This multidisciplinary reference takes the reader through all four major phases of interdisciplinary inquiry: adequate conceptualization, rigorous formulation, substantive interpretation, and innovative implementation. The text introduces a novel synthetic paradigm of public health reasoning and epidemic modelling, and implements it with a study of the infamous 14th century AD Black Death disaster that killed at least one-fourth of the European population.

This book introduces an innovative and high-efficiency technology for mechanical energy harvesting. The book covers the history and development of triboelectric nanogenerators, basic structures, working principles, performance characterization, and potential applications. It is divided into three parts: Part A illustrates the fundamental working modes of triboelectric nanogenerators with their prototype structures and theoretical analysis; Part B and Part C introduce two categories of applications, namely self-powered systems and self-powered active sensors. The book will be an ideal guide to scientists and engineers beginning to study triboelectric nanogenerators or wishing to deepen their knowledge of the field. Readers will be able to place the technical details about this technology in context, and acquire the necessary skills to reproduce the experimental setups for fabrication and measurement.

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of contact electrification across solid-solid, solid-liquid, and gas-solid interfaces. It looks into the underlying physics mechanisms, offering theoretical models and experimental methods to quantify and understand this ubiquitous yet complex phenomenon. Covering fundamental concepts such as triboelectricity, energy band models, and tribovoltaic effects, the book discusses the interactions and charge transfer processes that occur at various interfaces. Special attention is given to the role of material properties, electron transfer dynamics, and external factors such as surface roughness and environmental conditions. Each chapter builds upon foundational principles to provide a cohesive framework for understanding both the beneficial applications and potential drawbacks of contact electrification. In addition to theoretical insights, this book highlights cutting-edge technological applications related to contact-electrification, including triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), self-powered sensors, and contact-electro-catalysis. Practical implementations span fields such as sustainable energy harvesting, biomedical applications, environmental sensing, and advanced materials design. Written and edited by experts in the field, this book serves as an essential resource for researchers, engineers, and advanced students in materials science, physics, chemistry, and electrical engineering. With its rigorous treatment of the subject and focus on both foundational science and applied technologies, this book is poised to set the standard for research in contact electrification for years to come.

As a new member of the helper T cell subsets, Th17 cells have triggered more and more interest in exploring their development, regulation, function and therapeutic manipulation in distinct context since they were identified in 2005. This also causes a lot of confusion and debate about the generation and function of Th17 cells, especially their activity in the tumor immunopathology as our understanding grows. However, it is worth asserting that the most confusing part arises from the Th17-associated cytokines including IL-17 and IL-23 rather than the Th17 cells. IL-17 cytokine is not synonymous with Th17-cell subset, although IL-17 is the lineage-signature cytokine for Th17 cells. We will discuss the generation, cytokine profile, genetic control, plasticity and stemness of Th17 cells and address the role of Th17 cells and their associated cytokines in tumor immunity, and further explore the potential immunotherapy by targeting Th17 cells and their cytokines.

A self-contained book on electron microscopy and spectrometry techniques for surface studies.

This book introduces a new biochip that incorporates cellular localization and bioinformatics technologies. With the post-genome era, proteomics study for direct analysis of a group of proteins by biochip becomes more and more important. With this book and its 50 tables and figures, the reader can not only learn about new technologies but also about cellular localization, signaling pathways, and protein relationships.

Elastic and inelastic scattering in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are important research subjects. For a long time, I have wished to systematically summarize various dynamic theories associated with quantitative electron micros copy and their applications in simulations of electron diffraction patterns and images. This wish now becomes reality. The aim of this book is to explore the physics in electron diffraction and imaging and related applications for materials characterizations. Particular emphasis is placed on diffraction and imaging of inelastically scattered electrons, which, I believe, have not been discussed exten sively in existing books. This book assumes that readers have some preknowledge of electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and quantum mechanics. I anticipate that this book will be a guide to approaching phenomena observed in electron microscopy from the prospects of diffraction physics. The SI units are employed throughout the book except for angstrom (A), which is used occasionally for convenience. To reduce the number of symbols used, the Fourier transform of a real-space function P'(r), for example, is denoted by the same symbol P'(u) in reciprocal space except that r is replaced by u. Upper and lower limits of an integral in the book are (-co, co) unless otherwise specified. The (-co, co) integral limits are usually omitted in a mathematical expression for simplification. I very much appreciate opportunity of working with Drs. J. M. Cowley and J. C. H. Spence (Arizona State University), J.

This book proposes a method for calculating China’s debt based on a quantitative econometric analysis. This is conducted by measuring the relationship between China’s debt size and economic growth. The conclusion that is reached is as follows: China’s current debt has already exceeded the inflection point, and that means that it is now having an adverse effect on its economic performance. The book also focuses on China's debt problems as a whole, highlighting debt issues faced by different entities and industries, as well as the ratio and structure of the virtual and real economies. The contents are presented in three major principles: theory, oriented,data, and oriented policy.