The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program is a cooperative effort by government, private industry, and academia to apply advanced technology to the task of resolving the problems of surface transportation. The objective is to improve travel efficiency and mobility, enhance safety, conserve energy, provide economic benefits, and protect the environment. The current demand for mobility has exceeded the available capacity of the roadway system. Because the highway system cannot be expanded, except in minor ways, the available capacity must be used more efficiently to handle the increased demand.
ITS applies advanced information processing, communication, sensing, and computer control technologies to the problems of surface transportation. Considerable research and development efforts will be required to produce these new technologies and to convert technologies developed in the defense and space programs to solve surface transportation problems.
ITS has been subdivided into six interlocking technology areas. This book addresses human factors concerns for four of these areas:
*" Advanced Traveler Information Systems" are a variety of systems that provide real time, in-vehicle information to drivers regarding navigation and route guidance, motorist services, roadway signing, and hazard warnings.
*" Advanced Vehicle Control Systems" refer to systems that aid drivers in controlling their vehicle particularly in emergency situations and ultimately taking over some or all of the driving tasks.
*" Commercial Vehicle Operations" address the application of ITS technologies to the special needs of commercial roadway vehicles including automated vehicle identification, location, weigh-in-motion, clearance sensing, and record keeping.
*" Advanced Traffic Management Systems" monitor, control and manage traffic on streets and highways to reduce congestion using vehicle route diversion, automated signal timing, changeable message signs, and priority control systems.
Two technical areas are not specifically addressed in individual chapters, but many aspects of them are covered in associated chapters:
*" Advanced Rural Transportation Systems" include systems that apply ITS technologies to the special needs of rural systems and include emergency notification and response, vehicle location, and traveler information.
*" Advanced Public Transportation Systems" enhance the effectiveness, attractiveness and economics of public transportation and include fleet management, automated fare collection, and real-time information systems.

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program is a cooperative effort by government, private industry, and academia to apply advanced technology to the task of resolving the problems of surface transportation. The objective is to improve travel efficiency and mobility, enhance safety, conserve energy, provide economic benefits, and protect the environment. The current demand for mobility has exceeded the available capacity of the roadway system. Because the highway system cannot be expanded, except in minor ways, the available capacity must be used more efficiently to handle the increased demand.
ITS applies advanced information processing, communication, sensing, and computer control technologies to the problems of surface transportation. Considerable research and development efforts will be required to produce these new technologies and to convert technologies developed in the defense and space programs to solve surface transportation problems.
ITS has been subdivided into six interlocking technology areas. This book addresses human factors concerns for four of these areas:
*" Advanced Traveler Information Systems" are a variety of systems that provide real time, in-vehicle information to drivers regarding navigation and route guidance, motorist services, roadway signing, and hazard warnings.
*" Advanced Vehicle Control Systems" refer to systems that aid drivers in controlling their vehicle particularly in emergency situations and ultimately taking over some or all of the driving tasks.
*" Commercial Vehicle Operations" address the application of ITS technologies to the special needs of commercial roadway vehicles including automated vehicle identification, location, weigh-in-motion, clearance sensing, and record keeping.
*" Advanced Traffic Management Systems" monitor, control and manage traffic on streets and highways to reduce congestion using vehicle route diversion, automated signal timing, changeable message signs, and priority control systems.
Two technical areas are not specifically addressed in individual chapters, but many aspects of them are covered in associated chapters:
*" Advanced Rural Transportation Systems" include systems that apply ITS technologies to the special needs of rural systems and include emergency notification and response, vehicle location, and traveler information.
*" Advanced Public Transportation Systems" enhance the effectiveness, attractiveness and economics of public transportation and include fleet management, automated fare collection, and real-time information systems.

This text deals with the most fundamental deficiency of modern theory control: the lack of an easily applicable method for the design of low order controllers. It shows that solutions to many different problems in control all reduce to the same linear algebra problem. It employs matrix equalities and matrix inequalities in the solutions of fixed order control and also provides computational algorithms.

This book addresses some of the challenges suffered by the well-known and robust sliding-mode control paradigm. The authors show how the fusion of fuzzy systems with sliding-mode controllers can alleviate some of these problems and promote applicability. Fuzzy systems used as soft switches eliminate high-frequency signal oscillations and can substantially lower the noise sensitivity of sliding-mode controllers. The amount of a priori knowledge required concerning the nominal structure and parameters of a nonlinear system is also shown to be much reduced by exploiting the general function-approximation property of fuzzy systems so as to use them as identifiers. The main features of this book include: * a review of various existing structures of sliding-mode fuzzy control; * a guide to the fundamental mathematics of sliding-mode fuzzy controllers and their stability analysis; * state-of-the-art procedures for the design of a sliding-mode fuzzy controller; * source codes including MATLAB (R) and Simulink (R) codes illustrating the simulation of these controllers, particularly the adaptive controllers; * a short bibliography for each chapter for readers interested in learning more on a particular subject; and * illustrative examples and simulation results to support the main claims made in the text. Academic researchers and graduate students interested in the control of nonlinear systems and particularly those working in sliding-mode controller design will find this book a valuable source of comparative information on existing controllers and ideas for the development of new ones.

There are plenty of challenging and interesting problems open for investigation in the field of switched systems. Stability issues help to generate many complex nonlinear dynamic behaviours within switched systems. Professors Sun and Ge present a thorough investigation of stability effects on three broad classes of switching mechanism:

arbitrary switching where stability represents robustness to unpredictable and undesirable perturbation;

constrained switching, including random (within a known stochastic distribution), dwell-time (with a known minimum duration for each subsystem) and autonomously-generated (with a pre-assigned mechanism) switching; and

designed switching in which a measurable and freely-assigned switching mechanism contributes to stability by acting as a control input.

For each of these classes Stability Theory for Switched Dynamical Systems propounds:

detailed stability analysis and/or design;

related robustness and performance issues;

connections to other well-known control problems; and

many motivating and illustrative examples.

Academic researchers and engineers interested in systems and control will find this book of great value in dealing with all forms of switching and it will be a useful source of complementary reading for graduate students of nonlinear systems theory."

Spectral Feature Selection for Data Mining introduces a novel feature selection technique that establishes a general platform for studying existing feature selection algorithms and developing new algorithms for emerging problems in real-world applications. This technique represents a unified framework for supervised, unsupervised, and semisupervised feature selection. The book explores the latest research achievements, sheds light on new research directions, and stimulates readers to make the next creative breakthroughs. It presents the intrinsic ideas behind spectral feature selection, its theoretical foundations, its connections to other algorithms, and its use in handling both large-scale data sets and small sample problems. The authors also cover feature selection and feature extraction, including basic concepts, popular existing algorithms, and applications. A timely introduction to spectral feature selection, this book illustrates the potential of this powerful dimensionality reduction technique in high-dimensional data processing. Readers learn how to use spectral feature selection to solve challenging problems in real-life applications and discover how general feature selection and extraction are connected to spectral feature selection.

Contents:
1. Basic Principles: The Operating Regime Approach 2. Modelling: Fuzzy Set Methods for Local Modelling Identification 3. Modelling of Electrically Stimulated Muscle 4. Process Modelling Using a Functional State Approach 5. Markov Mixtures of Experts 6. Active Learning With Mixture Models 7. Local Learning in Local Model Networks 8. Side Effects of Normalising Basic Functions 9. Control: Heterogeneous Control Laws 10. Local Laguerre Models 11. Multiple Model Adaptive Control 12. H Control Using Multiple Linear Models 13. Synthesis of Fuzzy Control Systems Based on Linear Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Models

The inverted pendulum is a classic problem in dynamics and control theory and is widely used as a benchmark for testing control algorithms. It is also an area of active study, with many new innovations and applications - for example the problem is solved in the technology of the Segway, a self-balancing transportation device. This book provides an overall picture of historical and current trends and developments in nonlinear control theory, based on the simple structure and rich nonlinear model of the inverted pendulum. After an introduction to the system and open/current problems, the book covers the topic in four parts: applications of robust state estimation and control to pendulum-cart systems; controllers for under-actuated mechanical systems; nonlinear controllers for mobile inverted pendulum systems; and robust controllers based observers via Takagi-Sugeno or linear approaches. With contributions from international researchers in the field, The Inverted Pendulum in Control Theory and Robotics is essential reading for researchers, scientists, engineers and students in the field of control theory, robotics and nonlinear systems.

Robot calibration is the process of enhancing the accuracy of a robot by modifying its control software. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the theory and implementation of robot calibration using computer vision technology. It is the only book to cover the entire process of vision-based robot calibration, including kinematic modeling, camera calibration, pose measurement, error parameter identification, and compensation. The book starts with an overview of available techniques for robot calibration, with an emphasis on vision-based techniques. It then describes various robot-camera systems. Since cameras are used as major measuring devices, camera calibration techniques are reviewed. Camera-Aided Robot Calibration studies the properties of kinematic modeling techniques that are suitable for robot calibration. It summarizes the well-known Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) modeling convention and indicates the drawbacks of the D-H model for robot calibration. The book develops the Complete and Parametrically Continuous (CPC) model and the modified CPC model, that overcome the D-H model singularities. The error models based on these robot kinematic modeling conventions are presented. No other book available addresses the important, practical issue of hand/eye calibration. This book summarizes current research developments and demonstrates the pros and cons of various approaches in this area. The book discusses in detail the final stage of robot calibration - accuracy compensation - using the identified kinematic error parameters. It offers accuracy compensation algorithms, including the intuitive task-point redefinition and inverse-Jacobian algorithms and more advanced algorithms based on optimal control theory, which are particularly attractive for highly redundant manipulators. Camera-Aided Robot Calibration defines performance indices that are designed for off-line, optimal selection of measurement configurations. It then describes three approaches: closed-form, gradient-based, and statistical optimization. The included case study presents experimental results that were obtained by calibrating common industrial robots. Different stages of operation are detailed, illustrating the applicability of the suggested techniques for robot calibration. Appendices provide readers with preliminary materials for easier comprehension of the subject matter. Camera-Aided Robot Calibration is a must-have reference for researchers and practicing engineers-the only one with all the information!

Under the vast umbrella of Plant Sciences resides a plethora of highly specialized fields. Botanists, agronomists, horticulturists, geneticists, and physiologists each employ a different approach to the study of plants and each for a different end goal. Yet all will find themselves in the laboratory engaging in what can broadly be termed biotechnology. Addressing a wide variety of related topics, Plant Tissue Culture, Development, and Biotechnology gives the practical and technical knowledge needed to train the next generation of plant scientists regardless of their ultimate specialization. With the detailed perspectives and hands-on training signature to the authors previous bestselling books, Plant Development and Biotechnology and Plant Tissue Culture Concepts and Laboratory Exercises, this book discusses relevant concepts supported by demonstrative laboratory experiments. It provides critical thinking questions, concept boxes highlighting important ideas, and procedure boxes giving precise instruction for experiments, including step-by-step procedures, such as the proper microscope use with digital photography, along with anticipated results, and a list of materials needed to perform them. Integrating traditional plant sciences with recent advances in plant tissue culture, development, and biotechnology, chapters address germplasm preservation, plant growth regulators, embryo rescue, micropropagation of roses, haploid cultures, and transformation of meristems. Going beyond the scope of a simple laboratory manual, this book also considers special topics such as copyrights, patents, legalities, trade secrets, and the business of biotechnology. Focusing on plant culture development and its applications in biotechnology across a myriad of plant science specialties, this text uses a broad range of species and practical laboratory exercises to make it useful fo

This book provides an extended overview and fundamental knowledge in industrial automation, while building the necessary knowledge level for further specialization in advanced concepts of industrial automation. It covers a number of central concepts of industrial automation, such as basic automation elements, hardware components for automation and process control, the latch principle, industrial automation synthesis, logical design for automation, electropneumatic automation, industrial networks, basic programming in PLC, and PID in the industry.

Techniques for reasoning about actions an change in the physical world is one of the classical research topics in artificial intelligence. It is motivated by the needs of autonomous robots which must be able to anticipate their immediate future, to plan their future actions, and to figure out what went wrong in case of problems. It is also motivated by the needs of common-sense reasoning for example in the understanding of natural language texts, where processes and change over time is an ever-present phenomenon. The same set of problems arises in several other areas of computing such as in conceptual modelling for data bases, and in the rapidly growing area of intelligent control. The present research monograph presents and uses a novel methodology for reasoning about actions and change. Traditional research contributions have proposed new logic variants which were only supported by episodical examples. THe work described here uses a systematic methodology for identifying the exact range of applicability of a given logic. For a number of previously proposed logics, as well as for some new ones, the present work characterizes exactly the class where it does not. This book will be a necessary source of reference for researchers in knowledge representation, cognitive robotics, and intelligent control in the years to come. Particularly because of its emphasis on a strict and systematic methodology, it can also be recommended as a textbook for graduate university courses in these areas.

Brain-Computer Interfaces Handbook: Technological and Theoretical Advances provides a tutorial and an overview of the rich and multi-faceted world of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). The authors supply readers with a contemporary presentation of fundamentals, theories, and diverse applications of BCI, creating a valuable resource for anyone involved with the improvement of people's lives by replacing, restoring, improving, supplementing or enhancing natural output from the central nervous system. It is a useful guide for readers interested in understanding how neural bases for cognitive and sensory functions, such as seeing, hearing, and remembering, relate to real-world technologies. More precisely, this handbook details clinical, therapeutic and human-computer interfaces applications of BCI and various aspects of human cognition and behavior such as perception, affect, and action. It overviews the different methods and techniques used in acquiring and pre-processing brain signals, extracting features, and classifying users' mental states and intentions. Various theories, models, and empirical findings regarding the ways in which the human brain interfaces with external systems and environments using BCI are also explored. The handbook concludes by engaging ethical considerations, open questions, and challenges that continue to face brain-computer interface research. Features an in-depth look at the different methods and techniques used in acquiring and pre-processing brain signals, extracting features, and classifying the user's intention Covers various theories, models, and empirical findings regarding ways in which the human brain can interface with the systems or external environments Presents applications of BCI technology to understand various aspects of human cognition and behavior such as perception, affect, action, and more Includes clinical trials and individual case studies of the experimental therapeutic applications of BCI Provides human factors and human-computer interface concerns in the design, development, and evaluation of BCIs Overall, this handbook provides a synopsis of key technological and theoretical advances that are directly applicable to brain-computer interfacing technologies and can be readily understood and applied by individuals with no formal training in BCI research and development.

The author compiles everything a student or experienced developmental engineer needs to know about the supporting technologies associated with the rapidly evolving field of robotics. From the table of contents: Design Considerations * Dead Reckoning * Odometry Sensors * Doppler and Inertial Navigation * Typical Mobility Configurations * Tactile and Proximity Sensing * Triangulation Ranging * Stereo Disparity * Active Triangulation * Active Stereoscopic * Hermies * Structured Light * Known Target Size * Time of Flight * Phase-Shift Measurement * Frequency Modulation * Interferometry * Range from Focus * Return Signal Intensity * Acoustical Energy * Electromagnetic Energy * Optical Energy * Microwave Radar * Collision Avoidance * Guidepath Following * Position-Location Systems * Ultrasonic and Optical Position-Location Systems * Wall, Doorway, andCeiling Referencing * Application-Specific Mission Sensors

The emergence of fuzzy logic and its applications has dramatically changed the face of industrial control engineering. Over the last two decades, fuzzy logic has allowed control engineers to meet and overcome the challenges of developing effective controllers for increasingly complex systems with poorly defined dynamics. Today's engineers need a working knowledge of the principles and techniques of fuzzy logic-Intelligent Control provides it.

The author first introduces the traditional control techniques and contrasts them with intelligent control. He then presents several methods of representing and processing knowledge and introduces fuzzy logic as one such method. He highlights the advantages of fuzzy logic over other techniques, indicates its limitations, and describes in detail a hierarchical control structure appropriate for use in intelligent control systems. He introduces a variety of applications, most in the areas of robotics and mechatronics but with others including air conditioning and process/production control. One appendix provides discussion of some advanced analytical concepts of fuzzy logic, another describes a commercially available software system for developing fuzzy logic application.

Intelligent Control is filled with worked examples, exercises, problems, and references. No prior knowledge of the subject nor advanced mathematics are needed to comprehend much of the book, making it well-suited as a senior undergraduate or first-year graduate text and a convenient reference tool for practicing professionals.

Optimal control deals with the problem of finding a control law for a given system such that a certain optimality criterion is achieved. An optimal control is a set of differential equations describing the paths of the control variables that minimize the cost functional. This book, Continuous Time Dynamical Systems: State Estimation and Optimal Control with Orthogonal Functions, considers different classes of systems with quadratic performance criteria. It then attempts to find the optimal control law for each class of systems using orthogonal functions that can optimize the given performance criteria. Illustrated throughout with detailed examples, the book covers topics including: Block-pulse functions and shifted Legendre polynomials State estimation of linear time-invariant systems Linear optimal control systems incorporating observers Optimal control of systems described by integro-differential equations Linear-quadratic-Gaussian control Optimal control of singular systems Optimal control of time-delay systems with and without reverse time terms Optimal control of second-order nonlinear systems Hierarchical control of linear time-invariant and time-varying systems

Enhancing awareness of the interdependence of systems engineering and safety, Systems Engineering and Safety: Building the Bridge covers systems engineering methodology, safety tools, and the management needed to build the bridge between these two disciplines. It underscores the relationship between the disciplines and how understanding the relationship can benefit your organization and industry. The book lays out the purpose of the methodology of systems engineering and the tools of safety. It identifies the importance of management and the culture, commitment, communication, and coordination that management must provide. The author describes the systems engineering methodology: the lifecycle, processes, and management and the technical processes that systems engineers and safety professionals must be familiar with. He merges management, systems engineering, and safety into the lifecycle through project processes. Using real-world examples, he also examines the roles and responsibilities of management, and a breakdown theory of safety in the management processes: The Glismann Effect. The strength of this book is that it can be read, understood, and hopefully acted upon by the chief executive officer of a corporation, right down to the line manager of systems engineering or the subject matter expert in the safety department. This value can be measured in cost savings, be it in the form of human, social, or financial capital.

This book provides state-of-the-art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and associated support technologies around the theme of assistive robotics. The book contains peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2015 conference. The book contains a comprehensive collection of papers on legged locomotion with numbers of legs from two upward to multi-legs, which includes robots cable of climbing walls, poles, or more complex structures such as continuing the distinctive CLAWAR themes. There are also a strong showing of articles covering human assist devices, notably exoskeletal and prosthetic devices, as well as social robots designed to meet the growing challenges of global ageing population.

By making use of the principles of systems science, the scientific community can explain many complicated matters of the world and shed new light on unsettled problems. Each real science has its own particular methodology for not only qualitative but also quantitative analyses, so it is important to understand the organic whole of systems research with operable mathematical methods. Systems Science: Methodological Approaches presents a mathematical explanation of systems science, giving readers a complete technical formulation of different systemic laws. It enables them to use a unified methodology to attack different problems that are hard, if not impossible, for modern science to handle. Following a brief history of systems science, the book explores: Basic concepts, characteristics, properties, and classifications of general systems Nonlinear systems dynamics and the theory of catastrophe Dissipative structures and synergistics Studies of chaos, including logistic mapping, phase space reconstruction, Lyapunov exponents, and chaos of general single relation systems Different aspects and concepts of fractals, including a presentation of L systems analysis and design Complex systems and complexity, with a discussion of how the phenomena of "three" and complexity are related, and how various cellular automata can be constructed to generate useful simulations and figurative patterns Complex adaptive systems and open complex giant systems, with introduction of the yoyo model and practical applications Complex networks and related concepts and methods The book concludes with several case studies that demonstrate how various concepts and the logic of systems can be practically applied to resolve real-life problems, such as the prediction of natural disasters. The book will be useful in directing future research and applications of systems science on a commonly accepted platform and playground.

Up to date with the third edition of PMI's Program Management Standard, The PgMP(R) Exam Challenge! contains more than 300 practice questions to help readers hone their knowledge and test their skills. It covers all five of the program management domains: Strategic Program Management, Program Management Life Cycle, Benefits Management, Stakeholder Management, and Governance. It also examines all of the sub domains of the lifecycle domain. With an easy-to-use format, this is an ideal resource for those preparing to take the PgMP exam.

Preparing for and passing the PMP(R) exam is no small feat. Although the number of certified PMP(R)s continues at a phenomenal rate, the exam failure rate remains uncommonly high. PMP(R) Exam Challenge! is designed to help you pass the exam by giving you an easy-to-use, highly portable publication, containing key relevant topics you are certain to encounter on your exam. Featuring 660 practice questions, this sixth edition completely reflects the PMBOK(R) Guide, Fifth Edition and covers the guide's ten knowledge areas.

With the ongoing release of 3D movies and the emergence of 3D TVs, 3D imaging technologies have penetrated our daily lives. Yet choosing from the numerous 3D vision methods available can be frustrating for scientists and engineers, especially without a comprehensive resource to consult. Filling this gap, Handbook of 3D Machine Vision: Optical Metrology and Imaging gives an extensive, in-depth look at the most popular 3D imaging techniques. It focuses on noninvasive, noncontact optical methods (optical metrology and imaging). The handbook begins with the well-studied method of stereo vision and explains how random speckle patterns or space-time varying patterns substantially improve the results of stereo vision. It then discusses stereo particle image velocimetry as a major experimental means in fluid dynamics, the robust and easy-to-implement structured-light technique for computer science applications, digital holography for performing micro- to nanoscale measurements, and grating, interferometry, and fringe projection techniques for precisely measuring dynamically deformable natural objects. The book goes on to describe techniques that do not require triangulation to recover a 3D shape, including time-of-flight techniques and uniaxial 3D shape measurement, as well as 3D measurement techniques that are not restricted to surface capture, such as 3D ultrasound, optical coherence tomography, and 3D endoscopy. The book also explores how novel 3D imaging techniques are being applied in the promising field of biometrics-which may prove essential to security and public safety. Written by key players in the field and inventors of important imaging technologies, this authoritative, state-of-the-art handbook helps you understand the core of 3D imaging technology and choose the proper 3D imaging technique for your needs. For each technique, the book provides its mathematical foundations, summarizes its successful applications, and discusses its limitations.

This volume provides an exceptional perspective on the nature, evolution, contributions and future of the field of Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE). It is a resource to support both the teaching and practice of CSE. It accomplishes this through its organization into two complementary approaches to the topic. The first is an historical perspective: In the retrospections of leaders of the field, what have been the seminal achievements of cognitive human factors? What are the "lessons learned" that became foundational to CSE, and how did that foundation evolve into a broader systems view of cognitive work? The second perspective is both pedagogical and future-looking: What are the major conceptual issues that have to be addressed by CSE and how can a new generation of researchers be prepared to further advance CSE? Topics include studies of expertise, cognitive work analysis, cognitive task analysis, human performance, system design, cognitive modeling, decision making, human-computer interaction, trust in automation, teamwork and ecological interface design. A thematic focus will be on systems-level analysis, and such notions as resilience engineering and systems-level measurement. The book features broad coverage of many of the domains to which CSE is being applied, among them industrial process control, health care, decision aiding and aviation human factors. The book's contributions are provided by an extraordinary group of leaders and pathfinders in applied psychology, cognitive science, systems analysis and system design. In combination these chapters present invaluable insights, experiences and continuing uncertainties on the subject of the field of CSE, and in doing so honor the career and achievements of Professor David D. Woods of Ohio State University.

Fuzzy sets, near sets, and rough sets are useful and important stepping stones in a variety of approaches to image analysis. These three types of sets and their various hybridizations provide powerful frameworks for image analysis. Emphasizing the utility of fuzzy, near, and rough sets in image analysis, Rough Fuzzy Image Analysis: Foundations and Methodologies introduces the fundamentals and applications in the state of the art of rough fuzzy image analysis. In the first chapter, the distinguished editors explain how fuzzy, near, and rough sets provide the basis for the stages of pictorial pattern recognition: image transformation, feature extraction, and classification. The text then discusses hybrid approaches that combine fuzzy sets and rough sets in image analysis, illustrates how to perform image analysis using only rough sets, and describes tolerance spaces and a perceptual systems approach to image analysis. It also presents a free, downloadable implementation of near sets using the Near Set Evaluation and Recognition (NEAR) system, which visualizes concepts from near set theory. In addition, the book covers an array of applications, particularly in medical imaging involving breast cancer diagnosis, laryngeal pathology diagnosis, and brain MR segmentation. Edited by two leading researchers and with contributions from some of the best in the field, this volume fully reflects the diversity and richness of rough fuzzy image analysis. It deftly examines the underlying set theories as well as the diverse methods and applications.