Enfield Pub. & Dist. Co.

Advances in composite materials and structures; proceedings; 2v.

Organized by the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, with help from three other Chinese institutions, ACCM is held every two years and is now in its fifth incarnation, attracting participation from an international roster of academics, researchers, and industry workers. The papers encompass topics pertaining to bio-medical composites, bio-mimetic materials, construction applications, computational mechanics, durability, NDE techniques, health monitoring, damage mechanics, nano-mechanics, natural fibers, and green composites, to name a few. Three sections in the areas of nanocomposites, medicine, and smart composites have been added. A special section honors the 60th birthday of Professor Yiu-Wiong Mai. The presentation is in two volumes, with indexing in the second. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advances in materials manufacturing science and technology II; proceedings.

Over 1100 pages hold some 293 papers chosen from the more than 500 papers presented at the conference held in China in 2006. A sampling of topics: microfluidics control method based on the EOF technology, the effect of coatings on mechanical properties of TC4 titanium alloy during laser shock processing, surface integrity of an ultra-high strength alloy in HSC process, rotary ultrasonic machining of advanced ceramics, and elastic-plastic contact analysis of materials with gradient yield strength, among other topics. The conference has expanded in scope from just the machining aspects of engineering, and this collection offers some material of interest to management and information technology personnel; for example, papers address research on a web based remote monitor and control system for grinding process; semantic integration of manufacturing data sources; and appplication of ant colony algorithm and grey relation theory in selecting cooperative manufacturing partners. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advances in nanomaterials and processing; proceedings; 2v.

Some 460 papers from the conference knowns as IUMRS - ICA (September 2006; Korea), organized by the Materials Research Society of Korea, are presented in two thick volumes, with indexing in the second. Material on materials is arranged in sections pertaining to silicon microelectronics, compound semiconductors, organic and inorganic display, photonics and optics, self-assembling, sol-gel, advanced ceramics, magnetic, energy conversion & storage, composites and hybrids, and nanoparticle and nanostructured materials. Coverage also includes mechanical behaviors of materials, and modelling and characterization. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Agricultural research at the crossroads; revisited resource-poor farmers and the millennium development goals.

In light of a United Nations commitment to make visible improvement in the plight of the world's poor by 2015, and founded on his more than four decades in agricultural research and development, Bengtsson (emeritus crop production science, Swedish U. of Agricultural Sciences, Hoor) addresses major issues concerning global food security and food safety, agrarian change, agricultural development, and the orientation of agricultural research to benefit the less privileged of the world. Distributed in the US by Enfield. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Bioceramics; proceedings; 2v.

An international group of contributors present recent research in bioceramics at the 19th Annual Symposium on Ceramics in Medicine, which took place in Chengdu, China (where the editors are based, at the Sichuan U. and the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics) in October 2006. The 349 papers are organized into 15 topics, though they are characterized by the interdisciplinarity of the subject. Among the topics are tissue engineering, osteoinductive materials, dental materials, wear, bioactive coatings and biomimetic apatites, ceramic composites, and nanomaterials. The articles are illustrated with b&w microphotography, tables, and related material. Distributed in the US by Enfield. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Breeding of neglected and under-utilized crops, spices, and herbs.

For Ochatt (Institut National de Recherché Agronomique, France) and Jain (former technical officer of plant breeding and genetics, International Atomic Energy Agency), the fact that 95% of the world's food requirements are met by only 30 major crops raises questions for the maintenance of food security, poverty alleviation, economic growth, future supply of food, and risk of rural incomes and ecosystem conservation. Thus wishing to encourage greater attention to the value of underutilized and neglected crops, they present 20 chapter addressing the cultivation, taxonomy, socioeconomic importance, and breeding and development of these "minor" crops. Thirteen chapters focus on specific crops, including grasspea, lathyrus, bambara groundnut, the Andean lupin, quinoa, chenopodium, and cocoyam. Other chapters address less species-specific issues including the genetic improvement and utilization of underutilized crops in India, conservation of underutilized species in Malaysia, indigenous crops with potential in South Africa, and in vitro culture for propagation and cultivation of rare and underutilized Australian plants, and minor and underutilized spices and herbs. Distributed in the US by Enfield. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Data compilation; diffusion in non-ferrous alloys.

This collection of data from leading publications over the last few decades covers defects and diffusion for the range of non-ferrous alloys from Ag to Zr. For each it includes such information as grain boundary diffusion, pipe diffusion and surface diffusion for the pure element and likely compounds. It also includes performance assessments in graphic and table form, when available, and all include the relevant algorithms and equations. Entries include source documentation for each citation with full bibliographic notation, and the editor includes full author and keyword indices. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Functional plant genomics.

Advances in plant genomics lead Morot-Gaudry (Institut National de la Recherché Agronomique-INRA, France), Lea (Institute of Environmental and Natural Sciences, U. of Lancaster, UK), and Briat (INRA) to laud the arrival of a "new Plant Biology" they hope is demonstrated in their presentation of 33 papers on recent techniques in plant genomics to an audience of advanced students in biology and agronomy. Papers address structural genomics and in silico analysis in chapters discussing the physical structure of the plant nuclear genoe, plant nuclear genome sequencing, bioinformatics, databases in biology, gene prediction, detecting protein function from genome sequences, and large-scale sequence comparisons. Others examine DNA microarrays in plants, proteomics, techniques for tracking gene expression in plants, metabolomics, metabolic fingerprinting and profiling by proton nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and the structure of metabolic networks. Rice, legumes, tomato, grape, and sugarcane are discussed as plant models for genomics. Remaining papers discuss genomics, genetic variability, and plant breeding. Distributed in the US by Enfield. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Layered, functional gradient ceramics, and thermal barrier coatings; design, fabrication and applications; proceedings.

Given the importance of specialty ceramics in a wide range of industries, particularly in electronics, these proceedings of the June 2006 event presented by Structural Integrity of Ceramic Multilayers and Coatings (SICMAC) serve to meet the need for more engineers with a basic understanding of the field and will also serve to inspire more to specialize in this growing field. These 40 or so papers and posters are unique because they include an overview of the fundamentals as well as leading-edge research, describing the design and processing of multilayers and functionally graded materials, the structural integrity of multilayers, the processing and lifetime assessment of thermal barrier coatings and the fatigue, damping and high temperature behavior of coatings and multilayers. Specific topics include laminate processes, water-based colloidal processing, misted chemical solution deposition, quantitative analyses of processes, reports of performance and analysis of failures, and a variety of models. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Materials science, testing and informatics III; proceedings.

Proceedings of an October 2005 conference held in Balatonfüred, Hungary, providing a forum for Hungarian and foreign scientists and research groups working in metals and alloys, silicates, polymers and composites to exchange ideas and establish new and integrated partnerships. Following the plenary lecture, 91 contributions are organized into sections on classical materials and technologies, including mechanical engineering, electrotechnics, energetics, ceramics, and polymers; special materials and technologies, including nanotechnology and biotechnology; modern material research and testing methods; modeling and material informatics; and innovative products and technologies, including industrial applications technologies and properties. A sampling of topics: the effect of compression on the mechanical properties of wood material, carbon nanotubes as ceramic matrix reinforcements, changes of the subsurface structure of materials developed during sliding friction, virtual TTT diagrams generated by multi-linear regression analysis, and high performance microcoulometry. Contains both author and keyword indexes. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Nanocomposites and nanoporus materials; proceedings.

Although now ubiquitous, these materials have not yet hit the status of commodities, in part due to the continued advances in composition and applications. This collection of papers is unique in that along with providing descriptions of the newest research, it also looks at environmentally-friendly materials research. Focusing on solid state phenomena, this collection of 80 papers covers nanocomposites, nanocatalysts, ultrafine polymers, nano-absorption, and nano-characterization along with other related fields. With a good mix of fundamental research and applied engineering, these papers address synthesis, mechanisms, microstructures, properties and applications, with papers on nonporous metal oxides, pore size control, mechanical milling, electronic applications, nanopowders, polymer matrix, structures and physico-chemical properties, enzyme-free electrochemical sensors and environmentally friendly materials. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Progress in powder metallurgy; proceedings; 2v.

Duk Yong Yoon, conference organizer and one of the editors offers a brief preface to this two-volume set presenting the proceedings of the September 2006 PM conference held in Korea. He emphasizes the emergence of new fields such as nano-materials, cellular materials, and process modeling by computer simulation, and the more sophisticated tools and approaches being developed in traditional fields like compacting and sintering. He also sets the global context for materials science and engineering, suggesting that links to other fields are essential for development, that the science and the technology benefit from international cooperation, and that the advances are best shared among advanced and emerging countries. Papers are arranged in chapters addressing mechanical alloying, powder forging, spray forming, sintering, steels, composite materials, electrical and electronic applications, aerospace applications, and superconducting materials, among other topics. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Reproductive biology and phylogeny of Cetacea; whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Biologists and other sciences from just about anyplace with a sea coast synthesize the current knowledge about the reproductive biology of the more than 80 species in the marine mammal order. Their topics include fossil history, functional anatomy of the cetacean reproductive system compared to that of the domestic dog, the endocrinology of reproduction, the mature spermatozoon, fertilization, placental structure, and courtship and mating behavior. Distributed in the US by Enfield. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Safety and structural integrity, 2006.

From a December 2005 international symposium in Jeju, Korea, 42 selected papers emphasize emerging techniques for dealing with complex structures as they consider materials science and engineering aspects of fracture and fatigue, cracks, evaluating reliability, non-destructive evaluation, modeling, design and other topics relating to safety and structural integrity. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)