In the last few years, a stimulating idea is fast emergingin the wireless scenario: the pervasive presence around us of a variety of "things" or "objects," such as RFID, sensors, actuators, mobile phones, which, through unique addressing schemes, are able to interact with each other and cooperate with their neighboring "smart" c- ponents to reach common goals. This novel paradigm, named "The Internet of Things" (IoT) continues on the path set by the concept of smart environments and paves the way to the depl- ment of numerous applications with a signi cant impact on many elds of future every-day life. In this context, logistics, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), business/process management, assisted living, and e-health are only a few examples of possible application elds in which this novel paradigm will play a leading role in the next future. Actually, manychallengingissues still needto be addressedand both technolo- calandsocialnodesuntiedbeforethe IoTideabeingwidelyaccepted.Centralissues are making a full interoperabilityof such devices possible, enablingtheir adaptation and autonomousbehavior, as well as guaranteeingtrust, privacy, and security. Also, the IoT idea poses several new problemsconcerningthe networkingaspects. In fact, the "things" composing the IoT will be characterized by low resources in terms of both computation and energy capacity. Accordingly, the proposed solutions need to payspecial attentionto resourceef ciencybesides the obviousscalability problems. The papers included in this volume present a picture of the current state of the art on the above issues; more speci cally, concepts and ideas are discussed on n- working, middleware, security and privacy, RFID and sensor networks, as well as electromagnetic aspects.

Embedded systems are informally defined as a collection of programmable parts surrounded by ASICs and other standard components, that interact continuously with an environment through sensors and actuators. The programmable parts include micro-controllers and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). Embedded systems are often used in life-critical situations, where reliability and safety are more important criteria than performance. Today, embedded systems are designed with an ad hoc approach that is heavily based on earlier experience with similar products and on manual design. Use of higher-level languages such as C helps structure the design somewhat, but with increasing complexity it is not sufficient. Formal verification and automatic synthesis of implementations are the surest ways to guarantee safety. Thus, the POLIS system which is a co-design environment for embedded systems is based on a formal model of computation. POLIS was initiated in 1988 as a research project at the University of California at Berkeley and, over the years, grew into a full design methodology with a software system supporting it. Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems: The POLIS Approach is intended to give a complete overview of the POLIS system including its formal and algorithmic aspects. Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems: The POLIS Approach will be of interest to embedded system designers (automotive electronics, consumer electronics and telecommunications), micro-controller designers, CAD developers and students.

An interdisciplinary approach, crucial as it is in most fields of research, proves itself to be unescapable in the study of interactions between the ancient Armenian and Greek worlds and literatures. The volume arises from such an awareness and collects papers presented in a conference which has been organized in 2013 at the University of Genova, thanks to a cooperation with the Universite Paris-Sorbonne, following in the footsteps of a tradition inaugurated by Giancarlo Bolognesi in the years '80 and '90. The subject is explored from many points of view: the topic of Armenian translations of Greek texts - with considerations of a methodological nature and the discussion of case-studies -, aspects which pertain to the historical context and the historiographical sources, the wide theme of the Armenian reception of Biblical, Christian and Byzantine literature, and finally philological, linguistic and lexical problems. The aim of this kind of research is to exploit the cooperation among classical philologists, linguists and Armenologists, in order to face the challenge of investigating a subject which requires many different competences.

When Odilo Globocnik, SS and police leader in Lublin, Poland, transferred to the Italian OZAK region in late 1943, he took with him a group of around 100 men who had run the notorious Aktion Reinhard extermination camps-Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibor-where 1.5 million people (mostly Jews) had been killed. This book describes the little-known activities of this group, known as Abteilung R (Reinhard), in the OZAK region from 1943 to 1945. Here they not only continued persecuting Jews, but also became involved in the fight against the armed resistance movement, participated in security tasks, anti-partisan operations, retaliation operations including arresting and killing of civilians, and ran the infamous Risiera di San Sabba police camp in Trieste. The book also covers the SS-Wachmannschaften (SS guards units) of the OZAK, military units that were formed locally and had links with Abteilung R. There are also chapters on uniforms and insignia, as well as photographs related to anti-partisan operations in the region.

Single-access laparoscopic surgery (SALS), performed using a single transumbilical access, has recently proved to bring advantages over other forms of laparoscopic surgery due to the reduction in the number of incisions and the consequent decrease in morbidity, less blood loss and postoperative pain. Furthermore, cosmesis may be improved because incision within the umbilicus renders surgery virtually scarless. Nevertheless, as with all new surgical concepts, questions may be raised regarding safety, usefulness and appropriateness. This book analyzes the use of SALS for different indications and abdominal surgical procedures based on a careful literature review of the experience of the most important surgical teams employing this approach and also the authors personal observations. The coverage is broad, encompassing, for example, the role of SALS in appendectomy, repair of abdominal wall defects, cholecystectomy, gastric surgery, nephrectomy, splenectomy, hemicolectomy and pancreatic, liver and gynecological surgery."

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.

Single-access laparoscopic surgery (SALS), performed using a single transumbilical access, has recently proved to bring advantages over other forms of laparoscopic surgery due to the reduction in the number of incisions and the consequent decrease in morbidity, less blood loss and postoperative pain. Furthermore, cosmesis may be improved because incision within the umbilicus renders surgery virtually scarless. Nevertheless, as with all new surgical concepts, questions may be raised regarding safety, usefulness and appropriateness. This book analyzes the use of SALS for different indications and abdominal surgical procedures based on a careful literature review of the experience of the most important surgical teams employing this approach and also the authors' personal observations. The coverage is broad, encompassing, for example, the role of SALS in appendectomy, repair of abdominal wall defects, cholecystectomy, gastric surgery, nephrectomy, splenectomy, hemicolectomy and pancreatic, liver and gynecological surgery.

In the last few years, a stimulating idea is fast emergingin the wireless scenario: the pervasive presence around us of a variety of "things" or "objects", such as RFID, sensors, actuators, mobile phones, which, through unique addressing schemes, are able to interact with each other and cooperate with their neighboring "smart" c- ponents to reach common goals. This novel paradigm, named "The Internet of Things" (IoT) continues on the path set by the concept of smart environments and paves the way to the depl- ment of numerous applications with a signi cant impact on many elds of future every-day life. In this context, logistics, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), business/process management,assisted living, and e-health are only a few examples of possible application elds in which this novel paradigm will play a leading role in the next future. Actually,manychallengingissues still needto be addressedand both technolo- calandsocialnodesuntiedbeforethe IoTideabeingwidelyaccepted.Centralissues are making a full interoperabilityof such devices possible, enablingtheir adaptation and autonomousbehavior, as well as guaranteeingtrust, privacy,and security. Also, the IoT idea poses several new problemsconcerningthe networkingaspects. In fact, the "things" composing the IoT will be characterized by low resources in terms of both computation and energy capacity. Accordingly, the proposed solutions need to payspecial attentionto resourceef ciencybesides the obviousscalability problems. The papers included in this volume present a picture of the current state of the art on the above issues; more speci cally, concepts and ideas are discussed on n- working, middleware, security and privacy, RFID and sensor networks, as well as electromagnetic aspects.

This book to offers a hands-on guide to designing, analyzing and debugging a communication infrastructure based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. Although the CAN bus standard is well established and currently used in most automotive systems, as well as avionics, medical systems and other devices, its features are not fully understood by most developers, who tend to misuse the network. This results in lost opportunities for better efficiency and performance. These authors offer a comprehensive range of architectural solutions and domains of analysis. It also provides formal models and analytical results, with thorough discussion of their applicability, so that it serves as an invaluable reference for researchers and students, as well as practicing engineers.

Embedded systems are informally defined as a collection of programmable parts surrounded by ASICs and other standard components, that interact continuously with an environment through sensors and actuators. The programmable parts include micro-controllers and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). Embedded systems are often used in life-critical situations, where reliability and safety are more important criteria than performance. Today, embedded systems are designed with an ad hoc approach that is heavily based on earlier experience with similar products and on manual design. Use of higher-level languages such as C helps structure the design somewhat, but with increasing complexity it is not sufficient. Formal verification and automatic synthesis of implementations are the surest ways to guarantee safety. Thus, the POLIS system which is a co-design environment for embedded systems is based on a formal model of computation. POLIS was initiated in 1988 as a research project at the University of California at Berkeley and, over the years, grew into a full design methodology with a software system supporting it. Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems: The POLIS Approach is intended to give a complete overview of the POLIS system including its formal and algorithmic aspects. Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems: The POLIS Approach will be of interest to embedded system designers (automotive electronics, consumer electronics and telecommunications), micro-controller designers, CAD developers and students.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 7th International ICST Conference on Mobile Multimedia Communications (MOBIMEDIA 2011) held in Cagliari, Italy, in September 2011 The 26 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from numerous submissions and focus topics such as quality of experience, dynamic spectrum access wireless networks in the TV white spaces, media streaming, mobile visual search, image processing and transmission, and mobile applications.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed postproceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Visual Content Processing and Representation, VLBV 2005. The 28 revised full papers presented together with 4 panel summaries were selected from 85 submissions during two rounds of reviewing and revision. The papers address all current issues in visual content processing techniques such as video and image analysis, representation and coding, communications and delivery, consumption, synthesis, protection, and adaptation.

This is a sweeping tour of the Mediterranean world from the Atlantic to Persia during the last half-century of the Roman Empire. By focusing on a single year not overshadowed by an epochal event, "428 AD" provides a truly fresh look at a civilization in the midst of enormous change--as Christianity takes hold in rural areas across the empire, as western Roman provinces fall away from those in the Byzantine east, and as power shifts from Rome to Constantinople. Taking readers on a journey through the region, Giusto Traina describes the empires' people, places, and events in all their simultaneous richness and variety. The result is an original snapshot of a fraying Roman world on the edge of the medieval era. The result is an original snapshot of a fraying Roman world on the edge of the medieval era.

Readers meet many important figures, including the Roman general Flavius Dionysius as he encounters a delegation from Persia after the Sassanids annex Armenia; the Christian ascetic Simeon Stylites as he stands and preaches atop his column near Antioch; the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II as he prepares to commission his legal code; and Genseric as he is elected king of the Vandals and begins to turn his people into a formidable power. We are also introduced to Pulcheria, the powerful sister of Theodosius, and Galla Placidia, the queen mother of the western empire, as well as Augustine, Pope Celestine I, and nine-year-old Roman emperor Valentinian III.

Full of telling details, "428 AD" illustrates the uneven march of history. As the west unravels, the east remains intact. As Christianity spreads, pagan ideas and schools persist. And, despite the presence of the forces that will eventually tear the classical world apart, Rome remains at the center, exerting a powerful unifying force over disparate peoples stretched across the Mediterranean.