Characterization of Polymeric Biomaterials presents a comprehensive introduction on the topic before discussing the morphology and surface characterization of biomedical polymers. The structural, mechanical, and biological characterization is described in detail, followed by invaluable case studies of polymer biomaterial implants. With comprehensive coverage of both theoretical and experimental information, this title will provide scientists with an essential guide on the topic of these materials which are regularly used for clinical applications, such as implants and drug delivery devices. However, a range of novel polymers and the development and modification of existing medical polymers means that there is an ongoing need to satisfy particular design requirements. This book explains the critical and fundamentals methods to characterize polymer materials for biomedical applications.

This issue of Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, devoted to Obstructive Sleep Apnea, is guest edited by Dr. Mark A. D'Agostino. Articles in this outstanding issue include: Pediatric Sleep Apnea; Skeletal Procedures for Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Nasal Obstruction and its Role in Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Nasal procedures; Sleep Testing; Drug-induced Sleep Endoscopy; PAP Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Palatal Procedures for Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Oral Appliances for Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Obstructive Sleep Apnea Overview and Economic Impact of Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Genioglossal Advancement, Hyoid Suspension and Tongue Base Radio Frequency for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Endoscopic Partial Midline Glossectomy; Robotic Partial Glossectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Upper Airway Stimulation Therapy.

Prosodic Features and Prosodic Structure presents an overall view of the nature of prosodic features of language - accent, stress, rhythm, tone, pitch, and intonation - and shows how these connect to sound systems and meaning. This invaluable survey will appeal to linguists at all levels, in particular to phonologists, phoneticians, and researchers in related applied fields such as speech pathology and speech synthesis.

This book discusses the latest developments of the synthesis, preparation, characterization, and applications of nano/microstructure-based materials in biomedical and energetic fields. It introduces several popular approaches to fabricating these materials, including template-assisted fabrication, electrospinning of organic/inorganic hybrid materials, biomineralization-mediated self-assembly, etc. The latest results in material evaluation for targeted applications are also presented. In particular, the book highlights the latest advances and future challenges in polymer nanodielectrics for energy storage applications. As such, it offers a valuable reference guide for scholars interested in the synthesis and evaluation of nano/microstructure-based materials, as well as their biomedical and energetic applications. It also provides essential insights for graduate students and scientists pursuing research in the broad fields of composite materials, polymers, organic/inorganic hybrid materials, nano-assembly, etc.

Trauma Plating Systems is the first reference and systematic book in the topic of trauma plating system in view of biomechanical, material, biological, and clinical aspects. The effects of these aspects on effectiveness of trauma plating fixation are deeply reviewed, discussed, and challenged from which promising evaluation and development concepts are explored. This book is divided into five sections: Section I covers general concepts of biomechanical, material, biological, and clinical aspects. Then it provides fundamentals of trauma plating systems, principles of biomechanical evaluation methods, and biomechanics of plating fixation in Section II. Section III reviews current metallic materials with their advantages and disadvantages in plating fixation of bone fractures and new promising materials with their potential benefits to enhance the effectiveness of plating fixation. Section IV represents currently concerned biomechanical-clinical challenges of plating fixation for various bone fractures, and Section V presents current and new development concepts of this type of trauma implants. This book as an accessible and easy usable textbook for various disciplines of audiences who are dealing with trauma plating system and fixation such as orthopedic surgeons, trauma implant manufacturers, biomechanical researchers, biomaterial researchers, and all biomedical or medical students and residents in different levels of education. Author has been diligent in both engineering and research environments in terms of research, testing, analysis, validation, verification, clinical studies, and technical writing. His main interest and effort is to integrate biomechanical, material, biological, and clinical requirements of orthopedic implants for creation of novel design conception in this industry. He has developed the website http://orthoimplant-development.com/ for further communication in development of orthopedic implants.

Protein pharmaceuticals form a fast-growing category in the arsenal of drugs. This book explores the nature of different analytical techniques and the way in which they are related to pharmaceutical proteins. In addition to serving the analytical chemist, this book is needed by the formulation scientist who is responsible for design and formulation of a pharmaceutical protein that can be monitored during production and over time.

Nanostructures for Novel Therapy: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications focuses on the fabrication and characterization of therapeutic nanostructures, in particular, synthesis, design, and in vitro and in vivo therapeutic evaluation. The chapters provide a cogent overview of recent therapeutic applications of nanostructured materials that includes applications of nanostructured materials for wound healing in plastic surgery and stem cell therapy. The book explores the promise for more effective therapy through the use of nanostructured materials, while also assessing the challenges their use might pose from both an economic and medicinal point of view. This innovative look at how nanostructured materials are used in therapeutics will be of great benefit to researchers, providing a greater understanding of the different ways nanomaterials could improve medical treatment, along with a discussion of the obstacles that need to be overcome in order to guarantee widespread availability.

This issue will focus on traumatic brain injury and will include articles on the following: Pathophysiology of TBI; Acute Management of Moderate-Severe TBI; Disorder of Consciousness; Rehabilitation of Moderate-Severe TBI; Acute Diagnosis and Management of Concussion; Rehabilitation of Persistent Symptoms after Concussion Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy; Unique Aspect of TBI in the Military and Veteran; and many more!

The Guest Editors have secured top experts in the area of palliative care to write current and clinically relevant articles. Articles in this issue are devoted to: Caring for LGBT Populations; Integrating Palliative Care into Primary Care; Pain Management in the Cognitively Impaired; Pain Management in the Client with Substance Use Disorder; Rituals at End of Life; Death Bed Phenomena; Family Care During End of Life; Palliative Wound Care; Pet-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care; Palliative Sedation: State of the Science. Readers will come away with the updated information they need to provide state-of-the-art palliative care to their patients.

Foot and ankle arthroscopy involves the surgical evaluation and treatment of the foot and ankle for a variety of conditions. This issue will cover everything from Arthroscopic Anatomy, Arthroscopic Instrumentation, Imaging Aspects of Joint Pathology and Arthroscopic Techniques, Intra-articular Soft Tissue Pathology, to Subtalar Joint Arthroscopy, and many more exciting articles.

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.

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.

Offers comprehensive guidance for practitioners, students, and researchers in psychology, psychiatry, and counseling to teach relaxation to clients. Two clinical psychologists widely known for their writings on relaxation present state-of-the-art methods for teaching clients to ease muscle and mind tension to deal with stress and anxiety disorders, as well as other conditions where stress and anxiety play a role. Bernstein and Hazlett-Stevens explain who the targets for Progressive Relaxation Training (PRT) are; the rationale, basic procedures, and variations of PRT; the setting and possible problems and solutions of PRT; and how to assess a client's progress. They also address hypnosis, drugs, and PRT, as well as PRT used in a mindfulness-based clinical practice. Case studies and evaluative research in PRT are also included. Students and practitioners in psychology, psychiatry, and counseling will find this work of interest. This book may also be useful supplemental reading for behavior modification courses and practicum courses in behavior therapy. Case studies illustrate techniques Research included shows the benefits of PRT Comprehensive coverage includes rationale, physiology, procedures, variations, problems and solutions, and assessment of progress Descriptions of recent neuroscience research show how PRT correlates in the brain

This book is the first to focus specifically on cancer nanotheranostics. Each of the chapters that make up this comprehensive volume is authored by a researcher, clinician, or regulatory agency member known for their expertise in this field. Theranostics, the technology to simultaneously diagnose and treat a disease, is a nascent field that is growing rapidly in this era of personalized medicine. As the need for cost-effective disease diagnosis grows, drug delivery systems that can act as multifunctional carriers for imaging contrast and therapy agents could provide unique breakthroughs in oncology. Nanotechnology has enabled the development of smart theranostic platforms that can concurrently diagnose disease, start primary treatment, monitor response and initiate secondary treatments if required. In oncology, chemotherapeutics have been routinely used. Some drugs have proven effective but all carry risks of adverse side effects. There is growing interest in using remotely triggered drug delivery systems to limit cytotoxicity in the diseased area. This book reviews the use of theranostic nanoparticles for cancer applications over the past decade. First, it briefly discusses the challenges and limitations of conventional cancer treatments, and presents an overview of the use of nanotechnology in treating cancer. These introductory chapters are followed by those exploring cancer diagnosis and a myriad of delivery methods for nanotherapeutics. The book also addresses multifunctional platforms, treatment monitoring, and regulatory considerations. As a whole, the book aims to briefly summarize the development and clinical potential of various nanotheranostics for cancer applications, and to delineate the challenges that must be overcome for successful clinical development and implementation of such cancer theranostics.

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.

Recovering Assemblages offers an exciting new insight into the policies and practices of recovery and drug use bridging critical drug studies and the sociology of health and illness. The book investigates lived experiences of young people in Azerbaijan and Germany during their personal recovery from alcohol and other drug use and shows the contingency of 'real' experiences. The sociomaterial and ontological analyses unfold the interrelation of practices, spaces, bodies, and affects in experiencing recovery both within and outside of various treatment facilities. The book will appeal to a range of scholars, postgraduates, and undergraduates engaged in critical, methodological, and empirical studies of recovery, drug use, and policy.

This handbook covers established and advanced techniques for biomarker analysis, such as guidelines and strategies for assay validation methods; different mathematical models that are necessary in contemporary drug discovery and development; and evaluation of new cytometry methods. Expertly curated by two practicing professionals in drug development and biotherapeutics, individual chapters are selected for novel and sound research; information is chosen based on its relevance to lab applications and clinical trials, such as the topic of selecting animal models for their relevancy to humans. The book is multifaceted, discussing the ethics and issues with biospecimens and providing an in-depth analysis to the differences between pre-clinical and clinical assay development. The book is an essential read for general readers who need an introduction to the history and background of biomarkers, and it also provides critical analyses of various new validation methods for practitioners and researchers.

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.