This book examines the most novel and state-of-the-art applications of biomaterials, with chapters that exemplify approaches with targeted drug delivery, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and cranioplasty implants. Expert contributors analyze biomaterials such as calcium phosphate, sol-gel and quenched glasses, metallic and polymer implants, bioactive glass, and polymer composites while also covering important areas such as the soft tissue replacement, apatites, bone regeneration and cell encapsulation. This book is appropriate for biomedical engineers, materials scientists, and clinicians who are seeking to implement the most advanced approaches and technologies with their patients.

This book discusses key theoretical aspects concerning the formation of the solar wind: the most essential building block in the heliosphere, in which planets orbit. To understand the influence of solar activity on planetary magnetospheres and atmospheres, we need to first understand the origin of the solar wind, which is still under debate. This book presents the outcomes of state-of-the-art numerical simulations of solar wind acceleration, including the first three-dimensional simulation of the turbulence-driven solar wind model. One of the book's goals is to include compressional effects in the dynamics of solar wind turbulence; accordingly, it discusses parametric decay instability in detail. Several key aspects that are relevant to the Parker Solar Probe observations are also discussed. Given its scope, the book plays a key role in bridging the gap between the theory of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and current/future in-situ observations of the solar wind. This book is based on the Ph.D. thesis by the author, which won the 2019 International Astronomical Union Division E Ph.D. prize.

This book provides the mathematical foundations of the theory of hyperhamiltonian dynamics, together with a discussion of physical applications. In addition, some open problems are discussed. Hyperhamiltonian mechanics represents a generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics, in which the role of the symplectic structure is taken by a hyperkahler one (thus there are three Kahler/symplectic forms satisfying quaternionic relations). This has proved to be of use in the description of physical systems with spin, including those which do not admit a Hamiltonian formulation. The book is the first monograph on the subject, which has previously been treated only in research papers.

X-ray imaging is a corner stone of breast cancer diagnosis. By exploiting the phase shift of X-rays rather than their attenuation, phase-contrast tomography has the potential to dramatically increase the visibility of small and low contrast features, thus leading to better diagnosis. This thesis presents research on the first synchrotron-based project developing a clinical phase-contrast breast computed tomography (CT) setup at Elettra, the Italian Syncrotron Radiation Facility. This book includes a comprehensive theoretical background on propagation-based phase-contrast imaging, exploring and extending the most recent image formation models. Along with theory, many practical implementation and optimization issues, ranging from detector-specific processing to setup geometry, are tackled on the basis of a large number of experimental evidences. Most of the modelling results and data analysis have general validity, being a valuable framework for optimization of phase-contrast setups. Results obtained at synchrotron are also compared with "real world" laboratory sources: both a first-of-its-kind comparison with one of the few hospital breast CT systems and a state-of-the-art implementation of monochromatic phase-contrast micro-tomography with a conventional rotating anode source are presented. On a more general level, this work sheds a light on the importance of synchrotron-based clinical programs, which are key to trigger the long-anticipated transition of phase-contrast imaging from synchrotrons to hospitals.

This book contains contributions to the 32nd Polish-Czech-Slovak Symposium on Mining and Environmental Geophysics held in May 2009 in Piechowice (Poland). The papers are related to various aspects of geophysical science such as induced seismicity, engineering seismology, environmental geophysics and geophysics in geology

The versatile and available GNSS signals can detect the Earth's surface environments as a new, highly precise, continuous, all-weather and near-real-time remote sensing tool. This book presents the theory and methods of GNSS remote sensing as well as its applications in the atmosphere, oceans, land and hydrology. Ground-based atmospheric sensing, space-borne atmospheric sensing, reflectometry, ocean remote sensing, hydrology sensing as well as cryosphere sensing with the GNSS will be discussed per chapter in the book.

Regularized equations of motion can improve numerical integration for the propagation of orbits, and simplify the treatment of mission design problems. This monograph discusses standard techniques and recent research in the area. While each scheme is derived analytically, its accuracy is investigated numerically. Algebraic and topological aspects of the formulations are studied, as well as their application to practical scenarios such as spacecraft relative motion and new low-thrust trajectories.

This book presents an analysis of our current knowledge on the origin of the Earth's continental crust. There are two aspects to consider: tectonic and igneous processes. Tectonic aspects include sedimentary accretion, terrane accretion, and continental collision at continental margins, in association with plate subduction. These processes result in the formation of large mountain belts, the building up of which literally grows the continents. However, these tectonic aspects are concerned with material recycling within the crust, and hence do not contribute to volumetric growth of continental crust. Igneous processes concern separation of continental crust from the mantle and result in the volumetric growth of continental crust. Therefore, the main focus of this book is to systematically examine why and how the Earth's continental crust forms, by evaluating magmatic processes at island arcs where new continental crust forms.

Nature is characterized by a number of physical laws and fundamental dimensionless couplings. These determine the properties of our physical universe, from the size of atoms, cells and mountains to the ultimate fate of the universe as a whole. Yet it is rather remarkable how little we know about them. The constancy of physical laws is one of the cornerstones of the scientific research method, but for fundamental couplings this is an assumption with no other justification than a historical assumption. There is no 'theory of constants' describing their role in the underlying theories and how they relate to one another or how many of them are truly fundamental. Studying the behaviour of these quantities throughout the history of the universe is an effective way to probe fundamental physics. This explains why the ESA and ESO include varying fundamental constants among their key science drivers for the next generation of facilities. This symposium discussed the state-of-the-art in the field, as well as the key developments anticipated for the coming years.

EPR of Free Radicals in Solids: Trends in Methods and Applications, 2nd ed. presents a critical two volume review of the methods and applications of EPR (ESR) for the study of free radical processes in solids. Emphasis is on the progress made in the developments in EPR technology, in the application of sophisticated matrix isolation techniques and in the advancement in quantitative EPR that have occurred since the 1st edition was published. Improvements have been made also at theoretical level, with the development of methods based on first principles and their application to the calculation of magnetic properties as well as in spectral simulations. EPR of Free Radicals in Solids II focuses on the trends in applications of experimental and theoretical methods to extract structural and dynamical properties of radicals and spin probes in solid matrices by continuous wave (CW) and pulsed techniques in nine chapters written by experts in the field. It examines the studies involving radiation- and photo-induced inorganic and organic radicals in inert matrices, the high-spin molecules and metal-based molecular clusters as well as the radical pro-cesses in photosynthesis. Recent advancements in environmental applications in-cluding measurements by myon resonance of radicals on surfaces and by quantitative EPR in dosimetry are outlined and the applications of optical detection in material research with much increased sensitivity reviewed. The potential use of EPR in quantum computing is considered in a newly written chapter. This new edition is aimed to experimentalists and theoreticians in research involving free radicals, as well as for students of advanced courses in physical chemis-try, chemical physics, materials science, biophysics, biochemistry and related fields.

This thesis develops and establishes several methods to determine the detailed geometric architecture of transiting exoplanetary systems (planets orbiting around, and periodically passing in front of, stars other than the sun) using high-precision photometric data collected by the Kepler space telescope. It highlights the measurement of stellar obliquity - the tilt of the stellar equator with respect to the planetary orbital plane(s) - and presents methods for more precise obliquity measurements in individual systems of particular interest, as well as for measurements in systems that have been out of reach of previous methods. Such information is useful for investigating the dynamical evolution of the planetary orbit, which is the key to understanding the diverse architecture of exoplanetary systems. The thesis also demonstrates a wide range of unique applications of high-precision photometric data, which expand the capability of future space-based photometry.

Titanium dioxide photocatalysis is based on the semiconducting nature of its anatase crystal type. Construction materials with titanium photocatalyst show performances of air purification, self-cleaning, water purification, antibacterial action. This book describes principles of titanium dioxide photocatalysis, its applications to cementitious and noncementitious materials, as well as an overview of standardization of testing methods.

This thesis establishes a multifaceted extension of the deterministic control framework that has been a workhorse of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, to stochastic, discrete, and autonomous control mechanisms. This facilitates the application of ideas from stochastic thermodynamics to the understanding of molecular machines in nanotechnology and in living things. It also gives a scale on which to evaluate the nonequilibrium energetic efficiency of molecular machines, guidelines for designing effective synthetic machines, and a perspective on the engineering principles that govern efficient microscopic energy transduction far from equilibrium. The thesis also documents the author's design, analysis, and interpretation of the first experimental demonstration of the utility of this generally applicable method for designing energetically-efficient control in biomolecules. Protocols designed using this framework systematically reduced dissipation, when compared to naive protocols, in DNA hairpins across a wide range of experimental unfolding speeds and between sequences with wildly different physical characteristics.

This book presents high-performance data transmission over plastic optical fibers (POF) using integrated optical receivers having good properties with multilevel modulation, i.e. a higher sensitivity and higher data rate transmission over a longer plastic optical fiber length. Integrated optical receivers and transmitters with high linearity are introduced for multilevel communication. For binary high-data rate transmission over plastic optical fibers, an innovative receiver containing an equalizer is described leading also to a high performance of a plastic optical fiber link. The cheap standard PMMA SI-POF (step-index plastic optical fiber) has the lowest bandwidth and the highest attenuation among multimode fibers. This small bandwidth limits the maximum data rate which can be transmitted through plastic optical fibers. To overcome the problem of the plastic optical fibers high transmission loss, very sensitive receivers must be used to increase the transmitted length over POF. The plastic optical fiber limited bandwidth problem can be decreased by using multilevel signaling like multilevel pulse amplitude modulation or by using an equalizer for binary data transmission.

Volume 37 is concerned with the use and role of modelling in chemical kinetics and seeks to show the interplay of theory or simulation with experiment in a diversity of physico-chemical areas in which kinetics measurements provide significant physical insight. Areas of application covered within the volume include electro- and interfacial chemistry, physiology, biochemistry, solid state chemistry and chemical engineering.
A leading contributor to this general area has been Professor W. John Albery, FRS, to whom the contributors and editors dedicate this book.

During the last thirty years a great advancement in low energy physics, particularly interactions of atoms with the electromagnetic field, has been achieved and the development of electronics and laser techniques has allowed to implement a fine manipulation of atoms with photons. A wealth of important applications has sprung out from the ability of manipulating large samples of cold atoms. Among them, the improvement of atomic clocks and the creation of atomic gyroscopes and of atomic gravity meters, which is obviously of great interest for geodesists and geophysicists, particularly for potential applications in satellite geodesy. This book explains the fundamental concepts necessary to understand atom manipulation by photons, including the principles of quantum mechanics. It is conceived as a road that leads the reader from classical physics (mechanics and electromagnetism, considered as a common scientific background of geodesists and geophysicists), to the basics of quantum mechanics in order to understand the dynamics of atoms falling in the gravity field, while interacting with suitably resonant laser beams. There are different types of measurements of gravity based on the manipulation of ultra-cold atoms; the book presents the principles of the instruments based on stimulated Raman transition, which can be easily worked out analytically. However, the concepts explained in the text can provide a good starting point to understand also the applications based on the so-called Block oscillations or on the Bose-Einstein condensation.

The fourth edition is again an "all-in-one" combination of basic theory and practical exercises with software and data available from the Springer server. Potential readers / users are students of Photogrammetry, Geodesy, Geography and other sciences, but also all who are interested in this topic. No prior knowledge is necessary, except the handling of standard PCs. Theory is presented true to the motto "as little as possible, but as much as necessary". The main part of the book contains several tutorials. In increasing complexity, accompanied by texts explaining further theory, the reader can proceed step by step through the particular working parts. All intermediate as well as the final results are discussed with reference to accuracy and error handling, and included in the data sets to provide controls. Most of the standard work in Digital Photogrammetry is shown and trained, for example scanning, image orientation, stereo plotting, aerial triangulation measurement (manual and automatic), block adjustment, automatic creation of surface models via image matching, creation of ortho images and mosaics, and others. Examples of both aerial and close-range photogrammetry present the power of this kind of measurement techniques. 3-D images can be viewed with the accompanying 3-D glasses. During the time since the last edition, the software development went on, and therefore it was necessary to adopt the text to the actual program versions which were also tested to work properly under MS Windows 10. Few options which are obsolete nowadays were removed, some new options were added, the handling of the software was simplified in several places, and so on. For the use of own images taken with a custom digital camera, a new chapter offers an easy way of lens calibration and explains how to get good results with a minimum of work. The software is not limited to the example data included but may be used for personal projects. Part of the book comprises a complete description of the software.

The book is dedicated to the method and application potential of micro segmented flow. The recent state of development of this powerful technique is presented in 12 chapters by leading researchers from different countries. In the first section, the principles of generation and manipulation of micro-fluidic segments are explained. In the second section, the micro continuous-flow synthesis of different types of nanomaterials is shown as a typical example for the use of advantages of the technique in chemistry. In the third part, the particular importance of the technique in biotechnical applications is presented demonstrating the progress for miniaturized cell-free processes, for molecular biology and DNA-based diagnostics and sequencing as well as for the development of antibiotics and the evaluation of toxic effects in medicine and environment.

Traditional research methodologies in the human respiratory system have always been challenging due to their invasive nature. Recent advances in medical imaging and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have accelerated this research. This book compiles and details recent advances in the modelling of the respiratory system for researchers, engineers, scientists, and health practitioners. It breaks down the complexities of this field and provides both students and scientists with an introduction and starting point to the physiology of the respiratory system, fluid dynamics and advanced CFD modeling tools. In addition to a brief introduction to the physics of the respiratory system and an overview of computational methods, the book contains best-practice guidelines for establishing high-quality computational models and simulations. Inspiration for new simulations can be gained through innovative case studies as well as hands-on practice using pre-made computational code. Last but not least, students and researchers are presented the latest biomedical research activities, and the computational visualizations will enhance their understanding of physiological functions of the respiratory system.

This thesis describes the experimental work that finally led to a successful measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering-a process proposed forty-three years ago. The experiment was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source facility, sited at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee. Of all known particles, neutrinos distinguish themselves for being the hardest to detect, typically requiring large multi-ton devices for the job. The process measured here involves the difficult detection of very weak signals arising from nuclear recoils (tiny neutrino-induced "kicks" to atomic nuclei), but leads to a much larger probability of neutrino interaction when compared to all other known mechanisms. As a result of this, "neutrino technologies" using miniaturized detectors (the author's was handheld and weighed only 14 kg) become a possibility. A large community of researchers plans to continue studying this process, facilitating an exploration of fundamental neutrino properties that is presently beyond the sensitivity of other methods.

This monograph is the last volume in the series 'Acoustic and Elastic
Wave Fields in Geophysics'. The previous two volumes published by Elsevier (2000, 2002) dealt mostly with wave propagation in liquid media.

The third volume is dedicated to propagation of plane, spherical and cylindrical elastic waves in different media including isotropic and transversely isotropic solids, liquid-solid models, and media with cylindrical inclusions (boreholes).
* Prevalence of physical reasoning on formal mathematical derivations
* Readers do not need to have a strong background in mathematics and mathematical physics
* Detailed analysis of wave phenomena in various types of elastic and liquid-elastic media

The book covers multi-disciplinary topics in observational, computational and applied geophysics in aspects of solid earth system. The authors provide an up-to-date overview for methods and techniques in seismology, with a focus on fault structure, strong ground motion and earthquake forecast based on full-3D earth structure models. Abundant of case studies make it a practical reference for researchers in seismology and applied geophysics.

Dykes occur in a wide variety of geological and tectonic settings and their detailed study through space and time is imperative for understanding several geological events. Dykes are believed to be an integral part of continental rifting and when they occur as spatially extensive swarms of adequate size, they can be of immense utility in continental reconstructions and also help to identify Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). It is known that continental flood basalts and major dyke swarms have their origin related in some way to the up-rise of hot mantle plumes which may lead to rifting and eventual continental break-up. Dykes signify crustal extension and are important indicators of crustal stabilisation events, supercontinental assembly and dispersal, crust-mantle interaction and play a significant role in the delineation of crustal provinces as well as in deciphering crustal evolution events. Many economic mineral deposits of the world are also associated with a variety of dykes. The volume will provide state-of-the-art information on all aspects of dykes with emphasis on the origin, evolution and emplacement of dykes.

This book grew out of the need to provide students with a solid introduction to modern fluid dynamics. It offers a broad grounding in the underlying principles and techniques used, with some emphasis on applications in astrophysics and planetary science. The book comprehensively covers recent developments, methods and techniques, including, for example, new ideas on transitions to turbulence (via transiently growing stable linear modes), new approaches to turbulence (which remains the enigma of fluid dynamics), and the use of asymptotic approximation methods, which can give analytical or semi-analytical results and complement fully numerical treatments. The authors also briefly discuss some important considerations to be taken into account when developing a numerical code for computer simulation of fluid flows. Although the text is populated throughout with examples and problems from the field of astrophysics and planetary science, the text is eminently suitable as a general introduction to fluid dynamics. It is assumed that the readers are mathematically equipped with a reasonable knowledge in analysis, including basics of ordinary and partial differential equations and a good command of vector calculus and linear algebra. Each chapter concludes with bibliographical notes in which the authors briefly discuss the chapter's essential literature and give recommendations for further, deeper reading. Included in each chapter are a number of problems, some of them relevant to astrophysics and planetary science. The book is written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, but will also prove a valuable source of reference for established researchers.

This thesis addresses fundamental scientific questions such as: How are complex natural products synthesized in vivo? Can we replicate these conditions in a laboratory environment? What is the biological function of such secondary metabolites? What are the biological origins of chirality? These issues are explored in an accessible manner using a multidisciplinary approach spanning chemistry, biology and physics to investigate an interesting family of complex natural products isolated from marine molluscs - the tridachiahydropyrones. The work has achieved: Elegant biomimetic syntheses of a number of the tridachiahydropyrone compounds in vitro using organic synthesis techniques The characterization of the interactions between these compounds and a range of model membrane systems using a series of fluorescence spectroscopic studies The investigation of the antioxidant and photoprotective properties of the compounds by means of biophysical assay techniques The synthesis of tridachiahydropyrone utilizing the model membrane systems as biomimetic reaction media.