primary goal of all forms of therapy is not just prolonging life, but improving the quality of life, has forced analysis of what constitutes quality of life, a concept whose structure pervades all walks of life and eludes definition. Global well being, happiness, morale, vitality, fullness of social life, and satisfaction must be integrated and assessed for the effects of the disease and the therapy, in the context of specific personality traits, attitudes to life, family situation, and socio-economic and political freedom. A growing inter est in research on this subject has led to a clearer understanding of the components which come to determine quality of a patient's life, and how they can be measured in a reproducible manner so that valid comparisons can be made. Keeping these recommendations of analysing quality of life within the context of patients who have undergone open heart surgery, it seemed appro priate to me to separate the influence of various forms of open heart surgery into five aspects of life which can comprehensively reflect the quality of life outcome of the operation. These five 'components' are (1) Physiological state, which summarises the traditionally reported incidence of operative mortality and morbidity, objectively and subjectively measured physical ca pacity, and the residual symptoms, treatment and long-term survival. (2) Intellectual functioning relates to the psychoneurolgocial deficit in memory, reasoning or judgement because of cerebral microembolism and hypo perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass.

Georg Rodewald University of Hamburg Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany Allen E. Willner Hillside Hospital Glen Oaks, NY In contrast to the initial years of cardiac surgery (37 years ago), there is now increasing interest in cerebral protection. Rodewald [1] in 1978 was among the first to point out the surgeon's concern with "psychopathological problems" and Taylor [2] in 1989 stressed that" ••• the awareness of the cerebral consequences of open heart surgery has risen considerably in recent years • • • " This book reviews the evidence for neurological, psychological, and neuropsycho logical reactions to cardiac surgery. In previous studies one problem is that small samples of patients were studied with different measuring instruments so that it was difficult to ma~e sense of inconsistent findings. Considerable controversy resulted with little ability to sort out discrepant findings. It appeared that a large multi center study using uniform measures might help clarify the picture.

Growing research shows that many children from immigrant and refugee families are not doing well in school, due in part to linguistic and cultural disadvantages. Teaching dual-language learners requires cultural sensitivity, an understanding of language acquisition, and intentional teaching strategies. Combining research and techniques, this resource helps early childhood educators support dual-language learners as they develop the skills necessary for school readiness and success.

Handbook of Pediatric Brain Imaging: Methods and Applications presents state-of-the-art research on pediatric brain image acquisition and analysis from a broad range of imaging modalities, including MRI, EEG and MEG. With rapidly developing methods and applications of MRI, this book strongly emphasizes pediatric brain MRI, elaborating on the sub-categories of structure MRI, diffusion MRI, functional MRI, perfusion MRI and other MRI methods. It integrates a pediatric brain imaging perspective into imaging acquisition and analysis methods, covering head motion, small brain sizes, small cerebral blood flow of neonates, dynamic cortical gyrification, white matter tract growth, and much more. - Presents state-of-the-art pediatric brain imaging methods and applications - Shows how to optimize the pediatric neuroimaging acquisition and analysis protocols - Illustrates how to obtain quantitative structural, functional and physiological measurements

This book provides a guide to the assessment of quality of life and patient reported outcomes measures in general surgery. The rapidly emerging field helps contextualise patients and helps the decision-making process within health economics, bedside medicine, public health, and health policy. All subspecialties of general surgery are covered, as well as the core principles of quality of life. The book aims to demonstrate how clinicians and policymakers can easily get access to a single source of patient reported outcomes measures and quality of life evidence to help them make the best-informed decisions in the field of general surgery. This book is relevant to healthcare managers, doctors, allied health professionals, healthcare scientists, consultants, healthcare economists, and medical statisticians working in healthcare.

Cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and many other countries, confers substantial risk for cerebrovascular events, such as stroke and vascular dementia. The neuropsychological sequelae of such conditions are well documented and can have a devastating impact on individuals' quality of life. However, prior to the development of overt cerebrovascular complications, persons with cardiovascular disease or its risk factors may display mild to severe neuropsychological difficulties. Medical and surgical treatments for cardiovascular disease have also been found to affect neuropsychological function. This landmark volume offers the first comprehensive overview of the neuropsychological consequences of cardiovascular disease, tracking its natural history, epidemiology, and treatments. It encourages researchers and clinicians to consider all relevant facets of vascular disease processes in their evaluation, study, and treatment of affected patients and indicates a need for primary and secondary prevention efforts. Neuropsychology of Cardiovascular Disease will be welcomed as an invaluable resource by neuropsychologists, specialists in behavioral medicine, neurologists, cardiologists, epidemiologists, gerontologists, and many other health professionals whose work brings them into contact with these challenging patients.

An exposé of the medical and pharmaceutical communities, Bottom Line confirms your fear that you may be receiving substandard medical care. A critical care nurse and former pharmaceutical research scientist, Stanzak has written a brutally honest book to.

Issues in Cardiovascular Medicine / 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Cardiovascular Medicine. The editors have built Issues in Cardiovascular Medicine: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Cardiovascular Medicine in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Cardiovascular Medicine: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.