Fractal geometry, together with the broader fields of nonlinear dynamics and complexity, represented a large segment of modern science at the end of the 20th century. Penetration of the resulting new paradigms into practically all academic disciplines has confirmed the fundamental assertion of universal formalism common to a wide range of human endeavors. This book contains an extended article by B B Mandelbrot, reviewing his contribution to fractal geometry and outlining some unsolved problems, with illustrations especially of finance and physics. It covers a range of multidisciplinary topics OCo from the biology of aging, through the self-similar shape of plants, image decompression and solar magnetic fields, to sound reflection in the street. The book is a treasure trove for innovative researchers working in fields related to fractal geometry. The proceedings have been selected for coverage in: . OCo Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings- (ISTP- / ISI Proceedings). OCo Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings). OCo CC Proceedings OCo Engineering & Physical Sciences."

Fractal geometry, together with the broader fields of nonlinear dynamics and complexity, represented a large segment of modern science at the end of the 20th century. Penetration of the resulting new paradigms into practically all academic disciplines has confirmed the fundamental assertion of universal formalism common to a wide range of human endeavors.This book contains an extended article by B B Mandelbrot, reviewing his contribution to fractal geometry and outlining some unsolved problems, with illustrations especially of finance and physics. It covers a range of multidisciplinary topics ? from the biology of aging, through the self-similar shape of plants, image decompression and solar magnetic fields, to sound reflection in the street. The book is a treasure trove for innovative researchers working in fields related to fractal geometry.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in: ? Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings? (ISTP? / ISI Proceedings)? Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)? CC Proceedings ? Engineering & Physical Sciences

The dynamics of complex systems can clarify the creation of structures in Nature. This creation is driven by the collective interaction of constitutive elements of the system. Such interactions are frequently nonlinear and are directly responsible for the lack of prediction in the evolution process. The self-organization accompanying these processes occurs all around us and is constantly being rediscovered, under the guise of a new jargon, in apparently unrelated disciplines.This volume offers unique perspectives on aspects of fractals and complexity and, through the examination of complementary techniques, provides a unifying thread in this multidisciplinary endeavor. Do nonlinear interactions play a role in the complexity management of socio-econo-political systems? Is it possible to extract the global properties of genetic regulatory networks without knowing the details of individual genes? What can one learn by transplanting the self-organization effects known in laser processes to the study of emotions? What can the change in the level of complexity tell us about the physiological state of the organism? The reader will enjoy finding the answers to these questions and many more in this book.

Scaling is a mathematical transformation that enlarges or diminishes objects. The technique is used in a variety of areas, including finance and image processing. This book is organized around the notions of scaling phenomena and scale invariance. The various stochastic models commonly used to describe scaling — self-similarity, long-range dependence and multi-fractals — are introduced. These models are compared and related to one another. Next, fractional integration, a mathematical tool closely related to the notion of scale invariance, is discussed, and stochastic processes with prescribed scaling properties (self-similar processes, locally self-similar processes, fractionally filtered processes, iterated function systems) are defined. A number of applications where the scaling paradigm proved fruitful are detailed: image processing, financial and stock market fluctuations, geophysics, scale relativity, and fractal time-space.

There are new and important advancements in today’s complexity theories in ICT and requires an extraordinary perspective on the interaction between living systems and information technologies. With human evolution and its continuous link with the development of new tools and environmental changes, technological advancements are paving the way for new evolutionary steps. Complexity Science, Living Systems, and Reflexing Interfaces: New Models and Perspectives is a collection of research provided by academics and scholars aiming to introduce important advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, evolutionary computation, neural networks, and much more. This scholarly piece will provide contributions that will define the line of development in complexity science.

"This book discusses the application of complex theories in information and communication technology, with a focus on the interaction between living systems and information technologies, providing researchers, scholars, and IT professionals with a fundamental resource on such topics as virtual reality; fuzzy logic systems; and complexity science in artificial intelligence, evolutionary computation, neural networks, and 3-D modeling"--Provided by publisher.

This is Not a Grail Romance provides answers to some of the most important questions surrounding the medieval Welsh Arthurian tale Historia Peredur vab Efrawc, one of the few surviving medieval Welsh narrative compositions, and an important member of the ‘Grail’ family of medieval European narratives. The study demonstrates that Historia Peredur is an original Welsh composition, rather than (as previous theories have suggested) being an adaptation of the twelfth-century French grail romance. The new analysis of the structure of Historia Peredur presented here shows it to be as complex as it has always been thought – but also more formal, and the result of intentional and intricate design. The seeming inconsistencies or oddities in Historia Peredur can be understood by reading it in its medieval Welsh cultural context, allowing the modern reader a greater appreciation of both the narrative and the culture that produced it.

The essential question that fractal dimensions attempt to answer is about the scales in Nature. For a system as non-idealistic and complex as a protein, studying scale-invariance becomes particularly important. Fractal Symmetry of Protein Exterior investigates the diverse facets of the various scales at which we describe protein biophysical and biochemical phenomena. Although these ideas are entirely mathematical, mathematical expositions have been avoided, unless the use of some expressions becomes absolutely obligatory. A first chapter introduce into fractal dimensions, protein exteriors and to methods to study the roughness of surfaces. The main topics covered in the following chapters include: protein-protein interaction interfaces; protein surface-roughness and local shape as well as adhesion on protein and other rough biomolecular surfaces.

We would like to present, with great pleasure, the inaugural volume of a new scholarly journal, Transactions on Computational Science. This journal is part of the Springer series Lecture Notes in Computer Science, and is devoted to the gamut of computational science issues, from theoretical aspects to application-dependent studies and the validation of emerging technologies. This new journal was envisioned and founded to represent the growing needs of computational science as an emerging and increasingly vital field, now widely recognized as an integral part of scientific and technical investigations. Its mission is to become a voice of the computational science community, addressing researchers and practitioners in areas ranging from aerospace to biochemistry, from electronics to geosciences, from mathematics to software architecture, presenting verifiable computational methods, findings, and solutions. Transactions on Computational Science focuses on original high-quality research in the realm of computational science in parallel and distributed environments, encompassing facilitation of the theoretical foundations and the applications of lar- scale computations to massive data processing. The Journal is intended as a forum for practitioners and researchers to share computational techniques and solutions in the area, to identify new issues and to shape future directions for research, while industrial users may apply techniques of leading-edge, large-scale, high-performance computational methods.

Evolutionary developmental biology, or 'evo-devo', is the study of the relationship between evolution and development. Dealing specifically with the generative mechanisms of organismal form, evo-devo goes straight to the core of the developmental origin of variation, the raw material on which natural selection (and random drift) can work. Evolving Pathways brings together contributions that represent a diversity of approaches. Topics range from developmental genetics to comparative morphology of animals and plants alike, and also include botany and palaeontology, two disciplines for which the potential to be examined from an evo-devo perspective has largely been ignored until now. Researchers and graduate students will find this book a valuable overview of current research as we begin to fill a major gap in our perception of evolutionary change.