Oncofertility : Fertility Preservation for Cancer Survivors
While cancer survival rates have increased steadily over the last several decades, particularly among younger patients, the more aggressive forms of treatment that have made this possible often compromise a cancer patient's ability to later have biological children. In the past, pregnancy after cancer was largely unheard of. Today it is increasingly a possibility due to high survivorship rates in general and emerging reproductive technologies that give patients and their families options at the time of diagnosis to ensure a patient's future fertility (cryopreservation of ovarian tissue).
Oil Spill Response : A Global Perspective
This book provides a timely international perspective on applied research and development, technology transfer, and “lessons learned” from field trials and actual case studies associated with recent spill events. This book provides a synopsis as to the methods currently employed to deals with spills and an insight on future technologies under development.
Oceans and Health: Pathogens in the Marine Environment
The importance of combating infectious diseases has received international attention, p- viding the opportunity for a multidisciplinary approach that combines medicine with other scientist candtechnological capabilities,notably information technology,nanotechnology,and biotechnology. In fact, it has been predicted that the future will bring a merging of these te- nologies with the cognitive and behavioral sciences.. The connection between infectious diseases and the oceans provides a paradigm for this perspective. A stark global context indisputably frames all human health issues in the twenty century: the world wide movement of people and goods. Throughout the past half century, international travel has skyrocketed; there are more than 500 million international arrivals per year. The greatest increase has taken place since the mid-1990s. The world has become integrated and global; consequently, the notion that it is possible to successfully eradicate a disease from the face of the planet has become simplistic. Infectious disease is a moving target and climate shifts will affect any disease that has an environmentally sensitive stage or vector.
Nutrient Acquisition by Plants : An Ecological Perspective
Adaptation and evolution of terrestrial plants depend, to a large extent, on their ability to acquire nutrients. This is a modern and integrative treatment of the mechanisms controlling plant nutrient uptake and how plants respond to changes in the environment. The following key topics are covered: soil nutrient bioavailability; root responses to variations in nutrient supply; nitrogen fixation; regulation of nutrient uptake by internal plant demand; root characteristics; kinetics of nutrient uptake; root architecture; life span; mycorrhizae; responses to climate change. This integrated view helps us to understand the mechanisms that govern present-day plant communities and is indispensable in models designed to predict the response of plants to a changing climate.
Nucleic Acids and Proteins in Soil
With millions of different bacterial species living in soil, the microbial community is extremely complex, varying at very small scales. Microbe-driven functions are essential for most processes in soil. Thus, a better understanding of this microbial diversity will be invaluable for the management of the various soil functions. Nucleic Acids and Proteins in Soil combines traditional approaches in soil microbiology and biochemistry with the latest techniques in molecular microbial ecology. Included are methods to analyse the presence and importance of nucleic acids and proteins both inside and outside microbial cells, the horizontal gene transfer which drives bacterial diversity, as well as soil proteomes. Further chapters describe techniques such as PCR, fingerprinting, the challenging use of gene arrays for structural and functional analysis, stable isotope probing to identify in situ metabolic functions, and the use of marker and reporter genes in soil microbial ecology.
Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies in Animal Production Systems, Preparedness, Response and Recovery
This volume explains how major nuclear and radiological emergencies (NREs) can have implications at local, national and international level. The response to NREs requires a competent decision-making structure, clear communication and effective information exchange. National veterinary services have the responsibility to plan, design and manage animal production system in their countries. These activities cover animal health, animal movement control, production control and improvement, and control of the products of animal origin before their placement on the market.
Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics and the Production of Entropy: Life, Earth, and Beyond
The present volume studies the application of concepts from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to a variety of research topics. Emphasis is on the Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) principle and applications to Geosphere-Biosphere couplings. Written by leading researchers form a wide range of background, the book proposed to give a first coherent account of an emerging field at the interface of thermodynamics, geophysics and life sciences.
Nitrogen Fixation in Agriculture, Forestry, Ecology, and the Environment
Sustainability has a major part to play in the global challenge of continued development of regions, countries, and continents all around the World and biological nitrogen fixation has a key role in this process. This volume begins with chapters specifically addressing crops of major global importance, such as soybeans, rice, and sugar cane. It continues with a second important focus, agroforestry, and describes the use and promise of both legume trees with their rhizobial symbionts and other nitrogen-fixing trees with their actinorhizal colonization. An over-arching theme of all chapters is the interaction of the plants and trees with microbes and this theme allows other aspects of soil microbiology, such as interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the impact of soil-stress factors on biological nitrogen fixation, to be addressed. Furthermore, a link to basic science occurs through the inclusion of chapters describing the biogeochemically important nitrogen cycle and its key relationships among nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification. The volume then provides an up-to-date view of the production of microbial inocula, especially those for legume crops.
New Trends in Soil Micromorphology
The soil water retention curve, the saturated hydraulic conductivity and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function are basic soil hydraulic functions and parameters. Ample apprehension of the soil hydraulic functions and parameters is required for a successful formulation of the principles leading to sustainable soil management, agricultural production and environmental protection. From these, all the other parameters, required in the solution of the practical tasks, are derived.
New Perspectives in the Study of Mesoamerican Primates : Distribution, Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation
The purpose of this volume is to present a comprehensive overview of recent advances in primate field research, ecology, and conservation biology in Mesoamerica. The overall goal of each contribution is to integrate newly collected field data with theoretical perspectives drawn from evolutionary biology, socioecology, biological anthropology, and conservation to identify how our current knowledge of primate behavior and ecology has moved beyond more traditional approaches. A corollary to this, and an important goal of the volume is to identify geographical regions and species for which we continue to lack sufficient information, to develop action plans for future research, and to identify areas for immediate conservation action. Despite many decades of primate research in Mesoamerica, much is still unknown concerning the basic ecology and behavior of these species, demography, current distribution, and conservation status of local populations, and the effectiveness of conservation policies on primate survivorship. Four major areas of research are the focus of the volume: Evolutionary Biology and Biogeography; Population Demography and Ecology; Behavior; and Conservation and Management Policies.
Neoproterozoic Geobiology and Paleobiology
The Neoproterozoic Era (1000-542 million years ago) is a geological period of dramatic climatic change and important evolutionary innovations. Repeated glaciations of unusual magnitude occurred throughout this tumultuous interval, and various eukaryotic clades independently achieved multicellularity, becoming more complex, abundant, and diverse at its termination. Animals made their first debut in the Neoproterozoic too. The intricate interaction among these geological and biological events is a centrepiece of Earth system history, and has been the focus of geobiological investigations in recent decades. The purpose of this volume is to present a sample of views and visions among some of the growing numbers of Neoproterozoic workers. The contributions represent a cross section of recent insights into the field of Neoproterozoic geobiology.
Neonatal Pain : Suffering, Pain and Risk of Brain Damage in the Fetus and Newborn
Until the 1980s it was denied that fetuses and neonates feel pain. With the advent of a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology and new diagnostic tools, the last 30 years have seen great developments in this field. This volume aims to give an overview of current knowledge in the field.
Neighbourhoods in Transition : Brownfield Regeneration in European Metropolitan Areas
This book is focused on the intersection between urban brownfields and the sustainability transitions of metreopolitan areas, cities and neighbourhoods. It provides both a theoretical and practical approach to the topic, offering a thorough introduction to urban brownfields and regeneration projects as well as an operational monitoring tool.
Nectaries and Nectar
This book is a modern and interdisciplinary text on nectar and nectaries, prompted by the expansion of knowledge, especially in the more ecological and now molecular fields, and the strong recent interest in pollination biology.
Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas : Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice
This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.This book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society
Nature-Based Flood Risk Management on Private Land : Disciplinary Perspectives on a Multidisciplinary Challenge
This book addresses the various disciplinary aspects of nature-based solutions in flood risk management on private land. In recent decades, water management has been moving towards nature-based solutions. These are assumed to be much more multi-purpose than traditional “grey infrastructures” and seem to be regarded as a panacea for many environmental issues. At the same time, such measures require more – and mostly privately owned – land and more diverse stakeholder involvement than traditional (grey) engineering approaches. They also present challenges related to different disciplines. Nature-based solutions for flood risk management not only require technical expertise, but also call for interdisciplinary insights from land-use planning, economics, property rights, sociology, landscape planning, ecology, hydrology, agriculture and other disciplines to address the challenges of implementing them. Ultimately, nature-based flood risk management is a multi-disciplinary endeavor.
Nature, Value, Duty : Life on Earth with Holmes Rolston, III
"Nature Value and Duty: Life on Earth with Holmes Rolston, III" is a collection of contemporary writings on the work of Holmes Rolston, III. The authors contributing to this volume are a mixture of senior scholars in environmental ethics and new voices in philosophy and in literature. Together they provide an in depth evaluation of many of the topics discussed by Rolston. They probe the strengths and weaknesses of his work and suggest valuable correctives. Rolston himself, in a detailed reply to each of his critics at the end of the volume, reveals where some of these criticisms sting him the most and in the process provides one of the most detailed and articulate defenses of his position ever offered."
Nature Conservation : Concepts and Practice
This book provides a multi-disciplinary coverage of the broad fields of species, community and landscape conservation.
Mycorrhiza : State of the Art, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Eco-Function, Biotechnology, Eco-Physiology, Structure and Systematics
This third updated and revised edition emphasises strongly on genetics and molecular biology. It contains new chapters, which are written by the leading experts in their respective field of knowledge and expertise.Mycorrhizas are symbioses between fungi and the roots of higher plants. As more than 90% of all known species of plants have the potential to form mycorrhizal associations, the productivity and species composition and the diversity of natural ecosystems are frequently dependent upon the presence and activity of mycorrhizas. The biotechnological application of mycorrhizas is expected to promote the production of food while maintaining ecologically and economically sustainable production systems.
Museum Digitisations and Emerging Curatorial Agencies Online : Vikings in the Digital Age
This book explores the multiple forms of curatorial agencies that develop when museum collection digitisations, narratives and new research findings circulate online. Focusing on Viking Age objects, it tracks the effects of antagonistic debates on discussion forums and the consequences of search engines, personalisation, and machine learning on American-based online platforms. Furthermore, it considers eco-systemic processes comprising computation, rare-earth minerals, electrical currents and data centres and cables as novel forms of curatorial actions.



















