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Petroleum perhaps is one of the most important substances in the modern society due to its wide use in the most diverse productive sectors. Besides serving as raw material to the production of plastics and other compounds, it is the fuel source used in the production of electric energy, in industries and in different transport sectors. However, the ecosystems located in areas of extractions, processing and distribution of petroleum end up being highly susceptible to the direct and indirect impacts of these activities, as well as those located in their transport route. As the large extraction fields are located in coastal areas, these environments are, generally, the most affected, although other ecosystems also suffer influence of petroleum activities. Oil spills and leakages provoke immediate effects into the environment, easily viewed by the generalized mortality of animals and consequent ecosystems losses, but also provoke more persistent effects, such as alteration of the animals behaviour and permanence of compounds derived from petroleum in the food webs. Accidents with petroleum are unpredictable and the resources needed to minimize their impacts, often, are not liable to an immediate application. This book discusses different prevention methods as well as environmental and ecological impacts oil spills have.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a haematological malignancy characterised by the clonal expansion of monoclonal immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM). MM is associated with lytic bone lesions, anaemia, immunodeficiency, and renal impairment. Multiple myeloma accounts for over 10% of all hematologic malignancies and about 1% of all cancers. Multiple myeloma remains mostly incurable despite conventional intensive high dose chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The costs associated with multiple myeloma are among the highest. This book discusses the diagnosis of multiple myeloma along with the risk factors involved and the treatments available.

The U.S. shipbuilding and repairing industry is comprised of establishments that are primarily engaged in operating shipyards, which are fixed facilities with drydocks and fabrication equipment. Shipyard activities include ship construction, repair, conversion and alteration, as well as the production of prefabricated ship and barge sections and other specialized services. The industry also includes manufacturing and other facilities outside of the shipyard, which provide parts or services for shipbuilding activities within a shipyard, including routine maintenance and repair services from floating drydocks not connected with a shipyard. The purpose of this book is to measure the economic importance of the U.S. shipbuilding and repairing industry; identify key practices employed by leading commercial ship buyers and shipbuilders that ensure satisfactory cost, schedule, and ship performance; determine the extent to which Navy shipbuilding programs employ these practices; and evaluate how commercial and Navy business environments incentivize the use of best practices.

The National Strategy for the Arctic Region sets forth the United States Government''s strategic priorities for the Arctic region. This strategy is intended to position the United States to respond effectively to challenges and emerging opportunities arising from significant increases in Arctic activity due to the diminishment of sea ice and the emergence of a new Arctic environment. It defines U.S. national security interests in the Arctic region and identifies prioritized lines of effort, building upon existing initiatives by Federal, state, local, and tribal authorities, the private sector, and international partners, and aims to focus efforts where opportunities exist and action is needed. This book discusses the national strategy for the Arctic region and its implementation plan. It also examines the background of the changes in the Arctic and includes issues this is causing for Congress.

Public attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can strongly influence coastal management decision-making. Officials use surveys and other social science tools to identify the relationship between a community and its natural resources. Managing coastal resources often means making hard decisions about the best way to use those resources-especially when there are competing demands. Although there is no simple way to do this, economic methods can help coastal resource managers make better-informed decisions about managing the resource. This book provides insight into the various types and methods of survey research; discusses some of the most important considerations; offers a guide to the most common techniques; provides information about how economics can be applied to coastal resource management; provides some simple strategies for facilitators leading a participatory mapping process; introduces key elements and practices that will increase the success of a focus group effort; explains the role of a facilitator; describes how to plan and execute meetings that deliver results; discusses powerful photorealistic visualization; introduces key concepts surrounding visualization; and briefly describes a process for planning for an internally or externally conducted evaluation of a project or program.

In the United States, Federal incentives for the deployment of wind and solar power projects are delivered primarily through the tax code, in the form of accelerated tax depreciation and tax credits that are based on either investment or production. Both wind and solar projects are equally eligible for accelerated tax depreciation, but tax credit eligibility varies by technology: solar is currently eligible for the investment tax credit ("ITC"), while wind is eligible for either the ITC or the production tax credit ("PTC"), though wind project sponsors typically choose the PTC. The PTC is a per-kilowatt-hour tax (kWh) credit for electricity generated using qualified energy resources. This book provides a brief overview of the renewable electricity PTC. It describes the credit; a legislative history; and presents data on PTC claims and discusses the revenue consequences of the credit. It also briefly considers some of the economic and policy considerations related to the credit. This book concludes by briefly noting policy options related to the PTC.

The Panama Canal is an important link in global trade and its expansion, which will allow passage of much larger ships, and could have significant impacts on U.S. ports and inland infrastructure. This book describes ways that shipping patterns and industry costs could change when the Panama Canal expansion is complete, assesses the potential shifts in trade flows tied to the Panama Canal expansion and identifies potential markets that could be affected.

President Obama established the National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes by Executive Order on July 19, 2010. The National Ocean Policy (Policy) highlights our responsibility to improve and maintain the health of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes and recognizes the importance of working with States, tribes, and other partners to tackle key challenges through common sense, science-based solutions. This book discusses the Policy which aims to ensure that our Valuable Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources will continue to provide a wealth of benefits that support the Nation''s well-being, safety, and prosperity. Fundamentally, the National Ocean Policy coordinates, through establishment of the National Ocean Council, the ocean-related activities of Federal agencies to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness, with a focus on reduced bureaucracy, improved coordination and integration, and fiscal responsibility. The Policy helps coordinate the implementation of existing regulations and authorities by all Federal agencies in the interest of more efficient decision-making. This National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan (Plan) provides clear direction to Federal agencies and increased specificity to partners and stakeholders. The Plan reflects a commitment to develop and apply the latest science and information, conduct the business of government more efficiently, and collaborate more effectively with State, tribal, and local authorities, marine industries, and other stakeholders. This Plan describes specific actions that translate the goals of the National Ocean Policy into on-the-ground change to address key challenges, streamline Federal operations, save taxpayer dollars, and promote economic growth.

In this third book of the series "Money, Economics, and Finance: Developments, Analyses, and Research", topics discussed include bitcoin; current debates over exchange rates; recent trends in consumer retail payment services delivered by depository institutions; financial condition of depository banks; government assistance for AIG; and investment advisers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration''s (FMCSA) safety goal is to reduce the number and severity of commercial motor vehicle fatalities and crashes. During the last several years, FMCSA has collaborated with the trucking industry to test, evaluate, and facilitate the deployment of several onboard safety systems for commercial motor vehicles to increase the safety of all roadway users. The purpose of this book is to evaluate costs and benefits for industry associated with Forward Collision Warning Systems that can reduce large truck rear-end crashes.

Broadband Internet service provides users and their communities with many opportunities to improve communications, including enhancements in e-commerce, telemedicine, and educational tools, and can drive economic growth, productivity, and innovation. Broadband is particularly critical to provide advanced communications to remote communities and offer rural Americans new ways to participate in our economy and society. This book examines what is known about the alternative approaches unserved and underserved areas have used to deploy broadband service and some factors considered in deployment decisions; stakeholders'' views on broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas; and efforts FCC has undertaken to foster broadband deployment in unserved areas.

Advanced diagnostic imaging (ADI) services, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine (NM), allow physicians to diagnose life-threatening diseases like cancer and heart disease with greater speed and precision. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) required that beginning January 1, 2012, suppliers that produce the images for Medicare-covered ADI services in office settings, such as physician offices, be accredited by an organization approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This book examines the effect the accreditation requirement may have on beneficiary access to ADI services provided in the office setting. It also assesses CMS''s standards for accreditation of ADI suppliers; CMS''s oversight of the accreditation requirement; trends in Medicare spending on imaging services from 2000 through 2006; the relationship between spending growth and the provision of imaging services in physicians'' offices; and imaging management practices used by private payers that may have lessons for Medicare.

The United States is an Arctic nation. Due to climate change, the Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth. As the loss of sea ice creates a more accessible Arctic, the nation must consider risks and opportunities for commerce and economic growth; security of our maritime domain; indigenous peoples and their subsistence cultures; and marine resource management, particularly along the Alaskan coast. To enhance Arctic marine transportation safety, protect Arctic people and the environment, build Arctic marine infrastructure, and to ensure safe and secure maritime shipping in the Arctic, Congress directed that the interagency Committee on Marine Transportation System (CMTS) coordinate the establishment of domestic transportation policies in the Arctic. This book answers that Congressional directive while addressing the considerations outlined above. This book also discusses current commercial maritime activity in the U.S. Arctic and anticipated activity in the next 10 years; actions taken by government entities in support of planning and developing U.S. Arctic maritime infrastructure; and federal interagency efforts to identify and prioritize Arctic maritime-infrastructure investments.

Nanocrystalline apatites constitute the main inorganic part of human hard tissues (bone and teeth), and a growing focus is devoted to prepare synthetic analogs, so-called "biomimetic", able to precisely mimic the morphological and physical-chemical features of biological apatites. In fact, it is reasonable to hypothesize that by virtue of their high similarity with the biogenic calcium phosphates, synthetic nano-sized and ionic substituted apatite nanocrystals can display better biological performances than coarser and ceramic hydroxyapatite. For this reason, the study of their crystallization mechanisms and the possibility to tailor the structural and physical-chemical properties of these materials open several possibilities to prepare optimal devices in medical sciences and also to better investigate the biomineralization processes of living organisms. This book is divided in three main parts and is principally devoted to highlight the recent progresses on the preparation and characterization of multifunctional nanocrystalline apatites with tailored properties to be used as healthcare materials (i.e. nanoparticles for drug or gene delivery and materials for bone substitution and regeneration). The first part is intended to be a comprehensive review of the importance and the occurrence of calcium phosphates in nature (geological and biological occurrence) and to underline the peculiar characteristics of nanocrystalline apatites. The aim of the second part is to show the most important analytical techniques for the characterization of apatite features and to describe the new theories behind the apatite crystallization and dissolution processes. The last part describes the traditional and the most exciting and innovative applications of pure, ionic-substituted, and organic-functionalized apatite as biomaterial. The chapters, written by eminent scientists, will serve as an important and useful reference source for a broad audience that consists of both expert (materials scientists, biomedical engineers and biologists) and non-expert readers to who want to improve their knowledge in the field of apatite based biomaterials.

MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors) for a long time have been the workhorse of the modern electronics industry. For the purpose of a permanent integration enhancement, the size of a MOSFET has been decreasing exponentially for decades in compliance with Moore''s Law, but nowadays, owing to the intrinsic restrictions, the further scaling of MOSFET devices either encounters fundamental (e.g. quantum-mechanical) limits or demands for more and more sophisticated and expensive engineering solutions. Alternative approaches and device concepts are being currently designed both in order to sustain an increase of the integration degree, and to improve the functionality and performance of electronic devices. Oxide electronics is one such promising approach which could enable and accelerate the development of information and computing technology. The behavior of d-electrons in transition metal oxides (TMOs) is responsible for the unique properties of these materials, causing strong electron-electron correlations, which play an important role in the mechanism of metal-insulator transition. The Mott transition in vanadium dioxide is specifically the effect that researchers consider as one of the most promising phenomena for oxide electronics, particularly in its special direction known as a Mott-transition field-effect transistor (MTFET).

This anthology presents papers that challenge conventional viewpoints and ideas about business cycles and monetary policy. Some of the selections bring fresh thinking to customary topics, such as business cycle models in perfectly competitive markets, the cyclicality of research and development expenditures, and the effect of uncertainty shocks on consumer spending. Others address concerns that have come to the fore in the aftermath of the global financial crisis -- the consequences of quantitative easing, the effectiveness of macro prudential policies, the impact of shadow banking on the fractional-reserve banking system, and correlations in credit default losses, among others. The collection is not meant to be comprehensive (an impossible and uninteresting goal) but rather to bring together noteworthy contributions that might otherwise be submerged in the torrent of contemporary economic writing. The selection criteria were the quality of thinking, clarity of expression, and soundness of empirical research on topics of compelling interest to people who are actively engaged in the field of monetary economics. The papers included in this book also represent a range of approaches to theoretical and applied research. Some of them describe econometric tools and analytical techniques that are adapted to the study of business cycles and monetary policies. Others set forth conceptual frameworks and conduct empirical analyses that offer new insights into macroeconomic fluctuations. Still others adopt a strategy closer to field work, in the form of case studies supported by extensive statistical documentation. In sum, the papers presented in this volume not only tackle topics of pressing interest; they also illustrate the state of the art in the research methodologies employed by monetary economists.