This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Advances in Signal Processing and Intelligent Recognition Systems, SIRS 2019, held in Trivandrum, India, in December 2019. The 19 revised full papers and 8 revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The papers cover wide research fields including information retrieval, human-computer interaction (HCI), information extraction, speech recognition.

This book describes the latest advances, innovations and applications in the field of waste management and environmental geomechanics as presented by leading researchers, engineers and practitioners at the International Conference on Sustainable Waste Management through Design (IC_SWMD), held in Ludhiana (Punjab), India on November 2-3, 2018. Providing a unique overview of new directions, and opportunities for sustainable and resilient design approaches to protect infrastructure and the environment, it discusses diverse topics related to civil engineering and construction aspects of the resource management cycle, from the minimization of waste, through the eco-friendly re-use and processing of waste materials, the management and disposal of residual wastes, to water treatments and technologies. It also encompasses strategies for reducing construction waste through better design, improved recovery, re-use, more efficient resource management and the performance of materials recovered from wastes. The contributions were selected by means of a rigorous peer-review process and highlight many exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different waste management specialists.

This book comprehensively covers the science and policy issues relevant to one of the major public health disasters of modern times. It pulls together the aetiology and burden of the myriad of tobacco related diseases with the successes and failures of tobacco control policies. The book looks at lessons learnt to help set health policy for reducing the burden of tobacco related diseases. The book also deals with the international public health policy issues which bear on control of the problem of tobacco use and which vary between continents. The editors are an international group distinguished in the field of tobacco related diseases, epidemiology, and tobacco control. The contributors are world experts drawn from the various clinical fields. This major reference text gives a unique overview of one of the major public health problems in both the developed and developing world. The book is directed at an international public health and epidemiology audience includng health economists and those interested in tobacco control.

This overview of developments in transport survey methods from around the world emphasises survey quality and innovation. It contains selected papers from the International Conference on Transport Survey Quality and Innovation, held in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, during August 2001. The conference covered both passenger and freight transport, but was limited to surveys that collect information directly from individuals or organisations so it excludes traffic counts or other observational data collection. Many delegates were from Sub-Saharan Africa and other less developed regions of the world, so there was also an interest in identifying user needs and exploring what can be accomplished outside the North American/Western European regions of the world. This conference was the eighth in a series of international conferences on Survey Methods held since the late 1970s, the previous one having been held in Germany in May 1997, entitled "Transport Surveys: Raising the Standard".

Arguably the oldest form of health care, Ayurveda is often referred to as the "Mother of All Healing." Although there has been considerable scientific research done in this area during the last 50 years, the results of that research have not been adequately disseminated. Meeting the need for an authoritative, evidence-based reference, Scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies is the first book to analyze and synthesize current research supporting Ayurvedic medicine. This book reviews the latest scientific information, evaluates the research data, and presents it in an easy to use format. The editor has carefully selected topics based on the availability of scientific studies and the prevalence of a disease. With contributions from experts in their respective fields, topics include Ayurvedic disease management, panchkarma, Ayurvedic bhasmas, the current status of Ayurveda in India, clinical research design, and evaluation of typical clinical trials of certain diseases, to name just a few. While there are many books devoted to Ayurveda, very few have any in-depth basis in scientific studies. This book provides a critical evaluation of literature, clinical trials, and biochemical and pharmacological studies on major Ayurvedic therapies that demonstrates how they are supported by scientific data. Providing a natural bridge from Ayurveda to Western medicine, Scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies facilitates the integration of these therapies by health care providers.

The practice of biotechnology, though different in style, scale and substance in globalizing science for development involves all countries. Investment in biotechnology in the industrialised, the developing, and the least developed countries, is now amongst the widely accepted avenues being used for economie development. The simple utilization of kefir technology, the detoxification of injurious chemical pesticides e.g. parathion, the genetic tailoring of new crops, and the production of a first of a kind of biopharmaceuticals illustrate the global scope and content of biotechnology research endeavour and effort. In the developing and least developed nations, and in which the 9 most populous countries· are encountered, problems concerning management of the environment, food security, conservation of human health resources and capacity building are important factors that influence the path to sustainable development. Long-term use of biotechnology in the agricultural, food, energy and health sectors is expected to yield a windfall of economic, environmental and social benefits. Already the prototypes of new medicines and of prescription fruit vaccines are available. Gene based agriculture and medieine is increasingly being adopted and accepted. Emerging trends and practices are reflected in the designing of more efficient bioprocesses, and in new research in enzyme and fermentation technology, in the bioconversion of agro industrial residues into bio-utility products, in animal healthcare, and in the bioremediation and medical biotechnologies. Indeed, with each new day, new horizons in biotechnology beckon.