The lecturers as well as the participants came from varied scientific backgrOlUldsfor the NATO -Advanced Study Institute (ASDheld atAltinoluk, Edremit. Turkey during the period of July 31 -August 12 1989. The lecturers were University Professors from the USA, Canada, England, C'-.ermany, France and Spain and they covered a broad spectrwn of specialities from methodology t.o appications. On the other hand students coming from the various NATO countries arrived with an inhomogeneous background to absorb the broad spectnUIl of material covered by the lecturers. However, by the end of the two...

Scholarly studies of mathematics and the sciences, carried out by philos- ophers and historians in Taiwan in recent years, have two main goals: first, positive and critical participation in the logical analysis of scientific theories and scientific explanation; and second, conceptual clarification joined with faithful historical investigation of the sciences of traditional and modem China. In this book, Professors Cheng-hung Lin and Daiwie Fu have gathered fine representative essays from both endeavors. Their two introductory discussions guide the reader in three ways. First, we have...

As the majority of cardiovascular deaths are related to myocardial ischemia, it is necessary to understand the various aspects of ischemic heart disease. In this regard, it is noteworthy that ischemic heart disease is commonly associated with atherosclerosis, coronary spasm, as well as thrombosis leading to the development of arrhythmias, cardiovascular cell damage, myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy and congestive heart failure. Furthermore, it is also important to appreciate various physiological, electrophysiological and biochemical processes in the normal heart if we are to...

In the summer of 1991 the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of the Universite de Montreal was fortunate to host the NATO Advanced Study Institute "Algebras and Orders" as its 30th Seminaire de mathematiques superieures (SMS), a summer school with a long tradition and well-established reputation. This book contains the contributions of the invited speakers. Universal algebra- which established itself only in the 1930's- grew from traditional algebra (e.g., groups, modules, rings and lattices) and logic (e.g., propositional calculus, model theory and the theory of relations). It started...

Industrial development is essential to improvement of the standard of living in all countries. In a given region, old and new plants, processes, and technologies have to coexist. Technological penetration and substitution processes are generally taking place; they are entirely dynamic and this trend is going to stay like this. People's health and the environment can be affected, directly or indirectly by routine waste discharges or by accidents. A series of recent major industrial accidents and the effect of pollution highlighted, once again, the need for better management of routine and...

Many books on optimization consider only finite dimensional spaces. This volume is unique in its emphasis: the first three chapters develop optimization in spaces without linear structure, and the analog of convex analysis is constructed for this case. Many new results have been proved specially for this publication. In the following chapters optimization in infinite topological and normed vector spaces is considered. The novelty consists in using the drop property for weak well-posedness of linear problems in Banach spaces and in a unified approach (by means of the Dolecki approximation) to...

The research in this book covers papers on a great number of research projects on the responses of plants and crops of natural terrestrial ecosystems, of agro-ecosystems, and of aquatic ecosystems, to enhanced solar UV-B as a result of stratospheric ozone depletion. Some introductory chapters deal with general aspects of how plants respond to UV-B radiation.
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is a primary energy resource for terrestrial plants, necessary for plant growth. Inevitably terrestrial plants absorb UV-B when exposed to solar radiation. The spectral balance between PAR...

Desertification has occurred worldwide. The biophysical and socio-economic complexity of this phenomenon has challenged our ability to categorize, inventory, monitor and repair the condition of degraded lands. One of the most important distinctions to be made in relation to land degradation is between cultivated land used for annual crop production and rangelands'. Grazing by free-roaming livestock is the traditional primary use of the world's rangelands. However, there is growing recognition of the importance of these vast acreages for wildlife habitat, hydrology and ground water recharge,...

The concept of observability of entities in physical science is typically analyzed in terms of the nature and significance of a dichotomy between observables and unobservables. In this book, however, this categorization is resisted and observability is analyzed in a descriptive way in terms of the information which one can receive through interaction with objects in the world. The account of interaction and the transfer of information is done using applicable scientific theories. In this way the question of observability of scientific entities is put to science itself. Several examples are...