Boolean Functions

The compound optical microscope, in its various modern forms, is probably the most familiar of all laboratory instruments and the electron microscope, once an exotic rarity, has now become a standard tool in biological and materials research. Both instruments are often used effectively with little knowledge of the relevant theory, or even of how a particular type of microscope functions. Eventually however, proper use, interpretation of images and choices of specific applications demand an understanding of fundamental principles. This book describes the principles of operation of each type of microscope currently available and of use to biomedical and materials scientists. It explains the mechanisms of image formation, contrast and its enhancement, accounts for ultimate limits on the size of observable details (resolving power and resolution) and finally provides an account of Fourier optical theory. Principles behind the photographic methods used in microscopy are also described and t

The compound optical microscope, in its various modern forms, is probably the most familiar of all laboratory instruments and the electron microscope, once an exotic rarity, has now become a standard tool in biological and materials research. Both instruments are often used effectively with little knowledge of the relevant theory, or even of how a particular type of microscope functions. Eventually however, proper use, interpretation of images and choices of specific applications demand an understanding of fundamental principles. This book describes the principles of operation of each type of microscope currently available and of use to biomedical and materials scientists. It explains the mechanisms of image formation, contrast and its enhancement, accounts for ultimate limits on the size of observable details (resolving power and resolution) and finally provides an account of Fourier optical theory. Principles behind the photographic methods used in microscopy are also described and t

This book is a translation into English of La religion grecque by Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel, described by Dr Simon Price as 'an excellent book, by far the best introduction to the subject in any language'. It is the purpose of the book to consider how religious beliefs and cultic rituals were given expression in the world of the Greek citizen - the functions performed by the religious personnel, and the place that religion occupied in individual, social and political life. The chapters cover first ritual and then myth, rooting the account in the practices of the classical city while also taking seriously the world of the imagination. For this edition the bibliography has been substantially revised to meet the needs of a mainly student, English-speaking readership. The book is enriched throughout by illustrations, and by quotations from original sources.

The differential geometry of curves and surfaces in Euclidean space has fascinated mathematicians since the time of Newton. Here the authors cast the theory into a new light, that of singularity theory. This second edition has been thoroughly revised throughout and includes a multitude of new exercises and examples. A new final chapter has been added which covers recently developed techniques in the classification of functions of several variables, a subject central to many applications of singularity theory. Also in this second edition are new sections on the Morse lemma and the classification of plane curve singularities. The only prerequisites for students to follow this textbook are a familiarity with linear algebra and advanced calculus. Thus it will be invaluable for anyone who would like an introduction to modern singularity theory.

The differential geometry of curves and surfaces in Euclidean space has fascinated mathematicians since the time of Newton. Here the authors cast the theory into a new light, that of singularity theory. This second edition has been thoroughly revised throughout and includes a multitude of new exercises and examples. A new final chapter has been added which covers recently developed techniques in the classification of functions of several variables, a subject central to many applications of singularity theory. Also in this second edition are new sections on the Morse lemma and the classification of plane curve singularities. The only prerequisites for students to follow this textbook are a familiarity with linear algebra and advanced calculus. Thus it will be invaluable for anyone who would like an introduction to modern singularity theory.

This text is a beginning graduate-level introduction to neural networks, focussing on current theoretical models, examining what these models can reveal about how the brain functions, and discussing the ramifications for psychology, artificial intelligence and the construction of a new generation of intelligent computers. The book is divided into four parts. The first part gives an account of the anatomy of the central nervous system, followed by a brief introduction to neurophysiology. The second part is devoted to the dynamics of neuronal states, and demonstrates how very simple models may stimulate associative memory. The third part of the book discusses models of learning, including detailed discussions on the limits of memory storage, methods of learning and their associated models, associativity, and error correction. The final part reviews possible applications of neural networks in artificial intelligence, expert systems, optimization problems, and the construction of actual ne

This text is a beginning graduate-level introduction to neural networks, focussing on current theoretical models, examining what these models can reveal about how the brain functions, and discussing the ramifications for psychology, artificial intelligence and the construction of a new generation of intelligent computers. The book is divided into four parts. The first part gives an account of the anatomy of the central nervous system, followed by a brief introduction to neurophysiology. The second part is devoted to the dynamics of neuronal states, and demonstrates how very simple models may stimulate associative memory. The third part of the book discusses models of learning, including detailed discussions on the limits of memory storage, methods of learning and their associated models, associativity, and error correction. The final part reviews possible applications of neural networks in artificial intelligence, expert systems, optimization problems, and the construction of actual ne

This book explores the role of written and oral communication in Greece and is the first systematic and sustained treatment at this level. It examines the recent theoretical debates about literacy and orality and explores the uses of writing and oral communication, and their interaction, in ancient Greece. It is concerned to set the significance of written and oral communication as much as possible in their social and historical context, and to stress the specifically Greek characteristics in their use, arguing that the functions of literacy and orality are often fluid and culturally determined. It draws together the results of recent studies and suggests further avenues of enquiry. Individual chapters deal with (among other things) the role of writing in archaic Greece, oral poetry, the visual and monumental impact of writing, the performance and oral transmission even of written texts, and the use of writing by the city-states; there is an epilogue on Rome. All ancient evidence is tr

In this treatise, the authors present the general theory of orthogonal polynomials on the complex plane and several of its applications. The assumptions on the measure of orthogonality are general, the only restriction is that it has compact support on the complex plane. In the development of the theory the main emphasis is on asymptotic behaviour and the distribution of zeros. In the following chapters, the author explores the exact upper and lower bounds are given for the orthonormal polynomials and for the location of their zeros; regular n-th root asymptotic behaviour; and applications of the theory, including exact rates for convergence of rational interpolants, best rational approximants and non-diagonal Pade approximants to Markov functions (Cauchy transforms of measures). The results are based on potential theoretic methods, so both the methods and the results can be extended to extremal polynomials in norms other than L2 norms. A sketch of the theory of logarithmic potentials

Man's attempts to learn about aspects of the human body and its functions by observation and study of animals are to be found throughout history, especially at times and in cultures where the human body was considered sacrosanct, even after death. This book describes the origins and later development, especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, of comparative medicine and its interrelationship with medicine and veterinary medicine and the efforts of its practitioners to understand and control outbreaks of infectious, epidemic diseases in humans and in domestic animals. In the nineteenth century their efforts and increasing professionalism led to the creation of specialised institutes devoted to the study of comparative medicine. This book sheds much new light on the medical and veterinary history of this period and will provide a new perspective on the history of bacteriology. Historians of science will find the book of great value.

One service mathematics has rendered the ~l moil ... , Ii j'avait su comment en revenir, je n'y serais point aUe.' human race. It has put common sense back Jules Verne where it belongs, on the topmost

The debate on the social and psychological implications of literacy enters a new stage with the publication of this volume. Distinguished scholars provide a sustained and detailed examination of the relations between orality and literacy, the traditions based on them, the functions served by them, and the psychological and linguistic processes recruited and enhanced by them. By shedding the romantic view that literacy is the royal road to rationality and modernity, the volume provides a more functional view of literacy. It places a new emphasis on the relationship between speaking and writing, and highlights the different ways in which people exploit the particular resources of speech and writing for special purposes such as building community, creating records, specialising genres such as prose fiction, enhancing private study and meditation, and enhancing the specialisation and organisation of knowledge.

Skin colour is perhaps the most decisive and abused physical characteristic of humankind. This book presents a multidisciplinary overview of how and why human populations vary so markedly in their skin colour. The biological aspects of the pigment cell and its production of melanin are reviewed. The functions of melanin in the skin, brain, eye and ear are considered, and the common clinical abnormalities of pigmentation, such as albinism, are described and illustrated. Detailed reflectance data from worldwide surveys of skin colour are also presented. The historical and contemporary background of the phenomenon is explored in relation to the so-called 'colour problem' in society. Finally, the possible evolutionary forces which shape human pigmentation are assessed. This fascinating account will be of interest to graduate students and researchers of biological anthropology, anatomy, physiology and dermatology, as well as medical practitioners.

Probability theory is nowadays applied in a huge variety of fields including physics, engineering, biology, economics and the social sciences. This book is a modern, lively and rigorous account which has Doob's theory of martingales in discrete time as its main theme. It proves important results such as Kolmogorov's Strong Law of Large Numbers and the Three-Series Theorem by martingale techniques, and the Central Limit Theorem via the use of characteristic functions. A distinguishing feature is its determination to keep the probability flowing at a nice tempo. It achieves this by being selective rather than encyclopaedic, presenting only what is essential to understand the fundamentals; and it assumes certain key results from measure theory in the main text. These measure-theoretic results are proved in full in appendices, so that the book is completely self-contained. The book is written for students, not for researchers, and has evolved through several years of class testing. Exercis

The questions of how a large population of neurons in the brain functions, how synchronized firing of neurons is achieved, and what factors regulate how many and which neurons fire under different conditions form the central theme of this book. Using a combined experimental-theoretical approach unique in neuroscience, the authors present important techniques for the physiological reconstruction of a large biological neuronal network. They begin by discussing experimental studies of the CA3 hippocampal region in vitro, focusing on single-cell and synaptic electrophysiology, particularly the effects a single neuron exerts on its neighbours. This is followed by a description of a computer model of the system, first for individual cells then for the entire detailed network, and the model is compared with experiments under a variety of conditions. The results shed significant light into the mechanisms of epilepsy, electroencephalograms, and biological oscillations and provide an excellent t

The debate on the social and psychological implications of literacy enters a new stage with the publication of this volume. Distinguished scholars provide a sustained and detailed examination of the relations between orality and literacy, the traditions based on them, the functions served by them, and the psychological and linguistic processes recruited and enhanced by them. By shedding the romantic view that literacy is the royal road to rationality and modernity, the volume provides a more functional view of literacy. It places a new emphasis on the relationship between speaking and writing, and highlights the different ways in which people exploit the particular resources of speech and writing for special purposes such as building community, creating records, specialising genres such as prose fiction, enhancing private study and meditation, and enhancing the specialisation and organisation of knowledge.

Understanding how the brain works is probably the greatest scientific and intellectual challenge of our generation. The cerebral cortex is the instrument by which we carry the most complex mental functions. Fortunately, there exists an immense body of knowledge concerning both cortical structure and the properties of single neurons in the cortex. With the advent of the supercomputer, there has been increased interest in neural network modeling. What is needed is a new approach to an understanding of the mammalian cerebral cortex that will provide a link between the physiological description and the computer model. This book meets that need by combining anatomy, physiology, and modeling to achieve a quantitative description of cortical function. The material is presented didactically, starting with descriptive anatomy and comprehensively examining all aspects of modeling. The book gradually leads the reader from the macroscopic cortical anatomy and standard electrophysiological properti

Revised and updated introduction, useful as a reference source for engineers and managers or as a text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in technical colleges and universities. Includ

Semiotics is the science of signs: graphical, such as pictures; verbal (writing or sounds); or others such as body gestures and clothes. Computer semiotics studies the special nature of computer-based signs and how they function in use. This 1991 book is based on ten years of empirical research on computer usage in work situations and contains material from a course taught by the author. It introduces basic traditional semiotic concepts and adapts them so that they become useful for analysing and designing computer systems in their symbolic context of work. It presents a novel approach to the subject, rich in examples, in that it is both theoretically systematic and practical. The author refers to and reinterprets techniques already used so that readers can deepen their understanding. In addition, it offers new techniques and a consistent perspective on computer systems that is particularly appropriate for new hardware and software (e.g. hypermedia) whose main functions are presentatio

Fourteen contributions address issues related to the immune system and its evolution from a functional biological point of view. Among the topics: adaptive immune responses in insects, biological indi

Covers material from function theory up to residue calculus, including discussion of the historical evolution of the theory, biographical sketches of important contributors, and citations from their c

The application of molecular biological techniques to the study of development has had a profound effect on our understanding of developmental processes. This 1985 book expounds some of the views on which hierarchies of genes control aspects of animal development. There is an emphasis on the best-studied systems, namely Drosophila and the nematode Caenorhabditis, though some features of mouse and sea-urchin development are also discussed. The book focuses on how information obtained from the study of mutants, combined with molecular details of the structure, regulation and functions of the genes involved, sheds light on the complex processes of animal development. The 1990 second edition, which is reprinted here, is an expanded and largely rewritten version of Dr de Pomerai's successful first edition. It features extensive additions to the chapter on insect development, a chapter discussing nematode development and another addressing differentiation in vertebrate systems.

Since its founding in 1954, the National People's Congress of China (NPC) has followed a difficult course of development, a course which has been characterized by periods of limited progress intermingled with periods of stagnation and regression. Political campaigns from the Anti-Rightist Movement (1957–1958) to the Great Leap Forward (1958–1960) to the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) frustrated the establishment of any consistent policy concerning the appropriate role of the legislature within the one-party, Maoist regime. Mao's death in 1976, however, ushered in a new era of political reform which has included the strengthening of the NPC. In this detailed study of the NPC, Kevin O'Brien examines how the NPC has changed from its founding under Mao through the regime of Deng Xiaoping. He describes the various functions it has served, from the management of intra-elite relations; to the incorporation, and co-optation, of criticisms of regime policies into regime debates; to legislation

Both men and women devote time and effort to removing natural body odour and replacing it with sexual attractant odours derived from plants and animals - we seem to need to smell of something other than people! Yet of all the apes, we are the most richly endowed with scent producing glands. This book examines the sense of smell in humans, comparing it with the known functions of the same sense in other animals. Odorous cues play a role in sexual physiology and behaviour in animals and there are claims that odour can play the same role in humans. The place of odours and scents in aesthetics and in psychoanalysis serves to illustrate the link between the emotional centres and the brain. The book presents arguments to explain the way in which our ancestral past has given rise to our modern day olfactory enigmas. The material is presented with as much explanation of the technical detail as possible to make the book accessible to a wide readership.

This book provides insight into the development of the child's ability to become a competent participant in conversation. It follows efforts to apply the insights of pragmatic philosophers of language to the psychology of language development, and holds that the meaning of a communication is embedded in social life. Language use and social function are thus closely intertwined. The author combines a pragmatic analysis of the functions language can perform with an innovative empirical investigation of the development of young children's language use and sociocognitive skills. She gives a detailed description of the development of children's language between the ages of three and a half and seven, broadens the scope of theorizing about language development by placing it in relation to the development of social understanding speech problems and designing ways to solve them. As a result, a strong link between language, sociocognitive development and social development is discovered. It wil

This study is a comprehensive assessment of J. S. Bach's use of articulation marks (i.e. slurs and dots) in the large body of primary sources. Dr Butt analyses the role of such markings within the compositional process, how they relate to the norms of articulation of the period, and how they might assist us in a deeper understanding and evaluation of Bach's style. With its extensive catalogue of the most common slurring patterns based on a study of over 100 concerted vocal works, this book is invaluable both for performers on all baroque instruments, and for scholars with an interest in Bach's style and source studies. It also contributes to our perception of Bach's position in music history: the purpose of music in the Lutheran Germany of Bach's time and its rhetorical power; the close relationship between composer and performer within the context of 'practical' music; and the functions and development of notation.

This book is concerned with techniques for formal theorem-proving, with particular reference to Cambridge LCF (Logic for Computable Functions). Cambridge LCF is a computer program for reasoning about computation. It combines the methods of mathematical logic with domain theory, the basis of the denotational approach to specifying the meaning of program statements. Cambridge LCF is based on an earlier theorem-proving system, Edinburgh LCF, which introduced a design that gives the user flexibility to use and extend the system. A goal of this book is to explain the design, which has been adopted in several other systems. The book consists of two parts. Part I outlines the mathematical preliminaries, elementary logic and domain theory, and explains them at an intuitive level, giving reference to more advanced reading; Part II provides sufficient detail to serve as a reference manual for Cambridge LCF. It will also be a useful guide for implementors of other programs based on the LCF approa

Epiphytes (plants which grow on other plants, not parasitically but for support), comprise more than one-third of the total vascular flora in some tropical forests. Growing within tropical forest canopies, epiphytes are subject to severe environmental constraints, and their diverse adaptations make them a rich resource for studies of water balance, nutrition, reproduction and evolution. This book synthesizes the body of information from research on epiphytes and their relations with other tropical biota, and provides a comprehensive overview of basic functions, life history, evolution, and the place of epiphytes in complex tropical communities. Tropical ecologists and zoologists as well as plant scientists will find this volume a useful guide to research on the twenty-five thousand species of epiphytes which root in the crowns of tropical trees.

This is a new, thoroughly revised edition of Paul Oliver's classic study of the blues. First published in 1960, this remarkable book has not been superseded and its reappearance will be welcomed by all who wish to understand the complexity of meaning in the blues and the experiences which they expressed. The book examines the functions of the blues as black American folk music recorded during the 78 rpm era, from the 1920s to the 1950s. The lyrics are quoted extensively throughout the book, revealing their significance as a means of communication within black society. The author shows how the themes of labour and unemployment, migration and the Depression years, love, sex, and marriage, crime, violence and imprisonment, disasters, sickness, war and death are expressed in black idioms and he discusses their meaning on many levels.

The aim of this book is to develop the concepts and relations pertinent to the solution of many thermodynamic problems encountered in multi-phase, multi-component systems. In doing so, it emphasizes a comprehension and development of general expressions for solving such problems, rather than ready-made equations for particular applications. Throughout the book, the methods of Gibbs are used with emphasis on the chemical potential. Many topics omitted in more elementary texts are amply discussed defining the state of a thermodynamic system, particularly the indifferent systems; the use of the Gibbs-Duhem equation in single-phase and multi-phase component systems; the conditions of stability for single-phase and multi-phase component systems; and the graphical representation of the thermodynamic functions. Special attention is given to reference and standard states. The material is presented in a rigorous and mathematical manner, and SI units are used throughout. A detailed bibliography

From their inception, Siegel modular forms have been studied extensively because of their significance in both automorphic functions in several complex variables and number theory. The comprehensive theory of automorphic forms to subgroups of algebraic groups and the arithmetical theory of modular forms illustrate these two aspects in an illuminating manner. The author's aim is to present a straightforward and easily accessible survey of the main ideas of the theory at an elementary level, providing a sound basis from which the reader can study advanced works and undertake original research. This book is based on lectures given by the author for a number of years and is intended for a one-semester graduate course, though it can also be used profitably for self-study. The only prerequisites are a basic knowledge of algebra, number theory and complex analysis.

A clean, elegant, absolutely lovely text derived from a course which the author has taught for many years at Caltech, conceived as a companion to his Introduction to analytic number theory , and diff

The subject matter of this book formed the substance of a mathematical se am which was worked by many of the great mathematicians of the last century. The mining metaphor is here very appropriate, for

The theory of quantum fields on curved spacetimes has attracted great attention since the discovery, by Stephen Hawking, of black-hole evaporation. It remains an important subject for the understanding of such contemporary topics as inflationary cosmology, quantum gravity and superstring theory. This book provides, for mathematicians, an introduction to this field of physics in a language and from a viewpoint which such a reader should find congenial. Physicists should also gain from reading this book a sound grasp of various aspects of the theory, some of which have not been particularly emphasised in the existing review literature. The topics covered include normal-mode expansions for a general elliptic operator, Fock space, the Casimir effect, the 'Klein' paradox, particle definition and particle creation in expanding universes, asymptotic expansion of Green's functions and heat kernels, and renormalisation of the stress tensor. The style is pedagogic rather than formal; some knowle

This book is a comprehensive account of the theory and applications of regular variation. It is concerned with the asymptotic behaviour of a real function of a real variable x which is 'close' to a power of x. Such functions are much more than a convenient extension of powers. In many limit theorems regular variation is intrinsic to the result, and exactly characterises the limit behaviour. The book emphasises such characterisations, and gives a comprehensive treatment of those applications where regular variation plays an essential (rather then merely convenient) role. The authors rigorously develop the basic ideas of Karamata theory and de Haan theory including many new results and 'second-order' theorems. They go on to discuss the role of regular variation in Abelian, Tauberian, and Mercerian theorems. These results are then applied in analytic number theory, complex analysis, and probability, with the aim above all of setting the theory in context. A widely scattered literature is

The rational expectations revolution and other developments in economics (notably game theory) have fundamentally altered the application of optimal control theory to economic forecasting and planning. In particular, they have shown that economic systems cannot be modelled simplistically on physical systems. However, as the authors of this volume show, these developments have greatly enhanced our understanding of how an economy functions, and now make it possible for optimal control theory to be applied much more effectively to economic modelling and planning. This book is divided into two parts. The first presents the orthodox framework but extends it to allow for multiplicative uncertainty, risk and non-linearities in the econometric model. The second part looks explicitly at the question of expectations. It provides methods by which forward-looking expectations can be treated jointly with the determination of economic policy. It also examines game-theoretic considerations - where, f

How does mood affect non-verbal communication, the gazes, gestures and facial expressions which accompany dialogue? This important monograph, based on a longitudinal study of five hundred interviews with depressed patients and normal subjects, systematically examines the ways in which mental illness may affect non-verbal interaction patterns. A number of specific patterns of non-verbal behaviour are identified which relate directly to psychological state and also depend on the interaction of the participants in a dialogue. Non-verbal Communication in Depression is not only rich in much-needed empirical data, but it also offers a fresh theoretical and methodological perspective on communicative behaviour in general. Most importantly, perhaps, it represents a real advance in our understanding of the functions of various non-verbal mechanisms and thus provides the clinical psychologist and psychiatrist with an important diagnostic tool.

This incisive text, directed to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, physics and engineering, deftly combines both theory and practical example to introduce and explore Fourie