The 100th Generation


Book Description

Ancient curses, modern day villains, and a most intriguing woman who keeps appearing when least expected and thenÉdisappearing. Archeologist Valerie Foret has spent a year searching for a tomb in the Egyptian desertÑa labor broken only by high risk trysts with a powerful manÕs wife. When she finally makes the discovery of a lifetime, she is set upon by jealous rivals and religious fanatics. Worse, she is drawn into the depths of the desert by forces that offer knowledge of vast mysteries and at the same time threaten to destroy everything she knows. For what sheÕs found is a glimpse into the hereafter, and itÕs nothing like itÕs supposed to be. Brilliant scientist that she is, she has loved most unwisely and learned what she does not want to know. Follow her adventures through modern and ancient Egypt, through this world and the next, with Book One of the Ibis Prophecy.




Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning - IDEAL 2004


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning, IDEAL 2004, held in Exeter, UK, in August 2004. The 124 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 272 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on bioinformatics, data mining and knowledge engineering, learning algorithms and systems, financial engineering, and agent technologies.




Language and Automata Theory and Applications


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Language and Automata Theory and Applications, LATA 2009, held in Tarragona, Spain, in April 2009. The 58 revised full papers presented together with 3 invited lectures and two tutorials were carefully reviewed and selected from 121 submissions. The papers address all the various issues related to automata theory and formal languages.




Applications of Modern Heuristic Optimization Methods in Power and Energy Systems


Book Description

Reviews state-of-the-art technologies in modern heuristic optimization techniques and presents case studies showing how they have been applied in complex power and energy systems problems Written by a team of international experts, this book describes the use of metaheuristic applications in the analysis and design of electric power systems. This includes a discussion of optimum energy and commitment of generation (nonrenewable & renewable) and load resources during day-to-day operations and control activities in regulated and competitive market structures, along with transmission and distribution systems. Applications of Modern Heuristic Optimization Methods in Power and Energy Systems begins with an introduction and overview of applications in power and energy systems before moving on to planning and operation, control, and distribution. Further chapters cover the integration of renewable energy and the smart grid and electricity markets. The book finishes with final conclusions drawn by the editors. Applications of Modern Heuristic Optimization Methods in Power and Energy Systems: Explains the application of differential evolution in electric power systems' active power multi-objective optimal dispatch Includes studies of optimization and stability in load frequency control in modern power systems Describes optimal compliance of reactive power requirements in near-shore wind power plants Features contributions from noted experts in the field Ideal for power and energy systems designers, planners, operators, and consultants, Applications of Modern Heuristic Optimization Methods in Power and Energy Systems will also benefit engineers, software developers, researchers, academics, and students.




Sustainable Urban Housing in China


Book Description

This book features case studies and recommendations for new approaches to environmentally responsive sustainable building, illuminating many principles of sustainability and energy efficiency applicable to buildings worldwide, and in developing countries in particular. These projects identify practical technologies, new and existing, that will yield energy-efficient, healthy, and comfortable designs. Individual chapters address ventilation, controls, materials, and daylighting. Design guidelines and organizational methods suited to urban projects are also discussed.




Impacts of Landscape Change on Water Resources


Book Description

Changes in land use and land cover can have many drivers, including population growth, urbanization, agriculture, demand for food, evolution of socio-economic structure, policy regulations, and climate variability. The impacts of these changes on water resources range from changes in water availability (due to changes in losses of water to evapotranspiration and recharge) to degradation of water quality (increased erosion, salinity, chemical loadings, and pathogens). The impacts are manifested through complex hydro-bio-geo-climate characteristics, which underscore the need for integrated scientific approaches to understand the impacts of landscape change on water resources. Several techniques, such as field studies, long-term monitoring, remote sensing technologies, and advanced modeling studies, have contributed to better understanding the modes and mechanisms by which landscape changes impact water resources. Such research studies can help unlock the complex interconnected influences of landscape on water resources in terms of quantity and quality at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this Special Issue, we published a set of eight peer-reviewed articles elaborating on some of the specific topics of landscape changes and associated impacts on water resources.




Collage Of life


Book Description

Collage of Life is a meticulously selected and thoughtfully curated collection of literary works, each one chosen to showcase the unique experiences, perspectives, and diverse backgrounds of every author. The pieces within this book have been carefully arranged to create a captivating and inspiring collage of life, designed to take readers on a journey through a wide range of emotions and experiences.







Advances in Artificial Life


Book Description

The two-volume set LNAI 5777 and LNAI 5778 constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 10th European Conference, ECAl 2009, held in Budapest, Hungary, in September 2009. The 141 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from161 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on evolutionary developmental biology and hardware, evolutionary robotics, protocells and prebiotic chemistry, systems biology, artificial chemistry and neuroscience, group selection, ecosystems and evolution, algorithms and evolutionary computation, philosophy and arts, optimization, action, and agent connectivity, and swarm intelligence.




Subspace Methods for Pattern Recognition in Intelligent Environment


Book Description

This research book provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art subspace learning methods for pattern recognition in intelligent environment. With the fast development of internet and computer technologies, the amount of available data is rapidly increasing in our daily life. How to extract core information or useful features is an important issue. Subspace methods are widely used for dimension reduction and feature extraction in pattern recognition. They transform a high-dimensional data to a lower-dimensional space (subspace), where most information is retained. The book covers a broad spectrum of subspace methods including linear, nonlinear and multilinear subspace learning methods and applications. The applications include face alignment, face recognition, medical image analysis, remote sensing image classification, traffic sign recognition, image clustering, super resolution, edge detection, multi-view facial image synthesis.