This book offers a new approach for the future of democracy by advocating to give citizens the power to deliberate and to decide how to govern themselves. Innovatively building on and integrating components of representative, deliberative and participatory theories of democracy with empirical findings, the book provides practices and procedures that support communities of all sizes to develop their own visions of democracy. It revitalizes and reinfuses the ‘democratic spirit’ going back to the roots of democracy as an endeavor by, with and for the people, and should inspire us in our search for the democracy we want to live in. This book is of key interest to scholars and students in democracy, democratic innovations, deliberation, civic education and governance and further for policy-makers, civil society groups and activists. It encourages us to reshape democracy based on citizens’ perspectives, aspirations and preferences.

Electoral democracies are struggling. Sintomer, in this instructive book, argues for democratic innovations. One such innovation is using random selection to create citizen bodies with advisory or decisional political power. 'Sortition' has a long political history. Coupled with elections, it has represented an important yet often neglected dimension of Republican and democratic government, and has been reintroduced in the Global North, China and Mexico. The Government of Chance explores why sortation is returning, how it is coupled with deliberation, and why randomly selected 'minipublics' and citizens' assemblies are flourishing. Relying on a growing international and interdisciplinary literature, Sintomer provides the first systematic and theoretical reconstruction of the government of chance from Athens to the present. At what conditions can it be rational? What lessons can be drawn from history? The Government of Chance therefore clarifies the democratic imaginaries at stake: deliberative, antipolitical, and radical, making a plaidoyer for the latter.

Pediatric surgery, among all the surgical specialties, is the one that has perhaps evolved the most in a shorter period of time compared to the others. In 1995 van der Zee performed the first laparoscopic CDH repair and after that surgical techniques have undergone continuous improvements, up to goals that were unimaginable a few years ago, such as performing robotic-assisted surgical procedures on patients under the age of one. The evolution of techniques and knowledge has made it possible to overcome barriers, operating with minimally invasive techniques on small patients with complex pathologies while ensuring reduced postoperative pain, good cosmetic results, and short hospitalization period. In particular, robot-assisted surgery has made it easier for pediatric surgeons to perform very important reconstructive-type procedures. Just think, for example, of robotic pyeloplasty, which has become a widely performed procedure in pediatric centers, given the greater precision and accuracy of robotic instruments in performing pyelo-ureteral anastomosis. These observations have allowed the bar to be moved higher and higher until patients with choledochal cysts are now being treated robotically. At the same time, all this has made it easier for even the youngest surgeons and residents to acquire basic technical skills, increasing the speed of acquiring the learning curves necessary to be surgically autonomous. In addition, other types of technological innovations have come to the aid of pediatric surgeons, such as rendering programs that have facilitated not only the planning of more complex operations but have also made it easier to create simulations for surgical training. In this Special Issue, we want to give space to all papers that aim to describe and highlight minimally invasive surgical experiences, with more emphasis on how technological innovation combined with the surgeon's knowledge and intuition can move surgical limits forward and make the most complex procedures easier.

This book explores the various ways in which citizens are represented in EU policy-making. Most accounts naturally focus on the European Parliament as the prime source of democratic representation. This collection focuses instead on four other channels that are as and often more important: namely, representation via governments, national parliaments, civil society organisations and directly, via referenda. Based on original research, the book combines democratic theory with detailed empirical analysis to provide an innovative, timely and up-to-date evaluation of the nature of representation in the EU. Policy advisors, practitioners and those scholars interested in democracy and the European Union will find this volume to be a valuable resource. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.

Overcoming Cancers Resistant to HER-2 Antibodies provides general updated information on the resistance of various human cancers to anti-HER2 therapeutic antibodies. The book also discusses the description of various sensitizing agents that can reverse resistance when used in combination with anti-HER2 antibodies. There have been a lot of reports in which the treatment with anti-HER2 antibodies for various cancers has resulted in clinical responses; however, there have been also subsets of cancer patients who did not respond initially, and several responding patients developed resistance following treatments. Sections cover Lapatinib, Ganetespib, Paclitaxel, Celecoxib, Emantasine, Liposomal Doxorubicin, and Kinase Inhibitors.This book is a valuable source for cancer researchers, oncologists, pharmacologists and different members of the biomedical field interested in fighting cancer resistance to HER-2 antibodies. - Provides a general summary of various sensitizing agents that can work effectively when used in combination with anti-HER2 antibodies to reverse resistance - Offers potential underlying mechanisms by which cancer cells are either inherently resistant or become unresponsive to antibody treatment - Discusses how to develop new targeted agents to underlie resistance in order to expand research on this field

This cutting-edge volume explores how technological tools can be designed, engineered and implemented to assess and support individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders from diagnosis through to rehabilitation. Tanu Wadhera and Deepti Kakkar and their expert contributors focus on technological tools as equalizers in Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) at every stage, the importance of demand-specific design, and how we can best engineer and deploy both invasive and non-invasive individual-centered approaches that support and connect individuals. Considering the perspectives of patients, clinicians and technologists, it explores key topics including design and evaluation of platforms for tech-tools, automated diagnosis, brain imaging techniques, tech-diagnostic frameworks with AI and machine learning, sensing technology, smart brain prosthetics, gamification, alternative communication devices, and education tools and interactive toys. Outlining future challenges for research, Enabling Technology for Neurodevelopmental Disorders is useful for scholars and professionals in psychology, technology, engineering and medicine concerned with design, development and evaluation of a range of assistive technological tools.