bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Universal Quantitative 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (qNMR) Method for Assessing the Purity of Dammarane‐type Ginsenosides
Authors: Li Ze Yun , Welbeck Edward , Wang Ru Feng , Liu Qing , Yang Ying Bo , Chou Gui Xin , Bi Kai Shun , Wang Zheng Tao
Published: June 2014

Introduction

Quantitative 1H‐NMR (qNMR) is a well‐established method for quantitative analysis and purity tests. Applications have been reported in many areas, such as natural products, foods and beverages, metabolites, pharmaceuticals and agriculture. The characteristics of quantitative estimation without relying on special target reference substances make qNMR especially suitable for purity tests of chemical compounds and natural products. Ginsenosides are a special group of natural products drawing broad attention, and are considered to be the main bioactive principles behind the claims of ginsengs efficacy. The purity of ginsenosides is usually determined by conventional chromatographic methods, although these may not be ideal due to the response of detectors to discriminate between analytes and impurities and the long run times involved.

Objective

To establish a qNMR method for purity tests of six dammarane‐type ginsenoside standards.

Methods

Several experimental parameters were optimised for the quantification, including relaxation delay (D1), the transmitter frequency offset (O1P) and power level for pre‐saturation (PL9). The method was validated and the purity of the six ginsenoside standards was tested. Also, the results of the qNMR method were further validated by comparison with those of high performance liquid chromatography.

Conclusion

The qNMR method was rapid, specific and accurate, thus providing a practical and reliable protocol for the purity analysis of ginsenoside standards. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparing recurrent antibiotic prescriptions in children treated with a brand name or a generic formulation
Authors: Piovani Daniele , Clavenna Antonio , Cartabia Massimo , Bortolotti Angela , Fortino Ida , Merlino Luca , Bonati Maurizio
Published: June 2014

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of recurrent prescriptions and hospital admissions in children receiving a brand name or generic antibiotic prescription.

Methods

The data source was a database of reimbursed prescriptions. Outpatient children/adolescents <18 years old (Lombardy Region, Italy) were included. The observational period was February–April 2010. A recurrence was defined as an antibiotic prescription occurring within 28 days after an index prescription. The rate of recurrent prescriptions and hospital admissions was calculated for generic/brand name formulations and for each age strata (0–5, 6–11, and 12–17 years old) for four antibiotics: amoxicillin, amoxicillin clavulanate, clarithromycin, and cefaclor. The percentage of therapy switches was calculated. Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test was used to compare the age‐adjusted outcomes.

Results

In all, 17.5% (57 346) of children received at least one recurrent prescription. The rate of recurrent prescriptions was slightly lower in children receiving any generic (OR 0.96; 95%CI 0.93–0.98), compared with any brand name, antibiotic. The percentage of hospital admissions occurring in children initially treated with a brand name (1.01%; 95%CI 0.98–1.08) or generic (1.03%; 0.96–1.06) antibiotic was not different (p = 0.43). For children receiving amoxicillin clavulanate, the hospital admission rate was slightly higher in the brand name group (p = 0.002), while no differences were found for the other active substances.

Conclusions

Children treated with generic antibiotics had no worse safety and effectiveness outcomes when compared with those receiving brand name ones. These results provide additional evidence on the safety of generic antibiotics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fundamental understanding and modeling of diffuse interphase properties and its role in interfacial flow stability of multilayer polymers
Authors: Zhang Huagui , Lamnawar Khalid , Maazouz Abderrahim
Published: June 2014

This work aims to investigate the growth and structural evolution of a diffuse interphase generated in a flow field and to highlight its importance on controlling the final properties of compatible multilayer materials. The model polymers chosen are poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). Interdiffusion kinetics, geometrical, and rheological properties of the interphase decoupled and coupled to flow have been probed and quantified under fundamental conditions of rheological measurement and under real practical conditions of processing, respectively. Polymer chain orientation is shown to decelerate the interdiffusion coefficient. This phenomenon is demonstrated to be balanced by intermixing (i.e. flow effect) at the vicinity of the interface triggered from excess interfacial shear stress, thus favors development of the interphase. The diffuse interphase generated therein during the processing has been well characterized via scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (SEM‐EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results indicate that the interphase is robust with a geometrical property of tens microns depending on processing conditions and the interfacial structure is shown to be smooth with continuous amorphous‐crystallization transition between neighboring layers without causing any interfacial disturbances. Finally, experimental studies concerning the interfacial flow instability and encapsulation in coextrusion process have been performed, taking into account some key classical decisive parameters such as viscosity ratio, thickness ratio and elasticity ratio, etc. Different from severe flow instability observed in incompatible multilayer systems, presence of the interphase at PMMA/PVDF multilayers plays a vital role in weakening (or even eliminating) the viscous instabilities and elastic instabilities despite of the very high rheological contrast. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:771–791, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers
Cognitive Profiles of Italian Children With Developmental Dyslexia
Authors: Tobia Valentina , Marzocchi Gian Marco
Published: June 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate verbal and nonverbal cognitive deficits in Italian students with developmental dyslexia. The performances of 32 dyslexic students, 64 age‐matched typically reading controls, and 64 reading age–matched controls were compared on tests of lexical knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, verbal short‐term memory, visual search, verbal–visual recall, and visuospatial attention. Considering the phonological domain, dyslexic students were significantly impaired in all the tasks. A significant deficit was also observed in visuospatial attention and verbal–visual recall tasks. Additionally, the pattern of cognitive deficits exhibited by the students with dyslexia was analyzed. Results showed that the largest group of students with dyslexia (40.6%) exhibited multiple deficits, including both the phonological and the nonverbal domains. These findings are in accordance with the hypothesis that developmental dyslexia is a multifactorial deficit; theoretical and practical issues are discussed.
Methods and results for small area estimation using smoking data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey
Authors: Ha Neung Soo , Lahiri Partha , Parsons Van
Published: June 2014

The National Health Interview Survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, is designed to provide reliable design‐based estimates for a wide range of health‐related variables for national and four major geographical regions of the USA. However, state‐level or substate‐level estimates are likely to be unreliable because they are based on small sample sizes. In this paper, we compare the efficiency of different area‐level models in estimating smoking prevalence for the 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Our study is based on survey data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey in conjunction with a number of potentially related auxiliary variables obtained from the American Community Survey, an ongoing large complex survey conducted by the US Census. A major portion of this study is devoted to the investigation of several methods for estimating survey sampling variances needed to implement an area‐level hierarchical model. Based on our findings, a hierarchical Bayesian method that uses a survey‐adjusted random sampling variance model to capture the complex survey sampling variability appears to be somewhat superior to the other considered area‐level models in accounting for small sample behavior of estimated survey sampling variances. Several diagnostic procedures are presented to compare the proposed methods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Differentially Modulate Effector CD8+ T Cell Subsets and Exacerbate Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Authors: Glenn Justin D. , Smith Matthew D. , Calabresi Peter A. , Whartenby Katharine A.
Published: June 2014

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have emerged as a promising candidate for inflammatory suppression and disease amelioration, especially of neuro-inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Auto-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells acquire pathogenic IFNγ-producing- (Type I) and IL-17A-producing- (Type 17) effector phenotypes in MS and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Although MSC have been extensively demonstrated to suppress pathogenic effector CD4+ T cells and CD4+ T cell-mediated EAE, surprisingly few studies have addressed their modulation of effector CD8+ T cells represented in MS or their impact on CD8+ T cell-mediated EAE. We find that MSC differentially modulate CD8+ T cell development depending on effector T cell subtype. MSC drive activated low-IFNγ producers toward an enhanced high-IFNγ Tc1-like phenotype but strongly inhibit the production of IL-17A and Tc17 polarization in vitro. These observations are underscored by differential MSC modulation of T cell activation, proliferation, and signature transcription factor up-regulation. In addition, effector CD8+ T cells co-cultured with MSC exhibited increased production of IL-2, a molecule known to enhance IFNγ, yet suppress IL-17A, production. Based on these in vitro effects on CD8+ T cells, we next evaluated their impact on the severity of EAE. To better evaluate CD8+ T cells, we immunized mice with MOG37-50, which is a CD8-targeted epitope. Our results revealed a worsening of disease, consistent with their in vitro stimulation of Tc1 cells. These findings highlight the emerging duality of MSC in immune modulation and provide implications for their future use in immune-related diseases. Stem Cells  2014;32:2744–2755
Use of private lands for foraging by California spotted owls in the central Sierra Nevada
Authors: Williams Perry J. , Whitmore Sheila A. , Gutiérrez R. J.
Published: June 2014

The use of private land by owls has long been of interest to wildlife managers in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, because private lands could contribute to owl conservation if it is used extensively. Therefore, we studied the use of private lands for foraging by 14 California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) in the central Sierra Nevada, California during 2006. We modeled foraging locations as a function of 2 land‐ownership categories within an owl's territory: public and private land. The log probability of an owl using a public‐land location was 15% greater than for a private‐land location. Private‐land distribution was relatively consistent with respect to the geometric center of owl home ranges, suggesting that our result was not influenced by a peripheral distribution of private land in owl home ranges. Based on our findings, national forest lands within our study area currently have more foraging habitat for California spotted owls than do private lands. We recommend that managers consider owl use of private land within the context of our results when developing conservation strategies for California spotted owls in the central Sierra Nevada. © 2014 The Wildlife Society.
The Works of John Ruskin
Authors: Ruskin John
Published: June 2014

The influence of John Ruskin (1819–1900), both on his own time and on artistic and social developments in the twentieth century, cannot be over-stated. He changed Victorian perceptions of art, and was the main influence behind 'Gothic revival' architecture. As a social critic, he argued for the improvement of the condition of the poor, and against the increasing mechanisation of work in factories, which he believed was dull and soul-destroying. The thirty-nine volumes of the Library Edition of his works, published between 1903 and 1912, are themselves a remarkable achievement, in which his books and essays - almost all highly illustrated - are given a biographical and critical context in extended introductory essays and in the 'Minor Ruskiniana' - extracts from letters, articles and reminiscences both by and about Ruskin. This thirty-ninth and final volume contains the index to the entire edition.
Microwave and Wireless Measurement Techniques
Authors: Carvalho Nuno Borges , Schreurs Dominique
Published: June 2014

From typical metrology parameters for common wireless and microwave components to the implementation of measurement benches, this introduction to metrology contains all the key information on the subject. Using it, readers will be able to:
• Interpret and measure most of the parameters described in a microwave component's datasheet
• Understand the practical limitations and theoretical principles of instrument operation
• Combine several instruments into measurement benches for measuring microwave and wireless quantities.
Several practical examples are included, demonstrating how to measure intermodulation distortion, error vector magnitude, S-parameters and large signal waveforms. Each chapter then ends with a set of exercises, allowing readers to test their understanding of the material covered and making the book equally suited for course use and for self-study.
Africa since 1940
Authors: Cooper Frederick
Published: June 2014

Frederick Cooper's book on the history of decolonization and independence in Africa is part of the textbook series New Approaches to African History. This text will help students understand the historical process out of which Africa's position in the world has emerged. Bridging the divide between colonial and post-colonial history, it allows readers to see just what political independence did and did not signify and how men and women, peasants and workers, religious leaders and local leaders sought to refashion the way they lived, worked, and interacted with each other.
Dynamics of the Standard Model
Authors: Donoghue John F. , Golowich Eugene , Holstein Barry R.
Published: June 2014

Describing the fundamental theory of particle physics and its applications, this book provides a detailed account of the Standard Model, focusing on techniques that can produce information about real observed phenomena. The book begins with a pedagogic account of the Standard Model, introducing essential techniques such as effective field theory and path integral methods. It then focuses on the use of the Standard Model in the calculation of physical properties of particles. Rigorous methods are emphasized, but other useful models are also described. This second edition has been updated to include recent theoretical and experimental advances, such as the discovery of the Higgs boson. A new chapter is devoted to the theoretical and experimental understanding of neutrinos, and major advances in CP violation and electroweak physics have been given a modern treatment. This book is valuable to graduate students and researchers in particle physics, nuclear physics and related fields.
A History of Iraq
Authors: Tripp Charles
Published: June 2014

To understand Iraq, Charles Tripp's history is the book to read. Since its first appearance in 2000, it has become a classic in the field of Middle East studies, read and admired by students, soldiers, policymakers and journalists. The book is now updated to include the recent American invasion, the fall and capture of Saddam Hussein and the subsequent descent into civil strife. What is clear is that much that has happened since 2003 was foreshadowed in the account found in this book. Tripp's thesis is that the history of Iraq throughout the twentieth-century has made it what it is today, but also provides alternative futures. Unless this is properly understood, many of the themes explored in this book - patron-client relations, organized violence, sectarian, ethnic and tribal difference - will continue to exert a hold over the future of Iraq as they did over its past.
Genesis
Authors: Arnold Bill T.
Published: June 2014

This commentary is an innovative interpretation of one of the most profound texts of world literature: the book of Genesis. The first book of the Bible has been studied, debated, and expounded as much as any text in history, yet because it addresses the weightiest questions of life and faith, it continues to demand our attention. The author of this new commentary combines older critical approaches with the latest rhetorical methodologies to yield fresh interpretations accessible to scholars, clergy, teachers, seminarians, and interested laypeople. It explains important concepts and terms as expressed in the Hebrew original so that both people who know Hebrew and those who do not will be able to follow the discussion. 'Closer Look' sections examine Genesis in the context of cultures of the ancient Near East. 'Bridging the Horizons' sections enable the reader to see the enduring relevance of the book in the twenty-first century.
India before Europe
Authors: Asher Catherine B. , Talbot Cynthia
Published: June 2014

India is a land of enormous diversity. Cross-cultural influences are everywhere in evidence, in the food people eat, the clothes they wear, and in the places they worship. This was especially the case in the India that existed from 1200 to 1750, before the European intervention. The book takes the reader on a journey across the political, economic, religious and cultural landscapes of medieval India, from the Ghurid conquests and the Dehli Sultanate to the great court of the Mughals. This was a time of conquest and consolidation, when Muslims and Hindus came together to create a unique culture which still resonates in today's India. As the first survey of its kind in over a decade, the book is a tour de force. It is beautifully illustrated and fluently composed, with a cast of characters which will educate students and general readers alike.
A History of Archaeological Thought
Authors: Trigger Bruce G.
Published: June 2014

In its original edition, Bruce Trigger's book was the first ever to examine the history of archaeological thought from medieval times to the present in world-wide perspective. Now, in this new edition, he both updates the original work and introduces new archaeological perspectives and concerns. At once stimulating and even-handed, it places the development of archaeological thought and theory throughout within a broad social and intellectual framework. The successive but interacting trends apparent in archaeological thought are defined and the author seeks to determine the extent to which these trends were a reflection of the personal and collective interests of archaeologists as these relate - in the West at least - to the fluctuating fortunes of the middle classes. While subjective influences have been powerful, Professor Trigger argues that the gradual accumulation of archaeological data has exercised a growing constraint on interpretation. In turn, this has increased the objectivity of archaeological research and enhanced its value for understanding the entire span of human history and the human condition in general.
A Concise History of Poland
Authors: Lukowski Jerzy , Zawadzki Hubert
Published: June 2014

The second edition of this guide to Poland has been updated to take account of the years from 1989–2005. This period marked its liberation from the Soviet Union, the birth of Poland's 'Third Republic' and, recently, its accession to the European Union in 2004. Poland's history has been marked by its resilience. Once a dominant force in central and eastern Europe and home to a remarkable experiment in consensual politics, it was excised from the map by its neighbours in 1795. Resurrected in 1918, partitioned afresh during the Second World War, it survived to become a satellite of the Soviet Union. Yet in the 1980s, it was Poland which blazed the trail in casting off communism, and was finally able to reassert its Christian heritage. With its updated bibliography and new chronology, the book is the ideal companion for all looking for a comprehensive survey of this fascinating country.
Sexual Politics in Modern Iran
Authors: Afary Janet
Published: June 2014

Janet Afary is a native of Iran and a leading historian. Her work focuses on gender and sexuality and draws on her experience of growing up in Iran and her involvement with Iranian women of different ages and social strata. These observations, and a wealth of historical documents, form the kernel of this book, which charts the history of the nation's sexual revolution from the nineteenth century to today. What comes across is the extraordinary resilience of the Iranian people, who have drawn on a rich social and cultural heritage to defy the repression and hardship of the Islamist state and its predecessors. It is this resilience, the author concludes, which forms the basis of a sexual revolution taking place in Iran today, one that is promoting reforms in marriage and family laws, and demanding more egalitarian gender and sexual relations.
The Last Great War
Authors: Gregory Adrian
Published: June 2014

What was it that the British people believed they were fighting for in 1914–18? This compelling history of the British home front during the First World War offers an entirely new account of how British society understood and endured the war. Drawing on official archives, memoirs, diaries and letters, Adrian Gregory sheds new light on the public reaction to the war, examining the role of propaganda and rumour in fostering patriotism and hatred of the enemy. He shows the importance of the ethic of volunteerism and the rhetoric of sacrifice in debates over where the burdens of war should fall as well as the influence of religious ideas on wartime culture. As the war drew to a climax and tensions about the distribution of sacrifices threatened to tear society apart, he shows how victory and the processes of commemoration helped create a fiction of a society united in grief.
Understanding Early Civilizations
Authors: Trigger Bruce G.
Published: June 2014

This book offers the first detailed comparative study of the seven best-documented early civilizations: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Shang China, the Aztecs and adjacent peoples in the Valley of Mexico, the Classic Maya, the Inka, and the Yoruba. Unlike previous studies, equal attention is paid to similarities and differences in their sociopolitical organization, economic systems, religion, and culture. Many of this study's findings are surprising and provocative. Agricultural systems, technologies, and economic behaviour turn out to have been far more diverse than was expected. These findings and many others challenge not only current understandings of early civilizations but also the theoretical foundations of modern archaeology and anthropology. The key to understanding early civilizations lies not in their historical connections but in what they can tell us about similarities and differences in human behaviour.
Yeats and Modern Poetry
Authors: Longley Edna
Published: June 2014

Scholars and critics commonly align W. B. Yeats with Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot and the modernist movement at large. This incisive study from renowned poetry critic Edna Longley argues that Yeats' presence and influence in modern poetry have been sorely misunderstood. Longley disputes the value of modernist critical paradigms and suggests alternative perspectives for interpreting Yeats - perspectives based on his own criticism, and on how Ireland shaped both his criticism and his poetry. Close readings of particular poems focus on structure, demonstrating how radically Yeats' approach to poetic form differs from that of Pound and Eliot. Longley discusses other twentieth-century poets in relation to Yeats' insistence on tradition, and offers valuable insights into the work of Edward Thomas, Wallace Stevens, Wilfred Owen, Hugh MacDiarmid, W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Geoffrey Hill, Philip Larkin and Ted Hughes. Her postscript addresses key issues in contemporary poetry by taking a fresh look at Yeats's enduring legacy.
An Introduction to the Medieval Bible
Authors: van Liere Frans
Published: June 2014

The Middle Ages spanned the period between two watersheds in the history of the biblical text: Jerome's Latin translation c.405 and Gutenberg's first printed version in 1455. The Bible was arguably the most influential book during this time, affecting spiritual and intellectual life, popular devotion, theology, political structures, art, and architecture. In an account that is sensitive to the religiously diverse world of the Middle Ages, Frans van Liere offers here an accessible introduction to the study of the Bible in this period. Discussion of the material evidence - the Bible as book - complements an in-depth examination of concepts such as lay literacy and book culture. This introduction includes a thorough treatment of the principles of medieval hermeneutics, and a discussion of the formation of the Latin bible text and its canon. It will be a useful starting point for all those engaged in medieval and biblical studies.
Automated Evaluation of Text and Discourse with Coh-Metrix
Authors: McNamara Danielle S. , Graesser Arthur C. , McCarthy Philip M. , Cai Zhiqiang
Published: June 2014

Coh-Metrix is among the broadest and most sophisticated automated textual assessment tools available today. Automated Evaluation of Text and Discourse with Coh-Metrix describes this computational tool, as well as the wide range of language and discourse measures it provides. Part I of the book focuses on the theoretical perspectives that led to the development of Coh-Metrix, its measures, and empirical work that has been conducted using this approach. Part II shifts to the practical arena, describing how to use Coh-Metrix and how to analyze, interpret, and describe results. Coh-Metrix opens the door to a new paradigm of research that coordinates studies of language, corpus analysis, computational linguistics, education, and cognitive science. This tool empowers anyone with an interest in text to pursue a wide array of previously unanswerable research questions.
Pottery in Archaeology
Authors: Orton Clive , Hughes Michael
Published: June 2014

This revised edition provides an up-to-date account of the many different kinds of information that can be obtained through the archaeological study of pottery. It describes the scientific and quantitative techniques that are now available to the archaeologist, and assesses their value for answering a range of archaeological questions. It provides a manual for the basic handling and archiving of excavated pottery so that it can be used as a basis for further studies. The whole is set in the historical context of the ways in which archaeologists have sought to gain evidence from pottery and continue to do so. There are case studies of several approaches and techniques, backed up by an extensive bibliography.
The Many Panics of 1837
Authors: Lepler Jessica M.
Published: June 2014

In the spring of 1837, people panicked as financial and economic uncertainty spread within and between New York, New Orleans and London. Although the period of panic would dramatically influence political, cultural and social history, those who panicked sought to erase from history their experiences of one of America's worst early financial crises. The Many Panics of 1837 reconstructs this period in order to make arguments about the national boundaries of history, the role of information in the economy, the personal and local nature of national and international events, the origins and dissemination of economic ideas, and most importantly, what actually happened in 1837. This riveting transatlantic cultural history, based on archival research on two continents, reveals how people transformed their experiences of financial crisis into the 'Panic of 1837', a single event that would serve as a turning point in American history and an early inspiration for business cycle theory.
Rethinking Housing Bubbles
Authors: Gjerstad Steven D. , Smith Vernon L.
Published: June 2014

In this highly original piece of work, Steven D. Gjerstad and Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith analyze the role of housing and its associated mortgage financing as a key element of economic cycles. The authors combine data from both laboratory and real markets to provide insight into the bubble propensity of real-world economic actors and use novel historical analysis on the Great Recession, the Great Depression, and all of the post-World War II recessions to establish the critical roles of housing, private-capital investment, and household and private institutional balance sheets in economic cycles. They develop a model that incorporates household balance sheets and bank balance sheets and offers insights based on this analysis concerning policy going forward, effectively changing the way economists think about economic cycles.
Seismic Amplitude
Authors: Simm Rob , Bacon Mike
Published: June 2014

Seismic amplitudes yield key information on lithology and fluid fill, enabling interpretation of reservoir quality and likelihood of hydrocarbon presence. The modern seismic interpreter must be able to deploy a range of sophisticated geophysical techniques, such as seismic inversion, AVO (amplitude variation with offset), and rock physics modelling, as well as integrating information from other geophysical techniques and well data. This accessible, authoritative book provides a complete framework for seismic amplitude interpretation and analysis in a practical manner that allows easy application - independent of any commercial software products. Deriving from the authors' extensive industry expertise and experience of delivering practical courses on the subject, it guides the interpreter through each step, introducing techniques with practical observations and helping to evaluate interpretation confidence. Seismic Amplitude is an invaluable day-to-day tool for graduate students and industry professionals in geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir engineering, and all subsurface disciplines making regular use of seismic data.
Existence
Authors: Inwagen Peter van
Published: June 2014

The problem of the nature of being was central to ancient and medieval philosophy, and continues to be relevant today. In this collection of thirteen recent essays, Peter van Inwagen applies the techniques of analytical philosophy to a wide variety of problems in ontology and meta-ontology. Topics discussed include the nature of being, the meaning of the existential quantifier, ontological commitment, recent attacks on metaphysics and ontology, the concept of ontological structure, fictional entities, mereological sums, and the ontology of mental states. Van Inwagen adopts a generally 'Quinean' position in meta-ontology, yet reaches ontological conclusions very different from Quine's. The volume includes two previously unpublished essays, one of which is an introductory essay where van Inwagen explains his conception of the relation between the language of 'the ordinary business of life' and that of 'the ontology room'. The volume will be an important collection for students and scholars of metaphysics.
The Riemann Hypothesis for Function Fields
Authors: Frankenhuijsen Machiel van
Published: June 2014

This book provides a lucid exposition of the connections between non-commutative geometry and the famous Riemann Hypothesis, focusing on the theory of one-dimensional varieties over a finite field. The reader will encounter many important aspects of the theory, such as Bombieri's proof of the Riemann Hypothesis for function fields, along with an explanation of the connections with Nevanlinna theory and non-commutative geometry. The connection with non-commutative geometry is given special attention, with a complete determination of the Weil terms in the explicit formula for the point counting function as a trace of a shift operator on the additive space, and a discussion of how to obtain the explicit formula from the action of the idele class group on the space of adele classes. The exposition is accessible at the graduate level and above, and provides a wealth of motivation for further research in this area.
The Direction of War
Authors: Strachan Hew
Published: June 2014

The wars since 9/11, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, have generated frustration and an increasing sense of failure in the West. Much of the blame has been attributed to poor strategy. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, public enquiries and defence think tanks have detected a lack of consistent direction, of effective communication, and of governmental coordination. In this important book, Sir Hew Strachan, one of the world's leading military historians, reveals how these failures resulted from a fundamental misreading and misapplication of strategy itself. He argues that the wars since 2001 have not in reality been as 'new' as has been widely assumed and that we need to adopt a more historical approach to contemporary strategy in order to identify what is really changing in how we wage war. If war is to fulfil the aims of policy, then we need first to understand war.
Mathematical Modeling in Chemical Engineering
Authors: Rasmuson Anders , Andersson Bengt , Olsson Louise , Andersson Ronnie
Published: June 2014

A solid introduction to mathematical modeling for a range of chemical engineering applications, covering model formulation, simplification and validation. It explains how to describe a physical/chemical reality in mathematical language and how to select the type and degree of sophistication for a model. Model reduction and approximation methods are presented, including dimensional analysis, time constant analysis and asymptotic methods. An overview of solution methods for typical classes of models is given. As final steps in model building, parameter estimation and model validation and assessment are discussed. The reader is given hands-on experience of formulating new models, reducing the models and validating the models. The authors assume the knowledge of basic chemical engineering, in particular transport phenomena, as well as basic mathematics, statistics and programming. The accompanying problems, tutorials, and projects include model formulation at different levels, analysis, parameter estimation and numerical solution.
Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics At All?
Authors: Hacking Ian
Published: June 2014

This truly philosophical book takes us back to fundamentals - the sheer experience of proof, and the enigmatic relation of mathematics to nature. It asks unexpected questions, such as 'what makes mathematics mathematics?', 'where did proof come from and how did it evolve?', and 'how did the distinction between pure and applied mathematics come into being?' In a wide-ranging discussion that is both immersed in the past and unusually attuned to the competing philosophical ideas of contemporary mathematicians, it shows that proof and other forms of mathematical exploration continue to be living, evolving practices - responsive to new technologies, yet embedded in permanent (and astonishing) facts about human beings. It distinguishes several distinct types of application of mathematics, and shows how each leads to a different philosophical conundrum. Here is a remarkable body of new philosophical thinking about proofs, applications, and other mathematical activities.
A Concise History of Finland
Authors: Kirby David
Published: June 2014

Few countries in Europe have undergone such rapid social, political and economic changes as Finland has during the last fifty years. David Kirby here sets out the fascinating history of this northern country, for centuries on the east-west divide of Europe, a country not blessed by nature, most of whose inhabitants still earned a living from farming fifty years ago, but which today is one of the most prosperous members of the European Union. He shows how this small country was able not only to survive in peace and war but also to preserve and develop its own highly distinctive identity, neither Scandinavian nor Eastern European. He traces the evolution of the idea of a Finnish national state, from the long centuries as part of the Swedish realm, through self-government within the Russian Empire, and into the stormy and tragic birth of the independent state in the twentieth century.
Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity
Authors: Thelen Kathleen
Published: June 2014

This book examines contemporary changes in labor market institutions in the United States, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, focusing on developments in industrial relations, vocational education and training, and labor market policy. It finds that there are in fact distinct varieties of liberalization associated with very different distributive outcomes. Most scholarship equates liberal capitalism with inequality and coordinated capitalism with higher levels of social solidarity. However, this study explains why the institutions of coordinated capitalism and egalitarian capitalism coincided and complemented one another in the 'Golden Era' of postwar development in the 1950s and 1960s, and why they no longer do so. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study reveals that the successful defense of the institutions traditionally associated with coordinated capitalism has often been a recipe for increased inequality due to declining coverage and dualization. Conversely, it argues that some forms of labor market liberalization are perfectly compatible with continued high levels of social solidarity and indeed may be necessary to sustain it.
Failure and the American Writer
Authors: Jones Gavin
Published: June 2014

If America worships success, then why has the nation's literature dwelled obsessively on failure? This book explores encounters with failure by nineteenth-century writers - ranging from Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville to Mark Twain and Sarah Orne Jewett - whose celebrated works more often struck readers as profoundly messy, flawed and even perverse. Reading textual inconsistency against the backdrop of a turbulent nineteenth century, Gavin Jones describes how the difficulties these writers faced in their faltering search for new styles, coherent characters and satisfactory endings uncovered experiences of blunder and inadequacy hidden in the culture at large. Through Jones's treatment, these American writers emerge as the great theorists of failure who discovered ways to translate their own social insecurities into complex portrayals of a modern self, founded in moral fallibility, precarious knowledge and negative feelings.
A Study of Daphnis and Chloe
Authors: Hunter R. L.
Published: June 2014

This 1983 book provides a serious modern literary treatment of perhaps the best known of all surviving works of ancient Greek fiction. Dr Hunter demonstrates the sophistication of this pastoral romance, a sophistication which he maintains has often been assumed but never properly discussed. Evidence for the identity of the author and the date of composition are also considered.
Heat Transfer Physics
Authors: Kaviany Massoud
Published: June 2014

This graduate textbook describes atomic-level kinetics (mechanisms and rates) of thermal energy storage, transport (conduction, convection, and radiation), and transformation (various energy conversions) by principal energy carriers. The approach combines the fundamentals of molecular orbitals-potentials, statistical thermodynamics, computational molecular dynamics, quantum energy states, transport theories, solid-state and fluid-state physics, and quantum optics. The textbook presents a unified theory, over fine-structure/molecular-dynamics/Boltzmann/macroscopic length and time scales, of heat transfer kinetics in terms of transition rates and relaxation times, and its modern applications, including nano- and microscale size effects. Numerous examples, illustrations, and homework problems with answers that enhance learning are included. This new edition includes applications in energy conversion (including chemical bond, nuclear, and solar), expanded examples of size effects, inclusion of junction quantum transport, and discussion of graphene and its phonon and electronic conductances. New appendix coverage of Phonon Contributions Seebeck Coefficient and Monte Carlo Methods are also included.
Small Arms Survey 2013
Authors: Small Arms Survey, Geneva
Published: June 2014

The Small Arms Survey 2013 explores the many faces of armed violence outside the context of armed conflict. Chapters on the use of firearms in intimate partner violence, the evolution of gangs in Nicaragua, Italian organised crime groups, and trends in armed violence in South Africa describe the dynamics and effects of gun violence in the home and on the street. Many of the chapters in the 'weapons and markets' section zero in on the use of specific weapons by particular armed actors, such as drug-trafficking organisations and insurgents. These include chapters on the prices of arms and ammunition at illicit markets in Lebanon, Pakistan and Somalia; illicit weapons recovered in Mexico and the Philippines; and the impacts of improvised explosive devices on civilians. Chapters on the Second Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action and the industrial demilitarisation industry round out the 2013 volume.
Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism
Authors: Stokes Susan C. , Dunning Thad , Nazareno Marcelo , Brusco Valeria
Published: June 2014

Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism addresses major questions in distributive politics. Why is it acceptable for parties to try to win elections by promising to make certain groups of people better off, but unacceptable - and illegal - to pay people for their votes? Why do parties often lavish benefits on loyal voters, whose support they can count on anyway, rather than on responsive swing voters? Why is vote buying and machine politics common in today's developing democracies but a thing of the past in most of today's advanced democracies? This book develops a theory of broker-mediated distribution to answer these questions, testing the theory with research from four developing democracies, and reviews a rich secondary literature on countries in all world regions. The authors deploy normative theory to evaluate whether clientelism, pork-barrel politics, and other non-programmatic distributive strategies can be justified on the grounds that they promote efficiency, redistribution, or voter participation.
Perils of Centralization
Authors: Kollman Ken
Published: June 2014

In this provocative and wide-ranging book, Ken Kollman examines the histories of the US government, the Catholic Church, General Motors, and the European Union as examples of federated systems that centralized power over time. He shows how their institutions became locked-in to intensive power in the executive. The problem with these and other federated systems is that they often cannot decentralize even if it makes sense. The analysis leads Kollman to suggest some surprising changes in institutional design for these four cases and for federated institutions everywhere.
Dynamics of Multibody Systems
Authors: Shabana Ahmed A.
Published: June 2014

This enhanced fourth edition of Dynamics of Multibody Systems includes an additional chapter that provides explanations of some of the fundamental issues addressed in the book, as well as new detailed derivations of some important problems. Many common mechanisms such as automobiles, space structures, robots and micromachines have mechanical and structural systems that consist of interconnected rigid and deformable components. The dynamics of these large-scale multibody systems are highly nonlinear, presenting complex problems that in most cases can only be solved with computer-based techniques. The book begins with a review of the basic ideas of kinematics and the dynamics of rigid and deformable bodies before moving on to more advanced topics and computer implementation. The book's wealth of examples and practical applications will be useful to graduate students, researchers and practising engineers working on a wide variety of flexible multibody systems.
Global Shell Games
Authors: Findley Michael G. , Nielson Daniel L. , Sharman J. C.
Published: June 2014

Every year a staggering number of unidentified shell corporations succeed in hiding perpetrators of terrorist financing, corruption and illegal arms trades, but the degree to which firms flout global identification standards remains unknown. Adopting a unique, experimental methodology, Global Shell Games attempts to unveil the sordid world of anonymous shell corporations. Posing as twenty-one different international consultants, the authors approached nearly 4,000 services in over 180 countries to discover just how easy it is to form an untraceable company. Combining rigorous quantitative analysis, qualitative investigation of responses and lurid news reports, this book makes a significant research contribution to compliance with international law and international crime and terrorism whilst offering a novel, new approach to the field of political science research. Global Shell Games is an invaluable resource for scholars of international relations, and a fascinating, accessible read for anyone interested in learning about worldwide criminal practice in corporate finance.
The Constitution of Risk
Authors: Vermeule Adrian
Published: June 2014

The Constitution of Risk is the first book to combine constitutional theory with the theory of risk regulation. It argues that constitutional rulemaking is best understood as a means of managing political risks. Constitutional law structures and regulates the risks that arise in and from political life, such as an executive coup or military putsch, political abuse of ideological or ethnic minorities, or corrupt self-dealing by officials. The book claims that the best way to manage political risks is an approach it calls 'optimizing constitutionalism' - in contrast to the worst-case thinking that underpins 'precautionary constitutionalism', a mainstay of liberal constitutional theory. Drawing on a broad range of disciplines such as decision theory, game theory, welfare economics, political science and psychology, this book advocates constitutional rulemaking undertaken in a spirit of welfare maximization, and offers a corrective to the pervasive and frequently irrational distrust of official power that is so prominent in American constitutional history and discourse.
The First Knowledge Economy
Authors: Jacob Margaret C.
Published: June 2014

Ever since the Industrial Revolution debate has raged about the sources of the new, sustained western prosperity. Margaret Jacob here argues persuasively for the critical importance of knowledge in Europe's economic transformation during the period from 1750 to 1850, first in Britain and then in selected parts of northern and western Europe. This is a new history of economic development in which minds, books, lectures and education become central. She shows how, armed with knowledge and know-how and inspired by the desire to get rich, entrepreneurs emerged within an industrial culture wedded to scientific knowledge and technology. She charts how, across a series of industries and nations, innovative engineers and entrepreneurs sought to make sense and a profit out of the world around them. Skilled hands matched minds steeped in the knowledge systems new to the eighteenth century to transform the economic destiny of western Europe.