For most Western audiences, Cuba is a touristic paradise stuck in time and virtually detached from world technology networks by the US embargo - anything but a hub of industrial innovation and high value-added biotechnology. However, a closer look reveals more subtle but equally powerful stories that challenge the homogenizing assumptions of conventional economics and open up scope for more sophisticated reflections on Cuban economy and industry. From this kind of enquiry emerges the case of the internationally respected Cuban biotech industry as the most successful case of science and technology policy in the country's economic history. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach, exploring issues such as interdependency, purpose and history as natural constituencies of the innovation process. It also examines the dynamic and crucial role played by the state in the formation of innovative business enterprises. This book will be of interest to academic researchers in the fields of innovation and economic development.

For most Western audiences, Cuba is a touristic paradise stuck in time and virtually detached from world technology networks by the US embargo - anything but a hub of industrial innovation and high value-added biotechnology. However, a closer look reveals more subtle but equally powerful stories that challenge the homogenizing assumptions of conventional economics and open up scope for more sophisticated reflections on Cuban economy and industry. From this kind of enquiry emerges the case of the internationally respected Cuban biotech industry as the most successful case of science and technology policy in the country's economic history. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach, exploring issues such as interdependency, purpose and history as natural constituencies of the innovation process. It also examines the dynamic and crucial role played by the state in the formation of innovative business enterprises. This book will be of interest to academic researchers in the fields of innovation and economic development.

In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. Norman Gitlin, Guest Editors Drs. Andres Cardenas and Thomas Reiberger have created an up-to-date monograph on the complications of cirrhosis. They have secured top experts to contribute clinical review articles on the following topics: Non-invasive Detection of CSPH in cACLD; Prevention of First Decompensation in ACLD; Treatment of Acute Variceal Bleeding in 2020: When to Use TIPS; Prevention of Variceal Bleeding and Rebleeding by NSBB: A Tailored Approach; The Role of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG); Measurement in the Management of Cirrhosis; Bacterial Infections in Cirrhosis as a Cause or Consequence of Decompensation; Nutrition in Chronic Liver Disease; Diagnosis and Management of Hepatic Encephalopathy; Discriminating Acute Decompensation from Acute-on-Chronic Liver; Management of Severe and Refractory Ascites; Monitoring Renal Function and Therapy of HRS patients with Cirrhosis; Coagulopathy in Cirrhosis; and Current Concepts of Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy. Hepatologists will come away with the information they need to manage these patients.

The field of hepatobiliary diseases has advanced enormously in the past 3 decades. The incorporation of new diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in clinical hepatology as well as liver transplantation has exponentially grown and specialty fields have emerged within the liver disease arena. Interventional procedures play a critical role in the management of patients with hepatobiliary diseases as they offer diagnostic and definite treatment options for an array of conditions. Interventions include those that directly measure portal pressure, perform transjugular liver biopsy and place transjugular intrahepatic portsosystemic shunts as therapy for complications of portal hypertension. Other commonly performed intervention is digestive and hepatobiliary endoscopy which offers not only diagnostic but also therapeutic choices in various areas such as portal hypertension and hepatobiliary disease. Endoscopy plays a fundamental role in the management of patients with almost all types of liver disease. Additionally, both the fields of hepatology and endoscopy have become very specialized and thus a thorough knowledge of the indications, findings, therapeutic possibilities and complications that arise from endoscopic interventions is a must for the practicing clinician. The rising incidence of liver cancer has also placed radiofrequency ablation and chemoembolization of liver lesions at the forefront of interventional therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma. Finally the management of acute liver failure has certainly evolved with new therapeutic options such as liver assist devices that can help manage these patients in the intensive care unit. This issue of Clinics in Liver Disease devoted to Interventional Hepatology is a timely and unique one. The Guest Editors have assembled an outstanding group of experts in several fields that can provide practitioners with state of the art and evidence based articles that help manage patients with hepatobiliary disease.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy plays an essential role in the management of patients with liver disease. This issue reviews the standard of care in the endoscopic management of portal hypertension and biliary disease before and after liver transplantation. A thorough knowledge of the available endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic methods is essential for the practicing hepatologist. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in imaging techniques such as the application of capsule endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound in the evaluation of portal hypertension and recent advances in cholangioscopy and biliary tissue sampling. Additionally new information regarding the endoscopic management of esophageal and gastric varices is reviewed. Finally, the current role of ERCP in the diagnosis and staging of cholangiocarcinoma before liver transplantation and the endoscopic management of biliary complications after liver transplantation is discussed.

This volume presents a concise yet comprehensive overview on all facets concerning the complications of cirrhosis. Structured in three sections, the book reviews the natural history of cirrhosis, the diagnostic and predictive tools available to assess the disease, complications, and treatment options such as liver assist devices and transplantation. Topical concerns in the management of patients with cirrhosis are also addressed, including issues pertaining to the delivery of quality care in this patient population. Written by experts in their fields, Complications of Cirrhosis: Evaluation and Management serves as a valuable resource for practitioners and physicians-in-training on the subject of cirrhosis.