springer berlin heidelberg springer berlin heidelberg jul 2006 (44 Ergebnisse)

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -One of the basic ideas in differential geometry is that the study of analytic properties of certain differential operators acting on sections of vector bundles yields geometric and topological properties of the underlying base manifold. Symplectic spinor fields are sections in an L^2-Hilbert space bundle over a symplectic manifold and symplectic Dirac operators, acting on symplectic spinor fields, are associated to the symplectic manifold in a very natural way. They may be expected to give interesting applications in symplectic geometry and symplectic topology. These symplectic Dirac operators are called Dirac operators, since they are defined in an analogous way as the classical Riemannian Dirac operator known from Riemannian spin geometry. They are called symplectic because they are constructed by use of the symplectic setting of the underlying symplectic manifold. This volume is the first one that gives a systematic and self-contained introduction to the theory of symplectic Dirac operators and reflects the current state of the subject. At the same time, it is intended to establish the idea that symplectic spin geometry and symplectic Dirac operators may give valuable tools in symplectic geometry and symplectic topology, which have become important fields and very active areas of mathematical research.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 140 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -I don't have my name on anything that I don't really do. ¿Heidi Klum Can the organic chemists associated with so-called ¿Named Reactions¿ make the same claim as supermodel Heidi Klum Many scholars of chemistry do not hesi- te to point out that the names associated with ¿name reactions¿ are often not the actual inventors. For instance, the Arndt-Eistert reaction has nothing to do with either Arndt or Eistert, Pummerer did not discover the ¿Pummerer¿ rearran- ment, and even the famous Birch reduction owes its initial discovery to someone named Charles Wooster (first reported in a DuPont patent). The list goes on and on¿ But does that mean we should ignore, boycott, or outlaw ¿named reac- ons¿ Absolutely not. The above examples are merely exceptions to the rule. In fact, the chemists associated with name reactions are typically the original dis- verers, contribute greatly to its general use, and/or are the first to popularize the transformation. Regardless of the controversial history underlying certain named reactions, it is the students of organic chemistry who benefit the most from the - taloging of reactions by name. Indeed, it is with education in mind that Dr. Jack Li has masterfully brought the chemical community the latest edition of Name Reactions. It is clear why this beautiful treatise has rapidly become a bestseller within the chemical community. 676 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing, SAT 2006. The book presents 26 revised full papers together with 11 revised short papers and 2 invited talks. Coverage extends to all current research issues in propositional and quantified Boolean formula satisfiability testing. The papers are organized in topical sections on proofs and cores, heuristics and algorithms, and more.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 456 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -In this revised and extended version of his course notes from a 1-year course at Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, the author provides an introduction ¿ for an audience knowing basic functional analysis and measure theory but not necessarily probability theory ¿ to analysis in a separable Hilbert space of infinite dimension.Starting from the definition of Gaussian measures in Hilbert spaces, concepts such as the Cameron-Martin formula, Brownian motion and Wiener integral are introduced in a simple way. These concepts are then used to illustrate some basic stochastic dynamical systems (including dissipative nonlinearities) and Markov semi-groups, paying special attention to their long-time behavior: ergodicity, invariant measure. Here fundamental results like the theorems of Prokhorov, Von Neumann, Krylov-Bogoliubov and Khas'minski are proved. The last chapter is devoted to gradient systems and their asymptotic behavior.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 228 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This is the second volume in a series of lecture notes based on the highly s- cessful Euro Summer School on Exotic Beams that has been running yearly since 1993 (apart from 1999) and is planned to continue to do so. It is the aim of the School and these lecture notes to provide an introduction to - dioactive ion beam (RIB) physics at the level of graduate students and young postdocs starting out in the eld. Each volume will contain lectures covering a range of topics from nuclear theory to experiment to applications. Our understanding of atomic nuclei has undergone a major re-orientation over the past two decades and seen the emergence of an exciting eld of research: the study of exotic nuclei. The availability of energetic beams of short-lived nuclei, referred to as radioactive ion beams (RIBs), has opened the way to the study of the structure and dynamics of thousands of nuclear species never before observed in the laboratory. In its 2004 report ¿Persp- tives for Nuclear Physics Research in Europe in the Coming Decade and - yond¿, the Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee (NuPECC) statesthatthe eldofRIBphysicsisoneofthemostimportantdirectionsfor the future science programme in Europe. In 2005 it published its ¿Roadmap for Construction of Nuclear Physics Research Infrastructures in Europe¿. 256 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Thisvolumecontainsrefereedpapersdevotedtocodingandcryptography.These papers arethe full versionsof a selectionof the best extended abstractsaccepted for presentation at the International Workshop on Coding and Cryptography (WCC 2005) held in Bergen, Norway, March 14¿18, 2005. Each of the 118 - tended abstracts originallysubmitted to the workshop were reviewed by at least two members of the Program Committee. As a result of this screening process, 58 papers were selected for presentation, of which 52 were eventually presented at the workshop together with four invited talks. The authors of the presented papers were in turn invited to submit full v- sions of their papers to the full proceedings. Each of the full-version submissions were once again thoroughly examined and commented upon by at least two reviewers. This volume is the end result of this long process. I am grateful to the reviewers who contributed to guaranteeing the high standards of this volume, and who are named on the next pages. It was a pl- sure for me to work with my program co-chair Pascale Charpin, whose expe- enced advice I havefurther bene ted greatly from during the preparationof this ¿ volume. Discussions with Tor Helleseth and Angela Barbero were also useful in putting the volume together. Finally, I would like to thank all the authors and all the other participants of the WCC 2005 for making it in every sense a highly enjoyable event.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 460 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the First International Workshop on Secure Mobile Ad-hoc Networks and Sensors, MADNES 2005, held in Singapore, in September 2005. The book presents 12 revised full papers together with 5 keynote papers and 1 invited paper. These address current topics of all security aspects of constrained network environments with special focus to mobile agents, sensor networks and radio frequency devices. 208 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book studies the relationship between automata and monadic second-order logic, focusing on classes of automata that describe the concurrent behavior of distributed systems. It provides a unifying theory of communicating automata and their logical properties. Based on Hanf's Theorem and Thomas's graph acceptors, it develops a result that allows characterization of many popular models of distributed computation in terms of the existential fragment of monadic second-order logic.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 192 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -It still holds true: information is not always the answer. Information is often part of the problem. While the main goal of information in the business place is to - able adequate decisions and actions, it can also lead to numerous negative effects: it can confuse, block creativity, or it can lead to hectic activism, stress and fatigue. Information can distract and divert attention, and it may even delay important - cisions ¿ the paralysis by analysis. Strategies to avoid these dysfunctional effects of information can be divided into sender-based strategies and receiver-based strategies. In my previous research, I have looked at receiver-based strategies that outline effective ways of dealing with information overload. This book, by c- trast, analyzes sender-based strategies that aim at making content actionable by increasing its information quality. By offering relevant and sound information in a convenient and reliable manner, managers and information providers ranging from analysts to CEOs can not only optimize communication, they can also improve their reputation, employee satisfaction and customer loyalty. In a time where - formation has become a commodity or even a nuisance, this is a valuable strategy. The main premise of this book is consequently that information quality has - ready become a (if not the) decisive factor of the information economy. Many companies, however, are not managing this factor systematically.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 412 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Image registration is an emerging topic in image processing with many applications in medical imaging, picture and movie processing. The classical problem of image registration is concerned with nding an appropriate transformation between two data sets. This fuzzy de nition of registration requires a mathematical modeling and in particular a mathematical speci cation of the terms appropriate transformations and correlation between data sets. Depending on the type of application, typically Euler, rigid, plastic, elastic deformations are considered. The variety of similarity p measures ranges from a simpleL distance between the pixel values of the data to mutual information or entropy distances. This goal of this book is to highlight by some experts in industry and medicine relevant and emerging image registration applications and to show new emerging mathematical technologies in these areas. Currently, many registration application are solved based on variational prin- ple requiring sophisticated analysis, such as calculus of variations and the theory of partial differential equations, to name but a few. Due to the numerical compl- ity of registration problems ef cient numerical realization are required. Concepts like multi-level solver for partial differential equations, non-convex optimization, and so on play an important role. Mathematical and numerical issues in the area of registration are discussed by some of the experts in this volume. Moreover, the importance of registration for industry and medical imaging is discussed from a medical doctor and from a manufacturer point of view.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 204 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Recently, expectations of the potential of regenerative medicine have risen because of the exciting results obtained in various areas of research. This book contains contributions from leading researchers in the field who describe their successes and the problems that remain in converting the hopes into concrete therapies. The focus of the book is on the role of stem cells in two main areas -- reproduction and the brain -- described from molecular, cellular, in vivo and clinical perspectives.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Economic needs as well as ecological demands are major driving forces in improving chemical processes and plants. To meet these goals processes have to be intensified in order to get products of higher quality, to increase yield by reducing or even suppressing by-products and to minimise energy consumption. A preferred principle for such intensifications is process - tegration, especially integration of reaction and separation operations. S- entific research in this field has been boosted by certain extremely succe- ful examples like the Eastman-Kodak process for methyl acetate or the MTBE process which are milestones for this method. In 2002 the German Research Foundation defined process integration as one of the major - search topics for the next decade. In 1998 the Department of Biochemical- and Chemical Engineering at the University of Dortmund decided to pool its activities for concerted - forts in process integration and to form a joint research cluster. Our interest was to find out the general challenges as well as obstacles of integrated processes and to work out methods for their design and valuation. Soon it became clear that theoretical work only cannot give reasonable answers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 380 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Ambient intelligence (AI) refers to a developing technology that will increasingly make our everyday environment sensitive and responsive to our presence. The AI vision requires technology invisibly embedded in our everyday surroundings, present whenever we need it that will lead to the seamless integration of lighting, sounds, vision, domestic appliances, and personal healthcare products to enhance our living experience. Written for the non-specialist seeking an authoritative but accessible overview of this interdisciplinary field, True Visions explains how the devices making up the AI world will operate collectively using information and intelligence hidden in the wireless network connecting them. Expert contributions address key AI components such as smart materials and textiles, system architecture, mobile computing, broadband communication, and underlying issues of human-environment interactions. It seeks to unify the perspectives of scientists from diverse backgrounds ranging from the physics of materials to the aesthetics of industrial design as it describes the emergence of ambient intelligence, one of today¿s most compelling areas of innovation.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 468 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This volume contains the papers selected for presentation at the First Int- national Conference on Rough Sets and Knowledge Technology (RSKT 2006) organized in Chongqing, P. R. China, July 24-26, 2003. There were 503 s- missions for RSKT 2006 except for 1 commemorative paper, 4 keynote papers and 10 plenary papers. Except for the 15 commemorative and invited papers, 101 papers were accepted by RSKT 2006 and are included in this volume. The acceptance rate was only 20%. These papers were divided into 43 regular oral presentation papers (each allotted 8 pages), and 58 short oral presentation - pers (each allotted 6 pages) on the basis of reviewer evaluation. Each paper was reviewed by two to four referees. Since the introduction of rough sets in 1981 by Zdzis law Pawlak, many great advances in both the theory and applications have been introduced. Rough set theory is closely related to knowledge technology in a variety of forms such as knowledge discovery, approximate reasoning, intelligent and multiagent systems design, and knowledge intensive computations that signal the emergence of a knowledge technology age. The essence of growth in cutting-edge, state-of-t- art and promising knowledge technologies is closely related to learning, pattern recognition,machine intelligence and automation of acquisition, transformation, communication, exploration and exploitation of knowledge. A principal thrust of such technologies is the utilization of methodologies that facilitate knowledge processing. 840 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -1 Introduction The plexuses of Auerbach and Meissner are peculiar to the gut; they extend from the beginning of the unstriated portion of the oesophagus to the end of the rectum. They have usually been considered to belong to the sympathetic system, but it appears to me preferable to place them in a class by themselves. We may speak of them as forming the enteric nervous system. (Langley 1900) In this context,itislessimportant that Langleyexcludedthe striated part of the oesophagus from his de nition of the enteric nervous system (ENS). Much more remarkable seems to be that for Langley, a physiologist, structural reasons were the most decisive for taking the nervous system within the wall of the gastrointestinal tract as an entity unto itself. On the one hand, he argued that enteric nerve cells differ in their histological character from those in para- and prevertebral ganglia. On the other hand, there were few connections of enteric nerve plexuses with the central nervous system (CNS) through sympathetic or other autonomic nerves (which had already been described, however; Auerbach 1862). In his later, more famous monograph, he divided the autonomic nerves into three groups: sympathetic, parasympathetic and intestinal nerves (Langley 1921). This division seems to be all the more modern considering that, during the following decades, many authors and textbooks moved away from this division. The signi cance of enteric neurons was reduced to that of postganglionic relay stations of vegetative nerves (Müller 1921; Lawrentjew 1929; Botár et al. 1942).Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 108 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This volume presents the foundations of carbon nanotube science, reviewing recent developments and prospects for practical application. Each chapter summarizes relevant concepts from physics, chemistry or materials science, followed by detailed reports on topics including polymorphism and mircostructure of carbon; synthesis and growth; structural analysis by electron microscopy; spectroscopic methods; electronic structure; transport; mechanical and surface properties of nanotubes and composites.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 564 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -We are now on the verge of viewing effector molecules and other regulatory sites as therapeutic targets for the amelioration of human and animal disease. The recognition, for example, that mutant proteins are frequently misrouted molecules, rather than functionally defective ones, changes our approach to 'inborn errors of metabolism' and offers new approaches for pharmacological discovery, based on rescue of receptors, ion channels and enzymes with pharmacoperones. Ion channels, regulators of G-protein signaling and enzymes engaged in regulation, now present opportunities for drug development.The state of our art also benefits by the availability of superior tools that allow measurement of interactions and afford unprecedented insight into the biomolecular interactions that present novel approaches to drug design.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Geometric Modeling and Processing, GMP 2006, held in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, July 2006. The book presents 36 revised full papers and 21 revised short papers addressing current issues in geometric modeling and processing are addressed. The papers are organized in topical sections on shape reconstruction, curves and surfaces, geometric processing, shape deformation, shape description, shape recognition, and more.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 720 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -With contributions by leading scientists in the field, this book gives the first comprehensive overview of the results of the seminal SmartKom project ¿ one of the most advanced multimodal dialogue systems worldwide.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 664 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Here are the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Advanced Data Mining and Applications, ADMA 2006, held in Xi'an, China, August 2006. The book presents 41 revised full papers and 74 revised short papers together with 4 invited papers. The papers are organized in topical sections on association rules, classification, clustering, novel algorithms, multimedia mining, sequential data mining and time series mining, web mining, biomedical mining, advanced applications, and more. 1136 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The study of the physical processes at work in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) has kept a large number of astronomers busy since the discovery, in the early sixties, of the rst radio galaxies and quasars. After a few decades of debate there is now a clear consensus about the source of energy in AGN, namely gravitational energy released through matter accretion onto a massive black hole. The most commonly accepted ideas regarding AGN are pictured in the so-called AGN uni ed model, although one should remember that this is still a ¿working¿ model. Tremendous progress has been made in unveiling, analyzing, and modeling the di erent components in AGN: the accretion disk, the jets of relativistic particles, the x-ray absorber close to the central engine,the¿torus¿thatfunnelstheionizingradiation,thesurroundingclouds of dense material in the broadline region and narrowline region, the cool molecular and dusty material around the torus, as well as jet-induced e ects on larger scales. Yet, it remains to incorporate all these components and physical processes into a self-consistent AGN model that would take into account, and predict, all the facets of AGN activity. The mere process of matter fueling is far from being totally understood and neither is the link of the AGN with its host galaxy. The birth and growth of massive black holes in the universe is a related question to be investigated and is of prime interest for cosmology. 252 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The algorithmic problems of real algebraic geometry such as real root counting, deciding the existence of solutions of systems of polynomial equations and inequalities, finding global maxima or deciding whether two points belong in the same connected component of a semi-algebraic set appear frequently in many areas of science and engineering. In this textbook the main ideas and techniques presented form a coherent and rich body of knowledge.Mathematicians will find relevant information about the algorithmic aspects. Researchers in computer science and engineering will find the required mathematical background.Being self-contained the book is accessible to graduate students and even, for invaluable parts of it, to undergraduate students.This second edition contains several recent results, on discriminants of symmetric matrices, real root isolation, global optimization, quantitative results on semi-algebraic sets and the first single exponential algorithm computing their first Betti number.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 676 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Basic Methods for the Biochemical Lab elucidates proven lab procedures and practical hints for research in analytical and preparative biochemistry, as well as summarizing key data in numerous tables. To further emphasize the practical aspects and to minimize the text, theoretical introductions into the methods are mostly omitted.The chapters cover: quantitative methods (proteins, nucleic acids, phospholipids and carbohydrates), electrophoresis (several polyacrylamide and agarose systems, 2D-PAGE, detection methods and affinity electrophoresis), chromatographic protocols (thin-layer chromatography, GPC, IEC, affinity chromatography, HPLC), immunochemical protocols (hapten-carrier and enzyme conjugation, immunization and antibody purification, immune affinity chromatography, ELISA), centrifugation (differential and density gradient centrifugation for cells and cellular fractions), radioactivity (labeling and counting), buffers (buffer properties and compositions).In additional chapters, tables compile a broad array of useful information, e.g. SI units conversion factor, detergent, protein and nucleotide data, and the basic principles of statistics and enzyme and receptor kinetics are reviewed.This first English-language edition of a successful German-language manual will be a valuable resource for students and experts in biochemistry, biotechnology and biomedical laboratories.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 272 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The discovery of the plant hormone ethylene was stunning¿ethylene is a simple gas! Our expanding knowledge of the multiplicity of ethylene¿s roles in plant development, physiology, and metabolism makes the study of this plant hormone increasingly compelling. Elucidation of the genetic regulation of ethylene biosynthesis, characterization of ethylene receptors and analysis of the pathway of ethylene signal transduction, coupled with the identifi- tion of components in the cascade and target genes, have provided insight into how this simple molecule can drive such a diversity of divergent processes. These scientific advances will lead to new technologies that will further enable researchers to harness the powers of ethylene for the benefit of agriculture. In Ethylene Action in Plants, classic and emerging roles of ethylene in plant developmental processes are integrated through recent advances ch- acterizing ethylene receptors, promoters and antagonists, and biological and environmental factors that mediate ethylene responses. The book¿s editor, Dr. Nafees Khan, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, an expert on ethylene with an impressive number of publications on the interactions between ethylene, photosynthesis, and growth of Brassica spp, brought together a highly qualified group of international experts to provide state-- the-art information. To simply list the topics included does not do justice to the book¿s contents, as the articles are not just a compilation of the literature relevant to the topic.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -When you edit a book, the editors should ask themselves, why are we - ing this and whom are we doing this for To whom could this book be valuable as a source of information and possibly inspiration and of course are there other books with similar topics on the market Indeed the mat- matical structure 'partial order' is explained in many mathematical te- books, which require different degrees of mathematical skills to comp- hend. Thus, as far as we can tell, all these books are dedicated directly towards mathematician working in the area of Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Informatics. Although partial order is very well known in quantum mechanics, especially within the context of Young-diagrams, l- erature stressing the application aspect of partial order seems to be not available. However, an increasing number of publications in scientific journals have in recent years appeared, applying partial order to various fields of chemistry and environmental sciences. A recent summary can be found in a special issue of the journal Match - Commun. Math. Comput. Chem. 2000, edited by Klein and Brickmann. However, we believe that this journal possibly is too specific and as such it may not reach scientists actually applying partial order in various fields of research. Hence, we dared to initiate the editing of this book in order to address a broader au- ence and we were happy to convincing distinguished scientists working with different aspects of partial order theory to contribute to this book.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 424 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Fluid-structure interactions (FSI), that is interactions of some movable or deformable structure with an internal or surrounding fluid flow, are among the most important and, with respect to both modelling and computational issues, the most challenging multi-physics problems. The variety of FSI occurrences is abundant and ranges from tent-roofs to micropumps, from parachutes via airbags to blood flow in arteries. This volume of LNCSE contains a collection of papers presented at the International Workshop on FSI held in October 2005 in Hohenwart and organized by DFG's Research Unit 493 'FSI: Modelling, Simulation, and Optimization'. The papers address partitioned and monolithic coupling approaches, methodical issues and applications, and discuss FSI from the mathematical, informatical, and engineering point of view.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 404 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Information and communication technologies have been growing and - veloping steadily for as long as any of us can remember. Growth was p- ticularly strong in the last few decades, and fibre optic communication s- tems have become predominant whenever information is to be transmitted over medium or long distances. Even when the ¿telecommunication bubble¿ burst at the beginning of the new millennium, the only thing which vanished was the expectation of making a fortune by buying and reselling telecom device and equipment manufacturing companies; the upgrading of existing fibre optic links and the deployment of new ones continued unabated. The reason for the predominance of communication via optical fibres is the vast amount of information a single fibre can carry. However, in order to take advantage of this potential, it is mandatory to transmit different wavelength channels simultaneously over a single optical fibre, and the handling of these wavelength channels requires wavelength selective - vices or wavelength filters. Among the functionalities optical filters have to accomplish are the selection of single or several channels out of a larger number of channels, the separation of one channel wavelength from - wanted spurious noise at different wavelengths, filters have to support routing, enable the lossless (or low loss) combination of wavelengths, and they have to compensate for wavelength dispersion effects.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 484 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The Agulhas Current is one of the major currents of the world ocean. In the network of currents that connect the major ocean basins, it forms a key link. This linkage may be of critical importance in the way the ocean affects the earth's climate and climate change. Based on the research findings of 60 years, the author describes the origins of the Agulhas Current, its behaviour, its influence on the adjacent continental shelf, its effect on local weather as well as its role in linking the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean. The text is well-illustrated and includes small asides on the history of research on the Agulhas Current. An exhaustive bibliography gives easy access to present knowledge on this important current system.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 344 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Biologists studied the behavior of social insects for a long time. After millions of years of evolution all these species have developed incredible solutions for a wide range of problems. The intelligent solutions to problems naturally emerge from the self-organization and indirect communication of these individuals. Indirect interactions occur between two individuals when one of them modifies the environment and the other responds to the new environment at a later time. Such an interaction is an example of ¿stigmergy¿. This book deals with the application of stigmergy for a variety of optimization problems. This volume comprises 12 chapters including an introductory chapter giving the fundamental definitions, inspirations and some research challenges.Important features include a detailed overview of all the stigmergic optimization paradigms, excellent coverage of timely, advanced stigmergic optimization topics, state-of-the-art theoretical research and application developments and chapters authored by pioneers in the field. Academics, scientists as well as engineers engaged in research, development and application of stigmergic optimization will find the comprehensive coverage of this book invaluable. 320 pp. Englisch.