Books published by Nova Science Publishers Inc

This book is a compilation of CRS reports on Russia today. The first chapter examines Russias 2018 presidential election, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin was widely expected to secure reelection (and since then, has won). The second chapter examines recent developments in Russian policy, including the increasingly authoritarian governance since Vladimirs Putin return to the presidential post in 2012, Russias 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimea region and support of separatists in eastern Ukraine, violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty; Moscows intervention in Syria in support of Bashar al Asads government; increased military activity in Europe and cyber-related influence operations, that, according to the US intelligence community, have targeted the 2016 US Presidential election and countries in Europe. The next two chapters go into further detail on Russian compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and the new START Treaty (a new strategic arms reduction treaty that the US and Russia signed on April 8th 2010. The last chapter included in this book is a 3-page report on the Balkans uneasy relations with Russia. Despite Russias effort to influence the Balkans political orientation, which has led the US and, more significantly, the EU to increase attention to the region, some observers believe that Moscow likely will not be successful in realigning any of the Balkan states away from the West in the long run.

This book is a compilation of CRS reports on Columbia, its background and US relations (explored in Chapter One). Colombia is the third most populous country in Latin America, with roughly 49 million inhabitants. A key US ally in the region, Colombia has endured an internal armed conflict for half a century. In Chapter Two of this book, Colombias drug policies and how they have evolved are examined in light of Colombias peace agreement with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and its changing counternarcotics policy. The next reports examine a revised peace accord that was signed by President Juan Manual Santos (in 2016) and FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in an effort to end half a century of armed conflict. The last chapter focuses on the Pacific Alliance, a regional integration initiative formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru on 28 April 2011, which was developed as a way to supplement existing trade agreements among the four countries.

This book is a compilation of recent CRS reports involving China, including maritime territorial and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) disputes involving China; background information and issues for Congress on Chinas naval modernization effort and its implications for US Navy capabilities; a comparison of US and Chinese trade data; Chinas proposal for a peace mechanism with North Korea; and a review on Chinas retaliatory tariffs on selected US agricultural products.

This book opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned business. It provides a brief overview of veterans employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001 and nonveterans. The next chapter provides a historical examination of the SBA (Small Business Administrations) size standards and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business. The third chapter is a 3-page CRS report on business capital investment spending, its components and causes of the recent slowdown. The fourth chapter of this book examine the SB OIG (offices of inspector general) funding in Fiscal Year 2018, its impact on monetary saving, SBA programs and operations and legislation affecting the agency. It concludes with observations concerning the SBA OIGs relationship with Congress. The last chapter opens with a discussion of the rationale provided for having a Microloan program, describes the programs eligibility standards and operating requirements for lenders and borrowers, and examines the arguments presented by the programs critics and advocates.

This volume of Advances in Evolution Equations is dedicated to the memory of Professor Vasilii Vasilievich Zhikov, an outstanding Russian mathematician. Zhikov''s scientific interest ranged from almost periodic differential equations and topological dynamics to spectral theory of elliptic operators, qualitative theory of parabolic equations, calculus of variations, homogenization, and hydrodynamics, to name a few. Many of his results are now classical.

The eyes are highly diversified photosensitive structures. In all vertebrates, eyes resemble in molecular composition and are predominantly composed of extracellular matrix (ECM). Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 134 explores the dual role of ECM in ocular homeostasis and diseases and discusses how this duality can be used to treat such diseases. The view on ECM biology offered by this work is translational and adress concepts of basic science and clinical-surgical issues.Following this, the authors aim to provide information about the mechanisms of oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis, to provide updates for previous studies update and some of the current paradigms discussed and to provide a basis for future studies. This review highlights the elementary value of apoptosis, including its effect on tissue homeostasis and cellular stress.The aim of the subsequent study was to investigate microcirculation peculiarities of the covering tissues of the limbs and body in patients with orthopedic pathology and in track-and-field athletes having reached high sport mastership.Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are a clinical entity in which CSF rhinorrhea occurs in the absence of any inciting event. Spontaneous CSF leaks are associated with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) or underlying idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). The authors report on a cohort of patients who have undergone nasal endoscopic repair for spontaneous CSF leaks.Wound healing is a widespread feature of multicellular organisms. Evidence illustrates that apoptosis has very important roles in the various phases of the wound healing process. As such, the authors maintain the importance of keeping up-to-date with studies on apoptosis and its associated mechanisms highlighted in the wound healing process, providing a systematic analysis of recent molecular research in wound healing applications.Despite enormous improvements in supportive and standard care, septic shock and liver failure remain major causes of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Plasma separation via centrifugation is a common method for therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with liver failure and septic shock. The authors suggest that the use of a centrifugal approach rather than regular plasma filtration enables the transfer of larger particles into the resulting plasma fraction. The possible advantages of using centrifugation in comparison to hemofiltration in blood cleaning techniques are currently hypothetical.The most commonly used staging classification of the classical form of Kaposis sarcoma was presented by Brambilla et al. in 2003. The authors distinguished four stages of the disease based on the morphology of the cutaneous lesions, location of the skin changes, presence of complications and internal organ involvement. The clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of classical Kaposis sarcoma will be discussed in the closing chapter.

Progress in Education. Volume 52 opens with an analysis of the Alps in the context of introducing innovative approaches for sustainable mobility. Alpine areas receive millions of visits by tourists traveling by car each year, exceeding the carrying capacity of these areas and thus decreasing the quality of the visitor experience. The authors aim to improve the development of sustainable tourism and gain a competitive advantage within the tourism market.This collection goes on to argue that successful schooling encompasses much more than just academic performance. Students attend school to appreciate and acquire other achievement-related attributes, such as subjective well-being experiences, proactive engagement, and the seeking of mastery in different disciplinary areas. The authors contend that this line of inquiry may yield a number of educational significance for teachers, school administrators, and stakeholders to consider.Next, this collection examines recent developments in the dynamics and complexity of cultural identities between the state and politics in Hong Kong that have shaped values and music education in light of the twentieth anniversary of the handover to China and the construction of values education through school music education. It is argued that preparations for values education might pose a challenge to how musical meanings and non-musical meanings should be delineated and delivered in the school curriculum.The widespread and debilitating effects of mathematics anxiety are experienced at all educational levels and in most countries around the world. Thus, the authors set out to illuminate this problem for educators and suggest ways to reduce mathematics anxiety among their students.Given the increase in dynamic environments associated with educational reform, it is important to reassess whether transformational leadership remains the most effective approach to change in educational settings, and if not, whether alternative approaches might be considered. From this perspective, an integrative literature review explores recent evidence to examine the effects of transformational leadership in educational reform settings.

The ad image has become the focus of ad research, and to a certain extent this is justified. To understand how the ad image is received, the tradition of advertising creators, planners and buyers have asserted it is based on memory. Specifically, it is rooted in affective memory in which the unconscious plays a role. The other side is cognitive, where the image may be received, but less affectively. Today, neuroscience is being deployed to validated current findings in order to prove advertising legitimization. The biggest companies are involved in the business of using technological reading of biomedicine to validate claims. However, the theoretical apparatuses remain the same as before. This book demonstrates a short critique of the theories and technology trending within the industry and demonstrates how the industry should be looking at the phenomenological foundations of memory as a body kinesthetic engagement before the image.

This book deals with a series of topics with a primary focus on the global economy and global business, specifically within the context of Turkey. While doing so, it also delves into a globally evolving linguistic phenomenon of the English language, having already become a universal medium for practices and applications of the economic world. This book begins with globalization, described as a convergence of people by interacting economically, technologically and socially with each other, and endeavours to describe globalization with a basic approach from a historical perspective. It moves on to argue how the Zincirkıran Commissions purchase of ships heralded Turkeys appearance in a bipolar world, which emerged in the aftermath of World War II by shedding light on how the liberal bloc and trade relations within this bloc developed in the 20th century. This book also touches on the effects of globalization on the growth of the Turkish economy using data recorded from 1970-2013. Furthermore, it provides room for Weber''s Protestant Ethic, the New Institutional Economics and Human Capital Theory, which is employed as a framework to explain how social institutions might affect economic growth in the long run, and how economic success could be attained through the teaching of ethical values rooted in religion. Concepts, such as decentralization, globalization, localization, and subsidiarity are defined, and effects of globalization on local governments are examined in terms of fiscal autonomy and service delivery. A comparison of fiscal autonomy in federal and unitary states was provided with a specific focus on fiscal autonomy and decentralization in Turkey. Besides these issues, the book also investigates how Turkish foreign policy could adapt to a globalized world during the period of the Justice and Development Party. Here, as a specific point, an emphasis is laid on the period when Former Premier Ahmet Davutoglu began his Zero Problem policy with neighbors. From a political perspective, this book discusses political discourses arising from globalization, suggesting that globalization has failed to deliver its promises concerning issues such as the diminishing of nation states, expansion of democratic rule, and more peaceful international societies. As for Middle Eastern policies, the authors attempt to unpack Middle Eastern international relations during phases of globalization by particularly focusing on an ever-increasing role and impact of violent non-state actors (VNSAs). Finally, since almost all international relations and financial transactions in todays world are carried out through the English language, this book also allocates some room for research conducted on English being taught as a global language in Turkey between the period of 2000-2018.

Asset management can be defined as the selection and maintenance over time of listed and unlisted financial instruments, with the aim of obtaining the best possible return for a certain level of risk.Nowadays, the asset management industry is under pressure for various reasons, including reductions in margins, constant regulatory, macro-economic and political changes, and new business models such as robo-advice.This book aims to provide an overview of asset management by focusing on some of the main issues in the sector. It gathers contributions on the system, strategies, opportunities and challenges.Chapter One highlights the importance of adopting an enterprise approach to the implementation of the asset management system, especially for large organizations. Chapter Two focuses on active and passive portfolio investment strategies. Active strategies aim to beat the market, while passive strategies support the efficient market theory by implying that a rational investor should buy the market as it is. Empirical evidence, in fact, supports both strategies. Chapter Three discusses a quantitative model applied to equity indexes corrected in order to consider currency risk. Chapter Four compares the portfolio characteristics and performance measures of social impact mutual funds, which implement different sustainable and responsible investment strategies. Chapter Five deals with impact investing, which is a niche within the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) parameters. Chapter Six examines the asset allocation strategies of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), which are state-owned investment funds or entities that have emerged as important investors in global equity. Finally, Chapter Seven provides background information on art investment and the combination of art and finance, with the focus on the demand for investment in art, art advisory models and art funds.

Over the past few decades, tremendous progress in analytical facilities allowed for the decreasing detection limits of trace element (TE) analysis in a large number of organic and inorganic matrices. This was especially true for freshwater aquatic systems, where direct measurements of more than forty trace elements have become possible provided that necessary precautions against pollution are made and required sample preparation protocol is maintained. Therefore, analyses of both liquid (water) and solid (biomass, sediments, soils, and aerosol particles) compartments of the landscape continuum allowed for a new perspective on biogeochemical factors of trace elements in a large panel of terrestrial environments. However, among all Earth biomes, the Arctic and subarctic regions are certainly less studied from a trace element biogeochemical view point.This book adresses a variety of geochemical and biogeochemical issues of trace element behavior in soils, waters, and plants across the world, from Eastern Europe to Siberian subarctic and Arctic islands. It presents a synthesis of state-of-the-art studiesusing precise analytical techniqueson trace element concentrations, fractionation, and migration in the main biogeochemical reservoirs of the Northern Hemisphere. This book combines chapters on trace elements in soils, plants, soil waters, lakes, rivers and their estuarine zones, and atmopsheric aerosols. As such, it provides a comprehensive view of current TE biogeochemistry and can serve as a reference compilation of available information for judging future changes in trace element biogeochemistry for terrestrial environments influenced by climate warming or increasing anthropogenic pollution.

Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS) have been used since their discovery for the isolation of a large number of different biological materials, such as animal and plant cells, microorganisms, viruses, cellular organelles such as chloroplasts, mitochondria, membrane vesicles, and also in the purification of proteins and nucleic acids. In Aqueous Two-Phase Systems: Properties, Functions and Advantages, the authors begin by discussing the benefits of these systems.The following chapter presents the main forms of the purification of lipases from aqueous biphasic systems, addressing and discussing the fundamentals for the formation, use and optimization of these systems applied in the biotechnological context. The authors address the basis of aqueous-biphasic systems, aqueous two-phase systems for enzymatic purification, purification of lipases and combined uses of aqueous two-phase systems.The most important experimental parameters that affect the efficiency of metal ions extraction in aqueous PEG-based two-phase systems are examined to provide a starting point in the design of a suitable system for the extraction of metal ions. Compared to the conventional solvent extraction, which uses toxic, flammable and volatile organic solvents and can be quite expensive, the extraction in aqueous PEG-based two-phase systems is considered a more environmental friendly and economically viable method.Also in this compilation, an overview about application of ATPSs in microstructured devices is provided. Microstructured devices offer potential benefits due to well-defined high specific interfacial areas available for heat and mass transfer. These areas increase transfer rate and enhance yield, selectivity and process control. The application of ATPSs in Micro Total Analysis Systems is described as well.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used to treat patients with advanced thyroid cancers. Sunitinib (SU11248) is an oral small-molecule, oxindol derivative, multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that inhibits receptors for platelet-derived growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, growth factor receptor, fms-related tyrosine kinase 3, RET oncogene and a multitargeted tyrosine-kinases. In Sunitinib: Mechanisms, Interactions and Side Effects, the authors report nine open-label studies carried out with sunitinb wherein the drug showed its anti-tumoral activity in advanced differentiated thyroid carcinoma, advanced tumors refractory to radioiodine and in medullary thyroid carcinoma, in phase II trials and in retrospective studies.The aim of the following chapter is to summarize the published results of clinical research focused on the use of sunitinib in pediatric oncology and to supplement it with the experience from the authors clinical practice. Suggestions appearing in case reports and clinical trials indicate that sunitinib may be a valuable drug also in pediatric clinical oncology. More attention should be paid to the selection of the most suitable indications, patients, and doses to balance the efficacy and safety in children with malignant diseases.The concluding review offers a comprehensive overview of phases I and II studies investigating clinical efficacy, tolerability and safety of sunitinib for the treatment of ovarian cancer (OC). Sunitinib was tested in OC due to increasing incidences of resistance to chemotherapy in diseases which have a poor prognosis. Further trials are required to better understand the efficacy of this drug. Regarding its safety-profile, hematologic and non-hematological adverse events are common, but generally not clinically significant.

Acacia: Characteristics, Distribution and Uses opens with a chapter describing the wood of A. melanoxylon grown in Portugal in view of determining its technological quality for use in the construction and furniture industry. The characterization includes stem features, wood anatomical characteristics, chemical composition, wood density and mechanical properties.Next, the authors aim to describe and analyze common characteristics among Acacia s.l. species and to trace some parallelisms of their performance throughout several ecosystems that hold such species. It is well-known that Acacia s.l. species have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and may modify soil chemistry and physics by enabling microorganisms/soil fauna to alter the microhabitat beneath the tree, and such characteristics are significant in the recovery of ecosystems.The potential of Acacia mangium, an exotic species, for restoration of a degraded land in Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR), Philippines was also examined. Results suggested a general trend of changes in A. mangium plantation which was once a grassland dominated by Imperata cylindrica and Saccharum officinarum. Both (stems ha-1) and basal area (m2 ha-1) increased significantly in 2010-2018 (P=0.001).The authors discuss the way in which NMR spectroscopy applied to the study of gum exudates has become important since the 1990̍s in Venezuela. Analytical and structural studies of 23 species belonging to different genera and families have been reported through the combination of classic methodology for carbohydrates and NMR spectroscopy.The footprints left by evolution in the distribution of characters among current organisms have been one of the main tools in the study of organic evolution. The authors propose that the reconstruction of ancestral character states offers the possibility of knowing the changes suffered by characters in a species throughout evolutionary time.Pollinosis, also known as pollen allergy, hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis is one the most common respiratory disorders throughout the world. The inhalation of Acacia pollen is one of the main causes of respiratory allergic diseases in semiarid countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This book suggests that the recognition of allergenic components of pollens is essential for component-resolved diagnosis, the design of patient-specific immunotherapy, and the explanation of sensitization mechanisms to various allergens.The authors analyze Acacia-Pseudomyrmex mutualism which includes 15 species of acacias and a group of 10 species of mutualistic ants whose geographical distribution is similar. This relationship is frequently cited as an example of coevolution, a term that has been used to refer to the reciprocal change of interacting species where each of them acts as an agent of natural selection with respect to the other and where the reciprocal selection would result in congruent phylogenies.The concluding chapter characterizes the A. melanoxylon wood pulping performance regarding yield and kappa number as well as the pulp and paper properties. The application of fast spectroscopic technologies for pulp quality determination is also described.

This book outlines all the important discoveries that had been made in natural philosophy up to the end of 1853 near when it was published. It conveys an assurance that every truth, however abstract it may appear, has a large popular value if studied in its relation to those generalities that embrace great natural phenomena. The True is the Beautiful. Whenever this becomes evident to our senses, its influences are of a soul-elevating character. The beautiful, whether it is perceived in the external forms of matter, associated in the harmonies of light and colour, appreciated in the modulations of sweet sounds, or mingled with those influences which are, as the inner life of creation, ever appealing to the soul through the vesture which covers all things, is the natural theme of the poet, and the chosen study of the philosopher.

This book was written to be intelligible to general readers while also containing facts and figures useful to amateur astronomers at the time of its first printing in 1891. With the aid of many illustrations and the passionate wonder felt by astronomers of all levels and times, the author outlines the evolution of the telescope to the end of the nineteenth century and provides detailed instruction that is relevant and rich in historical value. No matter how humble the observer, or how paltry the telescope, astronomy is capable of furnishing an endless store of delight to its adherents. Its influences are elevating, and many of its features possess the charms of novelty as well as mystery. Whoever contemplates the heavens with the right spirit reaps both pleasure and profit, and many amateurs find a welcome relaxation to the cares of business in the companionship of their telescopes on starlight evenings."

"The desire to leave behind me some recollections of my life, has been cherished by me, for many years past; but failing strength or increasing infirmities have prevented its accomplishment. At my suggestion and with what assistance I have been able to render, my son, Ross Charles Edward Stowe, has compiled from my letters and journals, this biography. It is this true story of my life, told for the most part, in my own words and has therefore all the force of an autobiography. It is perhaps much more accurate as to detail and impression than is possible with any autobiography, written later in life. If these pages, shall help those who read them to a firmer trust in God and a deeper sense of His fatherly goodness throughout the days of our earthly pilgrimage I can say with Valiant for Truth in the Pilgrim''s Progress! I am going to my Father''s and tho with great difficulty, I am got thither, get now, I do not repent me of all the troubles I have been at, to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it." - Harriet Beecher Stowe, Hartford, September 30, 1889

The character of a nation is so profoundly influenced by the nature of the control to which it is subjected, that a due appreciation of the scope of police functions and a proper knowledge of the origin and extent of the powers and duties delegated to them must possess a more than academic interest. This book, originally published in 1901, provides a thorough account of the English police system at the beginning of the twentieth century and offers many points of view that are relevant today.

Case Studies and Practices.