This book is designed to give the reader a solid understanding of the physics and instrumentation aspects of PET, including how PET data are collected and formed into an image. Topics include basic physics, detector technology used in modern PET scanners, data acquisition, and 3D reconstruction. A variety of modern PET imaging systems are also discussed, including those designed for clinical services and research, as well as small-animal imaging. Methods for evaluating the performance of these systems are also outlined.

During the last 30 years there have been several attempts at extending the notion of entropy to noncommutative dynamical systems. The authors present in the book the two most successful approaches to the extensions of measure entropy and topological entropy to the noncommutative setting and analyze in detail the main models in the theory.

The series Advances in Industrial Control aims to report and encourage technology transfer in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. New theory, new controllers, actuators, sensors, new industrial processes, computer methods, new applications, new philosophies , new challenges. Much of this development work resides in industrial reports, feasibility study papers and the reports of advanced collaborative projects. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of such new work in all aspects of industrial control for wider and rapid dissemination. In the mid-1960s and contemporary with Kalman’s pioneering papers on sta- space models and optimal control, L.A. Zadeh began publishing papers on “fuzzy sets”. It took another decade before the fuzzy-logic controller due to Mamdani and Assilion was reported in the literature (ca. 1974), and now the fuzzy-logic control paradigm is entering its fifth decade of development and application. Thus, this new Advances in Industrial Control monograph edited by Ying Bai, Hanqi Zhuang and Dali Wang on fuzzy-logic control and its practical application comes as a timely reminder of the wide range of problems that can be solved by this continually evolving methodology.

This book presents recent developments in systematic studies of hydrodynamics and heat and mass transfer in laminar free convection, accelerating film boiling and condensation of Newtonian fluids, as well as accelerating film flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids (FFNF). A novel system of analysis models is provided with a developed velocity component method, instead of traditional Falkner-Skan type transformation, and a system of models for treatment of variable thermophysical properties is presented with an innovative temperature parameter method that makes it easier to similarly treat related governing differential equations for consideration of fluid variable thermophysical properties. A pseudo-similarity method is applied for dealing with thermal boundary layer of FFNF, furthermore, with an induced local Prandtl number, which greatly simplifies the heat-transfer analysis and numerical calculation. Based on rigorous theoretical analyses, a system of numerical solutions is formulated by special curve-fitting approaches for simple and reliable predictions of heat and mass transfer and hydrodynamics. In view of a shortage of experimental results for velocity field of free convection boundary layer, recent rigorous experimental measurements are presented covering large temperature differences.

The fourfold way starts with the consideration of entire functions of one variable satisfying specific estimates at infinity, both on the real line and the pure imaginary line. A major part of classical analysis, mainly that which deals with Fourier analysis and related concepts, can then be given a parameter-dependent analogue. The parameter is some real number modulo 2, the classical case being obtained when it is an integer. The space L2(R) has to give way to a pseudo-Hilbert space, on which a new translation-invariant integral still exists. All this extends to the n-dimensional case, and in the alternative to the metaplectic representation so obtained, it is the space of Lagrangian subspaces of R2n that plays the usual role of the complex Siegel domain. In fourfold analysis, the spectrum of the harmonic oscillator can be an arbitrary class modulo the integers.

There are an estimated 32 million people with onychomycosis in the United States alone, making it the most common nail disease seen and treated, but also quite misunderstood. With the sole focus of this book devoted to onychomycosis, the reader is provided with insight into the diagnosis and management of this nail infection. Onychomycosis includes chapters on how fungus infects the nail unit, the types of nail fungus, diagnosis from a gross and microscopic view, and the various treatment options available. With chapters written by the world’s experts along with dozens of high quality color photographs and illustrations, this book is a practical reference guide for every dermatologist, podiatrist, and primary care physician.

This book examines the linkage between central bank structure, central bank autonomy—with respect to setting its monetary policy goals, choosing its policy mechanisms, legal independence, and financial independence—and monetary policy, both in select benchmark countries and at a broader theoretical level. Country-specific chapters on the US, UK, Germany, Greece, Russia, India, China, Japan, Brazil, and South Africa focus on the history, administrative structure, and independence of the central monetary authority in these countries. The chapters go on to explore the countries’ conduct of monetary policy, their interplay with political forces and the wider economy, their currency, and their macroeconomic outcomes. The book will appeal to researchers, students of economics, finance and business, as well as general readers with an interest in the subject.

This book covers the basic principles for understanding radio wave propagation for common frequency bands used in radio-communications. This includes achievements and developments in propagation models for wireless communication. This book is intended to bridge the gap between the theoretical calculations and approaches to the applied procedures needed for radio links design in a proper manner. The authors emphasize propagation engineering by giving fundamental information and explain the use of basic principles together with technical achievements. This new edition includes additional information on radio wave propagation in guided media and technical issues for fiber optics cable networks with several examples and problems. This book also includes a solution manual - with 90 solved examples distributed throughout the chapters - and 158 problems including practical values and assumptions.

Almost 20 years after the first MEDPINE book "Ecology, biogeography and management of Pinus halepensis and P. brutia forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin "(Ne'eman and Trabaud, 2000) was published, this new book presents up to date and state of the art scientific knowledge and information. It covers a wide range of topics concerning Mediterranean pine trees growing in natural and planted forests, their ecosystems and management.

This volume presents recent advances and current knowledge in the field of supramolecular assemblies based on electrostatic interactions. The flexibility and simplicity of constructing assemblies is explained via several examples, illustrations, figures, case studies, and historical perspectives. Moreover, as there is an increasing demand for the use of theoretical and computational models of the interaction strengths for assisting with the experimental studies, one chapter specifically focuses on the "modelling'' of supramolecular assemblies. Finally, various aspects of the recent advances of the field as well as potential future opportunities are discussed, with the goal being to stimulate critical discussions among the community and to encourage further discovery. This volume aims to inspire and guide fellow scientists and students working in this field and thus it provides a great tool for all researchers, graduates and professionals specializing on the topic.

This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) and more broadly in the fields of smart materials and intelligent systems.