Bentham Science Publishers

This monograph is a collection of reviews that presents results obtained from new and somewhat unconventional methods used to fight multiple drug resistance (MDR) acquired by microorganisms and tumours. Two directions are considered: (i) the modification of non-antibiotic medicines by exposure to un-coherent, or laser optical radiation to obtain photoproducts that receive bactericidal or, possibly, tumouricidal properties and (ii) the development of new vectors (micrometric droplets of solutions containing medicinal agents) to transport medicines to targets based on optical and micro spectroscopic methods.

Chapters shed light on pendant droplets used for antibiotic drug delivery, the science of lasers and their interactions with fluids in pendant droplets and spectroscopic analyses of droplets used to treat MDR infections. It therefore equips researchers and medical professionals with information about tools that enable them to respond to medical emergencies in challenging environments.

The intended readership for this monograph includes graduate students, medical doctors, fluid physicists, biologists, photochemists, and experts in drug delivery methods employed in extreme conditions (such as those found in outer space and hypergravity conditions) who are learning about using techniques such as laser spectroscopy, biophotonics and optofluidics/microfluidics.

This E-book covers the main aspects about the benefits of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) to human health. The knowledge of physiological effects of LC-PUFAs at different levels is constantly expanding. Topics covered over 10 chapters thoroughly detail the role of omega-3 LCPUFAs in nutrition (gene regulation) and disease (clinical applications); information about food sources and recent intake recommendations is also explained. This book also discusses current data concerning the role of LC-PUFAs during pregnancy and lactation, in cognitive function, immune response, allergy, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, depression, obesity, and insulin resistance. The book should be useful for advanced graduate students, public health officials as well as researchers working with LC-PUFAs.

Publications on non profit management reflect three main trends. Some books describe the nonprofit experience in different countries focusing on how these experiences reflect the case of a particular organization in its specific cultural context. These case studies provide an interesting, but not representative, documentation of the issues to be discussed. On the opposite end, other books introduce theoretical approaches and conceptual models that investigate the emergence of the nonprofit phenomenon in a comparative way. Finally, some other books focus on developing the understanding and provide the guidelines on specific themes e.g. accountability, change, marketing etc. Learning Why and How, in contrast to the above, accounts for a comprehensive view of the organizational complexity of management in the nonprofit sector.

This e-book provides a systemic view of nonprofit organizations linking micro and macro level aspects of management. It combines sociological, organizational and psychological elements of organization studies and provides an in-depth understanding of various issues and dilemmas among readers, students and executives of nonprofit organizations and civil society.

Lifestyle diseases and related conditions present a major healthcare challenge for children, posing a significant threat to their well-being. The Editors have compiled chapters to present a multicentric approach to the subject.

This book is an insightful reference on lifestyle diseases and its management in adolescents. It includes ten chapters with a focus on systemic disorders that are linked to lifestyle issues. Topics in this volume include gut microbiome and gastrointestinal disorders, neurological disorders, dental diseases, respiratory diseases and allergies associated with pesticides, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and common infectious diseases.

The book highlights the risk factors and determinants of these diseases, and where an immediate intervention is needed. An updated understanding of the diseases with scientific references gives readers crucial information for setting the groundwork for long-term public health policy formulation.

This book serves as a primary resource for scholars and trainees in nursing, medical (pediatrics and endocrinology) and paramedical courses who are required to understand lifestyle diseases with a focus on adolescents. Readers and professionals in public health, life-sciences and related disciplines can also use this as a secondary reference.

This brief monograph provides reports on liquid crystal materials used for specific devices designed for industrial applications. The authors of each chapter present insights on the design and technical aspects of the manufacturing of advanced liquid crystal light modulators reflecting their experience in advanced liquid crystal materials science.

Chapters in the book first introduce readers to the chemistry and basic materials science of liquid crystal light modulators with information important for practical situations such as custom manufacturing and material quality assessment (including the determination of Frank elastic constants). Subsequent chapters cover a selection of interesting projects where liquid crystal light modulators are applied, such as: a highly transparent, laser damage resistant liquid crystal phase modulators for space-borne laser rangefinders; a dynamic optical filter designed for visualization of air pollution; a high contrast, fast operating, outdoor light shutter for the eye protection of welders.

Readers will gain an awareness of the peculiarities of the liquid crystalline matter, along with the complexity of the design and fabrication of active optical elements, as the information provided in this volume presents detailed practical results of the liquid crystal technology projects.

This textbook presents basic principles of local anesthesia and exodontia for undergraduate dental program students and dental surgeons in training. Readers will understand key concepts and points that prepare them for daily oral and maxillofacial surgery practice. The book also provides detailed notes for managing patients who have different medical conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, endocrine disorders and systemic diseases.

Key Features:

- provides an easy to understand short note format of information for readers

- covers the basics of anesthesia and pain biology

- covers simple extractions to complex surgical extractions

- presents guidelines for managing patients with medical complications

Contemporary Endoscopic Spine Surgery brings the reader the most

up-to-date information on the endoscopy of the spine. Key opinion

leaders from around the world have come together to present the

clinical evidence behind their competitive endoscopic spinal surgery

protocols. Chapters in the series cover a range of aspects of spine

surgery including spinal pain generators, preoperative workup with

modern independent predictors of favorable clinical outcomes with

endoscopy, anesthesia in an outpatient setting, management of

complications, and a fresh look at technology advances in a historical

context. The reader will have a first-row seat during the illustrative

discussions of expanded surgical indications from herniated disc to

more complex clinical problems, including stenosis, instability, and

deformity in patients with advanced degenerative disease of the human

spine. Contemporary Endoscopic Spine Surgery is divided into three

volumes: Cervical Spine, Lumbar Spine, and Advanced Technologies to

capture an accurate snapshot in time of this fast-moving field. It is

intended as a comprehensive go-to reference text for surgeons in

graduate residency and postgraduate fellowship training programs and

for practicing spine surgeons interested in looking for the scientific

foundation for their practice expansion into endoscopic surgery.

This volume (Lumbar Spine) covers the following topics in 18 detailed chapters:

Lumbar endoscopy: historical perspectives, present, and future

Endoscopic lumbar discectomy - anatomy, nomenclature, indications and

advanced techniques

Current approaches for the treatment of endstage vacuum degenerative

lumbar disc disease

Advanced endoscopic techniques of lumbar foraminotomy and treatment of

degenerative spondylolisthesis

Endoscopic treatment of lumbar facet cysts

Endoscopic techniques for the treatment of a wide range of chronic low back pain

Endoscopic spine surgery techniques in the elderly

Endoscopic fusion techniques

Endoscopic resection of schwannoma

Technical notes for difficult cases, controversies and complications

of lumbar endoscopy.

This reference presents basic concepts relevant to respiratory function in normal and diseased states.The volume stresses a quantitative approach to physical parameters used as indicators of normal and diseased physiological respiratory function. The contents of this reference allow medical students and physiology researchers to become "clinical detectives" - by presenting information that can be useful for enhancing their understanding of the major abnormalities in terms of ventilation, pulmonary blood perfusion, venous admixture, wasted alveolar ventilation, tissue oxygenation, acid-base balance, respiratory mechanics, control of breathing, etc.

This book is intended for first and second year medical students as well as for residents and fellows, especially in disciplines such as anesthesiology and pulmonary medicine. In addition, the unique mechanistic approach of this book also provides a useful reference for teachers of respiratory physiology who are not involved in respiratory research or those who have not been specifically trained in organ-system physiology. This book thus fills this gap by providing a modern physiology faculty some tools for learning the "nuts-and-bolts" of lung physiology and associated respiratory care.