Mary E. Miller – författare

By learning how to rightsize, you will ensure that both the collection and your institution's available physical spaces meet the needs of your library's users.Honored with many accolades, including a starred review in Library Journal, the first edition of this book demonstrated the power and flexibility of "rightsizing," an approach that applies a scalable, rule-based strategy to help academic libraries balance stewardship of spaces and the collection. In the five years since Ward's first edition, the shared print infrastructure has grown in leaps and bounds, as has coordination among programs. With this revision, Miller addresses new options as well as the increasing urgency to protect at-risk titles as you reduce your physical collection. Readers will feel confident rightsizing their institution's own collections with this book's expert guidance onthe concept of rightsizing, a strategic and largely automated approach that uses continuous assessment to identify the no- and low-use materials in the collection, and its five core elements;crafting a rightsizing plan, from developing withdrawal criteria and creating discard lists to managing workflow and disposing of withdrawn materials, using a project-management focus; moving toward a "facilitated collection" with a mix of local, external, and collaborative services;six discussion areas for decisions on participating in a shared print program;factors in choosing a collection decision support tool;relationships with stakeholders;how to handle print resources after your library licenses perpetual access rights to the electronic equivalent; andfuture directions for rightsizing

Daughter of the ""Wolf of Wall Street,"" Belle Baruch (1899-1964) could outride, outshoot, outhunt, and outsail most of the young men of her elite social circle. Unapologetic for her athleticism and interests in traditionally masculine pursuits, Baruch towered above male and female counterparts in height and daring. She is known today for the wildlife conservation and biological research center on the South Carolina coast that bears her family name. Belle's life reflects the world of wealthy northerners like the Vanderbilts and Luces who bought tracts of southern acreage. Miller details Belle's fox hunting at Hobcaw, show jumping at Deauville, flying her own plane, and traveling with Edith Bolling Wilson. She recounts Belle's efforts to win her mother's approval and her father's attention, as well as her unraveling relationships with friends, family, employees, and lovers - both male and female. Miller describes Belle's final success in saving Hobcaw from development as the overarching triumph of a tempestuous life.

Most people have heard of senility, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but how different are these conditions? Whenever memories begin to fail later in life, Alzheimer's is a concern. Some people worry because their parents are not remembering a birthday, or a trip to the store. We all have our moments, right? But the idea of having Alzheimer's disease, and the reaction to this possibility, is usually one of fear and some confusion. Understanding disease progression is critical and new research has given us valuable information about symptoms, how symptoms progress, and how they relate to cellular dysfunction of the neurons involved. This book describes Alzheimer's as a progressive dementia, where neural function is impaired and atrophy of the brain occurs. Symptoms go beyond those mental and behavioral changes associated with normal aging. The region of the brain affected first is the hippocampus, which is critical for memory and higher order thinking, giving rise to classic Alzheimer's symptom of memory loss. Although we understand how early diagnosis influences treatments and outcomes, we don't know what causes Alzheimer's disease and there is no cure. Future treatments for Alzheimer's are promising as researchers work to understand the events that convert the normal balance of repair and function in the brain to a pathology that robs someone of their memories.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, is a common form of motor neuron disease that involves a loss of function in upper and lower motor neurons. ALS causes a progressive loss of muscle function that frequently initiates in the limbs, called limb-onset ALS, or initiates in facial muscles, called bulbar-onset ALS. This book describes the current understanding of ALS symptoms, diagnosis, causes, and treatments. Initial symptoms vary in type of muscle dysfunction, intensity of symptoms, and speed of disease progression. Diagnosis requires loss of function in both upper and lower motor neurons for limb- and bulbar-onset ALS, distinguishing ALS from other neuromuscular diseases. Although no cause or initial trigger has been determined for ALS, eventually both limb and bulbar muscles will show dysfunction as the disease progresses. In later stages of the disease, muscle dysfunction typically leads to respiratory failure and death. Management of neurotransmitter levels in patients can prolong life by months, but no cure exits for the disease. Other treatments exist that can help patients manage muscle weakness or spasms as the disease progresses. The book concludes by considering future detection, treatment, and diagnostic approaches with the goal of preventing disease initiation or progression.

The human body is protected in critical ways as our immune system provides protection from a broad spectrum of infections and injuries. Unfortunately, in some individuals, their immune system targets components of their own bodies, causing autoimmune disease. Many different types of autoimmune diseases exist, each presenting unique symptoms depending on the body system that is damaged. It is not clear what triggers the progression from normal immune reactivity to autoimmune disease, though both environmental and genetic factors are thought to contribute. This book focuses on three distinct examples of autoimmune disease or reactivity: multiple sclerosis, which involves an autoimmune response against structures that support neurons, rheumatoid arthritis, resulting from autoimmune-dependent damage to joints, and organ or graft rejection, which occurs when the immune system recognizes tissues from another individual as foreign. In each case, we consider current and future issues related to disease progression, diagnosis, and treatments.

Infectious diseases caused by bacteria and viruses exist in many forms and significantly affect human health. The sources of infectious diseases are vast, but in most cases arise from infectious microorganism such as bacteria or viruses that are able to establish growth or replication in humans, harming specific systems of the human body. This book introduces the reader to the basic differences between bacteria and viruses, particularly focusing on structures that contribute to the infectious properties of the microorganism. Chapters describe the cause, mode of transmission, symptoms, and treatments of five important diseases, taking into consideration the molecular interactions between host cells and infectious agents. Specifically, examples of viral infection (Influenza caused by the Influenza virus and hemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola virus) and specific examples of bacterial infections (salmonellosis caused by Salmonella, gastrointestinal disease caused by Shiga-like toxin E. coli, and tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis) are discussed in each chapter. The book ends with some future work related to treatment of these critical infectious diseases, noting the importance of drug resistance of infectious agents in treatment regimens.

In life-threatening forms of cancer, cells stop working correctly, grow, divide, and spread throughout the body in harmful ways.  These diseases impact the lives of many people, directly for those diagnosed and indirectly for the friends and families of those diagnosed.  So many distinct forms of cancer with multiple unique diagnostic tools and approaches to treatment can be overwhelming for those diagnosed and those supporting them.  Historical struggles with cancer can create a hopeless perception of disease prognosis, but advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment mean that many cancers can be well managed and even cured. This book discusses four types of cancer: skin, lung, breast, and prostate cancer.  Wrestling with a diagnosis of one of these cancers can be complicated by the variety of treatment choices available and the unique medical history associated with both the patient and the cancer.  The complexity of diagnosis and treatment requires that each cancer be considered a distinct disease, with some underlying common features. The author describes these common features and then discusses each cancer in terms of symptoms, diagnosis, causes, treatments, and future advances.

This book describes the current understanding of symptoms, diagnosis, mode of transmission, and treatments of four important intestinal diseases, taking into consideration the molecular interactions between host cells and infectious agents.Intestinal diseases are a significant health issue worldwide, with varying causative infections resulting in symptoms that range from mild or asymptomatic to death within hours. Understanding the cause of the different forms of intestinal disease is a critical aspect of proper management of these diseases that can save lives. This book describes the current understanding of symptoms, diagnosis, mode of transmission, and treatments of four important intestinal diseases, taking into consideration the molecular interactions between host cells and infectious agents. Specifically, dysentery caused by infection with Entamoeba histolytica, giardiasis caused by infection with Giardia, shigellosis caused by infection with Shigella, and cholera caused by infection with Vibrio cholera, are discussed in each chapter.The author also discusses future work related to prevention and treatment of these critical infectious diseases, given that the eradication of these diseases is unlikely. Awareness of how these diseases are spread and how they can be contained is a growing public health concern, particularly after natural and human-made disasters where public hygiene may be compromised.

The importance of meeting the dietary needs of individuals is critical for good health. This requires educating individuals so that they understand how to best obtain important nutrients and that quality foods rich in these nutrients are accessible to the increasing world population. Many diseases can arise from nutrient deficiencies and toxicities, including rickets, scurvy, and spina bifida, resulting from deficiencies in vitamins D, C, and B, respectively. It is also possible to ingest materials in the diet that can cause disease, such as lead, which results in lead poisoning. In each case, the imbalance of appropriate nutrients leads to an imbalance of vitamin and minerals, causing defects in critical enzyme function in the body. In some cases, the uptake of nutrients is healthy, but the body is unable to breakdown or utilize the nutrients. In each of these instances, disease initiation or progression is preventable through control of diet.Symptoms will be discussed as they impact normal cellular and organ function in the body and are related to nutrient availability. This book will evaluate the prospects for improved preventative approaches and treatments for established diseases and will conclude with a summary and points toward future prevention of these diseases.

Vector borne diseases transmitted through ticks and mosquitos cause serious loss of life and significantly impact human populations worldwide. Each of these diseases is caused by a distinct pathogen, and symptoms vary depending on the type and severity of infection. The spread of these diseases occur through the blood meals of tick or mosquitos, where the pathogen gains access to the human body, usually triggering an immune response that contributes to disease progression. Understanding the interdependence of pathogen to disease vector along with transmission route to humans shapes our diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. This book focuses on five distinct examples of vector borne disease: Malaria, West Nile, Lyme disease, dengue fever, and bubonic plaque. Malaria involves the mosquito vector and occurs when mosquito transmit the Plasmodium parasite to humans. West Nile and dengue fever also involve different mosquito vectors, but in this case transmission of the West Nile virus or dengue fever virus cause disease. Fleas transmit the bubonic plague causing bacterium Y. pestis. Lyme disease results from the transmission of the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi to humans through the bit of a tick. In each case we consider current and future issues related to disease progression, diagnosis, and treatments.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is a disease of the immune system that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS has caused significant loss of life with considerable social and economic consequences worldwide. HIV must infect a host cell in order to replicate, and once infected, the host cell is unable to function properly. Since HIV infects specific cells of the host immune system, HIV infection impairs the ability of the patient to fight infections and kill cancer cells, therefore most deaths associated with HIV infection occur due to cancer or opportunistic infections. There is no cure for HIV, but advancements in treatments mean that an HIV positive person could experience a normal lifespan with sustained daily care and medication designed to prevent HIV replication and spread. These medications primarily target viral proteins that allow HIV to infect host cells, replicate, and spread in the body. Work continues to find a way to eliminate HIV from patients and develop new pharmaceutical targets to address concerns of drug resistant strains of HIV. Worldwide awareness of how the virus infects, is treated, and spreads within populations is a critical component to control the current AIDS pandemic.

Vaccinations provide an effective way to prevent fatal diseases or reduce their symptoms. This book highlights four infectious diseases: polio, tetanus, measles, and mumps. These four diseases are very harmful to human health and are difficult to treat after the infection because they are caused by a toxin or pathogenic virus. In all four cases, the disease exhibits different modes of transmission and progression of symptoms, which require unique treatment regimens. However, all cases can be prevented by vaccinations administered prior to infection.This book summarizes the symptoms and disease progression of all the four diseases and provides information about the toxin or virus that causes each disease. The ability to harness our immune system through vaccination is discussed in the context of disease prevention. Minor and infrequent risks associated with vaccination are also described, but the very dangerous misconception that vaccines cause autism or other major illnesses is strongly refuted.