Books published by Springer

This book covers recent pre-clinical and clinical developments in gasotransmitters (nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide) in all transplantable solid organs - kidney, heart, lung, liver, pancreas and intestine. Gasotransmitters are a class of small endogenously produced gaseous signaling molecules that play important roles in cellular homeostasis and impact physiological and pathophysiological situations. Recently, these gasotransmitters have emerged as potent cytoprotective mediators, possessing therapeutic properties that enable them exhibit their intracellular signaling functions. Hence, alterations in their physiological levels have been associated with various pathologies including cold ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in organ transplantation. In the context of organ transplantation, a novel therapeutic strategy that is being investigated involves administration of these gasotransmitters to the organ donor or recipient before or after transplantation, or supplementation of standard preservation solution with gasotransmitters during organ graft preservation to mitigate transplant-induced IRI. The book is divided into three parts for easier access: Hydrogen Sulfide in Organ Transplantation, Carbon Monoxide in Organ Transplantation, and Nitric Oxide in Organ Transplantation. The proposed book presents recent advances in organ graft protection mediated by gasotransmitters against warm and cold IRI in preclinical models of organ transplantation and some selected clinical cases, and seeks to lay the foundation for future clinical applications of these gases. The book is topical and timely, and will serve as a good resource for both educational and didactic purposes in transplant patient care and other aspects of clinical medicine.

Quality surgeons must have all the tips, tricks, and tools to provide their patients with the best care possible. Anterior and lateral approaches have revolutionized spine surgery, but even so, many surgeons have not learned the procedures and treatment involved, and the ones who have demonstrate a very difficult learning curve. This can be partially attributed to a lack of instructional literature, and this book aims to fill this gap so that incoming as well as veteran surgeons can add the anterior and lateral approaches to their arsenal. This text guides the surgeon through the full arc of treatment: from deciding which approach to use to treating the patient post-operatively. Specifically, the reader will gain comprehensive knowledge on how to perform each access procedure, how to care for and treat the patient at every stage, and the best ways to handle an array of complications they may face. Seven sections present everything the surgeon needs to know: history and rationale; preoperative and intraoperative care, surgical techniques, intraoperative complications, postoperative care, and a final section covering additional considerations for revision surgery, biological treatments, and approaches for both outpatient and obese patients.Written by experts in the field, Lumbar Spine Access Surgery will be a valuable reference for spine, orthopedic and vascular surgeons looking to expand their skill set.

This contributed volume addresses the global scale of urbanization and its impacts on biodiversity. By adding human capital, cities incubate new ideas and technologies, creating the conditions for socially and environmentally sensitive growth, but this is rarely seen. Urban ecology, an essential field that supports planning based on environmental perspectives, is a new science in tropical countries. This book discusses the inequity embedded in tropical cities, and explores how this inequity also materializes in biodiversity, with poor neighbourhoods of tropical cities lacking sufficient access to green space, and therefore less access to the benefits of nature, and poor support for biodiversity. With the current biodiversity crisis, the traditional approach to protecting pristine areas is insufficient. The chapters in this volume illustrate how tropical cities can act as spaces for biological conservation. Ecological literacy can help cities reconcile the needs of both people andof nature.This book compiles studies by experts from more than 100 institutions and 29 countries in the ecology and biodiversity of tropical cities at multiple scales, and applies their studies to urban planning and management. The audience for this book includes researchers, students and professionals working on environmental, social, economic, cultural, political, architectural and development projects in urban areas, offering a deep and timely discussion of their influence on the fauna and flora of cities.

Cascading failures as long chains of events and outages are threats to reliable operations of power grids and can lead to catastrophic blackouts with tremendous losses if not understood, prevented, or mitigated sufficiently. This book provides an in-depth and comprehensive presentation of emerging methods for risk assessment, modeling, and simulation of cascading failures in power grids. The methods are all supported by theories and experimental tests using realistic power grid models and data, and the contributors to this volume are leading scholars in the field. Specific topics covered include an introduction to cascading failures, probabilistic analytics of utility outage data and risks, quantitative influence and interaction models to understand and mitigate failure propagation, simulation of cascading failures using models of multiple time scales, and industrial criteria and practices against cascading failures. Cascading Failures in Power Grids: Risk Assessment, Modeling, and Simulation will provide comprehensive and in-depth coverage of state-of-the-art methods for all readers interested in cascading failures and will inspire researchers and engineers to develop emerging and practical tools in the future. ​

A typical approach to treat composite materials, which are composed of layered unidirectional lamina, is the so-called classical laminate theory (CLT). This theory is based on the theory for plane elasticity elements and classical (shear-rigid) plate elements under the assumption of orthotropic constitutive equations. The solution of the fundamental equations of the classical laminate theory is connected with extensive matrix operations and many problems require in addition iteration loops.This two-dimensional approach and the underlying advanced continuum mechanical modeling might be very challenging for some students, particularly at universities of applied sciences. Thus, a reduced approach, the so-called simplified classical laminate theory (SCLT), has been recently proposed. The idea was to use solely isotropic one-dimensional elements, i.e., a superposition of bar and beam elements, to introduce the major calculation steps of the classical laminate theory. Understandingthis simplified theory is much easier and the final step it to highlight the differences when moving to the general two-dimensional case.This monograph first provides a systematic and thorough introduction to the simplified laminate theory based on the theory for bars and classical beam plate elements. The focus is on stacking of isotropic layers to simplified laminates. In addition to the elastic behavior, failure is investigated based on the maximum stress, maximum strain, Tsai-Hill, and the Tsai-Wu criteria. We provide a Python-based computational tool, the so-called Composite Laminate Analysis Tool (CLAT 1D) to easily solve some standard questions from the context of fiber reinforced composites. The tool runs in any standard web browser and offers a user-friendly interface with many post-processing options. The functionality comprises stress and strain analysis of simplified lamina and laminates and the failure analysis based on different criteria.

This book explores multifaceted dimensions of economic crisis management including strategies and trends post-crisis. It examines the constraints and opportunities shaping the future of economics, social science and policy making, providing various economic models and paradigms. Featuring the best papers presented at the 2022 International Conference of Economic Scientific Research - Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approaches (ESPERA), this book explores topics of highest interest such as energy crisis, inflation, fiscal and monetary policy, food security, safety and sustainability, the future of work, global financial systems, sovereign debt sustainability, digital currencies, supply chain disruptions, and cybersecurity, among others. Through the discussion of these topics, this book bridges the gap between theory and practice in economic crisis management and it is useful for scholars, researchers, academics, and policymakers.

The field of adult reconstructive surgery for the treatment of knee arthritis is rapidly advancing. Several paradigms associated with the management of knee arthritis are being challenged and debated, and currently, there is no arthroplasty text available that bridges knee alignment options with various implant choices and technological advances available to the knee arthroplasty surgeon. This book focuses on exploring the current technical and technological advances in the surgical management of knee arthritis. It covers various implant options for partial knee replacements (UKA) and primary and revision total knee replacements (TKA) along with various technological advances such as navigation, robotics, patient-specific instrumentation, pressure sensing tibial trays, and customized implants. It also explores surgical algorithms associated with kinematic alignment, mechanical alignment and revision scenarios with soft-tissue and bony defects. A truly international editorship and authorship ensures a wide variety of opinions and approaches from around the world. Generously illustrated with intraoperative photographs, Surgical Management of Knee Arthritis presents the latest, cutting-edge techniques and technologies on the market for orthopedic surgeons, residents and fellows.

This book is dedicated to Dick de Jongh's contributions to the theory of intuitionistic and provability logics. Consisting of 12 chapters, written by leading experts, this book discusses de Jongh's original contributions and consequent developments that have helped to shape these fields.The book begins with an autobiographic note by Dick de Jongh, which discusses the main themes of his work and places the other contributions in context. The next four chapters explore the De Jongh-Sambin fixed point theorem and other contributions to provability and interpretability logics. The following four chapters focus on modal, intuitionistic and intuitionistic modal logics. They discuss independence of formulas, unification and de Jongh formulas in intuitionistic and modal logics. Then there follow two chapters on the other two areas to which Dick de Jongh made important contributions: the theoryof well-partial orders, together with Rohit Parikh, and formal learning theory. The last chapter on Origami Geometry can be seen as representing the Master of Logic program of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) in which de Jongh invested a lot of energy. This volume provides a vital overview - and continuation of - de Jongh's prolfic work in the theory of intuitionistic and provability logics.

This new edition aims to examine the impacts of maltreatment of both children and social minorities, such as homosexuals and gender dysphoric individuals or those affected by disabilities, in women, in patients, and describes skills that are of value in supporting victims of maltreatment and preventing discrimination. On this purpose, the new book is not only an update of the current literature on the topic, but will be also enriched by chapters dealing with the subtle border between courtship and harassment, with the responsibilities of the health professionals, with the role of internet and pornography in the ¿economy¿ of abuses and sexual slavery, with forensic aspects of the abuses and with therapy of both suffered and operated sexual violence starting from prevention as social education until medical approaches. This new edition will be particularly useful to sexual medicine specialists, medical doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as graduate students in these disciplines, but also to sociologists, educators and law professionals. By fostering a better understanding of discrimination triggers and effects, this new edition will help clinicians and mentors to provide improved support through the tailoring of therapies to the needs of maltreated and abused individuals.

In an era marked by relentless digital disruption, where every interaction - whether it's a click, a tap, or a swipe - shapes the structure of our interconnected world, the need for transformative action becomes notably clear. This collection brings together a dynamic compilation of insights, carefully selected from leading experts in the field, ready to navigate the uncharted waters of this digital revolution. The collection comprises submissions from two ISPIM (International Society for Professional Innovation Management) events, along with additional contributions. It offers an extensive view that encompasses the various challenges and opportunities brought about by the tumultuous waves of digital disruption and transformation, spanning a wide range of aspects in contemporary business and society.The primary aim of this collection is to emphasize the idea that the emerging global digital economy urgently requires a comprehensive perspective on digitalization, making it central for all institutions. Contributions in this collection shed light on important subjects, including, but not limited to, The Evolution of Digital Transformation, Skills and Knowledge Requirements in the Era of Digital Transformations, and Data-Driven Foresight.Within the boundaries of this scholarly endeavor, a deep understanding of the intricate network of digitalization and its consequences is nurtured. As the relentless surge of digitalization continues, this collection serves as an invaluable guide for discerning scholars and practitioners alike, inviting them to navigate this transformative period with wisdom and expertise.

Protein is one of the most important ingredients of the human diet and is considered crucial for the growth development of all age groups. Studies have set the recommended dietary allowance of protein as 0.8 g/kg body weight per day for healthy adults. The world population is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050 and it will be a significant challenge for the scientific community to overcome the growing demand for protein. The results of global warming, from shifting climactic conditions to unpredictable rainfalls, have further complicated the situation. The search for alternative protein sources that can be both sustainable and renewable is one of the major challenges in the face of potential mass protein malnutrition. Oilseed crops such as soybean, mustard, oil palm, peanuts, cottonseed, flax seed, coconut, canola and sesame are mainly cultivated for the extraction of cooking oil and are underutilized as sources of protein. Oilseed meals contain as much as 50% protein but remain under-valued since they are traditionally utilized as fertilizer or as feed for livestock animals. Numerous recent studies show that oilseed meal sources can be utilized as a sustainable and renewable source of protein and could play a major role in alleviating the global problem of protein malnutrition. Oilseed Meal as Sustainable Contributor to Plant-Based Protein explores oilseed crops that can contribute towards the regular supply of protein in an increasing population and changing climate. Each chapter focuses on a specific oilseed crop including comprehensive coverage of the processing and extraction specifics for each crop plus their amino acid profiles and other functional properties. The application of oilseed proteins for production of bioactive peptides and preparation of value-added products is also covered. This text is useful for food scientists and researchers seeking an updated single source for coverage on all the most important oilseed crops andtheir potential roles in combating protein shortages in a growing world population.

This book, achieved in cooperation with the Academic Alliance for Reconciliation Studies in the Middle East and North Africa (AARMENA), focuses on peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and shifts toward approaching the reconciliation process as an inter-, trans- and multidisciplinary field. The research presented in the series focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, highlighting contributions by practitioners and scholars alike.The book is divided into five sections: Sections 1: Theoretical and Philosophical FrameworkSection 2: Digital Humanities on Reconciliation, Conflict Transformation, and Peace StudiesSection 3: Research Science on Reconciliation, Conflict Transformation, and Peace StudiesSection 4: Practices of Studies on Reconciliation, Conflict Transformation, and Peace StudiesSection 5: Cases Studies on Reconciliation, Conflict Transformation, and Peace StudiesThe book's first part focuses on theories and the philosophical framework for the research on reconciliation, conflict transformation, and peace studies. The second part of the book is dedicated to digital humanities development in the reconciliation and peace education field, its impact on the reconciliation process in societies, and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in analysis techniques to differentiate and identify research in different domains. The book's third part is dedicated to the research on reconciliation and conflict transformation in different disciplines. The fourth part concentrates on the practices in the field, and the fifth part illustrates case studies on reconciliation, conflict transformation, and peace studies. The target audience is professors, scholars, practitioners, students, and scientists that are experts in the field of Middle East and North Africa.

Tropical seaweeds represent a major source of diversity and potential for cultivation. Cultivation of seaweeds has been coined "phyconomy" (derived from phycology and agronomy). One of the world's most important groups of tropical seaweeds is the eucheumatoids (comprising members of the genera Kappaphycus and Eucheuma). Whilst the biomass from these seaweeds is mostly used to produce colloids (i.e., various carrageenans) trends are changing and new, value-added applications are emerging including bioactives for agriculture, pharmaceutical applications, as well as bioplastics and possibly energy when processed as part of a MUZE (i.e., multi-stream, zero effluent), or biorefinery approach. Phyconomic activities around the production of seaweed biomass provides socio-economic benefits for many hundreds of thousands of global, coastal dwellers around a circum-tropical belt. However, times are changing and the once, repetitive manual aspects of attaching seaweed fragments to ropes and nets is beginning to be mechanized. Whilst it has taken agronomy several thousands of years to develop on land, its phyconomic counterpart is, at best, 50 years old in relation to developments in cultivation of eucheumatoids. Activities around cultivation of these tropical seaweeds can contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This book contains contributions from many of the world's authorities on tropical seaweed farming with a focus on the eucheumatoids. There are many lessons learned and best-practice examples which will be of interest to students of phyconomy (phycology), marine science, industrial users of cultivated biomass, as well as practitioners in charge of coastal zone management and ensuring responsible and sustainable socio-economic benefits are derived from marine resources for coastal dwellers.

This book highlights recent findings in civil and environmental engineering and urban planning, and provides an overview of the state of the art in these fields, mainly in Russia and Eastern Europe. A broad range of topics and issues in modern engineering are discussed, including construction, buildings and structures, advanced materials, innovative technology, methods and techniques in civil engineering, heating, gas supply, water supply and sewerage, foundation engineering, BIM, structural reliability, durability and monitoring, special and unique structures construction (bridge, tunnel, road, railway engineering), design and construction of hydraulic structures, concrete engineering, urban regeneration and sustainable development, urban transport system, engineering structure safety and disaster prevention, water resources engineering, water and wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse of wastewater, etc. The volume gathers selected papers from the 7th International Conference on Construction, Architecture and Technosphere Safety (ICCATS), held in Sochi, Russia in September 2023. The authors are experts in various fields of engineering, and all papers have been carefully reviewed.

This book discusses a crucial paradigm shift in urban planning and architectural design, addressing the urgent need for sustainability and adaptation in the face of rapidly changing climate and urban landscapes. Ideal for urban planners, architects, researchers, and policymakers, this book weaves together cutting-edge research and innovative applications from the 7th edition of the international conference on Urban Planning and Architectural Design for Sustainable Development organized by IEREK in collaboration with the Architecture Department at the University of Florence, Italy. Through a collection of double-blind peer-reviewed papers, it offers a cohesive narrative emphasizing the vital role of spatial design at all scales. Readers will explore diverse case studies, from bustling megacities to forgotten villages, showcasing the local impacts of global challenges and the efforts to prevent, neutralize or mitigate them. With an insightful blend of qualitative and quantitative methods, the book uncovers the multi-functionality of blue-green infrastructure, the potentials of urban voids, and the urgent need for ecological transition. Unveiling the gap between current governance instruments and pressing challenges, this book serves as a compass for crafting inclusive, livable, and environmentally conscious cities and communities.

This book presents carefully curated works from the 10th Conference on Biomechanics, where 135 researchers converged to explore the forefront of biomechanical inquiry. The chapters cover research spanning biomaterials, clinical biomechanics, sports biomechanics, experimental biomechanics, and teaching biomechanics. Each contribution was selected through a rigorous peer-review process and encapsulates the essence of contemporary biomechanics, offering critical insights into innovative materials, diagnostic strategies, performance optimization techniques, empirical investigations, and pedagogical approaches.

This book puts the spotlight on a different and neglected aspect of law drafting and reform: the question of size. Specifically, how does the size of a jurisdiction affect its ability to make and change its laws? Some of the challenges affecting small jurisdictions include: a lack of resources and paucity of policy/drafting capacity; the pressures and pull from sources outside the jurisdiction (e.g. international bodies or NGOs; larger states; treaty commitments); a vulnerability to domestic capture (e.g. criminal elements, big local businesses, strong domestic lobby groups); weak/bad governance (e.g. laws or institutions which themselves do not encourage or promote good governance, reflection and reform); the legacy of colonial legal systems and their interaction with indigenous or customary laws; and struggles to comply with constitutional norms such as accountability and transparency. Despite these difficulties small jurisdictions also have certain advantages when it comes to making and reforming law: they can be flexible and creative; they can legislate very quickly if the political will is there; and there is strong informal/formal accountability in a small jurisdiction. This edited collection explores law reform and law drafting in small jurisdictions through the themes of sovereignty; the impact of colonialism and legal plurality; the challenges of harmonising laws at regional and international levels; and constitutional reform. Of use to researchers and practitioners alike.

This book presents the state-of-the-art in supercomputer simulation. It includes the latest findings from leading researchers using systems from the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) in 2022. The reports cover all fields of computational science and engineering ranging from CFD to computational physics and from chemistry to computer science with a special emphasis on industrially relevant applications. Presenting findings of one of Europe's leading systems, this volume covers a wide variety of applications that deliver a high level of sustained performance.The book covers the main methods in high-performance computing. Its outstanding results in achieving the best performance for production codes are of particular interest for both scientists and engineers. The book comes with a wealth of color illustrations and tables of results.

The book is a collection of high-quality peer-reviewed research papers presented at the International Conference of Experimental and Numerical Investigations and New Technologies (CNNTech2023) held at Zlatibor, Serbia from 4th July to 7th July 2023. The book discusses various industrial, engineering and scientific applications of engineering techniques. Researchers from academia and industry present their original work and exchange ideas, experiences, information, techniques, applications and innovations in mechanical engineering, materials science, chemical and process engineering, experimental techniques, numerical methods and new technologies.

Medical laboratories not only assist the physicians in diagnosis and management of a disease but also play a role in community health. Apart from the analytical aspects of various investigations, the larger areas of human resource management, inventory management and the like have been gaining importance as a part of laboratory management. There is a felt need for an understanding of the managerial aspects of a clinical laboratory, especially in an institutional setting. Although this knowledge can be acquired from books on general management subject, there is a paucity of books dedicated to clinical laboratory management. Hence is a need for a simple and concise text for management in the clinical laboratory practice. This first-of-its-kind book contains 50 chapters and is divided into ten sections. It is intended to provide an all-encompassing overview of management in a clinical laboratory and is written in a way that makes the content easy-to-comprehend, especiallyfor those who have not been trained in the core management concepts. The book begins with an introduction to Laboratory Management and makes the reader familiar with the general aspect of management. Each section that follows focuses on an important aspect of laboratory management, including but not limited to human resource management, accounting and finance, quality control, laboratory hazards and safety, and more. Clinical Laboratory Management shall be a valuable resource for clinical laboratorians, students of medical laboratory technology, laboratory managers, and hospital managers. It aims to help readers understand the managerial aspects of a clinical laboratory and serve as more efficient clinical laboratory managers.

This volume focuses on practical applications of the principles that can be transferred from nature to our design space. It is thereby supported by the regulation and control systems as described by the science of cybernetics.

This book focuses on the indirect effects on environmental resilience. The COVID-19 epidemic and the 2020 global pandemic have had an unprecedented public health impact. These included not only economic impacts but also social activities, and environmental and ecological impacts. This study examined the fact that net effects were positive, for example, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, oil and gas exploration activities, and reductions in pollution. The most notable and most positive environmental impact of COVID-19 is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources. Air and road transport cause a huge portion of the pollution from closures and outages. Restrictions on economic and social mobility have had positive impacts, with reductions in transport and trade contributing significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By increasing their scale, endangered ecosystems benefit from improved environmental quality.To better understand how the environmentis maintained, we summarize the evolution of COVID-19 and subsequent pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unexpected and lasting impact on the environment. At the same time, ecological hotspots where human activity is commonly prevalent benefit from improved environmental quality, allowing wildlife and other life forms to thrive. For this reason, we can conclude that the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic were beneficial to environmental stewardship.

The book is a unique collection of studies involving intelligent systems and applications of artificial intelligence in the real world to provide solutions to most vexing problems. IntelliSys received an overwhelming 605 papers which were put under strict double-blind peer-review for their novelty, originality and exhaustive research. Finally, 227 papers were sieved and chosen to be published in the proceedings.This book is a valuable collection of all the latest research in the field of artificial intelligence and smart systems. It provides a ready-made resource to all the readers keen on gaining information regarding the latest trends in intelligent systems. It also renders a sneak peek into the future world governed by artificial intelligence.

The book is a unique collection of studies involving intelligent systems and applications of artificial intelligence in the real world to provide solutions to most vexing problems. IntelliSys received an overwhelming 605 papers which were put under strict double-blind peer-review for their novelty, originality and exhaustive research. Finally, 227 papers were sieved and chosen to be published in the proceedings.This book is a valuable collection of all the latest research in the field of artificial intelligence and smart systems. It provides a ready-made resource to all the readers keen on gaining information regarding the latest trends in intelligent systems. It also renders a sneak peek into the future world governed by artificial intelligence.

This book collects selected contributions of the ¿Optimization and Decision Science - ODS2023¿ international conference on the theme of optimization in green sustainability and ecological transition. ODS2023 was held in Ischia, 4¿7 September 2023, and was organized by AIRO, the Italian Operations Research Society. The book offers new and original contributions on operations research, optimization, decision science, and prescriptive analytics from both a methodological and applied perspectives with a special focus on SDG related topics.It provides a state-of-the art on problem models and solving methods to address a widely class of real-world problems, arising in different application areas such as logistics, transportation, manufacturing, health, ICT and mobile networks, and emergency/disaster management. In addition, the scientific works collected in this book aim at providing significant contributions in the themes of sustainability, traffic and pollution reductions, and energy management.This book is aimed primarily at researchers and Ph.D. students in the Operations Research community. However, due to its interdisciplinary contents, this book is of high interest also for students and researchers from other disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer sciences, finance, mathematics, and engineering as well as for practitioners facing complex decision-making problems in logistics, manufacturing production, and services.

This book is a collection of high-quality peer-reviewed research papers presented at The International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Smart Technologies (I2ST'23) held at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Hassan First University, Morocco, on January 17-18, 2023. I2ST'23 is a forum for presenting new advances and research results in the fields of information, communication, and smart technologies. The book discusses significant issues relating to machine learning, smart technologies, and data analytics. The main and distinctive topics covered are: I) AI& Intelligent, II) Systems Smart Technologies, III) Communications and Networking, IV) Software Engineering & Web Applications, V) Information Technology, and VI) Software Engineering & Web Applications.

This book provides case studies and state-of-the-art research findings for cutting-edge technologies relevant to transportation infrastructure projects, with emphasis on safe, smart, and resilient road and mobility networks. The market share of the global infrastructure projects is estimated at $3.4 trillion, the socioeconomic rate of return is around 20%, and significant progress has been made in the last decade in maintenance of existing projects and to improve future construction projects for the well-being of the society. Different book chapters focus on emerging challenges including readying road infrastructure to autonomous vehicles, safety of road users, increased efficiency and sustainability of infrastructure projects, and advances in construction materials and technologies of highways, tunnels, and bridges. State-of-the-art research includes the current and future applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), intelligent transportation systems (ITS), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), big data, smart materials, and additive manufacturing (AM). This book is intended for transportation professionals, policy makers, researchers, practicing engineers, researchers, graduate students, and public and private sector transportation personnel

The book provides an overview of the characteristics and skills - both technical and soft - needed to become the surgical leaders of tomorrow. During the COVID pandemic, the methodological weakness in accessing and disseminating information in has become evident: this has fostered the digital development and has favoured the creation of networks and communities of individuals (not only physicians or surgeons) pointing the way to global knowledge sharing. The development of the technological offer applied to surgery has been very rapid, with the integration of minimally invasive and robotic surgery with artificial intelligence and computerization of decision-making processes, up to the extreme limit of space surgery. However, in the future of this discipline surgeons will no longer need to consider only improved access to knowledge and evolution of technology, as a great challenge will be represented by the parallel development of non-technical skills (leadership, communication, team-working) and by the careful application of healthcare management principles to clinical practice. Finally, in the near future (but already in the present), it will be impossible to ignore the economic impact of high-tech care and equity in access to care. The book describes a journey, which starts from the history of surgical education to cross the most relevant perspectives of present and future, exploring new learning models, the thousand applications of artificial intelligence, and surgical technology to the space and back.

The new edition of the highly popular, The Fractal Geometry of the Brain, reviews the most intriguing applications of fractal analysis in neuroscience with a focus on current and future potential, limits, advantages, and disadvantages. It brings an understanding of fractals to clinicians and researchers even if they do not have a mathematical background, and it serves as a valuable tool for teaching the translational applications of computational fractal-based models to both students and scholars. As a consequence of the novel research developed at Professor Di Ieva's laboratory and other centers around the world, the second edition will explore the use of computational fractal-based analysis in many clinical disciplines and different fields of research, including neurology and neurosurgery, neuroanatomy and psychology, magnetoencephalography (MEG), eye-tracking devices (for the fractal computational characterization of ¿scanpaths¿),deep learning in image analysis, radiomics for the characterization of brain MRIs, characterization of neuropsychological and psychiatric diseases and traits, signal complexity analysis in time series, and functional MRI, amongst others.