The nature of the physical Universe has been increasingly better understood in recent years, and cosmological concepts have undergone a rapid evolution (see, e.g., [11], [2],or [5]).

It is a great privilege and pleasure to write a foreword for a book honor­ ing Wolfgang Gaul on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. Wolfgang Gaul is currently Professor of Business Administration and Management Science and the Head of the Institute of Decision Theory and Management Science, Faculty of Economics, University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany. He is, by any measure, one of the most distinguished and eminent scholars in the world today. Wolfgang Gaul has been instrumental in numerous leading research initia­ tives and has achieved an unprecedented level of success in facilitating com­ munication among researchers in diverse disciplines from around the world. A particularly remarkable and unique aspect of his work is that he has been a leading scholar in such diverse areas of research as graph theory and net­ work models, reliability theory, stochastic optimization, operations research, probability theory, sampling theory, cluster analysis, scaling and multivariate data analysis. His activities have been directed not only at these and other theoretical topics, but also at applications of statistical and mathematical tools to a multitude of important problems in computer science (e.g., w- mining), business research (e.g., market segmentation), management science (e.g., decision support systems) and behavioral sciences (e.g., preference mea­ surement and data mining). All of his endeavors have been accomplished at the highest level of professional excellence.

This hands-on, laboratory driven textbook helps readers understand principles of digital signal processing (DSP) and basics of software-based digital communication, particularly software-defined networks (SDN) and software-defined radio (SDR). In the book only the most important concepts are presented. Each book chapter is an introduction to computer laboratory and is accompanied by complete laboratory exercises and ready-to-go Matlab programs with figures and comments (available at the book webpage and running also in GNU Octave 5.2 with free software packages), showing all or most details of relevant algorithms. Students are tasked to understand programs, modify them, and apply presented concepts to recorded real RF signal or simulated received signals, with modelled transmission condition and hardware imperfections. Teaching is done by showing examples and their modifications to different real-world telecommunication-like applications. The book consists of three parts: introduction to DSP (spectral analysis and digital filtering), introduction to DSP advanced topics (multi-rate, adaptive, model-based and multimedia - speech, audio, video - signal analysis and processing) and introduction to software-defined modern telecommunication systems (SDR technology, analog and digital modulations, single- and multi-carrier systems, channel estimation and correction as well as synchronization issues).

This SpringerBrief presents channel estimation strategies for the physical later network coding (PLNC) systems. Along with a review of PLNC architectures, this brief examines new challenges brought by the special structure of bi-directional two-hop transmissions that are different from the traditional point-to-point systems and unidirectional relay systems. The authors discuss the channel estimation strategies over typical fading scenarios, including frequency flat fading, frequency selective fading and time selective fading, as well as future research directions. Chapters explore the performance of the channel estimation strategy and optimal structure of training sequences for each scenario. Besides the analysis of channel estimation strategies, the book also points out the necessity of revisiting other signal processing issues for the PLNC system. Channel Estimation of Physical Layer Network Coding Systems is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals working in wireless communications and networks. Advanced-level students studying computer science and electrical engineering will also find the content helpful.

Mohammed Rajab proposes different technologies like the error correction coding (ECC), sources coding and offset calibration that aim to improve the reliability of the NAND flash memory with low implementation costs for industrial application. The author examines different ECC schemes based on concatenated codes like generalized concatenated codes (GCC) which are applicable for NAND flash memories by using the hard and soft input decoding. Furthermore, different data compression schemes are examined in order to reduce the write amplification effect and also to improve the error correct capability of the ECC by combining both schemes.

This three-volume set LNCS 12888, 12898, and 12890 constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Image and Graphics, ICIG 2021, held in Haikou, China, in August 2021.*
The 198 full papers presented were selected from 421 submissions and focus on advances of theory, techniques and algorithms as well as innovative technologies of image, video and graphics processing and fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and networking.

The two volume set CCIS 2032 and 2033 constitutes the proceedings of the 11th Congress on Simulation for a Sustainable Future, EUROSIM 2023, which was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, during July 3–5, 2023.

The seven-volume set LNCS 14850-14856 constitutes the proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Database Systems for Advanced Applications, DASFAA 2024, held in Gifu, Japan, in July 2024.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 34th Australasian Database Conference on Databases Theory and Applications, ADC 2023, held in Melbourne, VIC, Australia, during November 1-3, 2023. The 26 full papers presented in this volume are carefully reviewed and selected from 41 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: Mining Complex Types of Data, Natural Language Processing and Text Analysis, Machine Learning and Computer Vision, Database Systems and Data Storage, Data Quality and Fairness for Graphs and Graph Mining and Graph Algorithms.

Informatics - 10 Years Back, 10 Years Ahead presents a unique collection of expository papers on major current issues in the field of computer science and information technology. The 26 contributions written by leading researchers on personal invitation assess the state of the art of the field by looking back over the past decade, presenting important results, identifying relevant open problems, and developing visions for the decade to come.

We dedicate this book to students 0/ computer science who want to under­ stand why the radio channel is at the heart of mobile communications, be it data or voice, and to students 0/ communications engineering looking for an introduction to the structure of the Internet protocols, and their application to mobile radio. We also welcome the practicing engineer' working for mobile network operators and infrastructure suppliers, and the application program­ mer looking for the underlying reasons for the problems they encounter in their daily work. Given that convergence of the information technology and communica­ tions worlds has been talked about for almost 20 years, there is still surpris­ ingly little knowledge among specialists of each others' fields. Data communi­ cations over radio, notably Internet access, however, requires fuH understand­ ing of both fields. Internet protocols have been designed for fixed networks. There bit errors are so rare that interrupted transmission almost inevitably means congestion. In contrast, the radio channel constitutes a bottleneck for mobile data communications in that it introduces bit errors even at modest data rates. This book is based on the doctoral thesis of one of us (M. Taferner).

Computer science provides a powerful tool that was virtually unknown three generations ago. Some of the classical fields of knowledge are geodesy (surveying), cartography, and geography. Electronics have revolutionized geodetic methods. Cartography has faced the dominance of the computer that results in simplified cartographic products. All three fields make use of basic components such as the Internet and databases.

Many corporations are finding that the size of their data sets are outgrowing the capability of their systems to store and process them. The data is becoming too big to manage and use with traditional tools. The solution: implementing a big data system.

The two-volume set LNAI 14391 and 14392 constitutes the proceedings of the 22nd Mexican International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, MICAI 2023, held in Yucatán, Mexico, in November 2023.

This book provides an overview of both experimental and commercial real-time database systems (RTDBs) and a systematic approach to understanding, designing, and implementing them. To this end, the book is composed of four chapters: Chapter 1 “An Overview of Real-Time Database Systems” delves into the realm of RTDBs and discusses the specific requirements, transaction models, and scheduling algorithms that set RTDBs apart from conventional DBMs.