Böcker i SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology-serien

This monograph provides a comprehensive and rigorous exposition of the basic concepts and most important modern research results concerning blockchain and its applications. The book includes the required cryptographic fundamentals underpinning the blockchain technology, since understanding of the concepts of cryptography involved in the design of blockchain is necessary for mastering the security guarantees furnished by blockchain. It also contains an introduction to cryptographic primitives, and separate chapters on bitcoin, ethereum and smart contracts, public blockchain, private blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain applications.This volume is of great interest to active researchers who are keen to develop novel applications of blockchain in the field of their investigatio. Further, it is also beneficial for  industry practitioners as well as undergraduate students in computing and information technology.

This book presents and critically evaluates the results of a European territorial cooperation project addressing the planning challenge of brownfield transformation in fragile territories. Set against the backdrop of the current scenario of deindustrialisation in the European Alps, the book describes how to read and interpret the spatial condition of industrial brownfields in peripheral mountain areas as complex transformation sites. Through key theoretical references, well-documented experiences and field activities, the book explores and advances an innovative methodology of design-based participatory planning conceived specifically for fragile socioeconomic and environmental contexts. The empirical basis for such a methodological exploration is provided by four pilot sites distributed between Austria, Italy, France and Slovenia, identified in the cooperation project as highly representative and recurring situations. The book includes a comparative review of the work carried out for the pilot sites, as well as the planning outcomes generated, providing a clear and operative reference for scholars, professionals and public officers called to face similar experiences.

This book explores the topic of proximity and its relations in the design of contemporary urban fabrics and public spaces. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and reflections on the future of cities have lately shed light on the concept of proximity, which is intended as the relationship between communities and urban functions and as relations among people, built spaces, and open spaces. The proximity is a historic and fertile field of interest for American and Northern European urban studies; it is a spatial and social program seemingly surpassed by the styles and rhythms of contemporary city life, but today it is back in vogue with different purposes. Meanwhile, the action research developed by the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies at the Politecnico di Milano for the Municipality of Milan reached its conclusion (2018-2020). The research work focused on contextualizing the new M4 Metro line stations under construction, and jointed mobility flows and places, long-range networks and local ones, boosting the idea of metro stations as regenerative urban thresholds and urban platforms for enabling environmental, sustainable settlement, and active mobility systems. In other words, the action research for Milan shows how to achieve the concept of proximity in the urban design practice in a dense, stratified, and complex urban context.

This book examines a topic which is an indispensable part of any production line in the wood industry: the extraction, separation, handling of dust and chips, ensuring clean air in the workrooms, and avoiding health, fire and explosion risks. All scientific backgrounds of these problems are not fully known today, and efforts should be made to fill this gap. The work contains significant new derivations and calculation methods and experimental results to support design and evaluation methods such as particle size distributions depending on wood species and machining, terminal velocity of small wood particles, aerodynamics of suction hoods, a detailed analysis of particle separation in cyclones, selection and evaluation of separation efficiency for appropriate filter selection, energy consumption and transportation efficiency of pneumatic conveying, a comprehensive theory of transport ventilators. Several new details of dust explosion are also included. The calculation methods, practical solutions and recommendations are supported by physically well-established explanations providing long-lasting knowledge. 

This book guides the reader through a design process that was tested and optimized in companies and design bureaus. It not only smoothly integrates modern product development techniques, but also addresses, for each phase, issues related to the management of intangible assets. There are several books on the product design process, as well as on the development of innovative products in general. However, none of them addresses how to integrate the engineering techniques with the necessary aspects of Intellectual Property Management. With a focus on software intensive products in general, the book presents a meta-process that adapts to product design in any area where the software element is an important factor in product functionality and innovation.

This book explores the potential contribution of cultural heritage in the enhancement of the territories, investigating the possibilities but also the criticalities involved in the process. Based on the knowledge process built on the Monasteries of Haghpat, Sanahin, Geghard and moreover, in the Upper Azat Valley in Armenia, the work suggests the development of an integrated design approach with interdisciplinary focus. The conservation of the Architectural Heritage of these sites is a priority for the identity safeguard but also to start virtuous processes able to ensure a sustainable development for places and communities. The objective of this work is the setting of pilot strategies and guidelines for the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage as an engine for a compatible and sustainable tourism development of the area, with tangible impact on social and economic development of the country. The work would benefit local authorities and communities, as well as researchers involved in these topics.

This book gives insights into the agricultural policies in several countries located in different continents. It is of interest to students, researchers, and policy and decision makers.Given the particularities of agriculture, agricultural policies are indispensable for an adjusted development of farms according to the strategic objectives of each country, namely the socio-economic and environmental ones. The question that often arises is whether the practical effects of the various policy measures are in accordance with their design and what is the effect of these policy instruments among many other causes of structural and technological change. The aim of this book is to describe the main agricultural policies that have been implemented in countries such as the United States of America, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Australia, as well as the European Union. It also aims to analyse the real impact of these policies on the structural and technological changes of farms in the European Union. As its methodology, the book considers bibliometric analysis, literature review and statistical approaches.

The book deals with urban reactivation, a particular form of regeneration intervention which in addition to the physical-spatial dimension of the places also-and above all-considers the social and relational dynamics that the intervention is able to activate. In this sense, the concept of activation (or reactivation) emphasizes the act of putting something into or back into operation, whether it concerns the material components of a container (a building or a place) or the immaterial components of a content (a need, or a function), starting from the exploitation of opportunities that the architectural project contributes to revealing, developing and accompanying.

This brief textbook underpins the concept of eco-efficiency in product design and systematically addresses the essence of the integration of simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) methods and tools into industrial design. Fundamental steps of LCA-based tools implementation within the higher education context are proposed, using energy-related products (ErP) design as a prime case study. All chapters are designed to respond to the common frequently asked questions in LCA-based tools implementation during the sustainable product design process. The chapters are also enriched with discussions, data sources of simplified LCA tools, and examples of design assignments that provide constructive learning. Some assignments aim at encouraging tool users' reflections while others tackle particularly at knowledge exchange. The examples can assist the reader to visualize challenges and opportunities to engage learners who are tool users. This textbook broadens LCA knowledge for industrial design and environmental engineering students as well as enhance their sustainable product design performance. For professional practitioners including industrial designers, product engineers, entrepreneurs and the like, this textbook can be used as a guide at the introductory level for integrating life cycle thinking into product design and development.

This book explores the application of service design to urban commons. It originates from a project developed by the research group of POLIMI DESIS Lab of Politecnico di Milano, aimed at imagining the future of the Reggio Emilia Ducal Palace and its park - the Reggia di Rivalta. The peculiarity of the project lays in the idea that the design of a (public) space should be informed by the design of its services, because the development of specific activities actually builds a fundamental part of the identity of a place, conceiving both the tangible and intangible dimensions as part of a single creative process. The combination of a participatory process and the integration of spatial and service design led to infrastructuring a multi-stakeholder participatory action research of envisioning the future of a public good. This effort has been thus framed into a working methodology, specific tools and progressive outputs, which are defined as Service Master Planning (the process), and Service Master Plan (the product), allowing service design professionals to expand their knowledge and develop skills for a new field of application connected to urban planning.

This book systematically analyzes the applicability of big data analytics and Industry 4.0 from the perspective of semiconductor manufacturing management. It reports in real examples and presents case studies as supporting evidence. In recent years, technologies of big data analytics and Industry 4.0 have been frequently applied to the management of semiconductor manufacturing. However, related research results are mostly scattered in various journal issues or conference proceedings, and there is an urgent need for a systematic integration of these results. In addition, many related discussions have placed too much emphasis on the theoretical framework of information systems rather than on the needs of semiconductor manufacturing management. This book addresses these issues.

This book provides a hands-on guide towards conducting state-of-the-art engineering research and gaining a patent. It lists pragmatic, step-by-step instructions that cover every stage in engineering research and patent gaining, from choosing a topic to the presentation of research outcomes or patent application. The topics include the introduction and basic concepts of engineering research; research problem and questions; use of libraries, literature search and review; developing a research plan; research data collection methods, analysis and interpretation; project report writing and presentations; and inventions and patents. This book is ideal for engineering undergraduate and postgraduate students and/or first-time or novice researchers and academics intending to launch their research studies and careers.

This book provides the intermittency equation that is derived a priori. Since the intermittency equation is mathematically obtained, the resulting gamma transition model no longer requires any extra parameters and terms to explicitly account for free-stream turbulence and pressure gradient like the previous transition models.Instead, the present gamma transition model can naturally predict natural transition and effects of free-stream turbulence and pressure gradient on the transition process. Furthermore, the present gamma transition model requires much fewer model constants than the previous transition models.The book is beneficial for CFD researchers in industry and academia who confront modern complex applications involving simultaneously laminar, transitional and turbulent flow regimes, and ideally relevant to graduate students in applied physics, applied mathematics and engineering who are interested in the world of laminar-to-turbulent transition modeling in CFD, or would like to further advance more realistic transition models in the future.

This book systematically summarizes the accuracy, precision, and repeatability levels of field-based tests applied in soccer. It considers such details as the effectiveness of tests for different age categories and sexes. In this book, the readers will be able to check all the field-based tests conceived for fitness assessment in soccer through a large systematic review made to the literature. In addition a brief characterization of each test and presentation of the concurrent validity and repeatability levels for each test will be provided. Finally, the book contains a general discussion of the implications of the tests for different methodological approaches to training. It will be use to sports scientists and practitioners.

This book introduces PYNQ, a Python-based framework from Xilinx® that makes it easier for users to build electronic systems on Xilinx platforms. The book covers the architecture of PYNQ, the design tools and methods, software and hardware design approach, as well as rich experiment cases on communications, multimedia, and deep learning. This book serves as a useful guide for those getting starting with, or working with PYNQ and enables the learners to have a thorough understanding of the hardware/software co-design approaches in the area of the communication, multimedia, and other information system components.This book is organized based on the teaching materials of ¿hardware comprehensive experiments¿ which is an experimental course in BUPT, for both undergraduate and graduate students, and domestic and international students. This course has more than ten years of teaching experience and has taught hundreds of students.

This open access book presents a set of practical tools and collaborative solutions in multi-disciplinary settings to foster the Alpine Space health tourism industry¿s innovation and competitiveness. The proposed solutions emerge as the result of the synergy among health, environment, tourism, digital, policy and strategy professionals. The approach underlines the pivotal role of a sustainable and ecomedical use of Alpine natural resources for health tourism destinations, and highlights the need of integrating aspects of natural resources¿ healing effects, a shared knowledge of Alpine assets through digital solutions, and frames strategic approaches for the long-term development of the sector.The volume exploits the results of the three-years long EU research project HEALPS 2, which involved several stakeholders from the health tourism, healthcare and sustainable tourism industries. This book is relevant for health tourism destinations and facilities (hotels, clinics, wellnessand spa companies), regional and local authorities (policy makers), business support organizations, researchers involved in digital healthcare and geoinformatics.

This book examines the background of fourth-generation biofuel production, use of genetically modified microalgae for production of fourth-generation biofuels; cultivation and harvesting of genetically modified microalgae; residue from biofuel extraction; health and environmental concerns of fourth-generation biofuels; regulations on cultivation and processing of the genetically modified algae; carbon dioxide sequestration; water footprint and current status and key challenges. The topic caters to academic researchers and industrial experts, who work in the field of biofuels as source of alternative fuel to achieve environmental and economic sustainability.

The book presents theoretical and experimental studies of ice fracturing process during impact and explosion load. It shows how to obtain ice in natural and artificial conditions. The book summarizes the results of full-scale experiments for 5 years on undermining ice sheets with emulsion explosives. It presents an algorithm that simulates the process of fracturing of thick ice subjected to blast load, showing that the behavior of ice under impact and explosive loads can be described by a model of continuum mechanics. Qualitative and quantitative assessments of the ballistic perfomance of an ice cube after deep penetration low-velocity projectiles are reported in this book. Some pilot problems are formulated for a deeper understanding of the mechanics of ice fracturing during impact and explosion. 

This book applies artificial intelligence to lean production and shows how to practically combine the advantages of these two disciplines. Lean manufacturing originated in Japan and is a well-known tool for improving manufacturers' competitiveness. Prevalent tools for lean manufacturing include Kanban, Pacemaker, Value Stream Map, 5s, Just-in-Time and Pull Manufacturing. Lean Manufacturing and  the Toyota Manufacturing System has been successfully applied to various factories and supply chains around the world. A lean manufacturing system can not only reduce wastes and inventory, but also respond to customer needs more immediately. Artificial intelligence is a subject that has attracted much attention recently. Many researchers and practical developers are working hard to apply artificial intelligence to our daily lives, including in factories. For example, fuzzy rules have been established to optimize machine settings. Bionic algorithms have been proposed to solve production sequencing and scheduling problems. Machine learning technologies are applied to detect possible product quality problems and diagnose the health of a machine. This book will be of interest to production engineers, managers, as well as students and researchers in manufacturing engineering.

This book introduces basic concepts related to computer-aided simulation of welding and prepares the reader to perform the simulation of welding by commercial simulation software. It focuses on conceptualizing the physics of welding, heat transfer, stress development and microstructure development in welding. This book helps the reader to implement these concepts in any commercial software to simulate the welding process according to their own requirement.

This book reports four structural equation models (SEM) for quantifying the relationship between the most important lean manufacturing (LM) practices applied to the manufacturing industry. The SEMs are evaluated using 220 responses to a survey applied to manufacturing companies applying LM principles in the production system and are related to: distribution and maintenance, production process and quality system, supply chain and quality, and an integrator model. The findings identify the most important activities for every LM practices and how they are related. These relationship' values will help administrators, managers, engineers to focus their efforts on these most important activities, facilitating the decision-making process.

This book aims to critically assess the Cartesian stance that affirms robotic and AI technologies as candidates to supplant human capacities in non-routine intellectual nature activities based on social power relations. In the argumentation listed, the contradictions that this hypothesis approaches will be exposed, mainly in a historical and social analysis based on a complex and uncertain sociological perspective, added by a discussion within the scope of the Chaos theory. Finally, an outline of the current era, fostered by extremisms and extremists, will be described in terms of its contradictions in an attempt at sociological analysis. For this, some crucial and unsettling questions will be asked, and an effort to come up with answers will be made for some.

This book presents a comprehensive survey of fault current limiters (FCLs) and their applications in power system to cope with the fault current.

This book describes the utilization of different soft computing techniques and their optimization for providing an accurate and efficient medical diagnosis. The proposed method provides a precise and timely diagnosis of the risk that a person has to develop a particular disease, but it can be adaptable to provide the diagnosis of different diseases. This book reflects the experimentation that was carried out, based on the different optimizations using bio-inspired algorithms (such as bird swarm algorithm, flower pollination algorithms, and others). In particular, the optimizations were carried out to design the fuzzy classifiers of the nocturnal blood pressure profile and heart rate level. In addition, to obtain the architecture that provides the best result, the neurons and the number of neurons per layers of the artificial neural networks used in the model are optimized. Furthermore, different tests were carried out with the complete optimized model. Another work that is presented in this book is the dynamic parameter adaptation of the bird swarm algorithm using fuzzy inference systems, with the aim of improving its performance. For this, different experiments are carried out, where mathematical functions and a monolithic neural network are optimized to compare the results obtained with the original algorithm. The book will be of interest for graduate students of engineering and medicine, as well as researchers and professors aiming at proposing and developing new intelligent models for medical diagnosis. In addition, it also will be of interest for people working on metaheuristic algorithms and their applications on medicine.

This book presents a genetic algorithm that optimizes a grid template pattern detector to find the best point to trade in the SP 500.

The intelligent sports analysis of a soccer ball (also known as football, football ball, or association football ball) requires accurately simulating its motion and finding the best design parameters.

Besides, the significance of various industrial wastes as partial replacements with concrete ingredients such as cement and aggregates are discussed. This book discusses a few examples on studies of using various industry wastes as partial replacement of cement in concrete