This volume summarizes the state-of-the-art technologies, key advances and future trends in the field of label-free biosensing. It provides detailed insights into the different types of solid-state, label-free biosensors, their underlying transducer principles, advanced materials utilized, device-fabrication techniques and various applications. The book offers graduate students, academic researchers, and industry professionals a comprehensive source of information on all facets of label-free biosensing and the future trends in this flourishing field. Highlights of the subjects covered include label-free biosensing with: * semiconductor field-effect devices such as nanomaterial-modified capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor structures, silicon nanowire transistors, III-nitride semiconductor devices and light-addressable potentiometric sensors * impedimetric biosensors using planar and 3D electrodes * nanocavity and solid-state nanopore devices * carbon nanotube and graphene/graphene oxide biosensors * electrochemical biosensors using molecularly imprinted polymers * biomimetic sensors based on acoustic signal transduction * enzyme logic systems and digital biosensors based on the biocomputing concept * heat-transfer as a novel transducer principle * ultrasensitive surface plasmon resonance biosensors * magnetic biosensors and magnetic imaging devices

With the pressure of time-based competition increasing, and customers demanding faster service, the availability of service parts becomes a critical component of manufacturing and servicing operations. Potentially, the aftermarket service industry may account for 25% of a manufacturer s annual revenue. On the other hand, keeping too many of such spare parts increases operational costs and eats up the bottom line. The challenge is the erratic demand patterns of service parts. Demand commonly is intermittent with some time periods having no demand at all. Forecasting for intermittent demand itself has long been recognized, in the academic literature, as a very difficult business task. It is not only the variability of the demand size but also the variability of the demand pattern that makes intermittent demand so difficult to forecast. Hence management of service parts is a significant organizational problem. Therefore, small improvements in a company s system, regarding service parts, may be translated to substantial cost savings.

Service Parts Management provides an overview and detailed treatment of the current state of the research available on the forecasting and inventory management of items with intermittent demand. The book is divided into two parts, one for demand forecasting and one for inventory control. Demand forecasting techniques are presented for parametric and nonparametric approaches. Error measures, distributional assumptions, and the effects of correlation are all examined in the forecasting context while inventory control is examined in the continuous and periodic review cases. Multi echelon cases and inventory pooling are also considered.

An excellent reference for key concepts and a leading resource for further research, Service Parts Management guides researchers and practitioners in finding better management solutions to their problems."

This beautifully illustrated volume presents an in-depth look at horology, the scientific study of time and timekeeping. Brimming with more than 150 detailed and full-color images, illustrations, charts, and technical drawings, it's a must-have for anyone interested in the art of watchmaking and watch design. But it's also much more. If you've ever wondered how watches work, or thought about how time influences our lives, then this book is also for you. It offers a comprehensive overview of watch styles, movements, complications, and parts, as well as the basics of starting and caring for a watch collection. A multifaceted study, it discusses the philosophy and measurement of time, the possibility of time travel, and the emergent smartwatch industry. A behind-the-scenes peek into the watch industry, plus pricing and market data, rounds out the contents. Readers will leave these pages with a newfound, renewed, or enhanced love of watchmaking, as well as an increased appreciation for the value of time.

This book covers smart polymer nanocomposites with perspectives for application in energy harvesting, as self-healing materials, or shape memory materials. The book is application-oriented and describes different types of polymer nanocomposites, such as elastomeric composites, thermoplastic composites, or conductive polymer composites. It outlines their potential for applications, which would meet some of the most important challenges nowadays: for harvesting energy, as materials with the capacity to self-heal, or as materials memorizing a given shape.The book brings together these different applications for the first time in one single platform. Chapters are ordered both by the type of composites and by the target applications. Readers will thus find a good overview, facilitating a comparison of the different smart materials and their applications. The book will appeal to scientists in the fields of chemistry, material science and engineering, but also to technologists and physicists, from graduate student level to researcher and professional.

This book presents a mechatronic approach to Active Noise Control (ANC). It describes the required elements of system theory, engineering acoustics, electroacoustics and adaptive signal processing in a comprehensive, consistent and systematic manner using a unified notation. Furthermore, it includes a design methodology for ANC-systems, explains its application and describes tools to be used for ANC-system design. From the research point of view, the book presents new approaches to sound source localization in weakly damped interiors. One is based on the inverse finite element method, the other is based on a sound intensity probe with an active free field. Furthermore, a prototype of an ANC-system able to reach the physical limits of local (feed-forward) ANC is described. This is one example for applied research in ANC-system design. Other examples are given for (i) local ANC in a semi-enclosed subspace of an aircraft cargo hold and (ii) for the combination of audio entertainment with ANC.

One of life's most frequently encountered technologies is perhaps the one most often taken for granted: the printed book. Daily contact with books makes these everyday objects so familiar that one is apt to forget that the invention of the book has more profoundly altered civilization than almost any other invention. This volume provides a broad overview of the printed book's development across many centuries, cultures, and in a variety of fields. It highlights the forerunners and offshoots of books that have come from and been dispersed to all corners of the globe. The creation of a single book requires diverse skills and techniques that have taken centuries to develop. This addition to the Greenwood Technographies series will give readers of all ages a greater appreciation for this familiar phenomenon that is part of everyone's life. The Book: The Life Story of a Technology provides a concise overview of many of the most compelling and important stories of the history of book printing: * The history of books, from papyrus scrolls to e-books * The importance of Gutenberg and his historical context * The development of book materials, bindings, typefaces, and printing methods * The book's social and cultural influences, from scientific research and religious beliefs to the structure of government * Modern technological advances in book printing technology, from linotype and lithography to computer composition and electronic publishing The volume includes a glossary of terms, a timeline of important events, and a selected bibliography of useful resources for further information.

This book provides readers with an overview of the design, fabrication, simulation, and reliability of nanoscale semiconductor devices, MEMS, and sensors, as they serve for realizing the next-generation internet of things. The authors focus on how the nanoscale structures interact with the electrical and/or optical performance, how to find optimal solutions to achieve the best outcome, how these apparatus can be designed via models and simulations, how to improve reliability, and what are the possible challenges and roadblocks moving forward.

Currently, the challenge for manufacturing organizations is how to achieve their expected profit by continuously improving productivity or reducing costs. Manufacturing organizations have been using different improvement approaches to achieving cost reduction and productivity improvement for years by eliminating various losses and waste structures, such as excess inventory, excessive workforce, excessive capacity, excessive utility consumption, and so on. But is the problem solved? Unfortunately, no! Often manufacturing companies focus on maximizing the flow and meeting customer needs but forget their real aim - to make a profit for their stakeholders. Too many organizations meet customer expectations by seeking to continuously synchronize the flow to market demand but forget to check that they are doing it profitably enough to ensure business continuity and prosperity. When the financial results show that they are not so profitable, it is already too late. Moreover, the strategic direction of systematic improvements according to the sales trend - depending on the current degree of production capacity utilization and its dynamic effects on cost structures - is deficient in many manufacturing companies. So, would the failure of strategic and profitable systematic improvements be an option? Of course not! If the ultimate goal of the organization is to create target profit for stakeholders, then the behavior and strategic systematic improvements must be directed to those scenarios, strategies, tasks, problems, and "production levers" that are best based on creating the target profit. That's what Strategic Kaizen thinking does - the simultaneous and consistent achievement of systematic operational and financial improvements in a strategic and operational manner. It achieves both synchronous operations at market demand by fulfilling takt time and profitable operations in accordance with profit demand by fulfilling takt profit. In short, the Strategic Kaizen mission is striving for the fulfillment of the ideal state of operations called synchronous profitable operations. In this book, the author, while presenting in detail the seven processes of Strategic Kaizen methodology, exposes the answer to historically incomplete thinking of productivity improvements for target profitability. The uniqueness of the book is reinforced by the detailed presentation of the successful application of the Strategic Kaizen thinking over the years in two multinational manufacturing organizations operating in highly competitive markets, addressing the synchronous profitable operations for both the sales increase scenario and the sales decrease scenario. Moreover, it presents examples of the practical application of the "white-collar" Strategic Kaizen. Essentially, by adopting the Strategic Kaizen methodology presented in detail in this book to consistently achieve the ideal state of a manufacturing organization, organizations will enter a new paradigm of thinking of strategic improvements - Strategic Kaizen thinking - to meet annual and multiannual target profits in a unique and effective way that operates according to its own strategic and operational management system.

"Wave Propagation in Nanostructures "describes the fundamental and advanced concepts of waves propagating in structures that have dimensions of the order of nanometers. The book is fundamentally based on non-local elasticity theory, which includes scale effects in the continuum model. The book predominantly addresses wave behavior in carbon nanotubes and Graphene structures, although the methods of analysis provided in this text are equally applicable to other nanostructures.

The book takes the reader from the fundamentals of wave propagation in nanotubes to more advanced topics such as rotating nanotubes, coupled nanotubes, and nanotubes with magnetic field and surface effects. The first few chapters cover the basics of wave propagation, different modeling schemes for nanostructures and introduce non-local elasticity theories, which form the building blocks for understanding the material provided in later chapters. A number of interesting examples are provided to illustrate the important features of wave behavior in these low dimensional structures.

"Nanotechnology in Dermatology" is the first book of its kind to address all of the important and rapidly growing aspects of nanotechnology as it relates to dermatology. In the last few years there has been an explosion in research and development for products and devices related to nanotechnology, including numerous applications for consumers, physicians, patients, and industry. Applications are underway in medicine and dermatology for the early detection, diagnosis, and targeted therapy of disease, and nanodesigned materials and devices are expected to be faster, smaller, more powerful, more efficient, and more versatile than their traditional counterparts.

Written by experts working in this exciting field, "Nanotechnology in Dermatology" specifically addresses nanotechnology in consumer skin care products, in the diagnosis of skin disease, in the treatment of skin disease, and the overall safety of nanotechnology. The book also discusses future trends of this ever-growing and changing field, providing dermatologists, pharmaceutical companies, and consumer cosmetics companies with a clear understanding of the advantages and challenges of nanotechnology today."

This book provides an overview of the noteworthy developments in the field of micromachining, with a specific focus on microinjection systems used for biological micromanipulation. The author also explores the design, development, and fabrication of new mechanical designs for micromachines, with plenty of examples that elucidate their modeling and control. The design and fabrication of a piezoelectric microinjector, constant force microinjector, constant force microgripper, PDVF microforce sensor, and a piezoelectric microsyringe are presented as examples of new technology for microinjection systems. This book is appropriate for both researchers and advanced students in bioengineering.

This book comprises a set of stories about being an engineer for many decades and the lessons the author learned from research and practice. These lessons focus on people and organizations, often enabled by technology. The settings range from airplanes, power plants, and communication networks to ecosystems that enable education, healthcare, and transportation. All of these settings are laced with behavioral and social phenomena that need to be understood and influenced. The author's work in these domains has often led to the question: "Well, why does it work like that?" He invariably sought to understand the bigger picture to find the sources of requirements, constraints, norms, and values. He wanted to understand what could be changed, albeit often with much effort to overcome resistance. He found that higher levels of an ecosystem often provide the resources and dictate the constraints imposed on lower levels. These prescriptions are not just commands. They also reflect values and cultural norms. Thus, the answers to the question were not just technical and economic. Often, the answers reflected eons of social and political priorities. The endeavors related in the book frequently involved addressing emerging realities rather than just the status quo. This book is an ongoing discovery of these bigger pictures. The stories and the lessons related in this book provide useful perspectives on change. The understanding of people and organizations that emerges from these lessons can help to enable transformative change. Fundamental change is an intensely human-centric endeavor, not just for the people and organizations aspiring to change, but also for the people helping them. You will meet many of these people in this book as the stories unfold. The genesis of this book originated in a decision made early in the author's career. He had developed a habit of asking at the end of each day, "What did I really accomplish today?" This was sometimes frustrating as he was not sure the day had yielded any significant accomplishments. One day it dawned on him that this was the wrong question - He needed to ask, "What did I learn today?" It is always possible to learn, most recently about public health and climate change. In planning this book, the author first thought in terms of accomplishments such as projects conducted, systems built, and articles and books published. He could not imagine this being interesting to readers. Then, it struck him - It is much more interesting to report on what he learned about people and organizations, including how he helped them accomplish their goals. This is a book of stories about how these lessons emerged. In planning this book, the author first thought in terms of accomplishments such as projects conducted, systems built, and articles and books published. He could not imagine this being interesting to readers. Then, it struck him - It is much more interesting to report on what he learned about people and organizations, including how he helped them accomplish their goals. This is a book of stories about how these lessons emerged.

This book contains a selection of papers presented at the 16th AISEM ( Associazione Italiana Sensori e Microsistemi ) National Conference on Sensors and Microsystems, held in Rome 7-9 February 2011. The conference highlighted updated results from both theoretical and applied research in the field of sensors and microsystems. This book presents material in an interdisciplinary approach, covering many aspects of the disciplines related to sensors and microsystems, including physics, chemistry, materials science, biology and applications.

Technology Innovation discusses the fundamental aspects of processes and structures of technology innovation. It offers a new perspective concerning fundamentals aspects not directly involved in the complex relations existing between technology and the socio-economic system. By considering technology and its innovation from a scientific point of view, the book presents a novel definition of technology as a set of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena, producing an effect exploitable for human purposes. Expanding on the general model of technology innovation by linking the model of technology, based on a structure of technological operations, with the models of the structures for technology innovation, based on organization of fluxes of knowledge and capitals, the book considers various technological processes and the stages of the innovation process. Offers a perspective on the evolution of technology in the frame of an industrial platform network Explains a novel definition of technology as a set of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena producing an effect exploitable for human purposes Discusses technology innovation as result of structures organizing fluxes of knowledge and capitals Provides a technology model simulating the functioning of technology with its optimization Presents a technology innovation model explaining the territorial technology innovation process The book is intended for academics, graduate students, technology developers who are involved in operations management and research, innovation, and technology development.

Survival and thriving in today's business environment require companies to continuously strive for operational excellence at all levels of the organization. Simply working to maintain existing operations is not an adequate or sustainable business strategy, especially when competing in a global market. To remain relevant, companies must adopt a process control and continuous improvement mentality as an integral part of their daily work activities. These two operational disciplines form the foundation and stepping stones for manufacturing excellence. Processes must be stable, capable, and controlled as a prerequisite for sustainable improvement. Sustainable improvements must be strategic, continuous, and focused on process optimization. Modern-day manufacturing is rapidly changing in the face of technological, geopolitical, social, and environmental developments. These challenges are altering the way we think and act to transform raw materials into finished goods. Meeting these challenges requires particular attention to how we develop and engage people and apply technology for long-term sustainability and competitive advantage. This book takes you on a journey to explore the fundamental elements, management practices, improvement methods, and future direction of shop floor management. Part 1 of this five-part manuscript considers workplace culture, organizational structure, operational discipline, and employee accountability as the foundation for a robust manufacturing system. Part 2 studies the impact of process standardization, data analytics, information sharing, communication, and people on daily shop floor management. Once the management system has been adequately described, Part 3 concentrates on its effective execution, monitoring, and control with a deep look into the people, methods, machines, materials, and environment that make it possible. Like every good manufacturing text, efficiency and productivity are key topics. That's why Part 4 explores various methods, tools, and techniques associated with product and process development, productivity improvement, agile methods, shop floor optimization, and manufacturing excellence. The final section, Part 5, shifts focus to emerging technologies, engaging the reader to contemplate technology's impact on the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry.

This volume describes the design of relay-based circuit systems from device fabrication to circuit micro-architectures. This book is ideal for both device engineers as well as circuit system designers, and highlights the importance of co-design across design hierarchies when trying to optimize system performance (in this case, energy-efficiency). The book will also appeal to researchers and engineers focused on semiconductor, integrated circuits, and energy efficient electronics.

-- Only book written addressing the role of a Lean CFO. -- Explains how a Lean Management System integrated with a Lean Business Strategy drives financial success. -- In clear concise terms explains how & why Lean makes money for companies. -- Gives readers the logical reasons why a Lean Management System must replace a Management Accounting System. -- Answers the question "why do we need a Lean Management System?"

A quantum dot molecule (QDM) is composed of two or more closely spaced quantum dots or artificial atoms. In recent years, QDMs have received much attention as an emerging new artificial quantum system. The interesting and unique coupling and energy transfer processes between the artificial atoms could substantially extend the range of possible applications of quantum nanostructures. This book reviews recent advances in the exciting and rapidly growing field of QDMs via contributions from some of the most prominent researchers in this scientific community. The book explores many interesting topics such as the epitaxial growth of QDMs, spectroscopic characterization, and QDM transistors, and bridges between the fundamental physics of novel materials and device applications for future information technology. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are considered. "Quantum Dot Molecules" can be recommended for electrical engineering and materials science department courses on the science and design of advanced and future electronic and optoelectronic devices."

With a bias for action, this book offers valuable insight into the origins of the much-celebrated Danish design tradition and how it can be employed to create design solutions to address today's environmental crisis using the planetary boundaries as positive creative constraints. Danish design has long been revered for its high-quality aesthetics, materials and craftmanship, encouraging sustainability without compromise. This book explores the lessons to be learnt from Scandinavian design ideals, introduces the philosophy and principles of circular economy, and showcases the potential power of combining circular economy and design in helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. It presents a range of case study examples across multiple sectors and includes interviews with Danish designers in architecture, furniture, fashion, digital design and industrial design, providing unique insights from some of the world's leading contemporary designers. Bridging theory and real-world insights and experiences, the book builds on the framework of the 4R’s The Circular Way: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace to encourage innovation through the replacement of environmentally damaging materials and business models. A must-read for product designers, industrial designers, consultants, business developers, sustainability professionals and students interested in learning how to design and implement circular, sustainable models into practice.

Research in the area of chemical and biochemical sensors and the development of respective applications is still growing rapidly. This book aims at instructing researcher and practitioners in both disciplines in a strictly systematic, interdisciplinary and practice-oriented way about the basic technology of chemical and biochemical sensors. This concise volume bridges the gap between the different "ways of thinking" in chemistry, physics and engineering. It provides a firm grounding for engineers, industrial and academic researcher in the field, for practitioners and novices as well as for advanced students.

While innovation can be defined in many ways, the author sees it as a process. It is not the sudden eureka moment in the middle of the night, nor is it a clear and linear path towards a final destination. Instead, it involves a strong sense of creativity and curiosity. An innovative mind has a natural inclination towards out-of-the-box thinking. It involves a willingness to try something new, without fear or judgment, to develop something no one else has ever articulated. While the mindset comes naturally, it requires fuel to keep it running. Innovators are voracious readers and researchers. They feed their mindset all of the fuel it needs to stay informed and relevant in their field. Many of the same things can be said for the Lean mindset. Lean management doesn't happen overnight, and it is very rarely a clear and linear path to true Lean thinking. Some might consider Lean a subset of innovative thinking, while others see it in reverse. Regardless of the relationship's directionality, one thing is certain: You cannot have one without the other. This book follows John Riley, the CEO of a medium-sized valve company just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who will stop at nothing to create an innovative work environment. Through the ups and downs of his journey, he learns a number of Lean and innovative skills, strategies, and mindsets to help him build the business he's always envisioned for himself. Throughout the book, you see examples of both strong and poor innovative leadership skills demonstrated by each of the main characters. The key messages are ones that help leaders build and access a mindset insistent on continuous improvement. Leadership techniques and abilities that bolster creative thought and problem-solving are the most successful throughout this book. To be truly innovative, you can never stop driving the learning process. For this to happen, leaders need to recognize when there is a need for a change or improvement. This is the beauty of the marriage between Lean and innovation: They both require continuous learning and growth. The desire to improve is only one piece of this equation, however. The other is the willingness to act. Without both of these factors, true innovation will always be out of reach.

This book guides through general and fundamental problems of pressure vessel design. It moreover considers problems which seem to be of lower importance but which turn out to be crucial in the design phase. The basic approach is rigorously scientific with a complete theoretical development of the topics treated, but the analysis is always pushed so far as to offer concrete and precise calculation criteria that can be immediately applied to actual designs. This is accomplished through appropriate algorithms that lead to final equations or to characteristic parameters defined through mathematical equations.

The first chapter describes how to achieve verification criteria, the second analyzes a few general problems, such as stresses of the membrane in revolution solids and edge effects. The third chapter deals with cylinders under pressure from the inside, while the fourth focuses on cylinders under pressure from the outside. The fifth chapter covers spheres, and the sixth is about all types of heads. Chapter seven discusses different components of particular shape as well as pipes, with special attention to flanges. The eighth chapter discusses the influence of holes, while the ninth is devoted to the influence of supports. Finally, chapter ten illustrates the fundamental criteria regarding fatigue analysis.

Besides the unique approach to the entire work, original contributions can be found in most chapters, thanks to the author s numerous publications on the topic and to studies performed ad hoc for this book.

Tutorial lectures given by world-renowned researchers have become one of the important traditions of the Nano and Giga Challenges (NGC) conference series. 1 Soon after preparations had begun for the rst forum, NGC2002, in Moscow, Russia, the organizers realized that publication of the lectures notes would be a va- able legacy of the meeting and a signi cant educational resource and knowledge base for students, young researchers, and senior experts. Our rst book was p- lished by Elsevier and received the same title as the meeting itself-Nano and Giga 2 Challenges in Microelectronics. Our second book, Nanotechnology for Electronic 3 4 Materials and Devices, based on the tutorial lectures at NGC2004 in Krakow, 5 Poland, the third book from NGC2007 in Phoenix, Arizona, and the current book 6 from joint NGC2009 and CSTC2009 meeting in Hamilton, Ontario, have been published in Springer's Nanostructure Science and Technology series. Hosted by McMaster University, the meeting NGC/CSTC 2009 was held as a joint event of two conference series, Nano and Giga Challenges (Nano & Giga Forum) and Canadian Semiconductor Technology Conferences (CSTC), bringing together the networks and expertise of both professional forums. Informational (electronics and photonics), renewable energy (solar systems, fuel cells, and batteries), and sensor (nano and bio) technologies have reached a new stage in their development in terms of engineering limits to cost-effective impro- ment of current technological approaches. The latest miniaturization of electronic devices is approaching atomic dimensions.

While there are many books about Finite Element Methods, this is among the first volume devoted to the application of FEM in spring design. It has been compiled by the working group on Finite Element Analysis of Springs, sponsored by the Japan Society of Spring Research. The monograph considers the wide spectrum of spring shapes and functions, enabling readers to use FEM to optimize designs for even the most advanced engineering cases. This book provides the theoretical background and state-of-the-art methodologies for numerical spring analysis. It also employs and explains many real-world design examples, calculated by commercial software and then compared with experimental data, to illustrate the applicability of FEM to spring analysis. Engineers already dealing with spring design will find this an excellent means of learning how to use FEM in their work, while others will find here a helpful introduction to modern spring technology and design.

Fiber Optic Measurement Techniques is an indispensable collection of key optical measurement techniques essential for developing and characterizing today's photonic devices and fiber optic systems. The book gives comprehensive and systematic descriptions of various fiber optic measurement methods with the emphasis on the understanding of optoelectronic signal processing methodologies, helping the reader to weigh up the pros and cons of each technique and establish their suitability for the task at hand. Carefully balancing descriptions of principle, operations and optoelectronic circuit implementation, this indispensable resource will enable the engineer to: Understand the implications of various measurement results and system performance qualifications Characterize modern optical systems and devices Select optical devices and subsystems in optical network design and implementation Design innovative instrumentations for fiber optic systems The 2nd edition of this successful reference has been extensively updated (with 150 new pages) to reflect the advances in the field since publication in 2008 and includes: A new chapter on fiber-based optical sensors and spectroscopy techniques A new chapter on measurement uncertainty and error analysis Fiber Optic Measurement Techniques brings together in one volume the fundamental principles with the latest techniques, making it a complete resource for the optical and communications engineer developing future optical devices and fiber optic systems.