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Vertebrate Palaeontology
by Michael J. BentonVertebrate palaeontology is a lively field, with new discoveries reported every week… and not only dinosaurs! This new edition reflects the international scope of vertebrate palaeontology, with a special focus on exciting new finds from China. A key aim is to explain the science. Gone are the days of guesswork. Young researchers use impressive new numerical and imaging methods to explore the tree of life, macroevolution, global change, and functional morphology. The fourth edition is completely revised. The cladistic framework is strengthened, and new functional and developmental spreads are added. Study aids include: key questions, research to be done, and recommendations of further reading and web sites. The book is designed for palaeontology courses in biology and geology departments. It is also aimed at enthusiasts who want to experience the flavour of how the research is done. The book is strongly phylogenetic, and this makes it a source of current data on vertebrate evolution.
Vertebrate Palaeontology
by Michael J. BentonAll-new edition of the world’s leading vertebrate palaeontology textbook, now addressing key evolutionary transitions and ecological drivers for vertebrate evolution Richly illustrated with colour illustrations of the key species and cladograms of all major vertebrate taxa, Vertebrate Palaeontology provides a complete account of the evolution of vertebrates, including macroevolutionary trends and drivers that have shaped their organs and body plans, key transitions such as terrestrialization, endothermy, flight and impacts of mass extinctions on biodiversity and ecological drivers behind the origin of chordates and vertebrates, their limbs, jaws, feathers, and hairs. This revised and updated fifth edition features numerous recent examples of breakthrough discoveries in line with the current macroevolutionary approach in palaeontology research, such as the evolutionary drivers that have shaped vertebrate development. Didactical features have been enhanced and include new functional and developmental feature spreads, key questions, and extensive references to useful websites. Written by a leading academic in the field, Vertebrate Palaeontology discusses topics such as: Palaeozoic fishes, including Cambrian vertebrates, placoderms (‘armour-plated monsters’), Pan-Chondrichthyes such as sharks and rays, and Osteichthyes (‘bony fishes’) The first tetrapods, covering problems of life on land, diversity of Carboniferous tetrapods and temnospondyls and reptiliomorphs following the Carboniferous Mesozoic reptiles, such as Testudinata (turtles), Crocodylomorpha, Pterosauria, Dinosauria, great sea dragons and Lepidosauria (lizards and snakes) Mammals of the southern and northern hemispheres, covering Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters), Afrotheria (African mammals), Laurasiatheria (bats, ungulates, carnivores), and Euarchontoglires (rodents, primates) A highly comprehensive and completely up-to-date reference on vertebrate evolution, Vertebrate Palaeontology is an ideal learning aid for palaeontology courses in biology and geology departments. The text is also highly valuable to enthusiasts who want to experience the flavour of how modern research in the field is conducted.
Vertebrate Paleobiology: A Form and Function Approach (Life of the Past)
by Sergio F. Vizcaíno M. Susana Bargo Guillermo H. Cassini Néstor Toledo Gerardo De IuliisAn essential introduction to the paleobiology of animal body size, locomotion, and feeding.Paleobiology is the branch of evolutionary biology involved in the reconstruction of the life histories of extinct organisms. It answers the questions, How do we use fossils to reconstruct the size of prehistoric animals, and How did they move and feed? Drawing on a rich inventory of South American Miocene fossils, Vertebrate Paleobiology: A Form and Function Approach examines different aspects of functional morphology and how they are tested by paleontologists, anatomists, and zoologists. Beginning with a review of various methodologies to interpret fossils, the authors turn to the main concepts important to functional morphology and give examples of each. They conclude by showing how functional morphology enables a dynamic, broadscale reconstruction of the life of prehistoric animals during the South American Miocene.Originally published in Spanish, Vertebrate Paleobiology: A Form and Function Approach provides a broad sweep of recent developments, including theoretical and practical techniques, applied to the study of extinct vertebrates.
Vertebrate Photoreceptors
by Takahisa Furukawa James B. Hurley Satoru KawamuraThis book provides a series of comprehensive views on various important aspects of vertebrate photoreceptors. The vertebrate retina is a tissue that provides unique experimental advantages to neuroscientists. Photoreceptor neurons are abundant in this tissue and they are readily identifiable and easily isolated. These features make them an outstanding model for studying neuronal mechanisms of signal transduction, adaptation, synaptic transmission, development, differentiation, diseases and regeneration. Thanks to recent advances in genetic analysis, it also is possible to link biochemical and physiological investigations to understand the molecular mechanisms of vertebrate photoreceptors within a functioning retina in a living animal. Photoreceptors are the most deeply studied sensory receptor cells, but readers will find that many important questions remain. We still do not know how photoreceptors, visual pigments and their signaling pathways evolved, how they were generated and how they are maintained. This book will make clear what is known and what is not known. The chapters are selected from fields of studies that have contributed to a broad understanding of the birth, development, structure, function and death of photoreceptor neurons. The underlying common word in all of the chapters that is used to describe these mechanisms is "molecule". Only with this word can we understand how these highly specific neurons function and survive. It is challenging for even the foremost researchers to cover all aspects of the subject. Understanding photoreceptors from several different points of view that share a molecular perspective will provide readers with a useful interdisciplinary perspective.
Vertebrate Skeletal Histology and Paleohistology
by Kevin Padian Michel Laurin Louise Zylberberg Vivian De Buffrénil Armand J. de Ricqlès Alexandra QuilhacVertebrate Skeletal Histology and Paleohistology summarizes decades of research into the biology and biological meaning of hard tissues, in both living and extinct vertebrates. In addition to outlining anatomical diversity, it provides fundamental phylogenetic and evolutionary contexts for interpretation. An international team of leading authorities review the impact of ontogeny, mechanics, and environment in relation to bone and dental tissues. Synthesizing current advances in the biological problems of growth, metabolism, evolution, ecology, and behavior, this comprehensive and authoritative volume is built upon a foundation of concepts and technology generated over the past fifty years.
Vertebrate Taphonomy
by R. Lee LymanTaphonomy studies the transition of organic matter from the biosphere into the geological record. It is particularly relevant to zooarchaeologists and paleobiologists, who analyse organic remains in the archaeological record in an attempt to reconstruct hominid subsistence patterns and paleoecological conditions. In this user-friendly, encyclopedic reference volume for students and professionals, R. Lee Lyman, a leading researcher in taphonomy, reviews the wide range of analytical techniques used to solve particular zooarchaeological problems, illustrating these in most cases with appropriate examples. He also covers the history of taphonomic research and its philosophical underpinnings. Logically organised and clearly written, the book is an important update on all previous publications on archaeological faunal remains.
Vertebrate and Invertebrate Respiratory Proteins, Lipoproteins and other Body Fluid Proteins (Subcellular Biochemistry #94)
by J. Robin Harris Ulrich HoegerThis book focuses on respiratory proteins, the broad hemoglobin family, as well as the molluscan and arachnid hemocyanins (and their multifunctional roles). Featuring 20 chapters addressing invertebrate and vertebrate respiratory proteins, lipoproteins and other body fluid proteins, and drawing on the editors’ extensive research in the field, it is a valuable addition to the Subcellular Biochemistry book series. The book covers a wide range of topics, including lipoprotein structure and lipid transport; diverse annelid, crustacean and insect defense proteins; and insect and vertebrate immune complexes. It also discusses a number of other proteins, such as the hemerythrins; serum albumin; serum amyloid A; von Willebrand factor and its interaction with factor VIII; and C-reactive protein. Given its scope, the book appeals to biologists, biomedical scientists and clinicians, as well as advanced undergraduates and postgraduates in these disciplines. Available as a printed book and also as an e-book and e-chapters, the fascinating material included is easily accessible.
Vertebrates and Invertebrates of European Cities:Selected Non-Avian Fauna
by John G. KelceyVertebrates and Invertebrates of European Cities: Selected Non-Avian Fauna is the first known account of the vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of several cities in Europe and throughout the rest of the world. It excludes birds, which are described in a companion volume. The book contains eleven chapters about nine cities distributed throughout Europe. The chapters start with the history of the cities, which is followed by a description of the abiotic features such as geology, climate, air and water quality and then a brief account of the habitats. The vertebrate chapters describe the fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals that are known to occur in each city together with their status and the habitats in which they occur, for example housing, industrial areas, parks, transport routes and rivers. The invertebrate chapters contain an account of the presence, status and habitats occupied by 6 - 8 of the major invertebrate groups including butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, crickets and grasshoppers, beetles, molluscs, spiders, mites and springtails. This volume has been written and edited to be accessible to a wide range of interests and expertise including academic biologists, urban ecologists, landscape architects, planners, urban designers, undergraduates, other students and people with a general interest in natural history (especially cities) - not only in Europe but throughout the world.
Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution (8th Edition)
by Kenneth V. KardongThis one-semester text is designed for an upper-level majors course. Vertebrates features a unique emphasis on function and evolution of vertebrates, complete anatomical detail, and excellent pedagogy. Vertebrate groups are organized phylogenetically, and their systems discussed within such a context. Morphology is foremost, but the author has developed and integrated an understanding of function and evolution into the discussion of anatomy of the various systems.
Vertex-Frequency Analysis of Graph Signals (Signals and Communication Technology)
by Ervin Sejdić Ljubiša StankovićThis book introduces new methods to analyze vertex-varying graph signals. In many real-world scenarios, the data sensing domain is not a regular grid, but a more complex network that consists of sensing points (vertices) and edges (relating the sensing points). Furthermore, sensing geometry or signal properties define the relation among sensed signal points. Even for the data sensed in the well-defined time or space domain, the introduction of new relationships among the sensing points may produce new insights in the analysis and result in more advanced data processing techniques. The data domain, in these cases and discussed in this book, is defined by a graph. Graphs exploit the fundamental relations among the data points. Processing of signals whose sensing domains are defined by graphs resulted in graph data processing as an emerging field in signal processing.Although signal processing techniques for the analysis of time-varying signals are well established, the corresponding graph signal processing equivalent approaches are still in their infancy. This book presents novel approaches to analyze vertex-varying graph signals. The vertex-frequency analysis methods use the Laplacian or adjacency matrix to establish connections between vertex and spectral (frequency) domain in order to analyze local signal behavior where edge connections are used for graph signal localization. The book applies combined concepts from time-frequency and wavelet analyses of classical signal processing to the analysis of graph signals. Covering analytical tools for vertex-varying applications, this book is of interest to researchers and practitioners in engineering, science, neuroscience, genome processing, just to name a few. It is also a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers looking to expand their knowledge of the vertex-frequency analysis theory and its applications. The book consists of 15 chapters contributed by 41 leading researches in the field.
Vertical Software Industry Evolution
by Pasi Tyrväinen Oleksiy MazhelisSeldom has any business been in such turmoil as the Communication Service Providers (CSP) business is today. Telecom operators providing communication services constructed the infrastructure of the global information society with their trillion investments on various telecommunication technologies from broadband to mobile. Their investments on software turned their technology-specific in-house procedures into modern layered OSS/BSS. This book analyzes the status and the future evolution of OSS/BSS software industry from multiple viewpoints including technology diffusion, vertical disintegration and evolution of a vertical software industry. The analysis uses both commercial databases on software market transactions and interviews of operators in Europe and Far East, using quantitative and qualitative methods. This research complying academic standards aims at serving the practical business needs in the companies shaping the future of communications: the CSPs and the software developers - sometimes found in a single enterprise.
Vertically-Oriented Graphene
by Junhong Chen Zheng Bo Ganhua LuThis book introduces the basic concepts, synthesis techniques, and applications of vertically-oriented graphene. The authors detail emerging applications of vertically-oriented graphene such as field emitters, atmospheric nanoscale corona discharges, gas sensors and biosensors, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells (catalyst supports) and electrochemical transducers. They offer a perspective on current challenges to enabling commercial applications of vertically-oriented graphene.
Vertrauensorientiertes Projektmanagement: Top-10-Erfolgsfaktoren für Projekte und Veränderungsprozesse (essentials)
by Wolfram SchönVeränderungsprozesse sind für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung jedes Unternehmens von großer Bedeutung. Dennoch sind die „Failure Rates“ in IT- und Veränderungsprojekten bedenklich hoch. Die Gründe für das Scheitern sind vielschichtig, und es steht fest, dass selbst ein handwerklich gutes Projektmanagement heute allein nicht mehr ausreicht, um ein Projekt sicher zum Erfolg zu führen. Um Projekte erfolgreich zu gestalten, gilt es, das Thema Vertrauen als fundamentalen Erfolgsparameter in die Projektplanung und -kommunikation zu integrieren. Wie können Projekte und Veränderungsprozesse durch eine Vertrauensorientierung erfolgreicher gemacht werden? Das ist die Kernfrage, die beantwortet wird und darin liegt der Nutzen für den Leser.
Verwaltung, eGovernment und Digitalisierung: Grundlagen, Konzepte und Anwendungsfälle
by Andreas SchmidEine effizient und effektiv arbeitende öffentliche Verwaltung ist die Voraussetzung für Wirtschaftswachstum und gesellschaftlichen Wohlstand. Hierfür sind eine moderne Informationstechnik und hochqualifiziertes Personal in der öffentlichen Verwaltung wesentliche Voraussetzungen. Die Informationstechnik entwickelt sich derzeit unter dem Begriff der „Digitalisierung“ rasant weiter und die demografische Entwicklung macht die Personalgewinnung herausfordernd. Die Verwaltung steht daher vor großen Herausforderungen. Sucht man für die zugrundeliegenden Fragestellungen nach Antworten, so ergibt sich ein heterogenes Bild von Strategien, Konzepten, Ansätzen und (gescheiterten) Projekten.Dieses Herausgeberwerk schafft Übersicht zu Strategien, Konzepten, Ansätzen und Projekten. Im ersten Teil dieses Buches gehen die Beitragsautoren auf die wichtigsten konzeptionellen Grundlagen ein. Hierzu zählen u. a. die Verwaltungsinformatik als wissenschaftliche Disziplin, strategische Überlegungen und die Schaffung notwendiger organisatorischer und personeller Voraussetzungen in der öffentlichen Verwaltung. Der zweite Teil umfasst Praxisbeispiele aus der öffentlichen Verwaltung als „Best Practices“, u. a. zu den Themenfeldern „Blockchain“, „Big Data“, „Digitalisierte Informationsaufbereitung“, „Automatisierung“ und „Dunkelverarbeitung“. Durch die Kombination von Theorie und Praxis liefert dieses Werk Impulse für die praktische (Projekt-)Arbeit und für weitere wissenschaftliche Diskussionen, die IT-Infrastrukturen im Kontext des eGovernment in Kommunen und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften weiter vorantreiben. Daher richtet sich dieses Buch über Verwaltungsinformatik insbesondere an:IT-Leiter auf Führungsebene sowie Mitarbeiter im Informationsmanagement öffentlicher VerwaltungenDozenten und Lehrende der Informatik und Wirtschaftsinformatik
Very Bad People: The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption
by Patrick Alley*****'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' - The Big Issue'Very Bad People would be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.' - Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'Global Witness are fearless.' - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' - Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond 'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men, some on the fringes of our society, some embedded high up within it. It's a great story and an important one.' - David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists who go from eating cold baked beans in a drafty London flat to the Thai-Cambodian border where they posed as traders in illegally felled timber is simply riveting. Don't miss it.' - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' - Irish Times'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.' - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency InternationalArms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them. VERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to The Night Manager's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.As they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.Patrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.
Very Bad People: The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption
by Patrick Alley*****'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' - The Big Issue'Very Bad People would be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.' - Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'Global Witness are fearless.' - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' - Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond 'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men, some on the fringes of our society, some embedded high up within it. It's a great story and an important one.' - David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists who go from eating cold baked beans in a drafty London flat to the Thai-Cambodian border where they posed as traders in illegally felled timber is simply riveting. Don't miss it.' - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' - Irish Times'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.' - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency InternationalArms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them. VERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to The Night Manager's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.As they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.Patrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.
Very Bad People: The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption
by Patrick Alley*****'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' - The Big Issue'Very Bad People would be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.' - Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'Global Witness are fearless.' - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' - Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond 'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men, some on the fringes of our society, some embedded high up within it. It's a great story and an important one.' - David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists who go from eating cold baked beans in a drafty London flat to the Thai-Cambodian border where they posed as traders in illegally felled timber is simply riveting. Don't miss it.' - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' - Irish Times'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.' - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency InternationalArms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them. VERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to The Night Manager's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.As they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.Patrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.
Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy (Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics)
by T.C. WeekesHigh energy gamma-ray photons are the prime probes of the relativistic or high-energy universe, populated by black holes, neutron stars, supernovae, quasars, and matter-antimatter annihilations. Through studying the gamma-ray sky, astrophysicists are able to better understand the formation and behavior of these exotic and energetic bodies.V
Very Massive Stars in the Local Universe
by Jorick S. VinkThis book presents the status of research on very massive stars in the Universe. While it has been claimed that stars with over 100 solar masses existed in the very early Universe, recent studies have also discussed the existence and deaths of stars up to 300 solar masses in the local Universe. This represents a paradigm shift for the stellar upper-mass limit, which may have major implications far beyond the field of stellar physics. The book comprises 7 chapters, which describe this discipline and provide sufficient background and introductory content for graduate (PhD) students and researchers from different branches of astronomy to be able to enter this exciting new field of very massive stars.
Very Truly Yours, Nikola Tesla
by Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a man of letters. He wrote many letters to the editors of the magazines and newspapers of his day. These letters give a fascinating glimpse into the mind of an eccentric genius. Collected here for the first time are more than forty of Nikola Tesla's letters. The subject matter ranges widely, as Tesla was interested in almost everything. In these letters he responds to Marconi and Edison, gives his thoughts on the wars of his day, corrects inconsistencies in news reports, and much much more. Nikola Tesla has been called the most important man of the 20th Century. Without Tesla's ground-breaking work we'd all be sitting in the dark without even a radio to listen to.
Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
by Albert MarrinFrom National Book Award finalist Albert Marrin comes a fascinating look at the history and science of the deadly 1918 flu pandemic--and the chances for another worldwide pandemic.In spring of 1918, World War I was underway, and troops at Fort Riley, Kansas, found themselves felled by influenza. By the summer of 1918, the second wave struck as a highly contagious and lethal epidemic and within weeks exploded into a pandemic, an illness that travels rapidly from one continent to another. It would impact the course of the war, and kill many millions more soldiers than warfare itself.Of all diseases, the 1918 flu was by far the worst that has ever afflicted humankind; not even the Black Death of the Middle Ages comes close in terms of the number of lives it took. No war, no natural disaster, no famine has claimed so many. In the space of eighteen months in 1918-1919, about 500 million people--one-third of the global population at the time--came down with influenza. The exact total of lives lost will never be known, but the best estimate is between 50 and 100 million. In this powerful book, filled with black and white photographs, nonfiction master Albert Marrin examines the history, science, and impact of this great scourge--and the possibility for another worldwide pandemic today.
Very-high-energy Gamma-ray Observations of Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Cataclysmic Variable Stars with MAGIC and Development of Trigger Systems for IACTs
by Rubén López CotoThis thesis is a comprehensive work that addresses many of the open questions currently being discusssed in the very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray community. It presents a detailed description of the MAGIC telescope together with a glimpse of the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). One section is devoted to the design, development and characterization of trigger systems for current and future imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The book also features a state-of-the-art description of pulsar wind nebula (PWN) systems, the study of the multi-TeV spectrum of the Crab nebula, as well as the discovery of VHE gamma rays at the multiwavelength PWN 3C 58, which were sought at these wavelengths for more than twenty years. It also includes the contextualization of this discovery amongst the current population of VHE gamma-ray PWNe. Cataclysmic variable stars represent a new source of gamma ray energies, and are also addressed here. In closing, the thesis reports on the systematic search for VHE gamma-ray emissions of AE Aquarii in a multiwavelength context and the search for VHE gamma-ray variability of novae during outbursts at different wavelengths.
Vesalius: The China Root Epistle
by Daniel H. Garrison Andreas VesaliusThis book provides the first annotated English translation from the original Latin of Andreas Vesalius' China Root Epistle. Ostensibly his appraisal of a fashionable herbal remedy, the China Root Epistle concentrates on Vesalius' skeptical appraisal of traditional Galenic anatomy, which was based on animal rather than human dissections. Along with reflections about his life as a young anatomist, Vesalius argued that the new science of anatomy should devote itself less to rhetorical polemics and more to the craft of direct observation based on human dissection. This volume provides annotations to link the Epistle with Vesalius' earlier and more famous On the Fabric of the Human Body, and includes illustrations from the famous woodcuts first used in the 1543 edition of the Fabrica.
Vesicle Trafficking in Cancer
by Gabi Tarcic Yosef YardenEndocytosis and vesicular trafficking determine the landscape of the cell's exterior, namely the density of surface molecules, such as receptors for growth factors and cytokines, adhesion molecules like integrins and cadherins, and a plethora of nutrient carriers. Hence, endocytosis is involved in signal transduction, cell adhesion and migration, as well as metabolism. To exploit these fundamental processes, malignancies subtly and multiply manipulate the endocytosis and the subsequent trafficking of protein cargoes. This is achieved by simultaneously altering the cytoskeleton, vesicle budding, cargo sorting and intracellular degradation. By highlighting the underlying molecular processes and concentrating on specific examples, this book reviews the recent emergence of derailed endocytosis and vesicular trafficking as a landmark of cancer. In-depth understanding of this common feature of tumors might lead the way to drug-induced strategies, able to rectify intracellular trafficking in cancer.
Vesper Flights
by Helen MacdonaldAnimals don't exist in order to teach us things, but that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know about ourselves. In this book, the author brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep. Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, the author invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing the massive migration of songbirds from the top of the Empire State Building, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles in Suffolk's poplar forests. She writes with heart-tugging clarity about wild boar, swifts, mushroom hunting, migraines, the strangeness of birds' nests, and the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife.