Organic reactions in water : principles, strategies and applications
By U. Marcus Lindström
Oxford ; Ames, Iowa : Blackwell Pub., 2007.

Call # QD169 .W3 O74 2007

From Wiley.com

“Volatile organic solvents are the normal media used in both research scale and industrial scale synthesis of organic chemicals. Their environmental impact is significant, however, and so the development of alternative reaction media has become of great interest.

Developments in the use of water as a solvent for organic synthesis have reached the point where it could now be considered a viable solvent for many organic reactions. Organic Reactions in Water demonstrates the underlying principles of using water as a reaction solvent and, by reference to a range of reaction types and systems, it’s effective use in synthetic organic chemistry. Written by an internationally respected team of contributors, and with a strong focus on the practical use of water as a reaction medium, this book illustrates the enormous potential of water for the development of new and unique chemistries and synthetic strategies, while at the same time offering a much reduced environmental impact.”

The spatial distribution of microbes in the environment
By Rima Franklin
Dordrecht, The Netherlands : Springer, 2007.
Call # QR100 .S68 2007

From Springer.com

“Microbes are very small and, as individuals, are capable of influencing a portion of the environment only slightly larger than their own body size, i.e., a few microns.  However, their impact on the landscape is enormous, and ecosystem processes such as organic matter decomposition, denitrification, and metal oxidation/reduction are measured on scales of meters to kilometers.  This volume highlights recent advances that have contributed to our understanding of spatial patterns and scale issues in microbial ecology, and brings together research conducted at a range of spatial scales (from µm to km) and in a variety of different types of environments.  These topics are addressed in a quantitative manner, and a primer on statistical methods is included to aid the unfamiliar reader.  In soil ecosystems, both bacteria and fungi are discussed, and the spatial patterns are interpreted in an ecological context that considers issues such as nutrient availability, vegetation distribution and growth patterns, and microbial colonization.  In aquatic systems, focus is on the distribution of planktonic forms including phytoplankton and microzooplankton.  The reader should gain insight on how to integrate information across spatial scales, which is necessary in order to understand and predict how these tiny organisms can have such a profound effect on landscape and ecosystem-level processes.”

The synthetic organic chemist’s companion
Michael C. Pirrung
Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley-Interscience, 2007.
Call # QD262 .P574 2007

From Wiley:

“The Organic Chemists’ Companion provides a practical, hands-on resource for students and practitioners of organic synthesis. The book presents the fundamentals and guides the reader through the entire process of organic synthesis. It includes basic instructions on everything from on handling reagents, gases, and solvents to conducting and working up/purifying reactions as well as applying analytical techniques to identify the reaction product.”

Status, distribution, and conservation of native freshwater fishes of western North America : a symposium proceedings
American Fisheries Society
Bethesda, Md. : American Fisheries Society, 2007.
Call # QL628 .W39 S96 2004

From the American Fisheries Society:

“Throughout the western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico during the past century, the status of many western native freshwater fish species has become questionable. Native fish have been adversely impacted by land and watershed development, habitat loss, direct human harvest, and increased competition from introduced non-native fish species. As population growth within the western region continues, understanding where remaining populations of native fish fauna occur and the threat presented to them is critical for conservation and restoration.”

Cuba : Península de Zapata
Arturo Kirkconnell Páez, Douglas F. Stotz, and Jennifer M. Shopland, eds.
Chicago, Ill. : Field Museum, Environmental and Conservation Programs, 2005.
Call # QH109 .C9 C834 2005

Report at a glance, from Fieldmuseum.org

A History of the Forest Survey in the United States: 1830-2004, June 2007
United States Forest Service
Call # GovDocs A 13.2:H 62/10

From The United States Forest Service:

“This publication presents a history of the Forest Survey (now known as Forest Inventory and Analysis) program in the United States as it evolved within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service over a period of more than 100 years. It draws on the writings of several authors who have published on various aspects of the Forest Survey program. A review is presented of nine ground plot designs used in the Forest Survey and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) programs since 1931. This publication also highlights the major events contributing to the current FIA program, beginning as far back as 1830.
It is impressive to look at the many contributions of various people working with the Nation’s Forest Survey program, as well as the various methodologies that have contributed to understanding and updating the national forest survey statistics.
It is especially timely that this historical report should occur at the time the Forest Service just celebrated the anniversary of its 100 years of service to the American people.”

The immortalists : Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and their daring quest to live forever
by David M. Friedman
New York : Ecco, 2007.
Call #R855.3 .F75 2007

From Ecco Press:

“He was one of the most famous men of the twentieth century, the subject of best–selling biographies and a hit movie, as well as the inspiration for a dance step – the Lindy Hop – he himself was too shy to try. But for all the attention lavished on Charles Lindbergh, one story has remained untold until now: his macabre scientific collaboration with Dr. Alexis Carrel. Together this oddest of couples – one a brilliant surgeon turned social engineer, the other a failed dirt farmer turned hero of the skies – embarked on a secret quest to achieve immortality.

Their endeavor began on November 28, 1930, in Carrel’s laboratory at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, a haven created by the world’s richest man, John D. Rockefeller, so that medical investigators could pursue their wildest dreams, freed from the demands of clinical practice. For Carrel, who won the Nobel Prize in 1912 for pioneering organ transplants, that dream was conquering death. But not for everyone – only a special few.

In one of his more ghoulish experiments, Carrel removed the heart from a chick embryo and placed it in a glass jar, where, with special cleansing and feeding, he kept it alive, with no signs of aging, far beyond the species’ natural life span. That result, Carrel believed, suggested that natural death wasn’t inevitable.

But to attempt such a test with humans, Carrel needed a mechanical genius to create a device in which severed human organs could live and function indefinitely. Might that genius be the handsome pilot who astonished the world in May 1927 by flying alone across the Atlantic – a feat even most pilots had thought impossible – in a single–engine airplane he designed himself?

Part Frankenstein, part The Professor and the Mad–man, and all true, The Immortalists is the remarkable story of how two men of prodigious achievement, and equally large character flaws, challenged nature’s oldest rule, with consequences – personal, professional, and political – neither man anticipated.”

Look me in the eye : my life with Asperger’s
by John Elder Robinson
New York : Crown Publishers, 2007.
Call #RC553 .A88 R635 2007

From the Crown Publishing Group:

“Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.

After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It wasn’t worth the paycheck.
It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself—and the world.

Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective,” who could not avail himself of KISS’s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people’s given names (he calls his wife “Unit Two”). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents—the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.

Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.”

Birds: A visual guide
by Joanna Burger
Buffalo, N.Y. : Firefly Books, 2006.
Call# QL674 .B897 2006

From Firefly Books:

“With hundreds of color photographs and precise illustrations, along with explanatory annotations, Birds examines all aspects of avian life evolutionary beginnings, biology, behavior. This comprehensive reference provides up-to-date information on the conservation status of various species at risk. It also describes how birds have adapted, and how they continue to cope with such inhospitable habitats as tropical rainforests, arid deserts and the frigid Antarctic continent. Readers will find detailed information about the remarkable phenomenon of avian migration across continents and oceans, which covers the mechanics of flight and the structure of feathers. The historical role of birds in literature and the arts is also included.

“FactFiles,” found throughout this book, provide quick access to essential facts on each bird species. Birders will welcome this profusely and beautifully illustrated book — with its expert information — as an ideal reference and resource guide.

Neural networks for applied sciences and engineering : from fundamentals to complex pattern recognition
by Sandhya Samarasinghe
Boca Raton, FL : Auerbach, 2007.
Call# QA76.87 .S255 2007

From CRC Press Online:

“In response to the exponentially increasing need to analyze vast amounts of data, Neural Networks for Applied Sciences and Engineering: From Fundamentals to Complex Pattern Recognition provides scientists with a simple but systematic introduction to neural networks.

Beginning with an introductory discussion on the role of neural networks in scientific data analysis, this book provides a solid foundation of basic neural network concepts. It contains an overview of neural network architectures for practical data analysis followed by extensive step-by-step coverage on linear networks, as well as, multi-layer perceptron for nonlinear prediction and classification explaining all stages of processing and model development illustrated through practical examples and case studies. Later chapters present an extensive coverage on Self Organizing Maps for nonlinear data clustering, recurrent networks for linear nonlinear time series forecasting, and other network types suitable for scientific data analysis.

With an easy to understand format using extensive graphical illustrations and multidisciplinary scientific context, this book fills the gap in the market for neural networks for multi-dimensional scientific data, and relates neural networks to statistics.

Features
* Explains neural networks in a multi-disciplinary context
* Uses extensive graphical illustrations to explain complex mathematical concepts for quick and easy understanding
* Examines in-depth neural networks for linear and nonlinear prediction, classification, clustering and forecasting
* Illustrates all stages of model development and interpretation of results, including data preprocessing, data dimensionality reduction, input selection, model development and validation, model uncertainty assessment, sensitivity analyses on inputs, errors and model parameters”