Bentham Science Publishers

The Sustainable Renovation of Buildings and Neighborhoods is a collection of papers presented at the International Congress of Sustainable Construction and Eco‐efficient Solutions. This event has established itself as a forum for meeting academics from around the word, researchers and professionals of the construction sector, in which environmental information is shared with a multidisciplinary context, and which involves participants from different areas of the construction process. The congress brings together development proposals through a shared vision of environmental sustainability and presents alternative solutions to problems through technical presentations and trainings, in order to minimize the environmental impact caused by the construction sector.

This monograph celebrates the event’s second international edition and its fourth national edition. The volume contains selected articles written by the participants. Readers will find information about interesting, new developments and concepts on

• Energy retrofitting in older buildings

• Tools to determine and measure environmental impact and sustainability indicators

• Economic / cost based revaluation of buildings through the viability of eco‐efficient solutions

• Reduction of the consumption of material and energy resources and in CO2 emissions

• Sustainability research based on the renovation of urban areas.

The studies in this book provide real examples from different countries (Argentina and Spain, for example). The Sustainable Renovation of Buildings and Neighborhoods is a useful reference for researchers and professional architects involved in sustainable development, environmental rehabilitation and the construction industry.

Railway is a form of public transport which serves the society, and its aim is to transport passengers and freight safely, rapidly, reliably, accurately and economically. With an implementation of railway great-leap-forward development, the realization of new-generation rail transport system- Railway Intelligent Transportation System (RITS), whose purpose is to ensure security, improve transport efficiency, elevate service quality and achieve the international standards, has become the inevitable development trend.

Aiming to provide high security, high efficiency, and high quality service to the rail transport, for the first time the authors put forward the concept of " RITS ", and systematically discussed its connotation and substantive characteristics, structural model, development framework and core technology, developmental pattern etc; they deeply analyze the service framework, logical framework and physical framework of typical subsystem of RITS --- Intelligent Emergency Rescue and Safety System, and execute optimization design. The purpose of optimization design for RITS is to coordinate system target-oriented designs and realizations among various subsystems, making the entire work better, to achieve a system with best overall performance, the construction of RITS system in China. Combining years' research and practical experience in RITS, we proposed the "The Theory and Method of Design and Optimization for Railway Intelligent Transportation Systems (RITS) ", presenting it in the form of a book to meet the urgent needs of theory and methods of intelligent transport systems for railway transport. We hope that this book can play the role of throwing a brick to allure a gem, and accelerate further expansion research and application of RITS. The authors of the book engaged in research work of RITS and related fields for many years, successively undertaking and completing the key project of National Natural Science Foundation of "Research on Integrated Information System and Key technologies of High-speed Railway Intelligent Transportation", Ministry of Science and Technology research project "Railway Geographic Information System", "Research on Railway Intelligent Transportation System Standard System", "National Railway GIS Application Service Platform" and "Research on Development Strategy of Railway Intelligent Transportation System", Ministry of Railways research project" Railway Geographic Information System Design and Development", "Research and Development on Qinghai-Tibet Railway Emergency Rescue System and Emergency Rescue Command "Management Information System", "Research on the Railway Emergency Preplan Management" and "Research on Railway Intelligent Transportation System (RITS) Framework", China Postdoctoral Science Foundation-funded project" Research on RITS Framework Design and Optimization Method", faulitating the development of application systems, granting achievements in these projects .

We sincerely express our gratitude to the National Natural Science Foundation of China, The Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and The Ministry of Railway of China for their financial support. We would also like to thank Dr. Li ping, Dr. Meng yan, Dr. Qinyong, Master Jia Tianli and Master Shao Yikun etc, for their valuable advice, selfless support and assistance for completion of the book. In the process of writing the book, we reviewed a large number of references, to seek clear concepts, using familiar examples to illustrate various theories and methods, which may enable various types of readers to have a clear understanding and knowledge of the optimized design of RITS. With the limitation of the authors' knowledge level and the depth as well as the breadth of research, there must be some irregularities of views, methods and theories in the book, which the readers may duly criticize. This book combines theories and applications closely, and is convenient for readers' self-study. The book is also adequate for colleagues engaged in work and research in the rail transportation field, as well as colleges and universities, graduate students and scientific researchers in interrelated fields.

The Vertebrate Pigmentary System: From pigment cells to Disorders provides readers with fundamental knowledge of the structural and functional aspects of vertebrate pigment cells - melanophores and melanocytes - from their origin to different stages of development to related diseases. Chapters of the book explain the specific regulatory receptors and markers, signaling pathways of skin melanocytes along with the diseases (hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation) in humans associated with their disruption. Concurrently, the etiologies of pigmentary disorders and the various therapeutic approaches for their treatment are presented in focused chapters of the book with updated information from recent publications. A summary of natural product based treatment for hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation rounds up the contents.

This reference is a basic guide for medical students and dermatology residents, and a handy source of information for students, researchers, academicians in the field of pigment cell biology, pharmacology and cosmetology.

It is well known that Intersymbol (ISI) Interference is a limiting factor in many communication environments where it causes an irreducible degradation of the bit error rate (BER) thus imposing an upper limit on the data symbol rate. In order to overcome the ISI problem, an equalizer is implemented in those systems. Among the three types of equalizers - non-blind, semi-blind and blind – the blind equalizer has the benefit of bandwidth saving and there is no need of going through a training phase. Blind equalization algorithms are essentially adaptive filtering algorithms designed such that they do not require the external supply of a desired response to generate the error signal in the output of the adaptive equalization filter. The algorithms generate an estimate of the desired response by applying a nonlinear transformation to sequences involved in the adaptation process. This nonlinearity is designed to minimize a cost function that is implicitly based on higher order statistics (HOS) according to one approach, or calculated directly according to the Bayes rules.

The Whole Story behind Blind Adaptive Equalizers/ Blind Deconvolution gives the readers a full understanding on blind deconvolution. The e-book covers a variety of blind deconvolution/equalization methods based on both cost functions and Bayes rules where simulation results are supplied to support the theory. These include the Maximum Entropy density approximation technique and the Edgeworth Expansion approach used in various blind equalizers. It also describes the relationship between the cost function approach and the approach taken according to Bayes rules. The e-book deals also with the effect of various system parameters (such as the step-size parameter or the equalizer's tap length) have on the obtained equalization performance. This e-book will be of particular interest to advanced communications engineering undergraduate students, graduate students, university instructors and signal processing researchers.

Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are a biologically aggressive form of breast cancer and constitute approximately 10-15% of all breast cancer patients. Distant metastasis, lack of clinically targeted therapies and prognostic markers, makes the disease difficult to treat. Till now not much work has been carried out on this deadly disease. This book provides an overview of TNBC etiology, its treatment strategies and prognostic markers to identify the outcome of standard therapies. Signalling pathways namely cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, apoptosis, autophagy and others involved in complicating the disease have been described in the chapters to convey an understanding about the disease mechanisms. All the possible drugs either in pre-clinical or clinical stages have also been mentioned with data that depicts their efficiency in targeting altered genes. The book also introduces the reader to herbal medicine exhibiting high potency to target TNBC, their synthetic analogs used during chemotherapy and their ability to fight against chemoresistance. The concept of phytonanotechnology has also been discussed. The book helps create awareness among a broad range of readers about TNBC. It points to prioritizing the upgradation of health care facilities and re-designing future treatment strategies to provide maximum benefit to breast cancer patients.

Therapeutic Insights into Herbal Medicine through the Use of Phytomolecules offers a comprehensive exploration of the pharmacological potential of plant-derived compounds. The book provides an in-depth look at the therapeutic applications of phytomolecules in various health conditions. It begins with an analysis of bioactive phloroglucinol compounds and progresses to cover plant-based approaches for managing rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders, and antiviral activity. The volume also covers the molecular mechanisms of flavonoids, the preclinical pharmacology of Indian medicinal herbs, and the neuroprotective role of andrographolide in Parkinson's disease. Designed to inform and inspire, this book is ideal for researchers, clinicians, and students interested in the therapeutic potential of natural products.

Therapeutic Plants: Recent Advances in the Use of Herbs as Alternative Medications offers an in-depth exploration of how herbs are reshaping modern healthcare. Bridging traditional knowledge and scientific innovation, the book highlights the therapeutic power of medicinal plants in managing chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. It explores bioactive compounds, Ayurvedic principles, and advanced drug delivery systems, including nanoparticles.

Chapters cover disease-specific applications, plant-based drug discovery, and the role of metabolomics and in-silico methods in drug design. The book also features detailed studies on specific herbs like Barleria longiflora, Terminalia chebula, and Lawsonia inermis.

Key Features:

- Scientific insights into herbal treatments for chronic diseases.

- Integration of traditional and modern medicine.

- Innovative delivery systems, including nanotechnology.

- In-silico drug design and metabolomics applications.

- Case studies of medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds.

Thermal Cycles of Heat Recovery Power Plants presents information about thermal power plant cycles suitable for waste heat recovery (WHR) in modern power plants. The author covers five thermal power cycles: organic Rankine cycle (ORC), organic flash cycle (OFC), Kalina cycle (KC), steam Rankine cycle (SRC) and steam flash cycle (SFC) with the working fluids of R123, R124, R134a, R245fa, R717 and R407C. The handbook helps the reader to understand the latest power plant technologies suitable for utilizing the waste heat generated by thermal industrial processes.

Key Features:

- Comprehensive modeling, simulation, analysis and optimization of 5 power cycle types with different working fluids

- Clear information about the processes and solutions of thermal power cycles to augment the power generation with improved energy conversion.

- Simple, reader friendly presentation

- bibliographic references after each chapter for further reading

This handbook is suitable for engineering students in degree courses and professionals in training programs who require resources on advanced thermal power plant operation and optimal waste heat recovery processes, respectively. It is also a handy reference for energy conversion efficiency in heat recovery power plants. The book is also of interest to any researchers interested in industrial applications of thermodynamic processes.

Thin Film Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties and Innovative Energy Applications provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis, properties, and cutting-edge applications of thin film nanomaterials. Each chapter explores different aspects of thin film synthesis and its application in energy devices, showcasing different metal-based and carbon nanomaterials .

The book begins with a discussion on the synthesis and characterization of cadmium and zinc sulphide thin films for opto-electronics energy devices. Subsequent chapters delve into critical reviews of CIGS thin film nanomaterials, deposition techniques for metal oxide nanocomposite films, and nanostructured TiO2@carbon films for photocatalytic applications.

Bandgap engineering, optical properties of composite films, and recent advancements in metal oxide thin films are also covered. Additionally, the synthesis and characteristics of iron oxide films for solar cell and green energy storage applications are discussed.

Chapters on challenges and future prospects of CNT-based cathode emitters and advanced characterizations of nanocrystalline ferrimagnetic thin films provide valuable insights into emerging technologies.

This book is an essential resource for professors, scientists, engineers, research scholars, postdocs, and undergraduate/graduate students seeking to explore the forefront of nanomaterials and their applications in energy systems.