CRC Press

3D cadastre in an international context; legal, organizational, and technological aspects.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialists Stoter and Oosterom (both Delft U. of Technology, the Netherlands) explain how cadastre, any system for recording the right to land, has changed as the notion and the value of property has changed from two-dimensional plots on the surface of the planet to three dimensions with the growth of underground and multi-story development. Using the Dutch version as a case study, they show how to model three dimensional private property. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

AC power systems handbook, 3d ed.

Whitaker, an expert in standards development and lecturer, updates his text here to reflect current practice and the most up-to-date methods as he describes setting up and maintaining AC power for safe and cost-effective commercial and industrial systems. He begins with the basics of AC power systems, including their elements and architecture, moving to power generation systems, the power factor, including correction techniques, power transformers, capacitors, semiconductors, rectifier and filter circuits, power electronics, origins of AC line disturbances, power disturbance characterization, protection methods, the motor-generator set, uninterruptible power systems, power conditioning devices, transient suppression (including at the circuit level and in facility wiring), grounding (practices, tower elements and system design in the facility), standby power systems, designing for tolerance of faults, energy efficiency, safety and protection systems. Whitaker also supplies reference data and tables and a units conversion table. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Adaptive filtering primer with MATLAB.

For students, engineers, and scientists who are not experts on the topic, Poularikas and Ramadan (electrical and computer engineering, U. of Alabama, Huntsville) explain the fundamentals of adaptive filtering, utilizing practical examples and computer experiments and functions. They introduce optimum filtering and realizations of linear adaptive filters with finite duration impulse response, as well as random variables and stochastic processes. MATLAB functions and m-files for practice and verification are included, and computer experiments show the theory and applications of the Wiener and adaptive filtering. Each chapter contains graded problems. The book requires that readers have knowledge at the level of a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advances in biopreservation.

The editors (of the State U. of New York at Binghamton's Institute of Biomedical Technology and of Cell Preservation Services, Inc.) present 14 chapters reviewing the state of the art in technology and research in the field of cryopreservation of organic cells, tissues, and organs. Topics covered include the molecular properties of cells and tissues influencing preservation outcome, viability and functional assays used to assess preservation efficacy, organ preservation for transplantation, cryopreservation of nonmammalian metazoan systems, use of intracellular protectants in cell biopreservation, thermal instruments and devices in cryobiological research and applications, solid mechanics aspects of cryobiology, and stabilization of mammalian cells in the dry state. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Agroecosystems in a changing climate.

Combining theories from ecologists and interpretations of agriculturists, this shows scientists how to find phenomena beyond first-order responses in creating sustainable agricultural/ecological systems. With both long-term and short term goals in mind, the contributors of these articles that double as coherent chapters cover resource supply and demand, including climate change effects, nutrient and water demand of plants under global climate change, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, background food webs, herbivory and nutrient cycling, and sustainability of crop production systems; those on pest, weeds and diseases cover plant performance and implications for plant production dynamics and species composition, fungi, tropic interactions and future problems; and those on the capacity to adapt include knowing the difference between acclimation and adaptation and breeding plants to suit the changing environment. Three examples include marginal tropical animal production, biological control and the evolution of pathogens under elevated carbon dioxide. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Analytical and practical aspects of drug testing in hair.

As forensics experts know, hair is an extremely useful tool in determining drug use, including finding quantity, frequency, and chronology of use. This collection of 16 articles by an internationally recognized roster of experts starts with the basics of how drugs accumulate in hair and then gives the scientific testing methods (including inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, hair multi-elementary analysis and spectrum analysis), means of interpretation, and the biochemical effects of the drugs. Coverage includes opioids, cocaine, cannabinoids, amphetamine, metals, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and passive exposure and the pitfalls thereof in cocaine use. Articles also address screening strategies, clinical applications of hair analysis, the role of hair in postmortem toxicology, detection of doping agents, use of hair as drug-facilitated crime evidence and drivers' license regranting, and workplace drug testing using hair samples. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Analysis of growth factor signaling in embryos.

Growth factor signaling in embryos is studied to reveal regulatory mechanisms underlying a given developmental process, and though the signaling mechanisms are broadly similar in embryonic and differentiated cells, there are differences that must be taken into account. Developmental biologists, biochemists, cell biologists, and other researchers present methods and guidelines for experimental design in major aspects of cell signaling in vertebrate embryos. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Angiogenesis; from basic science to clinical applications.

While angiogenesis, the process in which new blood vessels grow from pre-existing vessels is a normal part of growth and development, it also plays a key role in the transition of tumors from dormant to malignant states, prompting researchers to explore the use of anti- angiogenesis agents in therapeutic applications. In this work, Ferrara (Genentech, Inc.) presents examples of recent work in the field, looking at advances in the basic science and in clinical studies with inhibitors of angiogenesis. Particular topics covered by the 13 chapters include pathophysiology and clinical implications of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-a signaling protein), signal transduction of VEGF receptors toward angiogenesis, growth factors and lymphangiogenesis, neural guidance molecules in vascular development, non-angiogenic functions of VEGF, contribution of pro-angiogenic hematopoietic cells to vascularization of tumor and ischemic tissues, antiangiogenic drugs as broadly effective chemosensitizing agents, ocular neovascularization, and therapeutic angiogenesis for cardiovascular disease. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Animal models of cognitive impairment.

Contributors describe their work in cognitive research in terms of the animal archetypes used in developing new drugs, focusing on neuronal systems. Articles integrate molecular and neurochemical approaches to behavior applications in animal models and clinical applications with cutting-edge research in such topics as pharmacologic models (muscarinic receptor antagonists and nicotinic receptors in rats, animal models and the cognitive effects of ethanol, toxocologic models (lead exposure, methylmercury, PCBs, MPTP), mouse genetic models (transgenic mouse models of amyloid deposition, cholinergic receptor knockout mice, mutant mice) and model applications and future developments (pharmacology in aging macaques, traumatic brain injury, models using complementary species and cognition models and drug discovery). (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Applied mathematical methods for chemical engineers, 2d ed.

Loney (chemical engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology) focuses on two important aspects of the application of mathematics to chemical engineering, namely setting up a mathematical model and verifying the model with experimental or independently derived data. Using step-by-step examples he covers differential equations, first-order ordinary differential equations, linear second-order and systems of first-order differential equations, Sturm-Liouville problems, Fourier series and integrals, partial differential equations, applications of partial differential equations in chemical engineering, dimensional analysis and scaling of boundary value problems, selected numerical methods and available software packages. Each chapter includes problems and references, and an appendix includes a numerical method of lines example using MATLAB. For this edition Loney has added information on systems of first-order differential equations and the numerical method of lines. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Applied microphotonics.

The electron will one day make way for the photon, and researchers are struggling to find the materials, topologies, and fabrication technologies at optimum speed and minimum cost. The authors, all practitioners, describe the historical perspective behind the technology, including photonic computing, photonic-band-gap structures and quantum photonics, technology growth and the market push, fundamentals of interactions of light with matter, the photonic node, transmitters, couplers and switches, multiplexers, receivers, amplifiers and compensators, new technologies, materials, fabrication and integration, advanced microphotonic devices, quantum photonic systems and future systems and their applications. Illustrations are clear and helpful and the authors include references for further reading. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Architecting the telecommunication evolution; toward converged network services.

Gurbani, with Bell Laboratories, and Sun (computer science, Illinois Institute of Technology) explore service-oriented computing in the context of enabling cross-network services between two communications networks: the Internet and the public switched wireline and cellular telephone network. People have long used telephone wires to transport Internet traffic, and the Internet is beginning to digitize voice traffic and transport it as data packets between users, but this is mere wading in the shallows, they say, of the possible interactions between the two. Distributed in the US by Taylor and Francis. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

C++ for mathematicians; an introduction for students and professionals. (CD-ROM included)

This textbook explains how to write C++ procedures, introduces the concepts behind object-oriented programming, and develops C++ classes to represent points and lines in the projective plane, permutations, and polynomials. The author covers random numbers, arrays, Pythagorean triples, containers, and modular arithmetic. Answers for nearly all the exercises are provided in an appendix. The CD-ROM contains source code for the example programs. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Certain number-theoretic episodes in algebra.

Sivaramakrishnan (mathematics, U. of Calicut) finds it true that it is desirable to learn algebra via number theory and to learn number theory via algebra. He starts by covering the classical theorems, then describes the integral domain of rational integers, Euclidean domains, rings of polynomials and former power series, the Chinese remainder theorem and the evaluation of a number of solutions of a linear congruence with side conditions, reciprocity laws, and finite groups. He analyzes the relevance of algebraic structures to number theory in such topics as ordered fields, fields with valuation and other algebraic structures, the role of the Möbius function and of generating functions, semigroups and certain convolution algebras. He then moves to algebraic number theory with Noetherian domains, Dedekind domains and algebraic number fields, closing with a section on interconnections that examines rings of arithmetic functions, and analogies of the Goldbach problem. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ceramic processing.

Rahaman (U. of Missouri-Rolla) presents a textbook for a one-semester or two-quarter course in ceramic processing at the upper undergraduate or introductory graduate level. Students are assumed to have a knowledge of the concepts and processing of traditional ceramics as taught in lower-level undergraduate courses. He focuses on the fabrication of polycrystalline ceramics by consolidating and sintering powders, the most important and widespread approach, though he does lightly treat the less conventional sol-gel route. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Classes of modules.

Dauns (mathematics, Tulane U.) and Zhou (mathematics, Memorial U., Canada) work with natural classes and type submodules to demonstrate the importance of the next generation of ring and module theory. They achieve positive results by placing restrictive hypotheses on only a small subset of the complement submodules and explain why direct sum decomposition of various kinds occurs. They describe important module classes and constructions, finiteness conditions, dimension and decomposition as type theories of modules, and lattices of module classes. Readers, such as advanced undergraduates and graduate students, should have some knowledge of basic ring theory. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Communication protocol engineering.

For postgraduate students and industry professionals, Popovic (U. of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia) describes how to develop effective communication protocols for large-scale systems. He details all aspects of communication protocol engineering: requirements and analysis, design, implementation, and test and verification. Included is a reference chapter for the FSM Library and descriptions of the individual FSM Library Application Programming Interface (API) functions. The book partly covers the postgraduate course on computer communications and networks for a degree in computer engineering and assumes that readers have knowledge of first order logic (predicate calculus), operating systems, and computer network fundamentals, and familiarity with C++ and Java programming languages. It is aimed at engineers and not managers. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Control and automation of electric power distribution systems.

Northcote-Green and Wilson, with companies respectively in Sweden and Britain, offer a reference and tutorial guide for engineers and managers of electric companies thinking of automating their distribution system. They address the cost and feasibility of adding automation to an existing system or of building a new automated system, the type of control infrastructure and level of automation, balancing ambition or regulatory pressure against prudent expenditures, and making a rational business case for automation. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Construction equipment management for engineers, estimators, and owners.

Gransberg, Richard C. Ryan (both: construction science, U. of Oklahoma) and Texas-based engineer Calin M. Poescu offer a guide to project managers and other construction, architecture, and engineering professionals who need to estimate the cost of equipment on a given project and do not have the necessary data at their fingertips because their routine business does not involved a lot of equipment-related construction. They especially appeal to public agency equipment managers, whose need is to minimize equipment costs rather than maximize the profit earned by the equipment. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

CRC handbook of chemistry and physics; a ready-reference book of chemical and physical data, 87th ed.

Previous editions of this venerable reference are cited in Books for College Libraries, 3d ed. and Guide to Reference Books. This is the second edition to appear in a larger page size and new type font, for those who continue to find that digital formats do not necessarily preclude the usefulness of ink & paper (it's also available on CD-ROM and on the Web). Four heavily used tables have been substantially revised: physical constants of inorganic compounds, bond dissociation energies, table of the isotopes, and scientific abbreviations and symbols. Fourteen other tables have been updated, and a new table on specific enthalpies of solution of polymers and copolymers has been added. David R. Lide (former director, standard reference data, National Institute of Standards and Technology) continues as editor. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

CRC handbook of enthalpy data of polymer-solvent systems.

Knowledge of thermodynamic data of polymer solutions is essential for an understanding of the molecular nature of mixtures and various industrial and laboratory processes. Introducing this text as one that fills a vacuum in data books and databases detailing enthalpy changes (i.e., the sum of a system's internal energy plus the energy associated with work done by the system) in polymer solutions, (Wohlfarth (physical chemistry, Martin Luther U., Halle-Wittenberg, Germany) covers all the necessary bases for researchers and engineers who work in this field. Appendices route the reader to datasets on polymers and solvents. The text supplements the CRC Handbook of Thermodynamic Data of Copolymer Solutions and related CRC handbooks. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)