Books published by Nova Science Publishers Inc

Applications of microscale and nanoscale thermal and fluid transport phenomena are involved in traditional industries and highly specialized fields such as bioengineering, chemical and biochemical engineering, micro-fabricated fluidic systems, microelectronics, aerospace technology, micro heat pipes, chips cooling etc. The research in the relevant subjects has been becoming especially important since the late 20th century. However, microscale and nanoscale thermal and fluid transport phenomena are quite different from those at conventional scale or macroscale. Research on the thermal and fluid transport phenomena at microscale and nanoscale has extensively been conducted to understand the very complex phenomena in the past decades. New instrumentational methods have been applied to measure the basic physical parameters at microscale and are continuously under development. New test data have been obtained through state-of-the art experimental facilities. New prediction methods and mathematical models have also been developed to cover both macroscale and microscale channels and are being continuously under investigation. However, there are quite contradictory results in the available research. Furthermore, new theories and mechanisms are also urgently needed for the fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena at microscale and nanoscale. There are many issues to be clarified from both theoretical and applied aspects. In recent years, interdisciplinary research areas are also rapidly under development. For example, as a new research frontier of nanotechnology, the research of nanofluid two-phase flow and thermal physics is rapidly growing. However, it has also posed new challenges as there are quite contradictory results in the available research. There are still a number of issues needed to be solved in the practical applications.

Globalisation, as an international phenomenon, has contributed to or assisted in the development of major economic, political and social change in the new millennium. For the last half century, the forces of globalisation have been accelerating through the developing and developed worlds. While the importance of globalisation or the economic and social linkages binding the world together has been widely acknowledged, scholars and policy-makers disagree vehemently about whether globalisation is inevitable; whether it is, on balance, positive or negative; who, if anyone, controls the processes; who are the winners and losers in the fundamental transformations being wrought by globalisation; and what policies should be adopted in the face of globalisation. This book focuses on the economic, political and social issues of globalisation.

This book provides research on theories, properties and applications of porous media. Chapter One considers non-standard models of multi-component adsorption with applications to gas adsorption processes in coalbeds. Chapter Two discusses the influence of temperature dependent thermal conductivity on non-darcy flow and heat transfer in a vertical rectangular duct. Chapter Three investigates the effects of different modes of evaporation on the time-dependent wicking behavior of liquids into a porous strip. Chapter Four deals with the study of dispersion of a solute for porous medium in a vertical double-passage channel with first order chemical reaction. Chapter Five investigates the effect of partial slip viscous flow over a stretching sheet with suction/injection in a porous medium. In Chapter Six, the onset of nanofluid convection in a Walters B fluid-saturated horizontal porous layer is studied.

This book provides current research on sources, properties and impacts of contaminated soils. Chapter One reviews the research progress in nanotoxicology related to a systematic approach of evaluating nanomaterials toxicity. Chapter Two discusses the immobilization and mobilization of heavy metals. Chapter Three identifies wheat germplasm resistant to heavy metals, and donors for breeding and promising forms of wheat that are resistance to heavy metals and destined for agricultural production. Chapter Four discusses the effects of mining-generated metal(loid) on soil microbial activities and composition. Chapter Five focuses on heavy metals contamination of soils in the Ural Region of Russia. Chapter Six evaluates the reactivity efficiency of mineral, organic and mineral-organic components on the remediation process of leaf (Pb) at a metallurgically contaminated site. Chapter Seven reviews and establishes that the inoculation of Lens culinaris, Vicia faba and Sulla coronaria with heavy metal resistant PGPB shows potential for phytostabilization. Chapter Eight assesses the stability of metal-soil colloid bonds as an index of the retention and release of Cu, Pb, Cd in soils. Chapter Nine examines microbial degradation mechanisms of toxic and recalcitrant chemicals.

Policymakers at all levels of government are debating a wide range of options for addressing the nation''s faltering economic conditions. One option that is once again receiving attention is accelerated investments in the nation''s public infrastructure - that is, highways, mass transit, airports, water supply and wastewater, and other facilities - in order to create jobs while also promoting long-term economic growth. This book examines policy issues associated with using infrastructure as a mechanism to benefit economic recovery. Discussed are airline fees; factors which influence the extent of transit-oriented development; current law and legislative history of the federal excise tax on motor fuels and the highway trust fund; long-term financing of the highway trust fund; the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program; vehicle safety inspections; and seat belt use among long-haul truck drivers.

Social Security (comprising Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI)) is the largest single program in the federal governments budget. In 2010, annual outlays for the program exceeded annual revenues (excluding interest) credited to the combined trust funds. A gap between those amounts has persisted since then, and in fiscal year 2015 outlays exceeded tax revenues by almost 9 percent. As the baby-boom generation retires over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects, the gap will widen between amounts credited to the trust funds and payments to beneficiaries. This book considers 36 policy options that are among those commonly proposed by policymakers and analysts as a means of restoring financial security to the Social Security program. Furthermore, this book presents additional information about CBOs long-term projections for Social Security in the form of 15 exhibits that illustrate the programs finances and the distribution of benefits paid to and payroll taxes collected from various groups of people.

In 2008, in an effort to provide helpful information to consumers and improve provider quality, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed and implemented the Five-Star Quality Rating System (Five-Star System). The Five-Star System assigns each nursing home an overall rating and three component ratingshealth inspections, staffing, and quality measuresbased on the extent to which the nursing home meets CMSs quality standards and other measures. The rating scale ranges from one to five stars, with more stars indicating higher quality. This book examines how CMS developed and implemented the Five-Star System and what key methodological decisions were made during development; the circumstances under which CMS considers modifying the Five-Star System; and the extent to which CMS has established plans to help ensure it achieves its goals for the Five-Star System.

In nearly all States, adoption records are sealed and withheld from public inspection after an adoption is finalised. This book discusses state laws that provide for access to both nonidentifying and identifying information from an adoption record by adoptive parents and adult adopted persons, while still protecting the interests of all parties. Furthermore, the book discusses postadoption contact agreements, which are are arrangements that allow contact between a childs adoptive family and members of the childs birth family or other persons with whom the child has an established relationship, such as a foster parent, after the childs adoption has been finalized. These arrangements, sometimes referred to as cooperative adoption or open adoption agreements, can range from informal, mutual understandings between the birth and adoptive families to written, formal contracts.

Bananas arise as one of the most popular fruits consumed all around the world. Banana belongs to the genus Musa from the family Musaceae. It is original from tropical regions and presents a strong ability to protect itself from the oxidative stress caused by extreme climatic conditions such as intense sunshine and high temperature. For this protection, bananas increase the production of bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity, which protect the fruit from the oxidative damage. This book provides current research on the cultivation, consumption and crop diseases of bananas. Chapter One addresses the biochemical characterisation of Musa spp. genotypes, with emphasis on bioactive secondary metabolites of interest to human nutrition. Chapter Two focuses on the composition of bananas, including macronutrients, micronutrients and bioactive compounds, as well as the effect of postharvest treatments and storage conditions in the quality of bananas. Chapter Three reviews sustainable management of banana waste through renewable energy and bio-fertiliser generation. Chapter Four reviews some of the recently reported valuable uses of banana pseudstem sap (BPS), for growth of sustainable agricultural process, food technology and value-added medicinal products, and in textiles for improving certain functional attributes. The final chapter examines banana as an important food allergen source.

This book focuses on the latest developments in the field of engineering. The first chapter presents trajectory planning for robots with rigid bodies. Chapter Two explores image tracking of a humanoid robot based on visual serving. Chapter Three describes a project in the area of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), in particular for the continuous care of the elderly. Chapter Four reviews how widely combat robots will be used in the future. Chapter Five tackles the problem of diagnosing complex systems composed of units capable of executing tests on each other (so-called, mutual testing). Chapter Six demonstrates how data from learning processes can be extracted, semantically prepared, and transformed into mining executable formats to enable prediction of individual learning patterns and outcomes through further semantic analysis of the discovered models. Chapter Seven explores ways to make TSHD more dredging efficiency. Chapter Eight discusses personalised thermal comfort.

Over the past decade, the research community has been paying particular attention to organic, inorganic and hybrid porous materials, mainly due to the plethora of promising applications offered by such architectures in areas as diverse as (nano)filtration and separation techniques, heterogeneous supported catalysis, template-assisted synthesis of nanomaterials, materials for phonic and thermic isolation as well as patterned nanomaterials for microelectronics and photovoltaics, as previously reported by numerous reviews in the field. This book provides current research on nanopores and nanoporous materials. Chapter One affords a critically selected survey of these elegant approaches toward functional nanoporous polymers and investigates their scope and limitations. Chapter Two focuses on the recent development on the nanoporous Montmorillonite clay and metal nanoparticles stabilisation on the clay by different procedures and their catalytic applications for fine chemicals synthesis. Chapter Three presents an overview of the developments in soft nanoporous organic materials by self-assembly of peptide, polyamide and polyimide moieties. Chapter Four examines nano-drilling processing with transmission electron microscope (TEM).

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy and/or lactation is highly important in the case of fetal programming and epigenetic regulation. Moreover, it is related to the adequate development of the fetus, infant and future adult. Breast milk is the optimal form of infant nutrition for the first six to twelve months of life, providing both short-term and long-term advantages for infants and mothers. Among other benefits, breastfeeding provides the infant with protection from a variety of infections, including recurrent otitis media, gastroenteritis, and respiratory tract infections. Chapter One in this book evaluates the correlation between the nutritional status of breastfeeding women, and the cholesterol concentration in their milk. Chapter Two reviews maternal viral infections that can be transmitted to infants directly through breast milk or other mechanisms associated with breastfeeding. Chapter Three discusses the application of hydrostatic high pressure treatments for improving the quality of banked human milk. Chapter Four analyses scientific works published in periodicals indexed in electronic databases about the importance of a social support network to the donation of human milk through the partnership between Brazilian Human Milk Banks and the Military Firefighters Corps for receivers of human milk, counting from the networks first registered existence in Brazil until the year of 2015, and considering its social effects in the country and perhaps abroad.

Obesity is a multifactorial global epidemic with associated risk factors for an array of vascular, metabolic, psychological and economical consequences. Bariatric surgery has revealed a significant link between gastrointestinal metabolism and obesity that extends to resolution of many metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk. Bariatric surgery offers the most effective results and Roux-en Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most commonly performed bariatric surgery worldwide. The effective weight loss achieved by RYGB is thought to be caused by the re-arrangement of the gastrointestinal tract leading malabsorption and restriction of the ingested nutrients, and consequently resulting in alterations in the gut hormone levels. The first chapter of this book briefly summarises the current literature on the changes in the gastrointestinal hormones following RYGB. Chapter Two studies the role of bariatric surgery in the resolution of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Chapter Three discusses how to treat a type 2 diabetes patient post-bariatric surgery. The last chapter discusses the recent findings of the relationship between gastric bypass and four different skin disorders.

Defining creativity comprehensively explains what creativity is from an international diverse standpoint. At the same time, it makes for a concise and inspiring read that brings together everything there is to know about creativity and gifted children. This practical text is based on the newest research, and the described practice enables the reader to understand what creativity means and how we can develop potential in creative gifted children by creating a positive, constructive, and challenging curriculum along with a supportive learning environment for them.

The chapters within this volume comprise selected papers from the 5th Annual Conference of the Asian Studies Irish Association (A.S.I.A.) held at Dublin City University in November 2013. Discussing the conference theme Conflict and Communication: A Changing Asia in a Globalising World, this volume presents multiple perspectives articulated by scholars across disciplines that include translation studies, language studies, literary studies and computer science. Within such disciplinary diversity emerged a unity which converged on language and culture as fundamental points of analysis. This volume covers research topics relating to China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as Asia as a whole in a globalising world. Insights shared by the ten authors each addressing Asia through a different disciplinary lens hope to provide future research impetus for students and established scholars alike within and beyond Asian Studies.

The origin of rural poverty is complex and multidimensional. Some aspects of this origin include culture, climate, gender, markets, and public policy. Similarly, the rural poor population is quite diverse both in the problems they face and the possible solutions to those problems. This book examines nature and characteristics of rural poverty and how it develops, its persistence, and how it has caused destruction to environmental resources. The quest for global stability and peace has placed poverty issues at the centre of deliberation. In the year 2000, the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) directly addressed the problem of poverty and its alleviation. Natural resources degradation is usually understood in terms of over use of scarce non-renewable and potentially renewable resources. It entails damage or destruction of key natural resourcessuch as soils and forestsand the subsequent production of wastes. Low-income rural dwellers have much lower levels of consumption than middle and upper income groups, but occupy much more land per person than middle and upper income groups. Yet, low income groups consume less food and generally have diets that are less energy and land intensive than higher income groups. However, low income populations deplete natural resources for settlements, farming and extraction of resources for many urban dwellers. This book has created the linkages between poverty in rural areas and environmental resources degradation. It draws conclusions from examples from all over the world and emphasises on a case study in rural Ghana. This book is recommended for academicians, rural development professionals, environmentalists and the general public.

Psychological distress has become a very relevant and highly debated topic as a result of the increasing volume of information available. In fact, in the last decades, more and more research has been conducted in order to provide unique knowledge and shed new light on this important and sensible malady. In a complex and variegated panorama of scientific research, this book is intended to clarify the most significant questions and to deepen the greater contents about psychological distress, analysing its various aspects and focusing attentively on them. Different facets will be addressed in order to accomplish this goal. Among them, personality characteristics that lead to vulnerability, psychological distress, and psychological patterns of acute stress response will be discussed in two different chapters in order to define the subject in a more general way. On the other hand, the remaining chapters will treat more specific issues considered pivotal in several areas of psychological distress. In particular, the aspects concerning psychological distress in sport athletes, cancer patients, posttraumatic stress disorder cases, adolescents, cardiac diseases and autistic children and their siblings will be expertly discussed. Furthermore, this entire book is dedicated to investigate the issues relative to coping styles and strategies, distress assessment, and therapies or interventions able to improve the quality of life while also minimising risk factors.

China has achieved spectacular growth in the past forty years, and its economic structure has experienced great transformation. The country has also gradually opened up to foreign trade and direct foreign investment, transforming itself from a virtually completely closed economy into a major trading nation, and the largest developing-country destination for foreign direct investment in the world. However, since this reform, China has become a superpower in energy consumption. It has also become a big producer of pollution emissions. It has been widely argued that Chinas rapid processes of industrial development and opening up were relying too heavily on increasing inputs of environmental resources. Unsustainable environmental practices posed serious threats to Chinas natural environment. A growing concern China now faces is that the current pattern of economic development may not be sustainable, because it tends to lead to irreversible depletion of natural resources and deterioration of the ecological environment. The relationship between regional growth, sustainability in development, and the natural environment in China is thus an interesting and important issue that deserves further in-depth studies. Environmental practices play an important role in shaping Chinas regional growth, interregional inequality, and its future development strategies. Sustainability in growth and development from an environmental point of view exerts strong influences on the continuous restructuring and upgrading of the Chinese economy. The analyses in the present book delve into issues related to regional growth, interregional inequality, and the prospect of sustainable development in China from an environmental perspective. This book provides the reader with related facts, thoughts, models, and empirical results as well as discussions that shed light on those issues.

Access to higher education in South Africa poses a number of challenges. First, South Africa is said to be one of the most unequal societies in the world, with an estimated Gini coefficient that ranges between 0.63 and 0.69 (Human Sciences Research Council, 2014; Statistics South Africa, 2014). The wealth gap between the countrys rich and the poorest of the poor is both growing and getting worse. Second, UNISA is an open distance learning (ODL) institution that seeks to intervene and manage the above challenges by offering access to higher education opportunities to millions of South Africans, the majority of whom are descendants of sections of society that were denied opportunities to access higher education by a myriad of institutionalised apartheid policies and legislation which were racist and discriminative. With these concerns in mind, the author compiled Open Distance Learning (ODL) Through the Philosophy of Ubuntu, which is a sequel to the authors previous publication, Open Distance Learning (ODL) in South Africa (Nova Publishers: New Nork, 2015); it explores the potential for the philosophy of Ubuntu to meaningfully shape UNISAs ability to deliver its ODL mode of teaching and learning. The philosophy of Ubuntu, which is also known as humaneness and/or human dignity, is an African worldview or normative concept that encapsulates moral values and principles such as kindness, generosity, compassion, benevolence, respect for persons, care and concern for others, as well as human dignity. The book draws on the philosophy of Ubuntu as a guiding conceptual framework to explore ways in which UNISAs vision of an African university in the service of humanity might be meaningfully driven and realised. This collection of fourteen chapters that constitute the book grapples with a wide range of critical questions such as: How might embracing the philosophy of Ubuntu impact UNISAs ability to meaningfully deliver a humane, open distance education to its students in South Africa, on the African continent, and on a global scale? How, for instance, would grounding UNISAs curricular offerings in the philosophy of Ubuntu turn the university into a uniquely African ODL institution? How would embracing the values and principles of Ubuntu shape UNISAs inclusive focus, research and innovative conceptual framework and impertaives, ODL teaching and learning, assessment and quality assurance, communication and public relations profile, among others? Finally, Open Distance Learning (ODL) Through the Philosophy of Ubuntu explores the plausibility of a radical change of mindset from business as usual to business unusual by re-imagining and recasting UNISAs ODL mission through the values and principles of the philosophy of Ubuntu. The book is the second offering of the planned trilogy of books on ODL in Southern Africa. The final volume, Assuring Institutional Quality in Open Distance Learning (ODL) in the Developing Contexts will complete this thought process on ODL.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) and hypoxia (low-oxygen conditions) in the marine waters and freshwaters of the United States negatively impact resources across thousands of miles of the Nations coastal and inland waters. Their prevalence and duration encompass scientifically complex and economically damaging aquatic issues. This book assesses threats posed by HABs and hypoxia and provides a comprehensive research plan and action strategy outlining Federal agencies roles and responsibilities for evaluating and managing them.

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