Written by a leading expert on comets, this textbook is divided into seven main elements with a view to allowing advanced students to appreciate the interconnections between the different elements. The author opens with a brief introductory segment on the motivation for studying comets and the overall scope of the book. The first chapter describes fundamental aspects most usually addressed by ground-based observation. The author then looks at the basic physical phenomena in four separate chapters addressing the nucleus, the emitted gas, the emitted dust, and the solar wind interaction. Each chapter introduces the basic physics and chemistry but then new specific measurements by Rosetta instruments at comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko are brought in. A concerted effort has been made to distinguish between established fact and conjecture. Deviations and inconsistencies are brought out and their significance explained. Links to previous observations of comets Tempel 1, Wild 2, Hartley 2, Halley and others are made. The author then closes with three smaller chapters on related objects, the loss of comets, and prospects for future exploration. This textbook includes over 275 graphics and figures - most of which are original. Thorough explanations and derivations are included throughout the chapters. The text is therefore designed to support MSc. students and new PhD students in the field wanting to gain a solid overview of the state-of-the-art.

This book highlights the use of LEDs in biomedical photoacoustic imaging. In chapters written by key opinion leaders in the field, it covers a broad range of topics, including fundamentals, principles, instrumentation, image reconstruction and data/image processing methods, preclinical and clinical applications of LED-based photoacoustic imaging. Apart from preclinical imaging studies and early clinical pilot studies using LED-based photoacoustics, the book includes a chapter exploring the opportunities and challenges of clinical translation from an industry perspective. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scientists and engineers in academia and industry, as well as medical experts interested in the clinical applications of photoacoustic imaging.

This present book discusses the application of the methods to astrophysical data from different perspectives. In this book, the reader will encounter interesting chapters that discuss data processing and pulsars, the complexity and information content of our universe, the use of tessellation in astronomy, characterization and classification of astronomical phenomena, identification of extragalactic objects, classification of pulsars and many other interesting chapters. The authors of these chapters are experts in their field and have been carefully selected to create this book so that the authors present to the community a representative publication that shows a unique fusion of artificial intelligence and astrophysics.

GPCRS: Structure, Function, and Drug Discovery provides a comprehensive overview of recent discoveries and our current understanding of GPCR structure, signaling, physiology, pharmacology and methods of study. In addition to the fundamental aspects of GPCR function and dynamics, international experts discuss crystal structures, GPCR complexes with partner proteins, GPCR allosteric modulation, biased signaling through protein partners, deorphanization of GPCRs, and novel GPCR-targeting ligands that could lead to the development of new therapeutics against human diseases. GPCR association with, and possible therapeutic pathways for, retinal degenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer and diabetic nephropathy, among other illnesses, are examined in-depth.

This book reports on the extraordinary observation of TeV gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar, the most energetic light ever detected from this type of object. It presents detailed information on the painstaking analysis of the unprecedentedly large dataset from the MAGIC telescopes, and comprehensively discusses the implications of pulsed TeV gamma rays for state-of-the-art pulsar emission models. Using these results, the book subsequently explores new testing methodologies for Lorentz Invariance Violation, in terms of a wavelength-dependent speed of light. The book also covers an updated search for Very-High-Energy (VHE), >100 GeV, emissions from millisecond pulsars using the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi satellite, as well as a study on the promising Pulsar Wind Nebula candidate PSR J0631. The observation of VHE gamma rays is essential to studying the non-thermal sources of radiation in our Universe. Rotating neutron stars, also known as pulsars, are an extreme source class known to emit VHE gamma rays. However, to date only two pulsars have been detected with emissions above 100 GeV, and our understanding of their emission mechanism is still lacking.

The Textbook of Ion Channels is a set of three volumes providing a wide-ranging reference source on ion channels for students, instructors, and researchers. Ion channels are membrane proteins that control the electrical properties of neurons and cardiac cells, mediate the detection and response to sensory stimuli like light, sound, odor, and taste, and regulate the response to physical stimuli like temperature and pressure. In non-excitable tissues, ion channels are instrumental for the regulation of basic salt balance that is critical for homeostasis. Ion channels are located at the surface membrane of cells, giving them the unique ability to communicate with the environment, as well as the membrane of intracellular organelles, allowing them to regulate internal homeostasis. Ion channels are fundamentally important for human health and diseases, and are important targets for pharmaceuticals in mental illness, heart disease, anesthesia, pain and other clinical applications. The modern methods used in their study are powerful and diverse, ranging from single ion-channel measurement techniques to models of ion channel diseases in animals, and human clinical trials for ion channel drugs. All three volumes give the reader an introduction to fundamental concepts needed to understand the mechanism of ion channels, a guide to the technical aspects of ion channel research, offer a modern guide to the properties of major ion channel families, and include coverage of key examples of regulatory, physiological, and disease roles for ion channels.

This book discusses fundamentally new biomedical imaging methods, such as holography, holographic and resonant interferometry, and speckle optics. It focuses on the development of holographic interference microscopy and its use in the study of phase objects such as nerve and muscle fibers subjected to the influence of laser radiation, magnetic fields, and hyperbaric conditions. The book shows how the myelin sheath and even the axon itself exhibit waveguide properties, enabling a fresh new look at the mechanisms of information transmission in the human body. The book presents theoretically and experimentally tested holographic and speckle-optical methods and devices used for investigating complex, diffusely scattering surfaces such as skin and muscle tissue. Additionally, it gives broad discussion of the authors' own original fundamental and applied research dedicated to helping physicians introduce new contact-less methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems into medical practice. The book is aimed at a broad spectrum of scientific specialists in the fields of speckle optics, holography, laser physics, morphology and cytochemistry, as well as medical professionals such as physiologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, cardiologists and dentists.

This book explains the physics behind seismic ground motions and seismic waves to graduate and upper undergraduate students as well as to professionals. Both seismic ground motions and seismic waves are terms for "shaking" due to earthquakes, but it is common that shaking in the near-field of an earthquake source is called seismic ground motion and in the far-field is called seismic waves. Seismic ground motion is often described by the tensor formula based on the representation theorem, but in this book explicit formulation is emphasized beginning with Augustus Edward Hough Love (1863 - 1940). The book also explains in depth the equations and methods used for analysis and computation of shaking close to an earthquake source. In addition, it provides in detail information and knowledge related to teleseismic body waves, which are frequently used in the analysis of the source of an earthquake.

This textbook provides an accessible introduction to physics for undergraduate students in the life sciences, including those majoring in all branches of biology, biochemistry, and psychology and students working on pre-professional programs such as pre-medical, pre-dental, and physical therapy. The text is geared for the algebra-based physics course, often named College Physics in the United States. The order of topics studied are such that most of the problems in the text can be solved with the methods of Statics or Dynamics. That is, they require a free body diagram, the application of Newton’s Laws, and any necessary kinematics. Constructing the text with a standardized problem-solving methodology, simplifies this aspect of the course and allows students to focus on the application of physics to the study of biological systems. Along the way, students apply these techniques to find the tension in a tendon, the sedimentation rate of red blood cells in haemoglobin, the torques and forces on a bacterium employing a flagellum to propel itself through a viscous fluid, and the terminal velocity of a protein moving in a Gel Electrophoresis device. This is part one of a two-volume set; volume 2 introduces students to the conserved-quantities and applies these problem-solving techniques to topics in Thermodynamics, Electrical Circuits, Optics, and Atomic and Nuclear Physics always with continued focus on biological applications.

This is an overview of single molecule physics, the study of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium properties at the single molecule level. It begins with an introduction to this fascinating science and includes a chapter on how to build the most popular instrument for single molecule biophysics, the total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope. It concludes with the Poisson process approach to statistical mechanics, explaining how to relate the process to diverse areas and see how data analysis and error bars are integral parts of science.

This book examines the origins and dynamical characteristics of atmospheric inertia-gravity waves in the Antarctic mesosphere. Gravity waves are relatively small-scale atmospheric waves with a restoring force of buoyancy that can transport momentum upward from the troposphere to the middle atmosphere. In previous studies, the dynamical characteristics of mesospheric gravity waves have not been fully examined using numerical simulations, since performing a numerical simulation with a high resolution and a high model-top requires considerable computational power. However, recent advances in computational capabilities have allowed us to perform numerical simulations using atmospheric general circulation models, which cover the troposphere to the mesosphere with a sufficiently fine horizontal resolution to resolve small-scale gravity waves. The book first describes the simulation of mesospheric gravity waves using a high-resolution non-hydrostatic atmospheric model with a high model top. The accuracy of the numerical results was confirmed by the first Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere/Incoherent Scattering (MST/IS) radar observation in the Antarctic. It also depicts the origins and propagation processes of mesospheric gravity waves on the basis of the results of the high-resolution numerical model. The behaviors of mesospheric gravity waves can be clearly explained using both fundamental and cutting-edge theories of fluid dynamics

Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: Dynamics, Binding, and Function thoroughly examines and ties together the fundamental biochemical functions of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), including signaling, binding, and regulation, with the methodology for study and the associated pathways for drug design and therapeutic intervention. The role of new mechanistic, computational, and experimental approaches in IDP study are explored in depth, with methods for the characterization of IDP dynamics; models, simulations, and mechanisms of IDP and IDR binding; and biological and medical implications of IDP dynamics prominently featured. Written and edited by leading scientists in the field, this book explores groundbreaking areas such as ensemble descriptions of IDPs and IDRs, single-molecule studies of IDPs and IDRs, IDPs and IDRs in membraneless organelles, and molecular mechanisms of fibrillation of IDPs. Intrinsically Disordered Proteins provides students and researchers in biochemistry, molecular biology, and applied microbiology with a comprehensive and updated discussion of the complex dynamics of IDPs and IDRs.

Our Universe is amazing. This is its story, told in simple language. The story tells how the Universe came to be what it is today. It starts with the Big Bang and describes how stars, black holes, and our solar system developed. It explores the evolution of life on Earth and investigates the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. It peers into the future and wonders about the Universe's likely old age and death, or whatever else may be its end. The challenge the book takes up is to explain all of this, including some of the astonishing concepts we have in science, such as Einstein's theories of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, using virtually no mathematics and without dumbing-down. All are described narratively and explained using examples and anecdotes. The book is written for young people with a thirst for learning about the science of space, as well as for 'grown-ups' who want a better understanding of this fascinating subject.

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 138.Subduction zones helped nucleate and grow the continents, they fertilize and lubricate the earth's interior, they are the site of most subaerial volcanism and many major earthquakes, and they yield a large fraction of the earth's precious metals. They are obvious targets for study--almost anything you learn is likely to impact important problems--yet arriving at a general understanding is notoriously difficult: Each subduction zone is distinct, differing in some important aspect from other subduction zones; fundamental aspects of their mechanics and igneous processes differ from those in other, relatively well-understood parts of the earth; and there are few direct samples of some of their most important metamorphic and metasomatic processes. As a result, even first-order features of subduction zones have generated conflict and apparent paradox. A central question about convergent margins, for instance--how vigorous magmatism can occur where plates sink and the mantle cools--has a host of mutually inconsistent answers: Early suggestions that magmatism resulted from melting subducted crust have been emphatically disproved and recently just as emphatically revived; the idea that melting is fluxed by fluid released from subducted crust is widely held but cannot explain the temperatures and volatile contents of many arc magmas; generations of kinematic and dynamic models have told us the mantle sinks at convergent margins, yet strong evidence suggests that melting there is often driven by upwelling. In contrast, our understanding ofwhy volcanoes appear at ocean ridges and "hotspots"--although still presenting their own chestnuts--are fundamentally solved problems.

This Festschrift is a tribute to Susan Stepney's ideas and achievements in the areas of computer science, formal specifications and proofs, complex systems, unconventional computing, artificial chemistry, and artificial life. All chapters were written by internationally recognised leaders in computer science, physics, mathematics, and engineering. The book shares fascinating ideas, algorithms and implementations related to the formal specification of programming languages and applications, behavioural inheritance, modelling and analysis of complex systems, parallel computing and non-universality, growing cities, artificial life, evolving artificial neural networks, and unconventional computing. Accordingly, it offers an insightful and enjoyable work for readers from all walks of life, from undergraduate students to university professors, from mathematicians, computers scientists and engineers to physicists, chemists and biologists.

NASA SP-4113. The NASA History Series. Provides a biography of Dr. William H. Pickering. The dust jacket states: "More than any other individual Bill Pickering was responsible for America's success in exploring the planets, an endeavor that demanded vision, courage, dedication, expertise, and the ability to inspire two generations of scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory," a quote from Thomas P. Everhart.