The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has sponsored a programme of intensive research into the primary productivity of grass ecosystems in both the tropics and subtropics, resulting in this book. It therefore represents the first internationally integrated study of bio-productivity since the International Biological Programme (IBP) of the early 1970s. The large international team of scientists sponsored by UNEP identified five different grassland ecosystems, determining their levels of productivity as well as the effect of climatic variation on primary production and photosynthesis. The methods and results described indicate a three to ten-fold increase in estimates of productivity from the IBP figures, raising implications for a number of important questions such as: the understanding of how carbon is cycled, the environmental impact of removing grasslands, assessment of these ecosystems as genetic resources of productive grasses, assessing the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and establishing ground truth data for remote sensing of grassland productivity. This book provides a comprehensive assessment of an extremely important but under-researched biome. It should be of interest to a wide range of environmental scientists, including ecologists, atmospheric scientists, biogeographers, and environmental physiologists.

Handbook of Indigenous Foods Involving Alkaline Fermentation details the basic approaches of alkaline fermentation, provides a brief history, and offers an overview of the subject. Devoted exclusively to alkaline-fermented foods (AFFs), this text includes contributions from experts from around the globe. It discusses the diversity of indigenous fermented foods involving an alkaline reaction, as well as the taxonomy, ecology, physiology, and genetics of predominant microorganisms occurring in AFFs. Presented in nine chapters, the book explains how microorganisms or enzymes transform raw ingredients into AFFs. It discusses the safety aspects of AFFs, and considers the challenges associated with the technological aspects in modernizing AFFs. It stresses the significance of the microbiological and biochemical processes in the fermentations, as well as the factors that influence the development of the characteristic microbiota, and the biochemical and organoleptic changes induced by them. It also proposes solutions, discusses the value of AFFs and related dominant microorganisms, and assesses the future of AFFs. The authors highlight commonly known foods and beverages of plant and animal origin. They provide insight into the manufacture, chemical and microbiological composition, processing, and compositional and functional modifications taking place as a result of microbial and enzyme effects. The text examines safety, legislation, traditional and industrialized processes, as well as new product development, and opportunities for developing commodities from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. In addition, it also assesses the value of food processing by-products, biotechnology, and engineering of solid-state processes, modern chemical and biological analytical approaches to safety, and health and consumer perception. Focuses on how fermentation of food remains an important aspect of food processing Describes how fermentation of food contributes to its preservation Details how fermented food gets its flavor from microbial and enzymatic modifications of food components such as sugars, fats, and proteins Handbook of Indigenous Foods Involving Alkaline Fermentation offers insight into the microbiology and chemistry of the fermentation processes. This book serves graduate students and researchers of food science and technology, nutrition and dietetics, food microbiology, and related areas.

Signals and Systems: Analysis Using Transform Methods and MATLAB (R) has been extensively updated, while retaining the emphasis on fundamental applications and theory. The text includes a wealth of exercises, including drill exercises, and more challenging conceptual problems. McGraw-Hill's Connect, is also available as an optional, add on item. Connect is the only integrated learning system that empowers students by continuously adapting to deliver precisely what they need, when they need it, how they need it, so that class time is more effective. Connect allows the professor to assign homework, quizzes, and tests easily and automatically grades and records the scores of the student's work. Problems are randomized to prevent sharing of answers an may also have a "multi-step solution" which helps move the students' learning along if they experience difficulty.