Blackwell Publishing
Acute medicine; a practical guide to the management of medical emergencies, 4th ed.
Two UK physicians have expanded the scope of the 2001, 1995, and 1990 editions of this guide to cover acute medical problems commonly encountered in the hospital emergency room. They emphasize urgent management (though some guidance is provided on aftercare and palliative care), and the use of echocardiography in the ER. Moving from common presentations by critically ill patients to specific problems and procedures, they distill the text to handy flow diagrams with linked summary tables for decision-making. Pediatric patients are not specifically addressed. Chapters include alerts and further reading. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
An aid to the MRCP; essential lists, facts and mnemonics.
The MRCP is a high-stakes examination required for licenses in internal medicine which includes questions on examinations and diagnosis within a range of disciplines. Notoriously rigorous, it is in essence a test of memory as much as it is of skill. The authors, who include a recent successful test-taker, give students a range of methods to improve memorization, including topic facts and mnemonics (such as "Really Bad Calcification" for aortic stenosis, with the first letters standing for rheumatic heart disease, bicuspid aortic valve and calcified aortic valve). This covers hematology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, renal, respiratory, rheumatology, infectious diseases, dermatology, genetics, biochemistry and metabolism (Part 1) and exam technique, and can also serve UK or non-UK practitioners as a refresher. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Anesthesia for cardiac surgery, 3d ed.
Filling the gap between encyclopedic references and brief outlines, DiNardo (anesthesia, Harvard Medical School) and Zvara (anesthesiology, The Ohio State University) overview the latest developments in pediatric and adult cardiac anesthesia and provide practical recommendations based on sound principles of physiology. Coverage includes myocardial physiology, the interpretation of cardiac catheterization, monitoring, and anesthesia for myocardial revascularization, valvular heart disease, and heart and lung transplantation. The art program offers b&w medical images, illustrations, and a few photos. This third edition features a new chapter on special considerations during cardiac surgery, plus key facts and tables summarized for convenient access. The book is intended as a reference for residents, fellows, and practicing anesthesiologists. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The Atlantic salmon; genetics, conservation and management.
About 99% of Atlantic salmon are found on farms, not in the wild. Verspoor (FRS Freshwater Laboratory, Scotland) gathers material from a January 2003 SALGEN symposium, "Genetics and the Conservation of Atlantic Salmon," held in Westport, Ireland. The contributions review the biology of the Atlantic salmon and its genome, consider the current understanding of the population genetics of the species, and examine the major management issues from a genetic perspective. These issues include fisheries exploitation, salmon farming, stocking and ranching, and habitat management. There is also a chapter on gene banking of endangered populations. Color photos and illustrations are included. The audience for the book includes fish biologists, conservationists, ecologists, population biologists, geneticists, and resource managers working in fisheries and marine and aquatic ecosystems, in addition to policy makers and other non-geneticists involved with the conservation and management of the Atlantic salmon. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Atrial fibrillation ablation; the state of the art based on the VeniceChart international consensus document.
Introduced into clinical practice at the end of the 1990s, catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation has gained growing popularity, yet many aspects remain controversial. Aiming to encourage consensus on these issues, the organizers of VeniceArrhythmias 2007 assembled experts from the field to develop an international consensus document called VeniceChart, which was published in the May 2007 issues of the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. In this book, Natale (cardiovascular medicine, Cleveland Clinic, US) and Raviele (Arrhythmia Center and Center for Atrial Fibrillation, Umberto I Hospital, Italy) present an extended version of that document with added tables and figures. It includes discussion of the anatomy of the left atrium and pulmonary veins, pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation, techniques and technologies for atrial fibrillation catheter ablation, endpoints of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation, patient management pre- and post-ablation, anticoagulation issues, periprocedural and late complications, and short- and long-term efficacy. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Autism; an integrated view from neurocognitive, clinical, and intervention research.
In a volume derived from a seminar series hosted by the Scottish Autism Research Group, McGregor (U. of St. Andrews), the group's founder, and other psychologists and educators introduce 16 essays reviewing the growing but increasingly specialized research on this complex developmental phenomenon of epidemic proportions. The editors stress the challenge of integrating the knowledge base on autism — which does not yet include a biologic marker — with what is known about typical and abnormal brain/behavior development. New findings are presented by international contributors treating autism from clinical/ diagnostic, educational/interventionist, and neurocognitive research perspectives. Recent shifts in focus addressed include investigating strengths as well as deficits, and treating adults as well as children. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Basic virology, 3d ed.
This third edition of a text for introductory and intermediate undergraduate students offers a full-color art program, with a wealth of detailed explanatory diagrams and computer-generated images. It contains a new chapter on HIV and the lentiviruses, as well as a new section on new approaches and problems in viruses, with chapters on the molecular tools used to study viruses, viral pathogenesis at the molecular level, viral genomics and bioinformatics, and viruses and the future. The glossary has been revised, and there are new case studies which provide a clinical perspective of the viral diseases. Other pedagogical features include chapter outlines, review questions, problems, and web links. Wagner was professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of California-Irvine. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Behavioral ecology of insect parasitoids; from theoretical approaches to field applications.
Eighteen contributed chapters from authors based in Europe and North America have been shaped for cohesiveness by editors Eric Wajnberg and Carlos Bernstein (both are behavioral ecologists based in France), and Jacques van Alphen (animal ecology, U. of Leiden. The subject is parasitoids (insects whose adult females lay their eggs in or on other insects), whose behavior is of particular interest to those involved with pest management programs. The first part of the text examines current issues in behavioral ecology, including optimal foraging behavior, competition between females, and potential risk assessment strategies adopted by parasitoids. The second part addresses the extension of the evolutionary approach of behavioral ecology to other related scientific questions. In the final section, technical and methodological tools such as genetic algorithms and a summary of the most recent statistical methods are included. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Biostatistics for oral healthcare.
Finding no textbook on statistics that spoke to their students of dentistry and dental hygiene, Kim and Dailey (both dentistry, Loma Linda U. California) wrote one. They realize that most dentists will consume rather than conduct research, and so concentrate on rationales, applications, and interpretations of the most commonly used techniques. Those going into research will need to get the detailed mathematics needed from another source. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The bounds of cognition.
During the late 1990s, the notion was bruited that cognitive processes could extend at times to the tools people use; as it gained popularity among scientists, Adams (cognitive science and philosophy, U. of Delaware) and Aizawa (philosophy, Centenary College of Louisiana) felt compelled to counter it. Here they synthesize their ideas as honed through nearly a decade of trading scientific papers with opponents. They argue that what some are calling extended cognition outside the brain is better considered a mark of cognition. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Breeding major food staples.
Kang (vice chancellor, Punjab Agricultural U., India) and Priyadarshan (a plant breeder at the Rubber Research Institute of India) present 13 chapters combining technical information on improving the yields and quality of food staple crops through breeding, biofortification, gene transfer, genome mapping, and bioinformatics. Their volume first addresses general topics, including classic and modern crop breeding methodologies, cytogenetic and biotechnological of polypoid crops, biofortification, and bioinformatics. It then addresses the individual crops of wheat, rice, barley, corn, soybean, potato, sweet potato, cassava, and banana. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Bushmeat and livelihoods; wildlife management and poverty reduction.
While the bushmeat trade is a significant threat to wildlife conservation in the tropics, the threat is not easily resolved solely by conservation strategies because bushmeat is a significant component of the livelihood strategies for peoples in the bushmeat producer states. Davies (Director of Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, UK) and Brown (Oversea Development Institute, UK) present 15 papers that address this dilemma, incorporating consideration of institutional and extrasectoral influences, and share experiences in conservation that are based on recognition of the role of bushmeat in livelihoods. Material is drawn from the experiences of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region, but the concentration is on West Africa and the Congo Basin. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Cardiovascular hemodynamics for the clinician.
Written by fellows at the University of North Carolina, this clinical reference reviews the principles underlying hemodynamic measurement and catheter placement, and describes the characteristics of valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathies, and pericardial disease. Pressure tracings illustrate changes caused by aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, heart failure, constrictive pericarditis, cardiac tamponade, right ventricular myocardial infarction, and arrhythmias. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The cardiovascular system at a glance, 3d ed.
This accessible systems-based text provides a concise description of the cardiovascular system, integrating normal structure, function, and regulation with pathophysiology, pharmacology, and therapeutics. Within each section, each chapter is composed of a two-page spread based on one or more color diagrams, and is designed to contain an amount of information roughly equivalent to an hour-long lecture. This third edition features new case studies, revised material on pharmacology, and increased detail on ECG of arrhythmias. The book is directed mainly at preclinical medical students taking systems-based courses, but it can also serve as an introduction for other biomedical students and scientists, and as a refresher for clinicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Aaronson is a reader in pharmacology in the Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology at King's College, London. Ward is head of the Department of Physiology and professor of respiratory cell physiology at King's College. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Coccidioidomycosis; proceedings.
Thirty-eight papers from the August 2006 symposium present important advances toward understanding the coccidioides pathogen, reducing infection from it, and treating those unfortunate to have developed the disease. Six clinical papers share experience managing coccidioidomycosis in patients with HIV-1, rheumatology, pregnancy, transplant organs, and meningitis. Vaccine research evaluates the potential of dendritic cells, T27K fractionated by gel filtration and anion exchange, and a recombinant Ag2/PRA106 + CSA chimeric fusion protein. Other topics include ecological niche modeling in Western North American deserts, climatologic effects on the risk of infection, molecular cloning and expression of a cDNA, treatment of ocular coccidioidimycosis in a captive chimpanzee, and azole therapy. No subject index is provided. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Dental reception and practice management.
A British dental nurse offers advice on writing a dental practice manual, selecting and managing staff, defining payment plans, and developing a long-term marketing strategy. More specific instructions guide receptionists through proper procedures for booking appointments, reading dental charts, accepting payments, protecting patients' rights, dealing with difficult people, and handling patient complaints. A few black and white photographs are provided. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Driving spaces; a cultural-historical geography of England's M1 Motorway.
Merriman (human geography, U. of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK) describes the design, construction, and use of England's M1 motorway in the 1950s and 1960s, with a focus on the first sections of the London to Yorkshire Motorway. He relates attempts to promote motorway construction during the period, the impact of the German National Socialist Party's Autobahnen on British attitudes, the argument for post-war reconstruction, and debates over its design, landscape, and planting. He considers narratives about the motorway's construction, including those of the public, company employees, local residents, and laborers. He also looks at the motorway's use and governing, ideas about the experience of driving, and how it was a space of modern consumption, as well as how attitudes changed in the 1960s and 1970s with new environmental ideas. Some of the chapters were previously printed in different versions as articles. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Electrocardiography in ischemic heart disease; clinical and imaging correlations and prognostic implications.
This textbook combines insights from the century-old electrocardiogram (ECG), still very useful as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for ischemic heart disease, with the latest cardiac imaging procedures. Bayés de Luna (medicine, U. Autonoma Barcelona/director, cardiac department, Hospital Quiron) and Fiol- Sala (intensive coronary care unit, Hospital Son Dureta, Palma Mallorca, Spain) present a large number of correlations between ECGs and new imaging techniques including cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and coronary multidetector computer tomography (CMDCT). Chapters include images from ECGs and other imaging studies (some in color) and an algorithm for diagnosing patients presenting with thoracic pain at emergency rooms. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Engineering project management, 3d ed.
Because companies persist in appointing engineers to manage projects rather than design things, many engineering schools have decided that they may as well teach a bit about project management. Here is a textbook for such a course at the masters level, revised and updated from 1995 and 2002 editions to account for changes in the practice and for comments from users. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Equine neurology.
Loaded with information on both relatively common and rare conditions, this comprehensive clinical reference is designed to be used by practitioners, students and specialty clinicians in both diagnosis and treatment. Furr (veterinary medicine, Virginia Tech U.), practitioner Reed and their contributors provide a strong overview of clinical neurology, including anatomy and immunology, clinical equine neurology, including the examination, differential diagnoses for conditions such as seizures, spinal ataxia, nerve abnormalities and other situations, equine neuropathology, and specific disease syndromes including viral and bacterial diseases, central and peripheral disorders, encephalopathy and other conditions in the foal, movement disorders, parasitic infections, trauma, stereotypic and other behavior problems and congenital malformations. Illustrations include medical imagery and clinical photographs. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
