Lowell T. Duncan 
Advances in Health and Disease. Volume 27 [PDF ebook] 

Advances in Health and Disease. Volume 27 first discusses how the nanotechnology field has received considerable attention in medical sciences because of the unique characteristic features of nanoscale materials. The authors go on to discuss biofilm, a structured community of bacterial cells enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix adherent to an inert or living surface. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are discussed, as they are an important occupational health problem in industrialized countries and industrially developing countries. More specifically, the high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal complaints in dentists is discussed, as the past two decades have witnessed a sharp rise in the incidence. The authors briefly review the research on how healthy aging is being studied by researchers, providing a community-based participatory research framework for defining healthy aging from their own work utilizing concept mapping methodology. The closing study focuses on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, a sleep breathing disorder in which the airway is blocked by intermittent relaxation of the throat muscles.