Ecdysone is the steroidal prohormone of the major insect moulting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone. It groups with its homologues the steroidal molting hormones in arthropods, but they also occur in other phyla where they can play different roles. Besides ecdysteroids appear in many plants mostly as protection agents (toxins or antifeedants) against...

Recent experimental research advances have led to increasingly detailed descriptions of how networks of interacting neurons process information. With these developments, it has become clear that dynamic network behaviors underlie information processing, and that the observed activity patterns cannot be fully explained by simple concepts such as...

Geophysics operations in archaeology have become well known through exposure on television. However, the technique is presented as the action of specialists and something of a mystery, where people walk about with strange contraptions, and results appear from a computer. This is not the case, however. Some scientific knowledge is needed in order...

Careers in astronomy for women (as in other sciences) were a rarity in Britain and Ireland until well into the twentieth century. The book investigates the place of women in astronomy before that era, recounted in the form of biographies of about 25 women born between 1650 and 1900 who in varying capacities contributed to its progress during the...

This book about rock stress is suitable for students in geosciences and engineering, who need to broaden their horizon about the Stress Field of the Earth´s Crust. The book covers the topic in a way such that geoscience students will be able to grasp the Cauchy Stress Principle without fear of matrix transformations in an exercise....

A "Learning Network" is a community of people who help each other to better understand and handle certain events and concepts in work or life. As a result – and sometimes also as an aim – participating in learning networks stimulates personal development, a better understanding of concepts and events, career development,...

This book addresses the continuing controversy over the potential impact of genetically modified (GM) crops in developing countries. Supporters of the technology claim it offers one of the best hopes for increasing agricultural production and reducing rural poverty, while opponents see it as an untested intervention that will bring corporate...

Integrated Silicon Optoelectronics synthesizes topics from optoelectronics and microelectronics. The book concentrates on silicon as the major base of modern semiconductor devices and circuits. Starting from the basics of optical emission and absorption, as well as from the device physics of photodetectors, the aspects of the integration of...