Science & Nature - Books

IRC-SET 2022

Science & Nature

This book highlights contemporary state of research in multi-disciplinary areas in Physics, Biomedical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science/Engineering, Life Sciences, and Healthcare. The accepted submissions to the 8th IRC Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology (IRC-SET 2022) that were presented on 6th August 2022, are published in this conference proceedings. The papers presented here were shortlisted after extensive rounds of rigorous reviews by a panel of esteemed individuals who are pioneers and experts in their respective domains.

Μαύρες τρύπες, σύμπαντα-βρέφη

Science & Nature

Ο Hawking με αυτό το βιβλίο του για το ευρύ κοινό προσπαθεί να ρίξει νέο φως στις πιο σκοτεινές περιοχές του χρόνου και του χώρου. Τα κείμενά του αποκαλύπτουν την πολύπλευρη προσωπικότητά του: του επιστήμονα, του προβληματισμένου πολίτη του κόσμου, του ανθρώπου και, πάντοτε, του πειθαρχημένου και δημιουργικού στοχαστή. Με τη χαρακτηριστική εκφραστική του δεξιοτεχνία, το σαφή λόγο του και την περιφρόνηση του στόμφου, μας καλεί να μοιραστούμε το πάθος του για το ταξίδι της νόησης και της φαντασίας που άνοιξε νέους δρόμους για την κατανόηση του Σύμπαντος. • «Αυτό το βιβλίο παντρεύει την απορία ενός παιδιού με τη διάνοια ενός ιδιοφυούς. Ταξιδεύουμε στο σύμπαν του Hawking θαυμάζοντας το πνεύμα του.» —Times • «Η προσφορά του πρέπει να θεωρείται ισάξια με αυτήν των σπουδαιότερων φυσικών του παρελθόντος.» —Astronomy • «Εξηγεί τις πολύπλοκες έννοιες της κοσμολογίας συνδυάζοντας με ελκυστικό τρόπο την απλότητα με το πνευματώδες ύφος. Ένα μυαλό με εξαιρετική δύναμη.» —Observer

Biomimetics

Science & Nature

Provides cutting-edge advances in biologically inspired, biomimetically-designed materials and systems for developing the next generation of nanobiomaterials and tissue engineeringHumans have been trying to learn biomimetics for centuries by mimicking nature and its behaviors and processes in order to develop novel materials, structures, devices, and technologies. The most substantial benefits of biomimetics will likely be in human medical applications, such as developing bioprosthetics that mimic real limbs and sensor-based biochips that interface with the human brain to assist in hearing and sight.Biomimetics: Advancing Nanobiomaterials and Tissue Engineering seeks to compile all aspects of biomimetics, from fundamental principles to current technological advances, along with future trends in the development of nanoscale biomaterials and tissue engineering.The book details research, useful in inspiring new ideas, that seeks the principles and rules implemented by nature, such as self-assembly, a bottom-up approach in which molecular structures are assembled with little or no external intervention to generate nano, micro, and macro structures.Other subjects covered in the book include: Cartilage tissue engineering as an emerging technology The fabrication methods of nanofibrous scaffolds and their potential utility in bone tissue engineering applications Dental and craniofacial tissue engineering with bioactive polymers and bionanomaterials Strategies to prevent bacterial adhesion on biomaterials The latest achievements in biomimetic ECM scaffolds prepared from cultured cells Graphene oxide and graphene as promising scaffold materials Stem cells as a source for building tissues or organs in the laboratory

Biofuel Cells and Energy Generation

Science & Nature

Biofuel Cells and Energy Generation analyzes the current state-of-the-art and offers solutions to key challenges in developing carbohydrate-based biofuel cell technology. The book provides a critical review of biofuel cell technology, including principles, components, applications, obstacles, and prospects, and assesses the economic, safety, health, and environmental implications. The book focuses on the diversity of biomass resources, the fundamental characteristics of biomass, and the major effects of biomass composition variations on biofuel cell technology. It provides a thorough review of the research literature on approaches for decreasing the detrimental impacts of biomass variability on fuel cells. A comprehensive examination of biofuel cell technology's current state and applications is presented, supported by an explanation of the fundamentals, concepts, mechanisms, characteristics, optimal parameters, analytical characterization techniques, diverse types, all-category materials, catalysts, engineering designs, implantable biofuel cells, applications, and critical criteria. A variety of applications are addressed, including power implanted devices in biomedical applications, biosensors for smart communities, and nanomaterials for biofuel cells, among others. For each application, unresolved issues are identified, and solutions proposed. A one-stop reference with contributions from leading scholars from industry, academia, and government, Biofuel Cells and Energy Generation will be of interest to students, researchers, and industry engineers involved in renewable energy generation and offers valuable decision-making tools for those working on biofuel cell technology. - Critically evaluates a range of biofuel cell applications from energy generation biomedical applications - Presents solutions to the current challenges in biofuel cell research, notably how to improve current and power density output, cell design, and long-life operation - Provides an economic performance assessment, as well as health, safety, and environmental assessments - Explores the use of a diverse range of carbohydrate-based biomass resources - Discusses recent advances and unique biofuel cell nanomaterial techniques, as well as various immobilization methods for incorporating the nanomaterial matrix and performance analysis methodologies - Examines unresolved concerns surrounding industrial scale-up of biofuel cell technology, as well as new hurdles in the sector

Climat - une planète et des hommes

Science & Nature

Alors que le changement climatique nous concerne tous, la virulence des débats nous étonne. Pourquoi le doute, voire la méfiance, se sont-ils installés face à la réalité du réchauffement climatique et de l'influence des activités humaines sur ce phénomène ? Comment les " climato-septiques " sont-ils allés jusqu'à remettre en cause des faits établis et faire passer les chercheurs du Giec pour des imposteurs ? Chacun d'entre nous a besoin d'informations objectives pour se forger sa propre opinion.À l'initiative du Club des Argonautes, 26 chercheurs français de renom international ont décidé, avec cet ouvrage, de répondre à cette attente légitime.Ce livre, présenté par Erik Orsenna et Michel Petit, apporte des réponses précises sur les mécanismes complexes qui régissent la Terre et son climat, en s'appuyant sur l'état actuel des connaissances scientifiques. Il dresse un véritable bilan de l'impact des activités humaines sur le changement climatique et de tout ce qu'il est possible de faire pour, qu'aujourd'hui et demain, les hommes puissent continuer à vivre sereinement sur leur planète. Un ouvrage collectif sous la direction de Michel Petit et Aline Chabreuil, avec Pierre Bacher, Édouard Bard, François Barlier, Pierre Bauer, Yves Coppens, Yves Dandonneau, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Yves Fouquart, Jean-Claude Gall, Alain Gioda, Stéphane Hallegatte, Sylvie Joussaume, Robert Kandel, Jean Labrousse, Michel Lefebvre, Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Hervé Le Treut, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Sandrine Mathy, Jacques Merle, Serge Planton, Bernard Pouyaud, Gilles Ramstein, Bernard Seguin, Bruno Voituriez. Avec la participation d'Alain Juppé et Michel Rocard.

The Science Behind the Secret

Science & Nature

We create our own reality and science says it's true! The Laws of Attraction do exist and are explained in Layman's Terms by a NASA Scientist.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

The Island of Knowledge

Science & Nature

Do all questions have answers? How much can we know about the world? Is there such a thing as an ultimate truth? To be human is to want to know, but what we are able to observe is only a tiny portion of what's "out there." In The Island of Knowledge, physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence. In so doing, he reaches a provocative conclusion: science, the main tool we use to find answers, is fundamentally limited. These limits to our knowledge arise both from our tools of exploration and from the nature of physical reality: the speed of light, the uncertainty principle, the impossibility of seeing beyond the cosmic horizon, the incompleteness theorem, and our own limitations as an intelligent species. Recognizing limits in this way, Gleiser argues, is not a deterrent to progress or a surrendering to religion. Rather, it frees us to question the meaning and nature of the universe while affirming the central role of life and ourselves in it. Science can and must go on, but recognizing its limits reveals its true mission: to know the universe is to know ourselves. Telling the dramatic story of our quest for understanding, The Island of Knowledge offers a highly original exploration of the ideas of some of the greatest thinkers in history, from Plato to Einstein, and how they affect us today. An authoritative, broad-ranging intellectual history of our search for knowledge and meaning, The Island of Knowledge is a unique view of what it means to be human in a universe filled with mystery.

Development in Wastewater Treatment Research and Processes

Science & Nature

Advanced Oxidation Processes for Tannery Effluent provides a detailed overview of currently applied and tested sewage treatment technologies and he integration of advanced processes to remove trace organic contaminants and micro-organisms. The book discusses the potential of improved biological treatment to produce reusable wastewater, new municipal wastewater disinfection processes and the reduction of bacteria resistant to antibiotics as well as the effects of advanced oxidation processes on microbial and chemical contaminants. Advanced Oxidation Processes for Tannery Effluent features membrane bioreactors, moving bed bioreactors, light and solar technology, ozonation and immobilized heterogeneous photocatalysis, and provides an assessment of the potential of built wetlands integrated with advanced oxidation technologies to ensure wastewater recycling for reuse. The book discusses issues and standards for water reuse, the state of application of membrane bioreactors and the treatment of reverse osmosis concentrate for better water use in wastewater treatment. It presents the latest developments in the field of drinking water reuse and addresses various important issues in this context, such as proper public health protection, reliability and monitoring. - Includes advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment - Describes various methodologies to treat tannery effluent - Outlines applications of different types of treatment strategies to cope up with tannery effluent - Applies tertiary advanced oxidation process to remove toxic contaminants from wastewater - Provides biochemical pathways of degraded contaminants through various oxidation processes

Our Fragile Moment

Science & Nature

In this sweeping work of science and history, the renowned climate scientist and author of The New Climate War shows us the conditions on Earth that allowed humans not only to exist but thrive, and how they are imperiled if we veer off course. For the vast majority of its 4.54 billion years, Earth has proven it can manage just fine without human beings. Then came the first proto-humans, who emerged just a little more than 2 million years ago—a fleeting moment in geological time. What is it that made this benevolent moment of ours possible? Ironically, it’s the very same thing that now threatens us—climate change. The drying of the tropics during the Pleistocene period created a niche for early hominids, who could hunt prey as forests gave way to savannahs in the African tropics. The sudden cooling episode known as the “Younger Dryas” 13,000 years ago, which occurred just as Earth was thawing out of the last Ice Age, spurred the development of agriculture in the fertile crescent. The “Little Ice Age” cooling of the 16th-19th centuries led to famines and pestilence for much of Europe, yet it was a boon for the Dutch, who were able to take advantage of stronger winds to shorten their ocean voyages. The conditions that allowed humans to live on this earth are fragile, incredibly so. Climate variability has at times created new niches that humans or their ancestors could potentially exploit, and challenges that at times have spurred innovation. But there’s a relatively narrow envelope of climate variability within which human civilization remains viable. And our survival depends on conditions remaining within that range. In this book, renowned climate scientist Michael Mann will arm readers with the knowledge necessary to appreciate the gravity of the unfolding climate crisis, while emboldening them—and others--to act before it truly does become too late.

The Wandering Mind

Science & Nature

Rooted in neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology, this study explores what happens when we stop paying attention and the effect on our behavior.If we’ve done our job well—and, let’s be honest, if we’re lucky—you’ll read to the end of this description. Most likely, however, you won’t. Somewhere in the middle of the next paragraph, your mind will wander off. Minds wander. That’s just how it is.That may be bad news for me, but is it bad news for people in general? Does the fact that as much as fifty percent of our waking hours find us failing to focus on the task at hand represent a problem? Michael Corballis doesn’t think so. With The Wandering Mind, he shows us why, rehabilitating woolgathering and revealing its incredibly useful effects. Drawing on the latest research from cognitive science and evolutionary biology, Corballis shows us how mind-wandering not only frees us from moment-to-moment drudgery, but also from the limitations of our immediate selves. Mind-wandering strengthens our imagination, fueling the flights of invention, storytelling, and empathy that underlie our shared humanity; furthermore, he explains, our tendency to wander back and forth through the timeline of our lives is fundamental to our very sense of ourselves as coherent, continuing personalities.Full of unusual examples and surprising discoveries, The Wandering Mind mounts a vigorous defense of inattention—even as it never fails to hold the reader’s.Praise for The Wandering Mind“[A] conversational, sincere and amusing book about the tendency of our minds to stray from whatever it is we are actually supposed to be focusing on. . . . [An] engaging exploration of the subject.” —Times Higher Education, Book of the Week“Michael Corballis, the scientist, takes you by the hand and weaves through an avalanche of information from psychology, literature, history, and more to elucidate my favorite mental state—mind wandering. His high capacity for erudition, lucidity, and warmth have never shined more brightly.” —Michael S. Gazzaniga“The Wandering Mind is a pleasure to read—a lively book that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.” —Thomas Suddendorf, author of The Gap

Plant Abiotic Stress Physiology

Science & Nature

This two-volume set highlights the various innovative and emerging techniques and molecular applications that are currently being used in plant abiotic stress physiology. Volume 1: Responses and Adaptations focuses on the responses and adaptations of plants to stress factors at the cellular and molecular levels and offers a variety of advanced management strategies and technologies. Volume 2: Molecular Advancements introduces a range of state-of-the-art molecular advances for the mitigation of abiotic stress in plants.With contributions from specialists in the field, Volume 1 first discusses the physiology and defense mechanisms of plants and the various kinds of stress, such as from challenging environments, climate change, and nutritional deficiencies. It goes on to discuss trailblazing management techniques that include genetics approaches for improving abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants along with CRISPR/CAS-mediated genome editing technologies.Volume 2 discusses how plants have developed diverse physiological and molecular adjustments to safeguard themselves under challenging conditions and how emerging new technologies can utilize these plant adaptations to enhance plant resistance. These include using plant-environment interactions to develop crop species that are resilient to climate change, applying genomics and phenomics approaches from the study of abiotic stress tolerance and more.Agriculture today faces countless challenges to meet the rising need for sustainable food supplies and guarantees of high-quality nourishment for a quickly increasing population. To ensure sufficient food production, it is necessary to address the difficult environmental circumstances that are causing cellular oxidative stress in plants due to abiotic factors, which play a defining role in shaping yield of crop plants. These two volumes help to meet these challenges by providing a rich source of information on plant abiotic stress physiology and effective management techniques.

Biofuels and Bioproducts from Lignocellulosic Materials

Science & Nature

Biofuels and Bioproducts from Lignocellulosic Materials: Bioproducts is Volume I of a comprehensive three-volume set that explores the various possibilities of adding value to lignocellulosic biomass materials by transforming them into bioproducts, biofuels and biomaterials. With an emphasis on microbial biotechnological solutions, each volume examines how renewable natural resources, agriculture waste management, and valorization of agro-wastes can sustainably produce energy and fuels, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and biomaterials. Volume I addresses all aspects of value-added bioproducts production from lignocellulosic materials. The opening chapter of the book reviews the fundamentals of biotechnology and biochemistry and provides an overview of lignocellulose, its properties, potential use, volume of production and by-products, and economical importance. Following this, chapters provide critical reviews of the latest developments in lignocellulosic biomass conversion into value-added products and provide step-by-step guidance on key processes and methods, including genetic engineering approaches, microbial pathways, thermochemical routes, and pre-treatment technologies. Various technological approaches are explained, including novel, eco-friendly methods for biomass conversion that reduce waste, and the role of microorganisms and their mechanisms are explored in depth. Biofuels and Bioproducts from Lignocellulosic Materials: Vol I Bioproducts is a valuable reference for students, researchers, and professionals involved in processing lignocellulosic materials for the production of bioenergy, biomaterials, and bioproducts. - Links technological interventions and modern biotechnological methods to provide strategies for the development of bioproducts using renewable lignocellulosic resources - Critically evaluates the issues of using lignocellulosic biomass for bioproducts and presents solutions using modern microbial biotechnological approaches - Explains the problems related to lignocellulosic waste management and their valorization into valued products - Emphasizes the role of microbial technology in valorization of lignocellulosic biomass

The Elements of Style

Science & Nature

The Elements of Style is an American English writing style guide in numerous editions. The original was composed by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, and published by Harcourt in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused", and a list of 57 "words often misspelled".

The Blind Spot

Science & Nature

A compelling argument for including the human perspective within science, and for how human experience makes science possible.It’s tempting to think that science gives us a God’s-eye view of reality. But we neglect the place of human experience at our peril. In The Blind Spot, astrophysicist Adam Frank, theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser, and philosopher Evan Thompson call for a revolutionary scientific worldview, where science includes—rather than ignores or tries not to see—humanity’s lived experience as an inescapable part of our search for objective truth. The authors present science not as discovering an absolute reality but rather as a highly refined, constantly evolving form of human experience. They urge practitioners to reframe how science works for the sake of our future in the face of the planetary climate crisis and increasing science denialism.Since the dawn of the Enlightenment, humanity has looked to science to tell us who we are, where we come from, and where we’re going, but we’ve gotten stuck thinking we can know the universe from outside our position in it. When we try to understand reality only through external physical things imagined from this outside position, we lose sight of the necessity of experience. This is the Blind Spot, which the authors show lies behind our scientific conundrums about time and the origin of the universe, quantum physics, life, AI and the mind, consciousness, and Earth as a planetary system. The authors propose an alternative vision: scientific knowledge is a self-correcting narrative made from the world and our experience of it evolving together. To finally “see” the Blind Spot is to awaken from a delusion of absolute knowledge and to see how reality and experience intertwine.The Blind Spot goes where no science book goes, urging us to create a new scientific culture that views ourselves both as an expression of nature and as a source of nature’s self-understanding, so that humanity can flourish in the new millennium.

Power Electronics for Green Energy Conversion

Science & Nature

POWER ELECTRONICS for GREEN ENERGY CONVERSION Written and edited by a team of renowned experts, this exciting new volume explores the concepts and practical applications of power electronics for green energy conversion, going into great detail with ample examples, for the engineer, scientist, or student. Power electronics has emerged as one of the most important technologies in the world and will play a big role in the conversion of the present power grid systems into smart grids. Applications like HVDC systems, FACTs devices, uninterruptible power systems, and renewable energy systems totally rely on advances in power electronic devices and control systems. Further, the need for renewable energy continues to grow, and the complete departure of fossil fuels and nuclear energy is not unrealistic thanks to power electronics. Therefore, the increasingly more important role of power electronics in the power sector industry remains paramount. This groundbreaking new volume aims to cover these topics and trends of power electronic converters, bridging the research gap on green energy conversion system architectures, controls, and protection challenges to enable their wide-scale implementation. Covering not only the concepts of all of these topics, the editors and contributors describe real-world implementation of these ideas and how they can be used for practical applications. Whether for the engineer, scientist, researcher, or student, this outstanding contribution to the science is a must-have for any library.

Recent Advances in Cancer Diagnostics and Therapy

Science & Nature

This book provides information about different types and stages of cancer and their subtypes with their respective molecular mechanisms, etiology, histopathology, and cellular origins. This book also provides detailed information about cancer incidence, mortality, and different types of technologies both bio and nano employed in cancer diagnosis and screening, and their applications in cancer therapies. This book informs readers about molecular mechanisms of cancer, diagnosis, and therapies along with different computational techniques used on a single platform.The chapters include a broad and integrated perspective on cancer-related topics. This book covers both conventional and emerging techniques employed in cancer screening and diagnosis, including imaging, biomarker, and electrochemical nanosensor-based approaches with detailed information on sensor development. Similarly, this book also covers the mechanisms of different conventional and emerging herbal and nano therapies used in cancer treatment. The authors discuss applications of different computational and mathematical tools, such as machine-learning methods, that can be employed in cancer diagnosis and therapy at the level of personalized medicine.Features: Offers an integrated approach to provide information about all aspects of cancer biology, diagnosis, and therapy Focuses on both conventional and emerging tools/techniques applicable in cancer screening and diagnosis Covers the mechanisms of conventional and emerging anticancer drugs and therapies Provides insights about a personalized medicine-based approach in cancer diagnosis and therapy This book is essential for university students, course lecturers, researchers, and industrialists working in the fields of cancer biology, medicine, and pharmacology.

Le discret et le continu. Quelques clefs pour… aborder la physique quantique

Science & Nature

La physique quantique, tout le monde en a entendu parler. Mais qu’est-ce que c’est ? De quoi cela parle-t-il ? Où cela se passe-t-il ? Existe-t-il des applications concrètes ? Il semble que le rêve de tout physicien soit de réunir théorie relativiste et théorie quantique. Pourquoi est-ce difficile ? Ce livre n’est pas un cours de physique. Il a pour seule ambition de vous familiariser avec des concepts ardus et de vous permettre comme promis dans son titre d’aborder la physique quantique. Bonne lecture !

Les paradoxes de l'infini

Science & Nature

S'il est vrai qu'aucune passion, aucun souci ne résistent à la sérénité qu'apporte à l'esprit la discipline mathématique, c'est faire une cure de sérénité que lire le nouvel ouvrage d'Émile Borel, qui s'est proposé de raconter, dans ses traits essentiels, l'histoire des relations entre les mathématiciens et la notion d'infini. La première partie du livre relate les circonstances où s'est produite la rencontre des mathématiciens et de l'infini, en Grèce, quelques siècles avant l'ère chrétienne (Zénon, cruel Zénon!). La deuxième partie expose la conquête et l'organisation de l'infini par les mathématiciens modernes, du XVIe au XIXe siècle. La troisième partie, enfin, étudie les plus importantes des difficultés et les divergences de vues qui se sont présentées dans les temps actuels lorsqu'on a cherché à préciser et à approfondir les résultats acquis sur l'infini mathématique.

Forensics Demystified

Science & Nature

There’s no easier, faster, or more practical way to learn the really tough subjectsForensics Demystified explains forensic science in a logical progression from evidence collection through analysis and finally to the scientist actually testifying in court. This self-teaching guide comes complete with key points, background information, quizzes at the end of each chapter, and even a final exam. Simple enough for beginners but challenging enough for advanced students, this is a lively and entertaining brush-up, introductory text, or classroom supplement.

The Fourth Dimension: Toward a Geometry of Higher Reality

Science & Nature

This is the definitive popular exploration of what the fourth dimension means, both physically and spiritually. Mathematician and science-fiction novelist Rudy Rucker takes readers on a guided tour of a higher reality that explores what the fourth dimension is and what it has meant to generations of thinkers. The exciting and challenging journey is enhanced by more than 200 illustrations and a host of puzzles and problems (with answers)."This is an invigorating book, a short but spirited slalom for the mind." — Timothy Ferris, The New York Times Book Review "Highly readable. One is reminded of the breadth and depth of Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach." — Science"Anyone with even a minimal interest in mathematics and fantasy will find The Fourth Dimension informative and mind-dazzling... [Rucker] plunges into spaces above three with a zest and energy that is breathtaking." — Martin Gardner "Those who think the fourth dimension is nothing but time should be encouraged to read The Fourth Dimension, along with anyone else who feels like opening the hinges of his mind and letting in a bit of fresh air." — John Sladek, Washington Post Book World"A mine of mathematical insights and a thoroughly satisfying read." — Paul Davies, Nature Magazine

Science & Nature Books