Open Access Books

This book covers a wide range of research in the field of nanomechanics. Chapters address nanomodification of the surface of solids, a refined method for calculating nanomaterials with cracks, the formation of nanocomposites based on nanoparticles, and methods for the experimental determination of the mechanical parameters of nanomaterials. The book is a useful resource for engineers, technologists, and researchers interested in methods of nanomechanics and the application of advanced nanomaterials with complex behavior.

The volume, dedicated to the 44th International Conference of the Italian Union for Drawing, investigates the theme of ‘Transitions’, which particularly effectively represents our time and the current condition of the discipline of Drawing. The term, beyond its generic meaning of an intermediate stage in a process in which a condition changes from one state to another, has always been used in various fields, from music to geophysics. In fact, the disciplines of drawing have always been confronted with themes and issues relating to transitions from one condition to another. The history of representation tells us of transformations, even epochal ones, relating to ‘drawing’, with all that such transitions entail: suffice it to think of the evolution of forms of representation, of instrumental apparatuses, of the mutability of supports, of the analogical-digital transition underway, of the new modes of communication on platforms, of the hypertrophic offer of images also on the net that confirms Guy Debord’s intuitions relating to the new spectacularisation of society. Similarly, representation triggers transitions in the prefiguration and communication of design, the anticipation and foreshadowing of future events.The challenges posed by the digital pose open questions whose scope can only be glimpsed, such as the relationship between drawing and the act of modelling, and the construction of new paradigms of visual language and communication. ‘Transitions’, almost implicitly, points to possible futures, the evolution of technique and the search for new modes of expression; at the same time, however, it can suggest silences and reflections in a process of connection between history, theory, criticism and construction.

The Affordable Care Act is a substantial reform of the U.S. health care insurance system. Using the RAND COMPARE model, researchers assessed the act’s potential economic effects on Pennsylvania, factoring in an optional expansion of Medicaid, and found the state would enjoy significant net benefits, including a growth of $3 billion in the state’s GDP annually and more than 35,000 jobs.

Light verb constructions are complex predicates consisting of a semantically reduced verb and an additional often phrasal element contributing the main predicational content. Although light verb constructions have been identified for various (genetically unrelated) languages, a comparative concept which allows identifying light verb constructions across languages is still missing. The present volume approaches this issue from the perspective of the analysis of individual languages. The basic research question underlying the formation of the volume is: Which properties manifest light verb constructions cross linguistically? The papers collected in the volume investigate a large range of languages from different languages families which includes Indo-European languages like Aheli, Italian, Scottish Gaelic and Old West Norse but also non-Indo-European languages such as Tibetan (Sino-Tibetan), Kina Rutul (Nakh-Dagestanian) and Gĩkũyũ (Bantu). The present volume fills a gap in the cross-linguistics discussion of light verb constructions and seeks to provide novel insights concerning a widely recognized type of complex predicate construction.

Over the next couple of years, the European Union will face a difficult stage, being confronted with the eventual transition to a monetary union. In the beginning of 1997, it is less clear than ever, if and when the European Monetary Union will eventually be realized, which countries will join in this process, and which countries will benefit from monetary union or are likely to loose out. Using econometric methods, the work attempts to assess the real economic effects of the European Monetary Union. In a first step, differences in labor and goods market adjustment processes between the fifteen member states of the European Union, the United States and Canada are studied in order to evaluate the short-term prospects of monetary union. Turning to the long-run effects, within a second step, convergence of living standards is assessed.

L'opposition structurale tracée entre privé et public à partir de deux concepts grecs fut, pour un temps, un instrument d'investigation précieux pour les historiens et les anthropologues de la culture de la Grèce antique, en particulier dans le champ de l'histoire des institutions politiques et dans celui de l'histoire des religions. Cette opposition a toutefois fini par dessiner des frontières artificielles et imperméables dans des domaines de la réalité sociale qui souvent se recoupent et s...

The book focuses on the diagnosis, evaluation, and assistance of gait disorders; all the papers have been contributed by research groups related to assistive robotics, instrumentations, and augmentative devices.

Das Buch schreibt die Entstehungsgeschichte des Kulturgüterschutzes im Völkerrecht aus einer postkolonialen Perspektive neu. Im Gegensatz zur bisherigen Historiographie von "Kultur" im Völkerrecht argumentiert die vorliegende Studie, dass der eurozentrische "Kulturstandard" des 19. und 20. Jahrhundert maßgeblich in Wechselwirkung mit der Entwicklung des Kulturgüterschutzes stand. Verschiedene Akteure nutzten das Recht auf unterschiedliche Weise, um an dem "Zivilisationsdiskurs" teilzuhaben. Das Ziel des Buchs ist es, ein neues Narrativ in die Geschichte des Kulturgüterschutzes einzuführen. Das dominante Fortschrittsnarrativ soll durch eine kritische Genealogie des Völkerrechts ersetzt werden, welche die hegemonialen Strukturen der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart aufdeckt. Sebastian M. Spitra ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Rechts- und Verfassungsgeschichte der Universität Wien und Grotius Fellow der University of Michigan Law School.

Gibt es einen poetologischen Zusammenhang zwischen Muße und Erzählen? Thomas Klinkert untersucht dies anhand literarischer Texte in italienischer, französischer, spanischer und deutscher Sprache vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart und zeigt, wie in diesen Werken das Erzählen aus Situationen der Muße heraus entfaltet und reflektiert wird.

Food additives is intended to provide the readers with knowledge on some very significant aspects of the food additives currently in use. Food additives have become essential in the food sector with the rising need for food processing and preservation. However, the use of food additives is regulated imposing strict rules as the impact of those additives on health cannot be neglected. The first chapter starts off with a general overview of food additives highlighting the novel trends that enhance the attributes of those additives. Thereafter, the chapters are devoted mainly to plant-derived food additives and microbially derived food additives. The main topics discussed under 'additives from plant origin' are the efficacy of beetroot formulations as a source of nitrate ions, plant-derived food preservatives and plant-derived food additives used in meat and meat-based products. The further chapters discuss 'additives from microbial origin' focusing on lactic acid bacteria and additives derived from lactic acid bacteria and food additives used in 'bread-making'. Overall, this manuscript emphasises the concept of 'clean labelling' and the importance of natural food additives.

Das Sound-Design bildet in der Popmusik eine entscheidende Komponente der kreativen Gestaltung und des ästhetischen Empfindens. Nicht der Ton macht die Musik, sondern dem Sound verdankt die Popmusik einen Großteil ihrer emotionalen Wirkung und ihres kommunikativen Gehalts. Zugleich ist Sound ein wichtiges Mittel zur sozialen Positionierung von Musikern und Hörern. Im vorliegenden Band wird erstmals der Versuch unternommen, dieser weitreichenden Bedeutung von Sound auf die Spur zu kommen und damit einen wichtigen Beitrag zur bislang ungeschriebenen Sound-Geschichte zu leisten - mit Beispielen, die von den Beatles und Stones über Kraftwerk, Ramones und Nirvana bis hin zu Blumfeld, den Strokes oder zur so genannten Weltmusik reichen.

Après la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, une commission de récupération artistique (CRA) est mise en place pour traiter du problème des œuvres d’art spoliées par les nazis. La France obtient, comme un certain nombre de pays, un retour d’œuvres restituées d’État à État. 85 000 demandes sont déposées en France, 61 233 objets artistiques sont retrouvés, 45 000 sont rendus à leurs propriétaires, juifs pour la plupart, mais des tableaux restent orphelins et des propriétaires ne retrouvent pas leur bien. Entre 1950 et 1995, cette histoire est oubliée. Après la chute du mur de Berlin, le dossier des pillages artistiques est à nouveau ouvert. Quel en fut le traitement administratif au ministère des Affaires étrangères ? Et son traitement médiatique ? Quelles sont les stratégies de communication des acteurs ? À l’action et l’oubli (1945-1955), succèdent une lente médiatisation (1955-1969), puis un nouveau silence (1969-1996). Enfin arrive l’ère de la communication (1997-2008) pour cette histoire méconnue, qui s’achève avec la commission Mattéoli (1997) et une nouvelle vague de restitutions et d’indemnisations en application des principes – non contraignants – de Washington (1998) acceptés par la France.

Foodborne illnesses are a global public health concern with implications worldwide. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by microfungi that are capable of causing disease and death in. living organisms. They are recognized as a major economic problem due to their impact on human health, animal productivity, and.domestic and.international.trade. This book provides updated information about foodborne mycotoxins, their toxicities, new determination methods, prevention strategies, and regulations around the world.

Beyond merely examining debt in Middle English texts, Anne Schuurman shows how medieval literature, particularly Chaucer and Langland, engenders capitalism, a system rooted in penitential theology. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

Taking into consideration the outstanding importance of studying and applying the biological means to remove or mitigate the harmful effects of global pollution on the natural environment, as direct consequences of quantitative expansion and qualitative diversification of persistent and hazardous contaminants, the present book provides useful information regarding New Approaches and Prospective Applications in Environmental Biotechnology. This volume contains twelve chapters divided in the following three parts: biotechnology for conversion of organic wastes, biodegradation of hazardous contaminants and, finally, biotechnological procedures for environmental protection. Each chapter provides detailed information regarding scientific experiments that were carried out in different parts of the world to test different procedures and methods designed to remove or mitigate the impact of hazardous pollutants on environment. The book is addressed to researchers and students with specialties in biotechnology, bioengineering, ecotoxicology, environmental engineering and all those readers who are interested to improve their knowledge in order to keep the Earth healthy.