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Enterprises, as well as individuals, are racing to reap the benefits of AI. However, in most cases, they are doing so without understanding the technology or its implications and risks, which can be significant. Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Everyone is a step in addressing that gap by providing information that readers can easily understand at every level.This book aims to provide useful information to those planning, developing, or using AI, which has the potential to transform industries and shape the future. Whether you are stepping into the world of AI for the first time or are a seasoned professional seeking deeper insights, this comprehensive guide ensures that both beginners and experienced individuals find value within its pages.Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Everyone encompasses theoretical as well as practical aspects of AI across various industries and applications. It demystifies AI by explaining, in a language that non-techies can follow, its history, different types, differentiating technologies, and various aspects of implementation. It explains the connection between AI theory and real-world application across diverse industries and how it fuels innovation.Whether you are an executive, student, professional, seasoned businessperson, or simply curious about the future of technology, Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Everyone equips you with the knowledge to navigate this transformative field with confidence.

The two-volume set CCIS 2053 and 2054 constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 13th International Advanced Computing Conference, IACC 2023, held in Kolhapur, India, during December 15-16, 2023.The 66 full papers and 6 short papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 425 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Volume I: The AI renaissance: a new era of human-machine collaboration; application of recurrent neural network in natural language processing, AI content detection and time series data analysis; unveiling the next frontier of AI advancement.Volume II: Agricultural resilience and disaster management for sustainable harvest; disease and abnormalities detection using ML and IOT; application of deep learning in healthcare; cancer detection using AI.

This two-volume catalog is the first in-depth investigation of comets that were reported since the 17th century but not confirmed and subsequently lost. Volume 2 covers objects observed between 1900 and the present, a period that was dominated by photographic observations and the detection of much fainter objects. This book provides a distinctive blend of the historical and cultural aspects of comet hunting and discovery, along with the utilization of contemporary tools in orbital mechanics and data analysis. This comprehensive compilation offers a thorough catalog of unconfirmed comets. Each case encompasses a detailed presentation of observations, a discussion on the observer (when feasible), an examination of the historical context, and a conclusive analysis of the object's nature. The book predominantly showcases original material and photographs sourced from observatories, libraries, and historical societies worldwide; exposing a significant number ofillustrations that have never been previously published. While some of these unconfirmed comets were determined to be misidentifications of minor planets, artifacts caused by emulsion or optical effects, or inaccurate observations of comets that were already under observation, the Authors did manage to identify numerous objects that were likely genuine comets. These observations hold potential value for the future, as they could be observations of periodic comets yet to be formally identified. In a handful of instances, the Authors were also able to find new observations, which led to the calculation of orbits for the first time, enabling a formal announcement, or identifying suspected comets that were already known to be periodic comets.

This textbook serves to teach readers about the origins of life, the probabilistic process of self-assembly underpinning all living systems, from a biophysics perspective. The author cohesively summarizes the various organizing principles that led to the development of an ordered physical basis on which the evolution of life operates. This book answers critical questions, such as why life depends on the properties of inanimate objects and how the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology convolved to spontaneously produce the periodic table and, of course, life itself. Readers are provided with an introduction to probability distributions as well as detailed descriptions of important concepts in thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics. As the book progresses, an understanding for the inevitability of life is developed through topics such as stellar nucleosynthesis and prebiotic evolution. Each chapter also includes problems for readers to gain a better understanding of the material. This textbook is accessible to students and researchers of all levels and serves as a comprehensive guide on the physics behind abiogenesis.

This book is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of economic education at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU). It gathers the best and most recent research materials of scientists from SPbPU's Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade and their colleagues from other universities.This book reflects many years of experience, unique results and interesting discoveries made by collaborative teams exploring the following issues: engineering economics, sustainable development and other topics related to the digitalization of enterprises, industries and systems; digital transformation of the service market in the face of global challenges; automation of enterprise control systems, digital and data management solutions for business; socio-economic development and territorial management in the era of Industry 4.0, etc. This book offers various views on challenges faced by today's economy and industry that are undoubtedly relevant to readers of almost all categories: from students to practitioners and scientists, but mostly for researchers.

This book will provide an important source of practical information on the history of toxicology, the ways in which pollutants reach model organisms used in toxicology, sampling methods for research, mechanisms of toxicity and responses of aquatic organisms to toxic agents, as well as the use of therapeutic agents in current approaches. Determining the importance of environmentally friendly substances on antioxidant defense is an obvious area of future research.The combined use of a biomarkers range that can indicate exposure to pollutants and measure their effects on living organisms enables a more comprehensive and integrative assessment of indicator organisms in the aquatic environment, both biochemically and cellularly. In conclusion, the multiple biomarker approach had received great interest in ecotoxicological research and had recently been adapted to both field and laboratory studies.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Formalizing Natural Languages with NooJ 2023 and Its Natural Language Processing Applications, NooJ 2023, held in Zadar, Croatia, during May 31-June 2, 2023. The 19 full papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 64 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: morphological and lexical resources; syntactic and semantic resources; corpus linguistics and discourse analysis; and natural language processing applications.

This edited book brings together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability, and health researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by heavy metals contamination of soil and plants. In recent years, contamination of the environment by heavy metals has become a major concern. Their multiple industrial, domestic, agricultural, medical, and technological applications have led to their wide distribution in the environment, raising concerns over their potential effects on human health and the environment. Owing to their toxic, non-degradable, and bio-accumulative nature, the health burden on the population has increased significantly. Heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, and uranium do not play a significant role in metabolism in the human body and are thus toxic. Their exposure in high concentration can cause acute toxicity resulting in acute health conditions, which is easy to observe and regulate, while similar is not visible for immediate action when their exposure is in trace amounts over the years. Heavy metals enter in the food chain through consumption of plant material. A high concentration of heavy metals has been found to be harmful to vegetation. As the heavy metals concentration in plants increases, it adversely affects several biological parameters and eventually renders the soil barren.The book sheds light on this global environmental issue and proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches and case studies from different parts of the world. This book is a valuable resource to students, academicians, researchers, and environmental professionals who are doing field work on heavy metals contamination throughout the world.

This book presents a quantum framework for understanding inelastic light scattering which is consistent with the classical descriptions of Raman phenomena and Rayleigh scattering, thus creating a unified theoretical picture of light scattering. The Raman effect was discovered in 1928 and has since proved to be one of the most powerful tools to study the molecular structure of gases, liquids, and crystals. The subsequent development of new scientific disciplines such as nonlinear optics, quantum optics, plasmonics, metamaterials, and the theory of open quantum systems has changed our views on the nature of Rayleigh and Raman scattering. Today, there are many excellent books on the theory and applications of light scattering, but a consistent description of light scattering from a unified viewpoint is missing. The authors' approach has the power to re-derive the results of both classical and quantum approaches while also addressing many questions that are scattered acrossthe research literature: Why is Rayleigh scattering coherent while Raman scattering is not, although both phenomena are caused by the incidence of a coherent wave? Why are coherent Stokes and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering caused by two coherent incident waves both always coherent? This book answers these questions and more, and explains state-of-the-art experimental results with a first-principles approach that avoids phenomenological arguments. Many of the results presented are appearing in book form for the first time, making this book especially useful for young researchers entering the field. The book reviews basic concepts of quantum mechanics and quantum optics and comes equipped with problems and solutions to develop understanding of the key mathematical techniques. The rigorous approach presented in the book is elegant and readily grasped, and will therefore prove useful to both theorists and experimentalists at the graduate level and above, as well as engineers who useRaman scattering methods in their work.

This monograph lays the foundation for new methodologies of research between music and translation. It is the first such holistic attempt--from the perspective of a musicologist--based on the adaptation of translation theories. Until now, these fields have remained underexplored together. Only recently have the tools developed by translation theory permeated into musical scholarship. Such tools should prove as a promising alternative to those offered by classic musicological studies, particularly in reference to musical arrangement, pop music covers and performance. Theoretical discussion on topics are supported by case studies. This text appeals to musicologists and musicians as well as experts in the field of translation theory who are interested in expanding their field of inquiry.

The special semester 'Singularities and low dimensional topology' in the Spring of 2023 at the Erdős Center (Budapest) brought together algebraic geometers and topologists to discuss and explore the strong connection between surface singularities and topological properties of three- and four-dimensional manifolds. The semester featured a Winter School (with four lecture series) and several focused weeks. This volume contains the notes of the lecture series of the Winter School and some of the lecture notes from the focused weeks. Topics covered in this collection range from algebraic geometry of complex curves, lattice homology of curve and surface singularities to novel results in smooth four-dimensional topology and grid homology, and to Seiberg-Witten homotopy theory and 'spacification' of knot invariants. Some of these topics are already well-documented in the literature, and the lectures aim to provide a new perspective and fresh connections. Other topics are rather new and have been covered only in research papers. We hope that this volume will be useful not only for advanced graduate students and early-stage researchers, but also for the more experienced geometers and topologists who want to be informed about the latest developments in the field.

This book gathers a selection of research papers that delve into the field of smart systems, covering a wide range of applications in transportation, agriculture, healthcare, energy management, and more. Emphasizing the fusion of intelligence and security, they reveal how advanced embedded and mobile systems are paving the way for a smarter and safer future. The book presents peer-reviewed research articles from the First International Conference on Embedded and Mobile Systems (ICTA-EMOS), which was held on November 24th - 25th, 2022, in Arusha, Tanzania. The book showcases the remarkable potential of advanced technologies in shaping a smarter and more secure world, addressing topics such as transportation and mobility solutions, smart manufacturing and agriculture, ICT infrastructure and resource management, healthcare and energy management, system integration and control, and solutions for innovation and monitoring.

This book gives an overview of the shifting paradigm from traditional design techniques and standards to new values and methods that occurred in response to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical studies of the phenomenon of "new normality" in architecture, urbanism and social sciences are a source of knowledge for researchers, professors and students in the fields of architecture, urbanism and interior design. On-site applications of post-COVID-19 structures will be interesting for students, practitioners, developers and city managers. The issue of online design teaching and learning provides a set of practices that can be applied by both educators and trainees. The book also is useful for readers who are interested in recent trends in architecture and interior design: it provides a deep analysis of recent changes in architecture, which aim to make the environment disease-free and the space habitable during the long periods of lockdown.

This volume is a collection of essays related to the work of Professor Yuriy Vasilievich Ivlev, a distinguished Russian logician and philosopher renowned for his expertise in many-valued and modal logics. Notably, his groundbreaking work on quasi-matrices for logics, now recognized as non-deterministic matrices and non-deterministic semantics, emerged in the 1970s. From a philosophical standpoint, Ivlev¿s research delves into the formal analysis of indeterminacy, offering a logical framework to understand how sequences of indeterminate events can yield determinate outcomes. The volume follows two complementary lines of research. Firstly, it serves as a platform for the exploration and discussion of Ivlev¿s seminal contributions to the algebraic characterization of both normal and non-normal modal logics, aimed at making these insights accessible to an international audience. Secondly, it features contributions from esteemed logicians and philosophers worldwide, offering diverseperspectives on the logical analysis of indeterminacy. This comprehensive volume will appeal to scholars and researchers in logic, philosophy, and mathematics who are engaged in the study of many-valued and modal methodologies for modeling situations of indeterminacy.

This book presents the best, peer-reviewed contributions from the XII Congress of the Italian Society of Ergonomics and Human Factors (SIE), held in Lucca, Italy, on May 2-4, 2022. By highlighting the latest theories and models, as well as cutting-edge technologies and applications, and by combining findings from a range of disciplines including engineering, design, robotics, management, computer science, human biology and behavioral sciences, it provides researchers and practitioners alike with a comprehensive, timely guide on human factors and ergonomics in a variety of industrial sectors, such as health care, transportation, automotive and constructions. It also offers an excellent source of innovative ideas to stimulate future discussions and developments aimed at applying knowledge and techniques to optimize system performance, while at the same time promoting health, safety, and well-being of individuals anc communities. The proceedings includes papers from researchers and practitioners, scientists and physicians, institutional leaders, managers, and policy makers that contribute to constructing the Human Factors and Ergonomics approach across a variety of methodologies, domains, and productive sectors.

This book is a compilation of accepted papers presented at the International Conference on Computing, Intelligence and Data Analytics (ICCIDA) in 2022 organized by Information Systems Engineering of the Kocaeli University, Turkey on September 16-17, 2022. The book highlights some of the latest research advances and cutting-edge analyses of real-world problems related to Computing, Intelligence and Data Analytics and their applications in various domains. This includes state of the art models and methods used on benchmark datasets.

While polluting industries in the U.S. continue to emit billions of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land and water every year, many economists and policy makers argue that environmental regulations stifle economic growth and reduce the standard of living for the American people. This book takes a fresh look at this question through three case studies of highly regulated polluting industries in the Southern California region: metal finishing, wood furniture, and dry cleaning. The case studies are based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, including in-depth interviews with corporate managers and environmental regulators. The authors find that there is no universal pattern for predicting the effects of environmental regulations on industrial competitiveness, but that the outcomes depend on the structure of the industry being regulated, the design of the regulations, and the technologies that are available for compliance. The book is written in straight forwardlanguage that is accessible to the non-economist and will prove an essential resource for academics and students of all levels, and professionals and policy makers in the fields of environmental policy and regional economic development.

End of 2022, nearly 200,000 people indicated holding a position as a customer success manager on LinkedIn. Customer success management (CSM) is thus the fastest growing business function. It was first implemented in selected service businesses, but currently CSM applications are spreading globally across industries. This book provides a clear understanding of CSM for practitioners based on comprehensibly prepared knowledge from practical and scientific resources. The book can be used as a practical guide to learn about CSM process and the roles, necessary capabilities, and expectations toward customer success managers. Furthermore, it also shows how CSM differs from and, at the same time, relates to existing customer-related management concepts such as value-based selling, key account management and customer relationship management. The presented insights are not only relevant for customer success managers, but also for those aiming at such a position in the future. The bookis also useful for supplier and customer representatives who are connected with customer success management activities in their daily business.

The main theme of this book is the social dimension of the circular economy (CE). This book's objective is to provide a foundation for the discussion of social aspects of CE that also allows the integration of CE with the UN SDGs. The circular economy is increasingly becoming the consensual pathway for a transition towards sustainable production and consumption that balances the economic and ecological pillars of sustainable development. However, researchers have noted that the social dimension of sustainable development is noticeable missing or, at best, weakly developed in CE ideas and frameworks (Sehnem et al., 2019). The main argument of this book is that CE research and practice needs to embrace its social impacts, not only in terms of understanding and avoiding negative social impacts but also in terms of exploring the potential that CE models have for addressing social challenges.

This new volume in the Reproductive Medicine for Clinicians series of the International Academy of Human Reproduction (IAHR) focuses on current hot topics in the field, their ethical and legal aspects and their impact on society.It covers topics such as Covid-19, religious and philosophical controversies, possibilities that new technologies offer, human reproductive cloning problems, future challenges related to the heritable gene editing, therapeutic use of stem cells and stem cell factors and the role of receptors in steroids hormone action.This volume also offers an analysis of important innovations and new possibilities such as the use of artificial intelligence in reproductive medicine and the future of prenatal testing. The volume also discusses the issues of pregnancies in advanced paternal age, ethical and legal aspects of gametes donation, sex preselection, surrogate motherhood and infertility in overweight or obese PCOS patients. Chapters on the ethicaland legal aspects of fertility preservation in woman, in children with cancer, and in patients sparing treatments in gynecological oncology are also included. This new volume in the series is a valuable resource for gynecologists, obstetricians, endocrinologists, general practitioners and all specialists dealing with reproductive health.

This book analyzes behavioral distortions in public schools and delineates outcome-based performance measurement systems that can prevent and mitigate them. An instrumental view of dynamic performance management (DPM) is used to support the endeavor by identifying how performance drivers affect end results of outcome and output, how end results affect strategic resources, and how strategic resources and benchmarks define the dynamics of performance drivers. This approach is also used to promote a shift from an output-oriented to an outcome-oriented view in performance management, with the aim of achieving sustainable results in the long term. The book also includes a comprehensive literature review at the end of each chapter, intended to strengthen readers' knowledge and encourage further research. Given its scope, the book will appeal to graduate students in public management, researchers in performance management, system dynamics, and education, and decision-makers in public schools.

Marketing is one of the most optimistic business disciplines with the goal of serving consumers or organizations and increasing customer satisfaction and happiness. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the optimism of the world, thus hindering these marketing goals. This book explore the challenges faced by marketers during and post-COVID-19 and offers strategies for marketers to invoke a sense of optimism as the world enters the "new normal". It provides success stories and regional case studies to offer marketers new ways in which to serve consumers and satisfy their needs. It also acknowledges the role digital technology and innovation have played a crucial role during these dark times and how they impact current and future customer experiences. Founded in 1971, the Academy of Marketing Science is an international organization dedicated to promoting timely explorations of phenomena related to the science of marketing in theory, research, and practice. Among itsservices to members and the community at large, the Academy offers conferences, congresses, and symposia that attract delegates from around the world. Presentations from these events are published in this Proceedings series, which offers a comprehensive archive of volumes reflecting the evolution of the field. Volumes deliver cutting-edge research and insights, complementing the Academy's flagship journals, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) and AMS Review.

This volume analyzes ecological and socio-economic risks due to climate change in the Himalayan mountain ecosystems, communities, and proposes adaptation strategies and sustainability practices. In order to better understand the potential actions required to improve natural resource conservation and the development of mountain people's livelihoods. The authors discuss the current status of local knowledge system on various environmental aspects of conservation and sustainable use of mountain resources in the Himalaya. The book addresses the institutional capacities, gaps, and priority areas of capacity building to strengthen policies and governance in regard to climate change, landuse management, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable management in the Himalayan region. The aim of this book is to enhance coordination building among policymakers, planners, mountain communities to foster collaboration between different stakeholders by understanding local perceptions of climate change as well as variability issues, and establishing adaptation strategies to cope with these impacts. The chapters incorporate theoretical and applied aspects, and may serve as baseline information for the sustainability of mountain ecosystems through the contribution of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary expertise from the Himalayan region. The book will be useful for students, teachers, and researchers working in different areas pertaining to mountain ecosystems, as well as policymakers and planners working on issues related to the sustainability of the mountain ecosystem.

Despite the fact that the African tourism industry is prone to disturbances such as diseases, extreme weather events, civil unrest, wars, and other shocks, nothing could have prepared this destination for the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the absence of government or international agency budget support, the pandemic challenged the African tourism market to its core. The focus of this book is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African tourism destination market as well as its prospects for recovery. A chapter written by the editorial team introduces the book. Following the introduction, the book offers chapters evaluating the pandemic's impact on African tourism. Chapters in the second part of the book discuss tourism recovery and how some destinations have survived the pandemic. The book concludes with a chapter providing policy recommendations and practical implementation advice. The book is part of a 3 volume series.

The book offers comprehensive coverage on novel manifestations of known infections, novel infections with documented ophthalmic involvement, and the growing issue of resistance among certain infections. Filling a much-needed gap in current literary offerings, chapters approach ophthalmic manifestations of infectious disease from a novel perspective. Each chapter is co-written by an ophthalmologist and an infectious disease specialist to provide multidisciplinary insight. This unique analysis of infectious disease enhances the ability of ophthalmologists and infectious disease specialists to identify the manifold manifestations of both common and rare infections in the eye. Chapters begin with a general introduction, and each contain an Infectious Disease section, along with an Ophthalmology section. The book covers infections such as viral retinitis, fungal infections, syphilis, tuberculosis, vector-borne illnesses, and delve into rarer conditions such as unusual post-operative infections.Concise and practical, Emerging Ocular Infection will be of use to ID specialists, and ophthalmologists alike.

The book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field of hydrology, environmental engineering, agricultural engineering, earth sciences, and watershed and range sciences, as well as to those engaged in water resources planning, development and management in arid and semi-arid areas. Given the lack of literature on arid regions, this book not only provides an assessment of water resource management in arid regions but also addresses solutions, and it can also be an outstanding textbook on water resources management and sustainability for arid regions.This volume in the Water Science and Technology Library includes selected papers that have been presented and discussed during the International Water Resources Management and Sustainability: Solutions for Arid Regions, 22--24 March 2022, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The conference was organized by the National Water and Energy Center, UAE University, in collaboration with the South Australian Goyder Institute for Water Research, and the Department for Environment and Water, Government of South Australia. The conference attracted a large number of nationally and internationally well-known experts who have been at the forefront of water resources management and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions. More than 55 countries, covering the five continents, were represented. The conference was designed to facilitate and encourage new perspectives on how science and innovative technologies can transform water management and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions around the world. It addressed current challenges and priorities in water management and provided a forum to share knowledge, experiences, research, and discoveries.

This book helps clinicians and postgraduate students to better understand the evidence in orthodontics and to use an evidence-based approach in their clinical practice. The book is written in a question-and-answer style, and each question is answered according to the hierarchy of evidence. At the end of each answer, an interpretation of the included systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, or other studies is summarized and critically reviewed to give a better understanding of the evidence. This book covers a wide range of clinical topics, such as the treatment of Class II and Class III malocclusion, molar distalization, impacted canines, maxillary expansion, and temporary anchorage devices. Valuable material is provided on root resorption, white spot lesions, and orthodontic retention. As the book is written in Q&A style, it would be helpful to find the most relevant question without going through the whole chapter. The book includes the most asked questions aboutclinical orthodontics in discussions and will be a great help for orthodontist to defend their seen and unseen cases in exam.

This book is useful to flow assurance engineers, students, and industries who wish to be flow assurance authorities in the twenty-first-century oil and gas industry.The use of digital or artificial intelligence methods in flow assurance has increased recently to achieve fast results without any thorough training effectively. Generally, flow assurance covers all risks associated with maintaining the flow of oil and gas during any stage in the petroleum industry. Flow assurance in the oil and gas industry covers the anticipation, limitation, and/or prevention of hydrates, wax, asphaltenes, scale, and corrosion during operation. Flow assurance challenges mostly lead to stoppage of production or plugs, damage to pipelines or production facilities, economic losses, and in severe cases blowouts and loss of human lives. A combination of several chemical and non-chemical techniques is mostly used to prevent flow assurance issues in the industry. However, the use of models to anticipate, limit, and/or prevent flow assurance problems is recommended as the best and most suitable practice. The existing proposed flow assurance models on hydrates, wax, asphaltenes, scale, and corrosion management are challenged with accuracy and precision. They are not also limited by several parametric assumptions. Recently, machine learning methods have gained much attention as best practices for predicting flow assurance issues. Examples of these machine learning models include conventional approaches such as artificial neural network, support vector machine (SVM), least square support vector machine (LSSVM), random forest (RF), and hybrid models. The use of machine learning in flow assurance is growing, and thus, relevant knowledge and guidelines on their application methods and effectiveness are needed for academic, industrial, and research purposes.In this book, the authors focus on the use and abilities of various machine learning methods in flow assurance. Initially, basic definitions and use of machine learning in flow assurance are discussed in a broader scope within the oil and gas industry. The rest of the chapters discuss the use of machine learning in various flow assurance areas such as hydrates, wax, asphaltenes, scale, and corrosion. Also, the use of machine learning in practical field applications is discussed to understand the practical use of machine learning in flow assurance.

This book provides a new approach by examining gender and the transition to parenthood by using the actor partner interdependence model. Unlike other books which focus on the individual perspective of becoming a parent (especially for mothers), this book examines how couples and individuals successfully navigate this important life passage. This book covers a mix of psychological and sociological studies on the transition to parenthood. Readers will learn about the affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects of this transition in early 21st century America and how it has changed in the past three decades. The book is aimed at graduate students, researchers and professionals who are interested in an interdisciplinary approach to this most formative passage in adult life. By bringing together past and current research, this book tells the story of becoming parents in 21st century America from his, her, and their points of view. Actor-partner interdependence model approachAffective, behavioral and cognitive processesBroad review of gender and the transition

Integrins are heterodimeric cell surface receptors which anchor cells to different extracellular matrix proteins or act as cell-cell receptors. They play pivotal roles not only across a wide range of physiological processes including tissue morphogenesis, wound healing, and regulation of cell growth, but also in numerous pathological conditions such as autoimmunity, infectious disease, and carcinogenesis. This book aims to provide readers a summary of the most important integrins and their respective biological functions. Readers will learn about knockout- and animal models to study the functionality of key collagen-, laminin-, and nephronectin-binding integrins. Additionally, the role of integrins in pathological tissue remodeling in joints and in developing and diseased cardiac tissue are discussed. Reviews of the current knowledge of the role of integrins in tissue and tumor fibrosis, angiogenesis and tumor progression are an important part of this work. Finally, the bookdiscusses integrins in the context of the immune system, how to target integrin-ligand interactions with antibodies, and the role of integrins as receptors for bacterial and viral cell invasion. Both experienced researchers and clinicians, as well as PhD students who wish to study the extracellular matrix and cell adhesion molecules will find "Integrins in Health and Disease - Key Effectors of Cell-Matrix and Cell-Cell Interactions" authoritative, easily accessible, and vastly informative.The series Biology of Extracellular Matrix is published in collaboration with the American Society for Matrix Biology and the International Society for Matrix Biology.