Many students find it daunting to move from studying environmental science, to designing and implementing their own research proposals. This book provides a practical introduction to help develop scientific thinking, aimed at undergraduate and new graduate students in the earth and environmental sciences. Students are guided through the steps of scientific thinking using published scientific literature and real environmental data. The book starts with advice on how to effectively read scientific papers, before outlining how to articulate testable questions and answer them using basic data analysis. The Mauna Loa CO2 dataset is used to demonstrate how to read metadata, prepare data, generate effective graphs and identify dominant cycles on various timescales. Practical, question-driven examples are explored to explain running averages, anomalies, correlations and simple linear models. The final chapter provides a framework for writing persuasive research proposals, making this an essential guide for students embarking on their first research project.

In this book, the major paradigm-shifting discoveries made in the past century on key cellular nanomachines are described in great detail: their complex yet precise and elegant design and function, as well as the diseases linked to their dysfunction and the therapeutic approaches to overcome them. The major focus of this book is the "porosome" nanomachine, the universal secretory portal in cells. This is an ideal book for students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

This revision brings the reader completely up to date on the evolving methods associated with increasingly more complex sample types analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC. The book also incorporates updated discussions of many of the fundamental components of HPLC systems and practical issues associated with the use of this analytical method. This edition includes new or expanded treatments of sample preparation, computer assisted method development, as well as biochemical samples, and chiral separations.

This updated and revised edition of a classic work provides a summary of methods for numerical computation of high resolution conventional and scanning transmission electron microscope images. At the limits of resolution, image artifacts due to the instrument and the specimen interaction can complicate image interpretation. Image calculations can help the user to interpret and understand high resolution information in recorded electron micrographs. The book contains expanded sections on aberration correction, including a detailed discussion of higher order (multipole) aberrations and their effect on high resolution imaging, new imaging modes such as ABF (annular bright field), and the latest developments in parallel processing using GPUs (graphic processing units), as well as updated references. Beginning and experienced users at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level will find the book to be a unique and essential guide to the theory and methods of computation in electron microscopy.

This book covers the most useful experimental methods for all types of solubility measurements. The importance of solubility phenomena has been long recognized throughout science. For example, in medicine, the solubility of gases in liquids forms the basis of life itself; in the environment, solubility phenomena influence the weathering of rocks, the creation of soils, the composition of natural water bodies and the behaviour and fate of many chemicals. However, until now, no systematic critical presentation of the methods for obtaining solubilities has been given.

The book is divided into five sections: the first addresses the fundamental thermodynamic and kinetic background necessary for a full understanding of solubility phenomena. The next three sections cover the major types of solubility determinations according to the physical state of the solute: gases, liquids and solids; whilst the final section deals with those technologically important areas whose traditions are sufficiently different to justify their separate presentation.

Each chapter aims to be comprehensive but not encyclopaedic, with coverage of the reliable methods in the particular area. Illustrations have been included to enable the novice investigator quickly develop apparatus of their own. Where appropriate, contributors have included sets of data to enable workers to properly assess the quality of their apparatus, technique and data.

This book focuses on the use of novel electron microscopy techniques to further our understanding of the physics behind electron-light interactions. It introduces and discusses the methodologies for advancing the field of electron microscopy towards a better control of electron dynamics with significantly improved temporal resolutions, and explores the burgeoning field of nanooptics - the physics of light-matter interaction at the nanoscale - whose practical applications transcend numerous fields such as energy conversion, control of chemical reactions, optically induced phase transitions, quantum cryptography, and data processing. In addition to describing analytical and numerical techniques for exploring the theoretical basis of electron-light interactions, the book showcases a number of relevant case studies, such as optical modes in gold tapers probed by electron beams and investigations of optical excitations in the topological insulator Bi2Se3. The experiments featured provide an impetus to develop more relevant theoretical models, benchmark current approximations, and even more characterization tools based on coherent electron-light interactions.

The Fundamentals of Biomedical Science series has been written to reflect the challenges of practicing biomedical scientists today. It draws together essential basic science, with insights into laboratory practice, to show how an understanding of the biology of disease is linked to analytical approaches that lead to diagnosis. The series reviews the full range of disciplines to which a biomedical scientist may be exposed - from microbiology, to cytopathology, to transfusion science. The third edition of Biomedical Science Practice gives a comprehensive overview of key laboratory techniques and professional practial skills, with which students will need to be familiar to be successful in a professional biomedical enviroment.The text discusses a broad range of professional skills and concepts, such as health and safety considerations, personal development, and communication and confidentiality. The text also explores key experimental and analytical approaches which form the basis of the investigation and diagnosis of clinical conditions. Each chapter is supported with engaging clinical case studies, written to emphasize the link between theory and practice, and a set of end-of-chapter questions, which encourages students to test their knowledge and stretch their understanding. The third edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats and is supported by online resources. The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks Online student resources supporting the book include: Answers to case study and self-check questions Multiple choice questions An interactive Digital Microscope, encouraging the exploration of tissue samples Video podcasts including interviews with practicing biomedical scientists, and 'in the lab' footage showing biomedical science in practice Online lecturer resources supporting the book include: Figures from the book, available to download

It is common for us today to associate the practice of science primarily with the act of seeing-with staring at computer screens, analyzing graphs, and presenting images. We may notice that physicians use stethoscopes to listen for disease, that biologists tune into sound recordings to understand birds, or that engineers have created Geiger tellers warning us for radiation through sound. But in the sciences overall, we think, seeing is believing. This open access book explains why, indeed, listening for knowledge plays an ambiguous, if fascinating, role in the sciences. For what purposes have scientists, engineers and physicians listened to the objects of their interest? How did they listen exactly? And why has listening often been contested as a legitimate form of access to scientific knowledge? This concise monograph combines historical and ethnographic evidence about the practices of listening on shop floors, in laboratories, field stations, hospitals, and conference halls, between the 1920s and today. It shows how scientists have used sonic skills-skills required for making, recording, storing, retrieving, and listening to sound-in ensembles: sets of instruments and techniques for particular situations of knowledge making. Yet rather than pleading for the emancipation of hearing at the expense of seeing, this essay investigates when, how, and under which conditions the ear has contributed to science dynamics, either in tandem with or without the eye.

Responding to the developments of the past twenty years, Les Kirkup has thoroughly updated his popular book on experimental methods, while retaining the extensive coverage and practical advice from the first edition. Many topics from that edition remain, including keeping a record of work, how to deal with measurement uncertainties, understanding the statistical basis of data analysis and reporting the results of experiments. However, with new technologies influencing how experiments are devised, carried out, analyzed, presented and reported, this new edition reflects the digital changes which have taken place and the increased emphasis on the importance of communication skills in reporting results. Bringing together key elements of experimental methods into one coherent book, it is perfect for students seeking guidance with their experimental work, including how to acquire, analyse and present data. Exercises, worked examples and end-of-chapter problems are provided throughout the book to reinforce fundamental principles.

This book is written to help and enable students in how to observe biological specimens in terms of viscosity, mass, elasticity and work producing elements. The observations are related to underlying chemical reactions by means of strain (fractional length change) sensitivity of the reactions, and a theory is developed how to connect these. Their mathematical derivation is complex when three or more states are involved, but a method is presented here to demonstrate how to simplify this complex problem. Basic mathematical solutions that are useful for this book, are presented (Fourier and Laplace transforms, differential equations, matrix operations) together with Fortran programs in the Appendix.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the field of spin dynamics and magnetic damping. It discusses the various ways to tune damping, specifically, dynamic and static control in a ferromagnetic layer/heavy metal layer. In addition, it addresses all optical detection techniques for the investigation of modulation of damping, for example, the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect technique.

This open access book brings out the state of the art on how informatics-based tools are used and expected to be used in nanomaterials research. There has been great progress in the area in which "big-data" generated by experiments or computations are fully utilized to accelerate discovery of new materials, key factors, and design rules. Data-intensive approaches play indispensable roles in advanced materials characterization. "Materials informatics" is the central paradigm in the new trend. "Nanoinformatics" is its essential subset, which focuses on nanostructures of materials such as surfaces, interfaces, dopants, and point defects, playing a critical role in determining materials properties. There have been significant advances in experimental and computational techniques to characterize individual atoms in nanostructures and to gain quantitative information. The collaboration of researchers in materials science and information science is growing actively and is creating a new trend in materials science and engineering.

The areas of speciation analysis have being undergoing a continual evolution and development for the last 20 years. A fundamental tool for speciation analysis has been the combination of a chromatographic separation technique with atomic spectrometry, permitting a sensitive and specific detection of the target element. Recent impressive progress toward lower detection limits in ICP-MS, toward higher resolution in separation techniques, especially capillary electrophoresis and electro-chromatography, and toward higher sensitivity in electrospray mass spectrometry for molecule-specific detection at trace levels in complex matrices has allowed new frontiers to be crossed.

This first volume of The Handbook of Elemental Speciation, brings together a collection of chapters covering comprehensively different aspects of procedures for speciation analysis at the different levels starting from sample collection and storage, through sample preparation approaches to render the species chromatographable, principles of separation techniques used in speciation analysis, to the element specific detection. This already very broad coverage of analytical techniques is completed by electrochemical methods, biosensors for metal ions, radioisotope techniques and direct solid speciation techniques. Special concern is given to quality assurance and risk assessment, and speciation-relevant legislation.

Each chapter is a stand-alone reference covering a given facet of elemental speciation analysis written by an expert in a given field with the volume as a whole providing an excellent introductory text and reference handbook for analytical chemists in academia, government laboratories and industry, regulatory managers, biochemists, toxicologists, clinicians, environmental scientists, and students of these disciplines.

The second volume will present in detail a summary of each key element determined by speciation methods, and its detection and measurement within the four key areas of the environment, food, occupation and clinical health. .

Computational Methods in Physics, Chemistry ahd Biology offers an accessible introducton to key computational techniques used within science, including quantum mechanics, dynamics, evolutionary methods and molecular dynamics. Assuming only a limited background in computational methods, this book provides the reader with a series of comprehensive examples, problems and practical-based tasks from the basics through to more complex ideas and techniques.

Beginning with an introduction to a numerical solution of Schrö dinger's Equation the text moves on to discuss pertubation theory, variational calculations, diffusion, dynamics, Monte Carlo simulations and genetic algorithms. Aimed at those new to the field, the book will enable the reader to develop and implement computational methods for the solutions of a range of problems in science.

Features:

• An accessible introduction covering a range of essential techniques applicable to key problems
• Numerous examples, problems and practical-based exercises.
• A supplementary website including solutions

REVIEWS IN COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY

Kenny B. Lipkowitz, Raima Larter, and Thomas R. Cundari

This volume, like those prior to it, features chapters by experts in various fields of computational chemistry. TOPICS COVERED IN Volume 21 iNCLUDE AB INITIO QUANTUM SIMULATION IN SOLID STATE CHEMISTRY; MOLECULAR QUANTUM SIMILARITY; ENUMERATING MOLECULES; VARIABLE SELECTION; BIOMOLECULAR APPLICATIONS OF POISSON-BOLTZMANN METHODS; AND DATA SOURCES AND COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES FOR GENERATING MODELS OF GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS.

FROM REVIEWS OF THE SERIES

"Reviews in Computational Chemistry remains the most valuable reference to methods and techniques in computational chemistry."
--JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR GRAPHICS AND MODELLING

"One cannot generally do better than to try to find an appropriate article in the highly successful Reviews in Computational Chemistry. The basic philosophy of the editors seems to be to help the authors produce chapters that are complete, accurate, clear, and accessible to experimentalists (in particular) and other nonspecialists (in general)."
--JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Comparing and contrasting the reality of subjectivity in the work of history’s great scientists and the modern Bayesian approach to statistical analysis

Scientists and researchers are taught to analyze their data from an objective point of view, allowing the data to speak for themselves rather than assigning them meaning based on expectations or opinions. But scientists have never behaved fully objectively. Throughout history, some of our greatest scientific minds have relied on intuition, hunches, and personal beliefs to make sense of empirical data–and these subjective influences have often aided in humanity’s greatest scientific achievements. The authors argue that subjectivity has not only played a significant role in the advancement of science, but that science will advance more rapidly if the modern methods of Bayesian statistical analysis replace some of the classical twentieth-century methods that have traditionally been taught.

To accomplish this goal, the authors examine the lives and work of history’s great scientists and show that even the most successful have sometimes misrepresented findings or been influenced by their own preconceived notions of religion, metaphysics, and the occult, or the personal beliefs of their mentors. Contrary to popular belief, our greatest scientific thinkers approached their data with a combination of subjectivity and empiricism, and thus informally achieved what is more formally accomplished by the modern Bayesian approach to data analysis.

Yet we are still taught that science is purely objective. This innovative book dispels that myth using historical accounts and biographical sketches of more than a dozen great scientists, including Aristotle, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, William Harvey, Sir Isaac Newton, Antoine Levoisier, Alexander von Humboldt, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Sigmund Freud, Marie Curie, Robert Millikan, Albert Einstein, Sir Cyril Burt, and Margaret Mead. Also included is a detailed treatment of the modern Bayesian approach to data analysis. Up-to-date references to the Bayesian theoretical and applied literature, as well as reference lists of the primary sources of the principal works of all the scientists discussed, round out this comprehensive treatment of the subject.

Readers will benefit from this cogent and enlightening view of the history of subjectivity in science and the authors’ alternative vision of how the Bayesian approach should be used to further the cause of science and learning well into the twenty-first century.

Blood science has become a cornerstone of multiple disciplines, including clinical chemistry, disease diagnosis, and therapeutic monitoring. Over the past decade, we have witnessed the advent of increasingly powerful proteomics technologies that allow greater fundamental insights into the blood proteome. These technological improvements have, in part, fuelled the quest for the discovery of novel blood-based biomarkers of disease. Serum/Plasma Proteomics: Methods and Protocols is a comprehensive resource of protocols for areas, pre-analytical through to analytical, of plasma and serum proteomics. Divided into five convenient sections, this detailed volume covers fractionation strategies for in-depth blood proteome analysis, defined procedures for blood collection, handling and storage, detailed protocols for performing both antibody-based and non-antibody based quantitative assays, proteome analysis of blood cell compartments, circulating nanomebraneous vesicles and blood-related fluids, and finally data management, statistical design, and bioinformatic challenges. This book, contributed to by leading experts in the field, provides a valuable foundation for the development and application of blood-based proteomics. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters contain introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Serum/Plasma Proteomics: Methods and Protocols, with its well-honed methodologies, seeks to serve both professionals and investigators new to the field in an effort to further our knowledge of this fundamental science.

Dealing with the intermolecular Diels-Alder reaction, this book focuses on one of the reactants, the diene. The first chapter deals with the fundamental principles of the reaction. The remaining five chapters describe the salient features of the different classes of dienes and report a great deal of tabulated data and literary references. In the tables, the dienes and dienophiles are ordered in such a way that the reader can easily find the dienophile and the cycloaddition reactions which are of interest to him or her. The book should be a valuable tool for students and for academic and industrial researchers working in the field of organic synthesis.

Originally published in 1941, this book seeks to inform the scientific community of the possible uses of photography in research or teaching. Lawrence gives an account of the possibilities and limitations of the medium for the scientific reader as well as for the 'serious amateur', explains the various mechanisms of the camera and gives some suggestions for scientific applications, such as high-speed photography. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in photography or the history of science.

Passive acoustic monitoring is increasingly used by the scientific community to study, survey and census marine mammals, especially cetaceans, many of which are easier to hear than to see. PAM is also used to support efforts to mitigate potential negative effects of human activities such as ship traffic, military and civilian sonar and offshore exploration. Walter Zimmer provides an integrated approach to PAM, combining physical principles, discussion of technical tools and application-oriented concepts of operations. Additionally, relevant information and tools necessary to assess existing and future PAM systems are presented, with Matlab code used to generate figures and results so readers can reproduce data and modify code to analyse the impact of changes. This allows the principles to be studied whilst discovering potential difficulties and side effects. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, the book provides all information and tools necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of this interdisciplinary subject.

Written for animal researchers, this book provides a comprehensive guide to the design and statistical analysis of animal experiments. It has long been recognised that the proper implementation of these techniques helps reduce the number of animals needed. By using real-life examples to make them more accessible, this book explains the statistical tools employed by practitioners. A wide range of design types are considered, including block, factorial, nested, cross-over, dose-escalation and repeated measures and techniques are introduced to analyse the experimental data generated. Each analysis technique is described in non-mathematical terms, helping readers without a statistical background to understand key techniques such as t-tests, ANOVA, repeated measures, analysis of covariance, multiple comparison tests, non-parametric and survival analysis. This is also the first text to describe technical aspects of InVivoStat, a powerful open-source software package developed by the authors to enable animal researchers to analyse their data and obtain informative results.

This volume details methods on several aspects of circadian research. Chapters guide readers through the latest techniques and a wide variety of daily rhythmic processes, model organisms, circadian rhythms in the SCN and in peripheral organs, and describing in vitro systems and in silico methods. Written in the format of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, each chapter includes an introduction to the topic, lists necessary materials and reagents, includes tips on troubleshooting and known pitfalls, and step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Circadian Regulation: Methods and Protocols aims to be a useful practical guide to researches to help further their study in this field. Chapters 3, 4, 8, and 17 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book was first published in 2006. The standard model brings together two theories of particle physics in order to describe the interactions of subatomic particles, except those due to gravity. This book uses the standard model as a vehicle for introducing quantum field theory. In doing this the book also introduces much of the phenomenology on which this model is based. The book uses a modern approach, emphasizing effective field theory techniques, and contains brief discussions of some of the main proposals for going beyond the standard model, such as seesaw neutrino masses, supersymmetry, and grand unification. Requiring only a minimum of background material, this book is ideal for graduate students in theoretical and experimental particle physics. It concentrates on getting students to the level of being able to use this theory by doing real calculations with the minimum of formal development, and contains several problems.

The careful design of experiments lies at the core of good research. Experimental Design for the Life Sciences equips you with the skills you need to effectively design experiments, making this essential aspect of the research process readily understandable. It demonstrates how good experimental design relies on clear thinking and biological understanding, not mathematical or statistical complexity. With a refreshingly approachable and articulate style, the book walks you through the considerations that go into designing an experiment in clear, practical terms. Using examples drawn from across the life sciences - from ecology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and health sciences - the authors illustrate how these concepts are applied within the broad context of real biological research. Online Resource Centre The Online Resource centre to accompany Experimental Design for the Life Sciences features: For students: * Self-test questions and answers * Additional examples * Supplementary sections discuss complex concepts and statistical issues in more depth * Links to useful websites and free software For lecturers: * Suggested course structures, complete with practical exercises * Figures from the book, available to download