Bøker utgitt av Springer International Publishing

This collection of essays by leading scholars explores the present, dynamic state of metaphysical religion in America. It includes chapters that: put survey data on this growing group in context; clarify definitional issues in the study of spirituality in general and metaphysical spirituality in particular; and assess the networks, conferences, rituals, festivals, retreat centers and periodicals recently developed by metaphysicals. The contributors discuss characteristic practices of mental healing and meditation, and show the reach of metaphysical ideas into public spaces and popular media cultures. One particular chapter also addresses the growing controversy over the legitimacy of metaphysical individuals and movements that appropriate elements of Native American and Asian religious beliefs and practices to enrich or sustain their own practice. This rich collection appeals to students, researchers, professionals and the layperson interested in knowing more about the historyand more importantly the direction that American metaphysical religion is taking.

Cancer nanotechnology is a growing, emerging area of cross-disciplinary research that aims to develop efficient, specific and noninvasive approaches to restore the health and well-being of all cancer patients through more effective diagnosis and treatment. This new volume serves as a fundamental guide to cutting-edge topics in cancer nanotechnology, including advances in therapy, the use of nanoparticles and nanomaterials, future directions for nanocarriers in cancer therapy, and the application of DNA and RNA nanovaccines.Organized into four sections, the volume presents an overview of research and innovation in the emerging field of nanotechnology as a powerful tool in the diagnosis, imaging and treatment of cancer. International experts author chapters addressing targets of cancer therapy, materials for cancer nanotechnology, strategies for cancer therapy using nanotechnology, and innovative nanotechnologies for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The volume will be useful fora broad audience, including cross-disciplinary researchers, trainees, health professionals, and experts in industry.

This book offers a window into the mechanisms that drive events when countries with poor track records in environmental protection and low administrative capacity, join an organisation with ambitious environmental regulatory regimes, which include some of the highest environmental protections standards in the world.This book examines the institutional building capacity in Romania after two decades of the development of the EU's environmental policy on elaboration, transposition, implementation, monitoring and institutional building. The book examines how Romania has fared as one of the least environmentally friendly EU member states, and poses the following questions. What are the limits of Europeanisation in the area of public policies? What is the reason why, despite the overwhelming public interest in environmental issues, and widespread agreement that urgent action to protect the environment and prevent catastrophic climate change are paramount, the pace of achieving the goals is remains slow. Why do policies fail?This book brings together several case studies focusing on the evolution of environmental policies in Romania over the last twenty years, with a special focus on the post-accession period (2007 onwards). The book provides an analysis of policies, where progress is less than satisfactory, and examines why this is the case.

This book provides a straightforward look at the concepts, algorithms and advantages of Bayesian Deep Learning and Deep Generative Models. Starting from the model-based approach to Machine Learning, the authors motivate Probabilistic Graphical Models and show how Bayesian inference naturally lends itself to this framework. The authors present detailed explanations of the main modern algorithms on variational approximations for Bayesian inference in neural networks. Each algorithm of this selected set develops a distinct aspect of the theory. The book builds from the ground-up well-known deep generative models, such as Variational Autoencoder and subsequent theoretical developments. By also exposing the main issues of the algorithms together with different methods to mitigate such issues, the book supplies the necessary knowledge on generative models for the reader to handle a wide range of data types: sequential or not, continuous or not, labelled or not. The book is self-contained, promptly covering all necessary theory so that the reader does not have to search for additional information elsewhere.Offers a concise self-contained resource, covering the basic concepts to the algorithms for Bayesian Deep Learning;Presents Statistical Inference concepts, offering a set of elucidative examples, practical aspects, and pseudo-codes;Every chapter includes hands-on examples and exercises and a website features lecture slides, additional examples, and other support material.

This book covers terahertz antenna technology for imaging and sensing, along with its various applications. The authors discuss the use of terahertz frequency and photoconductive antenna technology for imaging applications, such as biological and bio-medical applications, non-destructive inspection of fabrics and plastics, analysis of hydration levels or detecting the presence of metallic components in samples, and detecting a variety of materials with unique spectral fingerprints in the terahertz frequency range, such as different types of explosives or several compounds used in the fabrication of medicines.Provides a comprehensive review of terahertz source and detector for imaging and sensing;Discusses photoconductive antenna technology for imaging and sensing;Presents modalities for improving the photoconductive dipole antenna performance for imaging and sensing;Explores applications in tomographic imaging, art conservation and the pharmaceutical and aerospace industries.