Medical Book Chapters

Ethics of research: A tribute to Archie Cochrane

Kathryn Hird — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:22:18 PDT

No abstract available.

Temporal Stability of Repeated Assessments of Problematic Internet Use Among Adolescents: A Prospective Cohort Study

Lawrence T. Lam — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:36:12 PST

The growth of Internet usage has been phenomenal in the last decade. According to the latest statistics on worldwide usage of the Internet, there has been a 4-times increase in the number of users.1 In terms of regional distributions by geographic locations, Asia is the area with the highest number of Internet users in the world in 2009 with more than 764.4 millions.¹ With such a large population of Internet users, misuse and loss of control in the use of the Internet should not be expected rare events.

Ventricular Assist Device – How to Obtain Optimal Benefits?

Agata Bielecka-Dabrowa et al. — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:53:41 PST

Heart failure is now acknowledged to be the most common malignant disease in industrialized countries, with advanced heart failure having a worse prognosis than most forms of cancer (Garg, Yusuf 1993). Advances in pharmacological treatment have helped patients in all stages of systolic dysfunction, even those with NYHA IV symptoms (the Captopril-Digoxin Multicenter Research Group 1988, Packer et al. 1996, the RALES Investigators 1996). The Working Group on Heart Failure of the European Society of Cardiology has promoted a number of initiatives aimed at improving the treatment of heart failure (ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure 2008).

Despite advances in pharmacological treatments aimed at a neurohormonal blockade for heart failure, there is still a growing number of patients with advanced symptoms who suffer significant morbidity and mortality. Mechanical stresses on the myocardium (increased preload and afterload) and chronic neurohormonal activation conspire to propagate the maladaptive ventricular remodeling responsible for the insidious nature of heart failure. Recent studies suggest that further pharmacological neurohormonal blockade may be neither safe nor effective (Mann 2004). This finding has led to the concept that the limit to which neurohormonal and cytokine mechanisms can be blocked in heart failure patients has already been reached (Cohn, Tognoni 2001). The problem of how to treat patients worldwide who develop advanced heart failure despite optimal medical therapy has not yet been resolved (Gronda, Vitali 1999).

Depression in Children and Adolescents

Joseph M. Rey et al. — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:37:38 PST

Sarah, a thin 11-year-old, is brought to the family physician by her mother. Sarah has been unhappy, saying that life is not worth living, refusing to go to school, and complaining of stomach pains and headache. This problem has become worse over several weeks.

The challenge of understanding how depression in young people develops, is diagnosed, and treated often begins with presentations like Sarah's.

Bowel Obstruction

Shaukat Taher Esufali — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:28:29 PDT

Rural Surgery: Challenges and Solutions for the Rural Surgeon. This textbook provides an update on the evidence and surgical techniques for the experienced rural surgeon and most importantly is a guideline for younger surgeons and surgical trainees joining the general surgical workforce in rural and remote areas around the world.

Anosognosia in Alzheimer’s disease: Neuroimaging correlates

Sergio E. Starkstein et al. — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:01:42 PDT

The study of anosognosia has witnessed an unprecedented increase in interest over the last 20 years. This has resulted in numerous empirical investigations as well as theoretical writings on the nature of human consciousness and how disorders of the brain may influence the person's subjective awareness of a disturbed neurological or neuropsychological function. [Excerpt from publisher's website. Retrieved from: http://www.oup.com.au/titles/academic/psychology/9780195379099]

Spiramicin

Miles H. Beaman — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:17:48 PDT

Concentrating on the treatment of infectious diseases, the content is divided into 4 sections: antibiotics, anti-fungal drugs,anti-parasitic drugs and anti-viral drugs, and is highly structured for ease of reference.Within each section, each chapter is structured to cover susceptibility, formulations and dosing (adult and paediatric), pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, toxicity and drug distribution, detailed discussion regarding clinical uses, a feature unique to this title.

The role of immunomodulation in the management of infections of the CNS

Miles H. Beaman — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:52:57 PDT

Interactions between the immune and nervous systems are involved in many disease processes. Modulation of inflammation can provide an important opportunity to enhance regeneration within the central nervous system. This authoritative book defines the key cellular players in mounting an inflammatory response and highlights critical factors in the target organ that influence the nature of that response and its capacity either to damage or protect the brain. [From publisher's website]

ISBN: 9780521888745

Communicating Genetic Risk

Elizabeth A. Lobb et al. — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 18:06:22 PDT

This comprehensive text provides clinicians with practical and evidence-based guidelines to achieve effective, patient-centered communication in the areas of cancer and palliative care. Written by an outstanding panel of international experts, it integrates empirical findings with clinical wisdom, draws on historical approaches and presents a state-of-the-art curriculum for applied communication skills training for the specialist oncologist, surgeon, nurse and other multi-disciplinary team members involved in cancer care today.[From publisher's website]

ISBN: 9780199238361

Campylobacter spp. Responses to the Environment and Adaptations to Hosts

Tania E. Farrar et al. — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:31:21 PST

Book Description:

Knowledge of the responses of microorganisms to environmental stresses has led to tremendous advances in the their morphological, physiological and genetic regulation, following the introduction of novel research techniques and the efforts of food microbiologists, microbial ecologists, molecular biologists and researchers in other fields. This book is primarily targeted at food microbiologists, microbial ecologists and other professionals in academia, industry and governmental agencies. In addition, this book is a useful reference in improving the processing of food and detecting microorganisms therein.

ISBN: 9781611228106

The Child Behaviour Scale Chinese (CBSC) – A validation study

Guo-Bin Wan et al. — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:19:42 PST

The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), developed based on the conceptual framework of child developmental psychopathology proposed by Achenbach, has been considered as the most studied instrument in assessing child behavioural problems. For younger pre-school age children, a specific CBCL/1.5-5 has also been recently developed. However, this specific form of the CBCL has not been translated into Chinese, and thus not validated as a Chinese version. The Child Behaviour Scales-Chinese (CBSC) has been developed by researchers in China for the purpose of providing a useful behavioural assessment instrument for young pre-school children. Studies were conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CBSC. Results obtained from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that 46 items were to be retained from the pool of 60 with a seven factor structure. Cronhach’s Alpha values for both sexes and total provided evidence for good internal reliability with values ranging from 0.59 to 0.90. Correlations on all subscales between CBSC and CBCL suggested moderate to high concordance providing evidence for reasonable convergent validity. The ICC for all subscales and the total between repeated administrations of CBSC within a period of 4-6 weeks were significantly and moderately high ranging from 0.52 to 0.72. These preliminary results suggest that the CBSC is a valid instrument for assessing young pre-school children in China. Studies could be further conducted to provide more evidence on the externalisation and internalisation factors structure on which the design of the instrument has been based.

ISBN: 978-1-60805-186-1

Pancreatic MAP kinase pathways and acetaldehyde

Minoti V. Apte et al. — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:04:26 PDT

Acetaldehyde-Related Pathology describes the toxic effects of acetaldehyde at the tissue and cellular levels, reviewing enzyme biochemistry, transgenic mouse models of alcohol dehydrogenase mutants, and the cell-signalling pathways implicated in alcohol-related pathology. It explores the mechanisms of acetaldehyde-induced damage to tissues, often a first step in carcinogenesis, including the oral cavity, the human airway, and the GI tract. The book considers pharmacological strategies and treatments for reducing oral and intestinal acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde-Related Pathology features in-depth, round-table discussions by an international array of scientists from major laboratories worldwide involved in studies of acetaldehyde-related pathology. [From publisher's website]

ISBN: 9780470057667

Etiopathogenesis And Epidemiology Of Alcohol-Induced Acute Pancreatitis

Minoti V. Apte et al. — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:23:08 PDT

The most encyclopedic book on the pancreas - providing clear guidance for practicing clinicians & surgeons.

In the past decade, extraordinary developments in diagnostic and therapeutic radiology and endoscopy have been coupled with major advances in surgical techniques and basic sciences. As a result the management of pancreatic disorders is now handled by a multidisciplinary team.

This book shows you how to achieve superior patient management by taking the team approach to in-hospital care. [Excerpt from publisher's website]

ISBN: 978-1-4051-4664-7

Involvement of Disulphide Reductases in the Response of Campylobacter jejuni to Cadmium Stress

Nadeem O. Kaakoush et al. — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:34:48 PDT

Abstract unavailable for this Book Chapter

Description of the Book, Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine, Vol 9:

This book aims to help advance our knowledge of the role of metal ions in a number of fields in Biology and Medicine.

CONTENTS:

I- Metal-based drugs

II- Analytical Methods

III- Molecular studies

IV- Soils and plants

V- Microorganisms

VI- Cell studies

VII- Experimental studies

VIII- Ecological studies

IX- Nutrition

X- Reviews

XI- Human studies

[Retrieved from the Publisher's website]

ISBN: 2-7420-0629-X

Responses of Four Campylobacterales to Cadmium Stress

Nadeem O. Kaakoush et al. — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:14:28 PDT

Abstract unavailable for this Book Chapter

Description of the Book, Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine:

The aims of this 10th volume are to present the latest scientific progress in the fields of biochemistry, chemistry and cell biology using examples such as the therapeutic applications of complex metal ligands.

Progress in our understanding of the roles played by metals in cells has resulted in the rise of metal-based medicinal products which are currently a major research field.

This book provides the latest findings on:

- the effects of metals in cancer, infectious disease, endocrine disorders and all other diseases affecting human beings.

- toxicological aspects of metal ions

- metal-based medicinal products

[Retrieved from the publisher's website]

ISBN: 978-2742007141

Naltrexone Implants in the Treatment of Heroin Addiction

Gary K. Hulse et al. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:59:37 PDT

In this chapter the morbidity, mortality and social issues associated with heroin dependency and the merits of two types of sustained release naltrexone over oral naltrexone preparations as maintenance treatments will be discussed. Presented data will compare naltrexone and 6-β-naltrexol data obtained from blood/serum samples of patients who received either an implant developed by Go Medical Industries (Australia) or Wedgewood Pharmacy (USA). For the latter, the data was obtained by clinical record review of a random sample of 10 patients who received a single Go Medical, and 14 patients who received a 1g Wedgewood natrexone implant who attended private heroin treatment clinics in Australia (Perth, Western Australia and Brisbane, Queensland). Blood sample collection and analysis of free-natrexone and free 6-β-naltrexol was part of a routine clinical management of patients given implants.

Findings indicate that both the Wedgewood and Go Medical implant investigated provide opiate antagonistic coverage with blood naltrexone and 6-β-naltrexol levels maintained above 1-2ng/ml for significantly longer following use of the Go Medical implant. One implication is that the return of tolerance may be more gradual with the Australian preparation, which is likely to constitute an important safety advantage against accidental opioid overdose.

ISBN: 1600213685

ISBN: 9781600213687

The Global Context: International Child Health

Garth Alperstein — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:48:11 PST

Approximately 5000 children under 5 years died on 11 September 2001 from diarrhoea, about double the number of persons who were killed when two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Towers in New York. For many years prior to that day, and every day since then, approximately 5000 children under 5 years have died from diarrhoea, by and large preventable by eliminating poverty. In 2003 global expenditure on anti-terrorism measures was quoted to be approximately $US551 billion. The UN Millennium Project has estimated that to cover basic needs in health, education, water, sanitation, food production, roads and other key areas, and achieve the Millennium Development Goals of the poorest countries would cost $US160 billion per year. This can be achieved by the wealthy countries of the world donating 0.7 % of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Only 5 of the 13 wealthiest OECD countries currently meet that target. The contribution from the USA (which currently contributes 0.15%) would be approximately $US60 billion – the same as the cost of the Iraq war per year for the first two years, similar to the Bush administration’s tax cuts to those earning more than $US500,000 per annum and approximately what Western Europe spends on alcohol every 6 months.

Between 1990 and 2002 child health outcomes, particularly under 5 mortality rates world-wide have been improving except in the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Republics) and some Sub-Saharan African countries, where under 5 mortality has deteriorated, and rates in Sub-Saharan Africa remain high. However, as overall rates have been falling, inequalities and inequities in child health outcomes within and between nations have been increasing. From 1970-2000 under 5 mortality decreased by 71% in high income countries, but by only 40% in low income countries.

The aim of this chapter is to describe broadly the determinants of child health, to question the current approach to improving child health outcomes, particularly in low and middle income countries, and discuss possibilities for improving child health in poor countries and reduce inequalities and inequities, considering strategies at a global, national and local level.

ISBN: 9780195764956