Some years—1789, 1929, 1989—change the world suddenly. Or do they? In 2020, a pandemic converged with an economic collapse, inequalities exploded, and institutions weakened. Yet these crises sprang not from new risks but from known dangers. The world—like many patients—met 2020 with a host of preexisting conditions, which together tilted the odds toward disaster. Perhaps 2020 wasn’t the year the world changed; perhaps it was simply the moment the world finally understood its deadly diagnos...

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on drought-resistant crops.The first chapter assesses the genes involved in drought and heat tolerance, as well as the physiological traits related to increased tolerance to abiotic stress in wheat. It reviews advances in our understanding of the molecular markers associated with these physiological traits, and the roles of key genes in determining a wheat plant’s response to heat and drought stress.

Toward Better Governance in China takes a fresh look at the latest efforts made by Chinese leaders to promote governance-based reform. It asserts that the improvement of governance has now become one of the breakthrough points of the much anticipated political reform. Although the Chinese government continues to play down expectations about political reform, many small-scale reform experiments have been quietly undertaken by Chinese leaders at various levels in recent years, inclu...

Assesses key developments in sensor technology to improve monitoring and management of complex agricultural systemsConsiders the growing influence of proximal crop sensors in assessing, monitoring and measuring the health of agricultural soilsExplores the potential of remote and aerial sensing towards achieving sustainable crop production through more targeted irrigation management, site-specific nutrient management and weed management

This book focuses on the comprehensive prevention and control methods for short-circuit faults in power systems. Based on the quantification method of power system short-circuit fault risk considering extreme meteorological disasters, this book carries out theoretical research on optimal control of power system short-circuit faults at the planning and operation levels. The establishment of a comprehensive index system for short-circuit safety level of large power grids from several sides a...

Flexible and wearable technologies are gaining wide attention with their promise of applications in sensing, electronics, and energy. The materials involved should be flexible, lightweight, robust, and non-toxic. Natural biopolymers such as silk, chitin, collagen, cellulose, and gelatine have these properties, with the additional benefits of low cost, renewability, and biocompatibility. Taking a closer look at these soft materials and their forms reveals novel multifunctional abilities, pa...

This book focuses on how to provide social work services for elderly people living in poverty. Divided into eight chapters, the book first outlines the scale, characteristics, and causes of poverty among elderly people and discusses the significance of social work in poverty alleviation for the elderly. The book then concentrates on different types of elderly people, such as those in economic and ecological poverty, and those suffering from poverty caused by illness, disability, and lack o...

First published in 1997. This is a collection of papers from the thirtieth conference of the International Geographical Congress, focusing on the Part A- Geology of Fossil fuels- Oil and Gas, whereas part B looks at Coal. The proceedings took place in Beijing China between the 4-14th August 1996.

The book presents the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on 5G for Ubiquitous Connectivity (5GU 2018), which took place on December 4-5, 2018 in Nanjing, People’s Republic of China. The aim of this conference is to bring together researchers and developers as well as regulators and policy makers to present their latest views on 5G, including new networking, new wireless communications, resource control & management, future access techniques, new emerging applications, and late...

With the rapid development of economy and international communication, world population mobility increase significantly. As migrating population is one of vulnerable populations to infectious diseases, strengthening monitoring system and intervention approaches will be a key factor in controlling the spread of infectious diseases. This book is intended to provide valuable information on creating effective prevention and intervention strategies of tuberculosis, taking Shenzhen, one of typic...