This book presents different experimental results as evidence of the good results obtained compared with respect to conventional approaches and literature references based on fuzzy logic. Nowadays, the evolution of intelligence systems for decision making has been reached considerable levels of success, as these systems are getting more intelligent and can be of great help to experts in decision making. One of the more important realms in decision making is the area of medical diagnosis, and many kinds of intelligence systems provide the expert good assistance to perform diagnosis; some of these methods are, for example, artificial neural networks (can be very powerful to find tendencies), support vector machines, that avoid overfitting problems, and statistical approaches (e.g., Bayesian). However, the present research is focused on one of the most relevant kinds of intelligent systems, which are the fuzzy systems. The main objective of the present work is the generation of fuzzy diagnosis systems that offer competitive classifiers to be applied in diagnosis systems. To generate these systems, we have proposed a methodology for the automatic design of classifiers and is focused in the Generalized Type-2 Fuzzy Logic, because the uncertainty handling can provide us with the robustness necessary to be competitive with other kinds of methods. In addition, different alternatives to the uncertainty modeling, rules-selection, and optimization have been explored. Besides, different experimental results are presented as evidence of the good results obtained when compared with respect to conventional approaches and literature references based on Fuzzy Logic.

This unique book presents a framework for the strategy and methodology of diagnostic research, in relation to its relevance for practice. Now in its second edition The "Evidence Base of Clinical Diagnosis" has been fully revised and extended with new chapters covering the STARD guidelines (STAndards for the Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies) and the multivariable analysis of diagnostic data.

With contributions from leading international experts in evidence-based medicine, this book is an indispensable guide on how to conduct and interpret studies in clinical diagnosis. It will serve as a valuable resource for all investigators who want to embark on diagnostic research and for clinicians, practitioners and students who want to learn more about its principles and the relevant methodological options available.

"Sound Diagnosis" to the rescue - a little prompt at the bedside, when you need sound guidance to see through a hazy clinical picture and make sense of a problem in the most lucid and confident way. How will you benefit from this diagnosticum? As your bedside companion it will: shed bright light on unclarified diagnostic pictures; encourage use of a systematic method of diagnosis; structure and simplify diagnosis; help you define a problem; make you notice and respond to diagnostic key pointers; direct your energies to the core of the problem; give your knowledge an opportunity to surface; make you more aware and open to reading signs of disease; serve as a ward-round guide; keep you fresh and motivated with each case; and, tie up the loose ends, enabling you to complete a diagnosis.

This groundbreaking book explains prognosis from the perspective of doctors, examining why physicians are reluctant to predict the future, how doctors use prognosis, the symbolism it contains, and the emotional difficulties it involves. Drawing on his experiences as a doctor and sociologist, Nicholas Christakis interviewed scores of physicians and searched dozens of medical textbooks and medical school curricula for discussions of prognosis in an attempt to get to the core of this nebulous medical issue that, despite its importance, is only partially understood and rarely discussed.
"Highly recommended for everyone from patients wrestling with their personal prognosis to any medical practitioner touched by this bioethical dilemma."--"Library Journal, " starred review
" T]he first full general discussion of prognosis ever written. . . . A] manifesto for a form of prognosis that's equal parts prediction-an assessment of likely outcomes based on statistical averages-and prophecy, an intuition of what lies ahead."--Jeff Sharlet, "Chicago Reader"
" S]ophisticated, extraordinarily well supported, and compelling. . . . Christakis] argues forcefully that the profession must take responsibility for the current widespread avoidance of prognosis and change the present culture. This prophet is one whose advice we would do well to heed."--James Tulsky, M.D., "New England Journal of Medicine"

The past few years have witnessed rapid progress in the characterization of mechanisms that underlie the generation and processing of inter- and intracellular signals. While there have been significant corollary advances in the area of signaling in disease processes, there is as yet no single resource that connects these advances with an understanding of disease processes and applications for novel therapeutics. Collecting chapters from the leading experts in their respective fields, editors Toren Finkel and Silvio Gutkind deliver a much-needed introduction to signaling and a fruitful discussion of promising directions for future research.

Signal Transduction and Human Disease capitalizes on the current emphasis on translational research and biological relevance in biotechnology and, conversely, the importance of molecular approaches for clinical research. Each chapter conveys the sense of a disease process, what it affects, how it presents, how common it is, and what the treatments are. Clinical descriptions are not exhaustive but rather serve as an outline regarding the disease’s manifestations and current treatment options. Following this introduction, the authors present an in-depth discussion of one or two signal transduction pathways or biological processes relevant to the disease. The editors divide their study into five sections:

• Cardio-Pulmonary Disease
• Oncology
• Endocrinology
• Infectious Disease
• Allergy/Rheumatology
• Neurology/Psychiatry

Biochemists, molecular and cell biologists, immunologists, pharmacologists, and clinical researchers, as well as graduate students in a variety of scientific disciplines, will find Signal Transduction and Human Disease to be an invaluable addition to the literature.

Written by authors who are hospitalists and clinician-educators, Cases in Hospital Medicine uses practical case studies and current medical evidence to guide you expertly through the types of cases seen most often by practicing hospital-based clinicians. This engaging handbook covers the wide range of both broad and specific knowledge required in the hospital environment, while focusing on highly relevant questions and today's best practices. You'll find real-world guidance on essential topics, including commentary on research studies and clinical guidelines. Provides an evidence-based approach to clinical cases most often encountered by hospitalists, including the key questions in these situations, such as: What sort of diuretic regimen-bolus or continuous infusion-should I use to remove fluid from a 73-year-old man with acute congestive heart failure? How soon should a 49-year-old woman with gallstone pancreatitis undergo prophylactic cholecystectomy? What are the risks and benefits of continuing aspirin therapy perioperatively in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery? What is the optimal anti-inflammatory agent for a 60-year-old man with acute gouty arthritis? Maintains a clinical focus throughout, discussing the most practice-relevant questions for hospital-based clinicians and providing answers to specific clinical dilemmas. Covers a wide variety of frequently-seen situations such as skin and soft tissue infection, pneumonia, alcohol withdrawal, sepsis, COPD exacerbation, syncope, atrial fibrillation, pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, end-of-life care, and much more. Enrich Your eBook Reading Experience Read directly on your preferred device(s), such as computer, tablet, or smartphone. Easily convert to audiobook, powering your content with natural language text-to-speech.

Increasing demands on acute hospital resources, together with a reduction in the number of available beds, has placed a greater emphasis on the need for rapid and effective assessment of patients in order to determine their need for hospital adsmission. This has led to the widespread emergence of the specialist Medical Assessment Unit (MAU). This timely book provides an up- to-date guide to the assessment and immediate management of patients with acute medical conditions. It presents a structured approach based on common presenting features and focuses on the first twenty four hours of the patient's stay in hospital. In writing this book, the editors have been able to draw on their own clinical experiences as a charge nurse in Accident and Emergency nursing and a sister in acute cardiology and respectively.

This second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Medical Dermatology provides practical and accessible advice on how to reach a diagnosis or create a management plan when faced with patients with a range of skin conditions. Giving concise and clear guidance on investigation and treatment, this Handbook helps doctors adopt a step-by-step approach at the bedside to make sense of skin problems by analysing clinical signs. Illustrated and in full colour, it covers skin physiology, an overview of common skin conditions, and skin problems commonly seen in a broad range of specialities, from rheumatology to psychiatry, as well as children and the elderly. Now comprehensively updated with new clinical pictures, references, and extensively reworked chapters on skin in infancy and childhood, cutaneous reactions to drugs, skin tumours, and rheumatology. This second edition now includes a brand new chapter on skin and genetics, detailing this fast-growing and important area of dermatology, promoting good communication with a patient-centred and practical common-sense approach for trainees in dermatology, junior doctors, GPs, and medical students.

Acutely unwell patients can deteriorate dangerously without timely recognition and intervention. Emergencies in Clinical Medicine provides an easy-to-use guide to the prompt management of common medical emergencies. Designed for rapid use, it explains how to arrive at a differential diagnosis and how to prevent, manage, or treat an emergency. The second edition has been fully updated to reflect current clinical guidelines and includes several new topics, from pulmonary oedemas to the overdose patient. Revised to cover the curricula for core medical training (CMT) and acute care common stem (ACS), this text addresses exactly what the trainee doctor needs to know. The text covers emergencies from both a problem-based and disease-based approach. Cross-referencing between these two sections enables quick reference under pressure, with clear, step-by-step instructions and advice on when and who to call for help. With key algorithms for quick reference and easy to follow symbols indicating clinical severity, from life-threatening to minor, this text will help clinical staff managing acutely ill patients in an easy-to-read and portable format.

This work presents an unflinching look inside the detective story that marks nearly every illness - the diagnosis - revealing the combination of uncertainty and intrigue that doctors face when confronting patients who are sick or dying.

Reviews of the First Edition . . .

"This is the first major manual on Bender Gestalt testing in over 30 years, and includes detailed administration and scoring instructions, and data on validity and reliability." —Epilepsia.

"This book will provide both psychologists and psychiatrists [with] a comprehensive yet easy-to-use manual for screening brain dysfunction." —Contemporary Psychiatry.

"Dr. Lacks should be complimented for her treatment of the use of the BGT in screening for organic brain dysfunction." —Book Reviews in Neurosciences.

Utilized for over 60 years by clinicians worldwide, the Bender Gestalt Test (BGT) today continues to be a widely used assessment tool to measure the cognitive domain of visuoconstructive abilities and to screen for brain dysfunction. Much of the BGT's popularity rests on its brevity, simplicity, and proven effectiveness with individuals from age 4 to 100. The test is often employed in inpatient psychiatric settings because of its ability to discriminate between brain impairment and serious mental disorders like schizophrenia. More recently, the BGT has also been used to identify older adults at high risk for cognitive decline.

This Second Edition is fully revised and includes an up-to-date review of the relevant scientific literature on the test's reliability, validity, and diagnostic accuracy. The book also contains additional normative data, a discussion of malingering, and almost all new examples and practice case materials. Five new chapters address issues in neuropsychological screening, eight steps to interpretation of test results, and use of the Bender Gestalt Test with children, adolescents, and older adults.

The book serves as a comprehensive manual for the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Bender Gestalt Test. The diagnostic significance of general and specific behavioral observations is stressed and a format for recording them is included. For scoring, there are descriptions and multiple examples within the author's adaptation of the 12 errors of the Hutt and Briskin scoring system. The reader can use the 12 varied clinical case examples with explication of the scoring and 10 additional practice cases to gain rapid scoring facility and accuracy. Norms are provided for adult non-patients and psychiatric inpatients, nonpatient and demented older adults, and adolescents.

Designed for practical use and adhering to APA standards for test manuals, Bender Gestalt Screening for Brain Dysfunction is a comprehensive and easy-to-use manual that will enable psychology clinicians, psychometricians, and graduate students to increase their level of diagnostic accuracy in screening for brain damage.

This text will be of enormous value to anyone involved in the monitoring and investigation of adverse medical events occurring during the clinical trials, or during the post marketing period of a drug. The book reviews the biochemical and physiological abnormalities in each of the bodys organ systems and helps the investigator decide if the problem is of drug-induced origin. Most of the information is presented as a series of observations with accompanying questions which should be addressed in order to make an accurate diagnosis. Easy-to-read with useful flow charts for the management of adverse drug events and examples of specific report forms, this text will be of interest to all those involved in drug monitoring in clinical medicine, pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations or regulatory authorities.

A practical, real-world approach-focus on what's normal to identify abnormal. Here are all of the how-tos, what-tos, when-tos, and why-tos you need to master in a well-organized, well-illustrated text that makes the material easier to learn now... and reference later. First, it focuses on the normal and the normal variants of the adult, child, elderly, and pregnant patients seem most frequently in practice. Then, when a finding falls outside of those parameters, you'll be able to identify it as abnormal. Second, assessment is presented as a linear and consistent process, so you will always do the same steps in the same order, assuring that you don't miss anything. An access code inside new, printed texts unlocks resources online at FADavis.com, including Advanced Assessment Techniques, an Audio Library with sample auscultation and percussion sounds, Case Studies featuring real-life scenarios, and Performance Checklists that document the steps of each technique.

The only text to focus specifically on advanced health assessment/management of women This authoritative text for busy clinicians, advanced practice students, and faculty delivers essential content focused on improving the quality of healthcare provided to women/persons with a vagina across the lifespan. Brimming with new and updated content, the fifth edition reflects the most current evidence-based clinical practice guidelines available. It includes 14 new chapters written by experts in their field and the addition of disease management content, especially medications. Chapters are enhanced with management/pharmacology summary charts and case studies with discussion questions. The use of two colors improves readability, and amplified Instructor Resources include key statistics/epidemiology, learning objectives, suggested student activities and self-assessment questions, and UAB videos. Using a clear, concise outline format, this user-friendly text delivers quick, comprehensive information regarding the health assessment and management of women/persons with a vagina. It defines the role, skills, and scope of practice of different health providers and illuminates a variety of assessment skills, techniques, and procedures used by advanced practice clinicians in everyday practice. Sample assessment forms are integrated throughout along with numerous educational handouts for patients. Discussion of techniques includes a comprehensive list of requisite equipment and information on patient prep and recommended follow-up. Boxes, tables, and figures throughout reinforce key information. Purchase includes access to eBook for use on most mobile devices or computers. New to the Fifth Edition: Fourteen new chapters Telehealth in women's health Vaginal health and vaginal microscopy Mental health screening Preconception care Complementary and alternative medical therapies Adolescent health Lactation assessment and management Female veterans Male sexual and reproductive health Amenorrhea PMS/PMDD Sexual health and related problems Human trafficking The contraceptive consult Expanded breast health including breastfeeding Transgender care Updates on screening instruments Best-practice apps Case studies Management/treatment summaries Enhanced instructor package including key statistics/epidemiology, learning objectives, student activities, and self-assessment questions Two-color printing to improve readability Step-by-step videos of five office gynecology simulations from UAB Key Features: Delivered in outline, bulleted format for speedy reference Reflects the most current evidence-based clinical practice guidelines Offers easy-to-follow, step-by-step coverage of procedures Addresses treatment/management of multiple conditions Includes detailed illustrations

The diagnosis and monitoring of hematological malignancies is complex and requires a systematic approach. Morphology, cell phenotyping, cytogenetics and molecular genetics are essential, and the results must be integrated. Diagnostic Techniques in Hematological Malignancies details the principles and applications of each of these test types in the diagnosis of hematological malignancies in blood and bone marrow. The first section describes the test modalities - including methodological principles, data interpretation and limitations - and is illustrated by clinical examples. The second section focuses on the clinical entities, detailing the most appropriate tests for diagnosis, staging and monitoring of different hematological malignancies and includes test utilization to identify prognostic markers and potential therapeutic targets. With contributions from multiple international experts, this illustrated book is an essential resource for qualified and trainee hematologists, oncologists, and pathologists. It's a practical and useful guide, providing a rational and structured approach to the laboratory assessment of hematological malignancies.

A classic text, Chamberlain's Symptoms and Signs in Clinical Medicine has been providing students and professionals with a detailed and well-illustrated account of the symptoms and signs of diseases affecting all the body systems since the first edition published in 1936. Now completely rewritten by a new team of authors selected for their experience and reputation in writing quality publications in their specialist fields, the 13th edition brings the title into line with current teaching and practice. One of the key challenges of writing a textbook of diagnostic medicine is to balance the "bottom up" approach of constructing a differential diagnosis from individual clinical findings, and the "top down" approach of learning the key features pertaining to a particular diagnosis. The 13th edition of Chamberlain's Symptoms and Signs in Clinical Medicine integrates both approaches into a coherent working framework that will assist the reader in preparing for academic and professional examinations, and in everyday practice. Presented in full colour and illustrated with relevant images, this book provides a thorough lesson in diagnostic medicine, ensuring the reader is fully prepared to deal with the challenging process of differential diagnosis through a thorough knowledge of the central features of the conditions that they are likely to encounter. Key features: Teaches the reader how to diagnose correctly through assessment of symptoms and signs while simultaneously recalling all key features of a given condition Full colour and generously illustrated Conforms with the core competencies required for the foundation years Includes bullet point lists and tip boxes Chapters conclude with a summary of key points for easy revision Written and edited by a highly experienced team of specialists Companion website

From the potent properties of X rays evoked in Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain to the miniaturized surgical team of the classic science fiction film Fantastic Voyage, the possibility of peering into the inner reaches of the body has engaged the twentieth-century popular and scientific imagination. Drawing on examples that are international in scope, The Transparent Body examines the dissemination of medical images to a popular audience, advancing the argument that medical imaging technologies are the material embodiment of collective desires and fantasies--the most pervasive of which is the ideal of transparency itself. The Transparent Body traces the cultural context and wider social impact of such medical imaging practices as X ray and endoscopy, ultrasound imaging of fetuses, the filming and broadcasting of surgical operations, the creation of plastinated corpses for display as art objects, and the use of digitized cadavers in anatomical study. In the early twenty-first century, the interior of the body has become a pervasive cultural presence - as accessible to the public eye as to the physician's gaze. Jose van Dijck explores the multifaceted interactions between medical images and cultural ideologies that have brought about this situation. The Transparent Body unfolds the complexities involved in medical images and their making, illuminating their uses and meanings both within and outside of medicine. Van Dijck demonstrates the ways in which the ability to render the inner regions of the human body visible - and the proliferation of images of the body's interior in popular media - affect our view of corporeality and our understanding of health and disease. Written in an engaging style that brings thought-provoking cultural intersections vividly to life, The Transparent Body will be of special interest to those in media studies, cultural studies, science and technology studies, medical humanities, and the history of medicine.

Here's a user-friendly, readable introduction to the study of electrocardiography. It guides you in capturing and interpreting ECGs, with an eye towards clinical correlation for easy application to your practice. New in this edition are increased content on pediatric ECGs, implantable cardiodefibrillators, and pacemakers. Comprehensively and expertly describes how to capture and interpret all normal and abnormal ECG findings in adults and children. Features the expertise of internationally recognized authorities on electrocardiography, for advanced assistance in mastering the subtle but critical nuances of this complex diagnostic modality. Features new chapters on pediatric electrocardiography that explore rhythm problems associated with pediatric obesity, heart failure, and athletic activity. Presents a new chapter on recording and interpreting heart rhythms in patients with pacemakers. Includes new material on interpreting ECG findings associated with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Provides fully updated coverage on the increased importance of ECGs in stress testing.

EEG-Based Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease: A Review and Novel Approaches for Feature Extraction and Classification Techniques provides a practical and easy-to-use guide for researchers in EEG signal processing techniques, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia diagnostics. The book examines different features of EEG signals used to properly diagnose Alzheimer's Disease early, presenting new and innovative results in the extraction and classification of Alzheimer's Disease using EEG signals. This book brings together the use of different EEG features, such as linear and nonlinear features, which play a significant role in diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease.

Volatile biomarkers play a significant signalling role in communication between biological cells living as individual entities or as mini-societies that sense, respond and adapt to changes in their environment. In this process, volatile biomarkers can leak into the blood, from which they can be secreted into most body fluids (blood, breath, skin, urine, saliva, feces, etc.), from which sensing devices can capture and interpret their chemical fingerprint to reflect any association with health disorders in a fast, easy, and minimally non-invasive manner. This book introduces the concept of biomarkers within the body in terms of basic and translational sciences. It starts with a comprehensive review of the expression and mechanistic pathways involving volatile biomarkers at single cell and (micro)organism levels, cell-to-cell and cell-to-organism communications, and their secretion into body fluids. It discusses several ways for discovering and detecting the secreted biomarkers using mass spectrometry and other spectroscopic techniques. This is followed by an appraisal and translation of the accumulating knowledge from the laboratory to the Point-of-Care phase, using selective sensors as well as desktop and wearable artificial sensing devices, e.g., electronic noses and electronic skins, in conjugation with AI-assisted data processing and healthcare decision-making in diagnostics. The book offers an outlook into the challenges in the continuing development of volatile biomarkers and their wider availability to healthcare, which can be substantially improved. It should appeal to research groups in universities, start-up and large-scale industries associated in all aspects of biomedicine.

How to undertake key clinical tests, make effective diagnoses and develop logical clinical reasoning. Clinical Skills, Diagnostics and Reasoning provides detailed coverage of the history and examination of all major body systems. It will be an essential resource as you start on the wards. Key features: an engaging and authoritative style - with everything you need in one place realistic clinical cases - these show how skilled clinicians work through a presentation, and put disease and biomedical principles into context extensive range of photographs - superb clinical photos show exactly how to undertake a broad range of examinations and tests starter questions - stimulating questions and answers to test your knowledge and highlight the level of detail you need study boxes - these highlight tips, tricks and key learning points Designed to take you from the lecture theatre to the ward - from anatomy and physiology to typical clinical cases and how they are assessed. By fully integrating basic science and clinical medicine, Clinical Skills, Diagnostics and Reasoning will equip you with the core knowledge and skills you will need for exams and placements!

A comprehensive, systematic approach to 12-lead EKG interpretation covering all relevant topics you'll encounter in clinical practice including treatment options!Delivering clear and concise explanations to help students easily grasp key concepts, this book provides a comprehensive, no-nonsense approach to EKG interpretation for nurse practitioner and physician assistant students, as well as practicing clinicians who need a quick refresher. The third edition retains the book&'s systematic, physiologic approach that trains readers to follow the same steps in evaluating EKG tracings. After working through this book, you'll gain a genuine understanding of EKG interpretation and will no longer need to memorize EKG strips. Using the patient's presenting symptoms as a starting point, abundant clinical scenarios demonstrate real-life applications for interpreting EKG readings. With over 75 figures and tables and more than 260 EKG tracings, this resource delivers everything you need to provide expert, quality care to your patients. NEW to the THIRD EDITIONn Treatment options included for premature atrial and ventricular contractions, atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, ischemia and infarction, and heart block 14 in-depth chapter case scenarios to further challenge you and increase your proficiency in EKG interpretation 60 new EKG tracings, providing you with more than 260 tracings throughout the book Evidence-based approaches to differentiate between similar EKG patterns New high-risk EKG descriptions, including multiple types of high-grade heart block and Wellen's syndrome for acute myocardial infarction Risk stratification techniques for heart block, acute coronary syndromes, and supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias utilizing the EKG KEY FEATURES Addresses EKG interpretation using a systematic, physiologic approach, eliminating the need for memorization Uses the patient's presenting clinical symptoms as a starting point to teach critical thinking Includes more than 75 figures and tables and 260 EKG tracings to further illustrate concepts Offers 140 end-of-chapter review questions to help solidify your knowledge Includes 70 case studies with EKG tracings and teaching points at the end of the book, plus additional case studies in each chapter, to connect key concepts with real-world learning

In this book, a new approach for diagnosis and risk evaluation of ar-terial hypertension is introduced. The new approach was implement-ed as a hybrid intelligent system combining modular neural net-works and fuzzy systems. The different responses of the hybrid system are combined using fuzzy logic. Finally, two genetic algo-rithms are used to perform the optimization of the modular neural networks parameters and fuzzy inference system parameters. The experimental results obtained using the proposed method on real pa-tient data show that when the optimization is used, the results can be better than without optimization. This book is intended to be a refer-ence for scientists and physicians interested in applying soft compu-ting techniques, such as neural networks, fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms, in medical diagnosis, but also in general to classification and pattern recognition and similar problems.