In recent years, new paradigms have emerged to replace-or augment-the traditional, mathematically based approaches to optimization. The most powerful of these are genetic algorithms (GA), inspired by natural selection, and genetic programming, an extension of GAs based on the optimization of symbolic codes.

Robust...

The monograph addresses a problem of stochastic analysis based on the uncertainty assessment by simulation and application of this method in ecology and steel industry under uncertainty. The first chapter defines the Monte Carlo (MC) method and random variables in stochastic models. Chapter two deals with the contamination transport in porous...

This cutting-edge text, written by a team of leading experts, is the first detailed examination of the latest, most powerful scanning probe microscope, the atomic force microscope (AFM). Using the AFM, in combination with...

Crystallization from solution is a core technology in major sectors of the chemical process and allied industries. Crystals are produced in varying sizes ranging from as small as a few tens of nanometers to several millimetres or more, both as discrete particles and as structured agglomerates. Well- established examples include bulk...

Neither pest management nor resistance management can occur with only an understanding of pest biology. For years, entomologists have understood, with their use of economic thresholds, that at least a minimal use of economics was necessary for proper integrated pest management. IRM is even more complicated and dependent on understanding and...

Conservation refers to the careful and controlled use of natural resources for the purpose of extending the time they are available as well as retaining biodiversity. Conservation does not prevent the loss of plants, trees, land, water, or habitat; it simply slows the rate of degradation of these things. This new book explores aspects of...

The improvement of crop species has been a basic pursuit since cultivation began thousands of years ago. To feed an ever increasing world population will require a great increase in food production. Wheat, corn, rice, potato and few others are expected to lead as the most important crops in the world. Enormous efforts are made all over the...

A country's vision for developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is typically propelled by three important drivers – security, cost, and environmental impact. The U.S. currently accounts for a quarter of the world’s total oil consumption, with domestic demands necessitating – at an ever growing cost – a...

Astonishingly rich in nutrients, Spirulina is one of the most popular and well researched functional foods in the multi-billion dollar global food supplement market. This ancient species provides readily bioavailable protein along with carotenoids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals and has therapeutic applications in...