Environmental Experience and Plasticity of the Developing Brain

The Novartis Foundation Series is a popular collection of the proceedings from Novartis Foundation Symposia, in which groups of leading scientists from a range of topics across biology, chemistry and medicine assembled to present papers and discuss results. The Novartis Foundation, originally known as the Ciba Foundation, is well known to scientists and clinicians around the world.

Since the 1980s, and especially since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, there has been a substantial extension in the adoption and use of Environmental Assessment (EA) procedures in developing countries and countries in transition (low and middle income countries). However, few existing texts in environmental assessment or development studies have reflected this trend sufficiently, until this publication. Divided into two main parts: * EA Principles, Processes and Practice. * Country and Institutional Studies of EA Procedures and Practice. This book explains the essentials of environmental impact association in the context of developing countries and assesses its importance to both developed and developing countries.

Presents new information on the mutual interaction of skeletal muscle fibers and motoneurons at all levels, from the physiological to the molecular. Covers genetic, physiological, and hormonal factors affecting skeletal muscle development, control of acetylcholine receptor gene expression, selection and organization of motoneurons, and remodelling and refinement of synaptic inputs under the influence of muscle-derived growth factors. Also discusses the plasticity of the neuromuscular system during regeneration after injury, and in the modification of muscle properties and movement patterns in disease states by changes in sensory input or by electrical stimulation.

Filling a critical void in the literature, Race, Racism, and the Developing Child provides an important source of information for researchers, psychologists, and students on the recent advances in the unique developmental and social features of race and racism in children's lives. Thorough and accessible, this timely reference draws on an international collection of experts and scholars representing the breadth of perspectives, theoretical traditions, and empirical approaches in this field.

This book presents both sides of a very controversial subject in today’s media: induced hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” It covers the technology and methods used in hydraulic fracturing in easy-to-understand language, for the engineer and layperson alike, presenting the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing.

This book explores the complex issues surrounding the management of cleft lip and palate in the Developing World, and aims to raise the profile of a condition commonly considered to be of only cosmetic importance in countries where infant and child mortality rates are high. It provides information and guidelines to three groups: those in the Developing World setting up programmes of cleft lip and palate care, and clinicians from developed countries delivering care in that context, as well as clinicians in the Developing World itself. The book is multidisciplinary, demonstrating the role of every member of the team, not just the surgeon, and includes contributions from charity organisations which support these cleft lip and palate programmes. Each area of clinical practice is covered, comparing typical care in developed countries with that in the Developing World, and contains practical suggestions as to how the gap may be narrowed. Management of Cleft Lip and Palate in the Developing World is an important resource for anyone having ­– or planning to have – a commitment to develop services in that environment and to clinicians in the Developing World faced with large numbers of cleft lip and palate patients and limited resources of materials and manpower.

An integrated approach to understanding the principles of sampling, chemical analysis, and instrumentation This unique reference focuses on the overall framework and why various methodologies are used in environmental sampling and analysis. An understanding of the underlying theories and principles empowers environmental professionals to select and adapt the proper sampling and analytical protocols for specific contaminants as well as for specific project applications. Covering both field sampling and laboratory analysis, Fundamentals of Environmental Sampling and Analysis includes: A review of the basic analytical and organic chemistry, statistics, hydrogeology, and environmental regulations relevant to sampling and analysis An overview of the fundamentals of environmental sampling design, sampling techniques, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) essential to acquire quality environmental data A detailed discussion of: the theories of absorption spectroscopy for qualitative and quantitative environmental analysis; metal analysis using various atomic absorption and emission spectrometric methods; and the instrumental principles of common chromatographic and electrochemical methods An introduction to advanced analytical techniques, including various hyphenated mass spectrometries and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy With real-life case studies that illustrate the principles plus problems and questions at the end of each chapter to solidify understanding, this is a practical, hands-on reference for practitioners and a great textbook for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in environmental science and engineering.

The focus of this book is the chemistry of environmental engineering and its applications, with a special emphasis on the use of polymers in this field. It explores the creation and use of polymers with special properties such as viscoelasticity and interpenetrating networks; examples of which include the creation of polymer-modified asphalt as well as polymers with bacterial adhesion properties. The text contains the issues of polymerization methods, recycling methods, wastewater treatment, types of contaminants, such as microplastics, organic dyes, and pharmaceutical residues. After a detailed overview of polymers in Chapter 1, their special properties are discussed in the following chapter. Among the topics is the importance of polymers to water purification procedures, since their use in the formation of reverse osmosis membranes do not show biofouling. Chapter 3 details special processing methods, such as atom transfer radical polymerization, enzymatic polymerization, plasma treatment, and several other methods, can be used to meet the urgent demands of industrial applications. Chapter 4 addresses the important environmental issue of recycling methods as they relate to several types of materials such as PET bottles, tire rubbers, asphalt compositions, and other engineering resins. And wastewater treatment is detailed in Chapter 5, in which the types of contaminants, such as microplastics, organic dyes and pharmaceutical residues, are described and special methods for their proper removal are detailed along with types of adsorbents, including biosorbents. Still another important issue for environmental engineering chemistry is pesticides. Chapter 6 is a thorough description of the development and fabrication of special sensors for the detection of certain pesticides. A detailed presentation of the electrical uses of polymer-based composites is given in Chapter 7, which include photovoltaic materials, solar cells, energy storage and dielectric applications, light-emitting polymers, and fast-charging batteries. And recent issues relating to food engineering, such as food ingredient tracing, protein engineering, biosensors and electronic tongues, are presented in Chapter 8. Finally, polymers used for medical applications are described in Chapter 9. These applications include drug delivery, tissue engineering, porous coatings and also the special methods used to fabricate such materials.

New contributions to the cyclic plasticity of engineering materials Written by leading experts in the field, this book provides an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to cyclic plasticity of metals, polymers, composites and shape memory alloys. Each chapter is devoted to fundamentals of cyclic plasticity or to one of the major classes of materials, thereby providing a wide coverage of the field. The book deals with experimental observations on metals, composites, polymers and shape memory alloys, and the corresponding cyclic plasticity models for metals, polymers, particle reinforced metal matrix composites and shape memory alloys. Also, the thermo-mechanical coupled cyclic plasticity models are discussed for metals and shape memory alloys. Key features: Provides a comprehensive introduction to cyclic plasticity Presents Macroscopic and microscopic observations on the ratchetting of different materials Establishes cyclic plasticity constitutive models for different materials. Analysis of cyclic plasticity in engineering structures. This book is an important reference for students, practicing engineers and researchers who study cyclic plasticity in the areas of mechanical, civil, nuclear, and aerospace engineering as well as materials science.

This is the first textbook to consider all aspects of the cryosphere system in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate. Considers all six aspects of the cryosphere – ice sheets, glacier ice, permafrost, river and lake ice, sea ice and snow – in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate. Describes a new concept of cryosphere transience and landscape transition which links climate, hydrology, ecology and geomorphology. Looks at the evidence, process, and patterns of cryosphere change, on local and global scales. Provides a wealth of data to inform the current global environmental change debate. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=index&bcsId=5064&itemId=140512976X.