Disease Mapping with WinBUGS and MLwiN

A hands-on introduction to the principles of Bayesian modeling using WinBUGS Bayesian Modeling Using WinBUGS provides an easily accessible introduction to the use of WinBUGS programming techniques in a variety of Bayesian modeling settings. The author provides an accessible treatment of the topic, offering readers a smooth introduction to the principles of Bayesian modeling with detailed guidance on the practical implementation of key principles. The book begins with a basic introduction to Bayesian inference and the WinBUGS software and goes on to cover key topics, including: Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms in Bayesian inference Generalized linear models Bayesian hierarchical models Predictive distribution and model checking Bayesian model and variable evaluation Computational notes and screen captures illustrate the use of both WinBUGS as well as R software to apply the discussed techniques. Exercises at the end of each chapter allow readers to test their understanding of the presented concepts and all data sets and code are available on the book's related Web site. Requiring only a working knowledge of probability theory and statistics, Bayesian Modeling Using WinBUGS serves as an excellent book for courses on Bayesian statistics at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners in the fields of statistics, actuarial science, medicine, and the social sciences who use WinBUGS in their everyday work.

This manual provides the information and materials needed to conduct an eight-session patient education programme for people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers, complementing medical treatment. This programme was developed within an interdisciplinary European consortium, comprising research and clinical centres in Germany, Spain, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, Estonia and the United Kingdom. In addition to dealing with the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, many people also struggle with the psychological and social effects. In fact, people at every stage of the disease can be faced with problems such as depression, anxiety, stressful social interactions, and difficulties communicating, all of which can disrupt their lives. This programme draws upon basic psychological principles and presents specific strategies that people can use to manage these difficulties. The ultimate goal of the programme is to empower people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers to improve their own quality of life. Although the programme is standardised, flexibility is built into the programme to facilitate its use in different cultures, and with different types of patient and carer groups. Patient Education for People with Parkinson’s Disease and Their Carers: A Manaual is essential reading for all health care professionals and trained volunteers working with people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers.

Nutrition science is a highly fractionated, contentious field with rapidly changing viewpoints on both minor and major issues impacting on public health. With an evolutionary perspective as its basis, this exciting book provides a framework by which the discipline can finally be coherently explored. By looking at what we know of human evolution and disease in relation to the diets that humans enjoy now and prehistorically, the book allows the reader to begin to truly understand the link between diet and disease in the Western world and move towards a greater knowledge of what can be defined as the optimal human diet. Written by a leading expert Covers all major diseases, including cancer, heart disease, obesity, stroke and dementia Details the benefits and risks associated with the Palaeolithic diet Draws conclusions on key topics including sustainable nutrition and the question of healthy eating This important book provides an exciting and useful insight into this fascinating subject area and will be of great interest to nutritionists, dietitians and other members of the health professions. Evolutionary biologists and anthropologists will also find much of interest within the book. All university and research establishments where nutritional sciences, medicine, food science and biological sciences are studied and taught should have copies of this title.

This unique book will help psychiatrists to understand better the risks of cardiovascular illness and cardiologists to appreciate possible pathophysiological links with psychiatric conditions. It describes the common psychiatric conditions, their key features and how they may influence cardiovascular disease, outcomes, and quality of life. It also considers the cardiovascular complications that may arise as a result of mental illness. In an exciting, collaborative approach, psychiatrists and cardiologists combine their expertise throughout the book to provide guidance on the best way to manage such patients, considering the patient as a whole, not the individual conditions.

For people with alcohol excess and liver disease, successful management must be two-fold with management of both their psychological/physical addiction to alcohol and their liver disease. Alcohol Abuse and liver disease, with its joint focus on hepatology and psychiatry, provides both hepatologists and psychiatrists of all levels with a practical, concise and didactic guide to the investigation and clinical management of those with alcohol-related problems. Edited by a practicing hepatologist in the UK and a practising specialist in psychiatry/substance abuse in the US, it covers areas such as: • Risk factors for alcoholic liver disease • Interaction of alcohol with other co-morbidities • Clinical assessment of alcohol intake • Detoxification and management of withdrawal • Psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical interventions • Treatment of liver disease Key points, management diagrams and high-quality images are all be supported by the very latest in clinical guidelines from the major hepatology and psychiatry societies such as the APA, EPA, AASLD and EASL. With increasing emphasis on multi-disciplinary speciality care in this area, this is the ideal tool to consult in order to provide the best care possible care for what are very challenging patients to manage.

POSTHARVEST PATHOGENS AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT Postharvest diseases caused by microbial pathogens account for millions of dollars in losses of both durable and perishable produce products every year. Moreover, with consumers increasingly demanding minimally processed vegetables and fruits–which can be invaded by human pathogens–there is an imperative need for suitable protective measures to provide pathogen-free commodities that are free from, or contain only acceptable levels of, chemical residues. Providing details of both conventional and modern molecular techniques applicable for the detection, identification, and differentiation of field and storage microbial pathogens, Postharvest Pathogens and Disease Management: * Discusses diseases of both durables and perishables during transit and storage * Provides a basic understanding of the effects of handling and storage practices as well as field conditions and product susceptibility on the development of postharvest diseases * Reveals, as a cautionary note, the potential hazards of mycotoxins with carcinogenic properties that can contaminate fruits and vegetables * Contains detailed information derived from elucidative evidence and disease data in order to explain the infection process and subsequent stages of disease development * Helps readers to avoid conditions that favor disease incidence and spread * Includes real life examples of disease management strategies to help readers develop effective disease management systems suitable for different ecosystems * Emphasizes the importance of integrating several different effective methods in tandem, including the development of cultivars with resistance to postharvest diseases; the selection of suitable analytical methods; and the effective use of biocontrol agents and chemicals * Presents protocols for numerous techniques and basic methods, making the book a distinctive and highly useful teaching and research tool Postharvest Pathogens and Disease Management offers readers insight into the principles and methods of avoiding and managing postharvest diseases of fruit and vegetable products in an efficient, economical, and environmentally feasible manner, allowing producers to sell safer, higher-quality produce to the public and prevent the losses associated with postharvest disease.

This work focuses on the autoimmune processes that have now been proven to underlie a number of serious diseases, including diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Papers explore the rapidly expanding developments in research on immune response and regulation, and their potential in the development of treatments for autoimmune diseases. The wide range of subjects covered here include: the nature of intracellular and cell surface-derived ``self'' antigens; competing theories of the generation of immune tolerance and their implications of current theories for research and treatment; possible links between autoimmunity and genetic complement deficiency; the contributions of interferons and class II HLA antigen expression to autoimmunity; and the potential of monoclonal antibodies and other biotechnological advances in treating human autoimmune conditions.

Both timely and topical, this book examines the most important aspects of the relationship between alcohol consumption and health. Drawing together much new and exciting work in this area, it reviews this emotive subject from a dispassionate perspective. It will provide a firm base for further research into the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system, and into public health attitudes to what is both a universal pleasure and problem.

Bridging the gap between the laboratory and the bedside, this timely volume illuminates the connection between endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease. This comprehensive survey of atherosclerotic disease begins with biology – incorporating the latest breakthroughs in the field – then elucidates risk factors and diagnostic tools and markers. A major section on endothelium-directed prevention and therapy shows you how to apply cutting-edge research to clinical care. Under the careful editorial guidance of Drs. De Caterina and Libby, the highly-regarded contributors address: – endothelial activation and the initiation of atherosclerosis – mechanisms of plaque progression and complications – the role of LDL in the origin and progression of atherosclerosis – advanced glycation endproducts and the accelerated atherosclerosis in diabetes – oxidative stress and vascular disease – soluble adhesion molecules as markers of vascular disease – hormone-replacement therapy and cardiovascular risk – anti-oxidants and endothelial protection and more. The first book dedicated to the central role of endothelial dysfunction in vascular disease, this concise volume gathers all the latest information on the subject into one convenient and cohesive text. Make sure your patients are benefiting from current knowledge by keeping a copy of Enothelial Dysfunctions in Vascular Disease close at hand for frequent consultation. Introduction Every book has a history, this one not excepted, having emerged from intersections in professional lives of the Editors. This book bears the fruits of a collaboration between the “pupil” (RDC) and the “mentor” (PL). During an extended sabbatical of the pupil in Boston in 1994, we probed together the concept that endothelial dysfunction served as a common denominator of vascular disease, with the balance between inflammation and its inhibition as a fulcrum of the regulation of the behavior of endothelial cells. As practicing cardiologists in our clinical lives, we sought to link to endothelial function the mechanisms of action of risk factors and of pharmacologic agents used to treat and prevent vascular disease. The pupil therefore authored a few reviews on the mechanism of action of risk factors and included them in a small book, published in Italian, for which the mentor wrote a preface. The book was greeted with favor from the Italian cardiological community, and provided the nidus for the present, more ambitious endeavor, which includes updated reviews on the pathogenesis of vascular disease and on the most novel aspects of vascular biology. This enterprise was enabled by the contributions of many of our former or present collaborators and colleagues, without whose enthusiasm and engagement this work could never have seen light. We largely underestimated the devotion necessary on our own side at the beginning, but it ultimately yielded a product that we feel achieves our original goals. We are aware that we confront a continuously evolving topic, where frequent updates would be desirable – if not necessary. Yet, we believe in the value of books – such as the current one – that attempt to organize in a snapshot of time, the vast amount of literature available in a coherent and comprehensive scheme. We are aware of existing gaps, of emerging material not paid its due, and of the rapid evolution of some of the concepts highlighted within. The links between the laboratory and the clinic have never afforded more opportunity for new understanding and advances in diagnosis and treatment than today We hope that our colleagues, vascular biologists cardiologists, internists, and other physicians alike will find this compendium a useful guide to this most exciting time in vascular biology and medicine

The Novartis Foundation Series is a popular collection of the proceedings from Novartis Foundation Symposia, in which groups of leading scientists from a range of topics across biology, chemistry and medicine assembled to present papers and discuss results. The Novartis Foundation, originally known as the Ciba Foundation, is well known to scientists and clinicians around the world.