It astounds the western world that such a highly industrialized nation as the Netherlands, with all the resources of modern medicine and technology, has a marked preference for home birth assisted by midwives. Van der Mark examines Dutch attitudes and practices surrounding birth from a sociohistorical point of view, explaining the importance of ideological consensus, the private nature of the Dutch family, the high regard for comfort and well being, and the professional development of midwives as trained and licensed practitioners. This volume will be welcomed by those convinced of the value of low-intervention home birth, but it will also be of interest to practitioners who must rely on technological procedures to manage the birth process. Since the Dutch hold one of the world records of pregnancy outcome statistics, readers will be interested in the Dutch midwifery model described here by various contributors.

This volume reviews the state of the art in caring for patients dying in the ICU, focusing on both clinical aspects of managing pain and other symptoms, as well as ethical and societal issues that affect the standards of care recieved, The book also addresses the changing epidemiology of death in this setting related to managed care, practical skills needed to provide the highest quality of care to terminal patients, communicating with patients and families, the mechanics of withdrawing life supporting therapies, and the essential role of palliative care specialists in the ICU. The book briefly describes unique issues that arise when caring for patients with some of the more common diseases that preciptate death in the ICU. Contributors for the book were chosed because they have experience caring for patients in the ICU, and are also doing curent research to find ways to improve care for terminal patients in this setting.

Mechanical Testing of Orthopaedic Implants provides readers with a thorough overview of the fundamentals of orthopedic implants and various methods of mechanical testing. Historical aspects are presented, along with case studies that are particularly useful for readers.

Jane Dwinell has written an important book using real-life scenarios to illustrate her unique philosophy of childbirth, one that can only inspire women to take greater control over how and where they give birth. From her vantage point as a birth attendant, Dwinell recounts the moving birth experiences of twenty different women. Thus the reader learns that there are no right or wrong ways to give birth. In fact, the author shows how satisfying it can be for women to exercise their own strength, power and choice in the birth process instead of yielding to unnecessary technological and medical interventions. Birth, she says, is a process of wellness, not illness. Hence, most women don't need medication to help them deal with normal birth pains if they have the proper empowering support during labor.

When women give birth in a comfortable setting of their choice, the medical wrongs against them, committed in hospitals in the name of safety and technology, are prevented. In the face of opposition from an entrenched segment of the medical establishment, Dwinell dares the view that hospital care should not be routine but should be given only with good reason and the women's permission. For pregnant women and their partners, "Birth StorieS" makes a convincing argument that under normal circumstances wach women's intuitive knowledge and individual resources can help her to labor and deliver successfully in her own way. Nurses, midwives, doctors, and birth educators will find it useful to realize that there are many ways to give birth . . . that it is important for the family to be together and make their own choices . . . and that pregnant women can have safe births without excessive medical intervention. This book can also serve as a guide for professionals who want to develop this type of birthing model within their own institution.

This issue of Sleep Medicine Clinics focuses on Ambulatory Sleep Medicine. Article topics include: Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Personalised medicine for Obstructive Sleep Apnea therapies: Are we there yet?, Cardiovascular risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Motor Vehicle Accident risk related to Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome on Neurocognitive function and impact of CPAP; CPAP therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Maximizing adherence including using novel IT based systems; Mandibular advancement splints; Surgical approaches to Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Consequences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea; and more!

This invaluable resource discusses clinical applications with effects and side-effects of applications of stem cells in liver, lung and heart regeneration. All chapters are contributed by pre-eminent scientists in the field and covers such topics as cell therapy in the treatment of cirrhosis and other liver, heart and lung diseases, characteristics of hepatic progenitor cells, future directions of the discussed therapies and much more. Liver, Lung and Heart Regeneration and the other books in the Stem Cells in Clinical Applications series will be invaluable to scientists, researchers, advanced students and clinicians working in stem cells, regenerative medicine or tissue engineering.

Provides recommendations by foremost scholars regarding best practices and future directions in LGBT aging. With its critical examination of contemporary issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders, this landmark Annual Review continues a nearly 40-year tradition of providing state-of-the-art knowledge, insight, and research on topics critical to gerontologists worldwide. The 37th volume addresses the cardinal changes occurring in the public policy arena—marriage rights, social security benefits, and other movements toward equality—as they pertain to LGBT elders, and focuses on a variety of key challenges affecting this population. Bringing together the work of highly respected researchers in health policy and psychosocial spheres pertinent to older LGBT adults, the Review also sets forth recommendations on best practices and discusses future directions for working with this population. Each chapter covers a specific issue affecting the older LGBT population and includes definitions of key concepts; a summary of current research; and a discussion of trends and future directions. The Review addresses such key topics as sexuality and sexual health, health and mental health disparities, caregiving, and service needs. It focuses on such critical issues for LGBT elders as social services, families and social supports, health and wellbeing for transgender and bisexual older adults, stigma for bisexual older adults, and special issues for older LGBT veterans and rural-dwelling elders. Also examined is the intersection of diverse characteristics such as gender, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. The book concludes with a discussion of programs and policies for older LGBT adults and offers concluding comments for professionals working with this population. Key Features: Provides an historical view of events, policy, and public opinion that have affected the lives of older LGBT cohorts Distils state-of-the-art research and data on such critical issues as sexuality, health and mental health disparities, caregiving, and service needs Considers the intersection of diverse characteristics such as gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and aging Discusses families and social supports, health and wellbeing for transsexual and bisexual older adults, LGBT veterans, and rural elders Examines future trends and changes in policy and programming to benefit older LGBTs .

This book analyzes several compliant contact force models within the context of multibody dynamics, while also revisiting the main issues associated with fundamental contact mechanics. In particular, it presents various contact force models, from linear to nonlinear, from purely elastic to dissipative, and describes their parameters. Addressing the different numerical methods and algorithms for contact problems in multibody systems, the book describes the gross motion of multibody systems by using a two-dimensional formulation based on the absolute coordinates and employs different contact models to represent contact-impact events. Results for selected planar multibody mechanical systems are presented and utilized to discuss the main assumptions and procedures adopted throughout this work. The material provided here indicates that the prediction of the dynamic behavior of mechanical systems involving contact-impact strongly depends on the choice of contact force model. In short, the book provides a comprehensive resource for the multibody dynamics community and beyond on modeling contact forces and the dynamics of mechanical systems undergoing contact-impact events.

Electrospinning, an electro-hydrodynamic process, is a versatile and promising platform technology for the production of nanofibrous materials for tissue engineering and biomedical applications. Electrospun Materials for Tissue Engineering and Biomedical Applications, examines the rapid development of electrospun materials for use in tissue engineering and biomedical applications. With a strong focus on fundamental materials science and engineering, this book also looks at successful technology transfers to the biomedical industry, highlighting biomedical products already on the market as well as the requirements to successfully commercialize electrospun materials for potential use in tissue engineering and biomedical areas. This book is a valuable resource for materials and biomedical scientists and engineers wishing to broaden their knowledge on the tissue engineering and biomedical applications of electrospun fibrous materials.

Sedation is a necessary component of care for critically ill and injured individuals. Sedatives assist in coping with mechanical ventilation and other invasive devices, and help patients tolerate procedures and noxious stimuli in the intensive care unit. Sedatives are also useful in the control of agitation and delirium. In addition to fundamental humane reasons, calming patients with sedatives provides physiologic benefits, such as reducing oxygen consumption expended during restlessness, and prevents dislodgement of life-preserving tubes and catheters. When administering sedatives to manage critically ill patients, clinicians must be cognizant of the many complex issues surrounding their use. This issue, edited by Consulting Editor, Dr. Jan Foster, provides current updates in this area, including new guidelines and a focus on delirium.

This book provides an introduction to the biological background of heart functioning and analyzes the various materials and technologies used for the development of microfluidic systems dedicated to cell culture, with an emphasis on cardiac cells. The authors describe the characterization of microfluidic systems for cardiac cell culture and center their discussion of the use of stem cell stimulation based on four different types: electrical, biochemical, physical, and mechanical. This book is appropriate for researchers focused on on-chip technologies and heart studies, students in bioengineering and microengineering courses, and a variety of professionals, such as biotechnologists, biomedical engineers, and clinicians working in the cardiac diseases field.

Gellan Gum as a Biomedical Polymer details key topics and fundamental aspects of gellan gum and its biomedical applications in drug delivery, proteins and peptides delivery, cell delivery, tissue engineering, wound dressings and enzyme immobilizations in developing high quality products. Sections introduce gellan gum, its source, production and gelation mechanism, discuss biomedical materials, and provides ways it can be used for biomedical applications. The book also examines the used of gellan gum as pharmaceutical excipients for drug delivery. Future developments and challenges round out the book’s coverage. With contributions for an international group of experts, this book is a useful reference for scientists, researchers and those in industry engaged in biomedical product development using natural polysaccharides.

Intended for school psychologists, counselors, and social workers, teachers, and therapists who work with school systems, this book presents a philosophy and numerous practical strategies for handling behavioral problems presented by students.

This book describes the development of three dimensional electroactive fibres using a novel coaxial wet-spinning approach from organic conductors in combination with non-conducting hydrogel polymers. This book also presents the characterization and evaluation of multiaxial biofibres in terms of mechanical, physical, electrochemical and biological properties, and explores their use in a diverse range of applications including implantable electrodes, drug delivery systems and energy-storage systems. In the first chapter, the author highlights the significance of engineering three dimensional fibres, introduces the involved hydrogels and organic conductors with emphasis on their biomedical application, and collects some of the previously established methods for fabrication of biofibres. In the second chapter, particular attention is given to the overall experimental fabrication methods and characterization analyses conducted in the work. Chapters three to five present the main findings of this work, in which readers will discover how novel hybrid hydrogel fibres with an inner core of chitosan and alginate were prepared and characterized, how graphene was incorporated into coaxial wet-spun biofibres, and how one-dimensional triaxial fibres were developed using a novel coaxial wet-spinning fibre production method and applied as potential battery devices. In the final chapter of this work, the author summarizes the main achievements of the work and outlines some recommendations for future research.

This invaluable resource discusses clinical applications with effects and side-effects of applications of stem cells in diabetes, kidney and wound treatment. All chapters are contributed by pre-eminent scientists in the field and covers such topics as stem cells and cell therapy in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, kidney failure, wound and other skin aging diseases, characteristics of some kinds of stem/progenitor cells for therapy, future directions of the discussed therapies and much more. Pancreas, Kidney and Skin Regeneration and the other books in the Stem Cells in Clinical Applications series will be invaluable to scientists, researchers, advanced students and clinicians working in stem cells, regenerative medicine or tissue engineering.

This issue of Clinics in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery will include articles that focus on achilles tendon pathology and will include: Anatomy and Blood supply; Imaging Indications and Techniques; Mid-substance Tendinopathy Background & Clinical Evaluation; Mid-substance Tendinopathy; Non-Surgical Management; Mid-substance Tendinopathy; Percutaneus Techniques; Mid-substance Tendinopathy; Surgical Management; and a plethora of additional articles on this exciting topic.

This book approaches the differential diagnosis and management of rare, hereditary cancer syndromes from a practical angle, addressing the issues pertinent to each tumour type as encountered by health professionals in their day-to-day practice. This book enables readers to correctly identify patients with rare cancer syndromes who would benefit from genetic counselling and testing, and provides the necessary knowledge for appropriate patient management and advising at-risk family members. It begins by describing recent advances in genetic testing for cancer-predisposing genes. Leading experts from Europe and Australia then offer detailed, up-to-date guidance on the diagnosis and management of a wide range of hereditary cancers. The concluding chapter examines the wider issues that are raised by genetic testing for rare cancer syndromes for patients, families and health professionals. This book is an invaluable source of information for all specialists involved in the care of such patients and their families.

A cardiac dysrhythmia is a disturbance in the cardiac rhythm which can be normal (e.g., sinus arrhythmia) or instantly lethal (e.g., sustained ventricular tachycardia). This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America will provide state of the art diagnostic and treatment information for cardiac dysrhythmias as well as addressing how to achieve the most accurate diagnostic approach to interpreting an electrocardiogram, which is omnipresent in critical care and of critical importance in diagnosing arrhythmias. Articles in this issue are devoted to: The Normal Cardiac Conduction System; The Normal Electrocardiogram: Resting 12-lead and Continuous Cardiac Rhythm Strips; Premature Beats; Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia, Including the Special Type Called Wolff-Parkinson-White; Atrial Fibrillation, The Most Common Type of Supraventricular Arrhythmia; Ventricular Tachycardia and Its Disorganized Counterpart, Ventricular Fibrillation; Brady-Dysrhythmias, When Heart Rate Slows Myocardial Ischemia & Infarction and their Relationship to Dysrhythmias; Pharmacologically Induced Dysrhythmias; and Implantable Cardiac Devices and their Role in Dysrhythmias Management.

How do you care for ageing parents without destroying the family emotionally or financially? Author Dan Taylor has answered that question in The Parent Care SolutionT. Dan helps you to initiate the Six Conversations you must have with your parents to plan for their care. Using a unique Conversation Strategy he strips away the reluctance and the awkwardness that often surrounds this topic. Once the Six Conversations are completed he provides effective tools for organizing finances, making gifts, selling the family home, evaluating a care facility and selecting someone for the role of a The Parent Care SpecialistT. Dan has taken all the complexity around this subject and reduced it to a simple confidence producing set of conversations and actions.