Author: Venugopalan Ittekkot
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597267821
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297
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Book Description
Silicon is among the most abundant elements on earth. It plays a key but largely unappreciated role in many biogeochemical processes, including those that regulate climate and undergird marine food webs. The Silicon Cycle is the first book in more than 20 years to present a comprehensive overview of the silicon cycle and issues associated with it. The book summarizes the major outcomes of the project Land-Ocean Interactions: Silica Cycle, initiated by the Scientific Community on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). It tracks the pathway of silicon from land to sea and discusses its biotic and abiotic modifications in transit as well as its cycling in the coastal seas. Natural geological processes in combination with atmospheric and hydrological processes are discussed, as well as human perturbations of the natural controls of the silicon cycle.
Author: David Evered
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470513330
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
The Novartis Foundation Series is a popular collection of the proceedings from Novartis Foundation Symposia, in which groups of leading scientists from a range of topics across biology, chemistry and medicine assembled to present papers and discuss results. The Novartis Foundation, originally known as the Ciba Foundation, is well known to scientists and clinicians around the world.
Author: Bruce Wile
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080476643
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 702
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Book Description
One of the biggest challenges in chip and system design is determining whether the hardware works correctly. That is the job of functional verification engineers and they are the audience for this comprehensive text from three top industry professionals.As designs increase in complexity, so has the value of verification engineers within the hardware design team. In fact, the need for skilled verification engineers has grown dramatically--functional verification now consumes between 40 and 70% of a project's labor, and about half its cost. Currently there are very few books on verification for engineers, and none that cover the subject as comprehensively as this text. A key strength of this book is that it describes the entire verification cycle and details each stage. The organization of the book follows the cycle, demonstrating how functional verification engages all aspects of the overall design effort and how individual cycle stages relate to the larger design process. Throughout the text, the authors leverage their 35 plus years experience in functional verification, providing examples and case studies, and focusing on the skills, methods, and tools needed to complete each verification task. - Comprehensive overview of the complete verification cycle - Combines industry experience with a strong emphasis on functional verification fundamentals - Includes real-world case studies
Author: L.E. Datnoff
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080541224
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 425
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Book Description
Presenting the first book to focus on the importance of silicon for plant health and soil productivity and on our current understanding of this element as it relates to agriculture.Long considered by plant physiologists as a non-essential element, or plant nutrient, silicon was the center of attention at the first international conference on Silicon in Agriculture, held in Florida in 1999.Ninety scientists, growers, and producers of silicon fertilizer from 19 countries pondered a paradox in plant biology and crop science. They considered the element Si, second only to oxygen in quantity in soils, and absorbed by many plants in amounts roughly equivalent to those of such nutrients as sulfur or magnesium. Some species, including such staples as rice, may contain this element in amounts as great as or even greater than any other inorganic constituent. Compilations of the mineral composition of plants, however, and much of the plant physiological literature largely ignore this element. The participants in Silicon in Agriculture explored that extraordinary discrepancy between the silicon content of plants and that of the plant research enterprise.The participants, all of whom are active in agricultural science, with an emphasis on crop production, presented, and were presented with, a wealth of evidence that silicon plays a multitude of functions in the real world of plant life. Many soils in the humid tropics are low in plant available silicon, and the same condition holds in warm to hot humid areas elsewhere. Field experience, and experimentation even with nutrient solutions, reveals a multitude of functions of silicon in plant life. Resistance to disease is one, toleration of toxic metals such as aluminum, another. Silicon applications often minimize lodging of cereals (leaning over or even becoming prostrate), and often cause leaves to assume orientations more favorable for light interception. For some crops, rice and sugarcane in particular, spectacular yield responses to silicon application have been obtained. More recently, other crop species including orchids, daisies and yucca were reported to respond to silicon accumulation and plant growth/disease control. The culture solutions used for the hydroponic production of high-priced crops such as cucumbers and roses in many areas (The Netherlands for example) routinely included silicon, mainly for disease control. The biochemistry of silicon in plant cell walls, where most of it is located, is coming increasingly under scrutiny; the element may act as a crosslinking element between carbohydrate polymers.There is an increased conviction among scientists that the time is at hand to stop treating silicon as a plant biological nonentity. The element exists, and it matters.
Author: Yongchao Liang
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401799784
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 250
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Book Description
This book mainly presents the current state of knowledge on the use of of Silicon (Si) in agriculture, including plants, soils and fertilizers. At the same time, it discusses the future interdisciplinary research that will be needed to further our knowledge and potential applications of Si in agriculture and in the environmental sciences in general. As the second most abundant element both on the surface of the Earth’s crust and in soils, Si is an agronomically essential or quasi-essential element for improving the yield and quality of crops. Addressing the use of Si in agriculture in both theory and practice, the book is primarily intended for graduate students and researchers in various fields of the agricultural, biological, and environmental sciences, as well as for agronomic and fertilizer industry experts and advisors. Dr. Yongchao Liang is a full professor at the College of Environmental and Resource Sciences of the Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Dr. Miroslav Nikolic is a research professor at the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Dr. Richard Bélanger is a full professor at the Department of Plant Pathology of the Laval University, Canada and holder of a Canada Research Chair in plant protection. Dr. Haijun Gong is a full professor at College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, China. Dr. Alin Song is an associate professor at Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Author: Jacqueline M. Grebmeier
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401788634
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 461
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Book Description
The Pacific Arctic region is experiencing rapid sea ice retreat, seawater warming, ocean acidification and biological response. Physical and biogeochemical modeling indicates the potential for step-function changes to the overall marine ecosystem. This synthesis book was coordinated within the Pacific Arctic Group, a network of international partners working in the Pacific Arctic. Chapter topics range from atmospheric and physical sciences to chemical processing and biological response to changing environmental conditions. Physical and biogeochemical modeling results highlight the need for data collection and interdisciplinary modeling activities to track and forecast the changing ecosystem of the Pacific Arctic with climate change.
Author: Vadim V. Annenkov
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119487951
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452
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Book Description
DIATOM MORPHOGENESIS A unique book presenting the range of silica structures formed by diatoms, theories and hypotheses of how they are made, and applications to nanotechnology by use or imitation of diatom morphogenesis. There are up to 200,000 species of diatoms, each species of these algal cells bearing an ornate, amorphous silica glass shell. The silica is structured at 7 orders of magnitude size range and is thus the most complex multiscalar solid structure known. Recent research is beginning to unravel how a single cell marshals chemical, physical, biochemical, genetic, and cytoskeletal processes to produce these single-cell marvels. The field of diatom nanotechnology is advancing as this understanding matures. Diatoms have been actively studied over the recent 10-20 years with various modern equipment, experimental and computer simulation approaches, including molecular biology, fluorescence-based methods, electron, confocal, and AFM microscopy. This has resulted in a huge amount of information but the key stages of their silica morphogenesis are still not clear. This is the time to reconsider and consolidate the work performed so far and to understand how we can go ahead. The main objective of this book is to describe the actual situation in the science of diatom morphogenesis, to specify the most important unresolved questions, and to present the corresponding hypotheses. The following areas are discussed: A tutorial chapter, with a glossary for newcomers to the field, who are often from outside of biology, let alone phycology; Diatom Morphogenesis: general issues, including symmetry and size issues; Diatom Morphogenesis: simulation, including analytical and numerical methods for description of the diatom valve shape and pore structure; Diatom Morphogenesis: physiology, biochemistry, and applications, including the relationship between taxonomy and physiology, biosilicification hypotheses, and ideas about applications of diatoms. Audience Researchers, scientists, and graduate students in the fields of phycology, general biology, marine sciences, the chemistry of silica, materials science, and ecology.
Author: Kurt O. Konhauser
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444309021
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 440
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Book Description
Introduction to Geomicrobiology is a timely and comprehensive overview of how microbial life has affected Earth’s environment through time. It shows how the ubiquity of microorganisms, their high chemical reactivity, and their metabolic diversity make them a significant factor controlling the chemical composition of our planet. The following topics are covered: how microorganisms are classified, the physical constraints governing their growth, molecular approaches to studying microbial diversity, and life in extreme environments bioenergetics, microbial metabolic capabilities, and major biogeochemical pathways chemical reactivity of the cell surface, metal sorption, and the microbial role in contaminant mobility and bioremediation/biorecovery microbiological mineral formation and fossilization the function of microorganisms in mineral dissolution and oxidation, and the industrial and environmental ramifications of these processes elemental cycling in biofilms, formation of microbialites, and sediment diagenesis the events that led to the emergence of life, evolution of metabolic processes, and the diversification of the biosphere. Artwork from the book is available to instructors at www.blackwellpublishing.com/konhauser.
Author: Deborah Perry Piscione
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 113732421X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
While the global economy languishes, one place just keeps growing despite failing banks, uncertain markets, and high unemployment: Silicon Valley. In the last two years, more than 100 incubators have popped up there, and the number of angel investors has skyrocketed. Today, 40 percent of all venture capital investments in the United States come from Silicon Valley firms, compared to 10 percent from New York. In Secrets of Silicon Valley, entrepreneur and media commentator Deborah Perry Piscione takes us inside this vibrant ecosystem where meritocracy rules the day. She explores Silicon Valley's exceptionally risk-tolerant culture, and why it thrives despite the many laws that make California one of the worst states in the union for business. Drawing on interviews with investors, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, as well as a host of case studies from Google to Paypal, Piscione argues that Silicon Valley's unique culture is the best hope for the future of American prosperity and the global business community and offers lessons from the Valley to inspire reform in other communities and industries, from Washington, DC to Wall Street.
Author: Dolores R. Piperno
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 304
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Book Description
This is a methodological guide to the use of plant opal phytolith analysis in paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction. It is the first book-length treatment of this promising technique, which has undergone rapid development within the past few years and is now beginning to be used with considerable success by paleobotanists who serve the archaeological and paleontological research communities. It will be mandatory reading for all paleobotanists, paleoecologists, and archaeological scientists.
