Books published by Springer Verlag, Singapore

Globally stone fruits are emerging in the market due to the increased consumer¿s desire for health-promoting foods. Stone fruits attract research attention, mainly due to the cultural and commercial aspects of the array of varieties that are grown. Being grown in wide range of environments, it is very important to understand what factors influence the production and quality attributes of stone fruits. There is a lack of systematic scientific information on strategic approach for production technologies of such fruits. This book will be first of its kind focusing on technological aspects of stone fruits especially on latest developments in present day horticulture. It will be an essential reference for professionals including academicians, scholars, researchers and industries working in the said area. We hope that readers will find this book a useful resource for their research or studies, and it will be helpful in the development of high quality stone fruits in future which will improve the economic and social life of people. Besides, this book fulfills the needs of a number of horticultural courses of Universities and will serving as a pomological manual for all occasions.

This book describes the significance of metrology for inclusive growth in India and explains its application in the areas of physical-mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics, Indian standard time measurements, electromagnetic radiation, environment, biomedical, materials and Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravyas (BND®). Using the framework of "Aswal Model", it connects the metrology, in association with accreditation and standards, to the areas of science and technology, government and regulatory agencies, civil society and media, and various other industries. It presents critical analyses of the contributions made by CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), India, through its world-class science and apex measurement facilities of international equivalence in the areas of industrial growth, strategic sector growth, environmental protection, cybersecurity, sustainable energy, affordable health, international trade, policy-making, etc. The book will be useful for science and engineering students, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurs.

This book describes the significance of metrology for inclusive growth in India and explains its application in the areas of physical¿mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics, Indian standard time measurements, electromagnetic radiation, environment, biomedical, materials and Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravyas (BND®). Using the framework of ¿Aswal Model¿, it connects the metrology, in association with accreditation and standards, to the areas of science and technology, government and regulatory agencies, civil society and media, and various other industries. It presents critical analyses of the contributions made by CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), India, through its world-class science and apex measurement facilities of international equivalence in the areas of industrial growth, strategic sector growth, environmental protection, cybersecurity, sustainable energy, affordable health, international trade, policy-making, etc. The book will be useful for science and engineering students, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurs.

Tea is an important non-alcoholic beverage plant of the world. Cultivation of tea is also commercially very important as it earns huge revenue for the tea growing nations especially the developing countries such as India. Although conventional breeding is well-established and contributes significantly for varietal improvement of this plant and other Camellia species with ornamental value, yet, applications of biotechnology vis a vis genomics are essential to improve the productivity and quality of the tea. This book brings out various aspects of breeding, biotechnology and genomics of tea plants. It covers i) Origin and descriptions of health benefits as well as morphological classification as first chapter, ii) Breeding and cytogenetics that comprise with various conventional approaches of varietal improvement of tea along with their genetic resources, iii) Micro-propagation which deals with in-depth study of clonal propagation, iv) Somatic embryogenesis along with alternative techniques such as suspension culture, cry-preservation etc, v) Molecular breeding that deals with application of various DNA based markers such as discovery of QTL, linkage map etc, vi) Genetic transformation and associated factors, vii) Stress physiology complied various works done in tea along with its wild relatives on abiotic as well as biotic stress and viii) Functional genomics that describes the various works of molecular cloning and characterizations, differential gene expression, high-throughput sequencing, bioinformatics transcriptomics study that described the application of next generation sequencing to discover various genes that are related to various trait of tea, Non-coding RNA which describes the discovery of various non-coding RNA in tea and related genera. The book also discusses recent developments in biotechnology such as metabolomics, proteomics, genome sequence and popular clone varieties of tea crops that are developed across the world.In conclusion, the book collates the work on tea plantations so far, identified the problems, analyzes the gaps on breeding and biotechnological works of tea as well as its wild species and discusses the future scopes as conclusion. The book aims to cover all latest information till june, 2020 . It will be useful resource for post-graduate, doctoral as well post-doctoral students working on tea as well as other woody plants. This will also be useful for the scientists working in the areas of life sciences, genomics, biotechnology and molecular biology.

This textbook applies basic concepts of ecology to address critical issues regarding food and agricultural systems. The intended audience is first year undergraduate students; it may also benefit higher-level undergraduates with an interest in agriculture and ecology. The level of science and general knowledge reflects this target group. The text is divided into five sections with 22 chapters in all. Each chapter has its own student learning objectives. The first two sections, ¿Context of Agroecology¿ and ¿Basics of Agroecosystems,¿ provide a sound basis for the further study of agriculture from an ecological standpoint. Section 3, ¿Digging Deeper into Agroecosystems,¿ explores the related issues of hunger, wastes, climate change, and biodiversity. It is suggested that students study these three sections before proceeding to section 4 or 5. Section 4, ¿Application of Agroecosystem Concepts,¿ introduces students to agricultural production and challenges them to use the concepts and ideas from the first three sections to critically evaluate such production systems. Section 5, ¿Agroecosystem Management,¿ brings the coverage full circle by examining global solutions and opportunities from both a scientific and social economic standpoint. Particularly these last four chapters offer both food for thought and inspiration for further work. The book¿s goal is not to provide a comprehensive literature review; rather, it offers extensive data on and a stimulating analysis of the topic.

This open access book provides a theoretical framework and case studies on decision science for regional sustainability by integrating the natural and social sciences. The cases discussed include solution-oriented transdisciplinary studies on the environment, disasters, health, governance and human cooperation. Based on these case studies and comprehensive reviews of relevant works, including lessons learned from past failures for predictable surprises and successes in adaptive co-management, the book provides the reader with new perspectives on how we can co-design collaborative projects with various conflicts of interest and how we can transform our society for a sustainable future. The book makes a valuable contribution to the global research initiative Future Earth, promoting transdisciplinary studies to bridge the gap between science and society in knowledge generation processes and supporting efforts to achieve the UN¿s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Compared to other publications on transdisciplinary studies, this book is unique in that evolutionary biology is used as an integrator for various areas related to human decision-making, and approaches social changes as processes of adaptive learning and evolution. Given its scope, the book is highly recommended to all readers seeking an integrated overview of human decision-making in the context of social transformation.

The book serves as an amalgamation of knowledge and principles used in the area of systems and synthetic biology, and targets inter-disciplinary research groups. The readers from diversified areas would be benefited by the valuable resources and information available in one book. Microbiome projects with efficient data handling can fuel progress in the area of microbial synthetic biology by providing a ready to use plug and play chassis. Advances in gene editing technology such as the use of tailor made synthetic transcription factors will further enhance the availability of synthetic devices to be applied in the fields of environment, agriculture and health. The different chapters of the book reviews a broad range of topics, including food microbiome in ecology, use of microbiome in personalized medicine, machine learning in biomedicine. The book also describes ways to harness and exploit the incredible amounts of genomic data. The book is not only limited to medicine but also caters to the needs of environmentalists, biochemical engineers etc. It will be of interest to advanced students and researchers in life sciences, computational biology, microbiology and other inter-disciplinary areas.

This book is dedicated to present different aspects of reproductive physiology and molecular endocrinology of commercially important as well as potential aquaculture fish species. The existing aquaculture generation is looking for species diversification for efficient utilization of available diverse water resources. The knowledge of reproductive physiology of fish will help in development of breeding strategy for use in commercial aquaculture. Reproductive system is highly coordinated and governed by means of complex network of nervous, endocrine system and environmental factor as well. This book emphasize on different key aspects of reproductive endocrine system such as basic gonadal biology in the events of climate vulnerability, sex determination, sex reversal, stimulatory hormones, inhibitory hormones and receptors, environmental and chemical factor guiding reproduction, puberty, neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction etc. This book further describes how reproduction is not just indispensable for the existence or survival of an individual, but it is important for the survival of species. Chapters also address the concerns of anthropogenic activities on fish and the aquatic environment lead main trouble on physiological and reproductive processes of aquatic animals.This book offers an attractive compilation of highly relevant aspects of current and future of aquaculture, especially in view of the growing awareness of aquaculture, to food scientists working on commercial fish, animal biologists, fish geneticists etc. This book is very timely, and relevant to the sustainable development goals. The contents would be relevant to policy makers, working towards blue revolution and blue economy.

This book summarizes recent advances in carnation genome research for large-scale transcriptome analysis, the draft genome sequence, DNA markers and genome mapping, flower color, mutations, flower opening, vase life, interspecific hybridization, fragrance.¿The carnation is one of the most important ornamental flowers in the world, along with the chrysanthemum and the rose. The genus Dianthus is a member of the Caryophyllaceae and includes more than 300 species of annuals and evergreen perennials. Modern carnation cultivars are the product of highly complex hybridization, owing to their long history of breeding. The carnation genome was first sequenced in ornamentals by a Japanese research team in 2013. The carnation has been genetically improved over the years, and there are various types of flower colors, shapes, patterns, and sizes. In this book, the molecular mechanism of flower color development and the transposable elements responsible for this diversity are studied in detail. In addition, it presents breeding and physiological research for improving flower vase life, one of the most important traits in ornamentals, based on a model of ethylene susceptible flowers. To improve selection efficiency, genomic analysis tools including DNA markers and genetic linkage maps are also highlighted. In closing, the book discusses mutation breeding technologies such as ion-beam irradiation and genetically modified carnations.

This book provides an overview of the distribution, properties, and function of soils in Japan. First, it offers general descriptions of the country's climate, geology, geomorphology, and land use, the history of the Japanese soil classification system and characteristics and genesis of major soil types follow. For each region - a geographic/administrative region of the country - there is a chapter with details of current land use as well as properties and management challenges of major soils. Maps of soil distribution, pedon descriptions, profile images, and tables of properties are included throughout the text and appendices.