Basic studies in the field of high-temperature engineering

This online book (published in 2003) is available in full text with table of contents. It covers high-temperature engineering.
There are details of how to buy the book and links to libraries it can be borrowed from. Related books are listed. The site is provided by Google Books.

http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=hU0vSFjPUrYC

Copyright © 2006-2009

Understanding uncertainty

This website is produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. Its "aim is to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society." It takes the form of a blog with stories accompanied by related mathematical and statistical explanations ranging from blogs aimed at a general readership through to full mathematical expositions at university level. Some featured contents including the prediction of murder, coincidence, and the National Lottery. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

http://understandinguncertainty.org/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Linear differential operators in mathematical physics : MAGIC

This website was created to accompany the course "Linear differential operators in mathematical physics" given by Alexander Movchan from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, as part of the MAGIC project. MAGIC runs a wide range of postgraduate-level lecture courses in mathematics, using Access Grid videoconferencing technology. Topics covered in this course include: generalised derivatives; Sobolev spaces; Laplace's equation; generalised solutions of differential equations; singular solutions; the variational method; weak solutions; the energy space; Green's formula; the heat conduction equation; the maximum principle; the uniqueness theorem; wave propagation; and the characteristic cone. All the materials are available as PDF files (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).

http://www.maths.dept.shef.ac.uk/magic/course.php?id=18

Copyright © 2006- 2009

Herschel Science Centre

The Herschel Science Centre (HSC) website is designed for astronomers and scientists associated with the Herschel space telescope launched on 14th May 2009 by the European Space Agency (ESA). Herschel is the fourth 'cornerstone' mission in the ESA science programme and will perform photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-672 micrometre range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities. It will study the origins of the Universe. The HSC website contains the latest mission news, as well as information on the various scientific instruments on board the telescope. Various community tools are also available including details of conferences, press releases and other related links. Details of data gathered by Herschel, as well as processing schemes/tools are also available to users.

http://herschel.esac.esa.int/

Copyright © 2006- 2009

Engineering for sustainable development: guiding principles

This full text report is available in pdf format and covers principles for sustainable development.

It is provided by the Royal Academy of Engineering. There are abbreviations of technical terms as well as diagrams, tables and references.

http://www.raeng.org.uk/events/pdf/Engineering_for_Sustainable_Development.pdf

Copyright © 2006- 2009

NERC Earth Observation Data Centre (NEODC)

NERC Earth Observation Data Centre (NEODC) is a Designated Data Centre of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and as such it is tasked with the acquisition, archiving and provision of access to remotely sensed data of the surface of the earth acquired by satellite and airborne sensors. There are links to datasets and data services and also includes self-help tutorials on remote sensing. It aims to meet the needs of NERC Science and Survey with the Observation Data and Information and is part of the same group that runs the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC). It shares a common user database with BADC.

http://www.neodc.rl.ac.uk/

Copyright © 2006- 2009

Principles of adsorption cycles for refrigeration and heat pumping

This tutorial site covers adsorption cycles for refrigeration and heat pumping.

There are diagrams of the process as well as links to related sites. It is provided by the Laboratory for Mechanics and Engineering Sciences in Paris.

http://www.limsi.fr/Individu/mpons/pricyc.htm

Copyright © 2006- 2009

Plant physiology online

This resource is designed to accompany the textbook 'Plant Physiology, Fourth Edition' by Lincoln Taiz and Eduardo Zeiger, published by Sinauer Associates Inc., 2006, but is useful on its own for both college and undergraduate students. The subjects covered include essential concepts in plant physiology, transport and translocation of water and solutes, biochemistry and metabolism, and growth and development. The learning materials may be accessed by chapter or by categories as follows: topics (subject material relevant to the chapter); essays (individual papers written by researchers for the site and/or published elsewhere, available in full-text); study questions (short questions for each chapter); and readings (recommended readings for each chapter). The site also gives access to two chapters of the textbook that are provided online only: Chapter 2: Energy and Enzymes, and Chapter 14: Gene Expression and Signal Transduction; these chapters are available in PDF format, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader (which may be downloaded freely from the link provided). Please note that this resource does not provide access to the full-text of the actual book.

http://4e.plantphys.net/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Research Journal of Agriculture and Biological Sciences

The Research Journal of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, one of a number of journals published online by the International Network for Scientific Information, covers all aspects of agricultural and biological sciences including: agronomy, botany, crop sciences, cytology, ecology, forestry, genetics, microbiology, plant breeding and soil sciences. The journal is covered by major indexing and abstracting services and is published bimonthly. Full text and abstracts are freely available at this site.

http://www.insinet.net/rjabs.html

Copyright © 2006-2009

Research Journal of Fisheries and Hydrobiology

The Research Journal of Fisheries and Hydrobiology is one of a number of journals published online by the International Network for Scientific Information. Research is published on a variety of topics related to fisheries and hydrobiology, including: aquaculture, biodiversity, reproduction, taxonomy, biology and conservation. The journal is covered by major indexing and abstracting services and is published yearly. Full text and abstracts are freely available at this site.

http://www.insinet.net/rjfh.html

Copyright © 2006-2009

Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP)

The Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) is an initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and aims to provide objective and independent scientific assessments of key issues. The first expert panel to be created is the Expert Panel on Adaptation of Forests to Climate Change. At this website, access is provided to the first major publication of this panel "Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change – A Global Assessment Report" - a 224-page report, published in 2009 by IUFRO - as well as the policy brief for this panel.

http://www.iufro.org/science/gfep/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Open systems biology journal

The 'Open Systems Biology Journal' is an open access, peer reviewed online journal made available through the Bentham Open initiative of Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. The journal publishes original research articles, reviews and letters in all areas of systems biology, also encompassing the related topics of synthetic biology, computational biology, metabolomics, cell signalling and proteomics. Full-text articles are free to download in PDF format from Volume 1 (2008) to the present, whilst abstracts and tables of contents may be viewed online. The website also provides information on the Editorial Board, manuscript submission and how to order reprints

http://www.bentham.org/open/tosysbj/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Botany : an introduction to plant biology

This resource is designed to accompany the textbook 'Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology, Third Edition' by James D. Mauseth, published by Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2003, but is useful on its own for both college and undergraduate students. It provides a searchable glossary of important terminology in botany, a directory of botanical organisations, and a series of animated flashcards enabling online self-testing of key definitions in botany; the flashcards require Adobe Flash Player, which can be downloaded free of charge from the link provided. For each chapter, links to other relevant websites are given with suggested activities to complete on the sites. Made available on the Web by Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Please note that this resource does not provide access to the full-text of the actual book.

http://www.biology.jbpub.com/Botany/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Plant transformation

This resource provides a photographic tour of the process of creating a genetically modified plant, from initial seeds to a greenhouse of transgenic plants. Using tomato plants as an example, a stage-by-stage description of the plant transformation method is given, with photographs accompanying each stage. The resource is produced by the Partnership for Plant Genomics Education (PPGE) and is of interest to college and undergraduate students. The PPGE aims to develop educational programmes and materials concerning plant genomics and biotechnology for college students and teachers, and is funded by the University of California at Davis and the US National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education and the Plant Genome Venture Fund. The tour is written by Brad Hall of the University of California, Davis, with photographs provided by the author and by Calgene, Inc., Davis, CA, and the University of California Davis Biotechnology Program, Meyer Hall.

http://ppge.ucdavis.edu/Transformation/transform1.cfm

Copyright © 2006-2009

AgrowKnowledge : the national resource center for agriscience & technology education

AgrowKowledge is partially funded by the US National Science Foundation with the aim to "strengthen math, science and technology skills of college agriculture students". It does this through professional development activities for educators which incorporate new and emerging technologies into agriculture, food and natural resources learning programmes. The website includes a resources clearinghouse with publications, case studies, laboratory activities, multimedia programmes and online links on all aspects of agricultural education. An extensive list of useful resources is available here, although there may be some US bias in the programmes. Access to most material requires (free) registration.

http://www.agrowknow.org/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Australian Society For Fish Biology (ASFB)

ASFB was founded in 1971 to promote research, education and management of fish and fisheries in Australia and to provide a forum for the exchange of information. The website provides information on the history, constitution and management of ASFB, how to become a member, details of its scholarships, awards and bursaries, forthcoming events, and news items. Users can download a large number of publications (some of which are large files, which are slow to load) and book reviews. There are also links to other internet sites of interest.

http://www.asfb.org.au/

Copyright © 2006-2009

Physics for Humanists

Modern physics can be a curious beast indeed, and it is "full of ideas that are weird, counterintuitive and wondrous." So goes the introduction to this most engaging online course site provided by the Tufts University OpenCourseWare initiative. The materials come from the course "Physics forHumanists", which was taught by Professor Gary R. Goldstein. As the course notes remark, "Physics for Humanists is intended for those who are intellectually and emotionally curious but do not intend to specialize in the natural sciences." The course site includes a syllabus, calendar,lectures, exams and quizzes, assignments, and lecture handouts. It's a real treat for anyone with a passion for the subject, and even those who might be intimidated by the subject matter may leave with a newfound interest. To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and ScienceEducational Repository at http://amser.org/.

http://ocw.tufts.edu/Course/30

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2009. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Images: The Best NASA Satellite Photos from the Last 50 Years

The best NASA satellite photos from the last 50 years include solar storms, choking cities, and glories in the sky, captured on film.

Direct to Compilation

Source: Discover Magazine

Environmental History Resources

Professor Jan Oosthoek at the University of Edinburgh has maintained a webpresence since 1999, and his most recent website was relaunched in March2008. The purpose of the site is to provide a range of resources andinformation on environmental history for the general public and scholars.Some of these resources include topical bibliographies, essays, annotatedguides to other web resources, and a news feed. Visitors who click on the"Bibliography" area will find links to detailed thematic bibliographies thatcover El Nino, climate history, Scottish forest history, and other topics.Moving on, the "Essays" area contains twelve different essays, including"The role of wood in world history", "What is environmental history?", and"Dutch river defences in historical perspective". The "Podcast" area is a real treat, and features interviews and discussions about topics such asurban air pollution in historical perspective and the environmental legacyof apartheid in South Africa.
http://www.eh-resources.org/index.html

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2009. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Citation Briefs

Computer Science & Engineering: Most Prolific U.S. Institutions, 2003-07

Journals Ranked by Impact: Environmental Studies


Source: Thomson Reuters

Comparison of Pub Med, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar: strengths and weaknesses

The evolution of the electronic age has led to the development of numerous medical databases on the World Wide Web, offering search facilities on a particular subject and the ability to perform citation analysis. We compared the content coverage and practical utility of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The official Web pages of the databases were used to extract information on the range of journals covered, search facilities and restrictions, and update frequency. We used the example of a keyword search to evaluate the usefulness of these databases in biomedical information retrieval and a specific published article to evaluate their utility in performing citation analysis. All databases were practical in use and offered numerous search facilities. PubMed and Google Scholar are accessed for free. The keyword search with PubMed offers optimal update frequency and includes online early articles; other databases can rate articles by number of citations, as an index of importance. For citation analysis, Scopus offers about 20% more coverage than Web of Science, whereas Google Scholar offers results of inconsistent accuracy. PubMed remains an optimal tool in biomedical electronic research. Scopus covers a wider journal range, of help both in keyword searching and citation analysis, but it is currently limited to recent articles (published after 1995) compared with Web of Science. Google Scholar, as for the Web in general, can help in the retrieval of even the most obscure information but its use is marred by inadequate, less often updated, citation information.—Falagas, M. E., Pitsouni, E I., Malietzis, G. A., and Pappas, G. Comparison of Pub Med, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar: strengths and weaknesses.
Full Paper (PDF; 71 KB)

Research Front Maps from Thomson Reuters

Research fronts are clusters of highly cited papers and research front maps are diagrammatic representations of the co-citation links among the highly cited papers that comprise the cluster. Fronts are selected from the Research Fronts section of Essential Science Indicators from Thomson Reuters which is updated every two months. Some maps also link to author commentaries for specific papers.

Each circle represents a highly cited paper whose bibliographic information is displayed when the user clicks on the circle. The solid lines between circles represent the strongest co-citation links for each paper (that is, indicating that the papers are frequently cited together); weaker links are indicated by dashed lines. Papers close to each other on the map are generally more highly co-cited. The most recent paper(s) are indicated in pink.

http://sciencewatch.com/dr/rfm/

Scientific Societies

The Scientific Societies Page provides access to websites of scientific societies and professional associations whose focus is in the natural sciences as well as other related disciplines of interest to the Department of Energy research and development programs, projects, and initiatives.

http://www.osti.gov/eprints/societies/