Blackwell Publishing

ABC of hypertension, 5th ed.

Aimed at general practitioners, nurses, and other non-specialists, this handbook covers the fundamentals of screening for and treating hypertension. Early chapters describe the pathophysiology of hypertension and the measurement of blood pressure. Other topics include (for example) pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments; hypertension in special populations (such as diabetics); and pregnancy and oral contraceptives. Beevers is affiliated with City Hospital in Birmingham, England. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Advanced endovascular therapy of aortic disease.

Vascular surgeons and cardiologists from the US and Europe describe the current approaches to using endovascular stent-graft to repair an aortic aneurysm from perspectives of natural history and pre-operative planning; thoracic aneurysm; aortic dissection and traumatic aortic injury; and techniques, new devices, and surveillance. The 27 papers are from the 2006 Total Endovascular Aorta Symposium at Baylor College. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The amazing infant.

For researchers and parents, Field (pediatrics, psychology, and psychiatry, U. of Miami School of Medicine) summarizes new studies on infant development. She does not review the basics of development, but rather describes the methods and measures of understanding it, factors that influence prenatal growth and development, the perinatal period, recent data on the senses, parent-infant interaction, and emotional, personality, motor, cognitive, language, and social development. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Antimicrobial therapy in veterinary medicine, 4th ed.

The fourth edition of this text has been restructured, updated, and considerably expanded by the editors (of the U. of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and Mesa State College in the US, Ontario Veterinary College and Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Canada, and St. George's U. School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada). They now present the material in four sections. The first provides general principles of antimicrobial therapy and includes a new chapter on the pharmacokinetic- pharmacodynamic relationship of antimicrobial agents. The next describes classes of agents and includes chapters on beta-lactam antibiotics; peptide antibiotics; lincosamides, pleuromutilins, and streptogramins; macrolides, azalides, and ketolides; aminoglycosides; tetracyclines and glycylcyclines; chloramphenicol, thiamphenicol, and florfenicol; sulfomanides, diaminopyrimidines, and their combinations; fluorquinolones; antifungal chemotherapy agents; and antiviral chemotherapy agents. A section exploring special considerations covers prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial chemotherapy for the neutropenic patient, therapy of selected organ systems, therapy of selected bacterial infections, growth promotion uses of antimicrobial agents, antimicrobial drug residues in foods of animal origin, and regulation of antibiotic use in animals. Finally, animal specific chapters discuss antimicrobial use in horses, dogs, cats, cattle, sheep and goats, New World camelids, swine, poultry, companion birds, laboratory small animals, reptiles. This last section also contains chapters on antimicrobial use in aquaculture and for treatment of bovine mastitis. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Avian and exotic animal hematology and cytology, 3d ed.

Campbell (zoo medicine, Colorado State U.) and Ellis (Centers for Disease Control, Fort Collins, Colorado) present images and information for veterinarians and veterinary technicians in clinical practice, pathologists, laboratory technicians, veterinary students, and people engaged in research involving exotic animals and wildlife. Many of the disorders affecting the hematology and cytology of avian and exotic animal patients, they say, can easily be diagnosed in-house without the delay of using an outside laboratory, thus allowing patients to be treated more quickly with disease-specific therapy. The 1988 and 1992 editions were published by Iowa State University Press. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Baked products; science, technology and practice.

Cauvain and Young, with Bake Tran, a consultancy company specializing in solutions for the baking industry, set out the most general principles of producing baked products in the hope that a common set of basic ideas across the industry would aid communication within it and provide a foundation for describing and improving the myriad methods used for specific products and situations. They discuss the classification of bakery products, ingredients and their influences, interactions between formulation and process methodologies, heat transfer, manipulating the end-product requirements, new product development, and other topics. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Blackwell companion to consciousness.

Velmans (psychology, U. of London, UK) and Schneider (philosophy, U. of Pennsylvania, US) present an anthology that introduces the field of consciousness studies, the multidisciplinary study of consciousness in fields such as neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and linguistics. They also hope the work encourages academics working in one area of the field to draw connections with insights from outside their own discipline. The 55 peer-reviewed papers solicited for the volume review types of consciousness, examine phenomenological and other philosophical questions of consciousness, examine empirical studies of consciousness, and consider methods of first-person examination of consciousness drawn from a variety of scientific and phenomenological traditions. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Brined cheeses.

Feta is the best known example, but others discussed here are Halloumi (Cyprus) and brined cheese from North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, Latin America, and the Philippines. The contributors are scientists from those regions. They also consider constituents and properties of milk from different species, industrial production, quality of the brine, and brined cheese in other food preparations. This is the third volume in a technical series produced by the Society of Dairy Technology. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Cardiovascular regeneration and stem cell therapy.

Leri et al. (medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute, New York Medical College, and Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, New York) provide a resource for scientists, students, and clinicians on myocardial regeneration and stem cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The 22 chapters, contributed by an international group of researchers and clinicians in various disciplines, cover regenerative cardiology and using cell replacement therapy as a clinical approach for treating diseases, specifically myocardial infarction and cardiomyopathy. Sections address stem cell biology, the biologic characteristics and function of cardiac progenitor cells in the adult heart, progenitor cells in the diseased heart, and experimental studies that have used stem cell therapy in diabetic cardiomyopathy, myocardial aging, and extensive ischemic injury. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Carbonated soft drinks; formulation and manufacture.

No, the secret recipe for Coca Cola is not here. After introducing the soft drink industry, scientists at mostly British companies consider the specifications and treatments for water, the main ingredient, and other ingredients and formulation. Then they discuss how ingredients are blended to an agreed specification, sugar dissolving, batch and continuous syrup production, carbon dioxide production, carbonation techniques, the physics of filling bottles with carbonated beverages, the latest filling equipment, primary and secondary packaging, and inspection. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Chest pain; advanced assessment and management skills.

This guide describes the assessment and management of chest pain and related symptoms. Topics include history taking, differential diagnosis, cardiac and noncardiac causes, national policies in the UK, and clinical conditions such as acute coronary syndrome, aortic dissection, trauma, and cocaine misuse. The 15 chapters, compiled by Albarran (critical care nursing, U. of the West of England, UK) and Tagney (cardiology, British Royal Infirmary), are contributed by cardiac and emergency medicine specialists and nurses from the UK. The book is aimed at nurses, cardiac physiologists, paramedics, and other health professionals. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Clinical governance; a guide to implementation for healthcare professionals, 2d ed.

McSherry (practice development, U. of Teeside), Paddy Pearce (healthcare governance, Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust), and John Tingle (health law, Nottingham Trent U.) update their 2002 account of the evolution of clinical governance, what it is, its key components, its legal implications, and barriers to implementing it in clinical practice. They cite case studies from current British health care services. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Clinical laboratory animal medicine; an introduction, 3d ed. (CD-ROM included)

Writing for veterinarians and veterinary students wishing to learn about the care and treatment of experimental animals typically found in laboratories, Hrapkiewicz (clinical veterinarian, Division of Laboratory Animal Resources, Wayne State U.) and Medina (manager, Animal Welfare and Compliance, Abbott Laboratories) provide basic information on anatomy and physiology, care and maintenance, and recommended treatments for small animals and nonhuman primates. The volume opens with an introduction to laboratory medicine; discussion of regulations, policies, and principles governing care and use of animals; and examination of issues related to facility design, equipment, animal housing, and management. Individual chapters on mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rabbits, ferrets, and nonhuman primates are then presented. These chapters typically address animal uses, behavior, anatomic and physiologic features, breeding reproduction, husbandry, laboratory techniques, therapeutic agents, diseases, and references. A final chapter explores research variables and quality control. The CD-ROM contains additional resources and is intended to serve as a study guide. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Color atlas of farm animal dermatology.

Designed as a diagnostic aid for practitioners and students, this volume features some 300 high quality color photographs illustrating various types of skin diseases affecting farm animals. Four main sections cover both common and uncommon diseases of cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs. Types of dermatological diseases discussed include bacterial, fungal, parasitic, viral, immunological, congenital, environmental, and nutritional. Neoplastic and non-neoplastic growths are also addressed. Clinical features, differentials, and diagnostics are given for each disease. Scott teaches veterinary medicine at Cornell U. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Concise encyclopedia of periodontology.

This reference for students and faculty in periodontology defines approximately 700 terms and procedures, supported by some color images. Embedded citations and cross-references are included in these entries. The appendix unites the names of authors in the field with the subjects they treat, and a full bibliography follows. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Counselling skills for dietitians, 2d ed.

Once a dietitian and now a counselor, Gable explains how dietitians can learn counseling skills in order to use the limited time they have with patients more effectively and meaningfully for both dietitian and patient. She especially considers situations in which diet problems are associated with, perhaps even caused by, other problems, such as loss and bereavement. Other topics include active listening, transcultural communication, and dealing with difficult situations at work. The first edition was published in 1997. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Critical care in childbearing for midwives.

Although normally considered a "blessed event," sometimes childbearing triggers preexisting or unknown conditions that are life-threatening to the mother or child, or occur as a response to childbearing itself. This series of highly-focused papers presents the latest thinking on procedures for midwives whose patients become critically ill, especially in a hospital setting. They describe the changes in who care for critically ill mothers, how a team approach works in high risk pregnancies, the elements of autonomous practice, the range of medical disorders the midwife may encounter, including hematological, hypertensive, hemorrhagic, shock, and fluid balance, specialist monitoring technology, anesthesia, pain management, transfer to the ICU, and psychological needs. In each case the authors describe the most up-to-date protocols and procedures and focus on the needs of the patient in terms of safety, efficiency and efficacy. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The design quality manual; improving building performance.

British architect Cook sets out criteria for assessing the quality of a building, hopefully in a stage long before it is actually constructed, when the quality can be improved without having to evict tenants and tear stuff down. He covers building procurement, schools, hospitals, and housing. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Dewhurst's textbook of obstetrics & gynaecology, 7th ed.

This advanced textbook on obstetrics and gynecology serves as a comprehensive volume on information in the field for specialists in training. Edmonds (obstetrics and gynecology, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, London, UK) has revised this volume to include 21 new chapters that discuss recurrent miscarriage, genetics and prenatal diagnosis, drugs, emergencies, prolonged pregnancy, termination, imaging, assisted reproduction, psychological aspects, domestic violence and sexual assault, and ethical dilemmas. The textbook contains 61 chapters by medical specialists from around the world. Chapters are organized to follow the female from fetus to old age. Anatomy, labor, miscarriage, disorders, contraception, the menstrual cycle, and infertility are some of the subjects discussed. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Emergency medicine; avoiding the pitfalls and improving the outcomes.

Intended for experienced emergency physicians, this professional resource highlights the challenges of evaluating and managing patients with chest syndromes, abdominal pain, trauma, headaches, neck pain, and infectious diseases, as well as patients arriving while pregnant or intoxicated. The 13 chapters focus on unusual but dangerous causes which are prone to pitfalls in diagnosis and treatment. The editors and many of the contributors teach medicine at the University of Maryland, the Mayo Clinic, or Temple University. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)