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This book offers effective methods of regulating soil pH for sustainable crop production by decreasing soil contaminants, balancing soil pH, improving nutrient uptake, and increasing crop yields. The book discusses methods of measuring soil pH, factors influencing soil pH, the influence of soil pH on nutrient availability and microbial activity, the causes and amendments of soil acidity, the effects of fertilizers on soil acidity, and soil pH preferences of various crops. This book will serve as a guide for understanding the roles of pH in soil and crop productivities. This is an important resource for soil, crop, and environmental scientists, agronomists, crop physiologists, botanists, foresters, wildlife scientists, and students in these disciplines.

The book entitled Application of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly aims to present applicable research in the field of design, manufacturing, and assembly realized by researchers affiliated to well-known institutes. The book has a profound interdisciplinary character and is addressed to researchers, engineers, PhD students, graduate and undergraduate students, teachers, and other readers interested in assembly applications. I am confident that readers will find interesting information and challenging topics of high academic and scientific level within this book. The book presents case studies focused on new design for special parts using the principles of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA), strategies that minimize the defects in design and manufacturing applications, special devices produced to replace human activity, multiple criteria analysis to evaluate engineering solutions, and the advantages of using the additive manufacturing technology to design the next generation of complex parts, in different engineering fields.

Materials properties, whether microscopic or macroscopic, are of immense interest to the materials scientists, physicists, chemists as well as to engineers. Investigation of such properties, theoretically and experimentally, has been one of the fundamental research directions for many years that has also resulted in the discovery of many novel materials. It is also equally important to correctly model and measure these materials properties. Keeping such interests of research communities in mind, this book has been written on the properties of polyesters, varistor ceramics, and powdered porous compacts and also covers some measurement and parameter extraction methods for dielectric materials. Four contributed chapters and an introductory chapter from the editor explain each class of materials with practical examples.

Over the past few decades, extensive research has been conducted on the applications of agricultural robots and automation to a variety of field and greenhouse operations, and technical fundamentals and their feasibility have also been widely demonstrated. Due to the unstructured environment, adverse interference and complicated and diversified operation process are the key of blocking its commercialization in robotic agricultural operations. Because of the development of automation techniques, smart sensors, and information techniques, some types of agricultural robots have achieved considerable success in recent years. This book intends to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in agricultural robots, fundamentals, and applications in robotic agricultural operations.

In the science of physics, elasticity is the ability of a deformable body (e.g., steel, aluminum, rubber, wood, crystals, etc.) to resist a distorting effect and to return to its original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. Solid bodies will deform when satisfying forces are applied to them. Elasticity solution of materials will be grouped in forms of linear and nonlinear elasticity formulations. The main subject of this book is engineering elasticity and consists of five chapters in two main sections. These two main sections are "General Theorems in Elasticity" and "Engineering Applications in Theory of Elasticity." The first chapter of the first section belongs to the editor and is entitled "Analytical and Numerical Approaches in Engineering Elasticity." The second chapter in the first section is entitled "A General Overview of Stress-Strain Analysis for the Elasticity Equations" by P. Kumar, M. Mahanty, and A. Chattopadhyay. The first chapter of the second section is entitled "FEA and Experimental Determination of Applied Elasticity Problems for Fabricating Aspheric Surfaces" by Dr. D.N. Nguyen. The second chapter is entitled "Concept of Phase Transition Based on Elastic Systematics" by Dr. P.S. Nnamchi and Dr. C.S. Obayi. The third chapter is entitled "Repair Inspection Technique Based on Elastic-Wave Tomography Applied for Deteriorated Concrete Structures" by Dr. K. Hashimoto, Dr. T. Shiotani, Dr. T. Nishida, and Dr. N. Okude. Finally, this book includes the basic principles of elasticity and related engineering applications about theory and design.

Although all the features of the immune system have not been fully resolved yet, the knowledge we have gained from studies on lymphocytes, the basic elements of the immune system, is quite lucid. For this reason, the significance of lymphocytes (the cells that are the source of most of the information we have obtained about the human genome, the negative effects of drugs on the genetic system, the development and behavior of immune system, antigen-antibody association, cytotoxic adaptive immunity, antibody-driven adaptive immunity, cancer and autoimmune diseases) is clear. Studies on lymphocytes will not only help us develop tools to combat human diseases more effectively in the future, but will also help us understand how evolution shapes the immune system in living organisms.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has evolved into an exciting and valuable tool to assist in the management of patients experiencing cardiogenic shock, severe acute respiratory failure, or often a combination of both. While outcomes remain less than ideal, they continue to improve with team experience, better patient selection, and a growing understanding of the nuances of managing patients who require mechanical circulatory support. Patients requiring ECMO are often extremely sick and have complex problems - initiating therapy before the development of end-organ damage is critical. Without doubt, teamwork, guidelines, and protocols are cornerstone concepts for clinical and program success - all topics that are emphasized in this text. The goals of this text are to further outline topics that help address some of the key challenges providers face when considering and applying extracorporeal support therapies to the evolving spectrum of acutely ill patients.

Liquid Crystals - Self-Organized Soft Functional Materials for Advanced Applications is focused on both theoretical models and experimental results, pointing out the chemical and physical properties (thermodynamics, electro-optic switching behavior, and non-linear optic phenomena) of liquid crystals used in a wide range of devices. In this respect, the chapters cover the following topics: chemical structure and phase transitions in bent-core liquid crystals, phase and structural behavior of liquid crystals used to align carbon nanotubes, molecular alignment, and photorefractive effect in the ferroelectric phase, which has the potential to be used as transistors, for image storage, and in optical signal processing. It is expected that the book will be of interest to researchers in academia and industries, as well as advanced students.

The gut-brain axis has gained considerable attention from different branches of the scientific community in recent years. In this book, scientists from different disciplines present current scientific knowledge on the topic. The interaction between the prokaryote and eukaryote cells stimulates the evolutionary processes, and results in various systemic illnesses such as neuropsychiatric disorders and may help the continuity of health. Nature has provided us with healthy food that builds our pharmacy. This natural pharmacy store may help the body's healing processes through its effects on gut microbiota and the immune system. This book aims to provide the reader with detailed analyses of the current scientific knowledge on the gut-brain axis and its relation with health and disease. We hope that the reader benefits from the presented material.

Herbal medicine is a multidisciplinary compilation of topics in herbal medicine that are designed to enlighten all who have a stake in healthcare. In light of the current trends and popularity of herbal medicine, cultural/societal differences and perception, and the relationship with modern healthcare this book presents selected topics to ensure that necessary information on herbal medicine in healthcare is provided. Apart from clarifying certain important complexities and misconceptions on herbal medicine, a general overview of herbal medicine, uses of herbs in the management of diseases, plant secondary metabolites, analytical techniques, applications in stem cell research, use as leads for conventional drug compound development, and research and development of herbal medicines for healthcare are among the major discussions in this book.

This book contains four chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction to moths. It describes their history, differences with butterflies and skippers, classification, camouflage, navigation, attraction to light, and migration. Moths are useful as bio-indicators, pollinators, dispersal of seeds and producers of useful products (silk). They are harmful as agricultural and stored-grain pests, but can be controlled biologically and with pesticides. Chapter 2 reports that among moth pests the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella Zeller, is considered one of the most important potato pests worldwide. In Chapter 3, the pathogenicity of three native isolates of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana were studied in different concentrations of P. operculella eggs. The most pathogenic isolate was determined on eggs in vitro. Chapter 4 highlights several case studies representing long-term field research results of moth pests in maize, Zea mays L., and sugar-beet, Beta vulgaris L.

Soil Productivity Enhancement comprises five chapters written by scientists from various parts of the world. The book is divided into three sections. 1: Conversion of Environmentally Polluting Waste into Fertilizer. This section discusses the conversion of waste water and other by-products from factories into organic fertilizers. It further examines how these materials can be used to enhance crop production and improve soil productivity. 2: Practices for Improving Nutrient Availability. Good nutrient management and proper composting of organic materials are options that can be used to enhance the productivity of soil. These and other practices are examined in this section. 3: Policy on Fertilizer Use. The need for effective policies to control and promote the effective and efficient use of fertilizers is discussed in this section.