Prehistoric Life. Evolution and the Fossil Record

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the science of the history of life. Paleobiologists bring many analytical tools to bear in interpreting the fossil record and the book introduces the latest techniques, from multivariate investigations of biogeography and biostratigraphy to engineering analysis of dinosaur skulls, and from homeobox genes to cladistics. All the well-known fossil groups are included, including microfossils and invertebrates, but an important feature is the thorough coverage of plants, vertebrates and trace fossils together with discussion of the origins of both life and the metazoans. All key related subjects are introduced, such as systematics, ecology, evolution and development, stratigraphy and their roles in understanding where life came from and how it evolved and diversified. Unique features of the book are the numerous case studies from current research that lead students to the primary literature, analytical and mathematical explanations and tools, together with associated problem sets and practical schedules for instructors and students. “..any serious student of geology who does not pick this book off the shelf will be putting themselves at a huge disadvantage. The material may be complex, but the text is extremely accessible and well organized, and the book ought to be essential reading for palaeontologists at undergraduate, postgraduate and more advanced levels—both in Britain as well as in North America.” Falcon-Lang, H., Proc. Geol. Assoc. 2010 “…this is an excellent introduction to palaeontology in general. It is well structured, accessibly written and pleasantly informative …..I would recommend this as a standard reference text to all my students without hesitation.” David Norman Geol Mag 2010 Companion website This book includes a companion website at: www.blackwellpublishing.com/paleobiology The website includes: · An ongoing database of additional Practical’s prepared by the authors · Figures from the text for downloading · Useful links for each chapter · Updates from the authors

The book discusses the theoretical path to decoding the information gathered from observations of old stellar systems. It focuses on old stellar systems because these are the fossil record of galaxy formation and provide invaluable information ont he evolution of cosmic structures and the universe as a whole. The aim is to present results obtained in the past few years for theoretical developments in low mass star research and in advances in our knowledge of the evolution of old stellar systems. A particularly representative case is the recent discovery of multiple stellar populations in galactic globular clusters that represents one of the hottest topics in stellar and galactic astrophysics and is discussed in detail. Santi Cassisi has authored about 270 scientific papers, 150 of them in peer-reviewed journals, and the title Evolution of Stars and Stellar Populations.

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.

This book's aim is to obtain and organize knowledge about the diversity of living things. Their epistomological and methodological fundamentals are explained in the framework of the biology of evolution. The methods of construction and use of phylogenetic trees are presented as well as the classification and description of taxa with the nomenclature rules.

Evolution of software has long been recognized as one of the most problematic and challenging areas in the field of software engineering, as evidenced by the high, often up to 60-80%, life-cycle costs attributed to this activity over the life of a software system. Studies of software evolution are central to the understanding and practice of software development. Yet it has received relatively little attention in the field of software engineering. This book focuses on topics aimed at giving a scientific insight into the aspect of software evolution and feedback. In summary, the book covers conceptual, phenomenological, empirical, technological and theoretical aspects of the field of software evolution – with contributions from the leading experts. This book delivers an up-to-date scientific understanding of what software evolution is, to show why it is inevitable for real world applications, and it demonstrates the role of feedback in software development and maintenance. The book also addresses some of the phenomenological and technological underpinnings and includes rules and guidelines for increased software evolvability and, in general, sustainability of the evolution process. Software Evolution and Feedback provides a long overdue, scientific focus on software evolution and the role of feedback in the software process, making this the indispensable guide for all software practitioners, researchers and managers in the software industry.

The book focuses on geological history as the critical factor in determining the present biodiversity and landscapes of Amazonia. The different driving mechanisms for landscape evolution are explored by reviewing the history of the Amazonian Craton, the associated sedimentary basins, and the role of mountain uplift and climate change. This book provdes an insight into the Meso- and Cenozoic record of Amazonia that was characterized by fluvial and long-lived lake systems and a highly diverse flora and fauna. This fauna includes giants such as the ca. 12 m long caiman Purussaurus, but also a varied fish fauna and fragile molluscs, whilst fossil pollen and spores form relics of ancestral swamps and rainforests. Finally, a review the molecular datasets of the modern Amazonian rainforest and aquatic ecosystem, discussing the possible relations between the origin of Amazonian species diversity and the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution of northern South America. The multidisciplinary approach in evaluating the history of Amazonia has resulted in a comprehensive volume that provides novel insights into the evolution of this region.

A practical guide to LTE design, test and measurement, this new edition has been updated to include the latest developments This book presents the latest details on LTE from a practical and technical perspective. Written by Agilent’s measurement experts, it offers a valuable insight into LTE technology and its design and test challenges. Chapters cover the upper layer signaling and system architecture evolution (SAE). Basic concepts such as MIMO and SC-FDMA, the new uplink modulation scheme, are introduced and explained, and the authors look into the challenges of verifying the designs of the receivers, transmitters and protocols of LTE systems. The latest information on RF and signaling conformance testing is delivered by authors participating in the LTE 3GPP standards committees. This second edition has been considerably revised to reflect the most recent developments of the technologies and standards. Particularly important updates include an increased focus on LTE-Advanced as well as the latest testing specifications. Fully updated to include the latest information on LTE 3GPP standards Chapters on conformance testing have been majorly revised and there is an increased focus on LTE-Advanced Includes new sections on testing challenges as well as over the air MIMO testing, protocol testing and the most up-to-date test capabilities of instruments Written from both a technical and practical point of view by leading experts in the field

Provides students and engineers with the fundamental developments and common practices of software evolution and maintenance Software Evolution and Maintenance: A Practitioner’s Approach introduces readers to a set of well-rounded educational materials, covering the fundamental developments in software evolution and common maintenance practices in the industry. Each chapter gives a clear understanding of a particular topic in software evolution, and discusses the main ideas with detailed examples. The authors first explain the basic concepts and then drill deeper into the important aspects of software evolution. While designed as a text in an undergraduate course in software evolution and maintenance, the book is also a great resource forsoftware engineers, information technology professionals, and graduate students in software engineering. Based on the IEEE SWEBOK (Software Engineering Body of Knowledge) Explains two maintenance standards: IEEE/EIA 1219 and ISO/IEC14764 Discusses several commercial reverse and domain engineering toolkits Slides for instructors are available online Software Evolution and Maintenance: A Practitioner’s Approach equips readers with a solid understanding of the laws of software engineering, evolution and maintenance models, reengineering techniques, legacy information systems, impact analysis, refactoring, program comprehension, and reuse.

In the current era of complete genome sequencing, Bioinformatics and Molecular Evolution provides an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to bioinformatics in the context of evolutionary biology. This accessible text: provides a thorough examination of sequence analysis, biological databases, pattern recognition, and applications to genomics, microarrays, and proteomics emphasizes the theoretical and statistical methods used in bioinformatics programs in a way that is accessible to biological science students places bioinformatics in the context of evolutionary biology, including population genetics, molecular evolution, molecular phylogenetics, and their applications features end-of-chapter problems and self-tests to help students synthesize the materials and apply their understanding is accompanied by a dedicated website – www.blackwellpublishing.com/higgs – containing downloadable sequences, links to web resources, answers to self-test questions, and all artwork in downloadable format (artwork also available to instructors on CD-ROM). This important textbook will equip readers with a thorough understanding of the quantitative methods used in the analysis of molecular evolution, and will be essential reading for advanced undergraduates, graduates, and researchers in molecular biology, genetics, genomics, computational biology, and bioinformatics courses.

Written from an operator’s viewpoint, HSPA Performance and Evolution explores the lessons learned and techniques developed for optimally deploying HSPA (High Speed Packet Access). The essential distinctions between rolling out HSPA compared to earlier UMTS and GSM technologies are explained covering the many issues that must be specifically handled. Areas in standards which have been left open for interpretation, causing significant differences between vendor implementations, are identified and solutions explored. This book is invaluable in enabling wireless operators to extract maximum performance offered by 3GPP’s HSPA radio technology, consisting of both downlink (HSDPA) and uplink (HSUPA) elements. It focuses on real-world performance, sharing practical implementation methods and tradeoffs for deploying, optimizing and maintaining networks using the HSPA air interface. Examines algorithms, equipment and performance perspectives to identify and explain HSPA Measures performance and sets network parameters for optimal tradeoffs Presents results from practical and real-world network performances Explores the evolution of HSPA technology into HSPA+ and eventually next generation LTE technologies