Prosopis (Prosopis juliflora) is a xerophyte which, in its native habitats has been a desert plant. As long as it was confined to that habitat, P. juliflora was a great resource, improving the region’s micrometeorology, binding its sandy soil, and providing shelter, fuel, feed, food, medicines, and cosmetics to the people of such regions. In particular, for the economically weaker inhabitants, P.juliflora was a lifeline. But when P. juliflora was indiscriminately introduced in other regions of the world in a hope to derive similar benefits from it, things began to go awry. Indeed, among the invasive species of plants which are spreading at an alarming rate in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, P.juliflora is arguably the most hardy and resilient. It is growing so explosively that it even enters roads and homes, driving humans out of their dwellings. The resulting damage to biodiversity is enormous. This book highlights the dual role played so far by P. juliflora and itemizes the facets that make it a blessing in some contexts and a bane in other contexts. Authored by leading experts in the field, Prosopis juliflora: Attributes, Impact, Utilization is the first title of its kind to comprehensively discuss this hardy plant species. It will be an essential read for students, researchers and governmental agencies interested in plant biology, forestry, plant ecology, invasive plant species and environmental science.

Waste Management in the Textiles Industry explores and explains the latest technologies and best practices for an integrated approach to the management and treatment of wastes generated in this industry.

This book provides a comprehensive coverage of hardware security concepts, derived from the unique characteristics of emerging logic and memory devices and related architectures. The primary focus is on mapping device-specific properties, such as multi-functionality, runtime polymorphism, intrinsic entropy, nonlinearity, ease of heterogeneous integration, and tamper-resilience to the corresponding security primitives that they help realize, such as static and dynamic camouflaging, true random number generation, physically unclonable functions, secure heterogeneous and large-scale systems, and tamper-proof memories. The authors discuss several device technologies offering the desired properties (including spintronics switches, memristors, silicon nanowire transistors and ferroelectric devices) for such security primitives and schemes, while also providing a detailed case study for each of the outlined security applications. Overall, the book gives a holistic perspective of how the promising properties found in emerging devices, which are not readily afforded by traditional CMOS devices and systems, can help advance the field of hardware security.

This book comprises select peer-reviewed proceedings of the International Conference Trending Moments and Steer Forces - Civil Engineering Today (TMSF 2019). It presents latest research in different domains of civil engineering like structural and concrete engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, environmental engineering, and construction technology and management. The contents also include miscellaneous applications of civil engineering in a wide range of technical and societal problems making use of engineering principles and relational data structures involving measurement sciences. Given the range of topics covered, this book can be useful for students, researchers as well as practitioners working in the field of civil engineering.

This book features selected papers presented at the 3rd International Conference on Wireless Communications and Applications (ICWCA 2019), held at Hainan University, China. Focusing on applications of the latest smart theories and approaches, and recent advances in the field, it covers topics such as OFDM and multi-carrier techniques; smart antenna and space-time signal processing; MIMO, multi-user MIMO, and massive MIMO; modulation, coding, and diversity techniques; dynamic spectrum access and cognitive radio; interference management and radio resource allocation; equalization techniques; synchronization, estimation, and detection techniques; and wireless multiple access (e.g. CDMA, OFDMA, NOMA, ).

This volume offers fresh insights into economic development and growth in emerging economies. It includes contributions covering topics such as natural disasters and income inequalities, the environmental impact of economic growth, social preferences, information and market disorder under democracy, inflation targeting and its covariates, economic empowerment. This book is intended for scholars in the field of economics, and those interested in furthering economic development.

The transitional politics of Eurasian space is marked by a constant struggle among three sets of ideas and institutions: the first is the remarkable resilience of Soviet ideas and institutions; second, an attempt by the regimes of these states to reinvent the historical and cultural traditions of pre-Soviet periods; and third is an attempt by a section of the powerful elite to superimpose Western liberal ideas and institutions. There is a strange intertwining of these ideas and institutions. This book examines the extent to which the post-Soviet politics has departed from the Soviet one. What are the new ideational structures emerging in these states and how far have they crystallised into institutions? What are the external influences which are shaping the institutions in the Eurasian space? And finally, what are the various dynamics of geopolitics in this region? Experts from various countries will delve into the shifting dynamics of Eurasian politics.

This book offers a transdisciplinary perspective on the concept of "smart villages" Written by an authoritative group of scholars, it discusses various aspects that are essential to fostering the development of successful smart villages. Presenting cutting-edge technologies, such as big data and the Internet-of-Things, and showing how they have been successfully applied to promote rural development, it also addresses important policy and sustainability issues. As such, this book offers a timely snapshot of the state-of-the-art in smart village research and practice.

Innovative ideas provide solutions to problems that creators are passionate about, which stimulates the decision of technology-based company creation. This book explores the fundamental elements and economic valuation of technology-based startups and their immediate ecosystems. It covers all the phases and the required competencies for technological startup creation and development. This book also provides a comprehensive coverage of methods and recommendations for defining and assessing opportunities to create new tech companies for many young researchers or students aspiring to be innovators. Featuring contributions from financial market analysts, business professionals, and venture capitalists, this book benefits readers from different disciplines, technical or non-technical, associated with tech startup projects. 

This edited book provides a platform to bring together researchers, academia and industry collaborators to exchange their knowledge and work to develop better understanding about the scope of blockchain technology in business management applications of different sectors such as retail sector, supply chain and logistics, healthcare sector, manufacturing sector, judiciary, finance and government sector in terms of data quality and timeliness. The book presents original unpublished research papers on blockchain technology and business management on novel architectures, prototypes and case studies.

This book gathers selected papers presented at the 3rd International Conference on Wireless Communications and Applications (ICWCA 2019), held at Hainan University, China. It covers up-to-date smart theories and approaches, as reflected in contemporary technical achievements in the area. The topics covered include: software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV), future data center networks, 5G/6G mobile networks, QoS/QoE support in future networks, future Internet of things (IoT) networks, network fault management and service availability, and many others.

This book features a collection of high-quality research papers presented at the International Conference on Intelligent and Cloud Computing (ICICC 2019), held at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, India, on December 20, 2019. Including contributions on system and network design that can support existing and future applications and services, it covers topics such as cloud computing system and network design, optimization for cloud computing, networking, and applications, green cloud system design, cloud storage design and networking, storage security, cloud system models, big data storage, intra-cloud computing, mobile cloud system design, real-time resource reporting and monitoring for cloud management, machine learning, data mining for cloud computing, data-driven methodology and architecture, and networking for machine learning systems.

Throughout history, Central Asia has formed an important strategic link between the East and the West and been described as thegreat pivot in the early-twentieth century. This book looks at the relations between the Central Asian states and major external powers. It shows how these nations have kept the fragile geopolitics of the region free of

Like electricity and water, data and computing power are necessary commodities in the modern-day economy. A model for the effective regulation and provisioning of computational services will follow a similar paradigm as the existent model for traditional utilities. Emerging Research Surrounding Power Consumption and Performance Issues in Utility Computing explores methods of treating computing resources and materials as a standard utility, charging customers based on their usage and promoting competition among service providers. Including both benefits and hindrances, as well as theoretical concepts and practical considerations, this book provides an in-depth discussion of the utility computing paradigm for computer engineers, service providers, consumers, and academics in the field of computer science. This book includes emerging research on subjects including, but not limited to, Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) architectures, green computing, VMware, and device manufacturing techniques.

This book gathers selected papers presented at the conference "Advances in 3D Image and Graphics Representation, Analysis, Computing and Information Technology," one of the first initiatives devoted to the problems of 3D imaging in all contemporary scientific and application areas. The aim of the conference was to establish a platform for experts to combine their efforts and share their ideas in the related areas in order to promote and accelerate future development. This second volume discusses algorithms and applications, focusing mainly on the following topics: 3D printing technologies; naked, dynamic and auxiliary 3D displays; VR/AR/MR devices; VR camera technologies; microprocessors for 3D data processing; advanced 3D computing systems; 3D data-storage technologies; 3D data networks and technologies; 3D data intelligent processing; 3D data cryptography and security; 3D visual quality estimation and measurement; and 3D decision support and information systems.

Throughout history, Central Asia has formed an important strategic link between the East and the West and been described as the 'great pivot' in the early-twentieth century. This book looks at the relations between the Central Asian states and major external powers. It shows how these nations have kept the fragile geopolitics of the region free of the so-called 'New Great Game'. The volume evaluates the roles of major powers such as Russia, United States, China, Iran, and Turkey, as well as India and its 'Silk Road Strategy'. It also compares the regional geopolitics of Central Asia with its neighbour Caucasus. The study indicates how, despite limited inter-state cooperation, the region has prevented conflicts and wars, due to which these states have been able to enjoy greater strategic autonomy in their dealings with other countries. The book will benefit scholars and researchers of international relations, political and strategic studies, area studies, and Central Asian studies apart from the interested general reader.

This book discusses the development of promising technologies for compact antennas for high data-rate communications. It discusses and analyzes the design of compact ultra-wideband (UWB) and multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antennas, providing essential know-how for designers, practicing engineers and scientists. These wireless communication technologies enable consumers to have convenient access to a wide range of services - anytime, anywhere. And the introduction of wireless mobile access points eliminates the limitations to communication imposed by geographical location. The Internet has allowed people to access and share information much more rapidly, but in order to achieve higher data rates with the limited available resources and imposed constraints, wireless communication technology needs to be pushed beyond the physical limits of the propagation channel. This book contributes to achieving this goal.

This book gathers selected high-quality papers presented at the International Conference on Machine Learning and Computational Intelligence (ICMLCI-2019), jointly organized by Kunming University of Science and Technology and the Interscience Research Network, Bhubaneswar, India, from April 6 to 7, 2019. Addressing virtually all aspects of intelligent systems, soft computing and machine learning, the topics covered include: prediction; data mining; information retrieval; game playing; robotics; learning methods; pattern visualization; automated knowledge acquisition; fuzzy, stochastic and probabilistic computing; neural computing; big data; social networks and applications of soft computing in various areas.

The Soft Computing techniques, which are based on the information processing of biological systems are now massively used in the area of pattern recognition, making prediction & planning, as well as acting on the environment. Ideally speaking, soft computing is not a subject of homogeneous concepts and techniques; rather, it is an amalgamation of distinct methods that confirms to its guiding principle. At present, the main aim of soft computing is to exploit the tolerance for imprecision and uncertainty to achieve tractability, robustness and low solutions cost. The principal constituents of soft computing techniques are probabilistic reasoning, fuzzy logic, neuro-computing, genetic algorithms, belief networks, chaotic systems, as well as learning theory. This book covers contributions from various authors to demonstrate the use of soft computing techniques in various applications of engineering.

This proceedings volume highlights important points of achieving a balanced and sustained growth path from diverse economics and finance perspectives, touching on a wide array of economic and social analyses in India. Featuring contributions presented at the 2018 International Conference on Economics and Finance (ICEF-2018) held at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Goa, India, the enclosed papers explore topics such as inflation dynamics, information transmission in post-recession era, leverage effect and volatility asymmetry, structural change and economic growth and reforming tax systems, among others. The Indian economy today is remarkable and, not surprisingly, it is growing very rapidly. It has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world as per the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it is expected to be one of the top three economic powers of the world over the next 10 to15 years, backed by its strong democracy and partnership. At the backdrop of impressive progress of the Indian economy during the last two decades, the question that remains to be answered is does India still have a long way to go before it is functioning well as a market economy? This book critically examines the performance of the Indian economy at the national, state and sectorial levels. Featuring contributions from leading academicians, scholars and practitioners from Asia and the rest of the world, this book is an asset to students, professors, scholars, practitioners and policy makers in the areas of India economics, finance and sustainable development.

This book analyzes the underlying theoretical principles of multi-objective linear programming problems with multi-choice parameters. It studies transportation problems on the same domain with extension to fuzzy stochastic criteria, and offers insights into sensitivity analysis through symmetric duality and complementarity using non-convex programming. These analytical presentations provide ample scope for researchers to contemplate real-world problems with an innovative vision. The formulation, analysis and solution procedures on inventory control models in the book use both deterministic and fuzzy parameters, and provide novel optimal inventory policies. The book discusses a wide range of optimal operational techniques for policy makers, government and private agencies in the fields of e-governance and agricultural crop insurance, which are crucial for developing countries. The recommendations address the gaps and remedies in various schemes that influence decision-making in the context of the economic development of such countries.