springer us jul 1998 (20 results)

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -My initial purpose in writing this book was to offer readers an update of my book Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects (Plenum, 1984), which con tained a broad overview of the history (actually the absence of any history) ofthe awareness of alcohol's teratogenic potential; a review of alcohol's pharmacology, especially with respect to pregnancy; a survey of the physical and behavioral effects of prenatal alcohol exposure; and an overview of the mechanisms sus pected of being responsible for those effects. I have omitted most of the previously examined historical and pharmacologi cal information because not much of what was previously discussed needed revision. On the other hand, because much more has been learned about the consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure and its potential mechanisms of action, I have considerably expanded my discussion of these topics. In doing so, I have attempted to include as much new material as possible without (I hope) being overly pedantic and thereby losing the proverbial forest for the trees. No book is ever entirely neutral in the topics it discusses, the issues it raises, or in its conclusions. In sifting through hundreds and oftentimes thousands of articles, writers have to choose which facts to emphasize and which to ignore. Every idea cannot be chronicled and every article cannot (and should not) be cited. In going about the business of picking and choosing, however, a writer has an obligation to present the arguments for and against a particular conclusion. 276 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Food transportation represents a significant element of the food industry with major implications for food product costs, in terms of the direct costs associated with transportation, and those potentially larger ones associated with poor product and packaging quality which are consequences of inefficient and/or inappropriate operation. This handbook is for both the transporter and food producer, in that it bridges the interests and specializations of both. The book covers both the logistics and food science, and considers transport (i.e. land, sea, and air) as well as by its food sector. 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Technology, Innovation and Industrial Economics: Institutional Perspectives, inspired by the work of William E. Cole, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, extends his work with essays on technology, innovation and industrial economics from an Institutionalist perspective. The managerial style, innovational practices and industrial setting of the continuous improvement firm are central to several chapters. This volume also features innovation and technology in Latin America, Adam Smith's writing on entrepreneurship and a comparison of American and European Institutionalism. The topics of technology, innovation, industrial organization and industrial policy are being widely discussed and debated in today's literature, but seldom from an Institutionalist perspective. The purpose of this book is to reduce substantially this missing dimension in the ongoing debates on these important issues. 172 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In the last few years the use of geometrie methods has permeated many more branehes of mathematies and the seiences. Briefly its role may be eharaeterized as folIows. Whereas methods of mathematieal analysis deseribe phenomena 'in the sm all ' geometrie methods eontribute to giving the picture 'in the large'. A seeond no less important property of geometrie methods is the eonvenienee of using its language to deseribe and give qualitative explanations for diverse mathematieal phenomena and patterns. From this point of view, the theory of veetor bundles together with mathematieal analysis on manifolds (global anal ysis and differential geometry) has provided a major stimulus. Its language turned out to be extremely fruitful: connections on prineipal veetor bundles (in terms of whieh various field theories are deseribed), transformation groups including the various symmetry groups that arise in eonneetion with physieal problems, in asymptotie methods of partial differential equations with small parameter, in elliptie operator theory, in mathematieal methods of classieal meehanies and in mathematieal methods in eeonomies. There are other eur rently less signifieant applieations in other fields. Over a similar period, uni versity edueation has ehanged eonsiderably with the appearanee of new courses on differential geometry and topology. New textbooks have been published but 'geometry and topology' has not, in our opinion, been wen eovered from a prae tieal applieations point of view. 268 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Modeling Microprocessor Performance focuses on the development of a design and evaluation tool, named RIPE (Rensselaer Interconnect Performance Estimator). This tool analyzes the impact on wireability, clock frequency, power dissipation, and the reliability of single chip CMOS microprocessors as a function of interconnect, device, circuit, design and architectural parameters. It can accurately predict the overall performance of existing microprocessor systems. For the three major microprocessor architectures, DEC, PowerPC and Intel, the results have shown agreement within 10% on key parameters. The models cover a broad range of issues that relate to the implementation and performance of single chip CMOS microprocessors. The book contains a detailed discussion of the various models and the underlying assumptions based on actual design practices. As such, RIPE and its models provide an insightful tool into single chip microprocessor design and its performance aspects. At the same time, it provides design and process engineers with the capability to model, evaluate, compare and optimize single chip microprocessor systems using advanced technology and design techniques at an early design stage without costly and time consuming implementation. RIPE and its models demonstrate the factors which must be considered when estimating tradeoffs in device and interconnect technology and architecture design on microprocessor performance. 216 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The book is essential for food manufacturers using HACCP procedures to ensure quality control. In particular, it offers practical information for production engineers and quality assurance personnel involved in minimizing the risk of foreign body contamination reaching the consumer. Recent developments in both technology and techniques are assessed and compared to more established methods in order to provide the most up-to-date and pragmatic advice for food manufacturers.The major sources of foreign body contamination are shown and the methods and machinery available to prevent food adulteration are analyzed. The capabilities and limitations of the machines used to remove foreign matter from food are considered in detail. It describes the detection methods available and how they are used in the food industry. In particular the capabilities and limitations of the machines used is dealt with in sufficient detail for them to be understood by technologists and scientists from disciplines other than engineering. 380 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Neurobiology research suggests that information can be represented by the location of an activity spot in a population of cells (`place coding'), and that this information can be processed by means of networks of interconnections. Place Coding in Analog VLSI defines a representation convention of similar flavor intended for analog-integrated circuit design. It investigates its properties and suggests ways to build circuits on the basis of this coding scheme. In this electronic version of place coding, numbers are represented by the state of an array of nodes called a map, and computation is carried out by a network of links. In the simplest case, a link is just a wire connecting a node of an input map to a node of an output map. In other cases, a link is an elementary circuit cell. Networks of links are somewhat reminiscent of look-up tables in that they hardwire an arbitrary function of one or several variables. Interestingly, these structures are also related to fuzzy rules, as well as some types of artificial neural networks. The place coding approach provides several substantial benefits over conventional analog design: Networks of links can be synthesized by a simple procedure whatever the function to be computed. Place coding is tolerant to perturbations and noise in current-mode implementations. Tolerance to noise implies that the fundamental power dissipation limits of conventional analog circuits can be overcome by using place coding. The place coding approach is illustrated by three integrated circuits computing non-linear functions of several variables. The simplest one is made up of 80 links and achieves submicrowatt power consumption in continuous operation. The most complex one incorporates about 1800 links for a power consumption of 6 milliwatts, and controls the operation of an active vision system with a moving field of view. Place Coding in Analog VLSI is primarily intended for researchers and practicing engineers involved in analog and digital hardware design (especially bio-inspired circuits). The book is also a valuable reference for researchers and students in neurobiology, neuroscience, robotics, fuzzy logic and fuzzy control. 232 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Covering a wide range of disciplines, this book explains the formulae, techniques, and methods used in field ecology. By providing an awareness of the statistical foundation for existing methods, the book will make biologists more aware of the strengths and possible weaknesses of procedures employed, and statisticians more appreciative of the needs of the field ecologist. Unique to this book is a focus on ecological data for single-species populations, from sampling through modeling. Examples come from real situations in pest management, forestry, wildlife biology, plant protection, and environmental studies, as well as from classical ecology. All those using this book will acquire a strong foundation in the statistical methods of modern ecological research. This textbook is for late undergraduate and graduate students, and for professionals. 584 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -measure of the rate of innovation --research-and-development (R&D) expenditure per employee compared to new patents received per employee -- does not adequately capture a unique feature of SMEs, namely that owners and managers are often themselves innovators. For example, in Japan 52 per cent of SMEs' innovations reported in 1986 were created by employers, whereas in large firms 72 per cent of innovations were created by research technicians. Nevertheless, patchy evidence from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States indicates that SMEs at least hold their own in terms of innovation compared to large firms. Perhaps most significantly, a recent study indicates that, while the total number of innovations is positively related to R&D expenditures, skilled labour and the degree to which large firms comprise the industry, in innovative industries innovative activity tends to emanate more from SMEs than large firms. This is probably because in industries where large firms dominate, SMEs need to be innovative to survive. There is much information to suggest that in technologies such as micro-electronics, new materials and biotechnology SMEs tend to be in the vanguard of innovation. Small and medium-sized enterprises as exporters. The contribution of SMEs to a national economy from exporting is generally small; for example, in Japan SMEs accounted for only 13 per cent of merchandise exports in 1990. 280 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -There is a growing tendency to organize various aspects of business life by projects, and to set up temporary organizations in a competition where speed and adaptability becomes a major necessity. Organizing by projects is perceived as a good way to ensure action and to stress the importance of getting work done. However, there is a need to balance the stress on action so that learning capabilities are not only retained, but augmented. Projects as Arenas for Renewal and Learning Processes provides examples of how different types of projects function from a learning or renewal perspective, taken from a wide variety of real-life environments in industrial and public organizations. This book illustrates the mistaken habit of assuming too much in the project area: for example, project notions are, in fact, culture-dependent; classical market-oriented contracting business relations do not fit with the learning dimension of projects; and long-term learning on core competencies and product development projects need to be connected. The book is also intended to represent many of the research frontiers in the project field. Enhancing learning capabilities is - or should be - of a mutual concern to researchers and managers alike. 284 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The American public has a fascination with railroad wrecks that goes back a long way. One hundred years ago, staged railroad accidents were popular events. At the Iowa State fair in 1896, 89,000 people paid $20 each, at current prices, to see two trains, throttles wide open, collide with each other. 'Head-on Joe' Connolly made a business out of 'cornfield meets' holding seventy-three events in thirty-six years. Picture books of train wrecks do good business presumably because a train wreck can guarantee a spectacular destruction of property without the messy loss of life associated with aircraft accidents. A 'train wreck' has also entered the popular vocabulary in a most unusual way. When political manoeuvering leads to failure to pass the federal budget, and a shutdown is likely of government services, this is widely called a 'train wreck. ' In business and team sports, bumbling and lack of coordination leading to a spectacular and public failure to perform is also called 'causing a train wreck. ' A person or organization who is disorganized may be labelled a 'train wreck. ' It is therefore not surprising that the public perception of the safety of railroads centers on images of twisted metal and burning tank cars, and a general feeling that these events occur quite often. After a series of railroad accidents, such as occurred in the winter of 1996 or the summer of 1997, there are inevitable calls that government 'should do something. 252 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The International Workshop on 'Intersubband Transitions in Quantum Wells:: Physics and Applications,' was held at National Cheng Kung University, in Tainan, Taiwan, December 15-18, 1997. The objective of the Workshop is to facilitate the presentation and discussion of the recent results in theoretical, experimental, and applied aspects of intersubband transitions in quantum wells and dots. The program followed the tradition initiated at the 1991 conference in Cargese-France, the 1993 conference in Whistler, B. C. Canada, and the 1995 conference in Kibbutz Ginosar, Israel. Intersubband transitions in quantum wells and quantum dots have attracted considerable attention in recent years, mainly due to the promise of various applications in the mid- and far-infrared regions (2-30 J. lm). Over 40 invited and contributed papers were presented in this four-day workshop, with topics covered most aspects of the intersubband transition phenomena including: the basic intersubband transition processes, multiquantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) physics, large format (640x480) GaAs QWIP (with 9. 0 J. lffi cutoff) focal plane arrays (FPAs) for IR imaging camera applications, infrared modulation, intersubband emission including mid- and long- wavelength quantum cascade (QC) lasers such as short (A. '' 3. 4 J. lm) and long (A. '' 11. 5 J. lm) wavelength room temperature QC lasers, quantum fountain intersubband laser at 15. 5 J. lm wavelength in GaAs/AIGaAs quantum well, harmonic generation and nonlinear effects, ultra-fast phenomena such as terahertz (THz) intersubband emission and detection. The book divides into five Chapters. 228 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -One of the main uses of computer systems is the management of large amounts of symbolic information representing the state of some application domain, such as information about all the people I communicate with in my personal address database, or relevant parts of the outer space in the knowledge base of a NASA space mission. While database management systems offer only the basic services of information storage and retrieval, more powerful knowledge systems offer, in addition, a number of advanced services such as deductive and abductive reasoning for the purpose of finding explanations and diagnoses, or generating plans. In order to design and understand database and knowledge-based applications it is important to build upon well-established conceptual and mathematical foundations. What are the principles behind database and knowledge systems What are their major components Which are the important cases of knowledge systems What are their limitations Addressing these questions, and discussing the fundamental issues of information update, knowledge assimilation, integrity maintenance, and inference-based query answering, is the purpose of this book. Foundations of Databases and Knowledge Systems covers both basic and advanced topics. It may be used as the textbook of a course offering a broad introduction to databases and knowledge bases, or it may be used as an additional textbook in a course on databases or Artificial Intelligence. Professionals and researchers interested in learning about new developments will benefit from the encyclopedic character of the book, which provides organized access to many advanced concepts in the theory of databases and knowledge bases. 332 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Spatiotemporal Environmental Health Modelling: A Tractatus Stochasticus provides a holistic, conceptual and quantitative framework for Environmental Health Modelling in space-time. The holistic framework integrates two aspects of Environmental Health Science that have been previously treated separately: the environmental aspect, which involves the natural processes that bring about human exposure to harmful substances; and the health aspect, which focuses on the interactions of these substances with the human body. Some of the fundamental issues addressed in this work include variability, scale, uncertainty, and space-time connectivity. These topics are important in the characterization of natural systems and health processes. Spatiotemporal Environmental Health Modelling: A Tractatus Stochasticus explains why modern stochastics is the appropriate mechanical vehicle for addressing such issues in a rigorous way. In particular, modern stochastics incorporates concepts and methods from probability, classical statistics, geostatistics, statistical mechanics and field theory. The authors present a synthetic view of environmental health that embraces all of the various components and focuses on their mutual interactions. Spatiotemporal Environmental Health Modeling: A Tractatus Stochasticus includes new material on Bayesian maximum entropy estimation techniques and space-time random field estimation methods. The authors show why these methods have clear advantages over the classical geostatistical estimation procedures and how they can be used to provide accurate space-time maps of environmental health processes. Also included are expositions of diagrammatic perturbation and renormalization group analysis, which have not been previously discussed within the context of Environmental Health. Finally, the authors present stochastic indicators that can be used for large-scale characterization of contamination and investigations of health effects at the microscopic level. This book will be a useful reference to both researchers and practitioners of Environmental Health Sciences. It will appeal specifically to environmental engineers, geographers, geostatisticians, earth scientists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, pharmacologists, applied mathematicians, physicists and biologists. 424 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In the early fifties, applied mathematicians, engineers and economists started to pay c10se attention to the optimization problems in which another (lower-Ievel) optimization problem arises as a side constraint. One of the motivating factors was the concept of the Stackelberg solution in game theory, together with its economic applications. Other problems have been encountered in the seventies in natural sciences and engineering. Many of them are of practical importance and have been extensively studied, mainly from the theoretical point of view. Later, applications to mechanics and network design have lead to an extension of the problem formulation: Constraints in form of variation al inequalities and complementarity problems were also admitted. The term 'generalized bi level programming problems' was used at first but later, probably in Harker and Pang, 1988, a different terminology was introduced: Mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints, or simply, MPECs. In this book we adhere to MPEC terminology. A large number of papers deals with MPECs but, to our knowledge, there is only one monograph (Luo et al. , 1997). This monograph concentrates on optimality conditions and numerical methods. Our book is oriented similarly, but we focus on those MPECs which can be treated by the implicit programming approach: the equilibrium constraint locally defines a certain implicit function and allows to convert the problem into a mathematical program with a nonsmooth objective. 300 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Studies in Consumer Demand - Econometric Methods Applied to Market Data contains eight previously unpublished studies of consumer demand. Each study stands on its own as a complete econometric analysis of demand for a well-defined consumer product. The econometric methods range from simple regression techniques applied in the first four chapters, to the use of logit and multinomial logit models used in chapters 5 and 6, to the use of nested logit models in chapters 6 and 7, and finally to the discrete/continuous modeling methods used in chapter 8. Emphasis is on applications rather than econometric theory. In each case, enough detail is provided for the reader to understand the purpose of the analysis, the availability and suitability of data, and the econometric approach to measuring demand. 316 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The analysis and control of complex systems have been the main motivation for the emergence of fuzzy set theory since its inception. It is also a major research field where many applications, especially industrial ones, have made fuzzy logic famous. This unique handbook is devoted to an extensive, organized, and up-to-date presentation of fuzzy systems engineering methods. The book includes detailed material and extensive bibliographies, written by leading experts in the field, on topics such as: Use of fuzzy logic in various control systems. Fuzzy rule-based modeling and its universal approximation properties. Learning and tuning techniques for fuzzy models, using neural networks and genetic algorithms. Fuzzy control methods, including issues such as stability analysis and design techniques, as well as the relationship with traditional linear control. Fuzzy sets relation to the study of chaotic systems, and the fuzzy extension of set-valued approaches to systems modeling through the use of differential inclusions. Fuzzy Systems: Modeling and Control is part of The Handbooks of Fuzzy Sets Series. The series provides a complete picture of contemporary fuzzy set theory and its applications. This volume is a key reference for systems engineers and scientists seeking a guide to the vast amount of literature in fuzzy logic modeling and control. 544 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The first edition of Flavor of Meat and Meat Products was described as 'the best compilation of data on meat flavor yet published.' This edition has now been updated and extended to include the latest developments concerning both meat and fish flavor. It presents the latest research on species flavors, cured meat flavor, methods of assessment of flavor quality and consequences of meat deterioration. The coverage is divided into three parts which deal with species flavors, the effects of constituents and processing on flavor, and the analytical methods, chemical and sensory, of assessing meat flavor. The book is highly recommended for scientists and technologists in the meat and seafood industries. It is also of value to sensory scientists, quality managers and marketing personnel. 452 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Over the past three decades, impressive progress in the field of pathogenesis, prevention and therapy of ischemic heart disease has resulted in a marked decline in mortality in the Western World. However, the incidence of this devastating disease is on the rise in developing countries. The Ischemic Heart is based upon a recent symposium in Tokyo on the subject. This volume is organized into two sections: (i) Pathophysiologic Mechanisms of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and (ii) Preconditioning and Protection of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury, and contains up-to-date information concerning the current concepts of ischemia-reperfusion injury, the sequence of events resulting in the loss of contractile dysfunction, and mechanisms of cardioprotection by several drugs as well as the role of ischemic preconditioning in attenuating problems associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury. 628 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -As computer power grows and data collection technologies advance, a plethora of data is generated in almost every field where computers are used. The com puter generated data should be analyzed by computers; without the aid of computing technologies, it is certain that huge amounts of data collected will not ever be examined, let alone be used to our advantages. Even with today's advanced computer technologies (e. g. , machine learning and data mining sys tems), discovering knowledge from data can still be fiendishly hard due to the characteristics of the computer generated data. Taking its simplest form, raw data are represented in feature-values. The size of a dataset can be measUJ ed in two dimensions, number of features (N) and number of instances (P). Both Nand P can be enormously large. This enormity may cause serious problems to many data mining systems. Feature selection is one of the long existing methods that deal with these problems. Its objective is to select a minimal subset of features according to some reasonable criteria so that the original task can be achieved equally well, if not better. By choosing a minimal subset offeatures, irrelevant and redundant features are removed according to the criterion. When N is reduced, the data space shrinks and in a sense, the data set is now a better representative of the whole data population. If necessary, the reduction of N can also give rise to the reduction of P by eliminating duplicates. 242 pp. Englisch.