Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source of the latest and best research in agronomy. As always, the topics covered are varied and exemplary of the panoply of subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial.Volume 68 contains five outstanding and contemporary reviews on topics that deal with soil chemistry, plant physiology, plant nutrition, and soil and crop management. Chapter 1 by Morris Schnitzer summarizes the past and present knowledge of the chemistry of soil organic matter. Chapter 2, written by H.S. Saini and M.E. Westgate, is a comprehensive exposition on the reproductive development in grain crops during drought. G. Xu, H. Magen, J. Tarchitzky, and U. Kafkafi present advances in chloride management in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 is a review in our continuing series on the 12 soil orders. S.W. Buol and H. Eswaran provide an enlightening review on Oxisols. K. Kumar and K.M. Goh discuss aspects of crop residues in the fifth and final chapter of this important and well-written book...

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source of the latest and best research in agronomy. As always, the topics covered are varied and exemplary of the panoply of subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial.Volume 69 contains five excellent reviews dealing with crop and soil sciences. Chapter 1 is a comprehensive and timely review of the measurement and interpretation of bulk mass-transfer phenomena for organic compounds in soils. Chapter 2 is an excellent overview of environmental indicators of agroecosystems. In chapter 3, an interesting treatise is presented on plant growth as effected by phosphate solubilizing soil microorganisms. Chapter 4 is a fine review on hydrological factors affecting phosphorus transfer from agricultural soils. The concluding chapter is an excellent discussion of the genetic resources of Cassava Manihot esculenta Crantz...

Volume 71 contains six outstanding reviews that discuss cutting edge developments in the crop and soil sciences. Chapter 1 addresses advances in the development, use, and evaluation of controlled release fertilizers. Chapter 2 is a comprehensive review of developments in breeding crops for increased nutritional value. Historical and current advances in the field are covered as well as selection in methodology and employment of molecular biology tools. Chapter 3 is a comprehensive treatment of remaking bean plant architecture for efficient production. Chapter 4 is a review on carbon sequestration, specifically, the potential of world cropland solid to serve as a source of atmospheric carbon. Chapter 5 discusses the ability of grain legumes (pulses) to adapt to water-limited environments. Chapter 6 describes and applies an important water quality model - the root zone water quality model (RZWQM). The model is described and discussion is provided on the calibration and application in laboratory and field settings...

Volume 72 contains four outstanding reviews detailing advances in the plant and environmental soil sciences. Chapter 1 deals with a timely and significant topic in North America and indeed in the world. This review provides background information, data sources and analyses, and implications for research and policy. Chapter 2 is a treatise on cutting-edge developments in bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils. Chapter 3 deals with the genetics of flowering time in the chickpea and its effect on productivity in semi-arid environments. Chapter 4 covers environment-sensitive genetic male sterility (EGMS) in crops...

Volume 73 contains 4 reviews on contemporary and important topics in the agronomic sciences. In Chapter 1, "Interactions among Root-Inhabiting Fungi and Their Implications for Biological Control of Root Pathogens," fungi are defined, their distribution and abundance are discussed, and their role in agroecosystems is present. Chapter 2, "Dwarfing Genes in Plant Improvement," discusses advances in the role of dwarfing genes in plant improvement. Emphasis is placed on breeding and genetic aspects. Chapter 3, "A Review of the Effect of N Fertilizer Type on Gaseous Emissions," covers a topic that is of great environmental interest — the effect of nitrogen fertilizers on gaseous emissions. Chapter 4, "Rhizobia in the Field," is a comprehensive review of rhizobia including diversity, systematics, natural populations, and field introduction of rhizobia...

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source of the latest research in agronomy. Major reviews deal with the current topics of interest to agronomists, as well as crop and soil scientists. As always, the subjects covered are varied and exemplary of the myriad subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial. Editor Donald Sparks, former president of the Soil Science Society of America and current president of the International Union of Soil Science, is the S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Plant and Soil Sciences at The University of Delaware.Volume 82 contains eight state-of-the-art reviews on topics of interest in the plant and soil sciences. Three of the reviews present cutting-edge molecular scale techniques and approaches that directly impact food production, crop improvement, and environmental quality and sustainability...

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source of the latest research in agronomy. Major reviews deal with the current topics of interest to agronomists, as well as crop and soil scientists. As always, the subjects covered are varied and exemplary of the myriad subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial. Editor Donald Sparks, former president of the Soil Science Society of America and current president of the International Union of Soil Science, is the S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Plant and Soil Sciences at The University of Delaware. Volume 83 contains five excellent reviews that discuss topics critical to agricultural and environmental sustainability.* Maintains the highest impact factor among serial publications in Agriculture * Presents timely reviews on important agronomy issues * Enjoys a long-standing reputation for excellence in the field..

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source of the latest research in agronomy. Major reviews deal with the current topics of interest to agronomists, as well as crop and soil scientists. As always, the subjects covered are varied and exemplary of the myriad subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial. Editor Donald Sparks, former president of the Soil Science Society of America and current president of the International Union of Soil Science, is the S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Plant and Soil Sciences at The University of Delaware. Volume 84 contains six excellent reviews that discuss topics critical to agricultural and environmental sustainability.* Maintains the highest impact factor among serial publications in Agriculture * Presents timely reviews on important agronomy issues * Enjoys a long-standing reputation for excellence in the field..

Divided into three parts, the first of which provides a linguistic definition of professional documents, describing their different types and genres. This definition necessarily takes into account both the formal characteristics of these types of document (e.g. nature of linguistic units involved) and their functional goals (the way these linguistic units are used to fulfill the text's communicative aim). The second part focuses on the mental mechanisms involved in written production in the workplace. One of the aims of a professional writer is to compose a text which can be understood. Text composition involves specific processes and strategies that can be enhanced. One way of doing this is to give the writer suitable instructions, while another is to provide him/her with a suitable writing environment. This last aspect leads us to devote the third and final section to the comprehension of written documents in the workplace. Awareness of the strategies implemented by different readers (with more or less domain expertise) in order to understand technical and professional documents can enhance the latter's readability. *Contributions from linguists, psychologists and ergonomists from various countries ensure international scope and comprehensiveness*Bridges the gap between fundamental research into writing and reading and the issue of the efficiency of written communication in the workplace*Enables better content creation for professional writers..

This is the 19th annual volume of Progress in Heterocyclic Chemistry, which covers the literature published during 2006. As with previous volumes in the series, Volume 19 will enable the reader to keep abreast of developments in heterocyclic chemistry in an effortless way.A critical review of the heterocyclic literature published during 2006 Presents specialized reviewsChapters all written by leading researchers in their field..

Control plays a very important role in all aspects of power plants and power systems. The papers included in the 2006 Proceedings are by authors from a large number of countries around the world. They encompass a wide spectrum of topics in the control of practically every aspect of power plants and power systems...

Hydrogen may someday fuel our cars and power and heat our homes and businesses and revolutionize the way we use energy. Moving to a hydrogen economy could help reduce our reliance on foreign oil, improve local air quality, and reduce the risk of climate change. Despite the potential of hydrogen, there is no guarantee that the hydrogen economy will happen as the obstacles are considerable and the competing visions are many. Pathways to a Hydrogen Future seeks to untangle the competing visions of a hydrogen economy, explain the trade-offs and obstacles and offer recommendations for a path forward. The results are based on a detailed simulation model developed at Sandia National Laboratories: "The Hydrogen Futures Simulation Model (H2Sim)". The H2Sim is a high-level strategic tool for evaluating the economic and environmental trade-offs of alternative hydrogen production, storage, transport, and end use options in the year 2020. An executive version of H2Sim is included with the book allowing readers to explore the various scenarios discussed. H2Sim’s ease of use and its ability to provide answers to these types of questions make it a powerful educational and policy making tool. The model's structure is ideal for exploring "what-if" questions, such as: Can fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) compete economically with current cars if the FCVs are 2.5 times as efficient? Should the hydrogen be produced at fueling stations or at central locations and transported to fueling stations?* Includes an executive version of H2Sim allowing readers to explore the various scenarios discussed * H2Sim's ease of use and ability to provide answers makes it a powerful educational and policy making tool * The model's structure is ideal for exploring "what-if" questions, such as: Can fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) compete economically with current cars if the FCVs are 2.5 times as efficient? Should the hydrogen be produced at fueling stations or at central locations and transported to fueling stations?..

Offshore oil and gas production was conducted throughout the entire 20th century, but the industry’s modern importance and vibrancy did not start until the early 1970s, when the North Sea became a major producer. Since then, the expansion of the offshore oil industry has been continuous and rapid. Pipelines, and more generally long tubular structures, are major oil and gas industry tools used in exploration, drilling, production, and transmission. Installing and operating tubular structures in deep waters places unique demands on them. Technical challenges within the field have spawned significant research and development efforts in a broad range of areas.Volume I addresses problems of buckling and collapse of long inelastic cylinders under various loads encountered in the offshore arena. Several of the solutions are also directly applicable to land pipelines. The approach of Mechanics of Offshore Pipelines is problem oriented. The background of each problem and scenario are first outlined and each discussion finishes with design recommendations.* New and classical problems addressed - investigated through a combination of experiments and analysis* Each chapter deals with a specific mechanical problem that is analyzed independently* The fundamental nature of the problems makes them also applicable to other fields, including tubular components in nuclear reactors and power plants, aerospace structures, automotive and civil engineering structures, naval vehicles and structures..

Theoretical and Applied Solutions in Multi Scale MappingUsers have come to expect instant access to up-to-date geographical information, with global coverage--presented at widely varying levels of detail, as digital and paper products; customisable data that can readily combined with other geographic information. These requirements present an immense challenge to those supporting the delivery of such services (National Mapping Agencies (NMA), Government Departments, and private business. Generalisation of Geographic Information: Cartographic Modelling and Applications provides detailed review of state of the art technologies associated with these challenges, including the most recent developments in cartometric analysis techniques able to support high levels of automation among multi scale derivation techniques.The book illustrates the application of these ideas within existing and emerging technologies. In addition to providing a comprehensive theoretical underpinning, the book demonstrates how theoretical developments have translated into commercial systems deployed within NMAs.The book explores relevance of open systems in support of collaborative research and open source web based map services.* State of the art review on multi scale representation techniques* Detailed consideration of database requirements and object modeling in support of emerging applications (3D, mobile) and innovative delivery (map generalisation services)* Illustration through existing map production environment implementations * Consolidated bibliography (680 entries), 200 illustrations, author and subject index..

This book provides a comprehensive and updated insight into dielectric elastomers; one of the most promising classes of polymer-based smart materials and technologies. This technology can be used in a very broad range of applications, from robotics and automation to the biomedical field. The need for improved transducer performance has resulted in considerable efforts towards the development of devices relying on materials with intrinsic transduction properties. These materials, often termed as “smart” or “intelligent”, include improved piezoelectrics and magnetostrictive or shape-memory materials. Emerging electromechanical transduction technologies, based on so-called ElectroActive Polymers (EAP), have gained considerable attention. EAP offer the potential for performance exceeding other smart materials, while retaining the cost and versatility inherent to polymer materials. Within the EAP family, “dielectric elastomers”, are of particular interest as they show good overall performance, simplicity of structure and robustness. Dielectric elastomer transducers are rapidly emerging as high-performance “pseudo-muscular” actuators, useful for different kinds of tasks. Further, in addition to actuation, dielectric elastomers have also been shown to offer unique possibilities for improved generator and sensing devices. Dielectric elastomer transduction is enabling an enormous range of new applications that were precluded to any other EAP or smart-material technology until recently. This book provides a comprehensive and updated insight into dielectric elastomer transduction, covering all its fundamental aspects. The book deals with transduction principles, basic materials properties, design of efficient device architectures, material and device modelling, along with applications.* Concise and comprehensive treatment for practitioners and academics* Guides the reader through the latest developments in electroactive-polymer-based technology* Designed for ease of use with sections on fundamentals, materials, devices, models and applications..

This volume is for environmental researchers and government policy makers who are required to monitor environmental quality for their environmental investigators and remediation plans. It uses concepts and applications to aid in the exchange of scientific information across all the environmental science disciplines ranging from geochemistry to hydrogeology and ecology to biotechnology. Focusing on issues such as metals, organics and nutrient contamination of water and soils, and interactions between soil-water-plants-chemicals, the book synthesizes the latest findings in this rapidly-developing, multi-disciplinary field. Cutting-edge environmental analytical methods are also presented, making this a must-have for professionals tasked with monitoring environmental quality. These concepts and applications help in decision making and problem solving in a single resource.*Integrative approach promotes the exchange of scientific information among different disciplines*New concepts and case studies make the text unique among existing resources*Tremendous practical value in environmental quality and remediation with an emphasis on human health and ecological risk assessment..