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Endoscopic transorbital surgery of the orbit, skull base and brain is a new surgical discipline that has developed over the last decade out of a collaboration between otolaryngologists, neurosurgeons and oculoplastic surgeons. Tumors and other pathology of the skull base are some of the most difficult to approach and treat for surgeons since they lie at the interface of several traditional specialties, namely the eye, the paranasal sinuses and the brain. For this reason, no single surgical specialty is fully trained to independently reach this region, which requires collaborative approaches that are technically demanding and often long and arduous procedures. In the last decade, using the endoscopic techniques and instrumentation, otolaryngologists, oculoplastic surgeons and neurosurgeons, have together shown that the orbit can be used as a minimally disruptive corridor to reach the skull base lateral to the carotid artery as well as other areas that are difficult to access through transcranial or endonasal approaches. These approaches are now even being used to remove brain tumors involving the frontal and temporal lobes, including those that extend through the middle cranial fossa and into the posterior fossa, without visible external scars or the need for a traditional craniotomy. In addition, they have been used to clip aneurysms, treat seizure disorders, drain abscesses, repair CSF (brain fluid) leaks, and restore skull fractures – all without the additional risks, trauma and prolonged recovery of previous open surgical techniques. The literature is now demonstrating that these endoscopic procedures have comparable or improved safety compared to open surgery, while creating less collateral damage, and result in reduced patient stays. Due to their novelty, few surgeons have acquired the necessary experience, knowledge and expertise to introduce these approaches into their practice, yet due to their safety and efficacy they are rapidly becoming a critical skill set. This is the first text of its kind to codify and proliferate these new approaches more rapidly through the country and world, appealing to otolaryngologists, oculoplastic surgeons and neurosurgeons who deal with pathology involving the skull base.

This handbook analyzes and develops methods and models to optimize solutions for energy access (for industry and the general world population alike) in terms of reliability and sustainability. With a focus on improving the performance of energy systems, it brings together state-of-the-art research on reliability enhancement, intelligent development, simulation and optimization, as well as sustainable development of energy systems. It helps energy stakeholders and professionals learn the methodologies needed to improve the reliability of energy supply-and-demand systems, achieve more efficient long-term operations, deal with uncertainties in energy systems, and reduce energy emissions.Highlighting novel models and their applications from leading experts in this important area, this book will appeal to researchers, students, and engineers in the various domains of smart energy systems and encourage them to pursue research and development in this exciting and highly relevant field.

This book gathers peer-reviewed contributions presented at the 4th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management (SECON'23), held in Angamaly, Kerala, India, on 7-9 June 2023. The meeting served as a fertile platform for discussion, sharing sound knowledge and introducing novel ideas on issues related to sustainable construction and design for the future. The respective contributions address various aspects of numerical modeling and simulation in structural engineering, structural dynamics and earthquake engineering, advanced analysis and design of foundations, BIM, building energy management, and technical project management. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable, up-to-date tool and essential overview of the subject for scientists and practitioners alike, and will inspire further investigations and research.

This book gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of effective methods of calculation, resource-saving technologies, and advanced materials in civil and environmental engineering, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the XVIII International Scientific Conference Current Issues of Civil and Environmental Engineering “Lviv- Košice – Rzeszów”, held in Rzeszów, Poland, on September 6–8, 2023. It covers highly diverse topics, including structural shaping and optimization; aspects of structural behavior and modeling; advanced analysis methods; experimental tests and numerical simulations; design codes, in particular Eurocodes and other national and regional limit state codes; and highway and bridges engineering. It also discusses modern architectural and structural solutions; innovative materials and products; durability and maintenance; fabrication and erection; sustainability in construction; renewable energy sources; heat, gas, and water supply; ventilation and air-conditioning; ecological and energy-saving technologies, modern water purification, and treatment technologies; and the protection of water ecosystems. This book, which was selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlights numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.

This book covers recent developments in the understanding, quantification, and exploitation of entanglement in spin chain models from both condensed matter and quantum information perspectives. Spin chain models are at the foundation of condensed matter physics and quantum information technologies and elucidate many fundamental phenomena such as information scrambling, quantum phase transitions, and many-body localization. Moreover, many quantum materials and emerging quantum devices are well described by spin chains. Comprising accessible, self-contained chapters written by leading researchers, this book is essential reading for graduate students and researchers in quantum materials and quantum information. The coverage is comprehensive, from the fundamental entanglement aspects of quantum criticality, non-equilibrium dynamics, classical and quantum simulation of spin chains through to their experimental realizations, and beyond into machine learning applications.

Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and its associated complications, a major socio-economic burden for health care systems. The worldwide prevalence of obesity doubled since 1980 and as a consequence the number of patients with diabetes has been continuously rising with more than 450 Mio. people suffering from this disease at the present time. Substantial progress has been made in understanding the molecular pathways leading from excessive fat accumulation to metabolic perturbation and finally diabetes manifestation. This edition of the'Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology'aims to analyze new insight into the pathophysiology of obesity, to decipher the complex links to diabetes and its complications, and to collect most recent information on new strategies for prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes.

This book is a wide-ranging guide to current and emerging applications of ultrasonography within nephrology that aims to provide readers with a sound understanding of the rationale for the use of ultrasound techniques in various disease settings, for example, complications following renal transplantation, arteriovenous fistulas, renal artery stenosis, nonstenotic renal artery pathology, renal vein pathology, aortic disease, and acute renal failure. Particular emphasis is placed on newer applications, such as those involving elastosonography, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, and color Doppler imaging. There is no doubt that ultrasound techniques can improve the standard of care in nephrology, from vascular access planning to management of uremic complications. Nevertheless, many nephrologists continue to delegate the performance of ultrasonography to radiologists or other colleagues, which is especially regrettable given the advent of affordable, portable ultrasound scanners.This book will be of value for all clinicians interested in the role of ultrasound techniques in nephrology and will be especially useful for nephrologists seeking to incorporate ultrasonography into their practice.

This book offers a wide-ranging overview of advancements, techniques, and challenges related to the design, control, and operation of microgrids and their role in smart grid infrastructure. It brings together an authoritative group of specialists who approach the subject from a number of different viewpoints in the electric power industry, including electricity distribution companies, aggregators, power market retailers, and power generation companies. Design, Control, and Operation of Microgrids in Smart Grids is an authoritative resource for students, researchers, and professionals working with power and energy systems.

This book highlights the key role of green infrastructure (GI) in providing natural and ecosystem solutions, helping alleviate many of the environmental, social, and economic problems caused by rapid urbanization. The book gathers the emerging technologies and applications in various disciplines involving geotechnics, civil engineering, and structures, which are presented in numerous high-quality papers by worldwide researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and entrepreneurs at the 6th CIGOS event, 2021. Moreover, by sharing knowledge and experiences around emerging GI technologies and policy issues, the book aims at encouraging adoption of GI technologies as well as building capacity for implementing GI practices at all scales. This book is useful for researchers and professionals in designing, building, and managing sustainable buildings and infrastructure.

Hearing loss is the most common form of sensory impairment in humans, affecting 360 million persons worldwide. In parallel, tinnitus disorder, the perception of a phantom sound often described as a ringing or buzzing, affects around 10–15% of the general population and interferes with daily life. Hyperacusis, defined as a hypersensitivity to moderate-intensity sounds often co-occurs with tinnitus suggesting a common mechanism of dysfunction for these two perceptual disorders. Whereas some drug candidates are in the process of being developed, nowadays no effective treatment exists to cure hearing loss and tinnitus.The topic of this book was selected with the goal of emphasizing mechanisms that induce hearing loss and tinnitus which lead the selection of promising targets for hearing disorder treatment.Hair cells (HC) are the sensory cells of the inner ear required for both auditory and vestibular functions in all vertebrates. HC are progressively lost during ageing and they are in addition sensitive to physical and acoustic traumas, infectious diseases and chemicals present in commonly used treatments such as anticancer, antimalarial or antibiotics. As adult mammals--including humans--cannot regenerate dead HC, all the possible injury could result in irreversible and permanent hearing loss. It has been shown, however, that a limited capacity to regenerate HC exists in mouse at an early stage of development. The regenerative capacity of HC then appears simply “repressed” in adult mammals, and one could expect it will be possible to re-activate it with an appropriate therapeutic approach which is still to be defined. Immune-mediated inner ear disease has been introduced and accepted as one SNHL pathophysiology; it responds to immunosuppressive therapy and is one of the few reversible forms of bilateral SNHL. Macrophages are always present in the spiral ligament of the lateral wall and are activated in response to various types of stimuli, including noise exposure, ischemia, mitochondrial damage, and surgical stress. Recent studies have also revealed another type of immune cell, called perivascular melanocyte-like macrophages (PVM/Ms), in the stria vascularis. The book will include a review of inflammatory/immune cells in the cochlear lateral wall, the pathways involved in cochlear damage and their potential as therapeutic targets.The final chapter provides an overview of current animal model of tinnitus and hyperacusis. Nowadays no effective treatment exists to cure tinnitus and hyperacusis. One major obstacle to arises from the fact that tinnitus is a subjective phenomenon, the only possible diagnosis relies on self-reports of the subjects. The main constraint of the use of animal models is the subjective character of tinnitus. This chapter describe the advancement in animal models which play an important role in revealing the underlying mechanisms and treatment for tinnitus and hyperacusis.

This book presents the outcomes of the 2020 International Conference on Cyber Security Intelligence and Analytics (CSIA 2020), which was dedicated to promoting novel theoretical and applied research advances in the interdisciplinary field of cyber security, particularly those focusing on threat intelligence, analytics, and preventing cyber crime. The conference provides a forum for presenting and discussing innovative ideas, cutting-edge research findings, and novel techniques, methods, and applications concerning all aspects of cyber security intelligence and analytics. CSIA 2020, which was held in Haikou, China on February 28–29, 2020, built on the previous conference in Wuhu, China (2019), and marks the series'second successful installment.

This volume comprises select peer reviewed papers presented at the international conference - Advanced Research and Innovations in Civil Engineering (ARICE 2019). It brings together a wide variety of innovative topics and current developments in various branches of civil engineering. Some of the major topics covered include structural engineering, water resources engineering, transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, and remote sensing. The book also looks at emerging topics such as green building technologies, zero-energy buildings, smart materials, and intelligent transportation systems. Given its contents, the book will prove useful to students, researchers, and professionals working in the field of civil engineering.

This SHAR volume serves to expand, supplement, and update the original'Cochlea'volume in the series. The book aims to highlight the power of diverse modern approaches in cochlear research by focusing on advances in those fields over the last two decades. It also provides insights into where cochlear research is going, including new hearing prostheses for the deaf that will most likely soon enter the phase of clinical trials. The book will appeal to a broad, interdisciplinary readership, including neuroscientists and clinicians in addition to the more specific auditory community.

This work explores the scope and flexibility afforded by integrated quantum photonics, both in terms of practical problem-solving, and for the pursuit of fundamental science. The author demonstrates and fully characterizes a two-qubit quantum photonic chip, capable of arbitrary two-qubit state preparation. Making use of the unprecedented degree of reconfigurability afforded by this device, a novel variation on Wheeler's delayed choice experiment is implemented, and a new technique to obtain nonlocal statistics without a shared reference frame is tested. Also presented is a new algorithm for quantum chemistry, simulating the helium hydride ion. Finally, multiphoton quantum interference in a large Hilbert space is demonstrated, and its implications for computational complexity are examined.

Quantum information science has found great experimental success by exploiting single photons. To date, however, the majority of quantum optical experiments use large-scale (bulk) optical elements bolted down to an optical bench, an approach that ultimately limits the complexity and stability of the quantum circuits required for quantum science and technology. The realization of complex optical schemes involving large numbers of elements requires the introduction of waveguide technology to achieve the desired scalability, stability and miniaturization of the device. This thesis reports on surprising findings in the field of integrated devices for quantum information. Here the polarization of the photon is shown to offer a suitable degree of freedom for encoding quantum information in integrated systems. The most important results concern: the quantum interference of polarization entangled photons in an on-chip directional coupler; the realization of a Controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate operating with polarization qubits; the realization of a quantum walk of bosons and fermions in an ordered optical lattice and the quantum simulation of Anderson localization of bosons and fermions simulated by polarization entangled photons in a disordered quantum walk. The findings presented in this thesis represent an important step towards the integration of a complete quantum photonic experiment in a chip.

Obesity is currently regarded as one of the major health challenges of the developed world. Excess body weight is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and even psychiatric problems and is estimated to cause nearly 3 million deaths per year worldwide. Obesity is not necessarily associated with comorbidities: there are indeed metabolically healthy obese individuals. Thus, we need to consider individuals presenting simple with obesity separately from those at risk of developing or who have already developed complex clinical states potentially leading to disability. Comorbidities can tip the balance of independence in patients who already have functional limitations mainly due to the excess of mass itself or who develop conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, where an abnormal metabolism of adipose tissue prevails. Morbid obesity with comorbidities leading to disability represents a real social and economic burden for National Health Systems worldwide. The presence of multiple and associated comorbidities often represents an obstacle to being admitted to hospitals for the treatment of metabolic diseases. On the other hand, clinical units with optimal standards for the treatment of pathological conditions in normal-weight patients are often structurally and technologically inadequate for the care of patients with extreme obesity. The aim of this book is to focus on the pathophysiological and rehabilitative aspects of disabling obesity, highlighting multidisciplinary rehabilitation interventions as key to counteracting the disabling aspects of complicated obesity.

Homeostasis of key metabolites and metabolic health affects all bodily systems. Not surprisingly, altered metabolic function is associated with a wide spectrum of dysfunctions in the central nervous system – including developmental disorders, acute nervous system injury, and neurodegenerative disorders. Accordingly, metabolism-based therapies offer significant promise as new category of treatment options designed to limit, delay or reverse the disease process by reconstructing homeostatic functions. Increasingly it is appreciated that restoring metabolic health could promote normal nervous system activity, and improve behavior and cognition. Adenosine: A Key Link Between Metabolism and Central Nervous System Activity focusses on diverse aspects of adenosine, an evolutionarily conserved homeostatic bioenergetic regulator in the central nervous system. Because of its interrelationship with ATP (adenosine triphosphate), adenosine is integral to cell metabolism. At the same time, adenosine influences neuronal activity directly via receptors, and is involved in biochemical processes related to gene expression. Thus, adenosine is uniquely placed as a reciprocal and rapid link between changes in metabolism and changes in neuronal activity, and, on a longer time scale, to changes in gene expression and long term changes in cell function. Leaders in the field feature basic research on adenosine at the cellular level in the central nervous system, and relate these findings to its recognized potential in diverse acute and chronic disorders. This comprehensive overview of adenosine also highlights emerging adenosine-based treatments and associated opportunities for central nervous system disorders.

This book presents the proceedings of the course'Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Collective Excitations in Solids'held in Erice, Italy from June 17 to July 1, 1995. This meeting was organized by the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the'Ettore Majorana'Centre for Scientific Culture. The purpose of this course was to present and discuss physical models, mathematical formalisms, experimental techniques and applications relevant to the subject of collective excitations in solids. By bringing together specialists in the field of solid state spectroscopy, this course provided a much needed forum for the critical assessment and evaluation of recent and past developments in the physics of solids. A total of 83 participants came from 57 laboratories and 20 different countries (Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The secretaries of the course were Stamatios K yrkos and Daniel Di Bartolo. 45 lectures divided in 13 series were given. In addition 8 (one or two-hour)'long seminars,'1'special lecture,'2 interdisciplinary lectures, 29'short seminars,'and 16 posters were presented. The sequence of lectures was in accordance with the logical development of the subject of the meeting. Each lecturer started at a rather fundamental level and ultimately reached the frontier of knowledge in the field.

This book presents an account of the course'Optical Properties of Excited States in Solids'held in Erice, Italy, from June 16 to 3D, 1991. This meeting was organized by the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the'Ettore Majorana'Centre for Scientific Culture. The purpose of this course was to present physical models, mathematical formalisms and experimental techniques relevant to the optical properties of excited states in solids. Some active physical species, such as ions or radicals, could survive indefinitely if they were completely'isolated in space. Other active species, such as excited molecular and solid-state systems, are inherently unstable, even in isolation, due to the spontaneous mechanisms that may convert their excitation energies into radiation or heat. Physical parameters that may be used to characterize these excited systems are the localization or delocalization, and the coherence or incoherence, of their state excitations. In solids the excited states, whether they are localized (as for impurities in insulators) or delocalized (as they may occur in semiconductors), are relevant in several regards. Their de-excitation is extremely sensitive to the nature of the excitations of the systems, and a study of the de-excitation processes can yield a variety of information. For example, the excited states may represent the initial condition of the onset of such processes as Stokes-shifted emission, hot luminescence, symmetry-dependent Jahn-Teller and scattering processes, tunneling processes, energy transfer to like and unlike centers, superradiance, coherent radiation, and excited state absorption.

Lactogenic hormone activity was first observed in bovine pituitary extracts by Stricker and Griiter in 1928, working in Bouin's laboratory in Strasbourg. Since that time prolactin has been shown to exist in anterior pituitary extracts of almost all vertebrate species investigated. Although its biology was extensively studied in many mammalian species, the existence of prolactin in the human was generally doubted, despite the positive evidence produced by such researchers as Pasteels. This can partly be explained by the fact that human growth hormone isolated in 1961, is itself a potent lactogen, in contrast to nonprimate growth hormones, and is present in the normal human pituitary in much greater amounts than prolactin. As a result there was a lag of nearly 10 years until prolactin was unanimously accepted as a hormone of the human pituitary, separate from human growth hormone. In 1970 new bioassay techniques permitted the demonstration of prolactin bioactivity in the serum of postpartum women and galactorrhea patients, and chromatographic methods led to the isolation and purification of human prolactin allowing the establishment of a specific radioimmunoassay for this hormone. This opened the road to the understanding of prolactin physiology and pathophysiology in the human, which has revolutionized clinical neuroendocrinology and reproductive endocrinology. Particularly hyperprolactinemia has turned out to be one of the most common endocrine syndromes.

Although dyspepsia has been investigated for a long period of time, there is no international agreement on what constitutes this condition nor any standardized guidelines. National guidelines followed by practitioners in different countries vary in diagnostic and therapeutic approach, underlining the necessity for a unique definition worldwide. Dyspepsia in Clinical Practice summarizes the current guidelines while offering a unified, practical definition of dyspepsia, and a diagnostic algorithm with an emphasis on the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and rational first-line therapeutic approach based on epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic workup and response to previous therapy. Up-to-date scientific information about dyspepsia is presented from a practical, clinician's point of view. Written by experts in the field, this volume addresses dyspepsia in childhood and in the elderly, a very important issue often insufficiently emphasized in the literature.Guidelines are provided that can be easily followed in clinical practice, leading to a reduction in costs and increased patient safety. Dyspepsia in Clinical Practice will be of great value to gastroenterologists, internists, primary care physicians, pediatricians, infectious disease specialists, residents and fellows in training.

B. Segre: Proprietà locali e globali di varietà e di trasformazioni differenziabili con speciale riguardo ai casi analitici ed algebrici.- E. Cech: Deformazioni proiettive di congruenze e questioni connesse.

By the year 2020, the basic memory components of a computer will be the size of individual atoms. At such scales, the current theory of computation will become invalid.'Quantum computing'is reinventing the foundations of computer science and information theory in a way that is consistent with quantum physics - the most accurate model of reality currently known. Remarkably, this theory predicts that quantum computers can perform certain tasks breathtakingly faster than classical computers – and, better yet, can accomplish mind-boggling feats such as teleporting information, breaking supposedly'unbreakable'codes, generating true random numbers, and communicating with messages that betray the presence of eavesdropping. This widely anticipated second edition of Explorations in Quantum Computing explains these burgeoning developments in simple terms, and describes the key technological hurdles that must be overcome to make quantum computers a reality. This easy-to-read, time-tested, and comprehensive textbook provides a fresh perspective on the capabilities of quantum computers, and supplies readers with the tools necessary to make their own foray into this exciting field. Topics and features: concludes each chapter with exercises and a summary of the material covered; provides an introduction to the basic mathematical formalism of quantum computing, and the quantum effects that can be harnessed for non-classical computation; discusses the concepts of quantum gates, entangling power, quantum circuits, quantum Fourier, wavelet, and cosine transforms, and quantum universality, computability, and complexity; examines the potential applications of quantum computers in areas such as search, code-breaking, solving NP-Complete problems, quantum simulation, quantum chemistry, and mathematics; investigates the uses of quantum information, including quantum teleportation, superdense coding, quantum data compression, quantum cloning, quantum negation, and quantumcryptography; reviews the advancements made towards practical quantum computers, covering developments in quantum error correction and avoidance, and alternative models of quantum computation. This text/reference is ideal for anyone wishing to learn more about this incredible, perhaps'ultimate,'computer revolution. Dr. Colin P. Williams is Program Manager for Advanced Computing Paradigms at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, and CEO of Xtreme Energetics, Inc. an advanced solar energy company. Dr. Williams has taught quantum computing and quantum information theory as an acting Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. He has spent over a decade inspiring and leading high technology teams and building business relationships with and Silicon Valley companies. Today his interests include terrestrial and Space-based power generation, quantum computing, cognitive computing, computational material design, visualization, artificial intelligence, evolutionary computing, and remote olfaction. He was formerly a Research Scientist at Xerox PARC and a Research Assistant to Prof. Stephen W. Hawking, Cambridge University.

In this edited book, we highlight the central players in the Bionanotechnology field, which are the nanostructures and biomolecules. The book starts by describing how nanostructures are synthesized and by describing the wide variety of nanostructures available for biological research and applications. Also shown are the techniques used to synthesize a wide variety of biological molecules. Next, there is a focus on the assembly of nanostructures with biological molecules, which could lead to the design of multi-functional nanosystems. In the following chapters, examples of the unique properties of nanostructures are provided along with the current applications of these nanostructures in biology and medicine. Some applications include the use of gold nanoparticles in diagnostic applications, quantum dots and silica nanoparticles for imaging, and liposomes for drug delivery. In the final chapters of the book, the toxicity of nanostructures are described. This book provides broad examples of current developments in Bionanotechnology research and would be an excellent introduction to the field.