For the first time in a generation, leading scholars of medieval and Renaissance Venice join forces to define the current state of the field and to reveal in its rich diversity. Forays into neglected aspects of Venetian studies reveal new insights into coinage and concubinage, the first Jewish ghetto and the Fourth Crusade, and matters from dowry inflation to state spectacle to cheese...

Until recently, a modest knowledge of genetics was more than adequate for the daily practice of clinical cardiology, but advances in genetics and genomics are changing cardiovascular medicine in fundamental ways. The identification of the genetic basis of several forms of dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, cardiomyopathies, and vascular diseases signalled the new importance of genetics in clinical medicine. In this timely volume, Drs. Dzau and Liew – both pioneers in the area – help cardiologists understand: • how cardiovascular genetics may remodel the way cardiovascular medicine is practiced • what material has immediate relevance to the practicing clinician • how to incorporate genetics and genomics in your practice to ensure up-to-date patient care The book opens with introductory chapters, then discusses: • cardiovascular single gene disorders • cardiovascular polygenic disorders • therapies and applications Outstanding contributors write on their areas of expertise, making Cardiovascular Genetics and Genomics for the Cardiologist both authoritative and comprehensive. If you want to gain a better appreciation of how genetics and genomics are already shaping current practice and may potentially revolutionize cardiology, look no further than this dependable reference.

Religion and popular culture is a fast-growing field that spans a variety of disciplines. This volume offers the first real survey of the field to date and provides a guide for the work of future scholars. It explores: key issues of definition and of methodology religious encounters with popular culture across media, material culture and space, ranging from videogames and social networks to cooking and kitsch, architecture and national monuments representations of religious traditions in the media and popular culture, including important non-Western spheres such as Bollywood This Companion will serve as an enjoyable and informative resource for students and a stimulus to future scholarly work.

Empirical analysis of two decades of pioneering pension and social security reform in Latin America and the Caribbean shows that much has been achieved, but that critical challenges remain. In tackling this unfinished agenda, a great deal can be learned from the reform experience of countries in the region. 'Keeping the Promise,' produced by the chief economist's office for the Latin America and Caribbean region at the World Bank, evaluates policy reforms in 12 countries, points to successes and shortcomings, and proposes priorities and options for future reform.

Staging Favorites explores theatrical representations of royal favorites in Spanish, French, and English dramatic production during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. During this time, the courts of Spain, France, and England were dominated by all-powerful ministers who enjoyed royal favor. The politics of royal favoritism gave rise to a significant group of plays which constitutes the subject of this book. While scholars have studied this group partially and separately in national context, Staging Favorites approaches these "dramas about favorites" from a wider European point of view, and performs comparative analyses of a number of plays – including La paciencia en la fortuna; Le Favori, ou la Coquette; and Sejanus His Fall – and adds new detail and differentiation to the early modern perception and representation of the royal favorite. This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in early modern literature, history of theater, and cultural history.