Approx.450 pages

Medical Image Analysis presents practical knowledge on medical image computing and analysis as written by top educators and experts. This text is a modern, practical, self-contained reference that conveys a mix of fundamental methodological concepts within different medical domains. Sections cover core representations and properties of digital images and image enhancement techniques, advanced image computing methods (including segmentation, registration, motion and shape analysis), machine learning, how medical image computing (MIC) is used in clinical and medical research, and how to identify alternative strategies and employ software tools to solve typical problems in MIC.

Plasmonic Materials and Metastructures: Fundamentals, Current Status, and Perspectives reviews the current status and emerging trends in the development of conventional and alternative plasmonic materials. Sections cover fundamentals and emerging trends of plasmonic materials development, including synthesis strategies (chemical and physical) and optical characterization techniques. Next, the book addresses fundamentals, properties, remaining barriers for commercial translation, and the latest advances and opportunities for conventional noble metal plasmonic materials. Fundamentals and advances for alternative plasmonic materials are also reviewed, including two-dimensional hybrid materials composed of graphene, monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, boron nitride, etc. In addition, other sections cover applications of plasmonic metastructures enabled by plasmonic materials with improved material properties and newly discovered functionalities. Applications reviewed include quantum plasmonics, topological plasmonics, chiral plasmonics, nanolasers, imaging (metalens), active, and integrated technologies.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the opportunity to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Space policy is now a top priority in international relations. This timely Research Agenda takes the definition of space policy itself as an object of analysis rather than as an unquestioned premise. It presents the multi-faceted spectrum of elements combined within space policy which are crucially relevant to security, welfare and modern society. Chapters demonstrate why space matters and how space policy research has reflected this during the past half-century. Expert international contributors set out a forward-looking research agenda for the 2020s, identifying key problems and conflicts related to the topic and exploring policy, regulatory approaches and diplomatic mechanisms to reach possible solutions. The types of actors and institutions playing a key role in space policy are also examined through an interdisciplinary lens. Scholars and students of political science, international relations and law will find this to be a sophisticated, cutting-edge resource for analysing and understanding the multi-dimensional impacts of space policy.

Wild Track is an exploration of birdsong and the ways in which that sound was conveyed, described and responded to through text, prior to the advent of recording and broadcast technologies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Street links sound aesthetics, radio, natural history, and literature to explore how the brain and imagination translate sonic codes as well as the nature of the silent sound we "hear" when we read a text. This creates an awareness of sound through the tuned attention of the senses, learning from sound texts of the natural world that sought – and seek – to convey the intensity of the sonic moment and fleeting experience. To absorb these lessons is to enable a more highly interactive relationship with sound and listening, and to interpret the subtleties of audio as a means of expression and translation of the living world.

Customized Production Through 3D Printing in Cloud Manufacturing explains how to combine the latest cloud manufacturing and additive manufacturing technology to find innovative solutions to important problems in research and industry. The manufacturing industry strives constantly to improve levels of product personalization for its customers, who have become increasingly demanding in this respect in recent decades. Among the tools currently growing in use in the industry, there is great potential to address this demand. Cloud manufacturing maps manufacturing resources and capabilities to the cloud, adding the capacity to gather decentralized manufacturing resources and use manufacturing services on-demand, and 3D printing provides strong support for truly individualized manufactured components. This is the first book to cover the whole lifecycle of 3D printing services in a cloud environment, including topics like: cloud servitization of 3D printers, 3D printing model design, supply-demand matching and scheduling, on-demand using and pricing, printing monitoring in cloud, and printing service evaluation. With a systematic introduction to this promising manufacturing paradigm, as well as coverage of models and service management to practical applications, this book will meet the needs of a broad range of researchers as well as practitioners.

Mechanics of Offshore Pipelines, Second Edition, Volume One: Buckling and Collapse gives engineers fundamental knowledge on principles surrounding the mechanical behavior of pipelines and long tubular structures in the oil and gas industry. Addressing common challenges pertaining to buckling and collapse under various offshore loads, the authors go through each challenge experimentally, with supporting and analyzing data to present the main limits encountered. Helpful to both the practicing engineer and the graduate level, the combined effort of analysis supplemented with numerical modeling helps engineers design procedures and guidelines to reproduce the best solution or solve problems using a nonlinear finite element code. Custom formulations are also included to help users gain a deeper understanding of each challenge. Rounding out with helpful appendices, including a glossary of terms, this book continues to deliver critical research and data to engineers that need to design, install and maintain efficient and safe offshore pipelines.

Advanced Sensor Technology: Biomedical, Environmental, and Construction Applications introduces readers to the past, present and future of sensor technology and its emerging applications in a wide variety of different fields. Organized in five parts, the book covers historical context and future outlook of sensor technology development and emerging applications, the use of sensors throughout many applications in healthcare, health and life science research, public health and safety, discusses chemical sensors used in environmental monitoring and remediation of contaminants, highlights the use of sensors in food, agriculture, fire prevention, automotive and robotics, and more. Final sections look forward at the challenges that must be overcome in the development and use of sensing technology as well as their commercial use, making this book appropriate for the interdisciplinary community of researchers and practitioners interested in the development of sensor technologies.

Seismic While Drilling: Fundamentals of Drill-Bit Seismic for Exploration, 2nd edition, revised and extended gives a theoretical and practical introduction to seismic while drilling by using drill-bit noise. While drilling seismic methods using surface sources and downhole receivers are also analysed. The goal is to support the exploration geology with geophysical control of drilling, and to build a bridge between geophysicists involved in seismic while drilling, drillers and exploration geologists. This revised and extended edition includes new topics such as novel drilling technology, downhole communication, ground-force drill-bit measurement, SWD seismic interferometry, and fiber optic (DAS). A new section is dedicated to well placement and geosteering. Like the first edition, Seismic While Drilling, 2nd edition also includes examples of SWD analysis and application on real data.

Structure in the Sea: The Science, Technology and Effects of Purpose-Built Reefs and Related Surfaces provides a review of the history, development, status and emerging trends in research, technology and applications of artificial reef habitats and sea floor structures. The book helps readers understand, utilize and add to the research of modern reef deployment efforts, presenting a guide to equip stakeholders requiring technical foundations and best practices. Topics include materials, designs and construction methods, along with the ecology of these structures, including key aspects of the life history of plants and animals associated with artificial reefs. Rigorous research addressing ecological, economic and engineering questions, coupled with the innovative deployment of structures worldwide by diverse stakeholders, have created a synergy that makes the book a valuable synthesis and analysis for this growing subject. Thus, its broad audience includes marine (coastal and ocean) environmental sciences, including aquatic ecologists, those working in ocean sustainability and conservation, benthic habitat and coral reef restoration practitioners, and more.

Engineering Reliability and Risk Assessment explains how to improve the performance of a system using the latest risk and reliability models. Against a backdrop of increasing availability of industrial data, and ever-increasing global commercial competition, the standards for optimal efficiency with minimum hazards keep improving. Topics explained include Effective strategies for the maintenance of the mechanical components of a system, How to schedule necessary interventions throughout the product life cycle, How to understand the structure and cost of complex systems, Planning a schedule to improve the reliability and life of the system, software, system safety and risk informed asset management, and more.

Modern Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control: From System Modeling to AI and Innovative Applications provides a comprehensive foundation of theory and applications of spacecraft GNC, from fundamentals to advanced concepts, including modern AI-based architectures with focus on hardware and software practical applications. Divided into four parts, this book begins with an introduction to spacecraft GNC, before discussing the basic tools for GNC applications. These include an overview of the main reference systems and planetary models, a description of the space environment, an introduction to orbital and attitude dynamics, and a survey on spacecraft sensors and actuators, with details of their modeling principles. Part 2 covers guidance, navigation, and control, including both on-board and ground-based methods. It also discusses classical and novel control techniques, failure detection isolation and recovery (FDIR) methodologies, GNC verification, validation, and on-board implementation. The final part 3 discusses AI and modern applications featuring different applicative scenarios, with particular attention on artificial intelligence and the possible benefits when applied to spacecraft GNC. In this part, GNC for small satellites and CubeSats is also discussed. Modern Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control: From System Modeling to AI and Innovative Applications is a valuable resource for aerospace engineers, GNC/AOCS engineers, avionic developers, and AIV/AIT technicians.

Electrostatic Dust Mitigation and Manipulation Techniques for Planetary Dust explains how to control and remove dust in space due to the presence of a vacuum, abrasiveness of dust particles and electrostatic charge on particles. The book introduces innovative technologies that use electrostatic and di-electrophoretic forces to remove and transport small particles away from surfaces. In addition, it discusses how to resolve thermal control problems and reduce lung inhalation and eye irritation problems. The book includes two abrasive wear test devices that were designed to study the rate of volume wear for di?erent materials when subjected to lunar dust simulant of di?erent size ranges. This will be an ideal resource for space system engineers, space exploration researchers, and advanced students and professionals in space engineering.

Planetary Exploration Horizon 2061: A Long-Term Perspective for Planetary Exploration synthesizes all the material elaborated and discussed during three workshops devoted to the Horizon 2061 foresight exercise. Sections cover the science of planetary systems, space missions to solar system objects, technologies for exploration, and infrastructures and services to support the missions and to maximize their science return. The editors follow the path of the implementation of a planetary mission, from the needed support in terms of navigation and communication, through the handling of samples returned to Earth, to the development of more permanent infrastructures for scientific human outposts on the Moon and Mars. This book also includes a special chapter entirely devoted to contributions from students and early-career scientists: the "Horizon 2061 generation" and a final chapter on important avenues for the actual implementation of the planetary missions coming out of our "Dreams for Horizon 2061": International cooperation, and the growing role and initiatives of private enterprise in planetary exploration.

Green Production Engineering and Management is an interdisciplinary collection of the latest advances from academia and industry on the management of production engineering in a green and responsible way. Background theory, methods, tools and techniques, and case study examples are all combined to make a complete guide for researchers, engineers, and managers. The interdisciplinary approach taken by this book allows a holistic understanding of a complex problem, helping readers with management backgrounds to better appreciate production engineering issues and vice versa. Themes such as social responsibility, green manufacturing, and productivity management are all tackled together, helping the reader see how they are all linked in the industrial environment, and how new advances in one field could lead to benefits in others. Through the interdisciplinary exchange of principles, strategies, models, methodologies, and applications, this book hopes to uncover new ways to manage, think, and understand organizations, making them more strategic and competitive in the markets where they are or which they seek to occupy in the near future.

Hayabusa2 Asteroid Sample Return Mission: Technological Innovation and Advances covers the second Japanese asteroid sample return mission. The purpose of the mission is to survey the asteroid Ryugu's surface features, touch down on the asteroid, form an artificial crater by shooting an impactor, and collect sample materials. This book covers these operations, along with everything known about key technologies, hardware and ground systems upon Hayabusa2's return to Earth in 2020. This book is the definitive reference on the mission and provides space and planetary scientists with information on established technologies to further advance the knowledge and technologies in future space exploration missions.