The boys love (BL) genre was created for girls and women by young female manga (comic) artists in early 1970s Japan to challenge oppressive gender and sexual norms. Over the years, BL has seen almost irrepressible growth in popularity and since the 2000s has become a global media phenomenon, weaving its way into anime, prose fiction, live-action dramas, video games, audio dramas, and fan works. BL’s male–male romantic and sexual relationships have found a particularly receptive home in oth...

Agriculture is the product of a complex mixture of behavioural, biophysical and market drivers. Understanding how these factors interact to produce crops and livestock for food has been the focus of economic investigation for many years. The advent of optimisation algorithms and the exponential growth in computing technology has allowed significant growth in mathematical modelling of the dynamics of agricultural systems. The complexity of approaches has grown in parallel with the availabil...

Is what you see really what it is? Do all dreams come true? What happens when we find out our dreams never quite came true? Can we ever repair the relationships we willfully destroyed in our search for meaning in life? What are the parameters for reconciliation?These and many others could be the questions that need to be answered by many who went out on a limb looking for that which was reachable in their thinking only to find out that they were only paper moons that were never rea...

Enjoy Safety, Security + Stability through Your First ChakraFeaturing yoga poses, guided meditations, vibrational remedies, and more, this book immerses you in the power of the root chakra. Cyndi Dale and nine expert contributors teach you how to connect to this grounding energy center through dozens of hands-on practices, including visualizations, affirmations, healing mantras, and recipes. Working with this chakra, which is located at the base of your spine, will...

This book presents the first-principles calculations that can be used to determine the essential chemical and physical characteristics of cathode, electrolyte and anode materials in ion-based batteries. Methods for evaluating and analysing the first-principles results are discussed in detail, and the theoretical framework is illustrated for each system. This text is ideal as a reference for researchers and senior graduate students working on the theory and fundamental science of battery ma...

Comprehensive review of key topics in root science, including root architecture, root growth regulators, root anatomy and nutrient acquisitionCoverage of root response to both biotic and abiotic variablesDiscusses the range of techniques to optimize root function, from phenotyping to identify desirable root traits and exploiting the genetics of root traits to the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM)

With increasing temperatures and an escalation in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, agricultural productivity remains at risk of being compromised. With the food security of millions threatened, there remains a need to develop alternative, sustainable production models which can thrive in the face of climate change.Advances in plant factories: New technologies in indoor vertical farming reviews the wealth of research on optimising plant...

Is what you see really what it is? Do all dreams come true? What happens when we find out our dreams never quite came true? Can we ever repair the relationships we willfully destroyed in our search for meaning in life? What are the parameters for reconciliation?These and many others could be the questions that need to be answered by many who went out on a limb looking for that which was reachable in their thinking only to find out that they were only paper moons that were never rea...

This book features five peer-reviewed reviews on machine vision applications in agriculture.The first chapter examines recent advances in machine vision technologies for the measurement of soil texture, structure and topography. The chapter also provides an overview of the basic principles of machine vision technologies, focussing on areas such as 3D surface modelling.The second chapter considers the use of machine learning methods to classify multiple diseases across sever...

This book discusses the essential properties of carbon nanotubes and 2D graphene systems. The book focuses on the fundamental excitation properties of a large range of graphene-related materials, presenting a new theoretical framework that couples electronic properties and e-e Coulomb interactions together in order to thoroughly explore Coulomb excitations and decay rates in carbon-nanotube-related systems. This book is aimed at researchers in nanomaterials and high-level students in physi...

Provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in delivering key ecosystem services such as carbon and nutrient cyclingReviews recent advances in understanding the role of different microbial communities in soilShows how the beneficial role of soil microbiomes can be promoted in achieving a more sustainable agriculture

It’s been suggested that current poultry production must increase by at least 2.5% per year until 2030 to meet demand from a rapidly growing population. However, whilst modern, more intensive production systems offer the potential to meet this demand, they also bring with them increased safety and environmental risks.Improving poultry meat safety and sustainability provides a comprehensive overview of how best to deal with zoonotic diseases which continue ...