). The first examples of involutive (even iso-involutive) sums appeared in the - ploration of homogeneous Riemannian spaces with and axial symmetry. The consideration of spaces with mirrors [L.V. Sabinin, 59b] again led to iso-involutive sums.
Mining Complex Data ; ECML/PKDD 2007 Third International Workshop, MCD 2007, Warsaw, Poland, September 17-21, 2007, Revised Selected Papers
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Mining Complex Data, MCD 2007, held in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2007, co-located with ECML and PKDD 2007.The 20 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected; they present original results on knowledge discovery from complex data. In contrast to the typical tabular data, complex data can consist of heterogenous data types, can come from different sources, or live in high dimensional spaces. All these specificities call for new data mining strategies.
Migration to and from Welfare States : Lived Experiences of the Welfare–Migration Nexus in a Globalised World
This book explores the role of family, public, market and third sector welfare provision for individual and households’ decisions regarding geographical mobility. It challenges the state-centred approach in research on welfare and migration by emphasising migrants’ own reflections and experiences.
Migration and Social Protection in Europe and Beyond ; Vol.3 : A Focus on Non-EU Sending States
This third and last volume in the series takes the perspective of non-EU countries on immigrant social protection. By focusing on 12 of the largest sending countries to the EU, the book tackles the issue of the multiple areas of sending state intervention towards migrant populations.
Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Integration in European Labour Markets : A Comparative Approach on Legal Barriers and Enablers
This book discusses how, and to what extent, the legal and institutional regimes and the socio-cultural environments of a range of European countries (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK), in the framework of EU laws and policies, have a beneficial or negative impact on the effective capacity of these countries to integrate migrants, refugees and asylum seekers into their labour markets.
Migrants and Expats : The Swiss Migration and Mobility Nexus
This book provides insight on current patterns of migration in Switzerland, which fall along a continuum from long-term and permanent to more temporary and fluid. These patterns are shaped by the interplay of legal norms, economic drivers and societal factors. The various dimensions of this Migration-Mobility Nexus are investigated by means of newly collected survey data: the Migration-Mobility Survey. The book covers different aspects of life in the host country, including the family dimension, the labour market and political participation as well as social integration. The book also takes into account the chronological dimension of migration by considering the migrants’ arrival, their stay, and their expectations regarding return.
Microwave Radiometry of Vegetation Canopies
Research into microwave radiation from the Earth’s surface in the presence of vegetation canopies, as well as the development of algorithms for retrieval of soil and vegetation parameters from microwave radiometric measurements, have been actively conducted for the last 30 years by scientific groups worldwide. The capability of the microwave radiometric method to determine soil moisture and vegetation biometric indices was revealed 25 years ago by the author and his colleagues. Soil moisture and vegetation covers play a key role in the hydrological cycle and in water and energy transfer on the border of land surface and atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration. Accomplishment of large international projects shows that microwave radiometry of soil and vegetation has become an instrument of practical application and operational use. A systematic account of questions concerning the microwave radiometry of the Earth’s surface in the presence of vegetation canopies is the main objective of the book.
Microorganisms in soils : Roles in genesis and functions
The following key topics are covered: Microorganisms in bioerosion, humification, mineralization and soil aggregation; Microbial energetics and microbes in biogeochemical processes such as carbon and nitrogen cycles and phosphorus bio-availability; Interactions in the mycorrhizosphere, e.g. between mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria; Impact of microbes on plant nutrient cycling and the possible effects of transgenic rhizospheres on soil fungi; Functions of microbes in specific soil compartments such as soil surface or toxic metal polluted soils; Regulation of microbial activities in functional domains that are influenced by biotic or abiotic factors; Use of marker genes and isotopes as examples for modern techniques in soil microbiology.
Micronutrients and macronutrients as nutraceuticals
Explains in detail the properties of micronutrients and macronutrients and their diverse uses as nutraceuticals for their beneficial properties, such as their antioxidant activity and immunity-boosting properties and how they can be incorporated into the human diet for optimum health, for growing beneficial bacteria in the gut, and inhibition of pathogens. Interestingly, the authors look at how disease-promoting habits often unfold in childhood, even prenatally, and employing nutrigenomics early on goes a long way toward curbing these chronic diseases later on in life.
Micronutrient Deficiencies in Global Crop Production
This book provides a valuable guide to the requirements of crops for plant micronutrients and the causes, occurrence and treatment of deficiencies. It is essential reading for many agronomy, plant nutrition and agricultural extension professionals.
Microfinance, EU structural funds and capacity building for managing authorities : A comparative analysis of European convergence regions
Presents a study of capacity building and structural funds in public managing authorities for the microcredit sector. It presents two surveys to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the managing authorities' capacity building. The first survey investigates the authorities' need for and interests in capacity building activities, assessing the areas in which capacity building support is needed, and explores the different types of support offered. The second survey analyses the results of the microcredit and microfinance programming activity, investigating its target groups and other operational features. It examines the key monitoring and reporting issues involved in this activity, before analysing the regulatory framework of the microcredit and microfinance sector.
Microbial Phosphate Solubilization
Last decade has seen a significantly increased knowledge about phosphate solubilizing microorganisms. Sixty specialists from thirteen countries met in Salamanca to discuss the problems of the high P-unavailability as a soil nutrient for crops, and the hazards of an increasing phosphate input to aquatic habitats from industrial and mining activities, sewage disposal, detergents, and other sources. Updated solutions to enhance P-uptake by plants, bioremediation potential in the rehabilitation of ecosystems, taxonomic characterization interactions with mycorrizae, the physiological and molecular basis of PSM, and possibilities of genetic modifications of rhizospheric microorganisms were among the contributions presented. Challenges in commercializing a phosphate solubilizing microorganism were also outlined by a relevant biotech company.
Microbial bioprocessing of agri-food wastes : food ingredients
Food ingredients are important molecules of the most diverse chemical classes responsible for conferring nutrition, stability, color, flavor, rheological and sensorial characteristics, in addition to several other important uses in the food industry. In this way, the production routes of these ingredients have gained more and more attention from consumers and producing industries, who expect that, in addition to their technological properties, these ingredients are still obtained without synthetic means, with savings of natural resources and mainly with less environmental impact.



















