Territorial Transformation: Comparative Urban and Rural Studies explores key drivers of spatial change including globalization, technological innovation, demographic shifts, and environmental pressures reshaping territories. Through comparative analysis of urban and rural transformation processes, the text examines how economic restructuring, policy interventions, and social movements reconfigure spatial organization and territorial identities. The material demonstrates diverse transformat...

Urban-Rural Dynamics: Transition Challenges and Opportunities examines interconnections between urban and rural areas through migration, economic linkages, and spatial transformation processes. The text blends theoretical perspectives with case studies tracing how education, employment, infrastructure, and social networks shape rural-urban transitions. Through systematic analysis, the material demonstrates how urbanization processes create both challenges and opportunities for rural and ur...

This book provides a state-of-the-art overview of current achievements and future possibilities for the application of epigenetic and epigenomic techniques to the improvement of crops. Creating crops more resilient to the stresses caused by climate change will be an important part of a climate-smart and sustainable agriculture strategy for the future. All critical environmental stressors are explored: temperature, salt, drought, pollutants, pests, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The exciting...

Genome editing offers a powerful tool to significantly accelerate crop-breeding programs in order to develop new and improved varieties. It allows precise modification of an organism's DNA sequence, often by creating targeted double-strand breaks at specific locations. The CRISPR-Cas system has emerged as the preferred method of gene editing and offers a powerful technology for crop improvement. The use of CRISPR in plant research has led to significant improvements in crop performance in ...

The book develops a practical understanding of the fundamental scientific principles and logic underlying the art of turf pitch preparation, measuring, analysing, and interpreting pitch surface behaviour. It’s an attempt to understand how the captains, players, coaches, curators, and groundsmen comprehend and analyse the cricket pitch behaviour (days before and during the matches) and whether the pitch behaviour can be standardised and quantified (through bench marking or forming a data-ba...

Climate change has intensified in recent decades, which has affected crop production as well as facilitated the emergence of new diseases and insect pests, causing serious threats to agriculture. Farmers have mostly taken a crop-based approach to insect pest management (IPM); the authors of this new volume, however, take the unique approach that IPM based on specific cropping systems is more efficient, resulting in reduced cultivation costs, increased yield and profitability, and decreased...

This new volume, Technological Advancements in Sustainable Crop Improvement and Production, is a timely exploration of the advanced technologies and methodologies that are reshaping the landscape of modern agriculture.The volume discusses new advances in crop improvement and production technologies, focusing on the need for sustainability. The book explores the integration of biotechnology in crop production, which offers numerous solutions, from developing crops resistanc...

This book showcases advances in composite materials, hybrid systems, and additive manufacturing, connecting scientific principles with practical industrial applications. Authored by specialists from both academia and industry, it merges foundational knowledge with practical insights. The text commences with the development of metal matrix composites and progresses to advances in additive manufacturing within the framework of industry 5.0. The discussion extends to chemical treatments of na...

The progress of composite materials and material science has transformed several sectors, including aviation, biomedicine, aerospace and automotive industry, medicine, and manufacturing. These advancements have opened the path for the creation of innovative hybrid materials and biomaterials that will greatly improve performance, durability, and sustainability. The introduction of 3D printing and additive manufacturing methods, notably Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), has catapulted these a...

In recent years, the convergence of biotechnology and manufacturing has ushered in a new era of sustainable innovation and efficiency. Incorporating bio-based materials into smart manufacturing processes has become a crucial strategy to minimize environmental impact, promote circularity, and propel technological advancements across various industries. This handbook, divided into four key sections, is a comprehensive overview and a holistic approach to the principles, applications, challeng...

The rise of rapid and uncontrolled industrialization, its alarming levels of hazardous waste produced, and their negative contribution to the international environmental epidemic of global warming — in addition to the decrease in room to dispose of these wastes safely — have put the pressure for many engineers, researchers, and key decision-makers to find the answers to the constant tussle between progress and sustainability — and quickly.Environmental Geotechnology revisits existing conce...

This book highlights the environmental applications of plant-mediated carbon quantum dots, i.e., detection of heavy metals, sensing of toxic organic compounds, degradation of dyes and other toxic compounds, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, detection of drugs, etc. This book presents the chemistry and mechanism behind the synthesis and various environmental applications of QDs. This book is beneficial for researchers, professionals and students working in the fields of environm...