The book we need NOW to avoid a social recession, Murthy’s prescient message is about the importance of human connection, the hidden impact of loneliness on our health, and the social power of community.

Humans are social creatures: In this simple and obvious fact lies both the problem and the solution to the current crisis of loneliness. In his groundbreaking book, the 19th surgeon general of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy makes a case for loneliness as a public health concern: a root cause and contributor to many of the epidemics sweeping the world today from alcohol and drug addiction to violence to depression and anxiety. Loneliness, he argues, is affecting not only our health, but also how our children experience school, how we perform in the workplace, and the sense of division and polarization in our society.

But, at the center of our loneliness is our innate desire to connect. We have evolved to participate in community, to forge lasting bonds with others, to help one another, and to share life experiences. We are, simply, better together.

The lessons in Together have immediate relevance and application. These four key strategies will help us not only to weather this crisis, but also to heal our social world far into the future.

• Spend time each day with those you love. Devote at least 15 minutes each day to connecting with those you most care about.
• Focus on each other. Forget about multitasking and give the other person the gift of your full attention, making eye contact, if possible, and genuinely listening.
• Embrace solitude. The first step toward building stronger connections with others is to build a stronger connection with oneself. Meditation, prayer, art, music, and time spent outdoors can all be sources of solitary comfort and joy.
• Help and be helped. Service is a form of human connection that reminds us of our value and purpose in life. Checking on a neighbor, seeking advice, even just offering a smile to a stranger six feet away, all can make us stronger.

During Murthy’s research for Together, he found that there were few issues that elicited as much enthusiastic interest from both very conservative and very liberal members of Congress, from young and old people, or from urban and rural residents alike. Loneliness was something so many people have known themselves or have seen in the people around them. In the book, Murthy also shares his own deeply personal experiences with the subject—from struggling with loneliness in school, to the devastating loss of his uncle who succumbed to his own loneliness, as well as the important example of community and connection that his parents modeled. Simply, it’s a universal condition that affects all of us directly or through the people we love—now more than ever.

This volume comprises select proceedings of the International Conference on Humanizing Work and Work Environment organized by the Indian Society of Ergonomics (HWWE2019). The book presents research findings on different areas of ergonomics for developing appropriate tools and work environment considering capabilities and limitations of working people for maximum effectiveness on their performance. This volume will be of interest to academics, professionals and practitioners in the field of ergonomics.

Due to the growing use of web applications and communication devices, the use of data has increased throughout various industries. It is necessary to develop new techniques for managing data in order to ensure adequate usage. The Handbook of Research on Pattern Engineering System Development for Big Data Analytics is a critical scholarly resource that examines the incorporation of pattern management in business technologies as well as decision making and prediction process through the use of data management and analysis. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as business intelligence, feature extraction, and data collection, this publication is geared towards professionals, academicians, practitioners, and researchers seeking current research on the development of pattern management systems for business applications.

This book focuses on applications of three-dimensional (3D) printing in healthcare. It first describes a range of biomaterials, including their physicochemical and biological properties. It then reviews the current state of the art in bioprinting techniques and the potential application of bioprinting, computer-aided additive manufacturing of cells, tissues, and scaffolds to create organs in regenerative medicine. Further, it discusses the orthopedic applications of 3D printing in the design and fabrication of dental implants, and the use of 3D bioprinting in oral and maxillofacial surgery and in tissue and organ engineering. Lastly, the book examines the 3D printing technologies that are used for the fabrication of the drug delivery system. It also explores the current challenges and the future of 3D bioprinting in medical sciences, as well as the market demand.

This book showcases cutting-edge research papers from the 8th International Conference on Research into Design (ICoRD 2021) written by eminent researchers from across the world on design processes, technologies, methods and tools, and their impact on innovation, for supporting design for a connected world. The theme of ICoRD'21 has been "Design for Tomorrow". The world as we know it in our times is increasingly becoming connected. In this interconnected world, design has to address new challenges of merging the cyber and the physical, the smart and the mundane, the technology and the human. As a result, there is an increasing need for strategizing and thinking about design for a better tomorrow. The theme for ICoRD'21 serves as a provocation for the design community to think about rapid changes in the near future to usher in a better tomorrow. The papers in this book explore these themes, and their key focus is design for tomorrow: how are products and their development be addressed for the immediate pressing needs within a connected world? The book will be of interest to researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs working in the areas on industrial design, manufacturing, consumer goods, and industrial management who are interested in the new and emerging methods and tools for design of new products, systems and services.

The book discusses the complex interactions between plants and their associated microbial communities. It also elucidates the ways in which these microbiomes are connected with the plant system, and how they affect plant health. The different chapters describe how microbiomes affect plants with regard to immunity, disease conditions, stress management and productivity. In addition, the book describes how an 'additional plant genome' functions as a whole organ system of the host, and how it presents both challenges and opportunities for the plant system. Moreover, the book includes a dedicated section on using omics tools to understand these interactions, and on exploiting them to their full potential.

This book addresses "phyto-microbiome mediated stress regulation". Fundamentally speaking, the microbial community's importance for the survival of plants under stress conditions has already been confirmed. This book focuses on the roles of those rhizospheric microbiomes that are advantageous to plant developmental pathways. Gathering contributions by authors with specialized expertise in plant growth and health under stress conditions, as well as opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, the book reviews the functional aspects of rhizospheric microorganisms and how they impact plant health and disease. It offers a compendium of plant and microbial interactions at the level of multitrophic interactions, and identifies gaps between future demand and present research on plant stress. In closing, the authors highlight several directions for reshaping rhizosphere microbiomes in favor of microorganisms that are beneficial to plant growth and health.

The book is a compilation of best papers presented at International Conference on Recent Advancement in Computer and Communication (ICRAC 2017) organized by IMPLab Research and Innovation Foundation, Bhopal, India. The book covers all aspects of computers and communication techniques including pervasive computing, distributed computing, cloud computing, sensor and adhoc network, image, text and speech processing, pattern recognition and pattern analysis, digital signal processing, digital electronics, telecommunication technologies, robotics, VLSI technologies, embedded system, satellite communication, digital signal processing, and digital communication. The papers included are original research works of experts from industry, government centers and academic institutions; experienced in engineering, design and research.

The auto industry is facing tough competition and severe economic constraints. Their products need to be designed "right the first time" with the right combinations of features that not only satisfy the customers but continually please and delight them by providing increased functionality, comfort, convenience, safety, and craftsmanship. Based on the author's forty plus years of experience as a human factors researcher, engineer, manager, and teacher who has conducted numerous studies and analyses, Ergonomics in the Automotive Design Process covers the entire range of ergonomics issues involved in designing a car or truck and provides evaluation techniques to avoid costly mistakes and assure high customer satisfaction. The book begins with the definitions and goals of ergonomics, historic background, and ergonomics approaches. It covers human characteristics, capabilities, and limitations considered in vehicle design in key areas such as anthropometry, biomechanics, and human information processing. It then examines how the driver and the occupants are positioned in the vehicle space and how package drawings and/or computer-aided design models are created from key vehicle dimensions used in the automobile industry. The author describes design tools used in the industry for occupant packaging, driver vision, and applications of other psychophysical methods. He covers important driver information processing concepts and models and driver error categories to understand key considerations and principles used in designing controls, displays, and their usages, including current issues related to driver workload and driver distractions. The author has included only the topics and materials that he found to be useful in designing car and truck products and concentrated on the ergonomic issues generally discussed in the automotive design studios and product development teams. He distills the information needed to be a member of an automotive product development team and create an ergonomically superior vehicle.

With the recent shift of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to organic agriculture, the employment of microbes that perform significant beneficial functions for plants has been highlighted. This book presents timely discussion and coverage on the use of microbial formulations, which range from powdered or charcoal-based to solution and secondary metabolite-based bioformulations. Bioformulation development of biofertilizers and biopesticides coupled with the advantages of nanobiotechnology propose significant applications in the agricultural section including nanobiosensors, nanoherbicides, and smart transport systems for the regulated release of agrochemical. Moreover, the formulation of secondary metabolites against individual phytopathogens could be used irrespective of geographical positions with higher disease incidences. The prospective advantages and uses of nanobiotechnology generate tremendous interest, as it could augment production of agricultural produce while being cost-effective both energetically and economically. This bioformulation approach is incomparable to existing technology, as the bioformulation would explicitly target the particular pathogen without harming the natural microbiome of the ecosystem. Nanobiotechnology in Bioformulations covers the constraints associated with large-scale development and commercialization of bioinoculant formations. Furthermore, exclusive emphasis is be placed on next-generation efficient bioinoculants having secondary metabolite formulations with longer shelf life and advanced competence against several phytopathogens. Valuable chapters deal with bioformulation strategies that use divergent groups of the microbiome and include detailed diagrammatic and pictorial representation. This book will be highly beneficial for both experts and novices in the fields of microbial bioformulation, nanotechnology, and nano-microbiotechnology. It discusses the prevailing status and applications available for microbial researchers and scientists, agronomists, students, environmentalists, agriculturists, and agribusiness professionals, as well as to anyone devoted to sustaining the ecosystem.

This book showcases cutting-edge research papers from the 8th International Conference on Research into Design (ICoRD 2021) written by eminent researchers from across the world on design processes, technologies, methods and tools, and their impact on innovation, for supporting design for a connected world. The theme of ICoRD'21 has been "Design for Tomorrow". The world as we know it in our times is increasingly becoming connected. In this interconnected world, design has to address new challenges of merging the cyber and the physical, the smart and the mundane, the technology and the human. As a result, there is an increasing need for strategizing and thinking about design for a better tomorrow. The theme for ICoRD'21 serves as a provocation for the design community to think about rapid changes in the near future to usher in a better tomorrow. The papers in this book explore these themes, and their key focus is design for tomorrow: how are products and their development be addressed for the immediate pressing needs within a connected world? The book will be of interest to researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs working in the areas on industrial design, manufacturing, consumer goods, and industrial management who are interested in the new and emerging methods and tools for design of new products, systems and services.