Jiuzhaigou was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992 in recognition of its outstanding natural features, including multicoloured lakes, waterfalls, and striking travertine formations.

These unique karst freshwater systems provide important habitats for diverse communities of freshwater algae. The noun algae are the collective term for a large and highly diverse group of simple eukaryotic photoautotrophic organisms with a complex evolutionary history, inhabiting almost all environments where water or moisture is present. Their vegetative bodies, which may be unicellular or multicellular and exhibit a very wide range of sizes, consist of pseudoparenchymal tissue differentiated into rhizoids, cauloids, and phylloids – analogous to the roots, stems, and leaves of vascular plants. From ancient times to the present, algae have been important in daily life. In addition to their exceptional ecological significance, they play a key role in the global carbon cycle and oxygen production, provide environmental and human health benefits, and have industrial and domestic applications. They form the basis of most aquatic food webs and are widely recognised as sensitive indicators of ecosystem balance and water quality, reflecting changes in physical and chemical conditions.

This book brings together contributions from Chinese and Croatian scientists and researchers, providing an overview of algal diversity, and their ecological significance in freshwater ecosystems, with special emphasis on karst areas. It is intended as a reference and educational resource for university researchers, students, practitioners, research institutes, and professional organisations concerned with freshwater biodiversity and environmental protection.

As mining operations extend to greater depths, the complexity of underground environments presents significant challenges for inspection and safety management. Limited space, poor visibility, unstable geological conditions, and restricted access make traditional manual inspection methods increasingly difficult to implement with sufficient frequency and accuracy. With the advancement of unmanned systems supported by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, intelligent inspection is becoming a key driver of transformation in underground mining.

This book is intended for mining engineers, safety professionals, equipment developers, managers, and decision makers involved in underground metal mining. It focuses on inspection technologies and systems applied in key areas of underground operations, including mine roadways, rail transport systems, and hoisting systems. By introducing practical unmanned inspection equipment and integrated monitoring solutions, the book bridges engineering principles with real-world applications, demonstrating how these technologies perform in actual production environments rather than in theoretical models alone.

All authors are affiliated with the Intelligent Mining Center at the Institute of Minerals Research, University of Science and Technology Beijing. With over a decade of experience in intelligent mining, their work spans both academic research and on-site engineering projects, with a strong focus on the development and application of advanced technologies for underground safety and mining automation. Through this book, the authors aim to share practical insights and contribute to the ongoing transformation of the mining industry, inspiring further innovation in the development of smart mines.

This book introduces a novel surgery for treating diffuse adenomyosis (DAD) and diffuse uterine leiomyomatosis (DUL), two conditions commonly encountered in women of reproductive age. Both diseases share similar symptoms, including dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, uterine enlargement, and infertility. For severe cases of DAD and DUL, surgical approaches are often the only option to preserve or restore a patient’s fertility, though it presents significant challenges. The PUSH (Process for Uterine Structural Healing) Approach, a novel approach developed by a team led by Dr. Ruifang Wu and Dr. Liping Zeng from Peking University Shenzhen Hospital (PUSH), provides a surgical solution for patients with DAD and DUL. The data of over 500 DAD and 60 DUL patients who underwent the PUSH Approach and the pregnancy outcome from some of them demonstrate that it is highly effective in achieving radical excision of DAD/DUL lesions, resulting in symptom relief and satisfactory preservation of the functional uterine anatomy for fertility. 

This book explains the rationale and mechanism, detailed procedures, and perioperative management of the PUSH Approach, with particular focus on its features, which form the basis for lesion type- and location-specific surgical protocols.

This book not only provides significant referral information about PUSH Approach to professionals but also conveys key messages on uterine health and fertility preservation to all readers.

Unconventional energy resources, such as coalbed methane, shale oil and gas, and tight reservoirs, are increasingly developed through hydraulic fracturing to enhance rock permeability and improve recovery. The effectiveness of these processes depends largely on the morphology and complexity of fracture networks, which are governed by unstable propagation mechanisms including deflection, intersection, and penetration. These behaviors are influenced by the heterogeneous nature of rock formations (bedding, grains, natural fractures) as well as interactions among multiple induced fractures.

This book provides a systematic investigation of the relationship between fracture propagation and stress field evolution in heterogeneous media. It introduces advanced numerical methods, modeling approaches, and simulation techniques to analyze the dynamic behavior of hydraulic fractures under complex conditions, including multi-layered reservoirs, fracture–fracture interactions, and thermal effects.

Combining theoretical development with computational innovation, this work offers valuable insights into fracture network formation and its impact on reservoir performance. It serves as a useful reference for researchers and students in engineering mechanics, civil engineering, mining, petroleum engineering, and geosciences.

Marine propellers have been the primary means of ship propulsion for centuries and remain at the heart of modern marine engineering. Reflecting the latest advances in the field, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory, design, analysis, and performance of marine propellers. Combining fundamental principles with practical applications, it presents a wealth of numerical results derived from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, state-of-the-art measurement and testing techniques, and detailed design case studies. The eight chapters cover the development of marine propulsion systems, propeller geometry, propulsion theory, open-water testing, ship–propeller interaction, cavitation, structural strength, and chart-based propeller design. Moving beyond purely theoretical treatments, the book offers an accessible and practice-oriented approach. Through extensive CFD visualizations and engineering examples, it illustrates the complex relationships between propeller geometry, hydrodynamic performance, cavitation behaviour, and structural integrity. It also introduces modern design, manufacturing, measurement, and testing technologies, together with advanced chart-based design methods that extend beyond conventional efficiency-focused approaches.

This work will be a valuable reference for researchers, graduate students, and engineers in naval architecture, marine engineering, ship hydrodynamics, and propulsion system design.

Changes in plant electrical signals are closely linked to a wide range of physiological and biochemical processes. This work employs non-stimulatory and non-invasive techniques to acquire electrical signals from different plant species, and systematically analyzes the mechanisms of signal generation as well as the functional principles of diverse plant electrical signals. It further examines plant electrophysiological responses to variations in water and nutrient metabolism, salinity stress, disease, and pH conditions. The book outlines principles and technologies for using electrophysiological information to characterize water metabolism, active and passive nutrient transport, salt tolerance, disease resistance, acid–alkali tolerance, plant health status, and environmental adaptability. Through the measurement and interpretation of electrophysiological signals, it provides biophysical insights into the fundamental mechanisms underlying plant life processes. The methods and findings offer technical support for improving plants’ environmental adaptability in agricultural production and provide theoretical and data-driven foundations for the development of smart crop health management and intelligent breeding systems.

This book serves as a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in plant physiology, biophysics, agricultural engineering, and plant ecology. It may also be used as supplementary reading for advanced undergraduates in related disciplines, and as a practical resource for technical professionals in agricultural intelligent equipment enterprises and large-scale agricultural organizations.