springer new york aug 2002 (35 resultados)

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -chapter 1 Time in the Classical and Medieval Worldviews From the Beginnings to the Pre-Socratic School Zeno's Time Arrow and Aristotle's Continuum 6 Time and Creation According to Saint Augustine 15 Time and Medieval Astronomy 18 20 Calendars and Clocks chapter 2 Time in the Worldview of Classical Physics 25 Absolute Time According to Newton 26 Relational Time According to Leibniz 30 Time in Classical Mechanics 31 Time in Kant's Epistemology 35 chapter 3 Relativistic Spacetime 43 Time in Special Relativity Theory 44 Time in General Relativity Theory 50 Time in Relativistic Cosmology 54 chapter 4 Time and the Quantum World 61 Time in Quantum Mechanics 62 Time in Quantum Field Theories 70 Time, Black Holes, and the Anthropic Principle 78 Time and Thermodynamics chapter 5 83 Time in Equilibrium Thermodynamics 84 Time in Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics 2 9 Time, Irreversibility, and Self-Organization 100 chapter 6 Time and Life 107 Time in Darwin's Theory of Evolution 108 Time in Molecular Evolution 111 Time Hierarchies and Biological Rhythms 117 chapter 7 Time and Consciousness 121 Temporal Rhythms and Brain Physiology 122 The Experience of Time and the Emergence of Consciousness 124 Computation Time and Artificial Intelligence 128 chapter 8 Time in History and Culture 137 Time in Historical Cultures 138 Time in Technological-Industrial Cultures 144 The Time Horizon of the Technological World and the Philosophy of Time 152 Further Reading 161 Index 167 Acknowledgments The Little Book of Time was inspired by my research inSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 196 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - Quality control is a scientific means for conducting observations, tests, and inspections and thereby making decisions that improve the perfomance of industrial processes. This book develops a set of dynamic approaches characterized by coordination. In practice, quality control problems almost never exist in isolation. The basic methodology underlying the studies is Markov decision programming. The book can be used as a graduate text for a new course on statistical process control, or as a reference for researchers and practitioners in mathematics, operations research and operations management, quality control, production planning, and logistics.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - This book completes Robert G. Bailey's celebrated study of ecoregions, begun in the landmark Ecosystem Geography (1996) and further articulated in Ecoregions (1998). In this third installment, the author expands his system for defining large-scale ecological zones to encompass principles of land management, regional planning, and design. In an engaging, non-technical discussion, he shows how larger patterns and processes that characterize a region - its climate, topography, soils, vegetation, fauna, and human culture - provide essential keys to the sustainability of ecosystems. Ecoregion-Based Design for Sustainability will be welcomed by land and resource managers, landscape architects and urban planners, ecologists, students, and anyone interested in ecology-based design.'Bob Bailey ÄisÜ the man behind the ecosystem mapping of the world.' (Lingua Franca Reviews of Ecoregions) 'The book provides easy access to the geographic distribution, characteristics, and processes operating behind every major ecosystem in the world.'(Geoscience Canada)'For schools and colleges Ecoregions offers an invaluable source of description, interpretation and analysis of global patterns of ecosystem distribution and successfully provides the reader with a means of making sense of these patterns.'(Geography)Robert G. Bailey is a geographer with the United States Forest Service in Fort Collins, Colorado, and leader of the agency's Ecosystem Management Analysis Center.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -This This book book is is a a research research monograph monograph on on Fresnel Fresnel zone zone antennas. antennas. It It covers covers various various lens lens and and reflector reflector antennas antennas based based on on the the Fresnel Fresnel zone zone concept concept and and phase phase correction correction techniques. techniques. The The material material presented presented is is mainly mainly drawn drawn from from the the theoretical theoretical and and experimental experimental work work published published and and unpublished unpublished by by the authors. The book is intended to serve engineers, researchers and the authors. The book is intended to serve engineers, researchers and students in the fields of antennas, microwave and millimetre-wave students in the fields of antennas, microwave and millimetre-wave engineering, engineering, radar, radar, optics optics and and telecommunications. telecommunications. The The authors authors hope hope that that readers readers will will find find the the wealth wealth of of unique unique antenna antenna configurations configurations and and the the theoretical theoretical framework framework presented presented inspirational, inspirational, and and the the large large number number of of equations equations useful useful in in the the analysis analysis and and design design of ofFresnel Fresnel zone zone antennas. antennas. 1. 1 1.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 136 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the classical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in re search and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). The development of new courses is a natural consequence of a high level of excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numeri cal and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Mathe matical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus on advanced textbooks and research-level monographs.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 764 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - The combination of quantum mechanics and quantum eld theory cons- tutesthemostrevolutionaryandin uentialphysicaltheoryofthetwentieth century. Itsimpactisfeltnotonlyinalmostallothersciences,butthefruits of its application are ubiquitous in everyday life. This textbook is designed to teach graduate students the underlying quantum-physical ideas, their mathematical formulations, and the basic problem-solving techniques of the discipline. It assumes they have taken at least one introductory course in quantum mechanics as undergraduates and are familiar with the history of the subject and the basic experimental evidence that led to its adoption, as well as with many of its fundamental notions. In contrast to most other authors, I am therefore not introducing the quantum theory via an hist- ical survey of its early successes. Instead, following the models of books on classsical mechanics or electromagnetism, I develop the theory from its basic assumptions, beginning with statics, followed by the dynamics and details of its speci c areas of use as well as the needed mathematical te- niques. Although this book, inevitably, deals largely with the behavior of point particles under various conditions, I do not regard particles as the fun- mental entities of the universe: the most basic object is the quantum eld, with theobserved particlesarising from the eld asitsquanta. For thisr- son I introduce quantum elds right from the beginning and demonstrate, in the rst chapter, how particles originate.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - Growth-curve models are generalized multivariate analysis-of-variance models. These models are especially useful for investigating growth problems on short times in economics, biology, medical research, and epidemiology. This book systematically introduces the theory of the GCM with particular emphasis on their multivariate statistical diagnostics, which are based mainly on recent developments made by the authors and their collaborators. The authors provide complete proofs of theorems as well as practical data sets and MATLAB code.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -The developments within the computationally and numerically oriented ar eas of Operations Research, Finance, Statistics and Economics have been sig nificant over the past few decades. Each area has been developing its own computer systems and languages that suit its needs, but there is relatively little cross-fertilization among them yet. This volume contains a collection of papers that each highlights a particular system, language, model or paradigm from one of the computational disciplines, aimed at researchers and practitioners from the other fields. The 15 papers cover a number of relevant topics: Models and Modelling in Operations Research and Economics, novel High-level and Object-Oriented approaches to programming, through advanced uses of Maple and MATLAB, and applications and solution of Differential Equations in Finance. It is hoped that the material in this volume will whet the reader's appetite for discovering and exploring new approaches to old problems, and in the longer run facilitate cross-fertilization among the fields. We would like to thank the contributing authors, the reviewers, the publisher, and last, but not least, Jesper Saxtorph, Anders Nielsen, and Thomas Stidsen for invaluable technical assistance.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 476 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -International taxation is a vital issue for a growing number of business and individuals across the world. The need to understand how the international system of taxation works is therefore a subject of importance to many people. The International Taxation System provides this understanding by bringing together experts from the most important fields in the subject who have each authored chapters especially for this book. They each provide brief, structured and easy to understand explanations of the key concepts edited together into one volume to provide a unique, very readable, guide to the field.While this text is aimed at masters or advanced undergraduate level students, it will also be of interest to those requiring a professional understanding of the topic. Each chapter introduces a different aspect of the international taxation system, explains the important issues to be understood in each case and provides suggestions for discussion and further reading.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 336 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -Data fusion or statistical file matching techniques merge data sets from different survey samples to solve the problem that exists when no single file contains all the variables of interest. Media agencies are merging television and purchasing data, statistical offices match tax information with income surveys. Many traditional applications are known but information about these procedures is often difficult to achieve. The author proposes the use of multiple imputation (MI) techniques using informative prior distributions to overcome the conditional independence assumption. By means of MI sensitivity of the unconditional association of the variables not jointy observed can be displayed. An application of the alternative approaches with real world data concludes the book.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -Heme oxygenase is rapidly taking its place as the centerpiece of multiple inter acting metabolic systems. Only 25 years ago heme oxygenase and its metabolic prod ucts appeared to be merely a simple metabolic system-one substrate, heme; one enzyme, heme oxygenase; and one set of products, iron to be recycled, and bilirubin and carbon monoxide to be disposed. From a group of about 25 people in 1974, as judged by attendance at various Gordon conferences, heme oxygenase has, in the year 2000, attracted working scientists-and clinicians I might add-by the hundreds and has produced referenced publications by the thousands. It is well-deserved attention. Heme oxygenase system is now similar to the metabolic networks surrounding glucose in those complex maps of glycolytic and non-glycolytic metabolic pathways, which we had to memorize as students. The relevance of heme oxygenase to regulatory biology was recognized many years ago, but the work conducted over the past five years has created a new wave of emphasis focusing on genetic manipulation to alter heme oxygenase gene expression, the regulatory actions of heme oxygenase products including carbon monoxide, and the significance of changes in the heme oxygenase system. The physiological and pathological relevance of heme oxygenase in the brain, heart, liver, bone marrow, organ transplant, lung and kidney, opens many areas of investigation in various dis ciplines. Advances in the pharmacology of bilirubin and its ability as an antioxidant have provided a new avenue in clinical research. 540 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - S is a powerful environment for the statistical and graphical analysis of data. It provides the tools to implement many statistical ideas that have been made possible by the widespread availability of workstations having good graphics and computational capabilities. This book is a guide to using S environments to perform statistical analyses and provides both an introduction to the use of S and a course in modern statistical methods. Implementations of S are available commercially in S-PLUS(R) workstations and as the Open Source R for a wide range of computer systems. The aim of this book is to show how to use S as a powerful and graphical data analysis system. Readers are assumed to have a basic grounding in statistics, and so the book is intended for would-be users of S-PLUS or R and both students and researchers using statistics. Throughout, the emphasis is on presenting practical problems and full analyses of real data sets. Many of the methods discussed are state of the art approaches to topics such as linear, nonlinear and smooth regression models, tree-based methods, multivariate analysis, pattern recognition, survival analysis, time series and spatial statistics. Throughout modern techniques such as robust methods, non-parametric smoothing and bootstrapping are used where appropriate. This fourth edition is intended for users of S-PLUS 6.0 or R 1.5.0 or later. A substantial change from the third edition is updating for the current versions of S-PLUS and adding coverage of R. The introductory material has been rewritten to emphasis the import, export and manipulation of data. Increased computational power allows even more computer-intensive methods to be used, and methods such as GLMMs,

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Time is fundamental to our experience, but remains mysterious. This book shows how philosophers and scientists have tried to grapple with this most extraordinary of ordinary phenomena. From the attempts of early astronomers to reconcile solar and lunar and terrestrial reckonings, to the huge expansions and contractions of time consciousness brought on by scientists as diverse as Newton, Darwin, and Einstein, this book shows how time is as much a matter of human choice as it is a matter of scientific precision. 196 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book offers an introductory course in model theory emphasizing connections to algebra. It will be an appropriate introduction both for graduate students interested in advanced work in model theory and for students and researchers in logic or algebra who want to learn the basic results and themes of model theory. In the end, the reader will have a firm background in model theory and be well motivated and well prepared for more advanced treatments like Pillay's 'Geometric Model Theory' or Buechler's 'Essential Stability Theory.'While some familiarity at the undergraduate level with mathematical logic would be helpful, it is not assumed. The author assumes familiarity with algebra at the first-year graduate level. 356 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -In both developed nations and the developing world, there is a clear trend towards addressing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug problems through health and social services. There are several persuasive arguments for this shift beyond pure economics, which include comorbidity, cost effectiveness, coordination of care and effectiveness.This is the first volume to pull together effective methods that can be used for addressing substance abuse through health and social service systems. It also integrates interventions for a range of drugs of abuse, rather than focusing on only one (such as alcohol). The book's international perspective also makes this a unique contribution to the existing literature.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 284 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The 6th Workshop on Case Studies in Bayesian Statistics was held at the Carnegie Mellon University in October, 2001. This volume contains the invited case studies with the accompanying discussion as well as contributed papers selected by a refereeing process. 396 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Pollutants in House Dust as Indicators of Indoor Contamination.- Factors Influencing Levels of Trace Elements in Human Hair.- Abiotic Hydrolysis of Pesticides in the Aquatic Environment. 288 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book contains a large amount of information not found in standard textbooks. Written for the advanced undergraduate/beginning graduate student, it combines the modern mathematical standards of numerical analysis with an understanding of the needs of the computer scientist working on practical applications. Among its many particular features are: - fully worked-out examples - many carefully selected and formulated problems - fast Fourier transform methods - a thorough discussion of some important minimization methods - solution of stiff or implicit ordinary differential equations and of differential algebraic systems - modern shooting techniques for solving two-point boundary value problems - basics of multigrid methods. Included are numerous references to contemporary research literature. 764 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The papers in this volume arose out of the workshop Membrane Transport and Renal Physiology, which was conducted as part of the IMA 1998-1999 program year, Mathematics in Biology. The workshop brought together physiologists, biophysicists, and applied mathematicians who share a common interest in solute and water transport in biological systems, especially in the integrated function of the kidney. Solute and water transport through cells involves fluxes across two cell membranes, usually via specialized proteins that are integral membrane components. By means of mathematical representations, transport fluxes can be related to transmembrane solute concentrations and electrochemical driving forces. At the next level of functional integration, these representations can serve as key components for models of renal transcellular transport. Ultimately, simulations can be developed for transport-dependent aspects of overall renal function. Workshop topics included solute fluxes through ion channels, cotransporters, and metabolicallydriven ion pumps; transport across fiber-matrix and capillary membranes; coordinated transport by renal epithelia; the urine concentrating mechanism; and intra-renal hemodynamic control. This volume will be of interest to biological and mathematical scientists who would like a view of recent mathematical efforts to represent membrane transport and its role in renal function. 436 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -economic modelling and thought. Part three presents two case studies as examples of deceptive autonomy and shows the impact of this deception on the situation of women from the viewpoint of cultural studies and social anthropology. Part four relates methodological reflections on feminist and mainstream economics to the theme of the book. The first part of this book is devoted to a reconsideration of Adam Smith as a starting point for feminist perspectives on exchange. Drawing on Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments Caroline Gerschlager sets the stage for expanding the economic concept of exchange. She analyses and develops Smith's insight that deception is inevitable in the social setting. Smith's system of sympathy, which Gerschlager analyses as a system of exchange, i.e. exchange is conceived in terms of changing places in the imagination, is compared with exchange as conceived by the neoclassical approach. Her analysis reveals that these approaches arrive at contrasting results with regard to deception. Whereas in the former deception is vital to an understanding of exchange, the latter regards deception as an inefficiency, hindering exchange and ultimately making it impossible. Gerschlager points out that a certain degree of deception is inevitable, and that living in society therefore also amounts to 'deceiving and being deceived'.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -Chemical Anatomy of the Zebrafish Retina is an excellent reference, providing excellent images and insight into one of the most increasingly important model systems in neurobiology today. Papers include a visually stunning molecular phenotype atlas and an exhaustive treatment of the neurochemical anatomy of the zebrafish retina as determined by immunocytochemistry.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 116 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -Neuroblastoma is the single most common solid tumor of childhood. Although children with small primary neuroblastomas alone are almost always cured by surgery, 65% of children with neuroblastoma already have large bulky tumors or metastatic disease by the time of initial diagnosis. For these children, the 5-year survival rate is only somewhere between 5% and 20% with therapies including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and bone marrow transplantation. Dr Schor outlines a new approach to these tumors in order to make a difference for these children. There is much information to support the notion that neuroblastomas represent a developmental aberration of the nervous system, rather than a de novo abnormality in a previously normal cell. While the remote, paraneoplastic effects of neuroblastoma are often the purview of the child neurologist, the neoplasm itself has been viewed and approached therapeutically in much the same manner as all other solid tumors, as the purview of the pediatric oncologist. This work takes the view that approaching neuroblastoma rather as a disorder of nervous system development offers new therapeutic possibilities for this common tumor of childhood.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -The 6th Workshop on Case Studies in Bayesian Statistics was held at the Carnegie Mellon University in October, 2001. This volume contains the invited case studies with the accompanying discussion as well as contributed papers selected by a refereeing process.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 396 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -The papers in this volume arose out of the workshop Membrane Transport and Renal Physiology, which was conducted as part of the IMA 1998-1999 program year, Mathematics in Biology. The workshop brought together physiologists, biophysicists, and applied mathematicians who share a common interest in solute and water transport in biological systems, especially in the integrated function of the kidney. Solute and water transport through cells involves fluxes across two cell membranes, usually via specialized proteins that are integral membrane components. By means of mathematical representations, transport fluxes can be related to transmembrane solute concentrations and electrochemical driving forces. At the next level of functional integration, these representations can serve as key components for models of renal transcellular transport. Ultimately, simulations can be developed for transport-dependent aspects of overall renal function. Workshop topics included solute fluxes through ion channels, cotransporters, and metabolically-driven ion pumps; transport across fiber-matrix and capillary membranes; coordinated transport by renal epithelia; the urine concetrating mechanism; and intra-renal hemodynamic control. This volume will be of interest to biological and mathematical scientists who would like a view of recent mathematical efforts to represent membrane transport and its role in renal function.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 436 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -Knowledge Management and Organizational Memories presents models, methods, and techniques for building, managing and using corporate memories. These models incorporate knowledge bases, ontologies, documents, FAQs, workflow systems, case-based reasoning systems, multi-agent systems, and CSCW. The book is divided into five parts: methods; knowledge-based approaches; ontologies and documents; case-based reasoning approaches; and distributed and collaborative approaches.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 244 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -Pollutants in House Dust as Indicators of Indoor Contamination.- Factors Influencing Levels of Trace Elements in Human Hair.- Abiotic Hydrolysis of Pesticides in the Aquatic Environment.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 288 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -The archaeological focus on a single geographical area offers an opportunity to present projectile point typology as a microtechnology even though some of the types have widespread distributions. The area of the Middle Potomac River Valley presents a physical artefact collection for a view of prehistory.This volume, which includes several hundred images of the investigation, artefacts and archaeological research compiled and recorded from over 30 years of work in the area, includes:an overview of the Middle Potomac River Valley archaeology including the peoples and sites;new data and interpretations for the lithic technology of the area; andclassification and typology of artefacts including the usage of projectile point, axe, celt, drill, and knife implements.This work will be of great interest to prehistory archaeologists, especially those working in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 316 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -Adjudicative competence remains an important topic of research and practice in psychology and law. In the five sections of Adjudicative Competence: The MacArthur Studies, the authors present not only a summary of the research of the MacArthur studies on competence but also an examination of the underlying theoretical work of Professor Richard Bonnie. It is the first publication to encapsulate the scope and significance of both the studies themselves and Bonnie's contributions. There is no other source available that addresses this range of topics.Given its breadth and scope, this book will be a 'must have' for forensic mental health professionals, an important volume for lawyers, and a vital academic reference work.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Data fusion or statistical file matching techniques merge data sets from different survey samples to solve the problem that exists when no single file contains all the variables of interest. Media agencies are merging television and purchasing data, statistical offices match tax information with income surveys. Many traditional applications are known but information about these procedures is often difficult to achieve. The author proposes the use of multiple imputation (MI) techniques using informative prior distributions to overcome the conditional independence assumption. By means of MI sensitivity of the unconditional association of the variables not jointy observed can be displayed. An application of the alternative approaches with real world data concludes the book. 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -Implantable defibrillators as originally conceived by Michel Mirowski were limited to the detection and automatic termination of ventricular fibrillation. In the original 'AID' device, the detection algoritlun sought to distinguish sinus rhytlun from ventricular fibrillation by identifying the 'more sinusoidal waveform of ventricular fibrillation. ' The therapeutic intervention was elicited only once deadly polymorphic rhythms had developed. It was rapidly learned, however, that ventricular fibrillation is usually preceded by ventricular tachycardia. Mirowski recognized the pivotal importance of developing algoritllms based on heart rate. Ventricular tachycardia detection allowed the successful development of interventions for the termination of ventricular tachyarrhythmias before they degenerated into ventricular fibrillation. Current device therapy no longer confines itself to tlle termination of chaotic rhythms but seeks to prevent them. Diagnostic algorithms moved upward along the chain of events leading to catastrophic rhytlulls. Rate smoothing algorithms were developed to prevent postextrasystolic pauses from triggering ventricular and atrial tachyarrhytlmlias. Beyond the renaissance of ectopy-centered strategies, long-term prevention received increasing attention. Multisite pacing therapies provided by 'Arrhythmia Management Devices' were designed to reduce the 'arrhytlunia burden' and optimize the synergy of cardiac contraction and relaxation. Clinical evidence now suggests that atrial fibrillation prevention by pacing is feasible and tllat biventricular pacing may be of benefit in selected patients with heart failure. However, these applications of device therapy that generally require ventricular defibrillation backup remain investigational and were not considered in this book.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 432 pp. Englisch.