Polymers from natural sources are particularly useful as biomaterials and in regenerative medicine, given their similarity to the extracellular matrix and other polymers in the human body. This important book reviews the wealth of research on both tried and promising new natural-based biomedical polymers, together with their applications as implantable biomaterials, controlled-release carriers or scaffolds for tissue engineering.The first part of the book reviews the sources, processing an...

There have been many significant advances in time-dependent density functional theory over recent years, both in enlightening the fundamental theoretical basis of the theory, as well as in computational algorithms and applications. This book, as successor to the highly successful volume Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (Lect. Notes Phys. 706, 2006) brings together for the first time all recent developments in a systematic and coherent way.First, a thorough pedagogical prese...

This book provides an insight into the global practices for environmental management of military live-fire training ranges by combining scientific research with practical solutions to ensure continued training capability. The text is divided into four parts: the first provides the background information necessary to understand the scientific principles behind environmental management. The second part comprises methodologies for the environmental risk assessment of explosives and munitions,...

Dermoscopy is a noninvasive skin imaging technique that uses optical magnification and either liquid immersion or cross-polarized lighting to make subsurface structures more easily visible when compared to conventional clinical images. It allows for the identification of dozens of morphological features that are particularly important in identifyin

The Atlantic Forest is one of the 36 hotspots for biodiversity conservation worldwide. It is a unique, large biome (more than 3000 km in latitude; 2500 in longitude), marked by high biodiversity, high degree of endemic species and, at the same time, extremely threatened. Approximately 70% of the Brazilian population lives in the area of this biome, which makes the conflict between biodiversity conservation and the sustainability of the human population a relevant issue. This book aims to c...

Climate change policy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are currently discussed at all scales, ranging from the Kyoto Protocol to the increasingly frequent advertisement of ''carbon neutrality'' in consumer products. However, the only policy option usually considered is the reduction of direct emissions. Another potential policy tool, currently neglected, is the reduction of indirect emissions, i.e., the emissions embodied in goods and services, or the payments thereof....

Structural adhesive bonding is a key approach to making cars better and safer while also reducing their environmental impact. Structural Adhesive Bonding for Automotive Applications covers several aspects of bonded joints, including materials selection, design and manufacturing processes, quality control techniques, durability analysis, and repair methods. Practical examples support the investigations into the improvements that adhesively bonded configurations offer, including enhanced res...

Metal foams are lightweight materials inspired by structures in nature. They are defined as three-dimensional frameworks with interconnected porous structures – nano-, meso- and macropores – that combine essential physical and mechanical features of metals with a highly porous nanoarchitectures. These types of porous materials can be used in a variety of different scientific fields and, as a result, have gained increasing attention in recent years. Given the heightened academic and industr...

A New Ecology presents an ecosystem theory based on the following ecosystem properties: physical openness, ontic openness, directionality, connectivity, a complex dynamic for growth and development, and a complex dynamic response to disturbances. Each of these properties is developed in detail to show that these basic and characteristic properties can be applied to explain a wide spectrum of ecological obsevations and convections. It is also shown that the properties have application for e...

This new edition of Lyme Disease provides up-to-date evidence-based research and covers the significant advances in our understanding of the disorders referred to as Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis. This book explores the causative organism, its requisite ecosystem, disease epidemiology, host-Borrelia interactions, diagnostic testing, clinical manifestations, therapeutic options, the role of host immunity on pathogenesis and long term prognosis. The authors provide balanced perspectives o...

Lyme disease remains a subject of considerable public and clinical interest, and misunderstandings about Lyme borreliosis continue to cause widespread concern about potential long-term disability. Although the infection occurs primarily in highly endemic areas of Europe and North America, these areas are expanding, as global warming leads to a steady expansion of the tick vectors' habitats. In the period since the 2nd edition was published our understanding of the biology, clinical manifes...

This, the third volume in the series Climate Change and Fish Health, describes how finfish in cage culture and their pathogens are directly or indirectly affected by ongoing changes to the environment. These changes, which include a global rise in water temperature with increased acidification and reduction in dissolved oxygen, will continue even if we can significantly reduce the current output of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane. The third edition of Diseases and Disorders of Fin...