Books published by Springer Nature Singapore

The book presents the select proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Advanced Functional Materials and Devices (AFMD-2023). It covers the latest research in the area of functional materials. Various topics covered in this book include 2D materials, biomaterials, materials for environmental studies, DFT and solar simulation of materials, perovskite and double perovskite materials, luminescent materials, smart materials, materials for energy conversion and storage, smart materials, advanced functional materials, polymeric materials, composites, liquid crystals, materials for sustainable development, nanomaterials and thin films, smart devices and quantum dots synthesis technique, and characterization tools with application in smart devices. This book is for researchers and professionals working on various functional materials for device applications.

This book presents the select proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Water Technologies 2022. While several efforts are underway, materials form the core of all research activities to develop technologies to mitigate the global challenge of water crisis. This book includes latest scientific dialogues, state-of-the-art developments in terms of emerging materials, technology development aimed toward mitigating various bottlenecks in water treatment, purification, desalination, and sensing with emerging materials. It also discusses diverse materials driven approaches, including theoretical and experimental studies, to address various aspects of this global issue. The book discusses various topics related to nanomaterials for water purification, bio-physical remediation, photocatalysis, membranes, physico-chemical processes, oil-water separation, sensors, and microplastics, etc. The book can be a valuable reference for beginners, researchers, and professionals interested in water technologies and allied fields.

The surge in renewable and distributed energy sources has posed significant challenges for smart power distribution network (SPDN). These challenges fall into two main categories: the unpredictability of renewable energy sources and the complexities introduced by numerous electrical devices and their interdependencies, affecting forecasting and operational performance. As the emphasis on SPDN's economic and environmental aspects grows, this book focuses on the vital themes of sustainability and cost-efficiency in SPDN forecasting, planning, and operation. It is structured into three key parts:1. SPDN Situation Awareness: This section assesses prior research methods, analyzes their shortcomings while dissecting SPDN's unique situation awareness characteristics. Then, some forecast and virtual collection methods are presented. 2. Boosting SPDN Planning: Addressing optimal planning challenges in SPDN, this part introduces advanced modelling and algorithm solvingtechniques, tailored to mitigate SPDN's inherent uncertainty.3. Enhancing SPDN Operation: Considering a variety of equipment types and controllable loads, this section explores strategies to boost SPDN operational performance. It covers control methodologies for electric vehicles, flexible loads, energy storage, and related equipments, etc.Tailored for university researchers, engineers, and graduate students in electrical engineering and computer science, this book is a valuable resource for comprehending SPDN's situation awareness, planning, and operation intricacies in the context of sustainability and economic efficiency.

Digital signal processing deals with extraction of useful information from signals. Signal processing algorithms help observe, analyse and transform signals. The objective of this book is to develop signal processing algorithms using Python. Python is an interpreted, object-oriented high-level programming language widely used in various software development fields such as data science, machine learning, web development and more. Digital Signal Laboratory is playing an important role in realizing signal processing algorithms, utilizing different software solutions. The intention of this textbook is to implement signal processing algorithms using Python. Since Python is an open-source language, students, researchers, and faculty can install and work with it without spending money, reducing the financial burden on institutions. Each chapter in this book begins with prelab questions, a set of Python examples to illustrate the concepts, exercises to strengthen the understanding of the concepts, and objective questions to help students prepare for competitive examinations. This book serves as an undergraduate textbook, it can be used for individual study, and it can also be used as the textbook for related courses.

The proceedings is a collection of papers presented at International Conference on Renewal Power (ICRP 2023), held during 28 ¿ 29 March 2023 in Mewat Engineering College, Nuh, India. The book covers different topics of renewal energy sources in modern power systems. The volume focusses on smart grid technologies and applications, renewable power systems including solar PV, solar thermal, wind, power generation, transmission and distribution, transportation electrification and automotive technologies, power electronics and applications in renewable power system, energy management and control system, energy storage in modern power system, active distribution network, artificial intelligence in renewable power systems, and cyber physical systems and internet of things in smart grid and renewable power.

This book summarizes contemporary research on land degradation, desertification, and how such issues relate to socioeconomic growth in developing countries. With a focus on local and regional levels, the book offers an in-depth analysis of aeolian action as a physical process, causes of land degradation, and desertification. The causes and effects of land degradation were investigated by utilizing multiscale and multidisciplinary methodologies, merging spatial socioeconomic data with remote sensing data, and using multiple levels and disciplinary approaches. The book also describes how to combine GIS with cutting-edge technologies such as remote sensing, geostatistics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis, and analytical hierarchy approaches, among others. Included is a thorough case study of the unusual but understudied semi-arid Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, South India. This book encourages the participation of all socioeconomic groups in decision-making and assists authorities and planners in developing suitable plans for the sustainable agricultural growth of an area. The book is an invaluable resource to comprehend and resolve issues about sustainable environmental planning and management.

This book brings one of Chinäs most renowned economists¿ views on systemic reform of the land system- the pillar of Chinäs economic growth. This book goes through the fundamental logic of Chinäs land system reform and introduces the methods the author uses to study land system. Specifically, this book covers topics ranging from the logic of Chinäs land system reform, including Chinäs rural land system reform and Chinäs land expropriation system reform, to the relationship between Chinäs urbanization and land system reform. This book is an invaluable introduction to Chinäs land system, and to its economy more broadly.

This handbook constitutes state-of-the-art research covering topics such as chemical constituents of biomass, their specific properties, characterization and different applications. The contents also discuss challenges and issues involved in its applications. This volume brings together a number of biomass-derived potential renewable elements and its circular economy approach in one place. The content includes industrial applications and fills the gap in laboratory research works to practical applications in related industries. The book gives an insight towards the circular economy approach by the biomass, different gross morphologies of biomasses and the valuable chemical constituents that can be derived from the biomass and moreover the potential applications of all those constituents. It enables researchers and scientists to get informed of the designs to improve existing utilization of biomass in an efficient manner and deliver better products at lower cost.The volume isuseful reference for professionals, researchers, industrial practitioners, graduate students and senior undergraduates in the fields of polymer science, bioscience and bioengineering. It also provides an in-depth reference for biomass processors and fabricators and for industry sectors utilizing biomass such as packaging, sensors, film manufacturers, medical device manufacturers and biomedical engineers.

This book opens new pathways for decolonial autoethnography, presented as a series of reflective stories that showcase how M¿ori have negotiated and navigated their personal and professional identities within contemporary society. Framed within the academic methodology of Indigenous Autoethnography, authors recount their personal and professional experiences to address their encounters with cultural trauma and personal enlightenment. As a culturally responsive methodology, Indigenous Autoethnography embraces reflective practice and critical awakening to validate Indigenous knowledge, ensuring that it remains meaningful and responsive to the needs of M¿ori. Utilising metaphorical storytelling as a primary means of sensemaking, this work reinforces the importance of M¿ori and other Indigenous People to seek wisdom from the past to guide them into the future. With Indigenous knowledge historically ignored and misrepresented in higher education, this seminal text provides invaluable guidance for global Indigenous researchers seeking to produce story work that genuinely encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.

Different physical or geophysical methods provide information about distinctive physical properties of the objects, e.g., rock formations and mineralization. In many cases, this information is mutually complementary, which makes it natural for consideration in a joint inversion of the multiphysics data. Inversion of the observed data for a particular experiment is subject to considerable uncertainty and ambiguity. One productive approach to reducing uncertainty is to invert several types of data jointly. Nonuniqueness can also be reduced by incorporating additional information derived from available a priori knowledge about the target to reduce the search space for the solution. This additional information can be incorporated in the form of a joint inversion of multiphysics data.Generally established joint inversion methods, however, are inadequate for incorporating typical physical or geological complexity. For example, analytic, empirical, or statistical correlations between different physical properties may exist for only part of the model, and their specific form may be unknown. Features or structures that are present in the data of one physical method may not be present in the data generated by another physical method or may not be equally resolvable.This book presents and illustrates several advanced, new approaches to joint inversion and data fusion, which do not require a priori knowledge of specific empirical or statistical relationships between the different model parameters or their attributes. These approaches include the following novel methods, among others: 1) the Gramian method, which enforces the correlation between different parameters; 2) joint total variation functional or joint focusing stabilizers, e.g., minimum support and minimum gradient support constraints; 3) data fusion employing a joint minimum entropy stabilizer, which yields the simplest multiphysics solution that fits the multi-modal data. In addition, the book describes the principles of using artificial intelligence (AI) in solving multiphysics inverse problems. The book also presents in detail both the mathematical principles of these advanced approaches to joint inversion of multiphysics data and successful case histories of regional-scale and deposit-scale geophysical studies to illustrate their indicated advantages.

X-ray experiments have been used widely in materials science, and conventional spectroscopy has been based on linear responses in light¿matter interactions. Recent development of ultrafast light sources of tabletop lasers and X-ray free electron lasers reveals nonlinear optical phenomena in the X-ray region, and the measurement signals have been found to carry a further wealth of information on materials. This book overviews such nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy and its related issues for materials science. Each chapter is written by pioneers in the field and skillfully reviews the topics of nonlinear spectroscopy including X-ray multi-photon absorption and X-ray second harmonic generation. The chapters are divided depending on photon wavelength, ranging from extreme ultraviolet to (soft) X-ray. To facilitate readers¿ comprehensive understanding, some of the chapters cover the conventional linear X-ray spectroscopy and basic principles of the non-linear responses. The book is mainly accessible as a primer for junior/senior- or graduate-level readers, and it also serves as a useful reference or guide even for established researchers in optical spectroscopy. The book offers readers opportunities to benefit from cutting-edge research in this new area of nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy.

This book is unique in focusing on just one band from one city ¿ but the story of Tat Ming Pair, in so many ways, is the story of Hong Kong's recent decades, from the Handover to the Umbrella Movement to 2019's standoff. A comprehensive, theoretically informed study of the sonic history and present of Hong Kong through the prism of Tat Ming Pair, this book will be of interest to cultural studies scholars, scholars of Hong Kong, and those who study the arts in East Asia.This is an open access book.

This book presents the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Frontiers of Intelligent Computing: Theory and Applications (FICTA 2021), held at NIT Mizoram, Aizwal, Mizoram, India, during June 25 - 26, 2021. FICTA conference aims to bring together researchers, scientists, engineers, and practitioners to exchange their new ideas and experiences in the domain of intelligent computing theories with prospective applications to various engineering disciplines. This volume covers broad areas of Evolution in Computational Intelligence. The conference papers included herein presents both theoretical as well as practical aspects of different areas like ANN and genetic algorithms, human-computer interaction, intelligent control optimization, evolutionary computing, intelligent e-learning systems, machine learning, mobile computing, multi-agent systems, etc. The volume will also serve as a knowledge centre for students of post-graduate level in various engineering disciplines.

This book presents the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Frontiers of Intelligent Computing: Theory and Applications (FICTA 2021), held at NIT Mizoram, Aizwal, Mizoram, India, during June 25 - 26, 2021. FICTA conference aims to bring together researchers, scientists, engineers, and practitioners to exchange their new ideas and experiences in the domain of intelligent computing theories with prospective applications to various engineering disciplines. This volume covers broad areas of Intelligent Data Engineering and Analytics. The conference papers included herein presents both theoretical as well as practical aspects of data intensive computing, data mining, big data, knowledge management, intelligent data acquisition and processing from sensors, data communication networks protocols and architectures, etc. The volume will also serve as a knowledge centre for students of post-graduate level in various engineering disciplines. 

This book comprises the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computer Vision, High-Performance Computing, Smart Devices, and Networks (CHSN 2022). This book highlights high-quality research articles in machine learning, computer vision, and networks. The content of this volume gives the reader an up-to-date picture of the state-of-the-art connection between computational intelligence, machine learning, and IoT. The papers in this volume are peer-reviewed by experts in related areas. The book will serve as a valuable reference resource for academics and researchers across the globe.

The stochastic Maxwell equations play an essential role in many fields, including fluctuational electrodynamics, statistical radiophysics, integrated circuits, and stochastic inverse problems. This book provides some recent advances in the investigation of numerical approximations of the stochastic Maxwell equations via structure-preserving algorithms. It presents an accessible overview of the construction and analysis of structure-preserving algorithms with an emphasis on the preservation of geometric structures, physical properties, and asymptotic behaviors of the stochastic Maxwell equations. A friendly introduction to the simulation of the stochastic Maxwell equations with some structure-preserving algorithms is provided using MATLAB for the reader¿s convenience.The objects considered in this book are related to several fascinating mathematical fields: numerical analysis, stochastic analysis, (multi-)symplectic geometry, large deviations principle, ergodic theory, partial differential equation, probability theory, etc. This book will appeal to researchers who are interested in these topics.

This book compiles the latest information on different kinds of natural, plant-based super sweeteners. A book on alternative, natural super sweeteners is extremely timely and useful, especially, in light of the decreasing cultivable area, ever increasing demand for sucrose, and the well identified ills of sugar consumption. Every year more than 5.0 million people die due to diabetes and diabetes-associated diseases like cardiovascular, kidney disorder, liver cancer etc. This book describes the use of non-saccharide super sweet principles to counter such maladies. The readers will get an in-depth understanding of different kinds of sweeteners, molecular basis of sweetness, their general classification, plant source with photo-plates etc. The chapters explain different kinds of super-sweet principles. This book emphasizes on the propagation, cultivation and conservation of NSSS plants (NSSSP) and extraction of super sweet principles and granting of generally recognised as safe (GRAS) certificate to sweeteners. The concluding chapter describes the eco-physiological difference between saccharide super sweet and non saccharide sweet plants. The book also describes commercial production of selected potential Natural Super Sweeteners. This book will be of great interest to researchers, extension workers as well as postgraduate students in Food science nutrition, ayurveda, plant physiology, Unani, naturopathy, biochemistry and plant breeding. It would also be of interest to industry stakeholders in sweetener industry and alternative sweetener manufactures.

This book highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic and social impacts have been felt around the world. In large cities and other urban areas, the pandemic has highlighted a number of issues from pressures on urban labour and housing markets, shifts in demographic processes including migration and mobility, changes in urban travel patterns and pressures on contemporary planning and governance processes.Despite Australia's relatively mild COVID exposure, Australian cities and large urban areas have not been immune to these issues. The economic shutdown of the country in the early stages of the pandemic, the sporadic border closures between states, the effective closure of international borders and the imposition of widespread public health orders that have required significant behavioural change across the population have all changed our cities in some and the way we live and work in them in some way. Some of the challenges have reflected long-standing problems including intrenched inequality in labour markets and housing markets, others such as the impact on commuting patterns and patterns of migration have emerged largely during the pandemic. This book, co-authored by experts in their field, outlines some of the major issues facing Australian cities and urban areas as a result of the pandemic and sets a course for future of the cities we live in.

This book describes insight mechanisms for designing molecular probes and methods that these agents can be used for medical diagnosis in preclinical animal models via optical, MRI and PET imaging. The book has a wealth of schemes of synthesis and methods deduced from pioneers in the field, making it possible to immerse into real-world molecular imaging. Written for graduate student training and practitioners, this book will serve as a teaching material and/or reference for anyone interested in exploring the power of chemical synthesis of imaging agents.

This proceedings volume contains papers accepted by the 2022 International Conference on Business and Policy Studies (CONF-BPS 2022), which are carefully selected and reviewed by professional reviewers from corresponding research fields and the editorial team of the conference. This volume presents latest research achievements, inspirations, and applications in applied economy, finance, enterprise management, public administration, and policy studies. CONF-BPS hopes this volume could be inspiring and of academic value.Business and policy studies both are heated research topics and are related to multiple fields. Held by Eliwise Academy, CONF-BPS aims at bringing together intellectuals from related fields including applied economy, finance, and public administration for academic exchange. Its goal is to serve as an international platform for researchers to present latest research progress, share ideas and inspirations, and exchange experience. Through more academic communication and exchange, this conference hops to promote international corporation and joint initiatives in relevant fields. This volume will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals, and policy makers in the field of business, economics, management, and policy studies.

This book covers research work spanning the breadth of ventures, a variety of challenges and the finest of techniques used to address data and analytics, by subject matter experts from the business world. The content of this book highlights the real-life business problems that are relevant to any industry and technology environment. This book helps us become a contributor to and accelerator of artificial intelligence, data science and analytics, deploy a structured life-cycle approach to data related issues, apply appropriate analytical tools & techniques to analyze data and deliver solutions with a difference. It also brings out the story-telling element in a compelling fashion using data and analytics. This prepares the readers to drive quantitative and qualitative outcomes and apply this mindset to various business actions in different domains such as energy, manufacturing, health care, BFSI, security, etc.

The book provides a systematic and in-depth introduction to distributed event-triggered cooperative control for multi-agent systems from a theoretical perspective, which will be of particular interest to the readers. The included major research topics include: a unified design and analysis framework for centralized, clustered and distributed event-triggered schemes; fully distributed design for event/self-triggered schemes; resilient event-triggered control under malicious attacks; and various methods to aovid Zeno behavior. The comprehensive and systematic treatment of event-triggered communication and control in multi-agent system is one of the major features of the book, which is particularly suited for readers who are interested in learning principles and methods to deal with communication constraints in multi-agent systems and to design energy-saving control protocols. The book can benefit researchers, engineers, and graduate students in the fields of complex networks, smart grids, applied mathematics, electrical and electronic engineering, and computer engineering, etc.

This book provides comprehensive investigation of the effect of motivation on L2 learners' pragmatic learning, which has been discussed for a long time but remains under-explored. This study examines whether and to what extent learners' levels of motivation influence their pragmatic awareness, comprehension and production in an EFL context. It presents an original study that not only enriches our knowledge of the feasibility of modern technology in collecting large-scale data related to pragmatic competence but also eminently connects L2 pragmatics more closely with mainstream second language acquisition research by focusing on the role of motivation in pragmatic learning. This book will be of great value to researchers and postgraduates interested in second language acquisition, especially those who work on L2 pragmatics and individual variation among learners.

This book mainly focuses on the roles of engraved symbols and ornamentation in Liangzhu culture. It categorizes the engraved symbols discovered in Liangzhu culture as means of ideographical expression and decoration, aspects that are explored in detail. Further, the engraved symbols and ornamentation are subdivided in terms of certain similarities, including the dragon and bird systems. A separate chapter is especially designed to help readers appreciate the typical paintings and symbols in selected objects and vessels. In this way, the book seeks to analyze and generate a particular formula so as to explore patterns in the thinking of Liangzhu's people, thus deciphering the spiritual code of the Liangzhu world.

The book brings together the contributions of the 7th International Conference on Smart Learning Ecosystems and Regional Development (SLERD 2022), which aims at promoting reflection and discussion concerning R&D work, policies, case studies, and entrepreneur experiences with a special focus on understanding the relevance of smart learning ecosystems (e.g., schools, campus, working places, informal learning contexts, etc.) for regional development and social innovation and how the effectiveness of the relation of citizens and smart ecosystems can be boosted. This forum has a special interest in understanding how technology mediated instruments can foster the citizen's engagement with learning ecosystems and territories, namely by understanding innovative human-centric design and development models/techniques, education/training practices, informal social learning, innovative citizen-driven policies, technology mediated experiences, and their impact. This set of concerns will contribute to foster the social innovation sectors and ICT and economic development and deployment strategies alongside new policies for smarter proactive citizens.

This book comprehensively and systematically introduces the microstructure characteristics of plant fibers and the manufacturing process, interface characteristics, mechanical behaviors and physical properties of plant fiber reinforced composites, as well as their engineering demonstration applications. Plant fibers derived from natural resources have been thrust into the global spotlight as environment-friendly materials with attractive advantages of renewability, biodegradability, high specific strength and modulus and good sound absorption and heat insulation performance, and have become promising alternative to traditional synthetic fibers in making fiber-reinforced composites with structure-function integration. This book combines the basic theory with engineering applications for highlighting the unique research method for plant fiber reinforced composites with hierarchical structure. It is intended for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in natural fiber composites, and scientific researchers and engineers looking to develop the design and manufacture of green composites in the fields of aerospace, railway transportation vehicles, automotive engineering and civil infrastructures.

This book analyzes potential yields of six major food crops - rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed worldwide using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to study both China's and global food security under climate change. Firstly, it reviews previous studies on potential yields of rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed worldwide to provide a detailed information of studying on China's and global food security based on the product's supply and demand of these crops. Secondly, average and top (national) yields of rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed since 1961 on global scale are employed to analyze their temporal and spatial variation trends and potential limits. Thirdly, the effects of global warming in climate change on both average and top yields of rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed since 1961 at global level are analyzed using regression model, and their differences between average and top yields among these crops are identified and compared. Fourthly, the yields and per capita quantity of rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed in major producer-countries and the world are analyzed to assess the situation and trend of international trade for the products of these crops, respectively.Fifthly, potential yields of rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean and rapeseed worldwide by 2030 are projected using both trend-regressed models and ARIMA models to estimate the per capita quantity of these crops based on the projection of world population and assess the status of Chinese and global food security in that future. Finally, it provides policy implications and advice on food security for China and the world directing food production by 2030 under climate change.

Food is contaminated in the production chain and is the point of concern among the consumers and industries. There is also a considerable increase in foodborne outbreaks, which possess the challenge to industry associated with the production of processed food. Various strategies are used to prevent the contamination during postharvest stage, storage and distribution. Different methods are exploited for degrading or eliminating the microbial contamination from food commodities. The conventional techniques used for decontamination demanded a considerable requirement for novel technologies, which are efficient, environmental friendly, and cost-effective. Novel technologies efficiently remove the contamination without adversely affecting the nutritional properties and sensory characteristics of food material. There is a lack of scientific information on the microbial decontamination of different food commodities such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, sprouts, microgreens, meat, poultry, milk, nut, spices etc. under one umbrella. The application of conventional and novel technologies for improving the food safety of individual food commodities will be addresses in this book. Written by several experts in the field, this book is a valuable source for students, scientists, and professionals in food science, food microbiology, food technology, food processing, and other allied sciences.

The book provides complete information on the cornerstones of precision medicine through the omics approach. Clinical applications of genomics and precision medicine have progressed from a theoretical wish list to an impactful force in medical practice.Step-by-step descriptions are provided from basics to the future application and its benefit in clinical practice. Precision medicine aims to personalize health care by tailoring decisions and treatments to each individual in every possible way. Precision medicine includes pharmacogenomics.Essential information is provided on the role of precision medicine and pharmacogenomics in the clinical practice of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psychiatric disease, and also the importance for healthcare professionals. This book will assist the practitioners how to integrate precision medicine and pharmacogenomics data into their clinical practice.It is hoped that physicians, pharmacists, and scientists with basic scientific knowledge of precision medicine will findthis book useful.