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This book analyzes a new phenomenon in civilization: the transformation of the current "Information Wave" into virtual civilization. In the 21st century, the "real-space" of the world civilization, due to the massive, network-intensive use of computers world-wide, gained the virtual space known as cyberspace. Cyberspace is a product of information technology exemplified by the Internet as the world system of information highway(s) [INFOSTRADA(S)] which forms a digital space containing all sorts of files and communication exchanges practiced in online and real-time modes. For the first time in 6,000 years of human civilization, society has become a quantum society, which can be real and virtual at the same time. The virtual society is invisible for those who do not use computer networks. Even for those who do use them, cyberspace access requires some sort of commercial transactions-oriented activities (ex. on Amazon or eBay and others), searching on Google or Yahoo or communicating as a member of one of social networks, e.g.. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others.

It is common for adoptive families to need support and services after adoption. Postadoption services can help families with a wide range of issues. They are available for everything from learning how to explain adoption to a preschooler, to helping a child who experienced early childhood abuse, to supporting an adopted teens search for identity. Experience with adoptive families has shown that all family members can benefit from some type of postadoption support. Families of children who have experienced trauma, neglect, abuse, out-of-home care, or institutionalisation may require more intensive services. This book serves as a guide to postadoption assistance.

Over the past two decades, automobile crash-related fatality and injury rates have declined over 34 and 40 percent respectively, due in part to improvements in automobile safety. To further improve traffic safety and provide other transportation benefits, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is promoting the development of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technologies. Among other things, V2I technologies would allow roadside devices and vehicles to communicate and alert drivers of potential safety issues, such as if they are about to run a red light. GAO was asked to review V2I deployment. This book addresses the status of V2I technologies; challenges that could affect the deployment of V2I technologies, and DOT efforts to address these challenges; and what is known about the potential benefits and costs of V2I technologies.

Americans today confront an array of challenges in their efforts to achieve and maintain financial security. Financial literacythe ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively -- has thus become increasingly important. Experts have identified the workplace as a potentially effective venue for providing financial education and helping individuals improve their financial decision making. This book discusses the role of the employer in promoting financial literacy; the effectiveness of such efforts; how best to serve low-income and other underserved populations; and the federal government''s role in supporting these efforts. The book also discusses needs and priorities in improving financial literacy; roles and responsibilities of, and collaboration among, the government, nonprofit, and private sectors; lessons learned from federal public health and nutrition literacy initiatives; and the Government Accountability Office''s potential role in addressing financial literacy issues.

"Child nutrition programs" is an overarching term used to describe the U.S. Department of Agriculture''s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food for children in school or institutional settings. This book presents an overview of the benefits and services these programs and related activities provide as well as participation and funding information. The book emphasizes details for the school meals programs and provides an orientation to the operations of the other programs. Moreover, this book analyzes school lunch and breakfast programs, which account for over 80 percent of all spending for child nutrition programs.

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a family of clonal haematopoietic stem cells disorders characterized by dysplasia, ineffective hematopoiesis and susceptibility to transformation to Acute Myeloblastic Leukaemia (AML) that are shown to be strikingly refractory to current therapeutic modalities. The first chapter of this book provides a detailed review of the risk factors, treatment options and prognosis of MDS. Chapter two studies the inflammatory and autoimmune nature of MDS. Chapter three discusses the pathogenesis of 5q-syndrome. Chapter four examines the genetic mutations identified in MDS and their significance. Chapter five reviews different prognostic factors and stratifications of risk in Argentinean patients with MDS. Chapter six discusses epigenetics and epigenetic therapy. Chapter seven introduces mild oral chemotherapy treatments for elderly patients with a higher-risk myelodyspastic syndrome. Chapter eight discusses lenalidomide treatment in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes. Chapter nine analyzes the old and new-integrating prognostic models and mutational advances with epigenetic and cellular therapies for MDS. The last chapter studies the entropy evaluation of bone marrow biopsies in MDS.

Natural selection is the process which, being the most important factor of evolution, promotes rising of adaptability and prevents destructive consequences of all other processes. The concept of natural selection is a discordant problem of evolutionary human genetics. Despite popularity of a hypothesis of "neutral evolution", the majority of scientists consider that selection has played main role in evolution of species and has generated all bio-logical diversity of human populations. This book presents research on natural selection and genetic drift. The author of the first chapter provides an all-embracing macroevolutionary perspective on the processes of the evolution of life and culture on earth. The author investigates a complementary form of natural selection that diverges from the traditional form in that it is acting independently of the external environment. The next chapter discusses natural selection and diabetes mellitus. The last chapter examines how the genetic drift among native people from South American the Gran Chaco region affects interleukin 1 receptor antagonist variation.

This book provides readers with the latest developments in neuroscience research. Topics covered include the multiple effects of electroacupuncture on the synaptic efficacy of neuronal ensembles in the spinal cord of experimental animal models of neuropathic pain and their neuromodulation by neuropeptide hormones and cytokines; electrical stimulation for pressure ulcer prevention and treatment of spinal cord injury; the structure and function on the entorhinal cortex with special reference to neurodegenerative disease; recent advances in the understanding of the effects of different ginsenosides on CNS targets and how ginsenosides can contribute to cures for some of the most devastating neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases; neuroplasticity and neurogenesis; neuroplastic changes in subjects with deaf-blindness using the topographic distribution maps of the somatosensory evoked potential by stimulation of the median nerve (SEP-N20) pre-CI versus post-CI; vascular functions of dexamethasone, a synthetic GC with a focus on dexamethasone action on the blood-brain-barrier (BBB); the relationship between the effects of GCs on neurosteroid biosynthesis and on cognitive behaviors and hippocampal neural activity; a review of the real case of a patient with subacute combined spinal cord degeneration and pancytopenia secondary to severe and sustained vitamin B12 deficiency; and the role of sex-steroid hormones in anxiety, affective, eating and psychotic disorders.

This book provides readers with the latest developments in cardiovascular research. Topics covered include the morphology and implications of atrial septal defects; the epidemiology, clinical presentation, preliminary diagnostics and imaging of arterial septal defects; the pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, imaging, treatment and prognosis of constrictive pericarditis and cardiac tamponade; the psychological distress lived by patients and their caregivers after a cardiac arrest; the significance and limitations of coronary angiography and intravascular imaging systems, covering almost all devices currently available in Japan, where intracoronary imaging is being utilized aggressively; previous reports on coronary endothelial dysfunction and/or spasm after stent implantation and the clinical implications, and prognosis; and the relationship between Type D personality and health-related behaviors.

The authors of this book discuss the latest advances in sociology research. Chapters include research on the importance of stories in assessing personal and/or community problems and designing culturally relevant and effective solutions; the repercussions of precarious, low-status work regarding access to healthcare services by immigrant workers in Greece; the repercussions of work and employment in precarious, low-status/low wage jobs of immigrant workers on their trade union participation and work rights claims in Greece; new oral transmission of popular culture in the face of global challenges; norm conformity, rationalization and resident participation in multi-owned housing management; myths and facts of closing the gender gap in trade union activities in Nigeria; and the phenomenon of homophobia within the framework of masculine domination as well as its role in setting the binary regarding gender boundaries.

Entrepreneurship has been the focus of considerable interest in the policy and business circles in the past two decades. Against a backdrop of the recent global recession, downsizing by large firms and problems of inequality and unemployment in many countries in Europe and Africa, it is realized that vigorous entrepreneurship is critical for sustainable job creation, and for boosting tax revenue and economic growth in a society. This book provides current research on entrepreneurship and firm performance. The first chapter examines the nature of entrepreneurship by selectively drawing from the economic, management and psychological schools, and then presents an integrated electric view of entrepreneurship based on the different schools of thought. Chapter two theoretically examines the influence of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), on local and international entrepreneurial activity stemming from emerging markets in light of globalisation and the aftermath of the global economic crisis. Chapter three examines the moderating effect of prior functional and prior founding experiences of the founders on the relationship between ecosystem and new venture growth. Chapter four justifies both theoretically and scientifically the emotional and social aspects of gender, and offers a new arena for sketching the figures of a man and a woman entrepreneur. Chapter five discusses topics of entrepreneurship in Brazil, focusing on psychosocial elements which impact entrepreneur''s agency and considering cultural, social and psychological aspects which singularize such practice, potentially distinguishing it from other countries'' experiences. Chapter six analyzes the situation of social entrepreneurship in Lithuania, emphasizing its policy and practice in the European Union (EU) context, striving for youth involvement in becoming social entrepreneurs. Chapter seven conducts an initial insight on the link between entrepreneurial motivations and performance in microfinance institutions (MFIs). The last chapter proposes a multidimensional approach to the study of entrepreneurship.

This book focuses on the latest developments in psychology research. The first chapter reviews the effects of acute aerobic exercise and high intensity interval training (HIIT) on positive and negative affect. The following chapters discuss alexithymia, psychological flexibility and social anxiety; analyses the ethical implication of discrimination, especially discrimination that may occur inadvertently, through a type of stigma; presents eating disorders in women as a multifaceted and complex social phenomenon; evaluates the potential of visible facial behavior in studies of affective disorders; studies infants'' communication and parental triad nonverbal interactions; and examines the challenges and practices, and provides research on distinguishing grief from depression in the clinical setting.

Briefly stated, comparative effectiveness research pertains to the direct, succinct and precise comparison of existing healthcare interventions to determine what works best for each individual patient, and which treatment course poses the greatest benefits, costs and harms. The core question of comparative effectiveness research goes beyond establishing what treatment works best, for whom, and under what circumstances: it is a hypothesis-driven endeavor designed to uncover and implement the consensus of the best evidence base for patient-centered, effectiveness-focused and evidence-based health care. Members at the Institute of Medicine and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research concur that comparative effectiveness research involves the generation and synthesis of the best available evidence for a treatment intervention by means of a process driven by the PICOTS question/hypothesis, and are directed at comparing and contrasting the benefits, costs and harms of alternative methods to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a clinical conditions with the specified intent of improving the delivery of health care. The purpose of comparative effectiveness research is to assist healthcare providers, patients, allied clinicians, caregivers and other stakeholders to engage together and make informed decisions that will improve healthcare at both the individual and population levels, and in so doing utilize the identified best evidence base in specific clinical settings, a process that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines as "Translational Effectiveness". In brief, comparative effectiveness research is the tool and the process necessary for translational effectiveness. In this light, it is critical and timely to facilitate comparative effectiveness research as one of the essential and primary components of patient-centered, effectiveness-focused and evidence-based clinical decision-making in healthcare, as the premier process that results in improved patient outcomes, enhanced research planning, better products, and novel evidence-based policy development. This book is a compilation of the writings of several experts in the field and their collaborators. Each chapter examines specific facets of the process of comparative effectiveness research-based clinical decision-making in the principal domains of healthcare, which are subsumed in this work as dentistry, Western and alternative medicine, nursing, and pharmacology. Taken together, the chapters in this book present a brief, yet comprehensive overview and discussion of the current state of comparative effectiveness in healthcare. They establish the central role of systematic reviews in the process of clinical decision-making in evidence-based health care, and examine in depth the statistical significance and the clinical relevance of actualising and evaluating clinical decision-making. Additionally, policies in optimizing evidence-based, patient-centered and effectiveness-focused clinical outcomes, stakeholders engagement for raising health literacy in the U.S. and worldwide in this decade of the twenty-first century and beyond are discussed.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in Hippocrates'' dictum: "Let food be your medicine and medicine your food". This book focuses on the therapeutic effects of broccoli phytochemicals, in particular certain glucosinolate metabolites and flavonoids. This book is organized in such a manner that people with only a basic background in the biological sciences would profit greatly. Anyone interested in any area of nutrigenomics would profit from reading this book as well. This would include horticulturists interested in how phytochemicals may be therapeutic, as well as nutritionists and other health professionals who wish to better understand how diet may influence gene expression and thereby health. Persons engaged in the food-processing industry will also find this book profitable. This book will be of especial interest to graduate students as well as health profession students. The book starts out with a chapter outlining the role of Professor Paul Talalay of Johns Hopkins University and his colleagues, whom initially identified activators of the Nrf2 signalling pathway as playing a critical role in the anti-cancer properties of certain phytochemicals and then went on to greatly develop this area of nutrigenomic research, most recently with human clinical trials. Since many of the therapeutic effects of broccoli consumption can be attributed to specific glucosinolates, two chapters deal with glucosinolates in general (Chapter Two) and glucosinolate distribution in different broccoli cultivars specifically (Chapter Three). Nrf2 activators will influence xenobiotic metabolism in a number of ways; hence, Chapter Four gives an overview of xenobiotic metabolism. Chronic diseases, a major target of nutraceuticals, are a major health concern and place a huge burden on the health care system. Chronic diseases are driven by oxidative stress and generalized inflammation. To understand the medicinal effects of plant bioactive compounds requires an understanding of the mechanisms of oxidant production and scavenging, how oxidative stress affects signalling pathways, and the roles of certain phytochemicals in countering oxidative stress and inflammation. This is the topic of Chapter Five. Chapter Six outlines the Nrf2 signalling pathway and its role in regaining redox and metabolic homeostasis. Broccoli also contains bioactive flavonoids that influence xenobotic metabolism and Nrf2 signalling. Chapter Seven deals with flavonoids with a focus on the major flavonoids found in broccoli, quercetin and kaempferol. Chapters Eight through Eleven outline some of the basic research examining the effects of sulforaphane on x-irradiation-mediated damage, UV-mediated skin damage and perinatal ischemic insults. Chapters Twelve and Three give an overview of some of the clinical trials that involve intake of sulforaphane/broccoli sprouts. The last four chapters deal with the agronomic aspects of broccoli, including cultivation, post-harvest processing and how various cooking methods affect the bioactive components in broccoli.

Smoking cigarettes starts during adolescence. Some adolescents may stop smoking cigarettes having taken it as an experiment during adolescence, but others may continue smoking into adulthood. Most adults who smoke started smoking during the adolescence stage and may have been already addicted to nicotine before the age of eighteen, resulting in long-term health consequences. This book compiles and documents smoking epidemiology and correlates of smoking in adolescents in various regions of the world. It aims to provide critical information that relates to the magnitude of the problem and who is affected in order for strategies to be identified and implemented. The issue is a concern of public health, since smoking affects people not only at the time the smoking habit begins, but because it has an influence on them for the rest of an individual''s life.

Since the invention of the ruby laser in the late 20th century, scientists and physicists have been keen on identifying its usage to cure and treat various dermatological and cosmetic skin conditions. Continuous work and experiments have led to the improvement of the various laser systems which are now able to treat many imperfections of the skin and certain skin ailments, along with scarring that might result from an injury or disease. Aesthetic Laser Therapy: Principles, Medical Applications, and Long-Term Effectiveness brings forth a wealth of information regarding the history of development of laser technology and how its uses have also been developed through trial and error. Aesthetic Laser Therapy: Principles, Medical Applications, and Long-Term Effectiveness familiarizes the reader with the various techniques that have been developed over time. These include ablative and non-ablative skin resurfacing and fractional and non-fractional methods. An abundance of relative figures and charts help the reader in comprehending the theoretical information as well. Each chapter of the book has been carefully designed and elaborates upon the different skin conditions that can be treated with each of the methods, what the outcomes might be, what precautions must be observed and information regarding careful patient selection. You will also find a chapter that has been specifically designed to familiarize the reader with the necessary safety procedures that are necessary to carry out laser procedures. Laser treatment methods are commonly preferred for permanent hair removal, tattoo removal, skin pigmentation disorders and of course to decrease or diminish the signs of photoaging. The physiology and treatment of each of these conditions is discussed. Liposuction is another field of cosmetic surgery that has benefitted by the invention of lasers. With laser treatment methods, the downtime has been reduced with improving results. A review of traditional suction assisted liposuction and liposuction with the use of energy devices is discussed. As the demand laser treatment grows, so does the number of laser treatment providers. Aesthetic Laser Therapy: Principles, Medical Applications, and Long-Term Effectiveness ology is valuable in providing the necessary information to develop a complete understanding regarding the anatomy of the skin, the science behind the laser technology and how both of these interact with each other.

This book gathers all up-to-date information regarding the historical perspectives, clinical manifestations, pathomechanism, diagnostic methodology, and therapeutic strategies for a life-threatening, blistering skin disease called pemphigus vulgaris. The medical community has come a long way in discovering its disease mechanism down to the molecular level and found excellent treatment options for patients suffering from this horrific disease. Compared to the pre-corticosteroid era when the mortality rate was greater than 90% to present day mortality, which is extremely rare, we have indeed made great medical progress toward curing this disease. The scientific and clinical advancements notwithstanding, patients affected by this disease still face a mortality rate two to three times higher than the general population, indicating that the research of this disease has not yet been completed. While this book is focused on pemphigus vulgaris, it also includes four clinical variants of pemphigus vulgaris: drug-induced pemphigus, paraneoplastic pemphigus, pemphigus vegetans, and IgA pemphigus. Accompanied with extensive reviews of scientific literature are clinical photos illustrating the various clinical presentations of the disease, as well as histological and immunohistological patterns of this disease that would serve as outstanding references for practical usage in emergency rooms, hospitals, and outpatient clinics. This book is intended for: medical students whom require comprehensive knowledge of a well-classified organ-specific autoimmune disease; dermatology residents solidifying their ability to diagnose and treat this group of patients; practicing physicians whom need to update their skills in managing patients suffering from this disease; emergency physicians in order to properly triage their patients; scientists completing their understanding of the disease pathophysiology; and pharmaceutical industries searching for even better treatment options for these patients.

The Federal Government administers a wide array of programs on behalf of the American people: financial aid to assist with college attendance, social insurance programs and tax incentives to promote retirement security, health insurance programs to ensure access to healthcare and financial protection for families, disclosure requirements to help people obtain safer mortgages, and others. But Americans are best served by these programs only if the programs are easy to participate in and present options and information clearly. When programs are designed without these considerations in mind, Americans can incur costs that go beyond lost time and frustration. Research from behavioral science demonstrates that seemingly small barriers to engagement -- such as hard-to- understand information, burdensome applications, or poorly presented choices -- can prevent programs from working effectively for the very people they are intended to serve. In 2014, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) established the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) to ensure that our best understanding of behavior -- how people engage with, participate in, and respond to policies and programsis integrated into the policymaking process. This book examines the social and behavioral sciences used in the advancement of policy.

The U.S. Treasury market is the deepest and most liquid government securities market in the world. It plays a critical and unique role in the global economy, serving as the primary means of financing the U.S. federal government and acting as a significant investment instrument and hedging vehicle for global investors, among other uses. On October 15, 2014, the market for U.S. Treasury securities, futures, and other closely related financial instruments experienced unusually large price swings, including a very rapid roundtrip during a 12-minute interval. This volatility occurred despite the absence of any particular financial or economic developments that might explain such large moves. Such significant and unexplained volatility in the important U.S. Treasury market called for more substantive analysis. The staff of the Treasury Department, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission worked together to analyse data from the three main trading venues for the Treasury market in the creation of this report. This book provides an overview of the U.S. Treasury market, liquidity, and applicable regulations. It explores the events of October 15, including the two defining traits of the daythe unusually high volatility and round-trip in prices despite the lack of an obvious driver, and the strains in liquidity conditions especially during the event window; discusses the key findings from the analysis of participant-level transaction data, with a particular focus on the period leading up to and including the most volatile period of the day, the 9:33 to 9:45 a.m. ET event window; reviews broad changes to the structure of the Treasury market over the past two decades; and explains the events of October 15 underscore the importance of efforts by the official and private sectors to understand more fully the implications of the 6 evolving Treasury market structure for liquidity, trading and risk management practices, data access, and monitoring and surveillance.

Genetically engineered (GE) foods, sometimes referred to as genetically modified foods (GMO foods), are foods that are derived from scientific methods used to introduce new traits or characteristics to an organism. This book discusses the legislation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically modified (GM) plants and foods in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, England and Wales, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States. The European Union and International Protocols are also examined. This book summarises enacted laws on the cultivation and sale of GMOs, as well as public opinion on GM products. A selected bibliography is included. Furthermore, the book examines legal issues with federal labeling of GMOs.

Depository institutions experienced cyberattacks in recent years that are estimated to have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Depository institution regulators (the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and NCUA) oversee information security at these institutions and Treasury coordinates protection of the financial sector. The objectives of this book include examining how regulators oversee institutions'' efforts to mitigate cyber threats; and sources of and efforts by agencies to share cyber threat information. This book also assesses the effectiveness of the corporation''s controls in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its financial systems and information.

Teacher education has undergone numerous reviews in many countries in recent decades. These reviews have suggested changes to the structure, content and approaches in teacher education. However, little change seems to occur as a result of these reviews. Chapter one examines why it is that these reviews have not met with success, and, focusing in particular on the most recent teacher education review in Australia, investigates whether its call for change is feasible or whether it will suffer the same fate as earlier reviews. The following chapter draws on theoretical frameworks relating to the studies surrounding teaching knowledge, the importance of knowledge in curricula, and the use of recontextualisation processes to gain a better understanding of the uses of teaching knowledge in the training of teacher of occupational courses. Chapter three demonstrates how the notion of Technology Enabled Mathematics Pedagogy (TEMP) can be used as a sociocultural learning framework of modern day mathematics teacher education programs. Chapter four discusses facilitating students'' understanding of science through teacher education. The last chapter provides a study of rural teachers in Northwestern China and examines different perspectives of online professional development.

It has been estimated that some 60% of today''s world population is multilingual. Living in a multilingual world makes language learning essential and the foreign language teaching profession even more valued to guarantee communication in a wide spectrum of languages, thus promoting mobility around the world and ensuring the continuity of the translation industry. This book provides current research and examines new developments in foreign language learning. The first chapter presents illustrations of the latest trends and practices in language learning, demonstrating that technology-enhanced language learning enables innovative foreign language delivery and empowers learners to acquire the chosen language in a more independent yet effective way. Chapter two describes the results of an experiment in building an online platform for learning foreign languages that allows people to teach their native language without being professional instructors. Chapter three studies secondary EFL learners'' extracurricular L2 contact and their self-beliefs concerning oral narrative competencies. Chapter four examines how a learner who learns Japanese as a foreign language (FL) at an Australian university develops a positive FL self-concept to overcome her anxiety about speaking the FL during the transition period from secondary school to university and then to a Japanese study abroad. Chapter five argues that the under-resourcefulness'' of an ELT context is misguided, as it is derived from the conception of what is believed to be standard'' and not on the concept of adequacy and sufficiency; and hopes to demonstrate that the under-resourced'' conception of contexts is the result of the inapplicability of Centre-driven methodologies in contexts that are only different and not actually under-resourced per se. Chapter six studies the implementation of the CLIL approach in a foreign language project. The final chapter systematically and critically reviews a variety of factors which influence lexical inferencing strategy use and incidental vocabulary acquisition among foreign language (FL) learners. It concludes with some directions for researchers to consider in the future research.

Cancer is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, ranking just after cardiovascular diseases. In the central nervous system, gliomas constitute the most frequent type of tumors. According to the definition, oligodendrogliomas are diffusely infiltrating glial tumors, composed of neoplastic oligodendroglial cells, typically found in cerebral hemispheres in adult population, although not uncommon in children. They encompass a range of tumours, from well-differentiated to frankly malignant neoplasms. In the current World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumors of the central nervous system, covering a four-tiered WHO grading scheme, oligodendrogliomas are recognised as grade WHO II and WHO III by the degree of malignancy. They may be either well differentiated, composed of neoplastic cells that morphologically resemble oligodendroglia, or may harbor focal or diffuse features of malignancy, respectively. Their prognosis is in this case less favorable. This book provides current research on the diagnosis, outcomes and prognosis of oligodendrogliomas. Chapter one examines the pathology, molecular mechanisms and clinical references of ODs. Chapter two discusses the ODs and the problematic diagnostic markers. Chapter three examines the histopathologic features of oligodendrogliomas and of an assortment of other central nervous system neoplasms that can resemble them and reviews features that allow one to sort through these histopathologic differential diagnoses. The final chapter reviews speech mapping in oligodendroglioma operations and provides data regarding patient outcomes with these methods.

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) consists of few mechanobullous diseases of the skin and the mucous membranes, which clinically present with blisters, erosions, scarring and milia formation at the sites of minor trauma. Hereditary forms of EB are observed at birth or early childhood and are related to genetic defects leading to absence or insufficient expression of certain antigen determinants in the region of the basement membrane zone (BMZ). In contrast, the acquired forms of EB appear in adults and the development of the disease is related to autoimmunity towards the same antigen structures. This book examines the prevalence, clinical manifestations and management of EB. The first chapter of the book examines epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. Chapter two studies immunofluorescence mapping for the diagnosis of inherited EB. Chapter three discusses nutrition for children and adolescents with EB. Chapter four provides an overview of wound healing and skin care in inherited EB. The final chapter reviews the main therapies currently under development for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) and focuses on recent advances in approaches combining gene therapy and tissue engineering for treating RDEB.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in almost 40% of patients suffering from end stage renal disease (ESRD). Cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease are the most frequent causes of cardiac death. The risk of cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients is 10 to 20 times greater than the general population, particularly in younger patients, taking into account that the relative risk decreases with age. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the most common cardiac abnormality in chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the survival risk ratio in such patients is independent. This book examines the molecular mechanisms, treatments and clinical implication of cardiac remodeling. The first chapter discusses risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The following chapters examine the impacts tropomyosin, vitamin D, and coffee have on cardiac remodeling.