This book presents select proceedings of the 17th Symposium on Earthquake Engineering organized by the Department of Earthquake Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. The topics covered in the proceedings include engineering seismology and seismotectonics, earthquake hazard assessment, seismic microzonation and urban planning, dynamic properties of soils and ground response, ground improvement techniques for seismic hazards, computational soil dynamics, dynamic soil–structure interaction, codal provisions on earthquake-resistant design, seismic evaluation and retrofitting of structures, earthquake disaster mitigation and management, and many more. This book also discusses relevant issues related to earthquakes, such as human response and socioeconomic matters, post-earthquake rehabilitation, earthquake engineering education, public awareness, participation and enforcement of building safety laws, and earthquake prediction and early warning system. This book is a valuable reference for researchers and professionals working in the area of earthquake engineering.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on Business Intelligence and Information Technology (BIIT 2022) held in Harbin, China, during December 17–18, 2022. BIIT 2022 is organized by the School of Computer and Information Engineering, Harbin University of Commerce, and supported by Scientific Research Group in Egypt (SRGE), Egypt. The papers cover current research in electronic commerce technology and application, business intelligence and decision making, digital economy, accounting informatization, intelligent information processing, image processing and multimedia technology, signal detection and processing, communication engineering and technology, information security, automatic control technique, data mining, software development, and design, blockchain technology, big data technology, and artificial intelligence technology.

This book focuses on optical vortices, including beams carrying orbital angular momentum and vector beams. It presents an overview of, and the latest research on this novel type of optical beam, which is a hot topic in the domain of modern optics, especially in optical communication and beam manipulation.

Chester Arthur Burnett, known as Howlin' Wolf, was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, originally from Mississippi. With a booming voice and looming physical presence, he is one of the best-known Chicago blues artists. Musician and critic Cub Koda noted, "no one could match Howlin' Wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits." Producer Sam Phillips recalled, "When I heard Howlin' Wolf, I said, 'This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies'". Several of his songs, including "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Back Door Man", "Killing Floor" and "Spoonful", have become blues and blues rock standards. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 51 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."