Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Over the past decade, there have been many international calls to strengthen and support/sustain research capacity in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This capacity is considered an essential foundation for cost-effective healthcare systems. While there have been long-standing investments by many countries and research funding organisations in the training of individuals for this purpose, in many LMICs research capacity remains fragmented, uneven and fragile. There is growing recognition that a more systems-oriented approach to research capacity-building is required. Nonetheless, there are considerable gaps in the evidence for approaches to capacity-building that are effective and sustainable. This book addresses these gaps, capturing what was learned from teams working on The Global Health Research Initiative. This book brings together the experiences of research capacity-building teams co-led by Canadians and LMIC researchers in several regions of the world, including Jamaica, Kenya, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Uganda.

This book is composed of selected papers presented at IWIFSGN'2019-The Eighteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Generalized Nets-held on October 24-25, 2019, in Warsaw, Poland, which is one of the main conferences on fuzzy logic, notably on extensions of the traditional fuzzy sets, in particular on the intuitionistic fuzzy sets. A considerable part of the conference sessions is also concerned with recent developments and challenges in the theory and applications of other topics exemplified by uncertainty, incompleteness and imprecision modeling, the Generalized Nets (GNs), a powerful extension of the traditional Petri net paradigm, and the InterCriteria Analysis, a new method for the feature selection and analyses in multicriteria and multiattribute decision-making problems. Some more general problems of computational and artificial intelligence, exemplified by evolutionary computations, machine learning, etc., are also dealt with. The papers included yield a good perspective on all of these important issues and problems.

This book gathers selected papers from two important conferences held on October 24-28, 2018, in Warsaw, Poland: theFifteenth National Conference of Operational and Systems Research, BOS-2018, one of the leading conferences in the field of operational and systems research not only in Poland but also at the European level; andthe Seventeenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and General Nets, IWIFSGN-2018, one of thepremiere conferences on fuzzy logic. The papers presented here constitute a fair and comprehensive representation of the topics covered by both BOS-2018 and IWIFSGN-2018, includingextensions of the traditional fuzzy sets, in particular on the intuitionistic fuzzy sets, as well as other topics in uncertainty and imprecision modeling, the Generalized Nets (GNs), a powerful extension of the traditional Petri net paradigm, and InterCriteria Analysis, a new method for feature selection and analyses in multicriteria and multi-attribute decision-making problems. The Workshop was dedicated to the memory of Professor Beloslav Riecan (1936-2018), a regular participant at the IWIFSGN workshops.

This book presents selected papers from two important conferences held on October 12-14, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland: the Fourteenth National Conference of Operational and Systems Research, BOS-2016, one of the premiere conferences in the field of operational and systems research not only in Poland but also at the European level; and the Fifteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and General Nets, IWIFSGN-2016, one of the foremost conferences on fuzzy logic, notably addressing extensions of the traditional fuzzy sets, as well as the Generalized Nets (GNs), a powerful extension of the traditional Petri net paradigm. The scope of the BOS con ferences includes all types of problems related to systems modeling, systems analysis, broadly perceived operational research, optimization, decision making, and decision support, to name but a few. In all these areas, virtually all models used have to take into account not only uncertainty in its traditional sense, but also imprecision of information. That is, in addition to traditional probabilistic and statistical tools and techniques, the use of methods based on fuzzy sets can also be sensible. Even more so, employing certain extensions of the classic concept of a fuzzy set can be very useful. Applying intuitionistic fuzzy sets, which are at the core of the IWIFSGN conferences, is a good example. Both conferences, BOS-2016 and IWIFSGN-2016, offered ideal venues for the exchange of ideas, cross-fertilization, and mutual inspiration.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of two collocated international conferences: EUSFLAT-2017 - the 10th edition of the flagship Conference of the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology held in Warsaw, Poland, on September 11-15, 2017, and IWIFSGN'2017 - The Sixteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Generalized Nets, held in Warsaw on September 13-15, 2017. The conferences were organized by the Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department IV of Engineering Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Operational and Systems Research Society in collaboration with the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology (EUSFLAT), the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and various European universities. The aim of the EUSFLAT-2017 was t o bring together theoreticians and practitioners working on fuzzy logic, fuzzy systems, soft computing and related areas and to provide a platform for exchanging ideas and discussing the latest trends and ideas, while the aim of IWIFSGN'2017 was to discuss new developments in extensions of the concept of a fuzzy set, such as an intuitionistic fuzzy set, as well as other concepts, like that of a generalized net. The papers included, written by leading international experts, as well as the special sessions and panel discussions contribute to the development the field, strengthen collaborations and intensify networking.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of two collocated international conferences: EUSFLAT-2017 - the 10th edition of the flagship Conference of the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology held in Warsaw, Poland, on September 11-15, 2017, and IWIFSGN'2017 - The Sixteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Generalized Nets, held in Warsaw on September 13-15, 2017. The conferences were organized by the Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department IV of Engineering Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Operational and Systems Research Society in collaboration with the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology (EUSFLAT), the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and various European universities. The aim of the EUSFLAT-2017 was to bring together theoreticians and practitioners working on fuzzy logic, fuzzy systems, soft computing and related areas and to provide a platform for exchanging ideas and discussing the l atest trends and ideas, while the aim of IWIFSGN'2017 was to discuss new developments in extensions of the concept of a fuzzy set, such as an intuitionistic fuzzy set, as well as other concepts, like that of a generalized net. The papers included, written by leading international experts, as well as the special sessions and panel discussions contribute to the development the field, strengthen collaborations and intensify networking.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of two collocated international conferences: EUSFLAT-2017 - the 10th edition of the flagship Conference of the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology held in Warsaw, Poland, on September 11-15, 2017, and IWIFSGN'2017 - The Sixteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Generalized Nets, held in Warsaw on September 13-15, 2017. The conferences were organized by the Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department IV of Engineering Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Operational and Systems Research Society in collaboration with the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology (EUSFLAT), the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and various European universities. The aim of the EUSFLAT-2017 was to bring together theoreticians and practitioners working on fuzzy logic, fuzzy systems, soft computing and related areas and to provide a platform for exchanging ideas and discussing the l atest trends and ideas, while the aim of IWIFSGN'2017 was to discuss new developments in extensions of the concept of a fuzzy set, such as an intuitionistic fuzzy set, as well as other concepts, like that of a generalized net. The papers included, written by leading international experts, as well as the special sessions and panel discussions contribute to the development the field, strengthen collaborations and intensify networking.

This volume features selected and peer-reviewed articles from the Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI). The chapters are written by international specialists who participated in the conference. Topics include developments based on breakthroughs in the mathematical understanding of phenomena describing systems in highly inhomogeneous and disordered media, including the KPZ universality class (describing the evolution of interfaces in two dimensions), random walks in random environment and percolative systems. PASI fosters a collaboration between North American and Latin American researchers and students. The conference that inspired this volume took place in January 2012 in both Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires. Researchers and graduate students will find timely research in probability theory, statistical physics and related disciplines.

This book presents the state-of-the-art in theory and practice regarding similarity and distance measures for intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Quantifying similarity and distances is crucial for many applications, e.g. data mining, machine learning, decision making, and control. The work provides readers with a comprehensive set of theoretical concepts and practical tools for both defining and determining similarity between intuitionistic fuzzy sets. It describes an automatic algorithm for deriving intuitionistic fuzzy sets from data, which can aid in the analysis of information in large databases. The book also discusses other important applications, e.g. the use of similarity measures to evaluate the extent of agreement between experts in the context of decision making.

The stochastic calculus of variations of Paul Malliavin (1925 - 2010), known today as the Malliavin Calculus, has found many applications, within and beyond the core mathematical discipline. Stochastic analysis provides a fruitful interpretation of this calculus, particularly as described by David Nualart and the scores of mathematicians he influences and with whom he collaborates. Many of these, including leading stochastic analysts and junior researchers, presented their cutting-edge research at an international conference in honor of David Nualart's career, on March 19-21, 2011, at the University of Kansas, USA. These scholars and other top-level mathematicians have kindly contributed research articles for this refereed volume.

This volume features selected and peer-reviewed articles from the Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI). The chapters are written by international specialists who participated in the conference. Topics include developments based on breakthroughs in the mathematical understanding of phenomena describing systems in highly inhomogeneous and disordered media, including the KPZ universality class (describing the evolution of interfaces in two dimensions), random walks in random environment and percolative systems. PASI fosters a collaboration between North American and Latin American researchers and students. The conference that inspired this volume took place in January 2012 in both Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires. Researchers and graduate students will find timely research in probability theory, statistical physics and related disciplines.

This multidisciplinary volume articulates the current and potential public policy discourse between energy security and climate change in the Asia- Pacific region, and the efforts taken to address global warming. This volume is unique as it analyses two important issues climate change and energy security through the lens of geopolitics at the intersection of energy security. It elaborates on the current and potential steps taken by state and non- state actors, as well as the policy innovations and diplomatic efforts (bilateral and multilateral, including regional) that states are pursuing. This Brief stems from the assumption that its audience is aware of the consequences of climate change, and will therefore, only look at the issues identified. It provides a useful read and reference for a wide- range of scholars, policy makers, researchers and post- graduate students.

The stochastic calculus of variations of Paul Malliavin (1925 - 2010), known today as the Malliavin Calculus, has found many applications, within and beyond the core mathematical discipline. Stochastic analysis provides a fruitful interpretation of this calculus, particularly as described by David Nualart and the scores of mathematicians he influences and with whom he collaborates. Many of these, including leading stochastic analysts and junior researchers, presented their cutting-edge research at an international conference in honor of David Nualart's career, on March 19-21, 2011, at the University of Kansas, USA. These scholars and other top-level mathematicians have kindly contributed research articles for this refereed volume.

Psychodermatology is a relatively new field in evolution and thus, there is a comparative paucity of information in general. However, when it comes to children and adolescents there is a complete vacuum of information as no other book has aimed to specifically address the psychodermatological issues facing this particular population. For assessment, diagnosis, comprehensive treatment of children with psychodermatologic conditions and establishing a relationship between skin and psyche, there is a lack of clear and relevant clinical information about these complex disorders. The complexity of these disorders is related to lack of understanding in genetic, embryonic, physiologic, neuroimmunologic, neurocutaneous, stress-related neuromodulation, and psychosomatic interconnections. This book presents a clinically relevant approach to the management of psychodermatologic issues encountered in normal practice. Various classifications and major categories that are discussed include psychophysiologic disorders, psychiatric conditions with dermatologic manifestations, dermatologic disorders predisposing to psychiatric disorders, systemic diseases with psychodermatological manifestations, and special issues in management of psychocutaneous disorders in children and adolescents.

This volume celebrates the tenth edition of the Brazilian School of Probability (EBP), held at IMPA, Rio de Janeiro, from July 30 to August 4, 2006, jointly with the 69th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. It was indeed an exceptional occasion for the local community working in this ?eld. The EBP, ?rst envisioned and organized in 1997, has since developed into an annual meeting with two or three advanced mini-courses and a high level conference. This volume grew up from invited or contributed articles by researchers that during the last ten yearshave been participating in the BrazilianSchool of Pro- bility. As a consequence, its content partially re?ects the topics that have pred- inated in the activities during the various editions of the School, with a strong - peal that comes from statistical mechanics and areasof concentrationthat include interacting particlesystems, percolation, random media anddisordered systems. All articles of this volume were peer-refereed.

This volume arises from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on 'North African Cretaceous rudist and coral formations and their contributions to carbonate platform development , which was held in Tunisia, on 13-18 May, 2002. It was convened by M. El Hedi Negra (Universite 7 Novembre de Carthage, now Universite de Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) and Eulalia Gili (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain). The aims of the ARW were: (1) to review and critically assess currently available data on rudist/coral formations in North African Cretaceous carbonate platforms, and their correlations, and to integrate these data with other studies around the Mediterranean; (2) to place the findings in a global context, noting both similarities with other regions of platform development as well as local differences, and (3) exploring possible reasons for these; and to help promote the creation of a vibrant peri-Mediterranean collaborative research community, embracing researchers from the entire region, to carry forward this ambitious research programme. Twenty-two presentations (oral and poster) provided both topical reviews (covering rudist evolution, and ecology, mineralogical changes, applications of strontium isotope, and graphic correlation methods, and platform typology) as well as regional syntheses (Tunisian reservoirs, Moroccan platform history, Tunisian platforms and rudist/coral facies, Algerian platforms, and Egyptian platforms). Fifteen of these presentations are expanded here as papers. The workshop was attended by 24 academic staff, 4 geologists from the oil industry, plus several observers and students.

This volume arises from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on 'North African Cretaceous rudist and coral formations and their contributions to carbonate platform development , which was held in Tunisia, on 13-18 May, 2002. It was convened by M. El Hedi Negra (Universite 7 Novembre de Carthage, now Universite de Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) and Eulalia Gili (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain). The aims of the ARW were: (1) to review and critically assess currently available data on rudist/coral formations in North African Cretaceous carbonate platforms, and their correlations, and to integrate these data with other studies around the Mediterranean; (2) to place the findings in a global context, noting both similarities with other regions of platform development as well as local differences, and (3) exploring possible reasons for these; and to help promote the creation of a vibrant peri-Mediterranean collaborative research community, embracing researchers from the entire region, to carry forward this ambitious research programme. Twenty-two presentations (oral and poster) provided both topical reviews (covering rudist evolution, and ecology, mineralogical changes, applications of strontium isotope, and graphic correlation methods, and platform typology) as well as regional syntheses (Tunisian reservoirs, Moroccan platform history, Tunisian platforms and rudist/coral facies, Algerian platforms, and Egyptian platforms). Fifteen of these presentations are expanded here as papers. The workshop was attended by 24 academic staff, 4 geologists from the oil industry, plus several observers and students.

This book is composed of selected papers from the Sixteenth National Conference on Operational and Systems Research, BOS-2020, held on December 14-15, 2020, one of premiere conferences in the field of operational and systems research. The second is the Nineteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Generalized Nets, IWIFSGN 2020, held on December 10-11, 2020, in Warsaw, Poland, in turn-one of premiere conferences on fuzzy logic, notably on extensions of the traditional fuzzy sets, also comprising a considerable part on the generalized nets (GNs), an important extension of the traditional Petri nets. A joint publication of selected papers from the two conferences follows a long tradition of such a joint organization and-from a substantial point of view-combines systems modeling, systems analysis, broadly perceived operational research, notably optimization, decision making, and decision support, with various aspects of uncertain and imprecise information and their related tools and techniques.

This is a volume in memory of Vladas Sidoravicius who passed away in 2019. Vladas has edited two volumes appeared in this series ("In and Out of Equilibrium") and is now honored by friends and colleagues with research papers reflecting Vladas' interests and contributions to probability theory.

This book focuses on the current situation of two technologies for electricity production from renewable energy sources, wind and solar photovoltaic energy, analysing and describing both technologies in detail. Four regions of the world, with distinct energy markets and conditions, are explored. Together, the USA, Europe, China and Japan represent one third of the world's population and occupy 25% of the planet, therefore offering a representation of a global picture. In each of these regions, the development of the solar and wind energy is examined, and the economic implications are described.

This is a volume in memory of Vladas Sidoravicius who passed away in 2019. Vladas has edited two volumes appeared in this series ("In and Out of Equilibrium") and is now honored by friends and colleagues with research papers reflecting Vladas' interests and contributions to probability theory.

This volume contains, first of all, the papers presented at the Fourteenth International Workshop on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Generalized Nets (IWIFSGN-2015) held on October 26-28, 2015 in Cracow, Poland. Moreover, the volume contains some papers of a particular relevance not presented at the Workshop. The Workshop is mainly devoted to the presentation of recent research results in the broadly perceived fields of intuitionistic fuzzy sets and generalized nets initiated by Professor Krassimir T. Atanassov whose constant inspiration and support is crucial for such a widespread growing popularity and recognition of these areas. The Workshop is a next edition of a series of the IWIFSGN Workshops organized for years by the Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, and WIT -- Warsaw School of Information Technology, Warsaw, Poland, and co-organized by: Matej Bel University, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, Universidad Publica de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, Universidade de Tras-Os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal, Prof. Asen Zlatarov University, Burgas, Bulgaria, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain, and the University of Westminster, Harrow, UK.