Makoto Tachibana – författare

This book introduces the principles and techniques of crystal growth by the flux method, which is arguably the most useful way to obtain millimeter- to centimeter-sized single crystals for physical research. As it is possible to find an appropriate solvent (“flux”) for nearly all inorganic materials, the flux method can be applied to the growth of many crystals ranging from transition metal oxides to intermetallic compounds. Both important principles and experimental procedures are described in a clear and accessible manner. Practical advice on various aspects of the experiment, which is not readily available in the literature, will assist the beginning graduate students in setting up the lab and conducting successful crystal growth. The mechanisms of crystal growth at an elementary level are also provided to better understand the techniques and to help in assessing the quality of the crystals. The book also contains many photographs of beautiful crystals with important physical properties of current interest, such as high-temperature superconductors, strongly correlated electronic systems, topological insulators, relaxor ferroelectrics, low-dimensional quantum magnets, non-linear optical materials, and multiferroics.

This book introduces cutting-edge studies on the spectrum of sex. The sex spectrum can be understood as an interwoven mechanism sustaining graded phenotypes between the two sexes. The book overviews three elements that develop the sex spectrum: genetics, the endocrine system, and the environment. Part I discusses the genetic regulation during sex determination, which often results in a mixture of two sexes or sex reversal. The evolutionary aspects of the genetic determinants are also discussed. Part II presents the involvement of endocrine regulation in the sex spectrum, which covers a broad range of phenotypic events, including sexual behavior and metabolism. Interestingly, sex hormones can also act as sex determinants. Finally, Part III shows that intrinsic factors, such as sex-determining genes and sex hormones, are not the only factors in sex development. The environment surrounding organisms, such as symbiosis and metabolism, act on the sex as critical factors, generating the sex spectrum. Determination and development of the two sexes have been a topic of great interest and a long-standing issue in biology. The book updates the conventional view that biological sex is fixed after birth and sets new perspectives for understanding sex as a spectrum manifested in multiple phenomena. Each chapter contributed by leading experts explains the sex spectrum in various organisms and their underlying mechanisms from the latest ongoing studies. The book provides a valuable resource for not only experts in developmental biology, physiology, and medical science, but also non-scientists and anyone interested in the topic.