Science & Nature - Books

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

Nanosensors in Healthcare Diagnostics

Science & Nature

Nanosensors in Healthcare Diagnostics examines the role of nanosensors in clinical microbiology, point-of-care sensing, clinical diagnostics, and therapy.This book addresses the concept of nanosensors and their utilization in healthcare diagnostics, and therapy. It covers the principles and mechanisms involved in nanosensor-based diagnostics platforms. It also discusses various approaches and techniques used in the preparation of nanosensors as well as the biomedical application of nanosensors in clinical diagnostics and their significance in the detection, treatment, and management of diseases. This book is a useful reference for researchers, graduate students, and industry professionals studying nanosensors in biological and medical sciences.• Brings together multiple perspectives, in-depth analyses, and insights on nanosensors and its application in disease diagnostics and therapy• Covers the basic aspects of functioning principles and discusses the technologies and challenges of present and future analytical sensing approaches for diagnosis and treatment• Outlines the significant types of nanosensor platforms explored and developed for efficient detection

Kreativität

Science & Nature

Wie entsteht das Neue? Durch Biegen, Brechen und Verbinden!Wir Menschen wollen ständig Neues erschaffen - was aber macht unser Gehirn dabei so besonders? Warum erfinden Krokodile keine Speedboats?Der Neurowissenschaftler David Eagleman und der Komponist Anthony Brandt schildern, wie in unseren Köpfen Innovation entsteht. Sie erzählen Geschichten neuer Ideen von Picasso bis zur Raumfahrt und zeigen uns, dass wir die Herausforderungen der Zukunft nur meistern können, wenn wir die kreative Software unseres Gehirns verstehen lernen.Ein faszinierendes Duett von Naturwissenschaft und Kunst: Der weltbekannte Hirnforscher David Eagleman und sein Freund, der Komponist Anthony Brandt, widmen sich in ihrem Buch der Frage, wie das Neue entsteht. Dabei blicken sie auf die kreative Software des Gehirns: Wie funktioniert sie? Was machen wir damit? Wohin führt sie uns? Es erweist sich, dass der kreative Prozess vor allem von drei Fähigkeiten des Gehirns abhängt: Biegung, Brechung und Verbindung.An vielen Beispielen, von der Raumfahrt über die Wirtschaft und die Kunst bis zum Sport, demonstrieren die Autoren, wie unser Denken die Welt immer wieder neu erschafft.

Helgoland

Science & Nature

Los orígenes, el desarrollo y las claves para entender la teoría cuántica. Un libro fascinante que pone la ciencia al alcance de todos. En junio de 1925, Werner Heisenberg, de veintitrés años, se retira a Helgoland, una pequeña isla en el Mar del Norte, sin árboles y batida por el viento, para descansar y tratar de apaciguar la alergia que padece. Insomne, pasea por la noche para reflexionar y al alba da con una idea que transformará la ciencia y nuestra concepción del mundo. Ha puesto la primera piedra de la teoría cuántica.Carlo Rovelli, que a su profesión de físico añade su virtuosa pericia como contador de historias, nos expone los orígenes, el desarrollo y las claves de una teoría que lo cambia todo, que sirve para explicar el universo y las galaxias, que posibilita la invención de los ordenadores y otras máquinas, y que todavía hoy desconcierta e inquieta porque cuestiona aquello en lo que creemos.Asoman por estas páginas Erwin Schrödinger y su famoso gato, las reacciones de Niels Bohr y Einstein a la propuesta de Heisenberg, un visionario loco llamado Aleksandr Bogdánov, la relación de la teoría cuántica con el cubismo, la filosofía y el pensamiento oriental… Un libro deslumbrante y accesible que nos acerca a uno de los avances más trascendentales de la teoría científica contemporánea.

Principles of Tissue Engineering (Enhanced Edition)

Science & Nature

First published in 1997, Principles of Tissue Engineering is the widely recognized definitive resource in the field. The third edition provides a much needed update of the rapid progress that has been achieved in the field, combining the prerequisites for a general understanding of tissue growth and development, the tools and theoretical information needed to design tissues and organs, as well as a presentation by the world’s experts of what is currently known about each specific organ system. This edition includes greatly expanded focus on stem cells, including adult and embryonic stem cells and progenitor populations that may soon lead to new tissue engineering therapies for heart disease, diabetes, and a wide variety of other diseases that afflict humanity. This up-to-date coverage of stem cell biology and other emerging technologies is complemented by a series of new chapters on recent clinical experience in applying tissue engineering. The result is a comprehensive textbook that we believe will be useful to students and experts alike.New to this edition:*Includes new chapters on biomaterial-protein interactions, nanocomposite and three-dimensional scaffolds, skin substitutes, spinal cord, vision enhancement, and heart valves*Expanded coverage of adult and embryonic stem cells of the cardiovascular, hematopoietic, musculoskeletal, nervous, and other organ systems

Great Minds Don’t Think Alike

Science & Nature

Does technology change who we are, and if so, in what ways? Can humanity transcend physical bodies and spaces? Will AI and genetic engineering help us reach new heights or will they unleash dystopias? How do we face mortality, our own and that of our warming planet? Questions like these—which are only growing more urgent—can be answered only by drawing on different kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing. They challenge us to bridge the divide between the sciences and the humanities and bring together perspectives that are too often kept apart.Great Minds Don’t Think Alike presents conversations among leading scientists, philosophers, historians, and public intellectuals that exemplify openness to diverse viewpoints and the productive exchange of ideas. Pulitzer and Templeton Prize winners, MacArthur “genius” grant awardees, and other acclaimed writers and thinkers debate the big questions: who we are, the nature of reality, science and religion, consciousness and materialism, and the mysteries of time. In so doing, they also inquire into how uniting experts from different areas of study to consider these topics might help us address the existential risks we face today. Convened and moderated by the physicist and author Marcelo Gleiser, these public dialogues model constructive engagement between the sciences and the humanities—and show why intellectual cooperation is necessary to shape our collective future.Contributors include David Chalmers and Antonio Damasio; Sean Carroll and B. Alan Wallace; Patricia Churchland and Jill Tarter; Rebecca Goldstein and Alan Lightman; Jimena Canales and Paul Davies; Ed Boyden and Mark O’Connell; Elizabeth Kolbert and Siddhartha Mukherjee; Jeremy DeSilva, David Grinspoon, and Tasneem Zehra Husain.

Nanomaterials in Drug Delivery, Imaging, and Tissue Engineering

Science & Nature

This comprehensive volume provides the reader valuable insight into the major areas of biomedical nanomaterials, advanced nanomedicine, nanotheragnostics, and cutting-edge nanoscaffolds.The ability to control the structure of materials allows scientists to accomplish what once appeared impossible before the advent of nanotechnology. It is now possible to generate nanoscopic self-assembled and self-destructive robots for effective utilization in therapeutics, diagnostics, and biomedical implants. Nanoscopic therapeutic systems incorporate therapeutic agents, molecular targeting, and diagnostic imaging capabilities and they have emerged as the next generation of multifarious nanomedicine to improve the therapeutic outcome including chemo and translational therapy.Nanomaterials in Drug Delivery, Imaging, and Tissue Engineering comprises fifteen chapters authored by senior scientists, and is one of the first books to cover nanotheragnostics, which is the new developmental edge of nanomedicine combining both diagnostic and therapeutic elements at the nano level. This large multidisciplinary reference work has four main parts: biomedical nanomaterials; advanced nanomedicine; nanotheragnostics; and nanoscaffolds technology.This groundbreaking volume also covers: Multifunctional polymeric nanostructures for therapy and diagnosis Metalla-assemblies acting as drug carriers Nanomaterials for management of lung disorders and drug delivery Responsive polymer-inorganic hybrid nanogels for optical sensing, imaging, and drug delivery Core/shell nanoparticles for drug delivery and diagnosis Theranostic nanoparticles for cancer imaging and therapy Magnetic nanoparticles in tissue regeneration Core-sheath fibers for regenerative medicine

Smart Grids for Smart Cities, Volume 1

Science & Nature

SMART GRIDS for SMART CITIES Written and edited by a team of experts in the field, this first volume in a two-volume set focuses on an interdisciplinary perspective on the financial, environmental, and other benefits of smart grid technologies and solutions for smart cities. What makes a regular electric grid a “smart” grid? It comes down to digital technologies that enable two-way communication between a utility and its customers, as opposed to the traditional electric grid, where power flows in one direction. Based on statistics and available research, smart grids globally attract the largest investment venues in smart cities. Smart grids and city buildings that are connected in smart cities contribute to significant financial savings and improve the economy. The smart grid has many components, including controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and equipment working together. These technologies cooperate with the electrical grid to respond digitally to our quickly changing electric demand. The investment in smart grid technology also has certain challenges. The interconnected feature of smart grids is valuable, but it tremendously increases their susceptibility to threats. It is crucial to secure smart grids wherein many technologies are employed to increase real-time situational awareness and the ability to support renewables, as well as system automation to increase the reliability, efficiency, and safety of the electric grid. This exciting new volume covers all of these technologies, including the basic concepts and the problems and solutions involved with the practical applications in the real world. Whether for the veteran engineer or scientist, the student, or a manager or other technician working in the field, this volume is a must-have for any library.

Smart Grids for Smart Cities, Volume 2

Science & Nature

SMART GRIDS for SMART CITIES Written and edited by a team of experts in the field, this second volume in a two-volume set focuses on an interdisciplinary perspective on the financial, environmental, and other benefits of smart grid technologies and solutions for smart cities. This second volume in this groundbreaking two-volume set continues the authors’ and editors’ mission to present the concepts and best practices of smart grids and how they can be utilized within the framework of a technological tapestry to create smart cities. Continuing to go through the challenges and their practical solutions, this second volume includes chapters on waste management, e-waste, automotive and transportation engineering, and how internet-of-things can be utilized within these “smart” technologies, and many others. Like its predecessor, this exciting new volume covers all of these technologies, including the basic concepts and the problems and solutions involved with practical applications in the real world. Whether for the veteran engineer or scientist, the student, or a manager or other technician working in the field, this volume is a must-have for any library.

Nanomechanics and Micromechanics

Science & Nature

This volume enables readers to interpret and predict the effective mechanical properties of existing and emerging composites through modeling and design. The book addresses that materials and structures with small-scale dimensions do not behave in the same manner as their bulk counterparts. Once the dimensions of the materials are reduced to the micron and sub-micron range, their properties are subject to significant change. Thus, mechanical properties will be varied and will depend on the sample size. In the meantime, due to the large surface-to-volume ration of small structures, deformation mechanisms are subject to change.This volume integrates various approaches in micromechanics and nanomechanics into a unified mathematical framework, complete with coverage of both linear and nonlinear behaviors. It weaves together the basic concepts, mathematical fundamentals, and formulations of micromechanics and nanomechanics into a systemic approach for understanding and modeling the effective material behavior of composite materials.While providing information on recent developments in the mathematical framework of micro- and nanomechanics, the volume addresses highly localized phenomena and a number of interesting applications. It also illustrates application of micromechanical and nanomechanical theory to design novel engineering materials.

Active Electrical Distribution Network

Science & Nature

ACTIVE ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION NETWORKDiscover the major issues, solutions, techniques, and applications of active electrical distribution networks with this edited resourceActive Electrical Distribution Network: A Smart Approach delivers a comprehensive and insightful guide dedicated to addressing the major issues affecting an often-overlooked sector of the electrical industry: electrical distribution. The book discusses in detail a variety of challenges facing the smart electrical distribution network and presents a detailed framework to address these challenges with renewable energy integration.The book offers readers fulsome analyses of active distribution networks for smart grids, as well as active control approached for distributed generation, electric vehicle technology, smart metering systems, smart monitoring devices, smart management systems, and various storage systems. It provides a treatment of the analysis, modeling, and implementation of active electrical distribution systems and an exploration of the ways professionals and researchers from academia and industry attempt to meet the significant challenges facing them.From smart home energy management systems to approaches for the reconfiguration of active distribution networks with renewable energy integration, readers will also enjoy: A thorough introduction to electrical distribution networks, including conventional and smart networks An exploration of various existing issues related to the electrical distribution network An examination of the importance of harmonics mitigation in smart distribution networks, including active filters A treatment of reactive power compensation under smart distribution networks, including techniques like capacitor banks and smart devices An analysis of smart distribution network reliability assessment and enhancement Perfect for professionals, scientists, technologists, developers, designers, and researchers in smart grid technologies, security, and information technology, Active Electrical Distribution Network: A Smart Approach will also earn a place in the libraries of policy and administration professionals, as well as those involved with electric utilities, electric policy development, and regulating authorities.

Biofuels and Bioenergy

Science & Nature

Biofuels and Bioenergy: Opportunities and Challenges is the first of two volumes that address the technological developments and challenges in the production of a broad range of biofuels and bioenergy products from renewable feedstock. The book emphasizes the opportunities and challenges involved in various processes including fermentation, transesterification, microbial fuels cells, liquefaction, gasification, and pyrolysis. These are also considered from a biorefinery perspective and discuss all common biomass feedstocks. In addition, the book presents new research on microalgae from waste water treatment, large scale production of microalgae, microbial biooil production, biogas production, computational tools for manipulation of metabolic pathway for enhanced biogas production, production of biofuel from genetically modified microalgal biomass, techno-economic analysis, environmental impact and life cycle analysis.Biofuels and Bioenergy is an ideal reference on the latest research for researchers and students working in the area of biofuels and renewable energy. Addresses biological and chemical methods of biofuel and bioenergy production Provides industry case studies alongside in-depth techno-economic analysis, environmental impact, and life cycle assessment of biofuels production Focuses on the commercial viability of production processes

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

Science & Nature

Finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction: “Nicholas Carr has written a Silent Spring for the literary mind.”—Michael Agger, Slate “Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question, in a celebrated Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration of the Internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences yet published. As he describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by “tools of the mind”—from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer—Carr interweaves a fascinating account of recent discoveries in neuroscience by such pioneers as Michael Merzenich and Eric Kandel. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways. Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic—a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption—and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection. Part intellectual history, part popular science, and part cultural criticism, The Shallows sparkles with memorable vignettes—Friedrich Nietzsche wrestling with a typewriter, Sigmund Freud dissecting the brains of sea creatures, Nathaniel Hawthorne contemplating the thunderous approach of a steam locomotive—even as it plumbs profound questions about the state of our modern psyche. This is a book that will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Techniques for Biomedical Applications

Science & Nature

ADVANCED MATERIALS and MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES for BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONSThe book provides essential knowledge for the synthesis of biomedical products, development, nanomaterial properties, fabrication processes, and design techniques for different applications, as well as process design and optimization.In origin, biomaterials can come from nature or be synthesized in the laboratory with a variety of approaches that use metals, polymers, ceramic, or composite materials. They are often used or adapted for various biomedical applications. Biomaterials are commonly used in scaffolds, orthopedic, wound healing, fracture fixation, surgical sutures, artificial organ developments, pins and screws to stabilize fractures, surgical mesh, breast implants, artificial ligaments and tendons, and drug delivery systems.The sixteen chapters in Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Techniques in Biomedical Applications cover the synthesis, processing, design, manufacturing, and characterization of advanced materials; self-healing, bioinspired, nature-resourced, nanobiomaterials for biomedical applications; and manufacturing techniques such as rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing, etc.AudienceThe book is for engineers, technologists, and researchers working in the area of biomedical engineering and manufacturing techniques. It is also appropriate for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.

Hints towards the formation of a more comprehensive theory of life

Science & Nature

English Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge lays out his theories of life in this essay published after his death. It is part of the Religious Writings Collection within Samuel Taylor Coleridge Anthology. In sermons, treatises and works of moral instruction, Coleridge’s faith deeply informed his theories and thought. This collection is ideal for individuals interested in the Lake Poets, literary criticism, 19th-century poetry and the Romantic Movement.

Computational and Experimental Analysis of Functional Materials

Science & Nature

This book looks at the synthesis of polyaniline by different methods, under different conditions, for various applications, and presents studies of its properties by a wide range of the modern physic-chemical methods. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of experimental results from the point of view of the correlations in the triad synthesis conditions–structurephysico–chemical properties. It combines the results of experimental investigations and original methodology of the description of physical–chemical and electrochemical phenomena at interface surfaces, showing an influence of such phenomena on the applied aspects of the polyaniline and nanocomposites on its basis applications.

New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Science & Nature

Crop Improvement through Microbial Biotechnology explains how certain techniques can be used to manipulate plant growth and development, focusing on the cross-kingdom transfer of genes to incorporate novel phenotypes in plants, including the utilization of microbes at every step, from cloning and characterization, to the production of a genetically engineered plant. This book covers microbial biotechnology in sustainable agriculture, aiming to improve crop productivity under stress conditions. It includes sections on genes encoding avirulence factors of bacteria and fungi, viral coat proteins of plant viruses, chitinase from fungi, virulence factors from nematodes and mycoplasma, insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis, and herbicide tolerance enzymes from bacteria. Introduces the principles of microbial biotechnology and its application in crop improvement Lists various new developments in enhancing plant productivity and efficiency Explains the mechanisms of plant/microbial interactions and the beneficial use of these interactions in crop improvement Explores various bacteria classes and their beneficial effects in plant growth and efficiency

Handbook of Research on Food Science and Technology

Science & Nature

This handbook series consists of three volumes focusing on food technology and chemistry, food biotechnology and microbiology, and functional foods and nutraceuticals. The volumes highlight new research and current trends in food science and technology, looking at the most recent innovations, emerging technologies, and strategies focusing on taking food design to sustainable levels. In particular, the handbooks include relevant information on modernization and improvements in the food industry.In volume 2 of the 3-volume set, the chapters examine bioactive compounds in food biotechnology, potential and risks of pigmented-grain corn, technological advances in the production of phytases, phytochemical molecules from food waste, control of food-borne pathogen bacteria, and more.

Power Systems Amid the 4th Industrial Revolution

Science & Nature

This book discusses the operation of power systems amid the 4th industrial revolution and the value of Industry 4.0 technologies to grid operators and end customers.The concept of smart grids was introduced years ago, but their practical implementation into power grids was delayed as the information communication technology infrastructure was not ready. The transition to smart grids can be put into three dimensions: decentralization, decarbonization, and digitalization. Industry 4.0 technologies can enable more advanced features that can add value to all parties in smart grids and achieve a more holistic efficiency increase for the entire system via accomplishing business goals and realizing technical requirements.Technical topics discussed in the book include: Structure of the generalized IoT value chain and IoT applications for low carbon technologies. Topological improvement of electrical equipment to facilitate a smooth transition to the smart grid infrastructure. Improvement of techniques to tackle advanced power system problems such as energy management, power equipment diagnostics, and renewable energy integration. Modeling, simulation, and analytic tools for cyber-attacks and cyber security actions for current cyber-physical power systems. Artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning application to power system problems. Intelligent controllers for an advanced residential system.

Chemistry and Industrial Techniques for Chemical Engineers

Science & Nature

This book, Chemistry and Industrial Techniques for Chemical Engineers, brings together innovative research, new concepts, and novel developments in the application of new tools for chemical and materials engineers. It contains significant research, reporting new methodologies, and important applications in the fields of chemical engineering as well as the latest coverage of chemical databases and the development of new methods and efficient approaches for chemists. With clear explanations, real-world examples, this volume emphasizes the concepts essential to the practice of chemical science, engineering, and technology while introducing the newest innovations in the field.

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