Springer

Data Correcting Approaches in Combinatorial Optimization focuses on algorithmic applications of the well known polynomially solvable special cases of computationally intractable problems. The purpose of this text is to design practically efficient algorithms for solving wide classes of combinatorial optimization problems. Researches, students and engineers will benefit from new bounds and branching rules in development efficient branch-and-bound type computational algorithms. This book examines applications for solving the Traveling Salesman Problem and its variations, Maximum Weight Independent Set Problem, Different Classes of Allocation and Cluster Analysis as well as some classes of Scheduling Problems. Data Correcting Algorithms in Combinatorial Optimization introduces the data correcting approach to algorithms which provide an answer to the following questions: how to construct a bound to the original intractable problem and find which element of the corrected instance one should branch such that the total size of search tree will be minimized. The PC time needed for solving intractable problems will be adjusted with the requirements for solving real world problems.

This state-of-the art multidisciplinary textbook has been compiled by editors and authors appointed by American Academy of Pain Medicine. The content, which is broken down into Interventional, Pharmacologic, and Psychological sections, espouses the academy's clinical guidelines and core curriculum. The textbook is the most up-to-date and comprehensive resource in pain medicine available. In addition to serving as a primary reference for a physician's practice, it is also a valuable reference for certification exams in pain medicine.

This text is orientated at a Computer Science/Engineering student or professional, supervised or not, who would like to concentrate in depth on a few ideas and methods giving a holistic perspective on the area rather than to see the overwhelming variety of tools and methods developed so far, which is provided by other texts and references without much looking at interrelations between methods.

Essential Medical Facts presents selected literature-based information clinicians need to know to provide informed patient care and avoid medical misadventures. Facts that can help make us better and safer clinicians include knowing the usefulness of palmar crease pallor in detecting anemia (not reliable), antibiotics that can cause a false positive opiate urine drug screen (fluoroquinolones), and an occasional early clue to testicular cancer (gynecomastia). Of course, keeping up to date on current medical knowledge and being curious about the implications of published research conclusions not only help assure superior clinical performance; they also bolster the preparation for board examinations. Robert B. Taylor, MD is the author and editor of more than two dozen medical books and several hundred published articles, as well a veteran of both rural private practice and chairmanship of a medical school clinical department. Essential Medical Facts is written for clinicians in all specialties, at all stages of professional life. It is a “must have” book for students, residents and practicing physicians, as well as nurse practitioners and physician assistants actively involved in clinical diagnosis and management of disease.

Financial economics is a fascinating topic where ideas from economics, mathematics and, most recently, psychology are combined to understand financial markets. This book gives a concise introduction into this field and includes for the first time recent results from behavioral finance that help to understand many puzzles in traditional finance. The book is tailor made for master and PhD students and includes tests and exercises that enable the students to keep track of their progress. Parts of the book can also be used on a bachelor level. Researchers will find it particularly useful as a source for recent results in behavioral finance and decision theory.

In financial and actuarial modeling and other areas of application, stochastic differential equations with jumps have been employed to describe the dynamics of various state variables. The numerical solution of such equations is more complex than that of those only driven by Wiener processes, described in Kloeden & Platen: Numerical Solution of Stochastic Differential Equations (1992). The present monograph builds on the above-mentioned work and provides an introduction to stochastic differential equations with jumps, in both theory and application, emphasizing the numerical methods needed to solve such equations. It presents many new results on higher-order methods for scenario and Monte Carlo simulation, including implicit, predictor corrector, extrapolation, Markov chain and variance reduction methods, stressing the importance of their numerical stability. Furthermore, it includes chapters on exact simulation, estimation and filtering. Besides serving as a basic text on quantitative methods, it offers ready access to a large number of potential research problems in an area that is widely applicable and rapidly expanding. Finance is chosen as the area of application because much of the recent research on stochastic numerical methods has been driven by challenges in quantitative finance. Moreover, the volume introduces readers to the modern benchmark approach that provides a general framework for modeling in finance and insurance beyond the standard risk-neutral approach. It requires undergraduate background in mathematical or quantitative methods, is accessible to a broad readership, including those who are only seeking numerical recipes, and includes exercises that help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the underlying mathematics.

This book proposes a sound and realistic exploration on the topic of terraforming. Often used as the narrative premise in science fiction novels, terraforming is the process by which an uninhabitable planet might be converted into one capable of supporting life. This book presents what is physically possible today and hints what might conceivably be put into practice in the next several hundred years.The author works within the realms of current technology and known physics, although speculation on future advancements inevitably enters the discussion. Introductory chapters establish why terraforming will be of great benefit to human kind, and also put in place the basic physical arguments necessary to the terraforming process. The following parts look at various proposals that have been made for terraforming the planets Mars and Venus. The book concludes with a glimpse to the much deeper future when humankind will explore and colonize the outer solar system and possibly the newly discovered exoplanets.

This 2nd updated edition is an entry-level text covering all aspects of deployment, not just medical or health-related, for use by health professionals in a resource-constrained environment brought about by local conflict or natural disasters. Since the 1st edition (2002), there have been seismic changes following the terrorist assault on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The Middle East, the Far East and parts of Africa are convulsed by conflict, verging on civil war. Colossal natural disasters have since occurred — Tsunamis (SE Asia), Earthquakes (Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan), a Hurricane (Gulf of Mexico).The working environment for the prospective humanitarian volunteer has changed forever. The book covers preparation, organisation, logistics, treatment of major trauma and medical emergencies, and the problems of delivering medicine in hostile/remote environments. It bridges the fields of medicine, nursing, international relations, history, politics and economics and also touches on nutrition, infection, trauma, psychiatry, and psychological medicine, and training.

Stochastic processes of common use in Mathematical finance are presented throughout the book, which consists of eleven chapters, interlacing on one hand financial concepts and instruments, such as arbitrage opportunities, admissible strategies, contingent claims, option pricing, default risk, ruin, and on the other hand, Brownian motion, diffusion processes, Levy processes, together with the basic properties of these processes. The first half of the book is devoted to continuous path processes whereas the second half deals with discontinuous processes. Only basic knowledge of probability theory is assumed; the book is organized so that the mathematical facts pertaining to a given financial question are gathered close to the study of that question.

This book presents the state of the art in multilevel analysis, with an emphasis on more advanced topics. These topics are discussed conceptually, analyzed mathematically, and illustrated by empirical examples. Multilevel analysis is the statistical analysis of hierarchically and non-hierarchically nested data. The simplest example is clustered data, such as a sample of students clustered within schools. Multilevel data are especially prevalent in the social and behavioral sciences and in the biomedical sciences. The chapter authors are all leading experts in the field. Given the omnipresence of multilevel data in the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences, this book is essential for empirical researchers in these fields.

Each chapter has three types of learning aides for students: open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, and quantitative problems. There is an average of about 50 per chapter. There are also a number of worked examples in the chapters, averaging over 5 per chapter, and almost 600 photos and line drawings.

Thirty-eight years after its introduction, affinity chromatography remains a key tool in the armory of separation techniques available to separation and interaction scientists. Expanded and updated from the first edition, this second edition volume aims to provide the beginner with the practical knowledge needed to develop affinity separations suitable for a variety of applications relevant to the post-genomic era. It contains state-of-the-art, brand new protocols, and provides step-by-step laboratory instructions for readily reproducible results.

In 1958, Ralph E. Gomory transformed the field of integer programming when he published a paper that described a cutting-plane algorithm for pure integer programs and announced that the method could be refined to give a finite algorithm for integer programming. In 2008, to commemorate the anniversary of this seminal paper, a special workshop celebrating fifty years of integer programming was held in Aussois, France, as part of the 12th Combinatorial Optimization Workshop. It contains reprints of key historical articles and written versions of survey lectures on six of the hottest topics in the field by distinguished members of the integer programming community. Useful for anyone in mathematics, computer science and operations research, this book exposes mathematical optimization, specifically integer programming and combinatorial optimization, to a broad audience.

Whilst heavy metal phytotoxicity has been known for more than a century, it is astonishing that interest in the effects of heavy metals on organisms has only recently received added attention. Research in the past years, however, has confirmed the immense damage by metal pollution to plants, the soil and ultimately to humans. This completely updated and enlarged second edition gives a state-of-the art review on both field and laboratory work. It deals with the various functional and ecological aspects of heavy metal stress on plants and outlines the scope for future research and the possibilities for remediation.

Cells of the immune system are activated by a variety of stimuli that are derived from other cells, ingested material or from invading microorganisms. This issue of CTMI focuses on the mechanisms of phosphoinositide-mediated protein recruitment to intracellular membranes.

In the 2nd edition some sections of Part I are omitted for better readability, and a brand new chapter is devoted to volatility risk. As a consequence, hedging of plain-vanilla options and valuation of exotic options are no longer limited to the Black-Scholes framework with constant volatility. The theme of stochastic volatility also reappears systematically in the second part of the book, which has been revised fundamentally, presenting much more detailed analyses of the various interest-rate models available: the authors' perspective throughout is that the choice of a model should be based on the reality of how a particular sector of the financial market functions, never neglecting to examine liquid primary and derivative assets and identifying the sources of trading risk associated. This long-awaited new edition of an outstandingly successful, well-established book, concentrating on the most pertinent and widely accepted modelling approaches, provides the reader with a text focused on practical rather than theoretical aspects of financial modelling.

Yao-Shan Fan and a panel of senior scientists and pioneering researchers describe in step-by-step style the leading FISH techniques and those molecular technologies beyond FISH available for diagnostic services in genetics and oncology. The methods include labeling FISH probes for DNA and RNA targets, fluorescence genotyping, CGH microarray, spectral karyotyping/multicolor FISH, and primed in situ labeling. There are also techniques for multicolor fiber FISH, multi-telomere FISH, prenatal diagnosis using maternal blood, and preimplantation diagnosis. Oncological methods include simultaneous fluorescence immunophenotyping and FISH for leukemia and lymphoma, HER2 amplification in breast cancer, and CAC/PAC for cancer cytogenetics.

The book addresses the requirement of scientists and researchers to gain a basic understanding of microarray analysis methodologies and tools. It is intended for students, teachers, researchers, and research managers who want to understand the state of the art and of the presented methodologies and the areas in which gaps in our knowledge demand further research and development. The book is designed to be used by the practicing professional tasked with the design and analysis of microarray experiments or as a text for a senior undergraduate or graduate level course in analytical genetics, biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, statistics and data mining, or applied computer science.

The logic of the overall approach to protein isolation is explained and the physical principles of each separation method are made clear by the use of simple models and analogies drawn from everyday experiences. The author's aim has been to deepen the readers' insight into protein isolation methods, so that they may tackle new problems and perhaps devise new approaches to old problems. Many of the methods described are drawn from the author's own research and are thus uniquely described here; examples are three-phase partitioning, non-linear electrophoresis and a simple approach to buffer making. In this 2nd edition, the treatment of the basic physical principles has been expanded and clarified, the importance of ionic strength in measuring enzyme pH optima is emphasised and a computer program for the calculation of buffers of defined ionic strength is provided. The section on three-phase partitioning has been expanded to include the latest research findings on the use of t-butanol to inhibit enzymes and minimise homogenisation artefacts, the treatment of HPLC has been expanded and the most common practical methods are explained in detail in a new chapter. Additional study questions are provided, as are the answers to all study questions.

Pui-Yan Kwok, MD, PhD, has assembled a comprehensive collection of readily reproducible techniques for the difficult process of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) discovery and genotyping. These cutting-edge protocols for mutation/SNP detection utilize denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC), single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE), chemical cleavage, and direct sequencing. Equally powerful and up-to-date methods are given for genotyping SNPs, including molecular beacons, the Taqman assay, single-base extension approaches, pyrosequencing, ligation, the Invader assay, and primer extension with mass spectrometry detection.

Monte Carlo Methods are among the most broadly applicable and thus most powerful tools for valuing derivative securities and measuring their risks. As computer speeds continue to increase and new research expands the scope and efficiency of these methods, their use is destined to grow. This book is devoted to the use of Monte Carlo methods in finance. Advances in Monte Carlo methods in financial engineering take place at the interface between academic research and industry practice. This book targets that interface developing theory closely tied to applications. It is roughly divided into three parts: the first three chapters concentrate on the basics of Monte Carlo methods; the next three develop ways to improve Monte Carlo methods; and the final four chapters deal with more specialized problems arising, in particular applications of Monte Carlo to financial engineering. This book will serve as a reference for practitioners and researchers and will also be suitable as a graduate text for courses on computational finance.

A panel of highly regarded molecular biologists and clinical researchers describe in detail their most novel, useful, and interesting RT-PCR applications. Here the newcomer will find readily reproducible protocols for highly sensitive detection and quantification of gene expression, the in situ localization of gene expression in tissue, and the cloning of genes, as well as for analyzing T-cell clones and the differential expression of genes. For the expert seeking to extend the usefulness of RT-PCR, there are user-friendly applications that complement the latest technological advances, including laser-capture microdissection (LCM), real-time and quantitative PCR, microarray technology, cDNA cloning, and antibody engineering.

In this revised and expanded second edition, seasoned experts describe in step-by-step detail their best state-of-the-art techniques for studying neuronal cell death. These readily reproducible methods solve a wide variety of research problems, including the detection of the key proteins involved in neuronal apoptosis (Bax protein, cytochrome c, and caspases), the direct assessment of the role of pro-apoptotic proteins in neurons by viral infections and microinjections, and the detection of pro-apoptotic proteins in situ. There are also hands-on methods for the study of apoptosis mechanisms in neuronal compartments, for studying synaptosis, and for establishing gene expression profiles in neurodegenerative brain tissues by using DNA microarrays.

A presentation of the most advanced application of optical near-field microscopy to studies of fine metallic structures and related surface plasmons.