Books

Virology is currently one of the most dynamic and rapidly changing fields of clinical medicine. The new third edition of this essential reference has been extensively revised and updated to incorporate the latest developments and relevant research. Covering novel viruses, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, Clinical Virology informs scientists and health care professionals about all the medically relevant aspects of this rapidly evolving field.

This landmark volume is organized into two major sections. The first addresses infections and syndromes related to particular organ systems, as well as the fundamentals of modern medical virology. This section includes crucial information on immune responses and vaccinology, diagnostics, antivirals, and the nascent field of gene therapy. The second section provides agent-specific chapters that detail the virology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and prevention and treatment of important viral pathogens. All of the chapters are written by internationally recognized experts.

Hardcover, 725 pages, illustrations, index.

Colonization of Mucosal Surfaces is a state-of-the-art presentation of the opposing evolutionary forces that ultimately determine the health of host organisms and survival of pathogenic microorganisms. As mammalian defenses evolve to protect against infection, pathogens are simultaneously evolving to circumvent new barriers and gain access to valuable host nutrients and energy. Written by experts in the field, this new volume is an in-depth examination of the complex ecosystems of the mammalian mucosa and the successful adaptations of microorganisms that enable them to effectively colonize these surfaces.

First addressing general consideration, Colonization of Mucosal Surfaces then comprehensively covers colonization of the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the genitourinary tract and considers the various organisms present at these surfaces. Aspects of bacterial colonization revealed by the most recent research are also contemplated, including penetration of the mucous layer, innate immune effectors and their subversion, signaling of the host cells by adherence factors, modulation of adherence, phase variation of colonization factors, and regulation of colonization effectors.

Electronic Only, 456 pages, full-color insert, illustrations, index.

An introduction to the world of bioinformatics

Massive increases in computing power and the ability to routinely sequence whole genomes of living organisms have begun to fundamentally alter our understanding of biology, medicine, and agriculture. At the intersection of the growing information and genomics revolutions sits bioinformatics, which uses modern computational power to reveal patterns in biological data sets, especially DNA, RNA, and protein sequences.

Computational Biology: A Hypertextbook, by Scott Kelley and Dennis Didulo, provides a wonderful introduction for anyone who wants to learn the basics of bioinformatics. This book is more than a textbook because of the wealth of online ancillary materials and how the print and electronic components are integrated to form a complete educational resource. Aspects that make Computational Biology: A Hypertextbook a unique and valuable tool for teaching and learning bioinformatics include

• Clear explanations of the basic biology of DNA, RNA, and proteins and how the related bioinformatics algorithms work
• Extensive exercises that enable students to practice with the same bioinformatics applications that are used by scientists worldwide
• Tutorials, sample data sets, and interactive learning tools developed with teachers in mind and field-tested by hundreds of students
• Online tutorials and curated web links that are accurate (instead of frustrating!) and won’t lead to dead ends
• Online resources that work on multiple platforms and electronic devices

Computational Biology: A Hypertextbook is written in an accessible voice, punctuated with humor, and designed to significantly increase computational competencies. Biology and computer science undergraduate and graduate students will thoroughly enjoy learning from this unique hypertextbook, as will anyone with an interest in exploring this burgeoning topic.

Paperback, 210 pages, full-color illustrations, index.

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The dramatic increase in the incidence of Cryptococcus neoformans infections calls for an up-to-date look at its biology and pathogenesis. This volume provides a comprehensive review of the ecology, epidemiology, pathogenic mechanisms, host immunity, clinical features and diagnostic conditions, and principles of treatment and prevention of this important fungal pathogen.

The only recent monograph on the subject, Cryptococcus neoformans goes beyond textbook chapters and journal articles to provide the most comprehensive, current information on basic science and clinical information relating to this fungus. The authors, investigators who have direct experience with the subject matter, provide objective data as well as interpretations and opinions.

Cryptococcus neoformans, a model organism for the understanding of disseminated mycoses, has become a major concern facing infectious disease physicians and immunocompromised patients. Now this valuable resource provides both experienced investigators and those new to the field of medical mycology an opportunity to review the vast database of knowledge on this major worldwide pathogen.

Electronic only, 541 pages, illustrations, index.

Understanding the diagnostic methods necessary to identify bloodstream infections

In the clinical microbiology laboratory, blood is a critical diagnostic sample that, in the majority of cases is sterile (or is it?). However, when microbes gain access to and multiply in the bloodstream, it can result in life-threatening illness including sepsis. Mortality rates from bloodstream infection and sepsis range from 25% to 80%, killing millions of people annually. Blood cultures are a vital technology used in the microbiology laboratory to isolate and identify microbes and predict their response to antimicrobial therapy.

The Dark Art of Blood Cultures, edited by Wm. Michael Dunne, Jr., and Carey-Ann D. Burnham, surveys the entire field of blood culture technology, providing valuable information about every phase of the process, from drawing samples to culture methods to processing positive cultures. The Dark Art of Blood Cultures is organized around several major topics.

• History of blood culture methods. Details the timeline of blood culture methods from manual through automated and describes the technological development of the leading automated blood culture systems (Bactec, BacT/Alert, and VersaTREK).
• Manual and automated blood culture methods. Critiques manual and automated methods for setting up blood cultures for adult and pediatric patients.
• Detection of pathogens directly from blood specimens. Describes currently available CE marked and FDA-cleared commercial tests using both phenotypic and genotypic markers, including their strengths and limitations.
• The workflow of culturing blood. Includes best practices from specimen collection to culture system verification, processing positive cultures for microbe identification and antibiotic susceptibility determination, along with the epidemiology of positive blood cultures and the value of postmortem blood cultures.
• Microorganisms in the blood. Examines the concept of a blood microbiome in healthy and diseased individuals.

The Dark Art of Blood Cultures is a resource that clinicians, laboratorians, lab directors, and hospital administrators will find engaging and extremely useful.

Paperback, 320 pages, full-color illustrations, index.

The essential reference for selecting, using, and interpreting methods and results related to human parasitic infections

This major work by Lynne Garcia, a recognized authority on diagnostic parasitology, has been completely updated to include the dramatic changes that have occurred in the field of diagnostic medical parasitology over the past decade. Diagnostic Medical Parasitology, Sixth Edition, features newly recognized human parasites, improved diagnostic techniques defined by new regulatory requirements, implementation of testing based on molecular techniques, expanded tables and color photographs, and the latest information on parasitic infections.

Diagnostic Medical Parasitology contains two sections within this single volume. The first provides clear, concise diagnostic procedures for clinical laboratory use, including ordering and collection recommendations, techniques for parasite recovery and identification that are relevant throughout the world. This section also thoroughly examines the pros and cons of various diagnostic options, including extensive report comments for result clarification and enhancement.

The second section presents comprehensive discussions of common and uncommon individual human parasites. It provides information related to life cycle, morphology, and clinical disease in both the immunocompetent and immunocompromised patient including diagnosis, treatment, epidemiology, and prevention. There are also expanded sections on artifacts, case histories, and histologic findings that provide discussion and tips related to potential diagnostic problems. Both book sections feature extensive color illustrations related to each technique and parasite presented, as well as expanded color plates of human parasites.

Diagnostic Medical Parasitology is a unique and valuable resource for microbiologists and clinical laboratory scientists/bench technologists in diagnostic laboratories and academic settings, infectious disease physicians, pathologists, health care specialists, and public health professionals.

"Diagnostic Medical Parasitology is a critical reference for every microbiology laboratory. It covers all aspects of human medical parasitology and provides detailed, comprehensive, relevant diagnostic methods in one volume. The color images are fantastic for use in assisting you in the identification of parasites. To ensure that your microbiology personnel are employing practical quality procedures in the area of parasitology, you need this book!"

Susan E. Sharp, Ph.D., ABMM, FAAM, Director, Regional Microbiology and Molecular Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Kaiser Permanente, Department of Pathology

Hardcover, 1388 pages, full-color illustrations, index.

Strategies for providing optimal care to this high-risk patient group

The immunocompromised patient population is increasing throughout the world. Major advances in transplantation techniques have expanded access to lifesaving therapies and improved outcomes in these high-risk populations. An understanding of the biology of these infections, host conditions, and the limitations of technologies used to detect and quantify such pathogens is critical to optimal care.

This new edition of Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised Host covers all aspects of state-of-the-art diagnostics for infectious complications in the immunocompromised patient. Editors Randall Hayden, Karen Carroll, Yi-Wei Tang, and Donna Wolk assembled the contributions of a team of preeminent authors to discuss a broad range of topics, including

• relevant aspects of host biology, antineoplastic, and transplantation techniques and the basis of immunosuppressive conditions ranging from diabetes to age-related immunosuppression
• approaches, interpretations, and limitations of laboratory diagnosis of infections by a wide range of specific etiologic agents
• laboratory diagnosis of infections of specific organ systems, such as respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal tract infections, and central nervous system infections
• special topics such as prosthetic devices and catheters, healthcare acquired infections, and morphologic considerations (anatomic pathology)
• future diagnostic technologies and their potential impact on the field

Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised Host is a resource for laboratory medicine specialists, pathologists, technologists, students, and clinical care professionals who are involved or interested in the care of the immunocompromised host.

Hardcover, 794 pages, full-color illustrations, index.

Featuring more than 10,000 references and a text lavishly complemented by over 700 illustrations, DNA Repair and Mutagenesis, 2nd Edition, is a timely update to the original edition published in 1995. The addition of three new authors, including an expert in the field of structural biology, ensures a comprehensive review of the most current research in diverse subject areas. An ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, the book is also an essential resource for all scientists researching cellular responses to DNA damage.

Completely reorganized, the new edition presents a significant overhaul of the existing chapters and introduces important new material, reflective of the major changes and developments that have occurred in the field over the last decade. As with the first edition, this new volume presents the field within a strong historical framework and all aspects of biological responses to DNA damage are detailed.

The book consists of 30 chapters divided into five main parts, covering: sources and consequences of DNA damage; correcting altered bases in DNA: DNA repair; DNA damage tolerance and mutagenesis; regulatory responses to DNA damage in eukaryotes; and disease states associated with defective biological responses to DNA damage. Basic principles are appropriately stressed; however, the book focuses on the significant progress to date and future research directions.

Hardcover, 1,118 pages, two-color throughout with full-color insert, illustrations, index.

While it is widely recognized that diseases in humans are emerging at an unprecedented rate, an often overlooked phenomenon is that the same issue is present in animal populations, where new diseases are occurring at an even faster rate than in humans.

This important new volume provides an in-depth review of various emerging diseases in animals and highlights the importance of veterinary medicine in the control of emerging diseases. It discusses the need for an awareness of emerging diseases in animals in preparation for emerging diseases in humans and offers an understanding of the serious negative consequences of animal diseases on human populations, including zoonotic potential, ecological impact, and compromising of the food chain.

Electronic only, 310 pages, illustrations, index.

Essential resource for the fight against emerging infectious diseases

Incidences such as the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the 2015 appearance of Zika in Brazil provide dramatic evidence of the continued ability of microbes to emerge, spread, adapt, and threaten global health. The challenge facing infectious disease specialists and public health professionals is to improve and find new diagnostic, therapeutic, and prevention strategies.

The editors of the 10th installment of the Emerging Infections series have compiled the perspectives of leading infectious disease experts into 22 chapters that provide important updates on a broad range of emerging and reemerging bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal infectious diseases in the United States and globally. In addition to focusing on MERS, Ebola virus disease, chikungunya, and Zika virus disease, Emerging Infections 10 explores the global threat of antimicrobial resistance in reviews on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, multiply-resistant gonococcal infections, non-typhoidal Salmonella infections, and artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Topics include both recently- and long-recognized diseases that pose challenges for the clinical, laboratory, research, public health, and animal health communities.

Emerging Infections 10 presents new and emerging strategies to prevent, control, and eradicate infectious diseases and guides readers to the primary literature where they can explore individual topics in greater depth. This book is a valuable reference for professionals in microbiology, epidemiology, public health, and clinical and veterinary medicine.

“The renowned editors and the authors they enlisted teach us about microbial threats in our rapidly changing world. From frogs to people, from viruses to fungi, they detail compelling stories about urgent problems and suggest solutions. Emerging Infections 10 is an education at the front-lines of a perennial struggle.”

—Martin J. Blaser, M.D., Director, Human Microbiome Program, New York Universitym, Author of Missing Microbes

“In keeping with the longstanding tradition of this series, the 10th edition of Emerging Infections continues with timely updates of the newest information on the ever changing landscape of new infections of public health importance.”

—David C. Hooper, MD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Chief, Infection Control Unit and Associate Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital

Hardcover, 462 pages, full-color illustrations, index.