Michael Bent’s first full length science fiction book for young teenagers is a fast-paced action story about three teens who discover a secret chamber beneath a house. This leads them on an amazing journey into the past, the future and to places unknown.Read this fabulous adventure story as they learn more about their previously hidden family history and the amazing secrets held in… The Three Chambers.

Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy Evolution and Adaptation Second Edition Ann B. Butler and William Hodos The Second Edition of this landmark text presents a broad survey of comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy at the introductory level, representing a unique contribution to the field of evolutionary neurobiology. It has been extensively revised and updated, with substantially improved figures and diagrams that are used generously throughout the text. Through analysis of the variation in brain structure and function between major groups of vertebrates, readers can gain insight into the evolutionary history of the nervous system. The text is divided into three sections: * Introduction to evolution and variation, including a survey of cell structure, embryological development, and anatomical organization of the central nervous system; phylogeny and diversity of brain structures; and an overview of various theories of brain evolution * Systematic, comprehensive survey of comparative neuroanatomy across all major groups of vertebrates * Overview of vertebrate brain evolution, which integrates the complete text, highlights diversity and common themes, broadens perspective by a comparison with brain structure and evolution of invertebrate brains, and considers recent data and theories of the evolutionary origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates, including a recently proposed model of the origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates that has received strong support from newly discovered fossil evidence Ample material drawn from the latest research has been integrated into the text and highlighted in special feature boxes, including recent views on homology, cranial nerve organization and evolution, the relatively large and elaborate brains of birds in correlation with their complex cognitive abilities, and the current debate on forebrain evolution across reptiles, birds, and mammals. Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy is geared to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in neuroanatomy, but anyone interested in the anatomy of the nervous system and how it corresponds to the way that animals function in the world will find this text fascinating.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails presents an in-depth exploration of the world of spirits and cocktails in a ground-breaking synthesis. The Companion covers drinks, processes, and techniques around the world as well as those in the US and Europe. It provides clear explanations of the different ways that spirits are produced, including fermentation, distillation and ageing, alongside a wealth of new detail on the emergence of cocktails and cocktails bars, including entries on key cocktails and influential mixologists and cocktail bars.

Promoting the design, application and evaluation of visually and electrically effective LED light sources and luminaires for general indoor lighting as well as outdoor and vehicle lighting, this book combines the knowledge of LED lighting technology with human perceptual aspects for lighting scientists and engineers. After an introduction to the human visual system and current radiometry, photometry and color science, the basics of LED chip and phosphor technology are described followed by specific issues of LED radiometry and the optical, thermal and electric modeling of LEDs. This is supplemented by the relevant practical issues of pulsed LEDs, remote phosphor LEDs and the aging of LED light sources. Relevant human visual aspects closely related to LED technology are described in detail for the photopic and the mesopic range of vision, including color rendering, binning, whiteness, Circadian issues, as well as flicker perception, brightness, visual performance, conspicuity and disability glare. The topic of LED luminaires is discussed in a separate chapter, including retrofit LED lamps, LED-based road and street luminaires and LED luminaires for museum and school lighting. Specific sections are devoted to the modularity of LED luminaires, their aging and the planning and evaluation methods of new LED installations. The whole is rounded off by a summary and a look towards future developments.

Considering that neurological and psychiatric illnesses do not still have efficient therapies and are becoming increasingly widespread, the search for novel targets appears fundamental. Neuroinflammation, alterations in adult neurogenesis and excitotoxicity, all associated with glutamate transmission dysfunction, are key components of the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric illnesses. Counteracting the neurotoxic actions of glutamate through the modulatory actions of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), represents a rational intervention that offers tolerability compatible with clinical therapy. Their suitability as targets for developing novel therapies is also based on the fact that mGluRs are found abundantly expressed in synapses of the central nervous system (CNS) that are considered critical in certain neurological and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, recently there has been an exponential development of selective ligands, especially positive and negative allosteric modulators, which by binding to less conserved transmembrane domain sequences ensure, besides a good permeability in the CNS, an adequate selectivity for each mGluR subtype. The eBook “Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors and Neurological/Psychiatric Disorders”, collects contributes (original and review articles) on the beneficial effects of positive and negative allosteric modulators of mGluRs in animal models of neurological and psychiatric diseases from renown experts in the field. The hope is that the effort of both Editors and Contributors of this eBook confirms the unlimited potential of mGluRs in CNS diseases and generate a collaborative discussion on the state of art, overall trends, novel strategies, and future direction of this attractive field of research.

Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news. Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective. Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between other forms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.