This Open access book offers updated and revised information on vessel health and preservation (VHP), a model concept first published in poster form in 2008 and in JVA in 2012, which has received a great deal of attention, especially in the US, UK and Australia. The book presents a model and a new way of thinking applied to vascular access and administration of intravenous treatment, and shows how establishing and maintaining a route of access to the bloodstream is essential for patients in acute care today. Until now, little thought has been given to an intentional process to guide selection, insertion and management of vascular access devices (VADs) and by default actions are based on crisis management when a quickly selected VAD fails. The book details how VHP establishes a framework or pathway model for each step of the patient experience, intentionally guiding, improving and eliminating risk when possible. The evidence points to the fact that reducing fragmentation, establishing a pathway, and teaching the process to all stakeholders reduces complications with intravenous therapy, improves efficiency and diminishes cost. As such this book appeals to bedside nurses, physicians and other health professionals.

Two-dimensional materials created ab initio by the process of condensation of atoms, molecules, or ions, called thin films, have unique properties significantly different from the corresponding bulk materials as a result of their physical dimensions, geometry, nonequilibrium microstructure, and metallurgy. Further, these characteristic features of thin films can be drasti cally modified and tailored to obtain the desired and required physical characteristics. These features form the basis of development of a host of extraordinary active and passive thin film device applications in the last two decades. On the one extreme, these applications are in the submicron dimensions in such areas as very large scale integration (VLSI), Josephson junction quantum interference devices, magnetic bubbles, and integrated optics. On the other extreme, large-area thin films are being used as selective coatings for solar thermal conversion, solar cells for photovoltaic conver sion, and protection and passivating layers. Indeed, one would be hard pressed to find many sophisticated modern optical and electronic devices which do not use thin films in one way or the other. With the impetus provided by industrial applications, the science and technology of thin films have undergone revolutionary development and even today continue to be recognized globally as frontier areas of RID work. Major technical developments in any field of science and technology are invariably accompanied by an explosion of published literature in the form of scientific publications, reviews, and books.

A comprehensive and engaging textbook, covering the main areas of optics and its modern applications.

"You, 0 Sun, are the eye of the world You are the soul of all embodied beings You are the source of all creatures You are the discipline of all engaged in work" - Translated from Mahabharata 3rd Century BC Today, energy is the lifeline and status symbol of "civilized" societies. All nations have therefore embarked upon Research and Development pro grams of varying magnitudes to explore and effectively utilize renewable sources of energy. Albeit a low-grade energy with large temporal and spatial variations, solar energy is abundant, cheap, clean, and renewable, and thus presents a very attractive alternative source. The direct conver sion of solar energy to electricity (photovoltaic effect) via devices called solar cells has already become an established frontier area of science and technology. Born out of necessity for remote area applications, the first commercially manufactured solar cells - single-crystal silicon and thin film CdS/Cu2S - were available well over 20 years ago. Indeed, all space vehicles today are powered by silicon solar cells. But large-scale terrestrial applications of solar cells still await major breakthroughs in terms of discovering new and radical concepts in solar cell device structures, utilizing relatively more abundant, cheap, and even exotic materials, and inventing simpler and less energy intensive fabrication processes. No doubt, this extraordinary challenge in R/D has led to a virtual explosion of activities in the field of photovoltaics in the last several years.

II-VI Compounds covers the general idea of the way in which II-VI compounds behave. The book describes the fundamental nature of II-VI compounds; the preparation and single crystal growth; and the fundamental optical properties of II-VI compounds. The text also discusses the luminescence; the photo conductivity and associated behavior; the transport properties; and the applications of II-VI compounds. Students taking materials science or engineering courses will find the book useful.