Climate Change and Water


Book Description

The Technical Paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species. -- page vii.




Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences


Book Description

Submarine mass movements represent major offshore geohazards due to their destructive and tsunami-generation potential. This potential poses a threat to human life as well as to coastal, nearshore and offshore engineering structures. Recent examples of catastrophic submarine landslide events that affected human populations (including tsunamis) are numerous; e.g., Nice airport in 1979, Papua-New Guinea in 1998, Stromboli in 2002, Finneidfjord in 1996, and the 2006 and 2009 failures in the submarine cable network around Taiwan. The Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 also generated submarine landslides that may have amplified effects of the devastating tsunami. Given that 30% of the World’s population live within 60 km of the coast, the hazard posed by submarine landslides is expected to grow as global sea level rises. This elevated awareness of the need for better understanding of submarine landslides is coupled with great advances in submarine mapping, sampling and monitoring technologies. Laboratory analogue and numerical modeling capabilities have also developed significantly of late. Multibeam sonar, 3D seismic reflection, and remote and autonomous underwater vehicle technologies provide hitherto unparalleled imagery of the geology beneath the oceans, permitting investigation of submarine landslide deposits in great detail. Increased and new access to drilling, coring, in situ measurements and monitoring devices allows for ground-thruth of geophysical data and provides access to samples for geotechnical laboratory experiments and information on in situ strength and effective stress conditions of underwater slopes susceptible to fail. Great advances in numerical simulation techniques of submarine landslide kinematics and tsunami propagation, particularly since the 2004 Sumatra tsunami, have also lead to increased understanding and predictability of submarine landslide consequences. This volume consists of the latest scientific research by international experts in geological, geophysical, engineering and environmental aspects of submarine mass failure, focused on understanding the full spectrum of challenges presented by submarine mass movements and their consequences.




Food Security and Safety


Book Description

This book focuses on food security and safety issues in Africa, a continent presently challenged with malnutrition and food insecurity. The continuous increase in the human population of Africa will lead to higher food demands, and climate change has already affected food production in most parts of Africa, resulting in drought, reduced crop yields, and loss of livestock and income. For Africa to be food-secure, safe and nutritious food has to be available, well-distributed, and sufficient to meet people’s food requirements. Contributors to Food Security and Safety: African Perspectives offer solutions to the lack of adequate safe and nutritious food in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as highlight the positive efforts being made to address this lack through a holistic approach. The book discusses the various methods used to enhance food security, such as food fortification, fermentation, genetic modification, and plant breeding for improved yield and resistance to diseases. Authors emphasize the importance of hygiene and food safety in food preparation and preservation, and address how the constraints of climate change could be overcome using smart crops. As a comprehensive reference text, Food Security and Safety: African Perspectives seeks to address challenges specific to the African continent while enhancing the global knowledge base around food security, food safety, and food production in an era of rapid climate change.




Characterisation of Bulk Solids


Book Description

Handling of powders and bulk solids is a critical industrial technology across a broad spectrum of industries, from minerals processing to bulk and fine chemicals, and the food and pharmaceutical industries, yet is rarely found in the curricula of engineering or chemistry departments. With contributions from leading authors in their respective fields, Characterisation of Bulk Solids provides the reader with a sound understanding of the techniques, importance and application of particulate materials characterisation. It covers the fundamental characteristics of individual particles and bulk particulate materials, and includes discussion of a wide range of measurement techniques, and the use of material characteristics in design and industrial practice. The reader will then be in a better position to diagnose solids handling and processing problems in industry, and to deal with experts and equipment suppliers from an informed standpoint. Written for post-graduate engineers, chemical scientists and technologists at all stages of their industrial career, the book will also serve as an ideal primer in any of the specialist areas to inform further study.




Mathematics Across Cultures


Book Description

Mathematics Across Cultures: A History of Non-Western Mathematics consists of essays dealing with the mathematical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Inca, Egyptian, and African mathematics, among others, the book includes essays on Rationality, Logic and Mathematics, and the transfer of knowledge from East to West. The essays address the connections between science and culture and relate the mathematical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.




Artists' Magazines


Book Description

How artists' magazines, in all their ephemerality, materiality, and temporary intensity, challenged mainstream art criticism and the gallery system.




The Marine Microbiome


Book Description

This book describes the state-of-the-art concerning the ‘marine microbiome’ and its uses in biotechnology. The first part discusses the diversity and ecology of marine microorganisms and viruses, including all three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. It discusses whether marine microorganisms exist and, if so, why they might be unique. The second part presents selected marine habitats, their inhabitants and how they influence biogeochemical cycles, while the third discusses the utilization of marine microbial resources, including legal aspects, dissemination, and public awareness. The marine microbiome is the total of microorganisms and viruses in the ocean and seas and in any connected environment, including the seafloor and marine animals and plants. The diversity of microbial life remains unquantified and largely unknown, and could represent a hidden treasure for human society. Accordingly, this book is also intended to connect academics and industry, providing essential information for microbiologists from both fields.




Genomics of Soil- and Plant-Associated Fungi


Book Description

This volume addresses the similarities and also the differences in the genomes of soil saprophytes, symbionts, and plant pathogens by using examples of fungal species to illustrate particular principles. It analyzes how the specific interactions with the hosts and the influence of the environment may have shaped genome evolution. The relevance of fungal genetic research and biotechnological applications is shown for areas such as plant pathogenesis, biomass degradation, litter decomposition, nitrogen assimilation, antibiotic production, mycoparasitism, energy, ecology, and also for soil fungi turning to human pathogens. In addition to the model organisms Neurospora and Aspergillus, the following species are covered providing a view of pathogens and mutualists: Trichoderma, Fusarium oxysporum, Cochliobolus heterostrophus, Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopus oryzae, Podospora anserina, and species belonging to Agaricomycetes, Archaeorhizomycetes and Magnaporthaceae. Ecology and potential applications have guided the choice of fungal genes to be studied and it will be fascinating to follow the trends of future sequencing projects.




Buyology


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A fascinating look at how consumers perceive logos, ads, commercials, brands, and products.”—Time How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today’s message-cluttered world? In Buyology, Martin Lindstrom presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study—a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what captures our interest—and drives us to buy. Among the questions he explores: • Does sex actually sell? • Does subliminal advertising still surround us? • Can “cool” brands trigger our mating instincts? • Can our other senses—smell, touch, and sound—be aroused when we see a product? Buyology is a fascinating and shocking journey into the mind of today's consumer that will captivate anyone who's been seduced—or turned off—by marketers' relentless attempts to win our loyalty, our money, and our minds.