My wish for you is to enjoy the vibrant energy that flows through you when you “nourish” your body & mind. Nourishment is the ultimate purpose of food. In this programme, I will show you how to consistently eat in a way that elevates your mind, energizes your body, & transforms your life, & how to do this freely because you ‘want’ to, not because you ‘have’ to.

This practical reference guide from experts in the field details why and how to establish successful antibiotic stewardship programs.

The underlying technology and the range of test parameters available are evolving rapidly. The primary advantage of POCT is the convenience of performing the test close to the patient and the speed at which test results can be obtained, compared to sending a sample to a laboratory and waiting for results to be returned. Thus, a series of clinical applications are possible that can shorten the time for clinical decision-making about additional testing or therapy, as delays are no longer caused by preparation of clinical samples, transport, and central laboratory analysis. Tests in a POC format can now be found for many medical disciplines including endocrinology/diabetes, cardiology, nephrology, critical care, fertility, hematology/coagulation, infectious disease and microbiology, and general health screening. Point-of-care testing (POCT) enables health care personnel to perform clinical laboratory testing near the patient. The idea of conventional and POCT laboratory services presiding within a hospital seems contradictory; yet, they are, in fact, complementary: together POCT and central laboratory are important for the optimal functioning of diagnostic processes. They complement each other, provided that a dedicated POCT coordination integrates the quality assurance of POCT into the overall quality management system of the central laboratory. The motivation of the third edition of the POCT book from Luppa/Junker, which is now also available in English, is to explore and describe clinically relevant analytical techniques, organizational concepts for application and future perspectives of POCT. From descriptions of the opportunities that POCT can provide to the limitations that clinician’s must be cautioned about, this book provides an overview of the many aspects that challenge those who choose to implement POCT. Technologies, clinical applications, networking issues and quality regulations are described as well as a survey of future technologies that are on the future horizon. The editors have spent considerable efforts to update the book in general and to highlight the latest developments, e.g., novel POCT applications of nucleic acid testing for the rapid identification of infectious agents. Of particular note is also that a cross-country comparison of POCT quality rules is being described by a team of international experts in this field.

In the current era of complete genome sequencing, Bioinformatics and Molecular Evolution provides an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to bioinformatics in the context of evolutionary biology. This accessible text: provides a thorough examination of sequence analysis, biological databases, pattern recognition, and applications to genomics, microarrays, and proteomics emphasizes the theoretical and statistical methods used in bioinformatics programs in a way that is accessible to biological science students places bioinformatics in the context of evolutionary biology, including population genetics, molecular evolution, molecular phylogenetics, and their applications features end-of-chapter problems and self-tests to help students synthesize the materials and apply their understanding is accompanied by a dedicated website - www.blackwellpublishing.com/higgs - containing downloadable sequences, links to web resources, answers to self-test questions, and all artwork in downloadable format (artwork also available to instructors on CD-ROM). This important textbook will equip readers with a thorough understanding of the quantitative methods used in the analysis of molecular evolution, and will be essential reading for advanced undergraduates, graduates, and researchers in molecular biology, genetics, genomics, computational biology, and bioinformatics courses.

The events of September 11, 2001 changed perceptions, rearranged national priorities, and produced significant new government entities, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created in 2003. While the principal mission of DHS is to lead efforts to secure the nation against those forces that wish to do harm, the department also has responsibilities in regard to preparation for and response to other hazards and disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and other "natural" disasters. Whether in the context of preparedness, response or recovery from terrorism, illegal entry to the country, or natural disasters, DHS is committed to processes and methods that feature risk assessment as a critical component for making better-informed decisions. Review of the Department of Homeland Security's Approach to Risk Analysis explores how DHS is building its capabilities in risk analysis to inform decision making. The department uses risk analysis to inform decisions ranging from high-level policy choices to fine-scale protocols that guide the minute-by-minute actions of DHS employees. Although DHS is responsible for mitigating a range of threats, natural disasters, and pandemics, its risk analysis efforts are weighted heavily toward terrorism. In addition to assessing the capability of DHS risk analysis methods to support decision-making, the book evaluates the quality of the current approach to estimating risk and discusses how to improve current risk analysis procedures. Review of the Department of Homeland Security's Approach to Risk Analysis recommends that DHS continue to build its integrated risk management framework. It also suggests that the department improve the way models are developed and used and follow time-tested scientific practices, among other recommendations.

Over 98% of the human genome contains non-coding DNA sequences. For many years molecular biologists referred to this component of the genome as the “junk” DNA since it does not code for any “useful” protein product. Over the last years this notion changed significantly as scientists discovered that a large part of this DNA contains various genomic elements that have important roles in cell physiology. Genomic elements such as non-coding RNAs, transposons, splicing RNAs, DNA repeats and others were shown to play a significant role in regulating gene expression. In addition, all these elements were implicated to contribute in the pathogenesis or progression of various human diseases. In this book, the editor will attempt to describe all these genomic elements that constitute the junk DNA of the genome. For every genomic element, the physiologic role in the organism, its role in evolution and any possible involvement in human diseases will be discussed. Additionally, interaction between these elements in normal or pathologic condition will be discussed. Since a large amount of new knowledge is generated daily in regards to these genomic elements, this book will attempt to combine all the information in a single publication that can serve as a reference for future studies. The first part will discuss RNA elements such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, piRNAs and splicing RNAs. The second part of the book will deal with transposons, retrotransposons and DNA transposons. Finally the third part of the book will discuss DNA elements that include DNA repeats, conserved non-coding sequences, distal genomic elements, introns, pseudogenes, CpG islands and telomeres. For miRNAs and CNVs a separate chapter will be dedicated to their role in human diseases since an extensive amount of information exists about these two elements.

Summary report published as technical document with reference number: WHO/HSE/PED/AIP/2014.2.