Provides comprehensive coverage on using X-ray fluorescence for laboratory applicationsThis book focuses on the practical aspects of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and discusses the requirements for a successful sample analysis, such as sample preparation, measurement techniques and calibration, as well as the quality of the analysis results.X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Laboratory Applications begins with a short overview of the physi...

Violations of the right to the physical integrity of the person, such as torture, cruel and unusual punishment, extra-judicial executions, disappearances, and political imprisonment have long been treated as an anomaly in democratically governed societies. In the current literature on human rights, violations of this right are by-and-large seen as the hallmark of autocratic and repressive regimes.This study takes on this dominant paradigm and shows not only that the common assumpti...

DC-potential changes, comprising fast fluctuations and slow shifts, rep resent objective concomitants of neuronal processes in the brain. They can be recorded not only in animals, but also in humans under various conditions. As far as slow brain potentials are concerned, exciting results have been detected with respect to their correlation to psychophysiolog ical events. Although a large amount of data has been accumulated by psychophysiologists, neurophysiologists, and other scientists in...

In this edited volume, leading experts of human rights measurement address the challenges scholarship of human rights face as well as explore approaches and means to overcoming them.The book seeks to further answer three specific and related questions. First, what do existing measures of human rights conditions tell us about the state of human rights? Are conditions improving or deteriorating? Second, how might scholars improve their measurement efforts and observe states’ human ri...

Early and adequate nutritional support is critical to achieve appropriate rates of weight gain, which are almost twice that of a term infant. The 96th Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop was focused on the latest scientific knowledge in the area of neonatal care in preterm and low-birth-weight infants, including human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and their potential impact on the health of neonates. This 3-session workshop facilitated interactions between international experts. The first s...

There is ample evidence that early-life nutrition plays a powerful role in programming a person's development, metabolism and health for the future. Optimizing early nutrition may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, allergies, diabetes and obesity, and positively influence immune function as well as cognitive and behavioral outcomes later in life. The first part of this book covers the impact of nutrition on the immune system, the role of gut microbiota in the immune status, as wel...

Micro-X-ray fluorescence offers the possibility for a position- sensitive and non-destructive analysis that can be used for the analysis of non-homogeneous materials and layer systems. This analytical technique has shown a dynamic development in the last 15 years and is used for the analysis of small particles, inclusions, of elemental distributions for a wide range of different applications both in research and quality control. The first experiments were performed on synchrotrons but ther...

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online.Europe has paid a high price for asbestos, with over 100 000 related deaths. First in line in the fight to free buildings from asbestos contamination, workers in the construction sector could soon find a helping hand in the form of an AI-piloted robotic system. The constant and multifaceted evolution of society has left very few industries unchanged. For most sectors, this has meant ...

One of the most urgent challenges in African economic development is to devise a strategy for improving statistical capacity. Reliable statistics, including estimates of economic growth rates and per-capita income, are basic to the operation of governments in developing countries and vital to nongovernmental organizations and other entities that provide financial aid to them. Rich countries and international financial institutions such as the World Bank allocate their deve...

Spectroscopy is the principal tool used in astronomy to investigate the Universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. Through the analysis of electromagnetic radiation, spectrographs enable observers to assess the chemical composition, kinematics and local physical properties of distant stars, nebulae and galaxies. Thoroughly illustrated and clearly written, this handbook offers a practical and comprehensive guide to the different spectroscopic methods used in all branches of astronomy, at all wavel...

As Wall Street rose to dominate the U.S. economy, income and pay inequalities in America came to dance to the tune of the credit cycle. As the reach of financial markets extended across the globe, interest rates, debt, and debt crises became the dominant forces driving the rise of economic inequality almost everywhere. Thus the "super-bubble" that investor George Soros identified in rich countries for the two decades after 1980 was a super-crisis for the 99 percent-not just in the U.S. but...

This book starts at an introductory level and leads reader to the most advanced topics in fluorescence imaging and super-resolution techniques that have enabled new developments such as nanobioimaging, multiphoton microscopy, nanometrology and nanosensors.The interdisciplinary subject of fluorescence microscopy and imaging requires complete knowledge of imaging optics and molecular physics. So, this book approaches the subject by introducing optical imaging concepts before going in ...