Books published by Nova Science Publishers Inc

The book titled Parental Involvement: Practices, Improvement Strategies and Challenges is a collection of papers focusing on different challenges and practices to obtain greater involvement of parents in the schooling of children and youth. The authors espoused, to varying degrees, the unique and complex patterns of parent-school relationships pointing out two significant areas where parents should become involved, namely home-based and school-based. In their exposition of these two areas, the authors of the various chapters point out both macro and micro antecedents of how parents are involved both at home (home-based) and at school (school-based) supporting their children towards achieving success. At the macro-level, the authors who contributed to this book reflected upon policy issues whereby the Ministries of Education in various countries (i.e., New Zealand, Israel, Finland, South Africa, and the United States) instigated strategies for parental involvement with varying degrees of success. There is also evidence of socio-cultural perspectives and teachers'' ethnic and professional identities impacting on attitudes towards parental involvement both at school and at home. In addition, the authors point to the impact of gender differences (fathers and mothers) and at-home engagement with children''s educational success. In sum, there are many and variable barriers, obstacles, and challenges towards enabling parents for greater involvement in their children''s academic achievements, and a need for more consistency and collaboration across home and school systems. Presenting their most up-to-date research findings, the authors of the various chapters espouse their viewpoints pertaining to parental involvement from the perspective of the parents themselves, the perspective of the teachers, and the views of students both in the home and at the school. For the most part, however, the authors advocate the belief that strengthening parent-teacher relationships will promote the child''s development and success in school and in life.

These books are intended for undergraduate, graduate researchers and practitioners in computational sciences, and as reference books for an advanced computational methods course. We have included new results for iterative procedures in abstract spaces general enough for handling inverse problems in various situations related to real life problems through mathematical modeling. These books contain a plethora of updated bibliography and provide comparison between various investigations made in recent years in the field of computational mathematics in the wide sense. Iterative processes are the tools used to generate sequences approximating solutions of equations describing the real life problems stated above and others originating from biosciences, engineering, mathematical economics, mathematical biology, mathematical chemistry, mathematical physics medicine, mathematical programming, and other disciplines. These books also provide, recent advancements on the study of iterative procedures, and can be used as a source from which one can obtain the proper method to use in order to solve a problem. The books require a fundamental background in mathematical statistics, linear algebra and numerical analysis. It may be used as a self-study reference or as a supplementary text for an advanced course in biosciences, engineering and computational sciences.

In the first chapter of Gyroscopes: Types, Functions and Applications, the operating principle, types and applications of fiber-optic gyroscopes are summarized, and a novel slow light gyroscope based on coupled resonators is introduced. Following this, two signal processing techniques are discussed, each for a different type of gyroscope noise. These two techniques are then combined to produce a general technique for improving the accuracy of a gyroscope. The main methods of creating compact passive optical gyroscopes and their development trends are examined in the closing chapter.

Atrial fibrillation is a common supraventricular arrhythmia characterized by rapid and irregular atrial activation without a clear P-wave on an electrocardiogram. New Research on Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Heart Disease begins by discussing the risk factors, symptoms, and treatment of atrial fibrillation. Following this, the authors review the recently established relationship of atrial fibrillation with endurance sports activities in middle-aged athletes, connecting findings from various evidence in order to investigate this phenomenon since the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation in middle-aged athletes is still unclear. Also explored are the associations between cerebrovascular risk factors and abnormal carotid and transcranial Doppler sonography and brain magnetic resonance imaging findings in individuals aged between 44 and 71 years without preceding neurological and psychiatric disorders. The association between perceived occupational noise exposure and hypertension among hospital nurses is examined, as hospital noise pollution is increasing worldwide. The concluding study aims to update and extend the existing burden of disease calculations by the WHO for road traffic noise-attributed myocardial infarction and stroke. All analyses were limited to 24 European countries and the year 2012.

This is a comprehensive list of all the significant battles from ancient time through 1904.

Oxytocin is a neurohypophysial hormone that consists of nine amino acids which are synthesised in the paraventricular, supraoptic, and accessory nuclei of the hypothalamus. Oxytocin is released in systemic blood circulation through the posterior pituitary gland, where it acts as hormone, regulating a range of physiological functions. It is involved in learning and memory, sensory and motor regulation via the spinal cord and regulation of the reproductive system. The quality and stability of one''s romantic relationship can impact overall well-being and health, leading researchers to search for the mechanisms that underlie the development of relationship discord versus those that foster satisfaction. Within this field, there has been recent attention towards biological variables, with oxytocin being at the forefront due to its established role in pair bonding in both animals and humans. A review is presented which suggests the involvement of the oxitocinergic system in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal-axis during pubertal development and social cognition in mammals. The closing study presents data which indicate that oxytocin has actions in different brain areas and is involved with spine-specific plastic effects, and modulates the dynamic neural sex steroid actions and the processing of context-dependent stimuli by adapting the neuronal and synaptic structure to the reproductive status and the social experience in mice.

In this compilation, the authors describe the occurrence and characteristics of ESBL/AmpC-producing Enterobacteriaceae in poultry, cattle and pigs, pointing to risk factors that lead to their spread and highlighting possible mitigation strategies that could be applied to reduce their prevalence in food-producing animals. One review focuses on the wide array of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms that have been described in A. baumannii. The most concerning ones being the β-lactamases with carbapenemase activity, i.e, Ambler class-D serine oxacillinases and Ambler class-B metallo-β-lactamases. The closing study will walk readers through the discovery and golden age of β-lactam, its mechanism of action as broad-spectrum antibiotic, the expansion of beta-lactam derivatives and β-lactamase inhibitors to antibiotic resistance in β-lactams.

Wound healing is a complex cascade of events that led to reconstruct a damaged tissue with cellular and biological mechanisms. A Closer Look at Wound Infections and Healing first reviews the treatments mentioned in traditional Iranian medicine sources for various wounds. The various antibiotic alternative therapies that could be used against antimicrobial resistant bacteria in wound infections are reviewed in detail. The authors report on the complex role of estrogens and estrogenic derivatives in the wound healing process, with a focus on their therapeutic uses. The penultimate chapter explores the impact of photobiomodulation therapy on wound healing and the basic biochemical reactions involved. Photobiomodulation therapy involves the use of low-powered light emitting diodes, lasers or broadband light, mostly in the visible red and near infrared light spectrum. Postoperative surgical wound infection in the lumbar spine is unfortunately a common and potentially devastating complication. It is associated with increased morbidity and the need for further surgery. The authors discuss treatment of surgical wound infection centered on surgical debridement

The opening chapter aims at reviewing the mechanism of the use of Nd:YAG lasers in vascular lesions, specific indications for its use and treatment efficacy for these specific lesions. Recently, Nd:YAG lasers have also become popular in the treatment of non-vascular lesions. As such, the authors discuss the more recent indications of Nd:YAG lasers. Next, studies on the behavior of superduplex steel UNS S 32750 when submitted to autogenous welding with Nd:YAG pulsed laser, autogenous welding with Nd:YAG pulsed laser with subsequent refusion processes with Nd:YAG pulsed laser and hybrid welding combining Nd:YAG pulsed laser and GTAW are explored in two situations. The concluding chapter focuses on the applications of Nd:YAG lasers, including in the synthesis of nanocomposites and carbon quantum dots, generating micro- and nano-size emulsions.

Halloysite is a natural clay mineral that belongs to the kaolin group. Its chemical formula is Al2(OH)4Si2O5.nH2O. Primarily, this mineral is an ideal nanofiller for polymer composites, but it is also utilised in the manufacture of ceramic wares and in the encapsulation of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. The authors present details regarding a simple, rapid, high-yield, and low-temperature synthetic approach for the in-situ growth of noble metal nanoparticles in the interior of halloysite nanotubes. Benefits of halloysite nanotubes for polymeric structures and technical applications in various fields are highlighted, particularly their thermal stability, mechanical strength, and non-flammability. The closing chapter focuses on the latest research concerning halloysite nanotubes applications in different fields such as biomedicine and pharmacotherapy, food packaging, agriculture, water treatment, catalysis and antifouling.

This book is a comprehensive compilation of all reports, testimony, correspondence and other publications issued by the GAO (Government Accountability Office) during the month of July, grouped according to topics. The book is focused on the following topics: Auditing and Financial Management; Health Care.

This book is a comprehensive compilation of all reports, testimony, correspondence and other publications issued by the GAO (Government Accountability Office) during the month of July, grouped according to topics. This book is focused on the following topics: Equal Opportunity; Natural Resources and Environment.

This book is a comprehensive compilation of all reports, testimony, correspondence and other publications issued by the GAO (Government Accountability Office) during the month of July, grouped according to topics. This book is focused on the following topics: Homeland Security; International Affairs; Government Operations.

The love of Beethoven''s music is now become so universal, that his Letters will receive a hearty welcome from all those whose spirits have been elevated and soothed by the genius of this illustrious man.

This book is a comprehensive compilation of all reports, testimony, correspondence and other publications issued by the GAO (Government Accountability Office) during the month of July, grouped according to topics. This book is focused on the following topics: Financial Markets and Institutions; Government Operations; National Defense.

This book is a comprehensive compilation of all reports, testimony, correspondence and other publications issued by the GAO (Government Accountability Office) during the month of July, grouped according to topics. This book is focused on the following topics: Education; Employment; Transportation.

The dominant theme of this book is to introduce the different path planning methods and present some of the most appropriate ones for robotic routing; methods that are capable of running on a variety of robots and are resistant to disturbances; being real-time, being autonomous, and the ability to identify high-risk areas and risk management are the other features that will be mentioned in the introduction of the methods. The introduction of the profound significance of the robots and delineation of the navigation and routing theme is provided in the first chapter of the book. The second chapter is concerned with the subject of routing in unknown environments. In the first part of this chapter, the family of bug algorithms including are described. In the following, several conventional methods are submitted. The last part of this chapter is dedicated to the introduction of two recently developed routing methods. In Chapter 3, routing is reviewed in the known environment in which the robot either utilizes the created maps by extraneous sources or makes use of the sensor in order to prepare the maps from the local environment. The robot path planning relying on the robot vision sensors and applicable computing hardware are concentrated in the fourth chapter. The first part of this chapter deals with routing methods supported mapping capabilities. The second part manages the routing dependent on the vision sensor, typically known as the best sensor, within the routing subject. The movement of two-dimensional robots with two or three degrees of freedom is analyzed within the third part of this chapter. In Chapter 5, the performance of a few of the foremost important routing methods initiating from the second to fourth chapters is conferred regarding the implementation in various environments. The first part of this chapter is engaged in the implementation of the algorithms Bug1, Bug2, and Distbug on the pioneering robot. In the second part, a theoretical technique is planned to boost the robot''s performance in line with obstacle collision avoidance. This method, underlying the tangential escape, seeks to proceed with the robot through various obstacles with curved corners. In the third and fourth parts of this chapter, path planning in different environments is preceded in the absence and the presence of danger space. Accordingly, four approaches, named artificial fuzzy potential field, linguistic technique, Markov decision making processes, and fuzzy Markov decision making have been proposed in two following parts and enforced on the Nao humanoid robot.

In the recent past, studies on radon and their progenies have drawn a lot of attention from the scientific community and researchers, due to their crucial role as a possible cause of cancer, monitoring radiation levels of nuclear installations and as a potential precursor parameter to seismic events. This book titled "Radon: Detection, Exposure and Control" has 19 chapters comprising of research contributions from across the globe namely; Brazil, Spain, Norway, Ireland, Russia, Taiwan (PRC), Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and several regions of India including the seismic zone-V, the second highest seismic zone in the world. This book is very useful to scholars pursuing post-graduate studies and research covering broad areas of applied sciences namely; geophysics, Earth science, geoscience, geochemistry and civil & geotechnical engineering. This book provides a mixed flavour of the recent trends in several types of research works related to detection, exposure and control of Radon (Rn222, Rn220) in a concise and interesting manner. This book contains several chapters dedicated to the radon measurement based radioactivity studies in rocks, over kimberlite pipes, inside soil and in open environments. The book also describes indoor radon gas concentration studies in schools and other working places including the assessment of health risk associated with it including radon exposure, its measurement and protection. In addition to the influence of regional and geophysical characteristics on the volumetric activity of radon, this book also contains the radon-based biometric characterization of person identification. Review articles on a detailed study of fault traces in Taiwan using soil gas geochemistry and the role of radon as precursor to earthquake have also been discussed including psychological perspective of radon risk and remediation. I feel confident that this book shall be extremely useful to the research community of science and engineering streams at large and do hope that they will find it extremely helpful to understand the mechanism and to conceive research problems with potential applications.

Since the Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine''s dissipative structures and the outstanding work by Maturana and Varela, an exhaustive idea of what human mind is has lost its fascinating value and did not fund an epistemology anymore, falling down in the abrupt concept of a machinery or a mechanism. A failure, somehow, in interpreting what is life and the human being, arose from the dismiss of a sound epistemology or a basilar philosophic foundation of biology, which yet found an interesting contribution with Maturana''s and Varela''s scientific efforts. In this book, we attempted to build a new epistemological model of life and the human mind taking into account the intriguing model of Prigogine''s dissipative structure. Our model addresses, for the first time, three modalities of dissipation, besides dissipation in the thermodynamic field, introducing a Shannon''s dissipation and a relational dissipation, able to give suggestive insights why life arose, mind developed and humans engage relationships. A new hypothesis on the origin of mind is presented. The book is exposed as an encouraging occasion to deepen our biological fundamental rules, giving amazing suggestion on our personal and social behaviours. Finally, it suggests a new psychotherapeutic approach to address important concerns about relation and affective life.

Serum albumin is a large protein present in cow serum protein (BSA, Bovine Serum Albumin) rich in essential amino acids and compounds with disulfide bridges and thiol groups. This protein passes into breast milk from the bloodstream by diffusion, has antioxidant capacity and protects fats from oxidation. Albumin has the ability to inhibit tumor factors and bind to fat, mobilize them in the body to perform other functions such as obtaining energy or forming membranes. It is also able to block the conversion of angiotensin I into angiotensin II (vasoconstrictor) which gives it antihypertensive action. In addition, it has the ability to reduce cholesterol absorption, complex heavy metals and is an opioid agonist (acts on opioid receptors and promotes analgesia). BSA is the most studied and produced protein worldwide in the last 80 years. This protein brings large dividends to the world economy with a very prominent and favorable annual growth at a cost of 100 USD per gram. This book brings new contributions to the science and industry of this biopolymer. The audience of this book is very wide from students, teachers and researchers (doctors, pharmacists, biochemists and industrialists of this sector). Therefore, this book has a great future and many readers to whom it is addressed.