Healthcare Dynamics for the Specialist Professional Nurse is the first text to present important current healthcare practices in the healthcare environment for specialised nurses and healthcare practitioners at district, provincial and national levels. It examines aspects of healthcare dynamics and comprehensive service delivery for all healthcare institutions, within a framework of health legislation, ethics, and professional practice. In addition to fulfilling the developmental needs of specialised nurses, it is a reference tool for healthcare service management for any practising healthcare professional. This new publication has been peer-reviewed nationally and internationally. It is the result of a collaboration between various academics in the field of nursing and healthcare and is a culmination of their collective experience of management and leadership practice, research and education in the healthcare service context. Healthcare Dynamics for the Specialist Professional Nurse draws on the insight of expert nursing academics, and healthcare practitioners in the private and public sectors. It reviews: specialised healthcare needs and the profile of a community through the lens of health education; the role of formal and in-service education programmes for clinical nurse specialists and other team members to ensure best practice in specialised nursing and healthcare services; programmes for the personal and professional growth of members of a specialised healthcare team; projects in different areas of specialisation that require advisory and facilitative processes; consultancy and referral processes through a client and service-centred process; evaluation of specialised healthcare units, programmes and services through accredited assessment tools; role modelling and mentorship in the specialised healthcare team to develop coping mechanisms for the emotional demand of clinical specialists; professional excellence and competence in ethical, legal and policy frameworks, with a focus on human rights, transformation and advocacy; the empowerment of patients, families and communities to access existing appropriate resources through continuing health education; and quality assurance activities and information systems in specialised healthcare services.

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.

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.

Ever since the birth of molecular biology, the tantalizing possibility of treating disease at its genetic roots has become increasingly feasible. Gene therapy - though still in its infancy - remains one of the hottest areas of research in medicine. Its approach utilizes a gene transfer vehicle ('vector') to deliver therapeutic DNA or RNA to cells of the body in order to rectify the defect that is causing the disease. Successful therapies have been reported in humans in recent years such as cures in boys with severe immune deficiencies. Moreover, gene therapy strategies are being adapted in numerous biomedical laboratories to obtain novel treatments for a variety of diseases and to study basic biological aspects of disease. Correction of disease in animal studies, is steadily gaining ground, highlighting the immense potential of gene therapy in the medical profession.This book will cover topics that are at the forefront of biomedical research such as RNA interference, viral and non-viral gene transfer systems, treatment of hematological diseases and disorders of the central nervous system. Leading experts on the respective vector or disease will contribute the individual chapters and explain cutting-edge technologies. It also gives a broad overview of the most important gene transfer vectors and most extensively studied target diseases. This comprehensive guide is therefore a must-read for anyone in the biotechnology, biomedical or medical industries seeking to further their knowledge in the area of human gene therapy.

In 1998, Hallmark unveiled their new "One-Hundredth-Birthday" cards, and by 2007 annual sales were at 85,000. America is rapidly graying: between now and 2030, the number of people in the U.S. over the age of 80 is expected to almost triple. But how long people live raises the question of how well they live.
Aging Our Way follows the everyday lives of 30 elders (ages 85-102) living at home and mostly alone to understand how they create and maintain meaningful lives for themselves. Drawing on the latest interdisciplinary scholarship on aging and three years of interviews with the elders, Meika Loe explores how elders navigate the practical challenges of living as independently as possible while staying healthy, connected, and comfortable. While most books on the subject treat old age as a social problem and elders as simply diminished versions of their former selves, Aging Our Way views them as they really are: lively, complicated, engaging people finding creative ways to make their aging as meaningful and manageable as possible. In their own voices, elders describe how they manage everything from grocery shopping, doctor appointments, and disability, to creating networks of friends and maintaining their autonomy. In many ways, these elders can serve as role models. The lessons they have learned about living in moderation, taking time for themselves, asking for help, keeping a sense of humor, caring for others, and preparing for death provide an invaluable source of wisdom for anyone hoping to live a long and fulfilling life. Through their stories, Loe helps us to think about aging, well-being, and the value of human relationships in new ways.
Written with remarkable warmth and depth of understanding, Aging Our Way offers a vivid look at a group of people who too often remain invisible--those who have lived the longest--and all they have to teach us.

In Right Hemisphere Stroke, Fred Johnson describes in vivid prose the onset of his devastating stroke and the obstacles he overcame during his therapy, giving a patient's view of a first-class rehabilitation institute. Johnson pays particular attention to the personality changes and the problems of disorientation he experienced. He poignantly captures the bewilderment and terror so often felt by stroke patients in the hospital and upon returning home. In telling his story, Johnson provides valuable insights about the effects of stroke and, along the way, calls into question some traditionally held conclusions about the functions of the brain's right hemisphere. The book is important in other ways. As Dr. John Gilroy states in his foreword, Fred Johnson's account moves us to realize that a "stroke affects the brain as a whole, and patients should be treated for brain dysfunction, not hemisphere deficits." Moreover, for Gilroy the book underscores the need for better communication with the patient. With most diseases, health care professionals freely discuss present or anticipated problems with patients and family. In cases of stroke, however, there is a great deal of resistance to sharing the complex problems that arise. Fred Johnson's book is valuable, then, not only as a testament to the courage and determination of one man but also for the lessons it provides for medical students and health care professionals.

This newly updated and streamlined edition of Group Psychotherapy with Addicted Populations provides proven strategies for combating alcohol and drug addiction through group psychotherapy. The interventions discussed in the book build on a foundation of addiction as an attachment disorder rooted in the understanding of addiction as a family disease. An appreciation of group and organizational dynamics is used to address the complex experience of developmental trauma that underlies addiction. Having identified the essential theoretical underpinnings of supporting recovery from addiction, the second half of the book gives a thorough nuts and bolts description of constructing a psychotherapy group and engaging productively in the successive phases of its development from initiation of treatment to termination. The book concludes with specific recommendations for group psychotherapists to increase their competence with groups, deepen their appreciation of group and organizational dynamics and develop a community of support for their own well-being. These methods are important for psychotherapists working with addicted populations who are inexperienced with group psychotherapy as well as seasoned group psychotherapists wishing to enhance their work.

This book presents a systematic review of research concerning processes and systems in Emergency Departments (EDs), the issues faced by EDs, and their solutions to ensure the delivery of proper and ideal healthcare services for patients through superior quality process management. The book evaluates two decades of data, from 2000 to 2019, in order to examine the processes used in ED operations. Emergency Department has become evident particularly in the current scenario when the world is in the grip of the deadly COVID-19. The two decades of data revealed a lack of literary content on bringing improvement for EDs in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia through the deployment of simulation models. Simulation model in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia is being considered for the first time by this book.

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.

This book includes procedures for assessing clients, techniques, and clinical applications for treating clients using aquatic therapy.

In healthcare systems, medical devices help physicians and specialists in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics. As research shows, validation of medical devices is significantly optimized by accurate signal processing. Biomedical Signal and Image Processing in Patient Care is a pivotal reference source for progressive research on the latest development of applications and tools for healthcare systems. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics and perspectives such as telemedicine, human machine interfaces, and multimodal data fusion, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, students, and practitioners seeking current scholarly research on real-life technological inventions.

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 book introduces the latest research in molecular, cellular, and tissue engineering of the vascular system. Topics covered include the roles of endothelial surface glycocalyx as a mechano-sensor and transducer for blood flow, a barrier to water and solute transport across the vascular wall and to the interaction between circulating cells and the vessel wall, the roles of nuclear envelope proteins and nuclear lamina in regulating vascular functions under blood flow-induced forces, and the roles of smooth muscle cells and extracellular components in arterial vasoconstriction. Other topics covered include non-surgical vascular interventions for coronary artery diseases, genesis and mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque microcalcifications and human abdominal aortic aneurysms, experiments and modelling for red blood cell and tumor cell movement in microcirculation, transport across the blood-brain barrier and its role in Alzheimer's disease, mathematical models for cell survival after hyperthermia, application of hypothermia in enhancing treatment for brain and spinal cord injuries, and damage of eardrums due to blast waves. This is an ideal book for biomedical engineers and researchers, medical researchers, and students in biomedical engineering and medical sciences.

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.

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 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 book presents a systematic approach to analyzing the challenging engineering problems posed by the need for security and privacy in implantable medical devices (IMD). It describes in detail new issues termed as lightweight security, due to the associated constraints on metrics such as available power, energy, computing ability, area, execution time, and memory requirements. Coverage includes vulnerabilities and defense across multiple levels, with basic abstractions of cryptographic services and primitives such as public key cryptography, block ciphers and digital signatures. Experts from Computer Security and Cryptography present new research which shows vulnerabilities in existing IMDs and proposes solutions. Experts from Privacy Technology and Policy will discuss the societal, legal and ethical challenges surrounding IMD security as well as technological solutions that build on the latest in Computer Science privacy research, as well as lightweight solutions appropriate for implementation in IMDs.

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.

Using an innovative translational approach between the work of experimental scientists and clinical practitioners this book addresses the current, modest, understanding of how and why addiction treatment works. Through bridging this gap it provides a critical insight into why people react as they do in the context of addiction treatment.

This book addresses the important clinical problem of accurately diagnosing osteoporosis, and analyzes how Bone Turnover Markers (BTMs) can improve osteoporosis detection. In her research, the author integrated microfluidic technology with electrochemical sensing to embody a reaction/detection chamber to measure serum levels of different biomarkers, creating a microfluidic proteomic platform that can easily be translated into a biomarker diagnostic. The Osteokit System, a result of the integration of electrochemical system and microfluidic chips, is a unique design that offers the potential for greater sensitivity. The implementation, feasibility, and specificity of the Osteokit platform is demonstrated in this book, which is appropriate for researchers working on bone biology and mechanics, as well as clinicians.

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.

From the man dubbed the 'Sleep Whisperer' comes a brand-new approach to fixing your sleep, once and for all. Challenging the reader to take control and to stop hiding behind excuses for a bad night's sleep, neurologist W. Chris Winter explains the basic, often-counterintuitive rules of sleep science. Dr Winter explores revolutionary findings, including surprising solutions for insomnia and other sleep disturbances, empowering readers to stop taking sleeping pills and enjoy the best sleep of their lives. Written in a clear and entertaining way, The Sleep Solution contains tips, tricks, exercises, and illustrations throughout. Dr Winter is an international expert on sleep and has helped thousands of patients - including professional athletes - rest better at night. Now, he's ready to help you.

This book provides a thorough overview of cutting-edge research on electronics applications relevant to industry, the environment, and society at large. It covers a broad spectrum of application domains, from automotive to space and from health to security, while devoting special attention to the use of embedded devices and sensors for imaging, communication and control. The book is based on the 2020 ApplePies Conference, held online in November 2020, which brought together researchers and stakeholders to consider the most significant current trends in the field of applied electronics and to debate visions for the future. Areas addressed by the conference included information communication technology; biotechnology and biomedical imaging; space; secure, clean and efficient energy; the environment; and smart, green and integrated transport. As electronics technology continues to develop apace, constantly meeting previously unthinkable targets, further attention needs to be directed toward the electronics applications and the development of systems that facilitate human activities. This book, written by industrial and academic professionals, represents a valuable contribution in this endeavor.