This book presents research findings and conclusions that has been developed as algorithms or intelligent new methods solving problems in the fields of air pollution, climate and health, natural hazards and risks, water resources, human activities and management and informatics, remote sensing, high-performance computing and GIS for environmental monitoring and management. Environmental protection and disaster risk topics are challenging fields, that scientific world is trying to address as much as it can. Earthquakes, floods, fires, droughts, blizzards, dust storms, natural releases of toxic gases and liquids, diseases and other environmental variations affect hundreds of millions of people each year. Many disaster events are triggered by human activities. Dealing with these problems will require systems thinking and integrating multidisciplinary science. Actions in these directions are taken more and more in the recent years by political bodies, NGOs and scientific groups trying to find sustainable solutions for the future generations. Every point of view matter when it comes to our global home - The Planet Earth.

Stress is such an over-used word that it is at time difficult to define its core features. When is an environment stressful? What does a stressful environment do to the brain and to the body? What are the biological mechanisms by which a stressor affects us? How does stress contributes to the onset and the progression of mental disorders? How do the effects of stress change over the life-time of an individual? These are just some of the overarching questions addressed by this book, thanks to the contribution of some of the world leading experts on the neurobiology of stress at the pre-clinical and clinical levels. Topics include current advances on the neurobiology of stress on various neurobiological systems such as immune, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, neurotransmitter (glutamate, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin and endocannabinoid), neuropeptides, cognition and emotional processing as well as in utero and early postnatal effects. The clinical chapters deal with the relationship of stress and mental disorders such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and addiction, dementia and age-related cognitive decline as well as resilience to stress. Thus, this book brings together some of the most updated and authoritative views on the effects of stress of brain and behavior.

Research now shows us that long-term activation of the stress cycle can have a hazardous, even lethal, effect on the body, increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, depression, cancer, and other illnesses. This new edition of an award-winning book presents cutting-edge research on the effects of stress.

Edited by one of the world's authorities in stress management, occupational psychology, and occupational medicine, Handbook of Stress Medicine and Health, Second Edition offers a completely revised and updated look at the different types of stress, including their characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatment approaches. The text proposes a generic theory on stress and health and explores the relationship of stress to a variety of health outcomes, including heart disease, cancer, mental health, burnout, and complications of the endocrine and immune systems. It addresses the link between stress and personality, and discusses the impact of social support on various health conditions. The final chapters deal with stress and its consequences, such as the emotional processing of traumatic events, dealing with stress in families and in chronic disease, and coping with stress in the workplace.

With contributions from the foremost leaders in the field, this authoritative book evaluates a wide range of psychosocial factors that contribute to many of today's major illnesses. It also proposes strategies for prevention and management, which will hopefully encourage future research into the reduction of stress.

We are witnessing an unprecedented global outbreak of COVID-19, which has been devastating in its consequences. Beyond the acute health hazard, the pandemic has carried with it other threats for mankind associated with the human economy, society, culture, psychology and politics. Amidst these multifarious dimensions of the pandemic, it is high time for global solidarity to save humankind.Human society, its ambient environment, the process of socio-economic development, and politics and power - all are drivers to establish the world order. All these parameters are intimately and integrally related. The interconnections of these three driving forces have a significant bearing on life, space and time. In parallel, the interrelationship between all these drivers is dynamic, and they are changed drastically with time and space. The statistics serve to align the thought, based on which social scientists need to understand the prevailing equation to project the unforeseen future. The trajectory of the future world helps in planning and policymaking with a scientific direction.The practitioners of all academic disciplines under the umbrella of the social sciences need a common platform to exchange ideas that may be effective in the sustainable management of the crisis and the way forward after it is mitigated. This book provides multidisciplinary contributions for expressing the solidarity of academic knowledge to fight against this global challenge. It is crucial that there should be an on-going discussion and exchange of ideas, not only from the perspective of the current times but keeping in view the preparedness for unforeseen post-COVID crises as well.

Overuse injuries of the musculoskeletal system are common occurrences. Yet most existing volumes on cumulative trauma disorders deal with the subject from an ergonomic and occupational therapy standpoint, and do not provide the all-encompassing synopsis that physicians demand.

Overuse Injuries of the Musculoskeletal System, Second Edition answers the need by presenting a complete overview of the methods for diagnosing and treating the overuse injuries that affect the musculoskeletal system as a whole. Each chapter includes the definition, origins, clinical picture and diagnostics, and treatment for the given injury. The book goes beyond diagnosis and treatment by identifying etiological factors and discussing ways to prevent overuse injuries.

This new edition retains the successful systematic format that made the first edition a bestseller and an invaluable tool for orthopaedists, physical therapists, rheumatologists, radiologists and sports medicine practitioners. This version includes a new chapter on radiologic diagnosis, new chapter on overuse injuries in female athletes and supplements previously-existing chapters with new material.

This book is about doing innovative research to achieve sustainable and equitable change in people's health and well-being through improved interactions with the environment. It presents experiences from the field of ecosystem approaches to health (or ecohealth research) and some insights and lessons learned. It builds on previous literature, notably Forget (1997), Forget and Lebel (2001), Lebel (2003), and Waltner-Toews et al. (2008). Through case-studies and other contributions by researchers supported by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the book presents evidence of real changes in conditions of people, their health, and the ecosystems that support them. These changes were derived from applications of an ecosystem approach to health in developing regions of the world. The book also illustrates the resulting body of applied, participatory, and action research that improved health and environmental management in developing countries and, in many cases, influenced policies and practices.

This book explores a number of important issues in the area of occupational safety and hygiene. Presenting both research and best practices for the evaluation of occupational risk, safety and health in various types of industry, it particularly focuses on occupational safety in automated environments, innovative management systems and occupational safety in a global context. The different chapters examine the perspectives of all those involved, such as managers, workers and OSH professionals. Based on selected contributions presented at the 15th International Symposium on Occupational Safety and Hygiene (SHO 2019), held on 15-16 April, 2019, in Guimaraes, Portugal, the book serves as a timely reference guide and source of inspiration to OSH researchers, practitioners and organizations operating in a global context.

This volume provides a unique collection of contributions addressing both the 'too much' and 'too little' sides of the nitrogen story. Building on analyses started at the 6th International Nitrogen Conference, Kampala, the book explores the idea of 'just enough nitrogen': sufficient for sustainable food production, but not so much as to lead to unsustainable pollution and climate problems. The range of nitrogen threats examined, solutions evaluated and science-policy analyses presented here has provided the foundation to agree the 'Kampala Statement-for-Action on Nitrogen in Africa and Globally,' as reported in this volume. Humanity today faces unprecedented challenges: How to feed a growing population? How to reduce air pollution, water pollution and climate change? How to handle regional differences in an era of increasing globalization? These questions are at the heart of this edited volume which examines the multi-dimensional nature of the global nitrogen challenge. While humans have massively altered the nitrogen cycle, the consequences have become polarized. Some regions have too much nitrogen, associated with pollution and wasteful use of a valuable resource, while other regions have too little nitrogen, leading to constraints on food production and depletion of soil nutrient stocks. The volume provides a unique collection of contributions addressing both the 'too much' and 'too little' sides of the nitrogen story. Building on analyses started at the 6th International Nitrogen Conference, Kampala, the book explores the idea of 'just enough nitrogen': sufficient for sustainable food production, but not so much as to lead to unsustainable pollution and climate problems. The range of nitrogen threats examined, solutions evaluated and science-policy analyses presented here has provided the foundation to agree the 'Kampala Statement-for-Action on Nitrogen in Africa and Globally,' as reported in this volume. Together, the contributions in this book are now informing actions by the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) in working with the United Nations Environment Programme and others to establish the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS). A key outcome has been to catalyse development of the first Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, as adopted by the fourth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA/EA.4/Res.14). The work is written for researchers and policy makers and all those interested in seeing how sustainable nitrogen management can contribute to meeting many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This book introduces flood inundation area and flood risks assessment based on a comprehensive monitoring system using remote sensing and geographic information system technologies. Taking the 2011 flood disaster of Ayutthaya in Thailand as an example, it presents a flood intrusion zone identification method based on remote sensing technology, spatial information technology and geographic information system for flood disaster monitoring and early warning system. It introduces the study area and data, vegetation index, improved support vector machine and flood intrusion zone identification method. It also analyzes the flood remote sensing parameters and waterborne diseases, method of risk assessment of waterborne disease outbreak, waterborne disease outbreak risk monitoring based on backpropagation neural network and its expert system. It not only promotes a new interdisciplinary approach both in public health and space information technology, but also greatly supports decision makers in disaster reduction.

In light of the novel corona virus outbreak in December 2019 and its subsequent impact on entire world as a global pandemic, the book attempts to provide integrated risk assessment on Covid -19 like pandemics, as well as to understand the societal, environment and economic impact of the outbreak in various sectors of development. It covers fundamental factors of global disease outbreaks and its coverage as major disaster through the complexity and severity of consequences, illustrating the dimensions of low frequency high intensity disasters. It brings together broad range of topics including basic concepts, isolation measure, role of governance and key technical advancements for containing the diseases. In addition, it also covers resilience analysis towards the impacts such outbreaks have on bio-diversity, ecosystem services and agricultural food production. It defines key exit strategies from the lessons learned and success stories of historical disease outbreaks. The book is presented in four parts, where part 1 familiarizes with fundamentals; part 2 focuses on integrated risk assessments; part 3 focuses on various measures and strategies of resilience; and part 4 suggests key lessons and recommendations. The book is a useful reading reference for scientific community, policy makers and professionals across the domains of health, environment, disasters and sustainable development. Book is specifically beneficial for postgraduate students, researchers, planners and field professionals.

We live in unprecedented times - the Anthropocene - defined by far-reaching human impacts on the natural systems that underpin civilisation. Planetary Health explores the many environmental changes that threaten to undermine progress in human health, and explains how these changes affect health outcomes, from pandemics to infectious diseases to mental health, from chronic diseases to injuries. It shows how people can adapt to those changes that are now unavoidable, through actions that both improve health and safeguard the environment. But humanity must do more than just adapt: we need transformative changes across many sectors - energy, housing, transport, food, and health care. The book discusses specific policies, technologies, and interventions to achieve the change required, and explains how these can be implemented. It presents the evidence, builds hope in our common future, and aims to motivate action by everyone, from the general public to policymakers to health practitioners.

This book provides up-to-date information on the state of the art in applications of biotechnological and microbiological tools for protecting the environment. Written by leading international experts, it discusses potential applications of biotechnological and microbiological techniques in solid waste management, wastewater treatment, agriculture, energy and environmental health. This second volume of book "Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology," covers two main topics: bioenergy and environmental health, exploring the latest developments from around the globe regarding applications of biotechnology and microbiology for converting wastes into valuable products and at the same time reducing the environmental pollution resulting from disposal. Wherever possible it also includes real-world examples. Further, it offers advice on which procedures should be followed to achieve satisfactory results, and provides insights that will promote the transition to the sustainable utilization of various waste products.

This book provides up-to-date information on the state of the art in applications of biotechnological and microbiological tools for protecting the environment. Written by leading international experts, it discusses potential applications of biotechnological and microbiological techniques in solid waste management, wastewater treatment, agriculture, energy and environmental health. This first volume of the book "Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology," covers three main topics: Solid waste management, Agriculture utilization and Water treatment technology, exploring the latest developments from around the globe regarding applications of biotechnology and microbiology for converting wastes into valuable products and at the same time reducing the environmental pollution resulting from disposal. Wherever possible it also includes real-world examples. Further, it offers advice on which procedures should be followed to achieve satisfactory results, and provides insights that will promote the transition to the sustainable utilization of various waste products.

Imagine living in a box at the bottom of the sea for a month at a time. Locked away in a saturation chamber, plumbed to depths of more than 500 feet, this has been David Beckett's love, life and work for all his adult life. Destined to become a pig farmer in the late 1960s, a twist of fate saw David become an air diver, and within a short space of time he progressed to saturation diving. He would brush with death on more than one occasion - not least when helping to recover 47 bodies of the victims of the Sumburgh chinook disaster in Scotland's Shetland Islands - and when called in to assist with the deadliest peacetime shipwreck in Europe, as the MS Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea in 1994 and claimed 852 lives. Amongst the depths of despair, there are many lighter moments, including treasure hunting in the Philippines, almost clinching a contract to salvage the bursar's safe from the Titanic and surviving a 24-hour typhoon which brought 80-foot waves crashing down on his boat. The Loonliness of a Deep Sea Diver is gritty, sometimes comical and offers a unique glimpse into a life at sea, much of it at the bottom.

Flight training and flying are hazardous activities that demand the most of human operators, whether they be pilots or other factors (maintainers, air traffic controllers, managers, regulators) involved in the complex aviation system. 'Aerospace Clinical Psychology' serves as a handbook for dealing with aviators and other operators, those seen as patients as well as those functioning 'normally', who none-the-less wish to improve their performance. This book has much to offer the audiences who intersect the Human Factors and clinical areas of aviation and operators in extreme environments. It deftly defines specific touchstone areas such as selection, training, accident investigation, measurement and testing, and practical interventions. The little-margin-for-error realm of aviation exposes operators to stress and risk on a daily basis. 'Aerospace Clinical Psychology' provides a blueprint for combining the talents of clinical psychologists with flight surgeons and Human Factors practitioners to enhance safety and efficiency.

This book chiefly focuses on environmental flow, water pollution and water quality. Several chapters also cover water treatment technologies and management. In today's context, climate change and climate variability are important issues in the water sector, which is called upon to develop adaptation strategies to cope with their negative impacts. Human health depends upon the quality of water used for drinking and irrigation purposes. These core issues are discussed and addressed in several chapters. The book explores the impact of climate change on water resources and considers various climatological scenarios. In this regard, it carries out a trend analysis and compares the performance of various Global Climate Models (GCMs). Further, it conducts a water quality analysis and water quality mapping so as to provide information on the most vulnerable areas in the context of water quality. Emerging pollutants, generated from paper mills, are identified in order to choose an appropriate treatment technology. Bioremediation techniques are included for the characterization of improved water quality parameters. The book also presents a low-cost treatment technology for fluoride removal, which can help water managers ensure potable water to stakeholders. In terms of maintaining river ecology in the downstream areas of water resources project sites, the book provides a number of case studies on assessment of environmental flows. Advanced treatment technologies that can be highly advantageous for removing water pollutants are presented. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for academics, water resources practitioners, scientists, water managers, environmentalists, administrators, NGOs, researchers and students who are involved in water management with a main focus on water pollution, the environment, climate change and health.

It is now more than ten years since Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, FRS) reported in Nature that the investigation of certain minisatellite regions in the human genome could produce what he termed DNA fingerprints and provide useful information in the fields of paternity testing and forensic analysis. Since that time we have witnessed a revolution in the field of forensic identification. A total change of technology, from serological or electrophoretic analysis of protein polymorphisms to direct investigation of the underlying DNA polymorphisms has occurred in a short space of time. In addition, the evolution and development of the DNA systems themselves has been rapid and spectacular. In the last decade we have progressed from the multilocus DNA fing- prints, through single locus systems based on the same Southern blot RFLP technology, to a host of systems based on the PCR technique. These include Allele Specific Oligonucleotide (ASO)-primed systems detected by dot blots, the "binary" genotypes produced by mapping variations within VNTR repeats demonstrated by minisatellite variant repeat (MVR) analysis, and yet other fragment-length polymorphisms in the form of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) loci. Hand in hand with the increasing range of systems available has been the development of new instrumentation to facilitate their analysis and allow us to explore the possibilities of high volume testing in the form of mass scre- ing and offender databases.

With our highly connected and interdependent world, the growing threat of infectious diseases and public health crisis has shed light on the requirement for global efforts to manage and combat highly pathogenic infectious diseases and other public health crisis on an unprecedented level. Such disease threats transcend borders. Reducing global threats posed by infectious disease outbreaks - whether naturally caused or resulting from a deliberate or accidental release - requires efforts that cross the disaster management pillars: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. This book addresses the issues of global health security along 4 themes: Emerging Threats; Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery; Exploring the Technology Landscape for Solutions; Leadership and Partnership. The authors of this volume highlight many of the challenges that confront our global security environment today. These range from politically induced disasters, to food insecurity, to zoonosis and terrorism. More optimistically, the authors also present some advances in technology that can help us combat these threats. Understanding the challenges that confront us and the tools we have to overcome them will allow us to face our future with confidence.

This book provides readers with a timely snapshot of research and developments relating to human reliability, performance and safety analysis, and human error, risk and safety management in various industrial contexts, such as manufacturing, transportation and health. It combines a diverse range of disciplines, including work physiology, health informatics, safety engineering, workplace design, injury prevention, and occupational psychology, and presents new strategies for safety management, accident prevention at the workplace, performance testing and participatory ergonomics. It discusses issues related to automation, and strategies for a safer Human-Automation Interaction. Based on the proceedings of the AHFE 2021 International Conferences on Safety Management and Human Factors, and Human Error, Reliability, Resilience, and Performance, which were held virtually on July 25-29, 2021, from USA, the book offers an extensive and inspiring guide for both researchers and practitioners dealing with the topics of safety management, human error prevention, and integration of automation in the workplace.

This book focuses on probiotics and gut microbiota, as well as their roles in alleviating the toxicity of various environmental pollutants, presenting the latest research findings and explaining advanced research methods and tools. At the same time, it offers suggestions for future research directions. Further, the book introduces readers to the concept of gut remediation, a potential approach to reducing environmental-pollutant toxicity in vivo, based on modulation of gut microbiota using probiotic supplements. Lastly it provides suggestions for further reading.

This book is concerned with human factors and ergonomics research and developments in the design and use of systems and devices for effective and safe healthcare delivery. It reports on approaches for improving healthcare devices so that they better fit to people's, including special population's needs. It also covers assistive devices aimed at reducing occupational risks of health professionals as well as innovative strategies for error reduction, and more effective training and education methods for healthcare workers and professionals. Equal emphasis is given to digital technologies and to physical, cognitive and organizational aspects, which are considered in an integrated manner, so as to facilitate a systemic approach for improving the quality and safety of healthcare service. The book also includes a special section dedicated to innovative strategies for assisting caregivers', patients', and people's needs during pandemic. Based on papers presented at the AHFE 2021 Conference on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare and Medical Devices, held virtually on 25-29 July, 2021, from USA, the book offers a timely reference guide to both researchers and healthcare professionals involved in the design of medical systems and managing healthcare settings, as well as to healthcare counselors and global health organizations.