Books published by Nova Science Publishers Inc

This book is a compilation of significant reports and testimonies issued in October 2018.

This book is a compilation of significant reports and testimonies issued in June 2018.

Robert Louis Stevenson is the author of many classic novels. He was also prolific letter writer. The letters in volumes I and II, cover the years 1868 through 1894. Volume I begins with his student days at Edinburgh and contains letters to all kinds of people from towns like Paris, San Francisco, Marseilles and Bournemouth. Volume II starts in Bournemouth in 1886 and ends with the four years he spent in Samoa. The letters make fascinating reading, not only for those interested in Stevenson''s life but also for anyone interested in nineteenth-century literature.

Robert Louis Stevenson is the author of many classic novels. He was also prolific letter writer. The letters in volumes I and II, cover the years 1868 through 1894. Volume I begins with his student days at Edinburgh and contains letters to all kinds of people from towns like Paris, San Francisco, Marseilles and Bournemouth. Volume II starts in Bournemouth in 1886 and ends with the four years he spent in Samoa. The letters make fascinating reading, not only for those interested in Stevenson''s life but also for anyone interested in nineteenth-century literature.

It has been the aim of the authors to give in this book a brief, simple, and accurate account of the heavens as they are known to astronomers of the present day. It is believed that there is nothing in the book beyond the comprehension of readers of ordinary intelligence, and that it contains all the information on the subject of astronomy that is needful to a person of ordinary culture. The authors have carefully avoided dry and abstruse mathematical calculations, yet they have sought to make clear the methods by which astronomers have gained their knowledge of the heavens. The various kinds of telescopes and spectroscopes have been described, and their use in the study of the heavens has been fully explained.

This book is a partial review of the shift in American politics to a more radical, ultraconservative, far-right posture, among both the people and Republican congressional leadership during the Trump era. There is also a corresponding shift to the left among Democrats, and a dramatic rise, as high as 40% among Independent voters. My theme is simple. The Trump presidency and the 115th Congress was an updated Confederate government enabled by Russia. Trump and ultraconservatives allowed themselves to be sponsored and endorsed by an autocratic dictator, Putin, because Putin and his obedient oligarchs gave Trump money and power to flourish and demolish at least two pillars of democracy-the role of government and the idea of an inclusive society, while also perverting our global alliances. Additionally, and apart from Russia, the ultraconservative and Libertarian aim has always been to reduce any new legislation sponsoring social services and to attempt to disassemble existing social legislation. Other major goals are anti-government regulations and the lessening of taxes. I will describe this tension throughout this book, demonstrate some of this history, and show how it is the central element in our political dysfunction. This book is also partially a chronicle exposing Trump and the Republication-controlled Congress for willful damage to the democracy, and, in the second part, a recipe for restoring lost or mislaid values and ethics to government and its citizen constituents following the exit of Trump.

Chapter 1 examines the state of the U.S. flag Maritime Industry including the U.S. Merchant Marine. It includes testimony from the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard or Service), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and representatives of the maritime industry. The U.S. government relies on U.S.-flag vessels that trade internationally to transport cargo and to provide a pool of U.S. mariners who could be called upon in times of crisis for DODs reserve fleet. Chapter 2 discusses: (1) the effect the U.S. governments support for the U.S.-flag fleet has had on national defense needs and other government programs; (2) the challenges identified by stakeholders in sustaining the U.S.-flag fleet for defense needs; and (3) the status of the mandated national strategies related to the U.S.-flag fleet The U.S. economy is dependent on the expeditious flow of millions of tons of cargo each day through the global supply chainthe flow of goods from manufacturers to retailers. Chapter 3 discusses the progress and challenges associated with CBPs implementation of initiatives and programs responsible for enhancing the security of the global supply chain. Chapter 4 examines emerging maritime technologies. It will explore how such technologies could improve U.S. Coast Guard mission performance and enhance the safety and efficiency of maritime transportation.

The opening chapter of Phytochemicals: Plant Sources and Potential Health Benefits discusses macronutrients and micronutrients from plants along with their benefits to human health. An overview of the mechanisms of action underlying the potential roles of dietary soybean isoflavones including daidzein, genistein, and equol that may have benefits in dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis is discussed in the nextchapter. In one study, the authors seek to scientifically validate the hypoglycaemic effects of crude aqueous extracts from Vitex payos fruits on both normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Additionally, the authors discuss the literature results obtained in the identification and quantification of rosmarinic acid and its derivatives in Lamiaceae family plants, as well as explore recent advances in the nanoencapsulation of rosmarinic acid. This compilation goes on to report several aspects of the chemical composition and biological activity of species of Smilax found in Brazil. Smilax fluminensis is a dioecious liana with a great capacity for shoot formation in soil and primary branch formation in subsoil. As such, phytochemical studies on this plant are reviewed. Phytochemical aspects and biological activities of the species S. brasiliensis are also examined. To continue the discussion, the authors investigate the allelopathic, cytotoxic, genotoxic and larvicidal potential of methanol and petroleum ether extracts from S. brasiliensis leaves, as well as the effects of their fatty acids and methyl esters. Furthermore, the authors synthesize phytochemical aspects and biological activity of Tecoma stans (L.) species. In the penultimate chapter, the authors discuss P. venusta, and the way in which compounds obtained from this plant can be used as functional foods, drugs or precursors for the semi-synthesis of drugs. The objective of the concluding chapter is to present the ethnopharmacological, biological activities and phytochemical aspects of the Limoniastrum feei species growing in the Algerian Sahara.

Climate change is one of the major challenges society is facing currently. Major spheres of human activity such as health, environment, agriculture, economy, transportation and education were adversely affected because of climate change. Environmental pollution owing to the indiscriminate and ever-increasing consumption of fossil-based resources is the main factor contributing to climate change. Use of fuels produced from renewable sources like biomass cause reduction in CO2 emission and guarantee sustainable energy and a clean environment. The problems of environmental deterioration, as well as energy demands, could be alleviated by the paradigm shift to the use of biofuels from fossil fuels. Innovative strategies were recently developed for the exploitation of biomass for biofuels production. The concept of biomass itself is being understood in an unconventional sense in a way that apart from terrestrial plant resources, marine macroalgae, freshwater microalgae, industrial emissions like CO2, organic remains like glycogen are being explored as feedstock for biofuels production. Biofuel production strategies are also undergoing drastic changes like the use of solar radiation, sonochemical, microwave and accelerated electron beam irradiations to meet the fuel demand and to make the biomass conversion processes more energy- and atom-efficient and sustainable. The objective of the compilation of the book titled "Can Biofuels Alleviate The Energy & Environmental Crisis?" is to reach out to policy makers, scientists, industrialists, and students with a message as well as scientific strategies for alleviating the twin problems of energy and environmental crisis posing a threat to future generations. The book comprises of seven judiciously designed chapters focused on producing biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, formic acid, synthesis gas, methane, and ethylene) and biochemicals (glucose, levulinic acid) using feedstock as diverse as lignocellulosic terrestrial biomass, marine macroalgae, glycogen, and CO2. Biomass is an ideal substitute to fossil mass as almost all the products derived from conventional refinery could be produced in a biorefinery using biomass as a carbon source. In addition to being sustainable, the biorefinery facilities are environmentally benign. The biomass conversion strategies proposed in this book facilitate the paradigm shift from fossil-based to biobased industries and help the proliferation of biorefinery facilities in the 21st century, offering a pathway for the alleviation of the problem of climate change.

An Essential Guide to Astaxanthin: Dietary Sources, Properties and Health Benefits begins with a review of published studies regarding the efficacy and application of natural astaxanthin in aquaculture and human health, respectively. Next, to help in optimizing astaxanthin production, the changes of pigments (including chlorophyll and carotenoids) and astaxanthin geometrical isomers were elucidated during the incubation in H. pluvialis under environmental stresses. Changes in photosynthetic behaviors and photoprotective mechanisms during astaxanthin accumulation were clarified. In the closing chapter, the authors review methods for Z-isomerization of astaxanthin and subsequent changes in the physicochemical properties and functionalities.

The opening chapter of this compilation is dedicated to the quantification of selenium and platinum in blood serum by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. While selenium is an essential trace element in many selenoproteins, platinum is found in the human body as a consequence of chemotherapy treatment after the administration of Pt-based drugs. For these reasons, their reliable quantification is extremely important. The authors go on to discuss how the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is important for more efficient treatment and prophylaxis. Currently, the dominant hypothesis of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is amyloid cascade resulting in accumulation of amyloid-β in brain structures. In conclusion, the authors discuss the major barrier to a widespread use of blood serum eye drops represented by the lack of standardized processes for the preparation, conservation, and dispensation of the products. Future perspectives of homologous serum eye drops include the introduction of tailored eye drops screened for the desired content of growth factors for each patient and ocular surface disease.

The psychology of handwriting is an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between psychological characteristics and handwriting. The results presented in the book refer to a possibility of identification of a persons personality/mental traits on the basis of ones handwriting. The author has performed very extensive research in the area and has replicated all of her previous studies using the most modern computer software to analyze graphical patterns. The work is carried out diligently with regard to the methodology. The author analyzes handwriting feature sets, not single features, and examines them in the context of different personality dimensions, temperament traits, state and trait anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, affective disorders, and schizophrenia. This book is the result of an extensive work; laborious analysis was carried out on 1174 handwriting samples. The results obtained laid the ground for the formulation of cutting edge conclusions demonstrating that handwriting parameters are not specific to particular personality/temperament traits or mental disorders.Although handwriting is individualized, there is no support for the thesis that psychological traits can be revealed through handwriting characteristics. The book presents a synthesis of numerous concepts spread throughout a variety of research disciplines and is a compendium on Barbara Gawdas newest research. The author proposes an original cognitive network theory, which summarizes the theoretical background and explains the lack of relationship between psychological patterns and handwriting. Special acknowledgments should be given to this novel concept. The network model of the relationship between psyche and handwriting brings substantial input into the development of interdisciplinary research on handwriting and is important from the perspective of cognitive, forensic, and clinical psychology.

In this compilation, the authors analyze the decision making processes involved in legal areas, logistical areas and administrative areas of humanitarian aid by describing real life situations in order to demonstrate dilemmas encountered on a daily basis, creating an ethical and humane framework that is efficient and beneficial to the patient. Compliance obligations are a longstanding concern of international humanitarian law. Their modalities include national legislation, relevant treaty accession and ratification, and adherence to customary international law. While the linkage connecting international humanitarian and human rights law is acknowledged, less certain is which body of law assumes primary importance under conditions of neither war nor peace. These issues are discussed, as are options for future State engagement in an institutionalising of humanitarian law compliance. The authors go on to argue that while Libya, Syria and Myanmar have presented us with some overwhelming challenges, this should not deter the international community in responding to violent crimes against humanity. Hence, it is important to review the dynamics of conflict, intervention processes, actors involved, and the international and regional organisations saddled with the duty of intervening. Based on an evaluation carried out by the authors on the quality of life of post-2010 earthquake victims in Haiti (according to the WHOQOL 100 quality-of-life assessment tool) the final article intends to discuss the evolution of the living conditions of the Haitian population eight years after the earthquake, based on the same criteria. To organise the data collected before and after the disaster, the authors focus on health and medical care; education and access to information; income and occupation; safety; environment; physical space and housing; leisure and free time; family and social network; satisfaction with ones life and perspective of life; spirituality and personal beliefs.

Adolescence is an important period in life in which a series of structural, physiological, hormonal and social changes take place. Some characteristics of this period are impulsive behavior, inadequate decision-making, and increased incidence of risky behaviors. For these reasons, this book discusses how studying behavioral regulation and environmental adaptation skills is of great importance.The authors research developmental differences in effortful control, sensation seeking and risk-taking behaviour between adolescents and young adults. Additionally, gender and socioeconomic status differences in all three variables were investigated.

The book entitled "Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH): Biochemistry, Functions and Clinical Significance" provides a broad and authoritative review of the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme, including its isoforms, catalytic functions, distribution in various tissues, involvement in cancer cell metabolism and tumorigenesis, involvement in the plasmodium enzyme, various small molecule inhibitors of hLDHA and pfLDH, and clinical significance. Recent research and review articles are included to improve the book''s significance in the area of research, particularly in cancer treatment, diagnosis, and drug discovery. Although the chapters can be read independently from one another, the whole book is arranged in seven chapters for the convenience of the reader. The first chapter covers the importance of the hot topic, LDH targets, and the second chapter provides an overview of LDH and its involvement in cancer cell metabolism. The third chapter provides the various isoforms of LDH and the basics of catalytic functions of LDHA. All three chapters can serve as an introduction for those who are new to the research area of LDH. Chapters four and five deliver an overview of various small molecules as inhibitors of hLDHA and pfLDHA, respectively. These two chapters are useful to the researcher working in the fields of drug design and drug discovery in the areas of cancer and malaria research. The last two chapters focus on the importance of LDH as a biomarker, and its importance in disease diagnosis and prognosis in clinical settings. All of the chapters discuss the latest research findings that have occurred over the last few years. Bringing all the information together in one major reference, the authors systematically reviewed and summarized these recent research findings, providing an in depth understanding of the role of LDH and its applications in research and clinical practice. Readership: Overall, this book is a complete package for graduates, students, and researchers providing basic information about LDH, and its importance in research and clinical settings. This book is helpful to the researcher engaged in the fields of LDH, drug design and drug discovery, the development of biomarkers, disease diagnosis, and prognosis, etc.

The growing food industry is currently employing a large number of microbial products. Microbial products are of biological origin and are considered safe as compared to synthetic and chemical formulations. Microbial products are used in the processing or manufacturing of a variety of food products. These days, fermented foods have become very common. Enzymes, pigments, and organic acids of microbial origin are common in the food industry. Demand for microbial products and metabolites are continuously increasing, and microbial products are an area of commercial interest for the food biotechnology and microbial biotechnology industries. This book covers microbial enzymes along with their utilization in the food industry. Important enzymes including amylase, inulinase, pullulanase, protease, aspartase, naringinase, cellulose, xylanase, pectinase, and asparaginase have been discussed, along with their potent applications in the food industry. Also, microbial polysaccharides, organic acids, and pigments of microbial origin have been discussed. This book will provide important insight regarding microbial enzymes and additives for the food industry now and in the future. This text will be helpful for graduate, post graduate students, researchers, and industry professionals, extensively engaged in the area of food science and technology, food biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology.

This book explores the role of culture in explaining suicidal behaviour. Explanations based on the genes and physiology of individuals, and theories based on psychological variables have difficulty explaining the suicide rate of societies, as well as the occurrence of suicide in individuals. This book illustrates the strong role of culture in determining the suicide rate of societies by looking at the role of the major religion of a society, in particular, Islam, as well as national differences in suicide rates, and the variation of suicide rates within a nation (for example, over the states of the USA). Descriptions of suicidal behaviour in some groups are provided, including African American slaves in the 1700s and 1800s, Siberian indigenous peoples, and the Roma. Cultural scripts for suicide are described, such as seppuku, sati, and victim-precipitated homicide, and types of suicide in which the staging of the suicidal act is determined by the culture. Finally, it is argued that, not only does culture have an impact on the suicide rate of a society, but also that culture is the primary determinant of the staging of the suicidal act, that is, the location chosen for suicide (for example, at home versus away from home), the method chosen for suicide, the clothes worn, the motive for the suicidal act, and other choices that the would-be suicide has to make.

This accessible work describes psychotherapeutic techniques and a psychodynamic orientation for everyday clinical practice in psychiatry. It describes how these practices operate in outpatient, inpatient and emergency settings, and proceeds to illustrate this with a range of case studies that cover common mental health conditions. This approach brings case based teaching and discussion alive for the reader, and is more clinically relevant to everyday practice that most other psychotherapy books of its kind. The case studies will become a valuable resource for university courses and clinical training programs as well.

This monograph is, as far as the author has gathered, the second of its kind (the first one was published by Nova in 2017 with coauthors Hamedani and Maadooliat) which presents various characterizations of a wide variety of continuous distributions. These two monographs could also be used as sources to prevent reinventing and duplicating the already exiting distributions. The current book consists of seven chapters. The first chapter lists cumulative and density functions of two hundred and twenty univariate distributions. Chapter two provides characterizations of these distributions: (i) based on the ration of two truncated moments; (ii) in terms of the hazard function; (iii) in terms of the reverse hazard function; (iv) based on the conditional expectation of certain functions of the random variable. Chapter three includes the characterizations of twenty distributions, which appeared in a published paper (Hamedani and Safavimanesh, 2017). Chapter four presents characterizations of thirty six distributions, contains a published paper (Hamedani, 2017). Chapter five covers the characterizations of forty one distributions, which appeared in a published paper (Hamedani, 2018a). Chapter six presents characterizations of eighty distributions, contained in a published paper (Hamedani, 2018b). Finally, chapter seven consists of seventy proposed distributions. The main reason to include previously published papers in Chapters 3-6 is to provide a rather complete source for the interested researchers who would want to avoid reinventing the existing distributions.

This book identifies insights about the ethical issues associated with trust and trustworthiness, and their relationship to the leader''s obligations as an ethical steward. The purpose of this book is to identify the importance of trust and trustworthiness in the "Transformative Era", a time when constant change and the increasing demands of customers make it paramount for organisations to obtain the commitment, followership, and extra-role behaviours required to compete in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous global marketplace. Unfortunately, leaders today have failed to earn the trust of others by creating arms-length transactional relationships that destroy employee commitment. This book frames the characteristics of the "Transformative Era" and explains how leaders can restore the trust that they have lost by honouring the steward''s obligation to create long-term wealth and serve the interests of all stakeholders. In a world where 71% of all employees are actively looking for new job opportunities and only 16% of employees worldwide describe themselves as "actively engaged" in their work, the importance of reframing the employer-employee relationship demands immediate attention. This book identifies the conditions which make up today''s "Transformative Era" and explains how and why leaders destroy trust in the modern organisation. It then identifies how leaders can adopt a Transformative Approach to creating organisations that are prepared to survive the turmoil of the modern economy.

A material structure assembled from a layer or cluster of atoms with the size of the order of nanometers is called a nanostructure. There are many events such as the discovery of scanning electron microscopy that gave fillip to nanotechnology research. However, with the discovery of a new allotrope of carbon in the late 1980s and early 1990s, namely the fullerene, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, a new chapter in nanotechnology research has emerged. These have become the basic building blocks for many nanodevices such as nano sensors, nano actuators, nano gyroscopes, etc. All of these devices are packaged under Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (NEMS) or Nano Opto Mechanical Systems (NOMS) devices. The key elements in these devices are the nanobeams, nanorods, nanoplates and nanoshells, respectively. This book is a comprehensive text to cover the mechanical analyses of nanobeams. The book introduces the reader to the fundamentals, as well as more in-depth aspects, of vibration and buckling analyses of nanoscale beams faced with different environments and the associated latest research applications. Most of the solutions presented in these chapters are the results of investigations conducted by the author and his collaborators since 2015. The results presented herein may be treated as a benchmark for checking the validity and accuracy of other numerical solutions. Despite a number of existing texts on the theory and analysis of nanoscale beams, there is not a single book that is devoted entirely to the mechanical investigation of nanobeams. It is hoped that this book will fill the gap to some extent and be used as a valuable reference source for postgraduate students, engineers, scientists, and applied mathematicians in this field.

The government documents included in this book are comprised of reports and testimonies from June 2018 to September 2018 on equal opportunity. The first analyzes the federal advertising obligations to small disadvantaged businesses and those owned by minorities and women. The second reviews how public high schools encourage equal athletic opportunities. The third report examines gender-related price differences, which occur when consumers are charged different prices for the same or similar goods and services because of factors related to gender. The fourth report discusses actions needed to ensure workforce diversity strategic goals are achieved. The 21st Century Cures Act includes a provision that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) coordinate policies and programs to promote early research independence and enhance the diversity of the scientific workforce. The final report included here examines the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and its capital project needs, the funding sources HBCUs use to meet their capital project needs and the extent to which Education helps HBCUs access and successfully participate in the Capital Financing Program.

The government documents included in this book are comprised of reports and testimonies from April 2018 to September 2018 on Student Loans. As of April 2018, over a million borrowers had taken steps to pursue Public Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) from the Department of Education, but few borrowers have been granted loan forgiveness to date. The first report examines the 1. Number of Borrowers pursuing PSLF and the extent to which Education has conducted outreach to increase borrower awareness of program eligibility requirements and 2. The extent to which Education has provided key information to PSLF servier and borrowers. Recommendations follow. The second report describes the roles of Federal Student Aids (FSA) non-school partners in the federal student financial aid program and assesses the extent to which FSAs policies and procedures for overseeing non-school partners protection of federal student aid data align with federal requirements, federal guidance and best practices. The third report examines how schools work with borrowers to manage schools cohort default rates and how these strategies affect borrowers and schools accountability for defaults, and the extent to which Education oversees the strategies schools and their default management consultants use to manage schools cohort default rates and informs the public about its efforts to hold schools accountable. Finally, the last report examines the status of Educations efforts to improve oversight of federal student loan services. Federal loans play a key role in ensuring access to higher education for millions of students each year. This report provides testimony over the last 3 years examining the weaknesses in Educations management and proposals for a new student loan servicer system.

According to the Mental Health Services Administration, about one in five adults had a mental health condition in the past year. Thats nearly 10 million adults with illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression that interferes with a major life activity. Chapter 1 focuses on mental health issues in America and the role the Medicaid and Medicare programs play in addressing the needs of those with behavioral and mental health issues. Chapter 2 offers recommendations on how to address the mental health crisis. Chapter 3 presents prevalence estimates of any mental illness and serious mental illness based on surveys and ends with a brief discussion of how these prevalence estimates might inform policy discussions. People with mental illness comprise a significant proportion of the population involved with the criminal justice system. Mental health courts were developed to respond to the large number of people in the criminal justice systems with mental illness as described in Chapter 4. Law enforcement encounters with individuals with mental illness may require special training and skills and can sometimes involve volatile situations, risking tragic injuries or even death as reported in Chapter 5. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for confining offenders in environments that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure. To do so, the BOP utilizes various forms of Restrictive Housing Unit (RHU) to confine certain inmates, including those with mental illness. However, according to chapter 6, confinement in RHUs, even for relatively short periods of time, can adversely affect inmates mental health and can be particularly harmful for inmates with mental illness.