This Open Access textbook provides students and researchers in the life sciences with essential practical information on how to quantitatively analyze data images. It refrains from focusing on theory, and instead uses practical examples and step-by step protocols to familiarize readers with the most commonly used image processing and analysis platforms such as ImageJ, MatLab and Python. Besides…
This open access book summarizes peer-reviewed articles and the abstracts of oral and poster presentations given during the YOUMARES 9 conference which took place in Oldenburg, Germany, in September 2018. The aims of this book are to summarize state-of-the-art knowledge in marine sciences and to inspire scientists of all career stages in the development of further research. These conferences ar…
The book develops a unifying perspective on how learning influences evolutionary dynamics which for the first time explains seemingly contradicting results from the literature. It also reveals formerly unknown facets of the complex interplay of the two major biological adaptation mechanisms. The results apply to models from computational intelligence and evolutionary biology alike, thus contrib…
This open access textbook welcomes students into the fundamental theory of measure, integration, and real analysis. Focusing on an accessible approach, Axler lays the foundations for further study by promoting a deep understanding of key results. Content is carefully curated to suit a single course, or two-semester sequence of courses, creating a versatile entry point for graduate studies in al…
Fifty years have passed since the first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970. This accessible, incisive and timely collection of essays brings together a diverse set of expert voices to examine how the Earth’s environment has changed over this past half century, and what lies in store for our planet over the coming fifty years. Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet responds to …
This open access book summarizes the findings of the VUELCO project, a multi-disciplinary and cross-boundary research funded by the European Commission's 7th framework program. It comprises four broad topics: 1. The global significance of volcanic unrest 2. Geophysical and geochemical fingerprints of unrest and precursory activity 3. Magma dynamics leading to unrest phenomena 4.…
The aim of this book is to review and analyse the goods and services of bivalve shellfish. How they are defined, what determines the ecological functions that are the basis for the goods and services, what controversies in the use of goods and services exist, and what is needed for sustainable exploitation of bivalves from the perspective of the various stakeholders. The book is focused on the …
It is common for us today to associate the practice of science primarily with the act of seeing—with staring at computer screens, analyzing graphs, and presenting images. We may notice that physicians use stethoscopes to listen for disease, that biologists tune into sound recordings to understand birds, or that engineers have created Geiger tellers warning us for radiation through sound. But …
This open access book, written by world experts in aquaponics and related technologies, provides the authoritative and comprehensive overview of the key aquaculture and hydroponic and other integrated systems, socio-economic and environmental aspects. Aquaponic systems, which combine aquaculture and vegetable food production offer alternative technology solutions for a world that is increasingl…
This open access book discusses several didactic traditions in mathematics education in countries across Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, the Czech and Slovakian Republics, and the Scandinavian states. It shows that while they all share common features both in the practice of learning and teaching at school and in research and development, they each have special featur…
This open access textbook takes the reader step-by-step through the concepts of mechanics in a clear and detailed manner. Mechanics is considered to be the core of physics, where a deep understanding of the concepts is essential in understanding all branches of physics. Many proofs and examples are included to help the reader grasp the fundamentals fully, paving the way to deal with more advanc…
This open access book addresses the challenge of analyzing and understanding the evolutionary dynamics of complex biological systems at the genomic level, and elaborates on some promising strategies that would bring us closer to uncovering of the vital relationships between genotype and phenotype. After a few educational primers, the book continues with sections on sequence homology and alignme…
This open access book is based on selected presentations from Topic Study Group 21: Mathematical Applications and Modelling in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME 13), held in Hamburg, Germany on July 24–31, 2016. It contributes to the theory, research and teaching practice concerning this key topic by taking into account…
This book provides an authoritative insight on the Loss and Damage discourse by highlighting state-of-the-art research and policy linked to this discourse and articulating its multiple concepts, principles and methods. Written by leading researchers and practitioners, it identifies practical and evidence-based policy options to inform the discourse and climate negotiations. With climate-rela…
This open access book contains a collection of rare geologic maps and figures made by Chinese geologists in the last century. Preserved in National Geological Archives of China, these artworks demonstrate the development and innovation of geological mapping technology in China in the past 100 years. The collections are highly scientific and artistic, with most of the hand-drawn maps featured wi…
There is wide agreement on the need to change the prevalent agricultural models, given their negative impacts and their incompatibility with current societal issues. Agroecological transition has been promoted as a potential solution to the ecological, social and economic problems generated by these models. It however involves a systemic, multi-scale and transdisciplinary process. Due to thi…
This open access book provides an extensive treatment of Hardy inequalities and closely related topics from the point of view of Folland and Stein's homogeneous (Lie) groups. The place where Hardy inequalities and homogeneous groups meet is a beautiful area of mathematics with links to many other subjects. While describing the general theory of Hardy, Rellich, Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg, Sobolev…
This open access proceedings of the 14th International Council for Applied Mineralogy Congress (ICAM) in Belgorod, Russia cover a wide range of topics including applied mineralogy, advanced and construction materials, ore and industrial minerals, mineral exploration, cultural heritage, etc. It includes contributions to geometallurgy, industrial minerals, oil and gas reservoirs as well as stone …
Over the past decades, rapid developments in digital and sensing technologies, such as the Cloud, Web and Internet of Things, have dramatically changed the way we live and work. The digital transformation is revolutionizing our ability to monitor our planet and transforming the way we access, process and exploit Earth Observation data from satellites. This book reviews these megatrends…
This unique and attractive open access textbook combines the beauty of macroscopic pictures of plant stems with the corresponding colorfully stained images of anatomical micro-structures. In contrast to most botanical textbooks, it presents all the stem characteristics as photographs and shows the microscopic reality. The amount of text is reduced to a minimum, and the scientific information i…