This volume presents an authoritative review of the physics of strongly and electroweakly interacting elementary particle matter in extreme conditions that prevailed in the very early Universe, and which are being recreated in high energy physics laboratories today. Exciting, high-quality experimental results from RHIC collider at Brookhaven, collected since summer 2000, suggest that strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma has indeed been produced. The study of these phenomena will form an important part of theoretical particle and nuclear physics for years to come.Based on the discussions of more than a hundred experts at the Strong and Electroweak Matter 2004 Meeting, this volume contains an up-to-date overview of present ideas on QCD matter: quark-gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions, phase structure, kinetics, thermalization and transport properties. Also discussed are topics related to the cosmology of the early Universe, dark matter, inflation and creation of particle-antiparticle asymmetries. Both analytic and numerical lattice Monte Carlo methods are emphasized.

RHIC experimental summary : the message from pp, d+Au and Au+Au collisions / M. Calderón de la Barca Sánchez -- Hydrodynamic aspects of relativistic heavy ion collisions at RHIC / P. F. Kolb -- Photon emission in a hot QCD plasma / P. Aurenche -- In search of the saturation scale : intrinsic features of the CGC / H. Weigert -- From leading hadron suppression to jet quenching at RHIC and LHC / U. A. Wiedemann -- Lattice simulations with chemical potential / C. Schmidt -- Mesonic correlators in hot QCD / M. Laine -- Thermalization and plasma instabilities / P. Arnold -- Transport coefficients in hot QCD / G. D. Moore -- Classical fields and heavy ion collisions / T. Lappi -- Progress in nonequilibrium quantum field theory II / J. Berges and J. Serreau -- A general effective theory for dense quark matter / P. T. Reuter, Q. Wang and D. H. Rischke -- Thermal leptogenesis / M. Plümacher -- Cold electroweak Baryogenesis / J. Smit -- Proton-nucleus collisions in the color glass condensate framework / J.-P. Blaizot, F. Gelis and R. Venugopalan -- From classical to quantum saturation in the nuclear wavefunction / D. N. Triantafyllopoulos -- Charge correlations in heavy ion collisions / A. Rajantie -- Whitening of the quark-gluon plasma / S. Mrówczyński -- Progress in anisotropic plasma physics / P. Romatschke and M. Strickland -- Deconfinement and chiral symmetry : competing orders / K. Tuominen -- Relation between the chiral and deconfinement phase transitions / Y. Hatta -- Renormalized Polyakov loops, matrix models and the Gross-Witten point / A. Dumitru and J. T. Lenaghan -- The nature of the soft excitation at the critical end point of QCD / A. Jakovác ... [et al.] -- Thermodynamics of the 1+1-dimensional nonlinear sigma model through next-to-leading order in 1/N / H. J. Warringa -- Light quark meson correlations at high temperature / E. Laemann ... [et al.] -- Charmonia at finite momenta in a deconfined plasma / S. Datta ... [et al.] -- QCD thermodynamics : lattice results confront models / M. D'Elia and M. P. Lombardo -- Singlet free energies of a static quark-antiquark pair / K. Petrov -- Contributions to transport theory from multi-particle interactions and production processes / M. E. Carrington -- Transport coefficients and the 2PI effective action in the large N limit / G. Aarts and J. M. Martinez Resco -- Thermal features far from equilibrium : prethermalization / S. Borsányi -- QCD phase diagram at small Baryon densities from imaginary [symbol] : status report / O. Philipsen and Ph. de Forcrand -- Two loop renormalisation of the magnetic coupling in hot QCD and spatial Wilson loop / P. Giovannangeli -- Thermodynamics of deconfined QCD at small and large chemical potential / A. Ipp -- Evading the infrared problem of thermal QCD / Y. Schroder -- Chiral mesons in hot matter / A. Gómez Nicola, F. J. Llanes-Estrada and J. R. Peláez -- Thermal production of axinos in the early universe / A. Brandenburg and F. D. Steffen -- The 2-PI-1/N approximation applied to tachyonic preheating / A. Tranberg, A. Arrizabalaga and J. Smit -- Nonequilibrium dynamics in scalar hybrid models / J. Baacke and A. Heinen -- Photon mass in inflation and nearly minimal magnetogenesis / T. Prokopec -- Transport equations for chiral fermions to order [symbol] and electroweak Baryogenesis / S. Weinstock, M. G. Schmidt and T. Prokopec -- The gapless 2SC phase / M. Huang and I. A. Shovkovy -- Gapless CFL and its competition with mixed phases / M. Alford, C. Kouvaris and K. Rajagopal -- Transport coefficients in color superconducting quark matter / C. Manuel -- Renormalization and resummation in finite temperature field theories / A. Jakovác and Zs. Szép -- Renormalization and gauge symmetry for 2PI effective actions / U. Reinosa -- Out-of-equilibrium massless Schwinger model / R. F. Alvarez-Estrada -- Selfconsistent calculations of hadrons at finite temperature / C. Beckmann -- Fermion production in classical fields / D. D. Dietrich -- Numerical study of the equation of state for two flavor QCD at non-zero Baryon density / S. Ejiri ... [et al.] -- Phase conversion after a chiral transition : effects from inhomogeneities and finite size / E. S. Fraga -- Coherent Baryogenesis and nonthermal leptogenesis : a comparison / B. Garbrecht, T. Prokopec and M. G. Schmidt -- Two aspects of color superconductivity : gauge independence and neutrality / A. Gerhold -- QCD phase diagram in nonlocal chiral quark models / D. Gómez Dumm -- QCD equation of state and dark matter / M. Hindmarsh and O. Philipsen -- Analytical approach to SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics / R. Hofmann -- Free energies of static three quark systems / K. Hübner ... [et al.] -- Color ferromagnetic state of dense quark matter / A. Iwazaki -- Axial currents from CKM matrix CP violation and electroweak Baryogenesis / T. Konstandin -- Dilute monopole gas, and K-tensions in gluodynamics / C. P. Korthals Altes and P. Giovannangeli -- Infrared QCD and the renormalisation group / D. F. Litim ... [et al.] -- Residual confinement in high-temperature Yang-Mills theory / A. Maas ... [et al.] -- Scalar O(N) model at finite temperature - 2PI effective potential in different approximations / J. Baacke and S. Michalski -- Cutoff effects in meson spectral functions / T. Blum and P. Petreczky -- Anomalous specific heat in ultradegenerate QED and QCD / A. Gerhold, A. Ipp and A. Rebhan -- Color-superconducting phases in cold and dense quark matter / A. Schmitt -- Non fermi liquid effects in dense matter and compact star cooling / K. Schwenzer and T. Schäfer -- Prethermalisation and the build-up of the Higgs effect / D. Sexty and A. Patkós -- Vector meson at non-zero Baryon density and zero sound / S. J. Hands and C. G. Strouthos -- Impact of Baryon resonances on the chiral phase transition / D. Zschiesche ... [et al.]

Since his undergraduate days in Cambridge, George Yeo has spoken and written much in and out of government. Many remember the things which he said or wrote years ago. This book is a compilation of some of his best speeches and writings which were selected by Asad Latif and Lee Huay Leng in consultation with him.The book has a rather unusual title because there are many aspects to George Yeo which makes him difficult to classify. As a student leader, he was radical but conciliatory. In the Singapore Armed Forces, he was atypical, moving from the Army to the Air Force before becoming Director of Joint Operations and Planning. In politics, he is fondly remembered by artists, journalists, doctors, businessmen and foreign diplomats, and by his colleagues and constituents. His own staff said he had a curious mind. They complained that he rarely used the drafts which they had prepared for him.George Yeo describes himself as a Taoist even though he is a Roman Catholic and is now on the Papal staff. Buddhists are surprised he championed the revival of Nalanda University as an international project. He remains close to Singaporeans of different races and religions even though he has a deep sense of his own ancestral roots and religion. In politics, he has been described both as a liberal and a conservative. In his Parliamentary maiden speech, he spoke of the importance of democracy but has repeated many times that democracy is only a means and not an end in itself. He has a deep interest in history which partly explains his seeing the re-emergence of China and India earlier than most others.The bonsai and the banyan are metaphors he uses for Singapore. Singapore is a city-state and must never have an inflated view of itself. The bonsai describes Singapore modestly, but he adds that the bonsai can be intensely interesting and valuable. The banyan provides shade and we are grateful for it, but too much makes us weak. As for the Tao, that perhaps is what gives unity to his many interests.

The book aims to provide both comprehensive reviews of the classical methods and an introduction to new developments in medical statistics. The topics range from meta analysis, clinical trial design, causal inference, personalized medicine to machine learning and next generation sequence analysis. Since the publication of the first edition, there have been tremendous advances in biostatistics and bioinformatics. The new edition tries to cover as many important emerging areas and reflect as much progress as possible. Many distinguished scholars, who greatly advanced their research areas in statistical methodology as well as practical applications, also have revised several chapters with relevant updates and written new ones from scratch.The new edition has been divided into four sections, including, Statistical Methods in Medicine and Epidemiology, Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials, Statistical Genetics, and General Methods. To reflect the rise of modern statistical genetics as one of the most fertile research areas since the publication of the first edition, the brand new section on Statistical Genetics includes entirely new chapters reflecting the state of the art in the field.Although tightly related, all the book chapters are self-contained and can be read independently. The book chapters intend to provide a convenient launch pad for readers interested in learning a specific topic, applying the related statistical methods in their scientific research and seeking the newest references for in-depth research.

Plant molecular biology came to the fore in the early 1980s and there has been tremendous growth in the subject since then. The study of plant genes and genomes and the development of techniques for the incorporation of novel or modified genes into plants eventually led to the commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the mid-1990s. This was seen as the start of a biotechnological revolution in plant breeding. However, plant biotechnology has become one of the hottest debates of the age and, in Europe at least, one of the greatest challenges that plant scientists have ever faced. This book covers the history and development of the science and techniques that underpin plant biotechnology. It describes the GM crops that are or have been grown commercially around the world, including failures as well as successes, and the new varieties that are being developed. The safety record of GM crops is reviewed together with the legislation that has been adopted to cover their use. The book also deals with the concerns of consumers, the GM crop debate and the prospects for the technology. In the second edition, sections on current GM crops and future developments in plant biotechnology have been greatly expanded, while those on techniques, legislation and the GM crop debate have also been updated. The book is a concise, comprehensive and readable study that is accessible to a general readership with a scientific background but also provides useful information for the specialist.

This is a biography of Dr Felicia Wu.Felicia was a scientist with a successful career in cancer research, but what marked the most extraordinary aspect about her life was her journey as a truly brave cancer patient and an incredibly determined cancer fighter. Originally, this book was intended to be an autobiography written and narrated by Felicia herself. She wanted to share with other cancer sufferers her 13 long years of experience fighting cancer to prepare them for the side effects and uncertainties of the treatment, and also to encourage them to brace and face their own treatment without fear. What she did not realize then was that her time was ticking away, and her life trickling off quickly. Writing her own autobiography proved to be an impossible task.Felicia succumbed to the prolonged battle and departed from this world. Her husband, Dr Cheng-Wen Wu, finished the uncompleted task of writing the book in loving memory of her. The biography of Felicia, originally published in Chinese edition, has been recommended as a reading model for students in schools and was nominated for an award in Taiwan. Felicia's story had also inspired the production of a documentary film entitled, “A Passion for Life,” funded and sponsored by The American Cancer Society. This biography of Felicia in English edition, painstakingly translated by Dr Cheng-Wen Wu and his collaborating translator, Ms Annie Chen, will certainly live up to its original premise as an inspiration to touch more lives and as a source of strength to all who encounter difficulty, disappointment and hurt at any point of their lives.

Dr Wai-Fah Chen — a Chinese-born American academic and widely recognized structural engineering specialist in the field of mechanics, materials, and computing — has certainly led a fascinating life. A well-respected leader in the field of plasticity, structural stability, and structural steel design over the past half-century, he has made major contributions to introduce the mathematical theory of plasticity to civil engineering practice, especially in the application of limit analysis methods to the geotechnical engineering field. Having headed the engineering departments at the University of Hawaii and Purdue University, Chen is a widely cited author and the recipient of several national engineering awards, including the 1990 Shortridge Hardesty Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers and the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction.This book traces the life journey and reflections of Dr Chen. It presents a remarkable opportunity to understand his personal history and cultural passions: his struggle to achieve the American dream, his life as an eyewitness to the rise of China, and his career path to establish a solid engineering reputation. Presenting his scientific achievements spanning the last 40 years of his career, readers will thus be privy to his personal thoughts, experiences, and perspectives on these events.