This book provides a clear picture of the use of applied mathematics as a tool for improving the accuracy of agricultural research. For decades, statistics has been regarded as the fundamental tool of the scientific method. With new breakthroughs in computers and computer software, it has become feasible and necessary to improve the traditional approach in agricultural research by including additional mathematical modeling procedures.

The difficulty with the use of mathematics for agricultural scientists is that most courses in applied mathematics have been designed for engineering students. This publication is written by a professional in animal science targeting professionals in the biological, namely agricultural and animal scientists and graduate students in agricultural and animal sciences. The only prerequisite for the reader to understand the topics of this book is an introduction to college algebra, calculus and statistics. This is a manual of procedures for the mathematical modeling of agricultural systems and for the design and analyses of experimental data and experimental tests. It is a step-by-step guide for mathematical modeling of agricultural systems, starting with the statement of the research problem and up to implementing the project and running system experiments.

This collection of papers offers a broad synopsis of state-of-the-art mathematical methods used in modeling the interaction between tumors and the immune system. These papers were presented at the four-day workshop on Mathematical Models of Tumor-Immune System Dynamics held in Sydney, Australia from January 7th to January 10th, 2013. The workshop brought together applied mathematicians, biologists, and clinicians actively working in the field of cancer immunology to share their current research and to increase awareness of the innovative mathematical tools that are applicable to the growing field of cancer immunology. Recent progress in cancer immunology and advances in immunotherapy suggest that the immune system plays a fundamental role in host defense against tumors and could be utilized to prevent or cure cancer. Although theoretical and experimental studies of tumor-immune system dynamics have a long history, there are still many unanswered questions about the mechanisms that govern the interaction between the immune system and a growing tumor. The multidimensional nature of these complex interactions requires a cross-disciplinary approach to capture more realistic dynamics of the essential biology. The papers presented in this volume explore these issues and the results will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in a variety of fields within mathematical and biological sciences.

The book is about user interfaces to applications that have been designed for social and physical interaction. The interfaces are 'playful', that is, users feel challenged to engage in social and physical interaction because that will be fun. The topics that will be present in this book are interactive playgrounds, urban games using mobiles, sensor-equipped environments for playing, child-computer interaction, tangible game interfaces, interactive tabletop technology and applications, full-body interaction, exertion games, persuasion, engagement, evaluation and user experience. Readers of the book will not only get a survey of state-of-the-art research in these areas, but the chapters in this book will also provide a vision of the future where playful interfaces will be ubiquitous, that is, present and integrated in home, office, recreational, sports and urban environments, emphasizing that in the future in these environments game elements will be integrated and welcomed.

This book is aimed at presenting concepts, methods and algorithms ableto cope with undersampled and limited data. One such trend that recently gained popularity and to some extent revolutionised signal processing is compressed sensing. Compressed sensing builds upon the observation that many signals in nature are nearly sparse (or compressible, as they are normally referred to) in some domain, and consequently they can be reconstructed to within high accuracy from far fewer observations than traditionally held to be necessary. Apart from compressed sensing this book contains other related approaches. Each methodology has its own formalities for dealing with such problems. As an example, in the Bayesian approach, sparseness promoting priors such as Laplace and Cauchy are normally used for penalising improbable model variables, thus promoting low complexity solutions. Compressed sensing techniques and homotopy-type solutions, such as the LASSO, utilise l1-norm penalties for obtaining sparse solutions using fewer observations than conventionally needed. The book emphasizes on the role of sparsity as a machinery for promoting low complexity representations and likewise its connections to variable selection and dimensionality reduction in various engineering problems. This book is intended for researchers, academics and practitioners with interest in various aspects and applications of sparse signal processing.

Current research results in stochastic and deterministic global optimization including single and multiple objectives are explored and presented in this book by leading specialists from various fields. Contributions include applications to multidimensional data visualization, regression, survey calibration, inventory management, timetabling, chemical engineering, energy systems, and competitive facility location. Graduate students, researchers, and scientists in computer science, numerical analysis, optimization, and applied mathematics will be fascinated by the theoretical, computational, and application-oriented aspects of stochastic and deterministic global optimization explored in this book. This volume is dedicated to the 70th birthday of Antanas Zilinskas who is a leading world expert in global optimization. Professor Zilinskas's research has concentrated on studying models for the objective function, the development and implementation of efficient algorithms for global optimization with single and multiple objectives, and application of algorithms for solving real-world practical problems.

In this book the dynamics of the non-ideal oscillatory system, in which the excitation is influenced by the response of the oscillator, is presented. Linear and nonlinear oscillators with one or more degrees of freedom interacting with one or more energy sources are treated. This concerns for example oscillating systems excited by a deformed elastic connection, systems excited by an unbalanced rotating mass, systems of parametrically excited oscillator and an energy source, frictionally self-excited oscillator and an energy source, energy harvesting system, portal frame - non-ideal source system, non-ideal rotor system, planar mechanism - non-ideal source interaction. For the systems the regular and irregular motions are tested. The effect of self-synchronization, chaos and methods for suppressing chaos in non-ideal systems are considered. In the book various types of motion control are suggested. The most important property of the non-ideal system connected with the jump-like transition from a resonant state to a non-resonant one is discussed. The so called 'Sommerfeld effect', resonant unstable state and jumping of the system into a new stable state of motion above the resonant region is explained. A mathematical model of the system is solved analytically and numerically. Approximate analytical solving procedures are developed. Besides, simulation of the motion of the non-ideal system is presented. The obtained results are compared with those for the ideal case. A significant difference is evident. The book aims to present the established results and to expand the literature in non-ideal vibrating systems. A further intention of the book is to give predictions of the effects for a system where the interaction between an oscillator and the energy source exist. The book is targeted at engineers and technicians dealing with the problem of source-machine system, but is also written for PhD students and researchers interested in non-linear and non-ideal problems.

The book presents research that contributes to the development of intelligent dialog systems to simplify diverse aspects of everyday life, such as medical diagnosis and entertainment. Covering major thematic areas: machine learning and artificial neural networks; algorithms and models; and social and biometric data for applications in human-computer interfaces, it discusses processing of audio-visual signals for the detection of user-perceived states, the latest scientific discoveries in processing verbal (lexicon, syntax, and pragmatics), auditory (voice, intonation, vocal expressions) and visual signals (gestures, body language, facial expressions), as well as algorithms for detecting communication disorders, remote health-status monitoring, sentiment and affect analysis, social behaviors and engagement. Further, it examines neural and machine learning algorithms for the implementation of advanced telecommunication systems, communication with people with special needs, emotion modulation by computer contents, advanced sensors for tracking changes in real-life and automatic systems, as well as the development of advanced human-computer interfaces. The book does not focus on solving a particular problem, but instead describes the results of research that has positive effects in different fields and applications.

The book presents a state-of-the-art overview of biomechanical and mechanobiological modeling and simulation of soft biological tissues. Seven well-known scientists working in that particular field discuss topics such as biomolecules, networks and cells as well as failure, multi-scale, agent-based, bio-chemo-mechanical and finite element models appropriate for computational analysis. Applications include arteries, the heart, vascular stents and valve implants as well as adipose, brain, collagenous and engineered tissues. The mechanics of the whole cell and sub-cellular components as well as the extracellular matrix structure and mechanotransduction are described. In particular, the formation and remodeling of stress fibers, cytoskeletal contractility, cell adhesion and the mechanical regulation of fibroblast migration in healing myocardial infarcts are discussed. The essential ingredients of continuum mechanics are provided. Constitutive models of fiber-reinforced materials with an emphasis on arterial walls and the myocardium are discussed and the important influence of residual stresses on material response emphasized. The mechanics and function of the heart, the brain and adipose tissues are discussed as well. Particular attention is focused on microstructural and multi-scale modeling, finite element implementation and simulation of cells and tissues.

This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study-from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current research practice where methods are diverging and integration between individual, team and organizational understanding is becoming increasingly tenuous, calling for a multidisciplinary and transdiscipinary perspective. Experimental design research thus offers a powerful tool and platform for resolving these challenges. Providing an invaluable resource for the design research community, this book paves the way for the next generation of researchers in the field by bridging methods and methodology. As such, it will especially benefit postgraduate students and researchers in design research, as well as engineering designers.

Comprehensive and thorough, this monograph emphasizes the main role differential geometry and convex analysis play in the understanding of physical, chemical, and mechanical notions. Central focus is placed on specifying the agreement between the functional framework and its physical necessity and on making clear the intrinsic character of physical elements, independent from specific charts or frames. The book is divided into four sections, covering thermostructure, classical mechanics, fluid mechanics modelling, and behavior laws. An extensive appendix provides notations and definitions as well as brief explanation of integral manifolds, symplectic structure, and contact structure. Plenty of examples are provided throughout the book, and reviews of basic principles in differential geometry and convex analysis are presented as needed. This book is a useful resource for graduate students and researchers in the field.

Simulation of ODE/PDE Models with MATLAB(r), OCTAVE and SCILAB shows the reader how to exploit a fuller array of numerical methods for the analysis of complex scientific and engineering systems than is conventionally employed. The book is dedicated to numerical simulation of distributed parameter systems described by mixed systems of algebraic equations, ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial differential equations (PDEs). Special attention is paid to the numerical method of lines (MOL), a popular approach to the solution of time-dependent PDEs, which proceeds in two basic steps: spatial discretization and time integration.

Besides conventional finite-difference and element techniques, more advanced spatial-approximation methods are examined in some detail, including nonoscillatory schemes and adaptive-grid approaches. A MOL toolbox has been developed within MATLAB(r)/OCTAVE/SCILAB. In addition to a set of spatial approximations and time integrators, this toolbox includes a collection of application examples, in specific areas, which can serve as templates for developing new programs.

Simulation of ODE/PDE Models with MATLAB(r), OCTAVE and SCILAB provides a practical introduction to some advanced computational techniques for dynamic system simulation, supported by many worked examples in the text, and a collection of codes available for download from the book s page at www.springer.com. This text is suitable for self-study by practicing scientists and engineers and as a final-year undergraduate course or at the graduate level.

This thesis provides a systematic and integral answer to an open problem concerning the universality of dynamic fuzzy controllers. It presents a number of novel ideas and approaches to various issues including universal function approximation, universal fuzzy models, universal fuzzy stabilization controllers, and universal fuzzy integral sliding mode controllers. The proposed control design criteria can be conveniently verified using the MATLAB toolbox. Moreover, the thesis provides a new, easy-to-use form of fuzzy variable structure control. Emphasis is given to the point that, in the context of deterministic/stochastic systems in general, the authors are in fact discussing non-affine nonlinear systems using a class of generalized T-S fuzzy models, which offer considerable potential in a wide range of applications.

Neuronal dendritic trees are complex structures that endow the cell with powerful computing capabilities and allow for high neural interconnectivity. Studying the function of dendritic structures has a long tradition in theoretical neuroscience, starting with the pioneering work by Wilfrid Rall in the 1950s. Recent advances in experimental techniques allow us to study dendrites with a new perspective and in greater detail. The goal of this volume is to provide a resume of the state-of-the-art in experimental, computational, and mathematical investigations into the functions of dendrites in a variety of neural systems. The book first looks at morphological properties of dendrites and summarizes the approaches to measure dendrite morphology quantitatively and to actually generate synthetic dendrite morphologies in computer models. This morphological characterization ranges from the study of fractal principles to describe dendrite topologies, to the consequences of optimization principles for dendrite shape. Individual approaches are collected to study the aspects of dendrite shape that relate directly to underlying circuit constraints and computation. The second main theme focuses on how dendrites contribute to the computations that neurons perform. What role do dendritic morphology and the distributions of synapses and membrane properties over the dendritic tree have in determining the output of a neuron in response to its input? A wide range of studies is brought together, with topics ranging from general to system-specific phenomena-some having a strong experimental component, and others being fully theoretical. The studies come from many different neural systems and animal species ranging from invertebrates to mammals. With this broad focus, an overview is given of the diversity of mechanisms that dendrites can employ to shape neural computations.

Edited by Daniel Rothbart of George Mason University in Virginia, this book is a collection of Rom Harre's work on modeling in science (particularly physics and psychology). In over 28 authored books and 240 articles and book chapters, Rom Harre of Georgetown University in Washington, DC is a towering figure in philosophy, linguistics, and social psychology. He has inspired a generation of scholars, both for the ways in which his research is carried out and his profound insights. For Harre, the stunning discoveries of research demand a kind of thinking that is found in the construction and control of models. Iconic modeling is pivotal for representing real-world structures, explaining phenomena, manipulating instruments, constructing theories, and acquiring data.
This volume in the new Elsevier book series Studies in Multidisciplinarity includes major topics on the structure and function of models, the debates over scientific realism, explanation through analogical modeling, a metaphysics for physics, the rationale for experimentation, and modeling in social encounters.
* A multidisciplinary work of sweeping scope about the nature of science
* Revolutionary interpretation that challenges conventional wisdom about the character of scientific thinking
* Profound insights about fundamental challenges to contemporary physics
* Brilliant discoveries into the nature of social interaction and human identity
* Presents a rational conception of methods for acquiring knowledge of remote regions of the world
* Written by one of the great thinkers of our time.

Now in its second edition, this book continues to give readers a broad mathematical basis for modelling and understanding the wide range of wave phenomena encountered in modern applications. New and expanded material includes topics such as elastoplastic waves and waves in plasmas, as well as new exercises. Comprehensive collections of models are used to illustrate the underpinning mathematical methodologies, which include the basic ideas of the relevant partial differential equations, characteristics, ray theory, asymptotic analysis, dispersion, shock waves, and weak solutions. Although the main focus is on compressible fluid flow, the authors show how intimately gasdynamic waves are related to wave phenomena in many other areas of physical science. Special emphasis is placed on the development of physical intuition to supplement and reinforce analytical thinking. Each chapter includes a complete set of carefully prepared exercises, making this a suitable textbook for students in applied mathematics, engineering, and other physical sciences. Reviews of the first edition: "This book ... is an introduction to the theory of linear and nonlinear waves in fluids, including the theory of shock waves. ... is extraordinarily accurate and free of misprints ... . I enjoyed reading this book. ... most attractive and enticing appearance, and I'm certain that many readers who browse through it will wish to buy a copy. The exercises ... are excellent. ... A beginner who worked through these exercises would not only enjoy himself or herself, but would rapidly acquire mastery of techniques used...in JFM and many other journals..." (C. J. Chapman, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 521, 2004) "The book targets a readership of final year undergraduates and first year graduates in applied mathematics. In the reviewer's opinion, it is very well designed to catch the student's interest ... while every chapter displays essential features in some important area of fluid dynamics. Additionally, students may practice by solving 91 exercises. This volume is mainly devoted to inviscid flows. ... The book is very well written." (Denis Serre, Mathematical Reviews, 2004)

This is an open access book. This course-tested text is an ideal starting point for engineers and physicists entering the field of particle accelerators. The fundamentals are comprehensively introduced, derivations of essential results are provided and a consistent notation style used throughout the book allows readers to quickly familiarize themselves with the field, providing a solid theoretical basis for further studies. Emphasis is placed on the essential features of the longitudinal motion of charged particle beams, together with the corresponding RF generation and power amplification devices for synchrotron and storage ring systems. In particular, electrical engineering aspects such as closed-loop control of system components are discussed. The book also offers a valuable resource for graduate students in physics, electronics engineering, or mathematics looking for an introductory and self-contained text on accelerator physics.

This volume is an excellent resource for professionals in various areas of applications of mathematics, modeling, and computational science. It focuses on recent progress and modern challenges in these areas. The volume provides a balance between fundamental theoretical and applied developments, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of modern trends and detailing state-of-the-art achievements in Applied Mathematics, Modeling, and Computational Science. The chapters have been authored by international experts in their respective fields, making this book ideal for researchers in academia, practitioners, and graduate students. It can also serve as a reference in the diverse selected areas of applied mathematics, modelling, and computational sciences, and is ideal for interdisciplinary collaborations.

This Festschrift resulted from a workshop on "Advanced Modelling in Mathematical Finance" held in honour of Ernst Eberlein's 70th birthday, from 20 to 22 May 2015 in Kiel, Germany. It includes contributions by several invited speakers at the workshop, including several of Ernst Eberlein's long-standing collaborators and former students. Advanced mathematical techniques play an ever-increasing role in modern quantitative finance. Written by leading experts from academia and financial practice, this book offers state-of-the-art papers on the application of jump processes in mathematical finance, on term-structure modelling, and on statistical aspects of financial modelling. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers interested in mathematical finance, as well as practitioners wishing to learn about the latest developments.

"Progress in Expressive Image Synthesis" (MEIS2015), was held in Fukuoka, Japan, September 25-27, 2015. The aim of the symposium was to provide a unique venue where various issues in computer graphics (CG) application fields could be discussed by mathematicians, CG researchers, and practitioners. Through the previous symposiums MEIS2013 and MEIS2014, mathematicians as well as CG researchers have recognized that CG is a specific and practical activity derived from mathematical theories. Issues found in CG broaden the field of mathematics and vice versa, and CG visualizes mathematical theories in an aesthetic manner. In this volume, the editors aim to provoke interdisciplinary research projects through the peer-reviewed papers and poster presentations at the this year's symposium. This book captures interactions among mathematicians, CG researchers, and practitioners sharing important, state-of-the-art issues in graphics and visual perception. The book is suitable for all CG researchers seeking open problem areas and especially for those entering the field who have not yet selected a research direction.

This volume highlights problems from a range of biological and medical applications that can be interpreted as questions about system behavior or control. Topics include drug resistance in cancer and malaria, biological fluid dynamics, auto-regulation in the kidney, anti-coagulation therapy, evolutionary diversification and photo-transduction. Mathematical techniques used to describe and investigate these biological and medical problems include ordinary, partial and stochastic differentiation equations, hybrid discrete-continuous approaches, as well as 2 and 3D numerical simulation.

Electrical Machines and Drives play a vital role in industry with an ever increasing importance. This fact necessitates the understanding of machine and drive principles by engineers of many different disciplines. Therefore, this book is intended to give a comprehensive deduction of these principles. Special attention is given to the precise mathematical deduction of the necessary formulae to calculate machines and drives, and to the discussion of simplifications (if applied) with the associated limits. So the book shows how the different machine topologies can be deduced from general fundamentals, and how they are linked.

This book addresses graduate students, researchers and developers of Electrical Machines and Drives, who are interested in getting knowledge about the principles of machine and drive operation and in detecting the mathematical and engineering specialties of the different machine and drive topologies together with their mutual links. The detailed, but compact mathematical deduction, together with a distinct emphasis onto assumptions, simplifications and the associated limits, leads to a clear understanding of Electrical Machine and Drive topologies and characteristics.

This book provides a broad yet detailed introduction to neural networks and machine learning in a statistical framework. A single, comprehensive resource for study and further research, it explores the major popular neural network models and statistical learning approaches with examples and exercises and allows readers to gain a practical working understanding of the content. This updated new edition presents recently published results and includes six new chapters that correspond to the recent advances in computational learning theory, sparse coding, deep learning, big data and cloud computing. Each chapter features state-of-the-art descriptions and significant research findings. The topics covered include: * multilayer perceptron; * the Hopfield network; * associative memory models;* clustering models and algorithms; * t he radial basis function network; * recurrent neural networks; * nonnegative matrix factorization; * independent component analysis; *probabilistic and Bayesian networks; and * fuzzy sets and logic. Focusing on the prominent accomplishments and their practical aspects, this book provides academic and technical staff, as well as graduate students and researchers with a solid foundation and comprehensive reference on the fields of neural networks, pattern recognition, signal processing, and machine learning.

The book shows how eastern and western perspectives and conceptions can be used to addresses recent topics laying at the crossroad between philosophy and cognitive science. It reports on new points of view and conceptions discussed during the International Conference on Philosophy and Cognitive Science (PCS2013), held at the Sun Yat-sen University, in Guangzhou, China, and the 2013 Workshop on Abductive Visual Cognition, which took place at KAIST, in Deajeon, South Korea. The book emphasizes an ever-growing cultural exchange between academics and intellectuals coming from different fields. It juxtaposes research works investigating new facets on key issues between philosophy and cognitive science, such as the role of models and causal representations in science; the status of theoretical concepts and quantum principles; abductive cognition, vision, and visualization in science from an eco-cognitive perspective. Further topics are: ignorance immunization in reasoning; moral cognition, violence, and epistemology; and models and biomorphism. The book, which presents a unique and timely account of the current state-of-the art on various aspects in philosophy and cognitive science, is expected to inspire philosophers, cognitive scientists and social scientists, and to generate fruitful exchanges and collaboration among them.

This book presents practical applications of the finite element method to general differential equations. The underlying strategy of deriving the finite element solution is introduced using linear ordinary differential equations, thus allowing the basic concepts of the finite element solution to be introduced without being obscured by the additional mathematical detail required when applying this technique to partial differential equations. The author generalizes the presented approach to partial differential equations which include nonlinearities. The book also includes variations of the finite element method such as different classes of meshes and basic functions. Practical application of the theory is emphasised, with development of all concepts leading ultimately to a description of their computational implementation illustrated using Matlab functions. The target audience primarily comprises applied researchers and practitioners in engineering, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

Computational complexity is a serious bottleneck for the design process in virtually any engineering area. While migration from prototyping and experimental-based design validation to verification using computer simulation models is inevitable and has a number of advantages, high computational costs of accurate, high-fidelity simulations can be a major issue that slows down the development of computer-aided design methodologies, particularly those exploiting automated design improvement procedures, e.g., numerical optimization. The continuous increase of available computational resources does not always translate into shortening of the design cycle because of the growing demand for higher accuracy and necessity to simulate larger and more complex systems. Accurate simulation of a single design of a given system may be as long as several hours, days or even weeks, which often makes design automation using conventional methods impractical or even prohibitive. Additional problems include numerical noise often present in the simulation data, possible presence of multiple locally optimum designs, as well as multiple conflicting objectives. In this edited book, various techniques that can alleviate solving computationally expensive engineering design problems are presented. One of the most promising approaches is the use of fast replacement models, so-called surrogates, that reliably represent the expensive, simulation-based model of the system/device of interest but they are much cheaper and analytically tractable. Here, a group of international experts summarize recent developments in the area and demonstrate applications in various disciplines of engineering and science. The main purpose of the work is to provide the basic concepts and formulations of the surrogate-based modeling and optimization paradigm, as well as discuss relevant modeling techniques, optimization algorithms and design procedures. Therefore, this book should be useful to researchers and engineers from any discipline where computationally heavy simulations are used on daily basis in the design process.