Download or read book The Eighth Day written by Richard Newbold Adams and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 1988-03-01 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can human social evolution be described in terms common to other sciences, most specifically, as an energy process? The Eighth Day reflects a conviction that the human trajectory, for all its uniqueness and indeterminism, will never be satisfactorily understood until it is framed in dynamics that are common to all of nature. The problem in doing this, however, lies in ourselves. The major social theories have failed to treat human social evolution as a component of broader natural processes. The Eighth Day argues that the energy process provides a basis for explaining, comparing, and measuring complex social evolution. Using traditional ecological energy flow studies as background, society is conceived as a self-organization of energy. This perspective enables Adams to analyze society in term of the natural selection of self-organizing energy forms and the trigger processes basic to it. Domestication, civilization, socioeconomic development, and the regulation of contemporary industrial nation-states serve to illustrate the approach. A principal aim is to explore the limitation that energy process imposes on human social evolution as well as to clarify the alternatives that it allows. Richly informed by contemporary anthropological historicism, sociobiology, and Marxism, The Eighth Day avoids simple reductionism and denies facile ideological categorization. Adams builds on work in nonequilibrium thermodynamics and theoretical biology and brings three decades of his own work to an analysis of human society that demands an extreme materialism in which human thought and action find a central place.
Download or read book Introduction to Veterinary and Comparative Forensic Medicine written by John E. Cooper and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction to Veterinary and Comparative Forensic Medicine is a ground-breaking book in an emerging new speciality. It reflects the increasing demand for expert opinion by veterinarians and others in courts of law and elsewhere on such matters as: · wildlife conservation, · welfare of, and alleged cruelty to, animals, · insurance, certification and malpractice · the identification of live and dead species or their derivatives. It also discusses and analyses current concern over possible links between domestic violence and abuse of animals. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the need for a systematic and thorough approach to forensic work. A particular feature is practical advice, with protocols on dealing with common problems, together with case studies, various appendices and an extensive bibliography. A vital reference for members of the veterinary profession, lawyers, enforcement bodies and welfare and conservation organisations. The comparative aspects provide an important source of information for those working in human forensic medicine and the biological sciences.
Download or read book The Andes written by Onno Oncken and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-11-22 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the first comprehensive overview of a complete subduction orogen, the Andes. To date the results provide the densest and most highly resolved geophysical image of an active subduction orogen.
Download or read book Contributions to Statistical Analysis written by Rafael Hernandez-Nieto and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2002-07 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this work, two new coefficients have been proposed: the Coefficient of Proportional Variance (Cpv) and the Coefficient of Content Validity (Ccv). The Coefficient of Proportional Variance proposes a solution to the problem of measuring and evaluating the relative variability of a given distribution, obviating the problems of subjective interpretation and value judgments. The mathematical relationship derived from the Cpv allows for a more precise and more scientific interpretation of relative variability of data. The Coefficient of Content Validity permits the calculation of the content validity for each item, as well as the total content validity, of any data collection instrument that has been subjected to the evaluation of several judges (Panel of Experts Technique). Until now, according to the psychometric and statistical literature, a quantitative estimator of the content validity of a measuring instrument had not been achieved.
Download or read book Microbial Taxonomy Phylogeny and Biodiversity written by Jesús L. Romalde and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2019-12-31 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The great diversity of microbial life is the remaining major reservoir of unknown biological diversity on earth. To understand this vast, but largely unperceived diversity with its untapped genetic, enzymatic and industrial potential, microbial systematics is undergoing a revolutionary change in its approach to describe novel taxa based on genomic/envirogenomic information. The characterization of an organism is no longer bounded by methodological barriers, and it is now possible to fully sequence the whole genome of a strain to study individual genes, or to examine the genetic information by using different techniques. In fact, application of genomics is helping not only to provide a better understanding of the boundaries of genera and higher levels of classification, but also to refine our definition of the species concept. In addition, increased understanding of phylogeny is allowing to predict the genetic potential of microorganisms for biotechnological applications and adaptation to environmental changes. The present Research Topic on “Microbial Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Biodiversity” compiles a collection of papers covering the use of genomic sequence data in microbial taxonomy and systematics, including evolutionary relatedness of microorganisms; application of comparative genomics in systematic studies; or metagenomic approaches for biodiversity studies. We hope that this eBook incentives and encourages researchers for future discussions on microbial taxonomy and phylogenetics.
Download or read book Nutrigenetics written by Dolores Corella and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2018-07-10 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Nutrigenetics" that was published in Nutrients
Download or read book The Andes written by Axel Borsdorf and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-12 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Andes are attracting global interest again: they hold valuable mineral resources, tourists appreciate their great natural beauty and the diversity of indigenous cultures, climbers scale rock and ice faces, while many others are intrigued by regional political developments, such as the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela or the almost unfettered hegemony of the neoliberal economic model in Chile. This volume is the first attempt for decades to present a complete overview of the longest mountain chain on the planet – a region of remarkable climatic, floristic and geologic diversity, where advanced civilization developed well before the arrival of the Spanish. Today the Andes continue to be characterized by their ethnic, demographic, cultural and economic diversity, as well as by the disparity of local socioeconomic groups. The Andean countries pursue a wide range of approaches to tackle the challenges of making the best use of their natural and cultural potential without damaging their ecological basis, as well as to overcome economic disparity and foster social cohesion. This book provides insights into this unique region and its most pressing issues, complemented by a wealth of pictures and comprehensive diagrams, which, in sum, help to better understand these fascinating mountains.
Download or read book Lake Chilwa written by M. Kalk and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leonard C. Beadle In contrast to the more sta bie oceans, inland waters are, on the geological time scale, short-lived and are subject to great fluctuations in chemical composition and physical features. Very few lakes and rivers have existed continuously for more than a million years, and the life of the majority is to be measured in thousands or less. Earth movements, erosion and long-term climatic changes in the past have caused many of them to appear and disappear. No wonder then that most freshwater organism are especially adapted to great changes and many even to temporary extinction of their environment. Recent studies of residual sediments from existing and extinct lakes in tropical Africa have told us much about their age and the past history of their faunas and floras, from which we may deduce something about the climate and the conditions in the water in the past. The forces that have formed and moulded the African Great Lakes have been catastrophic in their violence and effects. They are not yet finished, but the present rate of change is, in human terms, too slow for direct observation of the ecological effects. The large man-made lakes are providing very good opportunities for studying the chemi cal and biological consequences of the initial filling but, once filled, they are artificially protected against major fluctuations.
Download or read book Plant Genomics written by Ibrokhim Y. Abdurakhmonov and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2016-07-14 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plant genomics aims to sequence, characterize, and study the genetic compositions, structures, organizations, functions, and interactions/networks of an entire plant genome. Its development and advances are tightly interconnected with proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics, transgenomics, genomic selection, bioinformatics, epigenomics, phenomics, system biology, modern instrumentation, and robotics sciences. Plant genomics has significantly advanced over the past three decades in the land of inexpensive, high-throughput sequencing technologies and fully sequenced over 100 plant genomes. These advances have broad implications in every aspect of plant biology and breeding, powered with novel genomic selection and manipulation tools while generating many grand challenges and tasks ahead. This Plant genomics provides some updated discussions on current advances, challenges, and future perspectives of plant genome studies and applications.
Download or read book Long Term Socio Ecological Research written by Simron Jit Singh and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors in this volume make a case for LTSER’s potential in providing insights, knowledge and experience necessary for a sustainability transition. This expertly edited selection of contributions from Europe and North America reviews the development of LTSER since its inception and assesses its current state, which has evolved to recognize the value of formulating solutions to the host of ecological threats we face. Through many case studies, this book gives the reader a greater sense of where we are and what still needs to be done to engage in and make meaning from long-term, place-based and cross-disciplinary engagements with socio-ecological systems.
Download or read book Nutrition and Aging written by Irwin H. Rosenberg and published by Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers. This book was released on 2002 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humanity is aging. In the last century, life expectancy has increased by as much as 25 years, the greatest increase in 5'000 years of history. As a consequence the elderly constitute today the fastest growing segment of the world's population. This new situation creates many social problems and challenges to health care which both the developed as well as the developing countries will have to cope with. The present publication shows that scientific progress has reached a level where nutritional interventions may play a decisive part in the prevention of degenerative conditions of age, improvement of quality of life and impact on health care burden and resources. Topics deal with such different aspects as the influence of prenatal and early infant nutrition on the future aged individual and effects of energetic restriction on longevity. Further contributions include studies on mitochondrial alterations, digestive problems, specific metabolic deviations mediated by insulin, bone degradation, structural changes, neuromuscular dysfunctions, mental state of the elderly as well as the response of the immune system to nutrient intake. Finally the book offers a review of requirements appropriate to meet the age-related public health challenges of the 21st century.
Download or read book Plant Amino Acids written by Bijay K. Singh and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1998-10-27 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the basic knowledge of the regulation of biosynthesis of various amino acids in plants and the application of this knowledge to the discovery of novel inhibitors of amino acid biosynthesis and for enhancing the nutritional value of plant products. Provides an exhaustive list of pathway inhibitors.
Download or read book Molecular Chaperones in Health and Disease written by Matthias Gaestel and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-09-27 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Molecular chaperones are involved in a wide variety of essential cellular processes in living cells. A subset of molecular chaperones have been initially described as heat shock proteins protecting cells from stress damage by keeping cellular proteins in a folding competent state and preventing them from irreversible aggregation. Later it became obvious that molecular chaperones are also expressed constitutively in the cell and are involved in complex processes such as protein synthesis, intracellular protein transport, post-translational modification and secretion of proteins as well as receptor signalling. Hence, it is not surprising that molecular chaperones are implicated in the pathogenesis of many relevant diseases and could be regarded as potential pharmacological targets. Starting with the analysis of the mode of action of chaperones at the molecular, cellular and organismic level, this book will then describe specific aspects where modulation of chaperone action could be of pharmacological and therapeutic interest.
Download or read book Promised Land written by Peter Rosset and published by Food First Books. This book was released on 2006 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book represents the first harvest in the English language of the work of the Land Research Action Network (LRAN). LRAN is an international working group of researchers, analysts, nongovernment organizations, and representatives of social movements. -- pref.
Download or read book The Vicu a written by Iain Gordon and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-10-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Things have changed. In 1969 when the Convention for the Conservation of the Vicuña was drafted, in an attempt to save the vicuña from its tumbling decline towards extinction, both the science and the philosophy of wildlife conservation were radically different. It is thus a tribute to the prescience of those involved at the time that the rescue plan had, even through the harsh lens of hindsight, a d- tinctly Twenty First Century flavour. After all, it was predicated on the expectation that if vicuña could be saved, they would one day become a valued asset, generating revenue for the human communities that fostered their survival. Embodied in this aspiration are the main structures of modern biodiversity conservation – not only is it to be underpinned by science, but that science should be of both the natural and the social genres, woven into inter-disciplinarity, and thereby taking heed of e- nomics, governance, ownership and the like, alongside biology. In addition, it should include, as a major strut, the human dimension, taking account of the affected constituencies with their varied stakes in alternative outcomes. This c- temporary framework for thinking about biodiversity conservation is inseparable from such wider, and inherently political, notions as community-based conser- tion and ultimately sustainable use.
Download or read book The Buried Mirror written by Carlos Fuentes and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 1999 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of Spanish culture in Spain and the Americas traces the social, political, and economic forces that created that culture.
Download or read book Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement written by S. Norris and published by Geological Society of London. This book was released on 2014-10-24 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Special Publication contains 43 scientific studies presented at the 5th conference on ‘Clays in natural and engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement’ held in Montpellier, France in 2012. The conference and this resulting volume cover all the aspects of clay characterization and behaviour considered at various temporal and spatial scales relevant to the confinement of radionuclides in clay, from basic phenomenological process descriptions to the global understanding of performance and safety at repository and geological scales. Special emphasis has been given to the modelling of processes occurring at the mineralogical level within the clay barriers. The papers in this Special Publication consider research into argillaceous media under the following topic areas: large-scale geological characterization; clay-based concept/large-scale experiments; hydrodynamical modelling; geochemistry; geomechanics; mass transfer/gas transfer; mass transfer mechanisms. The collection of different topics presented in this Special Publication demonstrates the diversity of geological repository research.
