Wood as an engineering material can be technically defined as a hygroscopic, orthotropic, biological, and permeable material having extreme chemical diversity and physical complexity with structures, that vary extensively in their shape, size, properties and function. Therefore, using wood to its best advantage and most efficiency in engineering applications, specific characteristics or chemical, physical and mechanical properties must be considered.
‘Be the best you can be’ urge self-help books and makeover TV shows, but what kind of self is imagined as needing a makeover and what kind of self is imagined as the happy result? Drawing on recent sociology and psychology, this book explores the function of slummy mummies, headless zombies and living autopsies to creating an idea of self.
Sobolev Spaces presents an introduction to the theory of Sobolev Spaces and other related spaces of function, also to the imbedding characteristics of these spaces. This theory is widely used in pure and Applied Mathematics and in the Physical Sciences.
DNA Structure and Function, a timely and comprehensive resource, is intended for any student or scientist interested in DNA structure and its biological implications. The book provides a simple yet comprehensive introduction to nearly all aspects of DNA structure. It also explains current ideas on the biological significance of classic and alternative DNA conformations. Suitable for graduate courses on DNA structure and nucleic acids, the text is also excellent supplemental reading for courses in general biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics.
Originally published in 1971, this is an account of the centuries of experiment and speculation that have led to our understanding of how muscles work. The book traces all the developments in the field since 1600 and devotes special attention to the breakthroughs made in the last century. It considers the nature of the muscle machine and its fuel, as well as the intricate regulation of energy supply under different conditions. It also examines the very varied kinds of muscle and the effects of some diseases on their structure and function. Finally it shows how the energy metabolism first elucidated for the mechanical work of muscle has been found to explain most of the other kinds of work done by cells, as in light production, secretion, ionic transport and electrical discharge. The biochemistry of muscle, carbohydrate metabolism and phosphorylations was the author’s chosen field of research for over forty years.
Neuronal dendritic trees are complex structures that endow the cell with powerful computing capabilities and allow for high neural interconnectivity. Studying the function of dendritic structures has a long tradition in theoretical neuroscience, starting with the pioneering work by Wilfrid Rall in the 1950s. Recent advances in experimental techniques allow us to study dendrites with a new perspective and in greater detail. The goal of this volume is to provide a rsum of the state-of-the-art in experimental, computational, and mathematical investigations into the functions of dendrites in a variety of neural systems.
This book provides foundational knowledge of intraoperative monitoring (IOM) and is written for the range of clinicians who monitor the function of the nervous system during surgery, from new technologists to neurophysiologists and neurosurgeons. Early chapters describe the building blocks of IOM in accessible terms and are followed by practical chapters on monitoring and mapping that show basic and clinical science in action. Anesthesiologists and trainees with an interest in diagnosing and managing pain will appreciate the inclusion of chapters on the electrophysiological assessment of spinal cord pathology and on the treatment of pain.
Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) are an important instrument for the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, compared to international trade law, international investment law has so far received only little research attention from an economic point of view. By applying a law and economics approach, Jan Peter Sasse provides a systematic analysis of the way BITs function. He explains why BITs are more than just a signal, how they relate to institutional competition as well as to institutional quality and why transparency in international investment arbitration is hard to achieve and may even be detrimental.
This is the first in-depth study of the English neurologist and polymath Sir Henry Head (1861-1940). Head bridged the gap between science and the arts. He was a published poet who had close links with such figures as Thomas Hardy and Siegfried Sassoon. His research into the nervous system and the relationship between language and the brain broke new ground. L S Jacyna argues that these advances must be contextualised within wider Modernist debates about perception and language. In his time, Head was best known for his research into the human nervous system, but also worked on the localization of the language function within the brain. Head radically revised current ideas about the physiological basis of language. As well as its impact on medicine and biology, this work was seen to have implications for other disciplines including linguistics and social anthropology. This important new study draws upon a wide range of previously unpublished resources.
This book covers recent research on cortical signal processing and plasticity, with an emphasis on object recognition. The focus is on assemblies of neurons and how they can collectively represent information patterns and their dynamic relationships – leading to novel concepts for how the brain routes information in a purposeful way, how it detects correspondences between patterns, and how sensory inputs are recognized. Furthermore the question which neural substrates are necessary for such capabilities, and how they can self-organize in the developing organism are treated. The readership is aimed at all students and researchers in neuroscience interested in exploring new paradigms of brain function. Experimentalists may draw inspiration from the book for designing anatomical and physiological experiments that lead the way from the current focus on static receptive fields to investigating the dynamic, functional connectivity of cortex. Theoreticians are invited to incorporate the discussed concepts into their own modeling, and to improve on the models presented in the book.
‘The riders in a race do not stop short when they reach the goal. There is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill . . . The canter that brings you to a standstill need not be only coming to rest. It cannot be, while you still live. For to live is to function. That is all there is to living.’
Microcircuits, functional modules that act as elementary processing units bridging single cells to systems and behavior, could provide the link between neurons and global brain function. Microcircuits are designed to serve particular functions; examples of these functional modules include the cortical columns in sensory cortici, glomeruli in the olfactory systems of insects and vertebrates, and networks generating different aspects of motor behavior. In this Dahlem Workshop volume, leading neuroscientists discuss how microcircuits work to bridge the single cell and systems levels and compare the intrinsic function of microcircuits with their ion channel subtypes, connectivity, and receptors, in order to understand the design principles and function of the microcircuits.
Totally revised and updated, this second edition of the well-received Physique, Fitness, and Performance retains the unique integrated approach of its predecessor, examining the relationship of structure to function in human performance. Far surpassing the limited focus of standard exercise and fitness books, it combines the morphological study of physique relative to body structure, body size and body composition with the applied interaction of muscular, cardiovascular, motor, and metabolic system capacities, abilities, and skills developed and acquired through exercise and training programs.
The ultimate goal of collecting, preserving, and examining physical evidence is individualization – associating each piece with its responsible source. Firearms evidence in particular has the potential to individualize its source. Accessible and comprehensive, Practical Analysis and Reconstruction of Shooting Incidents provides the foundation necessary to develop and sharpen the skills used to investigate shooting incidents. It provides an explanation of what constitutes pertinent evidence and appropriate results pertaining to autopsies, forensic laboratory analysis, and reenactments. The text also reviews basic firearm design, function, ammunition components, and the terminology required for understanding evidence encountered at the scene.
The aim of the International Basal Ganglia Society (IBAGS) is to further our understanding of normal basal ganglia function and the pathophysiology of disorders of the basal ganglia, including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and schizophrenia. Each triennial meeting of IBAGS brings together basic research scientists from all disciplines as well as clinicians who are actively involved in the treatment of basal ganglia disorders, to discuss the most recent advances in the field and to generate new approaches and ideas for the future.
This monograph systematically treats a theory of elliptic boundary value problems in domains without singularities and in domains with conical or cuspidal points. This exposition is self-contained and a priori requires only basic knowledge of functional analysis. Restricting to boundary value problems formed by differential operators and avoiding the use of pseudo-differential operators makes the book accessible for a wider readership. The authors concentrate on fundamental results of the theory: estimates for solutions in different function spaces, the Fredholm property of the operator of the boundary value problem, regularity assertions and asymptotic formulas for the solutions near singular points. A special feature of the book is that the solutions of the boundary value problems are considered in Sobolev spaces of both positive and negative orders. Results of the general theory are illustrated by concrete examples. The book may be used for courses in partial differential equations.
Skeletal Development and Repair: Methods and Protocols is a compilation of a variety of skeletal research protocols utilizing the laboratory mouse as the platform for surgical manipulation and/or transplantation as well as the source of tissues and cells for in vitro culture and analyses. Chapters are written by experts in the field and cover topics including surgical, transplantation and organ culture methods that permit analyses of skeletal tissues undergoing repair in vivo and permits analyses of cellular interactions ex vivo, histological and molecular techniques developed to study gene and protein expression in whole embryos, skeletal tissues and tissue sections and in vitro primary cell culture protocols designed to assay gene function in specific cell populations. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
The past decade has brought great advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying auditory pathologies. Molecular biology and genetics have primarily contributed to this enhanced understanding, which in turn has driven the design of novel rational therapeutic interventions. This volume presents recent developments in research and their potential translation to the clinical setting. The volume addresses the major entities of peripheral auditory trauma, discusses the underlying mechanisms, the central nervous system consequences, protective interventions and finally explores the possibilities to restore cochlear morphology and function.
Calcium signalling occupies a preeminent position in the signal transduction system of the cell by virtue of its participation in a wide range of physiological functions together with the biological events associated with genetic expression, cell proliferation and apoptosis, as well as cell differentiation and morphogenesis. It is an important feature of cell adhesion and motility; the integrity of the calcium binding proteins themselves is a basic requirement of normal biological function. In fact, the deregulation of calcium signaling is now regarded as the primary event in the pathogenesis, growth, invasion, and secondary spread of cancer.
Continuing Dr. Schwinger’s work in the field of electrodynamics, this last volume of the trilogy focuses on the two-particle problem and applications to hydrogenic atoms, positronium, and muonium. Attention also is given to the effect of strong magnetic fields, to an extended treatment of the photon propagation function, and to a confrontational discussion of the pion decay into two photons.
