Science & Nature - Books

Neural Networks Modeling and Control

Science & Nature

Neural Networks Modelling and Control: Applications for Unknown Nonlinear Delayed Systems in Discrete Time focuses on modeling and control of discrete-time unknown nonlinear delayed systems under uncertainties based on Artificial Neural Networks. First, a Recurrent High Order Neural Network (RHONN) is used to identify discrete-time unknown nonlinear delayed systems under uncertainties, then a RHONN is used to design neural observers for the same class of systems. Therefore, both neural models are used to synthesize controllers for trajectory tracking based on two methodologies: sliding mode control and Inverse Optimal Neural Control. As well as considering the different neural control models and complications that are associated with them, this book also analyzes potential applications, prototypes and future trends. - Provide in-depth analysis of neural control models and methodologies - Presents a comprehensive review of common problems in real-life neural network systems - Includes an analysis of potential applications, prototypes and future trends

Um Planeta de Vírus

Science & Nature

Durante anos, os cientistas avisaram-nos de que uma pandemia era inevitável. Tinham razão. E agora todos temos muito a aprender. Os vírus dominam o planeta e transformam as nossas vidas. Estamos mais familiarizados com o vírus da gripe, e agora com o responsável pela COVID-19, mas os vírus são responsáveis por muitas outras doenças. Estão presentes na nossa vida há tanto tempo que, neste momento, o genoma humano contém mais ADN de vírus do que dos nossos próprios genes. Para onde quer que olhem, os cientistas descobrem novos vírus.

Bolesna historia stomatologii

Science & Nature

Solidna dawka śmiechu i wiedzy dla dentystów i ich pacjentów.„Kirkus Reviews”Choć wizyty w gabinecie nawet dziś nie należą do najprzyjemniejszych, a wielu ludziom na samą myśl o dentyście miękną kolana, współcześni pacjenci mogą być wdzięczni losowi.Pierwsi z nich trafiali na scenę, gdzie wyrwiząb – artysta bólu i prekursor profesji – ku uciesze gawiedzi zajmował się problemem. Trochę później dla złagodzenia bólu puszczano im krew, przypalano skórę albo podawano śmiertelną dawkę arszeniku. Na początku XX wieku bywali traktowani dawką promieniowania, uzależniali się od kokainy, a przy okazji tracili także zdrowe zęby. Czym jest nowoczesna opieka, która – nawet jeśli wzbudza strach – zazwyczaj nie kończy się powolną i bolesną śmiercią? I dlaczego za hollywoodzki uśmiech jesteśmy gotowi płacić krocie?Wynbrandt w zabawny (acz nie do końca bezbolesny) sposób opowiada o krwawej historii stomatologii. Jak wyglądało leczenie w czasach najciemniejszej niewiedzy? Jak błędne przekonania i przesądy wpływały na barbarzyństwo zabiegów, bardziej przypominających sceny z horroru niż jakąkolwiek opiekę medyczną?Ta opowieść może nie wyleczy nikogo z dentofobii, z pewnością jednak pomoże docenić wiedzę dzisiejszych stomatologów, sterylność ich gabinetów i dostępność szerokiej gamy skutecznych środków przeciwbólowych.

Multifunctional Nanostructured Coatings

Science & Nature

Multifunctional Nanostructured Coatings: Biomedical, Environmental, and Energy Applications offers core and advanced information about various nanomaterials and their synthetic approaches to nanostructured coatings. The book focuses on the application of multifunctional nanostructured coatings (MNCs) in the areas of biomedicine, the environment, and energy, and presents the latest advances in the design, preparation, characterization, and fabrication of MNCs. Techniques covered in the book include chemical deposition (including plasma-assisted deposition) and physical deposition methods such as magnetron sputtering, arc evaporation, electron-beam evaporation, and ion-beam sputtering.In addition, the book also explores the use of multifunctional ZnO/TiO2 nanoarray composite coatings, Ta- and Si-doped multifunctional bioactive nanostructured films, in situ-generated titanium-oxo clusters, and silver nanoparticles. It will be useful for researchers working in the areas of materials science, coating technologies, nanotechnology, sustainability, and environmental engineering. - Highlights the latest methods in the design, preparation, characterization, and fabrication of MNCs - Provides detailed information on the biomedical, energy, and environmental applications of MNCs - Assesses the major challenges in making nanomaterials-based coatings more reliable and cost-effective - Considers current prospects and future trends within the MNC industry

Distributed Energy Management of Electrical Power Systems

Science & Nature

Go in-depth with this comprehensive discussion of distributed energy managementDistributed Energy Management of Electrical Power Systems provides the most complete analysis of fully distributed control approaches and their applications for electric power systems available today. Authored by four respected leaders in the field, the book covers the technical aspects of control, operation management, and optimization of electric power systems.In each chapter, the book covers the foundations and fundamentals of the topic under discussion. It then moves on to more advanced applications. Topics reviewed in the book include: System-level coordinated control Optimization of active and reactive power in power grids The coordinated control of distributed generation, elastic load and energy storage systems Distributed Energy Management incorporates discussions of emerging and future technologies and their potential effects on electrical power systems. The increased impact of renewable energy sources is also covered.Perfect for industry practitioners and graduate students in the field of power systems, Distributed Energy Management remains the leading reference for anyone with an interest in its fascinating subject matter.

So reicht das nicht!

Science & Nature

»Wir dürfen keine Zeit mehr verlieren. Vor allem müssen wir Klima-Außenpolitik lernen.« Ernst Ulrich von WeizsäckerSeit dem berühmten Club-of-Rome-Bericht von 1972 "Die Grenzen des Wachstums" sollte die Welt wissen, dass das schiere Wirtschaftswachstum zu viel Schaden anrichtet. Besonders beim Klima. "Es reicht nicht, wenn ein paar gutwillige Länder zu Vorbildern der Klimaneutralität werden", sagt Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker. "Wir müssen auch dafür sorgen, dass es den Entwicklungsländern und den Kohle- und Öl-Ländern richtig Nutzen bringt, aus Kohle, Öl und Erdgas auszusteigen."Wo weltweit und zu Hause etwas zur Stabilisierung des Planeten getan werden muss, zeigt er auf anhand von sieben Themen. Wesentlicher Punkt ist für ihn die Arbeit an einer neuen Aufklärung. Man müsse in Sachen ökologischer Wahrheit Abschied nehmen von primitivem Egoismus und maximierter Kapitalrendite und fordert ein deutlich entschlosseneres Handeln für das Wohl künftiger Generationen: "Nur wer dem Klima und der Natur nützt, sollte künftig Gewinner sein. Verlierer sollten die Zerstörer sein."

Reversibility and Universality

Science & Nature

This book is a tribute to Kenichi Morita’s ideas and achievements in theoretical computer science, reversibility and computationally universal mathematical machines. It offers a unique source of information on universality and reversibility in computation and is an indispensable book for computer scientists, mathematicians, physicists and engineers. Morita is renowned for his works on two-dimensional language accepting automata, complexity of Turing machines, universality of cellular automata, regular and context-free array grammars, and undecidability. His high-impact works include findings on parallel generation and parsing of array languages by means of reversible automata, construction of a reversible automaton from Fredkin gates, solving a firing squad synchronization problem in reversible cellular automata, self-reproduction in reversible cellular spaces, universal reversible two-counter machines, solution of nondeterministic polynomial (NP) problems in hyperbolic cellular automata, reversible P-systems, a new universal reversible logic element with memory, and reversibility in asynchronous cellular automata.Kenichi Morita’s achievements in reversibility, universality and theory of computation are celebrated in over twenty high-profile contributions from his colleagues, collaborators, students and friends. The theoretical constructs presented in this book are amazing in their diversity and depth of intellectual insight, addressing: queue automata, hyperbolic cellular automata, Abelian invertible automata, number-conserving cellular automata, Brownian circuits, chemical automata, logical gates implemented via glider collisions, computation in swarm networks, picture arrays, universal reversible counter machines, input-position-restricted models of language acceptors, descriptional complexity and persistence of cellular automata, partitioned cellular automata, firing squad synchronization algorithms, reversible asynchronous automata, reversible simulations of ranking trees, Shor’s factorization algorithms, and power consumption of cellular automata.

Astrofizyka dla zabieganych

Science & Nature

Jaka jest natura przestrzeni i czasu? Jakie jest nasze miejsce we wszechświecie? Jak wszechświat przenika nas samych? Jeżeli chcecie poznać przemawiające do wyobraźni, a zarazem konkretne odpowiedzi na te intrygujące i poszerzające horyzonty pytania, nie znajdziecie lepszego źródła niż książka napisana przez znanego amerykańskiego astrofizyka i bestsellerowego autora Neila deGrasse’a Tysona. Dziś mało kto ma czas na kontemplację kosmosu. Tyson dobrze o tym wie, sprowadza więc cały wszechświat na ziemię, pisząc o nim jasno i zwięźle, z błyskotliwym poczuciem humoru, w smakowitych rozdziałach, które możecie z łatwością pochłonąć w dowolnym czasie i miejscu waszego wypełnionego zajęciami dnia. Nieważne, czy właśnie czekacie na filiżankę porannej kawy, na przyjazd autobusu czy odlot samolotu – sięgnijcie po „Astrofizykę dla zabieganych”. Ta książka wyjaśni wam wszystko, czego potrzebujecie, by zyskać obeznanie z kosmosem… i zachwycić się nim!

Applied Biotechnology and Bioinformatics

Science & Nature

This comprehensive reference book discusses the convergent and next-generation technologies for product-derived applications relevant to agriculture, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and the environment. The field of modern biotechnology is a multidisciplinary and groundbreaking area of biology that includes several cutting-edge methods due to developments in forensics and molecular modeling. Bioinformatics is a full-fledged multidisciplinary field that combines advances in computer and information technology. Numerous applications of bioinformatics—primarily in the areas of gene and protein identification, structural and functional prediction, drug development and design, folding of genes and proteins and their complexity, vaccine design, and organism identification—have contributed to the advancement of biotechnology. Biotechnology is also essential to crop improvement in agriculture because it allows genes to transfer across plants to increase traits such as disease resistance and yield. It also plays a broad role in healthcare, including genetic testing, gene therapy, pharmacogenomics, and drug development. Bioremediation and biodegradation, using microbial technologies to clean up environmental contamination, waste management technologies, and the conversion of organic waste to biofuels. Bioinformatics plays a critical role in analyzing different types of data created by high-throughput research methods—such as genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic datasets—that are useful in addressing various problems related to disease management, clean environment, alternative energy sources, agricultural productivity, and more. Audience The book will interest biotechnology researchers and bioinformatics professionals working in the areas of applied biotechnology, bioengineering, biomedical sciences, microbiology, agriculture and environmental sciences.

Engines of Discovery

Science & Nature

The first edition of Engines of Discovery celebrated in words, images and anecdotes the accelerators and their constructors that culminated in the discovery of the Higgs boson. But even before the Higgs was discovered, before the champagne corks popped and while the television producers brushed up their quantum mechanics, a new wave of enthusiasm for accelerators to be applied for more practical purposes was gaining momentum. Almost all fields of human endeavour will be enhanced by this trend: energy conservation, medical diagnostics and treatment, national security, as well as industrial processing. Accelerators have been used most spectacularly to reveal the structure of the complex molecules that determine our metabolism and life. For every accelerator chasing the Higgs, there are now ten thousand serving other purposes. It is high time to move from abstract mathematics and philosophy to the practical needs of humankind.It is the aim of this revised and expanded edition to describe this revolution in a manner which will attract the young, not only to apply their curiosity to the building blocks of matter but to help them contribute to the improvement of the quality of life itself on this planet. As always, the authors have tried to avoid lengthy mathematical description. In describing a field which reaches out to almost all of today's cutting edge technology, some detailed explanation cannot be avoided but this has been confined to sidebars. References guide experts to move on to the journal Reviews of Accelerator Science and Technology and other publications for more information. But first we would urge every young physicist, teacher, journalist and politician to read this book.Contents: Electrostatic Accelerators Cyclotrons Linear Accelerators Betatrons Synchrotrons Colliders Neutrino Super Beams, Neutrino Factories and Muon Colliders Detectors High-Energy and Nuclear Physics Synchrotron Radiation Sources Isotope Production and Cancer Therapy Accelerators Spallation Neutron Sources Accelerators in Industry and Elsewhere National Security Energy and the Environment A Final Word — Mainly to the Young Readership: Scientists, research physicists, engineers and administrators at accelerator laboratories; general readers; undergraduates and graduates in physics, electrical engineering and the history of science.

Biofuels

Science & Nature

A large number of biofuels have been developed in the recent years to overcome the challenges associated with depletion of fossil fuels and environmental pollution. Especially, major breakthroughs with respect to feedstocks, synthesis, properties and applications of the high-quality biofuels have been achieved. Though many challenges exist till date which hinder the large scale commercialization of these materials, however, it is envisaged that growth in the technological knowhow as well as new feedstocks in the near future will continue to drive the development of biofuels. The book aims to present the recent developments in various aspects of such biofuels, especially related to feedstocks, synthetic methodologies as well as commercialization. The wealth of information about synthesis and commercialization of many commercially relevant biofuels makes the book a valuable asset for a diverse audience ranging from materials, chemical and biochemical engineers as well as practicing scientists in academia and industry to postgraduate university students in various engineering disciplines.For more details, please visit https://centralwestpublishing.com

Superkommunikatörer

Science & Nature

Ny bok av författaren bakom The Power of Habit »Uppslukande läsning, både om hur du förstår andra och hur du själv gör dig förstådd.« Adam Grant I Superkommunikatörer kombinerar Charles Duhigg djupgående research med sin hyllade berättartalang för att visa hur vi alla kan lära oss känna igen - och dra nytta av - de dolda lager som lurar under varje samtal. Kommunikation är en superkraft, och de bästa kommunikatörerna förstår att vi så fort vi har ett samtal i själva verket deltar i en av tre konversationer: en praktisk (Vad handlar det här egentligen om?), en känslomässig (Hur känner vi?) och en social (Vilka är vi?). Om vi inte vet vilket slags samtal vi har är det osannolikt att vi lyckas skapa kontaktytor. I grund och botten är budskapet enkelt: Med de rätta verktygen kan vi nå fram till och kommunicera med vem som helst. I översättning av Manne Svensson. CHARLES DUHIGG är en amerikansk Pulitzer-prisvinnande journalist och författaren till The Power of Habit [2012], som låg på New York Times bestsellerlista i tre år och har sålt i över 5 miljoner exemplar världen över. Framgången fortsatte med den hyllade uppföljaren Smarter Faster Better [2016]. Superkommunikatörer [Supercommunicators, 2024] är Charles Duhiggs senaste bok, som även den snabbt blivit en internationell bestseller. »Charles Duhigg gör det igen.« Arthur C. Brooks »Duhigg använder sig av engagerande historieberättande för att lyfta fram fängslande forskning och grundläggande principer som vi alla kan lära oss av och använda i våra dagliga liv.« David Allen, författare till Getting Things Done

Richard Ned Lebow: Key Texts in Political Psychology and International Relations Theory

Science & Nature

This third out of four volumes by Richard Ned Lebow in this book series includes texts on psychology and international relations, causation, counterfactual analysis. The political psychology contributions draw on richer, ancient Greek understandings of the psyche and offer novel insights into strategies of conflict management, the role of emotions in international relations, and the modern fixation on identity.

Learn to Think in Systems

Science & Nature

Would you like to have better solutions to your problems? Struggling to understand why things went wrong when you did everything right? Learn to Think in Systems can help you with these problems. Systems surround us and we might not even be aware of it. Your household is a system. The bakery on the corner is a system. Your class at school, your department at work, and your weekend soccer team made of wholehearted dads is a system too. You are a vital part of more complex systems like your country, the economy, or the world; learn about their changing nature, and find optimal solutions to problems related to them. The world is more connected than ever thanks to innovations like telephone, television, computers, and internet. The way we sense reality changed significantly. Using conventional thinking to understand the world as it functions today is not enough. We need to know the elements of systems thinking to see beyond simple cause-effect connections. This book will help you to find strategic solutions to every complex, modern problem.Learn To Think in Systems focuses on the nine fundamental system archetypes; our mental models related to them, and the step-by-step implication methods to fix them. Learn to use systems archetypes to solve your problems at work, in your business, in your relationship, and social connections. See through the motivations and understand the drives of contemporary politics, economics, and education. Widen your perspective, think critically, analyze deeply, clear your vision, be more logical and rational just by applying systems thinking. Think differently and get different results. •Learn the language of systems thinking.•Apply the best systems thinking ideas, models, and frameworks in your cognitive and decision-making process. •Learn to understand, design, and find solutions to the main system problems called 'archetypes.'Complexity, organizational pathways, and networks gain more and more importance in our interconnected world. Learn To Think in Systems gives you real-life examples to make the adoption process of this type of thinking smooth. Define your problems more accurately, find better, long-lasting solutions to your problems, learn to create strategic plans using systems diagrams, and understand your place and power over the world.

The Systems Thinker - Mental Models

Science & Nature

Regain focus. Select relevant information. Make quick and clear decisions. We are dealing with too many options, too much information, conflicting advice on general choices like what diet to choose, or who to choose as a mate. It's hard to maintain focus and be confident in our decisions under such conditions. The Systems Thinker –Mental Models helps you make decisions based on your relevant thought patterns and true values. Finding the most relevant information to YOU, the best decision to YOU is a matter of exploring YOUR thoughts and wants. Mental models are cognitive frameworks that you can use to make order in your head, tune out the noise, and focus on what's important – without getting overwhelmed. Mental models provide transparency, order, deeper understanding, context, and most importantly, a clear solution or conclusion about problems. Using systems thinking as your leading cognitive tool will provide depth AND width to your mental analysis. Learn how corporate executives, economists, and policy makers analyze big data and make decisions based on it.•Discover 12 powerful thinking tools to facilitate your though processes•Understanding and model dynamic systems•Learn to use mental models through real-life examples Mental models are so much more than a cognitive tool; they help with productivity, enhance understanding, boost critical thinking, and analytical skills.•Understand how corporations make multidimensional decisions •Learn to design your own mental models to map out your real priorities•Learn to include soft variables such as emotions into your analysis •Shift your mindset from blaming to accountability and resolve conflicts easier.

Origine(s) de la bipédie chez les hominidés

Science & Nature

Pour comprendre les origines de notre famille, il est essentiel de comprendre les origines de notre bipédie. Quand la bipédie de type humain est-elle apparue ? A partir de quelle(s) forme(s) ancestrale(s) ? Y a-t-il eu d’autres bipédies ? Quels sont les facteurs énergétiques, biomécaniques, climatiques qui ont permis à la bipédie humaine de se développer ? Autant de questions sur l’origine de notre mode de locomotion qui sont exposées ici en rendant compte des données actuelles sur le sujet. Des thèmes très variés sont donc abordés comme la bipédie humaine d’un point de vue anatomique, fonctionnel, biomécanique et comportemental. Bien évidemment, les aspects paléontologiques ont été traités à travers les modèles fossiles connus (grimper et redressement chez les primates paléocènes, chez les oréopithèques miocènes ou les australopithèques plio-pléistocènes). Enfin, les aspects biogéographiques, climatiques et environnementaux de cette origine ont été évoqués.

Aux arbres citoyens - Pour renouer avec l'écosystème Terre

Science & Nature

L'explorateur, le médecin, l'aventurier des déserts blancs, célèbre la forêt dans un livre intime et rappelle combien il est essentiel pour l'homme de se rapprocher de la nature.Pôle Nord en solitaire, traversées du Groenland, de l'Antarctique en traîneau à chiens... Certes, Jean-Louis Étienne est l'homme des déserts blancs, mais ce voyageur au long cours, bricoleur et bâtisseur dans l'âme, est un amoureux de la forêt et du bois. Il a d'ailleurs installé son port d'attache dans une forêt de son Tarn natal, là où, tout jeune, il s'évadait, où il s'échappe encore pour retrouver la cabane qu'il y a construite.À l'instar du philosophe américain Henry-David Thoreau, l'un de ses inspirateurs, Jean-Louis Étienne est en quête d'alliances intimes avec la nature qu'il côtoie depuis son plus jeune âge. Elle est son champ d'observations, d'émotions, de découvertes, d'inspirations, son espace de liberté et d'apaisement.C'est ce qu'il nous raconte à partir d'anecdotes et de souvenirs d'enfance, mais c'est surtout le génie de l'arbre qui fascine l'auteur. Ces géants du règne végétal nous gratifient de leurs multiples potentiels : le gîte et le couvert de la biodiversité, les châteaux d'eau entre la terre et le ciel, pourvoyeurs d'oxygène et régulateurs du climat, ils sont les garants de la conservation des sols. Avec passion, et un don pour la pédagogie, l'auteur nourrit notre curiosité de questions inattendues. Pourquoi les racines plongent-elles vers le centre de la Terre ? Un arbre transpire-t-il ? Pourquoi les feuilles sont-elles vertes ? Qui est le véritable poumon de la Terre ? Il fait également état de recherches prometteuses en biomimétisme, comme la photosynthèse artificielle qui permettra de produire un " carburant solaire ", et expose des solutions pour demain, comme l'agroforesterie et la construction d'immeubles en bois pour séquestrer le carbone.Jean-Louis Étienne, homme de terrain et d'expériences, observateur attentif des équilibres minuscules et immenses qui régulent la marche du monde, nous dit avec conviction et réalisme qu'il existe un chemin pour une coévolution durable entre l'homme et la nature. Nous avons tous un rôle à jouer, à chacun de donner un sens à sa vie.

Soul Fallacy

Science & Nature

Most Americans believe they possess an immaterial soul that will survive the death of the body. In sharp contrast, the current scientific consensus rejects the traditional soul, although this conclusion is rarely discussed publicly. In this book, a cognitive scientist breaks the taboo and explains why modern science leads to this controversial conclusion. In doing so, the book reveals the truly astonishing scope and power of scientific inquiry, drawing on ideas from biology, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and the physical sciences. Much more than chronicling the demise of the traditional soul, the book explores where soul beliefs come from, why they are so widespread culturally and historically, how cognitive science offers a naturalistic alternative to religious conceptions of mind, and how postulating the existence of a soul amounts to making a scientific claim. Although the new scientific view of personhood departs radically from traditional religious conceptions, the author shows that a coherent, meaningful, and sensitive appreciation of what it means to be human remains intact. He argues that we do not lose anything by letting go of our soul beliefs and that we even have something to gain. Throughout, the book takes a passionate stand for science and reason. It also offers a timely rejoinder to recent claims that science supports the existence of the soul and the afterlife.

Data-Driven, Nonparametric, Adaptive Control Theory

Science & Nature

Data-Driven, Nonparametric, Adaptive Control Theory introduces a novel approach to the control of deterministic, nonlinear ordinary differential equations affected by uncertainties. The methods proposed enforce satisfactory trajectory tracking despite functional uncertainties in the plant model. The book employs the properties of reproducing kernel Hilbert (native) spaces to characterize both the functional space of uncertainties and the controller's performance. Classical control systems are extended to broader classes of problems and more informative characterizations of the controllers’ performances are attained.Following an examination of how backstepping control and robust control Lyapunov functions can be ported to the native setting, numerous extensions of the model reference adaptive control framework are considered. The authors’ approach breaks away from classical paradigms in which uncertain nonlinearities are parameterized using a regressor vector provided a priori or reconstructed online. The problem of distributing the kernel functions that characterize the native space is addressed at length by employing data-driven methods in deterministic and stochastic settings.The first part of this book is a self-contained resource, systematically presenting elements of real analysis, functional analysis, and native space theory. The second part is an exposition of the theory of nonparametric control systems design. The text may be used as a self-study book for researchers and practitioners and as a reference for graduate courses in advanced control systems design. MATLAB® codes, available on the authors’ website, and suggestions for homework assignments help readers appreciate the implementation of the theoretical results.

La perspective curviligne

Science & Nature

La réalité, même celle qui est visible à l’œil nu, offre, contrairement à l’opinion reçue, de multiples aspects qui n’ont encore jamais été mis en forme. Il importe donc d’énoncer aujourd’hui des règles de perspective plus conformes à notre appréhension du monde extérieur et capables aussi de susciter de nouvelles recherches picturales. C’est ce que les auteurs de ce livre ont entrepris de faire. En proposant un nouvel outil d’analyse visuelle, la perspective curviligne (c’est-à-dire la représentation en lignes courbes de l’univers), André Barre et Albert Flocon élargissent le champ de vision et découvrent de nouvelles lectures de l’espace visuel. Ils invitent ainsi les artistes à rejoindre dans la création des formes ces autres modeleurs du visible que sont les techniciens et les hommes de science du XXème siècle.

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