Open Access Books

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) represents the most common form of dementia in the elderly population worldwide. AD is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration that leads to a gradual deterioration of memory and other cognitive functions. Given the global prevalence and impact of AD, there is a critical need to establish biomarkers that can be used to detect AD in individuals before the onset of clinical signs and provide mitigating therapeutics. The aim of this Special Issue is to discuss the current knowledge as well as future perspectives on the role of biomarkers in the screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of AD.

Well being is a multidimensional phenomenon, that cannot be measured by a single descriptive indicator and that, it should be represented by multiple dimensions. It requires, to be measured by combination of different dimensions that can be considered together as components of the phenomenon. This combination can be obtained by applying methodologies knows as Composite Indicators (CIs). CIs are largely used to have a comprehensive view on a phenomenon that cannot be captured by a single indicator. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is one of the most popular multivariate statistical technique used for reducing data with many dimension, and often well being indicators are obtained using PCA. PCA is implicitly based on a reflective measurement model that it non suitable for all types of indicators. Mazziotta and Pareto (2013) in their paper discuss the use and misuse of PCA for measuring well-being. The classical PCA is not suitable for data collected on the territory because it does not take into account the spatial autocorrelation present in the data. The aim of this paper is to propose the use of Spatial Principal Component Analysis for measuring well being in the Italian Provinces.

This book comprises a collection of empirical and theoretical studies covering a wide range of themes related to bank management, finance and sustainability. Sustainability represents an opportunity for banks as it contributes to improvements in trust in the banking system. However, sustainable business models must be financially viable so that they can have a positive impact on banks’ profitability, stimulating the long-term growth and resilience of the banking industry and overall financial stability.Banks are widely acknowledged as playing a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they can promote responsible investments and integrate environmental and social criteria into lending and investment strategies. Financial intermediaries can support projects and activities that create a measurable positive economic, social and environmental impact by providing easier access to capital. Furthermore, they can have an active role in improving the financial awareness, inclusion and resilience of the most vulnerable individuals in society.

Coral Mary Bell AO, who died in 2012, was one of the world’s foremost academic experts on international relations, crisis management and alliance diplomacy. This collection of essays by more than a dozen of her friends and colleagues is intended to honour her life and examine her ideas and, through them, her legacy.

The physical definition of the coastal system and the management definition of same are topics that sets the goal of defining a possible methodological approach through the presentation of the case study for territorial planning.

At the global level, agricultural, food, and forestry systems generate more than one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, thus significantly contributing to climate change. At the same time, these sectors are heavily affected by its consequences, particularly in the Global South. However, they also hold strong potential for adaptation and mitigation, notably through carbon sequestration in soils and biomass, which should be leveraged to establish synergistic actions. This book questions and explores the diversity of strategies required at various scales —genetic, agricultural practices, public policies, trade, finance— to sustainably transform agricultural and food systems to cope with climate change. It emphasizes the urgency of systemic changes to bring about real transformations and anticipate shifts (e.g., the evolution of dominant agricultural models, reterritorialization, adaptation of food systems, loss reduction...), as well as the need to adapt these transformations to bioclimatic, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Mobilizing nearly 150 scientists from both the Global North and South, this book highlights the central role of research in addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time.

Women have a strong position in Norwegian handball. They are the majority both as athletes and coaches, and many women coach both girls’ and boys’ teams in the younger age groups. Women are also heavily involved in the leadership of handball clubs throughout the country. At the same time, men are the clear majority as coaches for older youth and senior teams, regardless of gender—and especially at the top level. How can we understand this? Do women choose to stop coaching, and why do they do so? Do men get different opportunities than women as coaches at higher levels, and if so, what is the reason? This book is based on interviews with 20 women, all of whom have experience as coaches in Norwegian handball. They live in different parts of the country and are aged 20–55; several have coached for many years, and collectively they have coaching experience at all levels. The aim is to investigate in what ways gender may matter for what it is like to be a coach in Norwegian handball. What do the research participants emphasize when they talk about their experiences? In what ways does gender emerge as a dimension in explanations of experiences they have had as coaches? Does being a woman appear as an obstacle or an advantage in terms of thriving and getting opportunities? And how does gender interact with other factors such as age and education in the women’s narratives about their coaching experiences? The strong position women hold in Norwegian handball makes it particularly interesting to explore such questions in this context. But the overarching ambition of the book is to develop knowledge about how women’s experiences as coaches in Norwegian sport can be understood in light of narratives and perceptions about gender and gender differences.

In a dramatic unveiling of the little-known world of contracted military logistics, Adam Moore examines the lives of the global army of laborers who support US overseas wars. Empire's Labor brings us the experience of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who perform jobs such as truck drivers and administrative assistants at bases located in warzones in the Middle East and Africa. He highlights the changes the US military has undergone since the Vietnam War, when the ratio of contractors to uniformed personnel was roughly 1:6. In Afghanistan it has been as high as 4:1. This growth in logistics contracting represents a fundamental change in how the US fights wars, with the military now dependent on a huge pool of contractors recruited from around the world. It also, Moore demonstrates, has social, economic, and political implications that extend well beyond the battlefields.Focusing on workers from the Philippines and Bosnia, two major sources of "third country national" (TCN) military labor, Moore explains the rise of large-scale logistics outsourcing since the end of the Cold War; describes the networks, infrastructures, and practices that span the spaces through which people, information, and goods circulate; and reveals the experiences of foreign workers, from the hidden dynamics of labor activism on bases, to the economic and social impacts these jobs have on their families and the communities they hail from. Through his extensive fieldwork and interviews, Moore gives voice to the agency and aspirations of the many thousands of foreigners who labor for the US military.Thanks to generous funding from UCLA and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellopen.org) and other repositories.

Esta obra es la imagen de la vida académica que hoy en día se desarrolla en el Centro de Estudios Lingüísticos y Literarios, y es también un reflejo de cómo se sigue proyectando su pasado, en un permanente intercambio intelectual que confluye en nuestra producción.

State estimation of an unknown number of objects remains a challenging topic - despite the existence of theoretically bayes-optimal multi-object-filters - due to numerous assumptions in the modeling process. This thesis evaluates such filters in real multi-object-multi-sensor scenarios and proposes necessary extensions to existing models. The main application of the thesis is indoor pedestrian tracking.

The inspiration for this book was a Summer School on State, Governance and Development presented by distinguished academics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Written by young African scholars, the chapters here focus on state, governance and development in Africa as seen from the authors’ vantage points and positions in different sectors of society. The book opens with three forewords by eminent African scholars – Ben Turok, Johan Burger and Mohamed Halfani. The chapters that follow examine rent-seeking, patronage, neopatrimonialism and bad governance. They engage with statehood, state-building and statecraft and challenge the mainstream opinions of donors, funders, development banks, international non-governmental organisations and development organisations. They include the role of China in Africa, Kenya’s changing demographics, state accountability in South Africa’s dominant party system, Somalia’s prospects for state-building, urban development and routine violence, and resource mobilisation. At a time in which core institutions are being tested – the market, the rule of law, democracy, civil society and representative democracy – this book offers a much-needed multi- and inter-disciplinary perspective, and a different narrative on what is unfolding, while also exposing dynamics that are often overlooked.

Published

Qu’est-ce qu’un héros ? Comment un personnage historique peut-il incarner des espoirs au présent longtemps après sa mort ? Quels sont les liens entre les modèles héroïques et l’invention des nations ? En quoi la fabrique de héros soutient-elle la légitimité au pouvoir de différents gouvernements ? Autant de questions traversant cet ouvrage qui retrace le processus d’héroïsation et les usages politiques du caudillo libéral hondurien Francisco Morazán. De 1830 à 1839, Morazán dirige la République fédérale d’Amérique centrale qui réunit le Guatemala, le Salvador, le Honduras, le Nicaragua et le Costa Rica. La particularité du processus indépendantiste de la région (absence de lutte armée face à la couronne espagnole et annexion au Mexique), a fait de l’époque fédérale un mythe d’origine associé à son président. Comme Bolívar, Morazán représente de surcroît un idéal unioniste. Pourtant, les conflits politiques et militaires entre élites locales ont empêché la Fédération centraméricaine de se consolider et Morazán est fusillé en 1842. Plutôt que de redonner une dimension « objective » au personnage, cet ouvrage met en relief les aspects symboliques qui ont reconstruit son image, depuis son exécution jusqu’au centenaire de sa mort en 1942. La perspective comparative entre les cinq États centraméricains permet de dégager différentes mémoires et de présenter les multiples facettes d’une figure kaléidoscopique. Étudier le héros en dit finalement beaucoup sur les acteurs du culte.

The remarkably high number of medieval sources on the history of Austrian Jews allows for insights into the economic, legal, and social standing of the Jews as well as into how the Christian environment treated them. The sources published in this volume show the decline in the economic and legal position of the Jews; while they were largely safe from open persecution, they were subjected to more and more restrictions that aimed at mere financial exploitation. In addition to that, the sources provide insights into the everyday interaction of Jews with the Christian majority.

Stationäre Gasmotoren erzielen als Herzstück von Blockheizkraftwerken Gesamtwirkungsgrade über 90 % und spielen damit eine wichtige Rolle bei der Energiewende. Mit Blick auf die zukünftige Verschärfung des Stickoxid-Emissionsgrenzwerts ergeben sich wirtschaftliche Nachteile beim Betrieb dieser Anlagen, wenn die konventionelle Magerverbrennung beibehalten wird. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde in dieser Arbeit das neuartige Hot Surface Assisted Compression Ignition (HSACI) Verfahren entwickelt und untersucht. Dabei wird mit einer Oberflächenzündung eine Flammenverbrennung eingeleitet, die das unverbrannte Gemisch verdichtet und damit zur räumlichen Selbstzündung bringt. Experimentelle Untersuchungen an einem Einzylinder-Forschungsmotor zeigen, dass der Verbrennungszeitpunkt durch die Steuerung der Oberflächentemperatur gezielt beeinflusst werden kann. Gegenüber einer reinen Selbstzündung wird zudem eine Erweiterung des Betriebsbereichs und eine Reduktion der Stickoxid-Emissionen bei gleichbleibendem und teilweise sogar erhöhtem Wirkungsgrad möglich. Numerische ein- und dreidimensionale Simulationen geben Einblick in die dominierenden Mechanismen des Brennverfahrens und weisen den Weg für weitere Optimierungen. Versuche mit Wasserstoff und Wasserstoff-Erdgas-Gemischen unterstreichen das hohe Potential der Oberflächenzündung zur sicheren Entflammung reaktionsträger Gemische, was auf eine Übertragbarkeit des Konzepts auf alternative Brenngase wie Ammoniak oder Biogas hindeutet.