John Wiley & Sons

20% chance of rain; exploring the concept of risk.

This interesting volume on risk management provides both theoretical and practical information on assessing risk in personal and professional situations. The work provides an analytical framework for examining situations from food choices to environmental dangers to the weather, and explores the ways in which being able to critically understand these chances affects life and work choices. The text includes sample data and statistical charts and includes collated tables of common statistical risks as well as discussion questions. Jones is a business and industrial risk analyst and is the author of several works on statistical risk. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

ABC of intensive care, 2d ed.

Nimmo (intensive care medicine and clinical education, Western General Hospital, UK) and Singer (intensive care medicine, U. College London, UK) provide a guide to intensive care patient management for non-specialists such as general practitioners, junior doctors, medical students, and nurses. Contributed by intensive care and other specialists from the UK, the 15 chapters cover general principles, communication and decision-making, sedation, pathophysiology of organ failure, key organ system support, monitoring, sepsis, brain-stem death, critical care outreach, end-of-life care, and nutrition, as well as organ donation. This edition has new images and a new layout. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Aberration-corrected analytical transmission electron microscopy.

Drawn from research surrounding four post-graduate summer schools sponsored by a consortium of leading electron microscopy programs at UK universities, this collection of nine articles provides an overview of the current state of the art in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and interesting breakthroughs in aberration correction that have led to new cutting edge uses for this venerable technology. Beginning with an overview of transmission electron microscopy principles, topics discussed include electron optics, the development of STEM, aberration diagnosis and correction, simulations of STEM imaging, advanced STEM, electron energy loss spectrometry, applications of aberration corrected scanning and aberration-corrected imaging with CTEM. The work includes numerous illustrations as well as several color plates. The contributors are academics and researchers in materials science and electron microscopy from several leading UK universities. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Activated carbon for water and wastewater treatment; integration of adsorption and biological treatment.

Turkish scientists Çeçen (environmental science, Bogazici U., Istanbul) and Aktas (TUBITAK-NRC Environment Institute Kocaeli) explore enhancing biological mechanisms by activated carbon adsorption, which has been shown to be an effective method for eliminating various organic and inorganic environmental pollutants. They write for scientists and engineers who have a basic knowledge of environmental science and technology, particularly the basics of adsorption and biological treatment. Some parts of the book may be useful in graduate courses in environmental and chemical engineering. Among their topics are integrating adsorption and biological processes in wastewater treatment, laboratory and pilot-scale studies on specific pollutants and wastewaters, combining activated carbon adsorption and biological processes in drinking water treatment, and biologically activated carbon filtration examples in full-scale drinking water treatment plants. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advanced computational materials modeling; from classical to multi-scale techniques.

This collection of ten papers on materials engineering showcases current scholarship in the development of advanced computational techniques for materials modeling. Intended for graduate students, researchers, and working engineers, articles discuss such topics as local and nonlocal modeling of ductile damage, predicting thermal properties of metallic hollow sphere structures, modeling semi-solid metallic alloys, functionally graded piezoelectric material systems and strength predictions for cold-worked polycrystalline metals. Individual chapters include numerous illustrations, equations, and data tables. The contributors are academics in materials engineering from major institutions around the world. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advanced control of aircraft, spacecraft, and rockets.

Tewari (aerospace engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, India) provides an introduction to the design and analysis of general flight control systems, as well as state-of-the-art control system design methods. Topics include but are not limited to: optimal control techniques, optimal navigation and control of aircraft, rocket guidance and attitude control, spacecraft guidance systems and attitude control, control of underactuated flight systems, linear systems, and stability. While intended for a professional audience with a solid mathematics background, the text is very clearly written. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advanced structural ceramics.

Basu and Balani (both materials science and engineering, Indian Institute of Technology) describe new ceramic compositions or ceramics with refined microstructure and properties for various engineering applications. The first section is for readers who have no background in structural ceramics processing and properties. They describe the fundamentals of mechanical properties and processing, highlighting some of the recent advances in processing tools for fabricating ceramic-based bulk and coating materials. Among the topics are the synthesis of high-purity ceramic powders, the environmental and engineering of ceramic materials, optimizing toughness in zirconia-based ceramics, high-temperature mechanical and oxidation properties, and tribological properties of ceramic biocomposites. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Analysis of covariance and alternatives; statistical methods for experiments, quasi-experiments, and single-case studies, 2d ed.

Writing for graduate students and researchers in behavioral and medical sciences, Huitema (psychology, Western Michigan U.) provides an applied and comprehensive treatment of the analysis of covariance, which he says is one of the least understood and most misused of all statistical methods. One reason, he says, is that most statistics courses now are all about running software, and do not discuss complex methods or figuring out when underlying assumptions are not well approximated. Another is the misinformation on the web, which he devotes an entire chapter to correcting. The first half of the book includes an extensive review of applied statistics, but readers should already have a basic understanding of that. Most chapters require almost no knowledge of mathematics, though matrix notations could not be avoided in some cases. He mentions that the first edition was published over 30 years ago, and that the second is doubled in size. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Analysis of structures; an introduction including numerical methods.

This undergraduate textbook on the mechanics of solids provides foundational information on traditional problems in mechanical engineering and materials analysis with an emphasis on materials and processes applicable to aeronautical engineering. Beginning with a discussion of forces and moments, the volume covers topics such as static equilibrium, displacement and strain, torsion, analysis of the bending of beams, slender bar loadings, laminated composite materials, structural dynamics and the intelligent design and analysis of structural members. The textbook assumes a university level knowledge of calculus and physics. Additional online support is provided, including practice exercises and sample engineering and plotting software. Eisley is professor emeritus of engineering at the California Institute of Technology and Waas is a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

ANOVA and ANCOVA; a GLM approach, 2d ed.

Explaining why they may well be the most frequently used statistical analysis techniques, Rutherford (psychology, Keele U., Britain) explains analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using data generated by psychology experiments. Among his topics are traditional and general linear model (GLM) approaches to independent measures single factor ANOVA designs; measures of effect size and strength of association, power, and sample size; GLM approaches to independent measures factorial designs; the GLM approach to ANCOVA, some alternatives to traditional ANCOVA, and multilevel analysis for the single factor repeated measures design. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotics have been a "toxic shock to the microbial world." While they have revolutionized the world's health standard by selectively targeting bacteria, their ubiquitous use has provoked bacteria to develop resistance. Sköld (microbiology, Uppsala U., Sweden) reviews the history of antibiotics, their distribution and control, how they work, and the mechanisms by which bacteria resist them. Chapters are devoted to specific groups of antibacterial agents. He urges the development of antibiotics based on different principles than currently used ones. The text is a translation of Antibiotika och antibiotikaresistens, 2006. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Antimicrobial therapeutics reviews.

Researchers in the medical and biological sciences review recent literature on antibiotics, vaccines, and other agents for combating microbes. Their topics include the coming of age of antibiotics, the structure-based design of anti-infectives, immuno-modulators as adjuvants for vaccines and antimicrobial therapy, progress and challenges in Clostridium difficile, the interface between veterinary and human antibiotic use, contributions of microbiologists to antibiotic substances, and producing antibiotic substance by actinomycetes. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Approximate dynamic programming; solving the curses of dimensionality, 2d ed.

Powell (operations research and financial engineering, Princeton U.) has gained a very different view of the techniques since he finished writing the 2006 first edition, primarily discovering a breadth in both methods and applications he had not imagined. The now-enlarged and revised textbook for graduates and highly motivated and well prepared undergraduates bridges the gap between disciplines, primarily reinforcement learning (computer science), simulation, and math programming (operations research) to explain approximate dynamic programming. Among his topics are Markov decision processes, approximating value functions, and dynamic resource allocation problems. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Applications of microdialysis in pharmaceutical science.

Microdialysis is a sampling tool that can be used in vivo to acquire concentration variations of protein-unbound molecules located in interstitial or extracellular spaces. By reversing the relative concentrations, it can also be used to introduce a substance into the extracellular space, for example a precise dose of medicine in a tightly targeted tissue. Both processes are of interest in pharmaceuticals. Medical researchers from Europe, Asia, and the Americas examine such aspects as microdialysis in drug discovery, microdialysis as a tool to unravel neurobiological mechanisms of seizures and anti-epileptic drug action, monitoring exogenous and endogenous compounds in lung tissue, a monitoring system for human diabetes, drug-drug interactions, and environmental monitoring. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Atlas of endoscopic ultrasonography. (DVD-ROM included)

The procedure is common for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, and this atlas, with 400 color and b&w images, details performance and interpretation for gastroenterologists. The included DVD contains 83 video clips of procedures in progress, and readers can access all images at a companion website. The four editors are affiliated as follows: Frank Gress (State U. of New York, Brooklyn), Thomas Savides (U. of California, San Diego), Brenna Casey Bounds (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School), and John Deutsch (Essential Health Care Systems, Minnesota). (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Banggai cardinalfish; natural history, conservation, and culture of Pterapogon kauderni.

Director of science and conservation at the New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences, Vagelli strives to compile all that is known about the species into what he hopes will become the primary reference on it for students and researchers. The characteristics of P. kauderni make it a popular model in studies of reproduction, ecology, population genetics, and the evolution of coral reef fishes. It is also a popular ornamental fish, and its conservation status is often and hotly debated. Among his topics are The Banggai Archipelago, geographic distribution, systematics and evolution, the fishery, and captive breeding and rearing. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Basic geological mapping, 5th ed.

This handy field guide has deservedly earned its popularity since first being published in 1989, by helping students undertake mapping projects with a minimum of resources and supervision. Lisle (earth and ocean sciences, Cardiff U., Wales), the coauthor with the late John W. Barnes of the 4th edition, updates the practical guide with newer technological aids and data, applied geophysics, digital terrain models, and GPS-based surveying. Structural geology and cross-section construction are also emphasized more in this edition. The well-illustrated guide includes a field equipment checklist, and useful charts and tables. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Basic guide to dental instruments, 2d ed.

For dental students, Scheller-Sheridan (dental nursing, Dublin Dental U. Hospital, Trinity College, Ireland) presents a clearly-organized, helpful inventory of instruments commonly used in general dental practice, routine hospital procedures, and selected specialist settings, with color photos of each instrument and description of its name, family, usage, relevant features, false friends, and varieties. Instruments are arranged by specific dentistry disciplines or divisions, including infection control, and complete set-ups for various procedures are provided in most sections. This edition incorporates an expanded chapter on instruments used with dental implants and has updated illustrations. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Basic helicopter aerodynamics, 3d ed.

Seddon (consultant, Westland Helicopters, previously UK Ministry of Defence) and Newman (aeronautics and astronautics, U. of Southampton, UK) offer a third edition of their introductory book on the first principles of helicopter flight aerodynamics. This edition has been updated with new illustrations and images and new material on blade tip design, flow characteristics, tail rotors, brownout, blade sailing and ship operations. A few chapter topics include theories on rotors in vertical flight, rotor mechanisms and aerodynamics, performance, trim, stability, and control. The book would be useful for aircraft design engineers as well as undergraduate and graduate students in aircraft design. While of course technical, the book is written in a clear, direct style and well-supported by photographs and illustrations. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Beam structures; classical and advanced theories.

This volume on beam theory provides advanced structural engineers with an overview of the history of beam design scholarship and a survey of current and emerging theories on beam design and structural engineering. Beginning with a discussion of fundamental equations of continuous deformable bodies, the work explores the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko theories, Carrera Unified Formulation, CUF beam FE models, Shell capabilities of refined beam theories and multi-model beam theory and the Arlequin method, Chapters include numerous illustrations and technical drawings. Calculations in this volume are generated using the MUL2 engineering software. The authors are aerospace engineers associated with the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)