Impact of Natural Hazards on Forest Ecosystems and Their Surrounding Landscape under Climate Change
In recent decades, the increasing frequency of natural hazards has impacted forest ecosystems and their surroundings. It is because of climate change that the dynamics of the ecosystem structure, feedbacks, and relationships are changing. These structural changes are too complicated and complex to be entirely, or at least satisfactorily, explained. However, it is possible to explain at least some of these interconnections. Water is the primary transport medium for energy and material fluxes in ecosystems, and, therefore, it is a common denominator of the complex interconnections between their partial components.Consequently, we paid attention to water as the primary agent driving the impact of natural hazards in forest ecosystems and their surroundings. Water scarcity causes drought, and its surplus causes flood, respectively. Additionally, it is also necessary to understand temporal distribution patterns of water in a warmer climate and ecophysiological consequences in forest structures. Thus, we decided to prepare a book in which contributors of the articles tried to explain some water-related examples of natural hazard impacts on the forest and the surrounding ecosystem.
Advances in the Biology of Phototrophic Bacteria
The application of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses brings new dimensions to our understanding of the biology of phototrophic bacteria. Comparing gene sequences of photosynthetic reaction center proteins and a key enzyme of bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis from more than 150 genomes demonstrates the ancient roots of phototrophic bacteria. The presence and phylogeny of biosynthetic pathways of the compatible solutes ectoine and glycine betaine define groups of marine and halophilic phototrophic bacteria. The wide range of ecological niches conquered during evolution is demonstrated by the adaptation of cyanobacterial genera Scytonema, Tolypothrix, and Nostoc to different temperature ranges and the adaptation of Heliorestis species to alkaline habitats. Differences between phototrophic purple bacteria from marine and freshwater habitats are reflected in the preference for sulfidic and non-sulfidic niches. Also, a high proportion of siderophore producers was found among isolates from freshwater sources opposed to those from salty habitats . The primary colonization of carbonate rocks by a group of novel endolithic cyanobacteria and the following successions were studied over 9 months. The genomic characterization of the aerobic Dinoroseobacter strain AAP5, the strictly anaerobic and syntrophic Prosthecochloris ethylica, and the strictly anaerobic Heliorestis convoluta is reported. Significant differences in relation to oxygen are reflected in oxygen production by some species, oxygen tolerance over a wide range of concentrations, and the use of oxygen for energy generation or a strictly anaerobic lifestyle. Relations to oxygen are highlighted in papers on photooxidative stress, regulation of iron-sulfur cluster formation, and interactions of redox regulators. In situ metatranscriptomic and proteomic studies demonstrate the high metabolic flexibility of Chloroflexus aggregans in a hot spring microbial mat and show its adaptation to the changing conditions over day and night periods by a well-coordinated regulation of key metabolic processes for both phototrophic and chemotrophic growth.
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in Cities and Their Interaction with Urban Land, Ecosystems, Built Environment and People
Nature-based solutions are a comparatively new field of research regarding the 'green city' and a main focus of large European and Global research programs. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are defined by IUCN as "actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified-in our case urban-ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits". NBS have the aim to support the achievement of society's development goals and human well-being and public health as well as social welfare in ways that reflect the cultural and societal values of the urban societies and enhance the resilience of ecosystems, their capacity for renewal, their diversity, along with the provision of services. NBS are designed to address major societal challenges related to cities, such as safe and clean housing, fresh air, food security, climate change, water supply, human health, and disaster risk. NBS are intended to produce societal benefits in a fair and equitable way, thus promoting transparency and broad participation as well as learning and education.This Special Issue provides a state of the art of the functional, empirical, and field study-based experiences and data on NBS provided by green and blue infrastructure (GBI) in cities. We focus on the interaction of the instrument of NBS, its benefits, and tradeoffs with urban land, the built environment in cities, and the urban society, in particular in relation to social wealth and public health, also taking into account stewardship and governance aspects.
Wildness and Being Human
What makes us human? Drawing from his own experiences in wild places through the decades, the author challenges the conventional notion that being civilized somehow changes what we are. He argues that wildness is an essential part of our humanity, and that our complex civilization threatens it. WILDNESS AND BEING HUMAN questions the basic assumptions we make about ourselves as it follows the evolution of hominids into fully human beings, the development of towns and agriculture, and the unfolding of civilization during the past 5,000 years. This book also considers what we are becoming, while stressing the importance of staying connected to the natural world. It is a whole new way of looking at human nature.
The Majestic Heavens
As a Retiree, I am enjoying life each day with a thankful and humbled heart. I keep writing so that my children and children's children will be inspired to write their words of inspiration to uplift their fellowmen of their generation. This book, The Majestic Heavens, came out of my love for nature to include the sky above or the Heavens. I became captivated with the formation of clouds, especially when I take to the sky flying in airplanes. I have seen some of the most captivating clouds up above and flown through those captivating clouds. On one of my flights, I saw the formation of a church's steeple and was mesmerized. This love affair with the clouds have been for many years and I finally decided to share the beauty of the Heavens with my friends and on social media and realized that not too many people stopped to observe or chase the heavenly clouds. Therefore, the birth of this my eighth book. Please enjoy and take the time to look up and see the Majestic Heavens with awesome formations of Clouds towering over our amazing Earth we call our home. There is beauty within us, around us and above us.
Chronature
After over 100 years of the Bohr-Quantum atom model we introduce a practical model of atomic structure, based solely on spacetime geometry. Atoms are modeled as another kind of spacetime in starting where General Relativity ends. Modeling matter as a different spacetime entity, but consistent with Einstein Field Equation, warps surrounding spacetime as matter does. The Chronature model provides a composite spacetime physical model that bridges General Relativity with Quantum Mechanics Theory. More importantly, the topology and geometry of composite spacetime emerge as well know closed-form solutions suited for computational tools that bring physics back to reality and reality back into physics.
Forgotten Clones
Long before scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland cloned Dolly the sheep in 1996, American embryologist and aspiring cancer researcher Robert Briggs successfully developed the technique of nuclear transplantation using frogs in 1952. Although the history of cloning is often associated with contemporary ethical controversies, Forgotten Clones revisits the influential work of scientists like Briggs, Thomas King, and Marie DiBerardino, before the possibility of human cloning and its ethical implications first registered as a concern in public consciousness, and when many thought the very idea of cloning was experimentally impossible. By focusing instead on new laboratory techniques and practices and their place in Anglo-American science and society in the mid-twentieth century, Nathan Crowe demonstrates how embryos constructed in the lab were only later reconstructed as ethical problems in the 1960s and 1970s with the emergence of what was then referred to as the Biological Revolution. His book illuminates the importance of the early history of cloning for the biosciences and their institutional, disciplinary, and intellectual contexts, as well as providing new insights into the changing cultural perceptions of the biological sciences after Second World War.
Socio-Hydrology
During the third decade of the 21st century, human societies across the world are facing significant water-related problems, such as ecosystem degradation, groundwater depletion, natural and anthropogenic droughts and floods, water-borne health issues, and deforestation. These problems are exacerbated by climate change, a phenomenon that has been accelerated due to human intervention in natural systems since the industrial revolution. There is an urgent need to better understand the interaction of hydrological systems in terms of climate variability and the anthropogenic factors that contribute to the dynamics and resilience of coupled human-water systems and effective risk management in the area of water resource management. Socio-hydrology is an interdisciplinary field that integrates natural and social sciences and aims to study the long-term dynamics of bidirectional feedback in coupled human-water systems. This book on socio-hydrology aims to compile cross-disciplinary scientific endeavors and innovations in research on the development, education, and application of coupled human-water systems. The articles published in this book represent diverse and broad aspects of water management in the context of socio-hydrology systems around the globe. The articles and ideas presented in this book represent a significant source of references for interdisciplinary water science programs and provide an excellent guide for experts involved in the future planning and management of water resources. This book is dedicated to friends of the Green Water-Infrastructure Academy and those who pursue cross-disciplinary water research, education, and management.
Food Innovation as a Means of Developing Healthier and More Sustainable Foods
The current demand for healthy and sustainable foods has encouraged the development of new alternatives, even in traditional products. Improved foods may be produced by reducing the amount of some ingredients, adding new ones, or replacing traditionally used ingredients for others. By reformulating their products, manufacturers can offer healthier choices for an ever-growing number of consumers interested in maintaining a balanced diet. In addition, market demand for more sustainable foods contributes to a lower environmental impact in their production. In this regard, current areas of interest include the production of foods using a lower amount of inputs, as well as the utilization of food by-products to improve the amount and quality of available foods. Another aspect to be considered is that not all consumers are willing to eat foods produced with new ingredients or novel technologies. Hence, the development of innovations in food products should take into account the influence of the so-called consumer food neophobia. For this reason, papers dealing with the consumer acceptance of these food innovations are also welcome. Thus, the aim of this Special Issue of Foods is to provide documents focused on the production of healthier and more sustainable foods by using novel ingredients, food by-products, or new production processes.
Mercury and Methylmercury Contamination of Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems
This Special Issue aims to provide new insights into the issue of the mercury contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This ubiquitous contaminant has been used by humans for many years, resulting in global contamination. When this toxic contaminant is converted to methylmercury, it accumulates in trophic chains, which is a major issue for wildlife and human health. The nine articles contained within this Special Issue on ''Mercury and Methylmercury Contamination of Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems'' endeavour to identify the historical evolution of Hg and MeHg levels in aquatic environments, and to evaluate the impact of current and historical human activities, such as mining, climate change, and soil erosion, on receptor ecosystems and food chains.
THz
The THz region of the electromagnetic spectrum is a frontier research area involving application of many disciplines, from outdoor to indoor communications, security, drug detection, biometrics, food quality control, agriculture, medicine, semiconductors, and air pollution. THz research is highly demanding in term of sources with high power and time resolution, detectors, and new spectrometer systems. Many open questions still exist regarding working at THz frequencies; many materials exhibit unusual or exotic properties in the THz domain, and researchers need new methodologies to exploit these opportunities. This book contains original papers dealing with emerging applications, new devices, sources and detectors, and materials with advanced properties for applications in biomedicine, cultural heritage, technology, and space.
Towards Green, Enhanced Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution
This book gathers selected research on the preparation, characterization and application of new organic/inorganic composites endowed with photo(electro)catalytic properties for the photocatalytic production of H2. In these pilot studies, the photoactive materials were tested under either UV-visible or, even more conveniently, under visible light for H2 evolution in "sacrificial water splitting" or "photoreforming" systems. In addition, a review article on the use of 2D materials and composites as potential photocatalysts for water splitting is included.
Cellular Senescence in Health, Disease and Aging
Dear Colleagues, When Hayflick and Moorhead coined the term "cellular senescence" (CS) almost 60 years ago, this phenomenon was understood as a mechanism, usually induced by activation of the DNA-repair machinery, to prevent uncontrolled proliferation. Meanwhile, additional beneficial roles for CS have been identified, such as embryonic development and wound healing. The senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) activated in most senescent cells (SC) signals to the immune system "come here and remove me". In organisms with young and functional immune systems, occurring SC are usually detected and removed. If SC remain in the tissue expressing the SASP, this will cause not just a damaging local inflammation but can also induce remodeling and regeneration of the surrounding tissue as well as spreading of senescence. Old organisms show reduced regenerative potential and immune function which leads to accumulation of SC. Accordingly, accumulation of SC was observed in tissues of aged individuals, but importantly also in the context of age-related disorders, neurodegenerative, or cardiovascular diseases and others. Because of its detrimental effect of the surrounding tissue, accumulation of SC is not just a consequence, but can rather been understood as a major driver of aging. In line with this, recent studies described that removal of SC showed beneficial effects on healthspan and lifespan. This exciting research led to the discovery of "senolytics", drugs which can kill SC. Given the heterogeneity of cell types that show senescence-like phenotypes, including heart muscle and post-mitotic neuronal cells, further research is required to unravel the molecular background that renders a cell type vulnerable to senesce. Additionally, it will be important to understand how senescence is cell type-specifically induced and which molecules serve as drug targets to prevent senescence and its spreading, or actively kill SC. This special issue will shed light on the molecular pathways of CS and inflammaging and on possible strategies to interfere with these processes.Dr. Markus RiesslandGuest Editor
Synthesis of Marine Natural Products and Molecules Inspired by Marine Substances
Marine natural products are characterized by high chemical diversity, biochemical specificity, and other molecular properties that make them favorable as lead structures for drug discovery. In this field, one of the main problems is often the reduced natural availability of isolated substances, which can complicate both the structural characterization and possible future developments. For these reasons, the study of bioactive marine metabolites should rely on the development of chemical synthesis and synthetic strategies aimed at the preparation of pure compounds and analogs both for structural confirmation and/or for the large-scale preparation necessary for future applications. Moreover, natural products can be a crucial starting point for the preparation of molecules structurally inspired by the latter, opening the path to new classes of biologically active compounds with pharmacological potential. This book collects original research articles regarding synthetic strategies for secondary marine metabolites and/or analogs that favor applications of these molecules and/or solve structural challenges common in the field of natural substances.
Using Remote Sensing Techniques to Improve Hydrological Predictions in a Rapidly Changing World
Remotely sensed geophysical datasets are being produced at increasingly fast rates to monitor various aspects of the Earth system in a rapidly changing world. The efficient and innovative use of these datasets to understand hydrological processes in various climatic and vegetation regimes under anthropogenic impacts has become an important challenge, but with a wide range of research opportunities. The ten contributions in this Special Issue have addressed the following four research topics: (1) Evapotranspiration estimation; (2) rainfall monitoring and prediction; (3) flood simulations and predictions; and (4) monitoring of ecohydrological processes using remote sensing techniques. Moreover, the authors have provided broader discussions on how to capitalize on state-of-the-art remote sensing techniques to improve hydrological model simulations and predictions, to enhance their skills in reproducing processes for the fast-changing world.
Plant Viruses
Plant viruses cause many of the most important diseases threatening crops worldwide. Over the last quarter of a century, an increasing number of plant viruses have emerged in various parts of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. As is generally observed for plant viruses, most of the emerging viruses are transmitted horizontally by biological vectors, mainly insects. Reverse genetics using infectious clones-available for many plant viruses-has been used for identification of viral determinants involved in virus-host and virus-vector interactions. Although many studies have identified a number of factors involved in disease development and transmission, the precise mechanisms are unknown for most of the virus-plant-vector combinations. In most cases, the diverse outcomes resulting from virus-virus interactions are poorly understood. Although significant advances have been made towards understand the mechanisms involved in plant resistance to viruses, we are far from being able to apply this knowledge to protect cultivated plants from the all viral threats.The aim of this Special Issue was to provide a platform for researchers interested in plant virology to share their recent results. To achieve this, we invited the plant virology community to submit research articles, short communications and reviews related to the various aspects of plant virology: ecology, virus-plant host interactions, virus-vector interactions, virus-virus interactions, and control strategies. This issue contains some of the best current research in plant virology.
Structural and Functional Analysis of Extracts in Plants
Structural and Functional Analysis of Extracts in Plants collects 1 editorial, 3 reviews, and 26 research articles reporting recent research findings which cover several aspects of plant-derived bioactive compounds, to correlate extraction techniques with the chemical composition of extracts and their bioactivity for identifying molecules that might be used as active substances in a wide variety of areas.This book is a valuable resource for members of the scientific community wishing to further explore plants and the therapeutic applications of their bioactive compounds. It will appeal to scholars, teachers and scientists involved in plant product research, and facilitate the development of innovative new drugs.
Understanding Neuromuscular Health and Disease
This compilation focuses on recent advances in the molecular and cellular understanding of neuromuscular biology, and the treatment of neuromuscular disease. These advances are at the forefront of modern molecular methodologies, often integrating across wet-lab cell and tissue models, dry-lab computational approaches, and clinical studies. The continuing development and application of multiomics methods offer particular challenges and opportunities in the field, not least in the potential for personalized medicine.
Marking Time
If you lie awake worrying about the overnight transition from December 31, 1 b.c., to January 1, a.d. 1 (there is no year zero), then you will enjoy Duncan Steel's Marking Time.--American Scientist ""No book could serve as a better guide to the cumulative invention that defines the imaginary threshold to the new millennium.""--Booklist A Fascinating March through History and the Evolution of the Modern-Day Calendar . . . In this vivid, fast-moving narrative, you'll discover the surprising story of how our modern calendar came about and how it has changed dramatically through the years. Acclaimed author Duncan Steel explores each major step in creating the current calendar along with the many different systems for defining the number of days in a week, the length of a month, and the number of days in a year. From the definition of the lunar month by Meton of Athens in 432 b.c. to the roles played by Julius Caesar, William the Conqueror, and Isaac Newton to present-day proposals to reform our calendar, this entertaining read also presents ""timely"" tidbits that will take you across the full span of recorded history. Find out how and why comets have been used as clocks, why there is no year zero between 1 b.c. and a.d. 1, and why for centuries Britain and its colonies rang in the New Year on March 25th. Marking Time will leave you with a sense of awe at the haphazard nature of our calendar's development. Once you've read this eye-opening book, you'll never look at the calendar the same way again.
Our National Parks
First published in 1901, "Our National Parks" is a fantastic guide to the wild mountain forest reservations and national parks of the United States, exploring their beauty and usefulness in an attempt to encourage contemporary readers to go out and enjoy the natural wonders of North America. John Muir (1838-1914) was an influential Scottish-American  naturalist, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, author, and glaciologist who famously fought to preserve wilderness in the United States of America. Muir's work describing his adventures in nature have been read by millions the world over and his activism has helped to conserve such important places of natural beauty as the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park in America. Contents include: "The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West", "The Yellowstone National Park", "The Yosemite National Park", "The Forests of the Yosemite Park", "The Wild Gardens of the Yosemite Park", "Among the Animals of the Yosemite", "Among the Birds of the Yosemite", "The Fountains and Streams of the Yosemite National Park", etc. Other notable works by this author include: "My First Summer in the Sierra" (1911), "Steep Trails" (1918), and "The Story of My Boyhood and Youth" (1913). A Thousand Fields is republishing this classic book now complete with a biographical sketch of the author.
Heart of the Land
From Thomas McGuane on Idaho's Snake River to Louise Erdrich on the tallgrass prairies of her native North Dakota to Carl Hiaasen combing the imperiled fishing grounds of the Florida Keys, some of the country's finest writers celebrate the geography that The Nature Conservancy has designated as & Last Great Places.&
Deep in the Green
As gardening columnist for the New York Times, Anne Raver is one of our foremost authorities on making things grow. Even non-gardeners will find this book of essays a source of profound pleasure, for Raver is a writer who transcends her subject even as she illuminates it, writing with such passion, wisdom and stylishmess that her book will enchant anyone who reads it.
Wild Riverbanks
'When we set off with our backpacks hanging from our shoulders and our hiking boots unwashed from the last trail ... we never know how it will all pan out. But something deep inside calls us to adventure and to brave the unknown ... There is a bit of wilderness within all of us ...'From hiking through the crisp mountain valleys of the Lake District to wild swimming in waterfalls beloved by poets of old to silent meditations at sunrise, discovering wildflowers, and enjoying waterside adventures, Wild Riverbanks is a collection of personal essays, memoirs, and poetry, inspired by the rivers that I have frequented throughout the years, from my childhood to the present day. This book is my gift to all those who carry a love of rivers, nature, and Mother Earth in their hearts and bones, and for those who love to dip their toes into fresh waters, and to feel the tall greying grass slip through their fingers, fresh air in their lungs, and the morning sun upon their skin ... May its humorous tales, stories, and gentle witnessings, nurture both the Soul and nature lover within.
Ahead of the Curve
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK is a world-leading scientific institution. This book, by LMB alumna Kathy Weston, is a collective portrait of women scientists who, as staff members, visitors, and trainees, helped build the LMB's reputation as a powerhouse of science, often going on to stellar careers at other outstanding institutions around the world. Combining narrative history with interview transcripts and personal reminiscence, Weston's book describes the career accomplishments of these successful scientists in the context of their lives as a whole, and how they manage goals and priorities, particularly around personal and family lives. The book provides future sisters in science with role models and inspiration but is recommended reading for everyone intent on combining success in research with a satisfying life outside science.
Humane Physics - The Whole Story
This book describes the evolution of the science of Physics from the human perspective: biographical sketches, stories of discovery, fundamental principles, social significance. The book is a serious study, with lots of details but no math in the first two third of the book.For advanced readers, the "Next Level" chapter points the way for further study, using advanced high-school mathematics. The required math is summarized in the short "Your Math Toolkit" chapter just ahead of the "Next Level". Many of the results presented in the main body of the book are mathematically proven and some typical examples are calculated and solved there.It assumes that the reader has a serious interest in understanding the laws of Physics on which our lives depend every day. This is definitely not a pop-science book: it assumes that the reader wants to learn and has the confidence that any science, intelligently explained, and requiring no prerequisites, can be understood and enjoyed. Written for age 16 and above.
The Disordered Police State
Probing the relationship between German political economy and everyday fiscal administration, The Disordered Police State focuses on the cameral sciences - a peculiarly German body of knowledge designed to train state officials - and in so doing offers a new vision of science and practice during the seventeenth and eighteenth - centuries. Andre Wakefield shows that the cameral sciences were at once natural, technological, and economic disciplines, but, more important, they also were strategic sciences, designed to procure patronage for their authors and good publicity for the German principalities in which they lived and worked. Cameralism, then, was the public face of the prince's most secret affairs; as such, it was an essentially dishonest enterprise. In an entertaining series of case studies on mining, textiles, forestry, and universities, Wakefield portrays cameralists in their own gritty terms. The result is a revolutionary new understanding about how the sciences created and maintained an image of the well - ordered police state in early modern Germany. In raising doubts about the status of these German sciences of the state, Wakefield ultimately questions many of our accepted narratives about science, culture, and society in early modern Europe.
Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems
Coastal ecosystems are dynamic, complex, and often fragile transition environments between land and oceans. They are exclusive habitats for a broad range of living organisms, functioning as havens for biodiversity and providing several important ecological services that link terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. Humans living in coastal zones have been strongly dependent on these ecosystems as a source of food, physical protection against storms and advancing sea, and a range of human activities that generate economic income. Notwithstanding, the intensification of human activities in coastal areas of the recent decades, as well as the global climatic changes and coastal erosion processes of the present, have had detrimental impacts on these environments. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of these environments and recovering an ecological balance or mitigating disturbances in systems under the influence of such stressors are complex tasks, only possible through the implementation of monitoring programs and by assessing their environmental quality. In this book, distinct approaches to environmental quality monitoring and assessment of coastal environments are presented, focused on abiotic and biotic compartments, and using tools that range from ecological levels of organization to the sub-organismal and the ecosystem levels.
The Spaceship Orion and Other Scientific Explorations
A curation of essays penned by Jeremy Bernstein, this book is a treasure trove of personal stories ranging from Bernstein's expedition to Mount Everest, cherished encounters with the fathers of Quantum Mechanics (Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrodinger), to a jovial collaboration with Freeman Dyson on the Orion spaceship project.This essay collection is a door into several pieces of scientific explorations as well as the celebrated life of Jeremy Bernstein, a physicist, professor and phenomenal writer. Readers will enjoy this book as both an autobiography and a popular science reading.
The Spaceship Orion and Other Scientific Explorations
A curation of essays penned by Jeremy Bernstein, this book is a treasure trove of personal stories ranging from Bernstein's expedition to Mount Everest, cherished encounters with the fathers of Quantum Mechanics (Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrodinger), to a jovial collaboration with Freeman Dyson on the Orion spaceship project.This essay collection is a door into several pieces of scientific explorations as well as the celebrated life of Jeremy Bernstein, a physicist, professor and phenomenal writer. Readers will enjoy this book as both an autobiography and a popular science reading.
Man's Higher Consciousness
Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
Ingenuity in the Making
Ingenuity in the Making explores the myriad ways in which ingenuity shaped the experience and conceptualization of materials and their manipulation in early modern Europe. Contributions range widely across the arts and sciences, examining objects and texts, professions and performances, concepts and practices. The book considers subjects such as spirited matter, the conceits of nature, and crafty devices, investigating the ways in which ingenuity acted in and upon the material world through skill and technique. Contributors ask how ingenuity informed the "maker's knowledge" tradition, where the perilous borderline between the genius of invention and disingenuous fraud was drawn, charting the ambitions of material ingenuity in a rapidly globalizing world.
Suburban Wild
Set in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, amid traffic, pollution, and ever-increasing neighborhoods of houses and apartments, these meditative personal essays explore the importance of our connection with the natural world, history, and memory. The Suburban Wild follows the seasons from one spring to the next, celebrating the natural miracles we frequently miss and revealing a territory less tamed than we might imagine. These essays offer the sights and sounds found on the outskirts of cities, just perceptible amid the clutter and din of crowded streets and sidewalks. From the constant humming of cicadas on summer evenings and the seasonal migrations of ducks to the myriad hues in a green heron's feathers, Peter Friederici reveals a complex place in which wild geese and morning commuters share the same habitat. The essays honor our lost creatures and places, emphasizing the importance of history, memory, and consciousness. The author describes the varying shades and textures of a clay bluff near his childhood home, relating the gradual erosion and recession of this Ice Age-old landform. A description of spirogyra algae blooms on Lake Michigan merges with a discussion of the lake's once abundant native mussels and the imported zebra mussels that are threatening their existence. From recorded memories, Friederici re-creates the sight of the now extinct passenger pigeon. Though awareness of the destruction of the landscape and its creatures is never far from the wonders presented here, The Suburban Wild connects the tracks of wildlife and traces of our changing landscape with our own path through the world. The book explores how history--whether natural or cultural, collective or personal--shapes a landscape, and how human memory shapes that history. At heart, it seeks to forge a link between the world outside our windows and the one inside.
Scratching the Woodchuck
David Kline came upon a sleeping woodchuck one summer day as he walked the land near his farm. In a gesture that speaks eloquently of Kline's relationship with the natural world, he scratched the animal gently with his walking stick, and the sleeping creature arched its back with pleasure at the attention. Like its title, this collection of essays on nature, farming, animals, insects, and other topics bespeaks the gentle demeanor and appreciation for nature that shape the author's descriptions of the world around him. Whether sharing his fondness for watching clouds while he rests his horses or for planting flowers in his favorite spot in the woods, David Kline offers a view of life that few of us take time to experience. Scratching the Woodchuck resounds with knowledge, reverence, and a joyful spirit, and to follow Kline's explorations of the landscape and animals around his farm is to sense and come to share his respect for and unity with the earth.
Nature's Treasures
Reveal extraordinary stories form nature by best-selling author Ben Hoare with this awe-inspiring animal book for curious kids aged 6-8. The world is filled with curious objects made by plants, animals, and even by the Earth itself. The wonder of wildlife is so much bigger than young minds can fathom and there is always more to learn. Nature's Treasures is a stunning nature encyclopedia for young readers to explore, with reference pages packed with fascinating information, little learners will be captivated as they dive into this collection of more than 100 intriguing items from the natural world and discover the stories behind them. Whether it's learning how bristly mouths help huge whales capture tiny animals, how minute scales make butterflies shine in the sunlight, or how studying a leaf skeleton can tell us how it transports food, children can learn all sorts of fun animal facts from the storybook descriptions. Arranged into four chapters: Animals; Plants, fungi, and algae; Minerals and rocks, and Made by nature, objects are shown with truly stunning photography and colourful illustrations to help kids understand the science behind them. The lively descriptions by best-selling nature writer Ben Hoare explore the remarkable tales of each item and all are packed with fascinating information. Nature's Treasures takes you on a tour of our planet through commonplace-but-incredible objects made by nature itself. The engaging storybook-style descriptions and simple text shed a light on the wonders of nature and wildlife, making this book ideal for inquisitive children aged 6-8 who loves to spot things when exploring outside and wants to know more about the wonderful and mysterious natural world. Celebrate your child's curiosity as they: - Explore unique and intriguing approach to exploring nature- Reveal remarkable features of plants and animals, the nests and structures they make- Uncover more than 100 amazing individual objects found in the natural world This nature encyclopedia for children is the perfect blend of storybook style text with out of this world illustrations which makes it a fantastic nature book for children who are obsessed with wildlife and the natural world. Encourage young readers to go on a journey to explore a world of information, making this the ideal first reference book for kids aged 6-8 to enjoy for hours on end, whether reading with the family or reading alone, this fun fact book also doubles up as the perfect gift for curious kids who love to learn. Explore the vastness of space by uncovering: -Stunning Jacket Detail: gold foil, holographic foil & metallic gold edges-Striking photography & illustrations inside-A beautiful book for the whole family to treasure -A quality gift to be passed down through the generations More in the SeriesNature's Treasures is part of the beautiful and informative Anthology series. Complete the series and nurture your child's curiosity as they explore the natural world with The Wonders of Nature or let them walk with the dinosaurs who ruled the earth before them in Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Life.
Solitary Goose
In the fall of 1996 Sydney Plum encountered a solitary Canada goose on a pond near her home in New England. Caring for the animal became a way for her to reconnect with nature. Walks to the pond were daily rituals--reflective times during which Plum thought about the relationships between humans and animals. Mixing memoir with closely observed nature writing, Plum searches for a deeper understanding of what was changed by the experience with the solitary goose she named SG. In the tradition of Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Plum writes lyrical lessons on the life cycle of geese, the mystery of their great migratory patterns, and their amazing adaptability. Canada geese were not always so plentiful in the United States, she explains, nor were they always denigrated as "flying carp." Plum shows how species-management programs reestablished the birds outside their previous range at the same time as golf courses, office parks, and suburban ponds began dotting the countryside, providing them with prime habitats where they were unwanted. Memories of breaking holes in the ice for SG to escape predators turn Plum's thoughts toward what it means to nurture. Coming to terms with how SG thinks leads Plum to examine anthropomorphism in nature writing. In contrast to the metaphors through which we commonly view nature, Plum argues that science combined with metaphor is a better way to understand animals. Though Plum's focus is generously outward toward nature, this book also reveals an inner journey through which, as she describes it, "the enclosures of my human life had been opened. I had become more susceptible to the kindnesses of birds."
The Woods Stretched for Miles
The Woods Stretched for Miles gathers essays about southern landscape and nature from nineteen writers with geographic or ancestral ties to the region. This remarkable group encompasses not only such well-known names as Wendell Berry and Rick Bass but also distinctive new voices, including Christopher Camuto, Susan Cerulean, and Eddy L. Harris. From the savannas of south Florida through the hardwood uplands of Mississippi to the coastal rivers of the Carolinas and the high mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, the range in geography covered is equally broad. With insight and eloquence, these diverse talents take up similar themes: environmental restoration, the interplay between individual and community, the definition of wildness in an area transformed by human activity, and the meaning of our reactions to the natural world. Readers will treasure the passionate and intelligent honorings of land and nature offered by this rich anthology. With the publication of The Woods Stretched for Miles, southern voices establish their abiding place in the ever-popular nature writing genre.
Had I the Wings
It was most fortuitous that on his first visit to Charleston John James Audubon would meet John Bachman, a Lutheran clergyman and naturalist. Their chance encounter in 1831 and immediate friendship profoundly affected the careers and social ties of these two men. In this elegantly written book, Jay Shuler offers the first in-depth portrayal of the Bachman-Audubon relationship and its significance in the creation of Audubon's works. In the numerous writings celebrating Audubon, Bachman has been largely ignored, writes Shuler, "though Bachman made substantive contributions to Audubon's Ornithological Biographies, was his partner in The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, and gave pivotal advice and assistance to Audubon during the troubled last decade of his career." Drawing on their voluminous correspondence, replete with accounts of their ornithological adventures and details of their personal and professional lives, Had I the Wings provides new insights into Audubon's life and work and rescues from obscurity John Bachman's contributions to American ornithology and mammalogy. Audubon's career can be divided into phases. From 1820 to 1831 he painted and published the first hundred prints of The Birds of America. The second phase began when he met John Bachman and they worked to complete The Birds of America and launch The Quadrupeds. Over the next decade Bachman's home became, in effect, Audubon's home in America. Early on the Bachman-Audubon friendship was enriched and complicated by an intricate social web. Both men were fond of Bachman's sister-in-law and competed for her attention. Audubon's sons, John and Victor, married Bachman's older daughters, Maria and Eliza. Through the fifteen years of their relationship the friends exchanged long letters when separated and jointly wrote to their colleagues when together. In the early 1840s they collaborated on the first volume of The Quadrupeds. Volumes two and three were published after Audubon's death in 1851. Filled with exciting birding adventures and hunting expeditions, Had I the Wings illuminates the fascinating relationship between two major nineteenth-century naturalists.
Titanium Alloys and Titanium-Based Matrix Composites
The aim of this Special Issue is to present the latest achievements related to the manufacturing and processing of titanium alloys and titanium-based composites. The subjects of published research articles concern deformation behavior, development of microstructure and properties and special applications of titanium-based materials. The Special Issue contains 21 articles-1 editorial, 18 research articles, 1 review and 1 technical note, written by the authors representing scientific institutions from 13 countries. It provides a wide overview of recent research developments on different aspects of titanium-based materials, which should be useful for researchers and engineers working in this field.
Environmental Flows, Ecological Quality and Ecosystem Services
Establishing proper environmental flows (e-flows) across river basins is one of the keystones to implementing an integrated management of water resources. This is even more critical in water-scarce river basins due to increasing water uses (i.e., irrigation) and climate change. Functions and values of aquatic ecosystems (i.e., water quality, sediment dynamics, productivity, biodiversity, ecosystem services, etc.) are influenced by river flow regime alterations. However, scientists and managers often find it very difficult to quantitatively link the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems and their services to specific e-flow regimes. This Special Issue welcomes papers investigating the links among river flows, the status of aquatic ecosystems and the benefits they provide to our society, either from scientific or management perspectives.
Nitrogen-Containing Molecules
- A total of 16 original research articles.- Contributions from 10 countries from 3 continents.- Organic synthesis towards novel heterocyclic compounds.- Fully characterized inorganic and organic molecules including X-ray crystallographic analysis.- Cyclization reactions, reactivity of aromatic compounds and improved synthetic methodologies of important intermediate compounds.
Evolutionary Dynamics of Wild Populations
This volume highlights the richness of studies focusing on the evolutionary dynamics of wild populations. It shows the diversity of organisms and approaches that can be used to reveal and understand empirical patterns, with-often, but not always-the goal of improving the long-term conservation of wild populations. This diversity reflects the diversity of questions that occupy evolutionary biologists working in wild populations, which go from revealing their global (epi)genetic and phenotypic structure at different spatial and temporal scales to the search of the inherited bases of ecologically relevant phenotypic traits. This volume should be an important contribution to the field because firstly, papers selected in this issue provide answers to timely questions in evolutionary biology. Secondly, it proves that much has to be explored to understand the causes and consequences of evolutionary dynamics of wild populations, and hence that scientists still have to put effort into the study of wild populations.
Coordination Polymers and Metal-Organic Frameworks
This themed issue of Chemistry is in honor of Professor Christoph Janiak on the occasion of his 60th birthday, and celebrates his innovative contributions to the fields of supramolecular chemistry, coordination polymers, networks and metal-organic frameworks, inorganic/organic hybrid materials and inorganic materials from ionic liquids.
Modern Seed Technology
Satisfying the increasing number of consumer demands for high-quality seeds withenhanced performance is one of the most imperative challenges of modern agriculture.In this view, it is essential to remember that the seed quality of crops does not improve.
Modularity and Twinning in Mineral Crystal Structures
The articles published in this Special Issue reprint offer a sound update of research fieldswhere the concepts of modular crystallography are important and provide unique keys tounderstand and to solve problems of structural crystallography. Polytypism, polysomatism, and twinning are fertile fields of research, and their basic principles-o����en coupled with the OD (order-disorder) theory-are powerful tools to solve andclassify related crystal structures. Research on twinning and its consequences onstructure and properties of crystalline materials is cutting-edge, e.g., dealing withrelations between twin walls and piezoelectricity.
Municipal Wastewater Management
Taking the papers' collection of this Special Issue as a whole, it is clear that "MunicipalWastewater Management" is an ongoing field of research with the ability to incorporatecurrent environmental and human health challenges. The use of municipal sewage tomonitor COVID-19 virus circulation in communities and the estimation of possibleoutbreaks, even before clinical cases have been identified, is a fact that justifies this.In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, the interest of the impact that research onmunicipal wastewater management can have on improving humans' health andprotecting the environment is being rethought. In respect to this, there is an essentialneed for scientific publications that present varieties of case studies and discuss bestpractices, so as wastewater treatment plants to be seen not only as sites of pollutantsremoval but also as places where energy is efficiently used and environmentalsustainability is being practiced, in close relation to the needs of the community.Viewed in this way, the papers' collected in this Special Issue are looking forward to reacha broad readership that can gain awareness and understanding of their topics and bestimulated into future research and collaborations that would improve all stakeholdersengagement in promoting a sustainable municipal wastewater management.
Advances in Hydrological Forecasting
This book collected recent studies on the latest methodological and operationaladvances in hydrological forecasting. Specifically, the collection of papers covers a rangeof topics related to improving hydrological forecasting via new datasets and innovativeapproaches.
Microbiology of Fermented Foods and Beverages
Fermented foods are consumed all over the world and their consumption shows anincreasing trend. They play many roles, from preservation to food security, improvednutrition and social well-being. Different microorganisms are involved in thefermentation process and the diversity of the microbiome is high.Fermented foods are food substrates that are invaded or overgrown by ediblemicroorganisms whose enzymes hydrolyze polysaccharides, proteins and lipids tonontoxic products with flavors, aromas, and textures that are pleasant and attractive tothe human consumer. Fermentation plays different roles in food processing, includingthe development of a wide diversity of flavors, aromas, and textures in food, lactic acid, alcoholic, acetic acid, alkaline and high salt fermentations for food preservationpurposes, biological enrichment of food substrates with vitamins, protein, essentialamino acids, and essential fatty acids and detoxification during food fermentationprocessing.
Agroforestry-Based Ecosystem Services
As a dynamic interface between agriculture and forestry, agroforestry has only recentlybeen formally recognized as a relevant part of land use with 'trees outside forest' inimportant parts of the world-but not everywhere yet. The Sustainable DevelopmentGoals have called attention to the need for the multifunctionality of landscapes thatsimultaneously contribute to multiple goals. In the UN decade of landscape restoration, as well as in response to the climate change urgency and biodiversity extinction crisis, anincrease in global tree cover is widely seen as desirable, but its management by farmersor forest managers remains contested. Agroforestry research relates tree-soil-crop-livestock interactions at the plot level with landscape-level analysis of social-ecologicalsystems and efforts to transcend the historical dichotomy between forest and agricultureas separate policy domains. An 'ecosystem services' perspective quantifies landproductivity, flows of water, net greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity conservation, and combines an 'actor' perspective (farmer, landscape manager) with that of'downstream' stakeholders (in the same watershed, ecologically conscious consumerselsewhere, global citizens) and higher-level regulators designing land-use policies andspatial zoning.
