Most Popular Books by Leszek

This second of two Exercises in Analysis volumes covers problems in five core topics of mathematical analysis: Function Spaces, Nonlinear and Multivalued Maps, Smooth and Nonsmooth Calculus, Degree Theory and Fixed Point Theory, and Variational and Topological Methods. Each of five topics corresponds to a different chapter with inclusion of the basic theory and accompanying main definitions and results,followed by suitable comments and remarks for better understanding of the material. Exercises/problems are presented for each topic, with solutions available at the end of each chapter. The entire collection of exercises offers a balanced and useful picture for the application surrounding each topic. This nearly encyclopedic coverage of exercises in mathematical analysis is the first of its kind and is accessible to a wide readership. Graduate students will find the collection of problems valuable in preparation for their preliminary or qualifying exams as well as for testing their deeper understanding of the material. Exercises are denoted by degree of difficulty. Instructors teaching courses that include one or all of the above-mentioned topics will find the exercises of great help in course preparation. Researchers in analysis may find this Work useful as a summary of analytic theories published in one accessible volume.

Starting in the early 1980s, people using the tools of nonsmooth analysis developed some remarkable nonsmooth extensions of the existing critical point theory. Until now, however, no one had gathered these tools and results together into a unified, systematic survey of these advances. This book fills that gap. It provides a complete presentation of nonsmooth critical point theory, then goes beyond it to study nonlinear second order boundary value problems. The authors do not limit their treatment to problems in variational form. They also examine in detail equations driven by the p-Laplacian, its generalizations, and their spectral properties, studying a wide variety of problems and illustrating the powerful tools of modern nonlinear analysis. The presentation includes many recent results, including some that were previously unpublished. Detailed appendices outline the fundamental mathematical tools used in the book, and a rich bibliography forms a guide to the relevant literature. Most books addressing critical point theory deal only with smooth problems, linear or semilinear problems, or consider only variational methods or the tools of nonlinear operators. Nonsmooth Critical Point Theory and Nonlinear Boundary Value Problems offers a comprehensive treatment of the subject that is up-to-date, self-contained, and rich in methods for a wide variety of problems.

This study finds that pension reforms in recent years have improved the efficiency and sustainability of pension systems in the new member states of the European Union and Croatia. However, for many countries, these probably have not gone far enough to ensure long-term sustainability, given the aging of the population. Reforms have included changes to Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) systems, including increases in retirement ages (not at least for women), new benefit formulas, and new indexation mechanism. Some countries (Latvia and Poland) have further strengthened the link of contributions and benefits to the sustainability of the PAYG system through the introduction of national defined contribution accounts. The link is strengthened also by moving to a point system, which has been adopted by many of the countries. Several countries have introduced a second, private, pension pillar, funded through diversion of part of the pension contributions, thereby diversifying risk. However, some countries (in particular the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Romania) will need to do more to safeguard the long-term viability of their pension systems, while others face challenges to ensure equitable pension systems and adequate living standards for all elderly people.

This open-access textbook is an excellent introduction to systems biology, which has developed rapidly in recent years. It discusses the processes in living organisms in an integrated way, enabling the reader to understand the fundamental principles and cause-effect relationships in biology and biochemistry. The authors have chosen an original but at the same time clear way of presenting the topics, repeatedly drawing comparisons and models from the macroscopic world and making the reader aware of the unity of the laws of physics, chemistry and biology. The fully updated 2nd edition also contains information that has only become available as a result of the increase in knowledge in recent years. This includes information on tumorigenesis, where significant progress has been made due to the explosive development of genetic knowledge as well as bioengineering with a highly effective technique adopted from the solutions of the bacterial world, such as CRISPR/CAS. This richly illustrated book is essential for postgraduate students and scientists of the following disciplines: biology, biotechnology, medicine, bioinformatics, robotics and automation, biocybernetics, and biomedical engineering. It is also an exciting read for anyone interested in biology.

This book presents a unique approach to stream data mining. Unlike the vast majority of previous approaches, which are largely based on heuristics, it highlights methods and algorithms that are mathematically justified. First, it describes how to adapt static decision trees to accommodate data streams; in this regard, new splitting criteria are developed to guarantee that they are asymptotically equivalent to the classical batch tree. Moreover, new decision trees are designed, leading to the original concept of hybrid trees. In turn, nonparametric techniques based on Parzen kernels and orthogonal series are employed to address concept drift in the problem of non-stationary regressions and classification in a time-varying environment. Lastly, an extremely challenging problem that involves designing ensembles and automatically choosing their sizes is described and solved. Given its scope, the book is intended for a professional audience of researchers and practitioners who dealwith stream data, e.g. in telecommunication, banking, and sensor networks.

Minimizing theoretical background and mathematical formalism, Image Analysis sets forth the basic principles of image acquisition, enhancement, measurements, and interpretation in a very simple form, focused on applications and the properties of available tools. The author lists different tasks and offers complete solutions to these tasks based on his extensive experience with the procedures described. The book provides a multitude of illustrations, drawings, and bitmaps and serves as an outstanding resource for specialists using image analysis equipment, including technicians and students.

The first detailed, unbiased comparison of the three leading PHP frameworks Web developers have been eager for an impartial comparison of leading PHP frameworks so they can make educated decisions about the most effective tool for their needs. This guide uses Symfony, CakePHP, and Zend Framework to solve key problems, providing source code examples and comparisons for each. It explains the approach and reviews the similarities and differences in the three frameworks, providing reliable information on which to base your decisions. Symfony, CakePHP, and Zend Framework are considered the leading PHP frameworks; developers need an unbiased comparison to choose which one works best for their individual situations This guide uses each framework to solve the same problems, illustrating the solutions with source code examples and working applications Covers wide range of topics, from installation and configuration to most advanced features like AJAX, web services and automated testing. Includes an appendix of new PHP frameworks, including CodeIgniter, Lithium, and Agavi Bestselling PHP author Elizabeth Naramore serves as technical editor Comparison of PHP Web Frameworks provides the impartial, side-by-side comparison that developers have been looking for.

This work provides a user-friendly, species level taxonomic key based on morphology, current nomenclature, and modern taxonomy using molecular tools which fulfill the most pressing needs of both researchers and environmental managers. This key arms the reader with the tools necessary to improve their species identification abilities. This book resolves another issue as well: the mix of female and male characters used in keys to the calanoid copepods. Often, during the identification process, both calanoid copepod sexes are not available, and the user of such a key is stuck with an uncertain identification. Here, separate male and female keys to the calanoid copepods are provided for both the genera and species levels.

Presenting a thorough overview of bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM), this book introduces the tools for the analysis and design of BICM transceivers. It explains in details the functioning principles of BICM and proposes a refined probabilistic modeling of the reliability metrics–the so-called L-values–which are at the core of the BICM receivers. Alternatives for transceiver design based on these models are then studied. Providing new insights into the analysis of BICM, this book is unique in its approach, providing a general framework for analysis and design, focusing on communication theoretic aspects of BICM transceivers. It adopts a tutorial approach, explains the problems in simple terms with the aid of multiple examples and case studies, and provides solutions using accessible mathematical tools. The book will be an excellent resource for researchers in academia and industry: graduate students, academics, development engineers, and R & D managers. Key Features: Presents an introduction to BICM, placing it in the context of other coded modulation schemes Offers explanations of the functioning principles and design alternatives Provides a unique approach, focusing on communication theory aspects Shows examples and case studies to illustrate analysis and design of BICM Adopts a tutorial approach, explaining the problems in simple terms and presenting solutions using accessible mathematical tools

The book presents the cyclicity and micro-cyclicity phenomena which occurred during climate changes and during marine transgressions and regressions. As calculated by the author on the basis of geological research, the climatic cycle of the Earth allows a better understanding of climate changes and associated geological processes in the last 20,000 years. In addition, the author discusses the structure of the sub-Quaternary bedrock and analyses complex geological structures of the Baltic Sea Quaternary deposits. Individual chapters address key aspects of: tectonic and geological analysis of the Baltic Sea basin detailed tectonic and geological analysis of the Polish Baltic Sea and Polish coastal zone global geotectonic cycles of the supercontinents cyclicity and micro-cyclicity arising in the atmosphere and hydrosphere of the Earth the climatic cycle of the Earth, presented for a better understanding of climate changes and associated geological processes in the last 20,000 years calculating the extent of the influence of climate change and tectonic movements on marine transgressions and regressions simulation and correlation of the 310-year climate cycle predicted future Earth climate cycles in the Northern Hemisphere The book will be useful for students and scientists of marine geology, oceanography, geography and environmental engineering. It will also be of practical utility for all specialists dealing with marine basins and coastal zones, including marine geologists, coastal geologists and geomorphologists, geographers, as well as engineering geologists, geotechnicians and civil engineers. The book is generally related to the discipline of marine geology, and deals directly with the Baltic Sea basin. However, the climate cycle of the Earth, which affects the course of marine transgressions and regressions, has a supra-regional dimension.

The book is a new comprehensive textbook about creating and publishing geoinformation metadata. It is a compendium of knowledge about geoinformation metadata in INSPIRE Directive and Spatial Information Infrastructures. It contains the knowledge necessary to understand prior to the creation of geoinformation metadata. Metadata – “data about data” - describe the layers of spatial data (data series, services) responding to the questions: what?, why?, when?, who?, how? and where? Geoinformation metadata allows for exact search of the spatial data according to given criteria, regardless of where this data is located. On 15 May 2007 the EU Directive 2007/2/EC came into force establishing Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe - INSPIRE. The proper functioning of the infrastructure for spatial information would not be possible without the metadata.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has provoked much apprehension in the international community in recent years. The Six Party Talks were convened in 2003 to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. They brought together the US, China, Russia, Japan as well as North and South Korea in the effort to negotiate a multilateral resolution of North Korea’s nuclear program but the parties had widely different views and approaches. This book will examine the Six Party Talks as a study in multilateral negotiation highlighting the expectations vested in them and their inability to develop a common approach to the issue. It holds out some important lessons for multilateral negotiation, diplomacy and dealing with North Korea.

Offering the only existing finite element (FE) codes for Maxwell equations that support hp refinements on irregular meshes, Computing with hp-ADAPTIVE FINITE ELEMENTS: Volume 1. One- and Two-Dimensional Elliptic and Maxwell Problems presents 1D and 2D codes and automatic hp adaptivity. This self-contained source discusses the theory and implementat

Science has made great progress in the twentieth century, with the establishment of proper disciplines in the fields of physics, computer science, molecular biology, and many others. At the same time, there have also emerged many engineering ideas that are interdisciplinary in nature, beyond the realm of such orthodox disciplines. These in clude, for example, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, artificial neural networks, evolutional computation, data mining, and so on. In or der to generate new technology that is truly human-friendly in the twenty-first century, integration of various methods beyond specific disciplines is required. Soft computing is a key concept for the creation of such human friendly technology in our modern information society. Professor Rutkowski is a pioneer in this field, having devoted himself for many years to publishing a large variety of original work. The present vol ume, based mostly on his own work, is a milestone in the devel opment of soft computing, integrating various disciplines from the fields of information science and engineering. The book consists of three parts, the first of which is devoted to probabilistic neural net works. Neural excitation is stochastic, so it is natural to investi gate the Bayesian properties of connectionist structures developed by Professor Rutkowski. This new approach has proven to be par ticularly useful for handling regression and classification problems vi Preface in time-varying environments. Throughout this book, major themes are selected from theoretical subjects that are tightly connected with challenging applications.

This volume presents new trends and developments in soft computing techniques. Topics include: neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation, knowledge discovery, rough sets, and hybrid methods. It also covers various applications of soft computing techniques in economics, mechanics, medicine, automatics and image processing. The book contains contributions from internationally recognized scientists, such as Zadeh, Bubnicki, Pawlak, Amari, Batyrshin, Hirota, Koczy, Kosinski, Novák, S.-Y. Lee, Pedrycz, Raudys, Setiono, Sincak, Strumillo, Takagi, Usui, Wilamowski and Zurada. An excellent overview of soft computing methods and their applications.

This important new study, drawing primarily on Russian sources, analyzes Russian foreign policy in the context of an ongoing national identity crisis. The work examines Russia''s foreign policy in terms of two salient factors: (1) political and economic reform, given that foreign policy has been strongly influenced by reactions—positive and negative—to Yeltsin''s reform agenda; and (2) Russia''s geopolitical predicament between Europe and Asia, between East and West, which requires it to reconcile various strategic imperatives with regard to NATO, China, and the Islamic world. Buszynski''s study reveals current Russian foreign policy as a process of interaction between these two factors, the result being considerable vacillation between support for the West and opposition to it. An important analysis that will be of interest to foreign policy and international relations experts in academia and government.

This quite simply superb book focuses on various techniques of computational intelligence, both single ones and those which form hybrid methods. These techniques are today commonly applied to issues of artificial intelligence. The book presents methods of knowledge representation using different techniques, namely the rough sets, type-1 fuzzy sets and type-2 fuzzy sets. Next up, various neural network architectures are presented and their learning algorithms are derived. Then, the family of evolutionary algorithms is discussed, including connections between these techniques and neural networks and fuzzy systems. Finally, various methods of data partitioning and algorithms of automatic data clustering are given and new neuro-fuzzy architectures are studied and compared.

The systematic study of existence, uniqueness, and properties of solutions to stochastic differential equations in infinite dimensions arising from practical problems characterizes this volume that is intended for graduate students and for pure and applied mathematicians, physicists, engineers, professionals working with mathematical models of finance. Major methods include compactness, coercivity, monotonicity, in a variety of set-ups. The authors emphasize the fundamental work of Gikhman and Skorokhod on the existence and uniqueness of solutions to stochastic differential equations and present its extension to infinite dimension. They also generalize the work of Khasminskii on stability and stationary distributions of solutions. New results, applications, and examples of stochastic partial differential equations are included. This clear and detailed presentation gives the basics of the infinite dimensional version of the classic books of Gikhman and Skorokhod and of Khasminskii in one concise volume that covers the main topics in infinite dimensional stochastic PDE’s. By appropriate selection of material, the volume can be adapted for a 1- or 2-semester course, and can prepare the reader for research in this rapidly expanding area.