Ecosystems and Human Well-being

Ecosystems and Human Well-being
Author: Joseph Alcamo
Publisher:
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2003
Genre: Biodiversity
ISBN:

Ecosystems and Human Well-Being is the first product of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year international work program designed to meet the needs of decisionmakers for scientific information on the links between ecosystem change and human well-being. The book offers an overview of the project, describing the conceptual framework that is being used, defining its scope, and providing a baseline of understanding that all participants need to move forward. The Millennium Assessment focuses on how humans have altered ecosystems, and how changes in ecosystem services have affected human well-being, how ecosystem changes may affect people in future decades, and what types of responses can be adopted at local, national, or global scales to improve ecosystem management and thereby contribute to human well-being and poverty alleviation. The program was launched by United National Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June 2001, and the primary assessment reports will be released by Island Press in 2005. Leading scientists from more than 100 nations are conducting the assessment, which can aid countries, regions, or companies by: providing a clear, scientific picture of the current sta

Night Noise Guidelines for Europe

Night Noise Guidelines for Europe
Author: Charlotte Hurtley
Publisher: WHO Regional Office Europe
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2009
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9289041730

The WHO Regional Office for Europe set up a working group of experts to provide scientific advice to the Member States for the development of future legislation and policy action in the area of assessment and control of night noise exposure. The working group reviewed available scientific evidence on the health effects of night noise, and derived health-based guideline values. In December 2006, the working group and stakeholders from industry, government and nongovernmental organizations reviewed and reached general agreement on the guideline values and key texts for the final document of the "Night noise guidelines for Europe". Considering the scientific evidence on the thresholds of night noise exposure indicated by "Lnight,outside" [L suffix night,outside] as defined in the Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC), an Lnight, outside of 40 dB should be the target of the night noise guideline (NNG) to protect the public, including the most vulnerable groups such as children, the chronically ill and the elderly. "Lnight,outside" value of 55 dB is recommended as an interim target for the countries where the NNG cannot be achieved in the short term for various reasons, and where policy-makers choose to adopt a stepwise approach. These guidelines are applicable to the Member States of the European Region, and may be considered as an extension to, as well as an update of, the previous WHO "Guidelines for community noise" (1999). [Ed.]

Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders
Author: Robert L. Leahy
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 740
Release: 2011-10-26
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1609186494

"_This widely used book is packed with indispensable tools for treating the most common clinical problems encountered in outpatient mental health practice. Chapters provide basic information on depression and the six major anxiety disorders; step-by-stepinstructions for evidence-based assessment and intervention; illustrative case examples; and practical guidance for writing reports and dealing with third-party payers. In a convenient large-size format, the book features 125 reproducible client handouts, homework sheets, and therapist forms for assessment and record keeping. The included CD-ROM enables clinicians to rapidly generate individualized treatment plans, print extra copies of the forms, and find information on frequently prescribed medications._New to This Edition*The latest research on each disorder and its treatment.*Innovative techniques that draw on cognitive, behavioral, mindfulness, and acceptance-based approaches.*Two chapters offering expanded descriptions of basic behavioral and cognitive techniques.*47 of the 125 reproducibles are entirely new. __"--Provided by publisher.

Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance

Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance
Author: William Sims Bainbridge
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2014-03-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9789401703604

M. C. Roco and W.S. Bainbridge In the early decades of the 21st century, concentrated efforts can unify science based on the unity of nature, thereby advancing the combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science. With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, converging in human abilities, societal technologies could achieve a tremendous improvement outcomes, the nation's productivity, and the quality of life. This is a broad, cross cutting, emerging and timely opportunity of interest to individuals, society and humanity in the long term. The phrase "convergent technologies" refers to the synergistic combination of four major "NBIC" (nano-bio-info-cogno) provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate: (a) nanoscience and nanotechnology; (b) biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering; (c) information technology, including advanced computing and communications; (d) cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience. Timely and Broad Opportunity. Convergence of diverse technologies is based on material unity at the nanoscale and on technology integration from that scale.

Managing Pain

Managing Pain
Author: Chad M. Brummett
Publisher: OUP USA
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2013-04-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0199859434

Including a review of therapies and case-based chapters, Managing Pain: Essentials of Diagnosis and Treatment is a fundamental guide to on the diagnosis and therapy of frequently encountered pain conditions for non-pain specialists.

The Handbook of Mathematical Cognition

The Handbook of Mathematical Cognition
Author: Jamie I.D. Campbell
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2005-08-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1135423660

How does the brain represent number and make mathematical calculations? What underlies the development of numerical and mathematical abilities? What factors affect the learning of numerical concepts and skills? What are the biological bases of number knowledge? Do humans and other animals share similar numerical representations and processes? What underlies numerical and mathematical disabilities and disorders, and what is the prognosis for rehabilitation? These questions are the domain of mathematical cognition, the field of research concerned with the cognitive and neurological processes that underlie numerical and mathematical abilities. TheHandbook of Mathematical Cognition is a collection of 27 essays by leading researchers that provides a comprehensive review of this important research field.

Medical and Biomedical Applications of Shock Waves

Medical and Biomedical Applications of Shock Waves
Author: Achim M. Loske
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2016-12-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319475703

This book provides current, comprehensive, and clear explanations of the physics behind medical and biomedical applications of shock waves. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is one of the greatest medical advances of our time, and its techniques and clinical devices are continuously evolving. Further research continues to improve the understanding of calculi fragmentation and tissue-damaging mechanisms. Shock waves are also used in orthopedics and traumatology. Possible applications in oncology, cardiology, dentistry, gene therapy, cell transfection, transformation of fungi and bacteria, as well as the inactivation of microorganisms are promising approaches for clinical treatment, industrial applications and research. Medical and Biomedical Applications of Shock Waves is useful as a guide for students, technicians and researchers working in universities and laboratories. Chemists, biologists, physicians and veterinarians, involved in research or clinical practice will find useful advice, but also engineers and physicists may benefit from the overview of current research endeavors and future directions. Furthermore, it may also serve to direct manufacturers towards the design of more efficient and safer clinical, industrial and laboratory equipment.

Oxidative Stress and Hormesis in Evolutionary Ecology and Physiology

Oxidative Stress and Hormesis in Evolutionary Ecology and Physiology
Author: David Costantini
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2014-03-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642546633

This book discusses oxidative stress and hormesis from the perspective of an evolutionary ecologist or physiologist. In the first of ten chapters, general historical information, definitions, and background of research on oxidative stress physiology, hormesis, and life history are provided. Chapters 2-10 highlight the different solutions that organisms have evolved to cope with the oxidative threats posed by their environments and lifestyles. The author illustrates how oxidative stress and hormesis have shaped diversity in organism life-histories, behavioral profiles, morphological phenotypes, and aging mechanisms. The book offers fascinating insights into how organisms work and how they evolve to sustain their physiological functions under a vast array of environmental conditions.

Holistic Darwinism

Holistic Darwinism
Author: Peter Corning
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 555
Release: 2010-08-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226116336

In recent years, evolutionary theorists have come to recognize that the reductionist, individualist, gene-centered approach to evolution cannot sufficiently account for the emergence of complex biological systems over time. Peter A. Corning has been at the forefront of a new generation of complexity theorists who have been working to reshape the foundations of evolutionary theory. Well known for his Synergism Hypothesis—a theory of complexity in evolution that assigns a key causal role to various forms of functional synergy—Corning puts this theory into a much broader framework in Holistic Darwinism, addressing many of the issues and concepts associated with the evolution of complex systems. Corning's paradigm embraces and integrates many related theoretical developments of recent years, from multilevel selection theory to niche construction theory, gene-culture coevolution theory, and theories of self-organization. Offering new approaches to thermodynamics, information theory, and economic analysis, Corning suggests how all of these domains can be brought firmly within what he characterizes as a post–neo-Darwinian evolutionary synthesis.

Bacterial Circadian Programs

Bacterial Circadian Programs
Author: Jayna L. Ditty
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2009-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540884319

Since the discovery of circadian rhythms in cyanobacteria in the late 1980s, the field has exploded with new information. The cyanobacterial model system for studying circadian rhythms, "Synechococcus elongatus", has allowed a detailed genetic dissection of the bacterial clock due to the methods currently available in molecular, structural, and evolutionary biology. This book addresses multiple aspects of bacterial circadian programs: the history and background of the cyanobacteria and circadian rhythms in microorganisms, the molecular basis, structure, and evolution of the circadian clock, entrainment of the oscillator with the environment and the control of downstream processes by the clock, the demonstration of adaptive significance and the prokaryotic clock’s remarkable stability, and mathematical and synthetic oscillator models for clock function. Experts in the field provide a timely and comprehensive review and a stepping-stone for future work on this amazing group of microorganisms and timing.