This issue of the Interventional Cardiology Clinics edited by Jason Rogers covers various approaches, techniques, and therapies for Transcatheter Mitral Value Intervention. Topics include, but are not limited to: Echocardiographic Imaging of the Mitral Valve for Transcatheter Interventions, Use of Computed Tomography to Guide Mitral Interventions, Transseptal Puncture for Mitral Interventions, MitraClip Therapy for Mitral Regurgitation: Primary MR, Coronary Sinus-Based Approach to Mitral Regurgitation, and Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement.

Railroads altered the landscape of the United States. Within a few decades of the invention of the locomotive, railways stretched from coast to coast, enabling people and goods to travel far greater distances than ever before, completely altering our concept of time and space. And while railroads may seem like an "old" technology, they continue to be an essential means of transporting both goods and people, and new technologies are making the railroads an increasingly relevant resource for the 21st century. This volume in the Greenwood Technographies series provides an accessible overview of the nearly 200 years of the growth and development of this historically significant--and popular --technology. The Railroad: The Life Story of a Technology gives students and railroad enthusiasts plenty of information on the development of this popular technology: * Chronicles the early years of the railroad, from early wooden tramways in Massachusetts, to the famous "Tom Thumb" * Discusses the important technological "failures," such as the narrow-gauge craze of the late nineteenth century with track widths as small as two feet. * Covers all aspects of railroad technology -- everything from the structure of the track to communications to what powers the locomotive. * Links the technology to broader social developments, such as the decline of the railroad in the mid-20th century to outmoded governmental and labor restrictions, and the current rise of railroad technology as a result of new managerial techniques. The volume includes a timeline of important dates in railroad history, a glossary of important terms, and a selected bibliography of works appropriate for further research.

2014 BMA Medical Book Awards Highly Commended in Cardiology category! Apply the latest percutaneous techniques with the practical, highly illustrated Interventional Procedures for Structural Heart Disease. This brand-new medical reference book presents full-color images, numerous tables, and invaluable clinical pearls to help you utilize today's hottest techniques and technologies for each disease, so you can offer your patients the most desirable outcomes possible. Master today's hottest percutaneous procedures for structural heart disease as perfected by experts from around the world, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), percutaneous paravalvular leak closure, transcatheter mitral valve interventions, a wide variety of adult congenital cardiovascular defect interventions, and more. Grasp the specific knowledge you will need for success in a variety of clinical scenarios, as well as the patient selection criteria for each invasive procedure. Make informed, evidence-based decisions with the latest clinical trial results and evidence integrated into each chapter. Visualize the newest techniques and technologies more clearly through a full-color design featuring illustrations, tables, clinical pearls, complications, and current evidence boxes. Seamlessly search the full text online at Expert Consult.

In this book, a panel of experts discuss the molecular biology of micro-organisms involved in the two major dental diseases: caries and periodontal disease. Research has focused on factors which might modulate the interaction between the resident oral bacteria and the host. Chapters deal with the interactions of oral micro-organisms with one another and with the host; the innate defense mechanisms of the host; and the development of vaccines against oral diseases. Topics include oral microbial taxonomy, identification and typing, applied genomics, horizontal gene transfer, cell-cell communication, cariogenic bacteria, aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, porphyromonas gingivalis, treponema denticola, host-pathogen interaction, host defense mechanisms, and vaccination against oral infections. Essential reading for students and researchers in the field of oral biology and oral microbiology and a recommended book for all microbiology laboratories.

In America, more money is spent from all sources on K-12 education than on the U.S. Department of Defense. Why then are so many children suffering what amounts to educational malpractice? Why are they crippled for life with a substandard education and a life-altering vision of themselves as "incapable"? Betrayed is a passionate, well-researched and frank accounting of how a failing public-education system continues to be forced on teachers and students, despite its nearly complete lack of supporting research or successful student outcomes. Betrayed roots out the self-styled "stakeholders" whose personal, professional and financial interests are served by this failing system. It sympathizes with teachers-many of whom aren't allowed to do their jobs, yet are constantly threatened with removal for "ineffectiveness" or "insubordination." Betrayed is an expose, but it's also a beacon of commonsense and hope. Through the "Square of Effective Learning," Betrayed offers practical methods for teachers, parents, advocates and legislators to stand up against this broken system, to effect positive change, and to ensure a good-quality education for all of our children.

In this engaging social history of the impact of railroads on American life, H. Roger Grant explores the railroad's "golden age" of 1830-1930. To capture the essence of the nation's railroad experience, Grant looks at four fundamental topics-trains and travel, train stations, railroads and community life, and the legacy of railroading in America-illustrating each topic with carefully chosen period illustrations. Grant recalls the lasting memories left by train travel, both of luxurious Pullman cars and the grit and grind of coal-powered locals. He discusses the important role railroads played for towns and cities across America, not only for the access they provided to distant places and distant markets but also for the depots that were a focus of community life. Finally, Grant reviews the lasting heritage of the railroads preserved in word, stone, paint, and memory. Railroads and the American People is a sparkling paean to American railroading by one of its finest historians.

Discover the Sunset Cluster—railroads that were doomed to fail? The first two decades of the 20th century were the twilight of the railroad age. Major routes had long been established, and local service became the focus of new construction. Beginning in 1907, a cluster of five shortline railroads were established in otherwise unconnected parts of Iowa. By the dawn of the Great Depression, all these routes would be discontinued. The five Iowa 'sunset cluster' railroads might appear to deserve eternal obscurity, being at best minor footnotes to American railroad history. After all, their total mileage barely exceeded 100 miles. Their average life span, moreover, covered about five years, and the Des Moines & Red Oak Railway (DM&RO) never turned a wheel. Yet, to understand the rise of the railroad empires of the 19th century, it is necessary to study their fall. Using contemporary newspapers, government reports, and other little-known sources, renowned railway historian H. Roger Grant offers a fascinating look at these shortline railroads. Sunset Cluster explores the almost desperate desire by communities to benefit from steel rails before the regional railroad map finally imploded and the challenges faced by latter-day shortline builders.

Welfare experiments conducted at the state level during the 1990s radically restructured the American welfare state and have played a critical-and unexpected-role in the broader policymaking process. Through these experiments, previously unpopular reform ideas, such as welfare time limits, gained wide and enthusiastic support. Ultimately, the institutional legacy of the old welfare system was broken, new ideas took hold, and the welfare experiments generated a new institutional channel in policymaking. In this book, Rogers-Dillon argues that these welfare experiments were not simply scientific experiments, as their supporters frequently contend, but a powerful political tool that created a framework within which few could argue successfully against the welfare policy changes. Legislation proposed in 2002 formalized this channel of policymaking, permitting the executive, as opposed to legislative, branches of federal and state governments to renegotiate social policies-an unprecedented change in American policymaking. This book provides unique insight into how social policy is made in the United States, and how that process is changing.

This 50-year saga of the "Weary Erie" goes far beyond describing in brilliant detail the turbulent last decades of a colorful, spunky, and innovative railroad. As the author vividly shows, the Erie possessed an uncommonly interesting history. For a brief time, it was the longest rail artery in the United States, hailed as "the most stupendous engineering feat ever attempted in America." It pioneered many innovations even after its opening in 1851, notably with the use of the telegraph for traffic control. The present volume also tells us much about what happened to American railroading, especially in the East, during this period: technological change, government over-regulation, corporate mergers, union "featherbedding," uneven executive leadership, and changing patterns of travel and business. Step by step, the author reveals how the problems faced by the Erie became so numerous and complex that financial collapse and liquidation were inevitable results. Throughout, the author draws on the abundant records of the Erie and Erie Lackawanna and on dozens of interviews with employees, bankers, lawyers, and industry official who cooperated in telling the story of the Erie's last years "the way it was." The book is illustrated with 45 photographs and drawings and 4 maps.

In America, more money is spent from all sources on K-12 education than on the U.S. Department of Defense. Why then are so many children suffering what amounts to educational malpractice? Why are they crippled for life with a substandard education and a life-altering vision of themselves as 'incapable'? Betrayed is a passionate, well-researched and frank accounting of how a failing public-education system continues to be forced on teachers and students, despite its nearly complete lack of supporting research or successful student outcomes. Betrayed roots out the self-styled 'stakeholders' whose personal, professional and financial interests are served by this failing system. It sympathizes with teachers_many of whom aren't allowed to do their jobs, yet are constantly threatened with removal for 'ineffectiveness' or 'insubordination.' Betrayed is an expose, but it's also a beacon of commonsense and hope. Through the 'Square of Effective Learning, ' Betrayed offers practical methods for teachers, parents, advocates and legislators to stand up against this broken system, to effect positive change, and to ensure a good-quality education for all of our children.

From the leading authors in mediation and dispute resolution comes this new psychology-based work on the nuts and bolts of mediation. Using the behavioral theories of interests, rights, and power, Goldberg, Brett, and Brenneur explain what mediators do, what makes for a successful mediator, and how best to structure a mediation-essentially the role of the mediator and the disputing parties at each step of the process. Also included is an essential chapter on the relationship between mediation and the law by Nancy Rogers, one of the foremost U.S. authorities on the topic.

Welfare experiments conducted at the state level during the 1990s radically restructured the American welfare state and have played a critical-and unexpected-role in the broader policymaking process. Through these experiments, previously unpopular reform ideas, such as welfare time limits, gained wide and enthusiastic support. Ultimately, the institutional legacy of the old welfare system was broken, new ideas took hold, and the welfare experiments generated a new institutional channel in policymaking. In this book, Rogers-Dillon argues that these welfare experiments were not simply scientific experiments, as their supporters frequently contend, but a powerful political tool that created a framework within which few could argue successfully against the welfare policy changes. Legislation proposed in 2002 formalized this channel of policymaking, permitting the executive, as opposed to legislative, branches of federal and state governments to renegotiate social policies-an unprecedented change in American policymaking. This book provides unique insight into how social policy is made in the United States, and how that process is changing.

Europe faces a challenge: how to apply information and communication technologies to health care. One problem is the widening gap between the expectations of citizens and the limited resources available to provide health services. It is here that advanced technology can serve as an important tool to find innovative and more efficient ways of delivering health services. This book reports the summary of a study performed under contract by a team of consultants for Directorate-General XIII of the Commission of the European Communities. It analyses the key factors governing the evolution of advanced information systems for health care and medicine in Europe and provides guidelines for placing current and future work within the framework of the Community research and development programmes.

The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad's history is one of big booms and bigger busts. When it became the first railroad to reach and then cross the Mississippi River in 1856, it emerged as a leading American railroad company. But after aggressive expansion and a subsequent change in management, the company struggled and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1915. What followed was a cycle of resurrections and bankruptcies; a grueling, ten-year, ultimately unsuccessful battle to merge with the Union Pacific; and the Rock Island's final liquidation in 1981. But today, long after its glory days and eventual demise, the "Mighty Fine Road" has left behind a living legacy of major and feeder lines throughout the country. In his latest work, railroad historian H. Roger Grant offers an accessible, gorgeously illustrated, and comprehensive history of this iconic American railroad.

Accessibly written, "Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach" provides detailed coverage of all major writing systems of historical or structural significance with thorough discussion of structure, history, and social context as well as important theoretical issues. The book examines systems as diverse as Chinese, Greek, and Maya and each writing system is presented in the light of four major aspects of writing: history and development; internal structure; the relationship of writing and language; and sociolinguistic factors.

The volume is extensively illustrated and the glossary of technical terms, exercises, and further reading suggestions that accompany each chapter make "Writing Systems "a valuable resource for students in linguistics and anthropology.

Accessibly written, "Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach" provides detailed coverage of all major writing systems of historical or structural significance with thorough discussion of structure, history, and social context as well as important theoretical issues. The book examines systems as diverse as Chinese, Greek, and Maya and each writing system is presented in the light of four major aspects of writing: history and development; internal structure; the relationship of writing and language; and sociolinguistic factors.

The volume is extensively illustrated and the glossary of technical terms, exercises, and further reading suggestions that accompany each chapter make "Writing Systems "a valuable resource for students in linguistics and anthropology.

Transportation is the unsung hero in America's story. Stagecoaches, waterways, canals, railways, busses, and airplanes revolutionized much more than just the way people got around; they transformed the economic, political, and social aspects of everyday life. In Transportation and the American People, renowned historian H. Roger Grant tells the story of American transportation from its slow, uncomfortable, and often dangerous beginnings to the speed and comfort of travel today. Early advances like stagecoaches and canals allowed traders, business, and industry to expand across the nation, setting the stage for modern developments like transcontinental railways and busses that would forever reshape the continent. Grant provides a compelling and thoroughly researched narrative of the social history of travel, shining a light on the role of transportation in shaping the country and on the people who helped build it.

Jupiter is an extraordinarily colourful and dynamic planet. Over minutes, one can watch tiny shadows cast by its moons slide over its surface; over days and weeks parades of diverse, giant swirling storms can be seen to move and evolve. It is because of this richness of visual and physical properties that Jupiter has intrigued amateur and professional astronomers and has been the goal of several space missions. This highly illustrated volume provides a comprehensive and accessible account of Jupiter and its satellites. It reviews systematic telescopic observations that have stretched over more than a hundred years, in addition to modern observations and theories, and the wealth of data from the Pioneer, Voyager and Ulysses space missions. As well as a thorough survey of the planet's atmosphere, this volume presents an up-to-date account of our present knowledge of Jupiter's satellites and magnetosphere, at a level accessible to the non-specialist. This volume provides the definitive account of Jupiter for advanced amateur astronomers, professional astronomers and planetary scientists.