The fourth edition of this bestselling textbook builds your skills for accurate, person-centred assessment and care planning. Working step-by-step through the process, it equips you with practical assessment tools and models for care planning. Its holistic approach helps you to think in the round about an individual's physical health, mental health and other needs, as well as the broader social and environmental factors that influence their lives and care. Fully updated in line with contemporary evidence-based practice, this book will support you through your assignments, placements and into your nursing career. Key features: * Each chapter is mapped to the 2018 NMC Standards * Introduces commonly used assessment tools alongside broader considerations, including preventative healthcare assessment and acting in a patient's best interests. * Scenarios and case studies illustrate theory, principles and complex assessment * Develops the critical thinking and decision-making skills which are essential for effective practice

Analysis of information transfer has found rapid adoption in neuroscience, where a highly dynamic transfer of information continuously runs on top of the brain's slowly-changing anatomical connectivity. Measuring such transfer is crucial to understanding how flexible information routing and processing give rise to higher cognitive function. "Directed Information Measures in Neuroscience" reviews recent developments of concepts and tools for measuring information transfer, their application to neurophysiological recordings and analysis of interactions. Written by the most active researchers in the field the book discusses the state of the art, future prospects and challenges on the way to an efficient assessment of neuronal information transfer. Highlights include the theoretical quantification and practical estimation of information transfer, description of transfer locally in space and time, multivariate directed measures, information decomposition among a set of stimulus/responses variables and the relation between interventional and observational causality. Applications to neural data sets and pointers to open source software highlight the usefulness of these measures in experimental neuroscience. With state-of-the-art mathematical developments, computational techniques and applications to real data sets, this book will be of benefit to all graduate students and researchers interested in detecting and understanding the information transfer between components of complex systems.

The book is the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation (ICNR 2014), held 24th-26th June 2014 in Aalborg, Denmark. The conference featured the latest highlights in the emerging and interdisciplinary field of neural rehabilitation engineering and identified important healthcare challenges the scientific community will be faced with in the coming years. Edited and written by leading experts in the field, the book includes keynote papers, regular conference papers, and contributions to special and innovation sessions, covering the following main topics: neuro-rehabilitation applications and solutions for restoring impaired neurological functions; cutting-edge technologies and methods in neuro-rehabilitation; and translational challenges in neuro-rehabilitation. Thanks to its highly interdisciplinary approach, the book will not only be a highly relevant reference guide for academic researchers, engineers, neurophysiologists, neuroscientists, physicians and physiotherapists working at the forefront of their field, but will also help to act as bridge between the scientific, engineering and medical communities.

Primarily intended for biotechnology graduates, this handbook provides an overview of the requirements, opportunities and drawbacks of Biotech Entrepreneurship, while also presenting valuable training materials tailored to the industrial and market reality in the European Biotech Business. Potential investors and business consultants will find essential information on the benefits and potential risks involved in supporting biotech businesses. Further, the book addresses a broad range of Biotechnology fields, e.g. food biotech, industrial biotech, bioinformatics, animal and human health. Readers will learn the essentials of creating innovations, founding a biotech start-up, business management strategies, and European funding sources. In addition, the book discusses topics such as intellectual property management and innovation transfer. The book offers a comparative analysis of different countries' perspectives and reviews the status quo in Western and Eastern European regions, also in comparison with other leading biotech countries such as the USA and Canada. A long list of potentially profitable biotech start-up ideas and a collection of success stories involving European companies are also included. The book is based on the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership project "Supporting biotechnology students oriented towards an entrepreneurial path" (www.supbioent.usamv.ro), which involved the collaboration of Life Sciences and Economics departments at higher education institutions throughout Western and Eastern Europe.

This book delves into the biotechnological applications of Quorum sensing (QS)- a peculiar gene-regulatory process of some microorganisms. Quorum Sensing allows a large bacterial population to work together in a coordinated manner to carry out metabolic activities, which individual bacterium cannot. The different chapters describe how, associating bioremediation process with energy generation is an economical proposal, for reducing pollution and managing biowastes. The book discusses how QS can be exploited for biotechnological applications in generating bioproducts, bioenergy, bioremediation, biosensors, health and agricultural activities. It further highlights how QS is becoming an integral part of synthetic biology for genetic circuits for producing: (i) novel products, (ii) biosensors, (iii) bioactive molecules, etc. The book is divided into different sections for a clear understanding of the applicability of QS in, the Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Health sectors.

This book walks you step-by-step through the whole research process so you can get up to speed understanding and doing your own research. In their friendly, down to earth style, the authors lay the theoretical foundations you need to consume and critique research, before showing how to translate this into action when tackling your own literature review or research project. This second edition: Draws on a wealth of examples from midwifery, four fields of nursing including mental health nursing and child nursing, and a range of health care specialities. Covers new and updated NMC professional education standards and maps all relevant policy and law. Supports your learning with reflective exercises, online activities and quizzes that enable you to be confident in your understanding and develop your thinking. Whether you're encountering research and evidence-based practice for the first time or refreshing your methods knowledge, this is the ideal research companion for nurses and midwives pre-registration, post-registration and beyond.

This book focuses on neuro-engineering and neural computing, a multi-disciplinary field of research attracting considerable attention from engineers, neuroscientists, microbiologists and material scientists. It explores a range of topics concerning the design and development of innovative neural and brain interfacing technologies, as well as novel information acquisition and processing algorithms to make sense of the acquired data. The book also highlights emerging trends and advances regarding the applications of neuro-engineering in real-world scenarios, such as neural prostheses, diagnosis of neural degenerative diseases, deep brain stimulation, biosensors, real neural network-inspired artificial neural networks (ANNs) and the predictive modeling of information flows in neuronal networks. The book is broadly divided into three main sections including: current trends in technological developments, neural computation techniques to make sense of the neural behavioral data, and application of these technologies/techniques in the medical domain in the treatment of neural disorders.

This book aims to provide a detailed understanding of IoMT-supported applications while engaging premium smart computing methods and improved algorithms in the field of computer science. It contains thirteen chapters discussing various applications under the umbrella of the Internet of Medical Things. These applications geared towards IoMT cloud analysis, machine learning, computer vision and deep learning have enabled the evaluation of the proposed solutions.

This thesis reports on the development of a fully integrated and automated microsystem consisting of low-cost, disposable plastic chips for DNA extraction and PCR amplification, combined with a reusable glass capillary array electrophoresis chip, which can be employed in a modular-based format for genetic analysis. In the thesis, DNA extraction is performed by adopting a filter paper-based method, followed by an "in-situ" PCR carried out directly in the same reaction chamber of the chip without elution. PCR products are then co-injected with sizing standards into separation channels for detection using a novel injection electrode. The entire process is automatically carried out by a custom-made compact control and detection instrument. The author thoroughly tests the system's performance and reliability by conducting rapid genetic screening of mutations on congenital hearing loss and pharmacogenetic typing of multiple warfarin-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The successful development and operation of this microsystem establishes the feasibility of rapid "sample-in-answer-out" testing in routine clinical practice.

Recent studies have shown that novel processing and modeling techniques may be used to create patient-specific prostheses, artificial tissues, and other implants using data obtained from magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or other imaging techniques. For example, customized prostheses may be fabricated that possess suitable features, including geometry, size, and weight, for a given medical condition. Many advances have been made in the development of patient-specific implants in the past decade, yet this information is not readily available to scientists and students. Printed Biomaterials: Novel Processing and Modeling Techniques for Medicine and Surgery provides the biomaterials scientist and engineer, as well as advanced undergraduate or graduate students, with a comprehensive discussion of contemporary medical implant research and development. The development of printed biomaterials is multidisciplinary, and includes concepts traditionally associated with engineering, materials science, medicine, and surgery. This text highlights important topics in these core fields in order to provide the fundamentals necessary to comprehend current processing and modeling technologies and to develop new ones.

This book focuses on the application and development of information geometric methods in the analysis, classification and retrieval of images and signals. It provides introductory chapters to help those new to information geometry and applies the theory to several applications. This area has developed rapidly over recent years, propelled by the major theoretical developments in information geometry, efficient data and image acquisition and the desire to process and interpret large databases of digital information. The book addresses both the transfer of methodology to practitioners involved in database analysis and in its efficient computational implementation.

This edited volume concerns a group of devastating neurological disorders that share a common pathological mechanism, namely the aggregation and deposition of insoluble, proteinaceous lesions, termed 'amyloid'. Examples of cerebral amyloid disorders include common neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease-related dementia and Parkinson's disease, as well as other less prevalent conditions like Huntington's disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and the transmissible prion disorders. A disease-modifying therapeutic agent is still lacking for all these diseases, and there are no approved therapies that target amyloid formation directly. Nevertheless, a large and complex group of natural aromatic compounds known as polyphenols are rapidly emerging as potentially potent anti-amyloidogenic agents. This book collectively presents a considerable body of experimental and epidemiological evidence from peer-reviewed scientific publications that support a role for natural compounds and herbal extracts in the chemoprevention and therapy of amyloidogenic disorders. Each contribution is written by scientific experts in the relevant field; chapters are devoted to Mediterranean diet and olive oil phenols, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal extracts, polyphenols (with a particular emphasis on epigallocatechin-3-gallate) and bi-flavonoids, amongst others. The topic of this book is relevant to a wide audience, from academia and university students in the biological and chemical sciences, to physicians and allied health professionals, as well as people working in the nutraceutical industry.

This volume deals with topics such as mechanism and machine design, biomechanics and medical engineering, gears, mechanical transmissions, mechatronics, computational and experimental methods, dynamics of mechanisms and machines, micromechanisms and microactuators, and history of mechanisms and transmissions. Following MeTrApp 2011 and 2013, held under the auspices of the IFToMM, these proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Mechanisms, Transmissions and Applications offer a platform for original research presentations for researchers, scientists, industry experts and students in the fields of mechanisms and transmissions with special emphasis on industrial applications in order to stimulate the exchange of new and innovative ideas.

This book addresses the possibilities and challenges in mimicking biological membranes and creating membrane-based sensor and separation devices. Recent advances in developing biomimetic membranes for technological applications will be presented with focus on the use of integral membrane protein mediated transport for sensing and separation. It describes the fundamentals of biosensing as well as separation and shows how the two processes are working in a cooperative manner in biological systems. Biomimetics is a truly cross-disciplinary approach and this is exemplified using the process of forward osmosis will be presented as an illustration of how advances in membrane technology may be directly stimulated by an increased understanding of biological membrane transport. In the development of a biomimetic sensor/separation technology, both channels (ion and water channels) and carriers (transporters) are important. An ideal sensor/separation device requires the supporting biomimetic matrix to be virtually impermeable to anything but the solute in question. In practice, however, a biomimetic support matrix will generally have finite permeabilities to water, electrolytes, and non-electrolytes. These non-protein mediated membrane transport contributions will be presented and the implications for biomimetic device construction will be discussed. New developments in our understanding of the reciprocal coupling between the material properties of the biomimetic matrix and the embedded proteins will be presented and strategies for inducing biomimetic matrix stability will be discussed. Once reconstituted in its final host biomimetic matrix the protein stability also needs to be maintained and controlled. Beta-barrel proteins exemplified by the E. Coli outer membrane channels or small peptides are inherently more stable than alpha-helical bundle proteins which may require additional stabilizing modifications. The challenges associated with insertion and stabilization of alpha-helical bundle proteins including many carriers and ligand and voltage gated ion (and water) channels will be discussed and exemplified using the aquaporin protein. Many biomimetic membrane applications require that the final device can be used in the macroscopic realm. Thus a biomimetic separation device must have the ability to process hundred of liters of permeate in hours - effectively demanding square-meter size membranes. Scalability is a general issue for all nano-inspired technology developments and will be addressed here in the context biomimetic membrane array fabrication. Finally a robust working biomimetic device based on membrane transport must be encapsulated and protected yet allowing massive transport though the encapsulation material. This challenge will be discussed using microfluidic design strategies as examples of how to use microfluidic systems to create and encapsulate biomimetic membranes. The book provides an overview of what is known in the field, where additional research is needed, and where the field is heading.

There are more than 80 different sleep disorders including insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, hypersomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and parasomnia. Good sleep is necessary for optimal health and can affect hormone levels and weight. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and biomedical signals and images can help in healthcare diagnostics that are related to these and other sleep disorders. Advancing the Investigation and Treatment of Sleep Disorders Using AI presents an overview of sleep disorders based on machine intelligence methods in order to learn and explore the latest advancements, developments, methods, systems, futuristic approaches, and algorithms towards sleep disorders and to address their challenges. This book also discusses recent and future advancements in various feature extraction techniques and machine learning methods. Covering topics such as biomedical signal processing, augmented reality for clinical investigation, and sleep disorder detection, this book is essential for sleep medicine practitioners, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, medical technologists, doctors, IT specialists, biomedical engineers, researchers, graduate students, and academicians.

Fundamentals of Person-Centred Healthcare Practice presents evidence-based perspectives on a broad range of approaches to person-centred practice in healthcare. Featuring contributions from internationally recognised experts in the field, this valuable textbook helps students and staff across healthcare disciplines understand the essential concepts of person-centred practice in various health-related contexts. Using the Person-centred Practice Framework--an innovative theoretical model based on more than two decades of research and practice--students develop a strong understanding of the different components of person-centredness, their connections and interactions, and how they can be implemented to promote positive healthcare experiences for care providers, service-users, and families. Recognising the dynamic and complex nature of person-centredness, the text emphasises the importance of a common language and a shared understanding of person-centred practice in all areas of healthcare, from hospital and social care systems, to mental health, learning disability, and rehabilitation services. This practical and insightful introduction to the subject: Provides engaging, student-friendly coverage of the central principles and practice of person-centredness within a multi-professional and interdisciplinary context Features cases and examples of person-centred practice in curricula worldwide Includes activities designed to support person-centred practitioner development Discusses the future of person-centred facilitation, learning and practice Offers real-world guidance on providing a holistic approach to developing person-centred relationships that facilitate meaningful connections with others Fundamentals of Person-Centred Healthcare Practice is an indispensable resource for nursing and allied health professionals, and an important reference work for educators, facilitators, supervisors and healthcare practitioners.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of flow-based, microfluidic VLSI. The authors describe and solve in a comprehensive and holistic manner practical challenges such as control synthesis, wash optimization, design for testability, and diagnosis of modern flow-based microfluidic biochips. They introduce practical solutions, based on rigorous optimization and formal models. The technical contributions presented in this book will not only shorten the product development cycle, but also accelerate the adoption and further development of modern flow-based microfluidic biochips, by facilitating the full exploitation of design complexities that are possible with current fabrication techniques.