Genetically modified foods present numerous ethical, environmental, health and legal challenges. This report synthesizes information from many websites, scientific journals, newspapers and books that discuss the controversy surrounding genetically modified foods. The author has attempted to show that although the future applications of agrobiotechnology appear promising, the ways in which it is currently being used and regulated should be evaluated with a healthy degree of skepticism.

Chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL), such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, are the dominant family of diseases in the USA and across the Western world. These diseases are closely related to an unhealthy lifestyle. The book explores this family of diseases, their causes, and most especially the role of diet. This information will enable the reader to achieve a healthy lifestyle and prevent these diseases. But the book goes further: it also explores the big picture of how improved health can be achieved across the population. This requires encouraging people to eat a healthier diet. Towards that goal various other important topics are also examined including the dangers posed by the food industry and the great potential of government policy such as: * Food labels * Health promotio...

Two working physicians with a team of multigenerational, multidisciplinary and rising thought leaders created a system, Wealth from Health, to take an honest, unfiltered look at American healthcare. Rather than beginning from an institutional perspective, the team started from the premise of patients and families best understanding their needs and wants and then designing systems that champion access and health. Step by step instructions allow anyone with a vision to create true value: cost effectiveness merged with high quality of care. Far from theoretical about what might work, or capturing the low hanging fruit of better workflows, this book is an eminently practical guide with reproducible examples and stories from the authors’ decades on the frontline of American medicine. When Co...

Economics demonstrates how markets can serve as remarkably efficient institutions in allocating scarce resources. At the same time, incomplete information generates prices that can lead to a mis-allocation, producing in some cases too little while in others too much of a good. Matters become more complicated when striking a balance is influenced by our perceptions of risk. Here, neuroscience provides insights into which, and what kind of public sector interventions one should consider. While there are many types of risk – political, economic, financial, and environmental as individuals confront any crisis, our perceptions of risk can alter significantly the extent to which we look to public sector intervention as a response. In the short run, crises many be managed through greater pu...

The advice to consume less fat "especially saturated fat" had a profound, adverse impact on public health. Although the percentage of fat in the American diet decreased, the percentage of carbohydrate and total calories increased, and sugar consumption skyrocketed. In The Low-Fat Lie: Rise of Obesity, Diabetes, and Inflammation, Dr. Glen Lawrence describes how the false condemnation of saturated fat arose from a misunderstanding of how our bodies regulate cholesterol. He explains how replacing saturated fat with vegetable oil stoked the fires of inflammation to cause pain and suffering, in addition to aggravating cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. The mainstream health and nutrition authorities have long cautioned against consuming too much sugar because of the risk of tooth decay. Howe...

The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication tackles the vital subject of healthcare miscommunication which is a leading cause of patient harm. It is the first book of its kind geared to all three essential participants--doctors, nurses, AND patients. Written by a medical malpractice trial attorney, hospital risk manager, and healthcare educator, its unique holistic approach provides real-world practical solutions in a concise, easy-to-read, and entertaining format. No other book in the field has been written by someone with equivalent "boots on the ground" experience. And the author's original cartoons are sure to bring a smile to every reader's face. The Mumbo Jumbo Fix contains up-to-date content including telemedicine during the national emerg...

On Hunger focuses on the interface between food and public health and on the flawed regulations intended to protect us. Food not only represents nourishment for the body; it also possesses other valuable aspects that are protected by international legal instruments. Westra argues for the importance of effecting radical changes: to protect and improve the present system of food production and distribution. Starting from several reports produced by the FAO and the WHO, Westra argues for the need of a complete and radical re-evaluatio of current practices and systems in order to meet the obligation of the international community to prevent hunger. There is a particular emphasis on the problems facing the poor in the third world, but also the different but equally grave problems of those in ...

Anaemia and malaria are two related problems of public health significance in malaria-endemic countries, including Ghana, that continue to impact negatively on pregnancy outcomes, despite interventions being put in place to address them. The reasons for the apparent lack of efficacy of routine iron supplementation in reducing the risks of preterm and other adverse pregnancy outcomes are not clearly established in Ghana. It is not also known whether all pregnant women benefit from iron supplementation and whether there are some other factors that limit the effectiveness of prenatal iron supplementation. This study tested the primary hypothesis that ‘prenatal zinc supplementation in combination with malaria prophylaxis and an iron and folic acid intervention package in a zinc-deficient and...

Treating emptiness is one of the most neglected areas of mental health therapy. Developmental and Systems Approach (DSA) is a treatment model to consider for therapists working in the private sector; public health and social services; hospital care; as well as anyone seeking better understanding of the human condition. Approached from a developmental perspective, it is a unique model of treatment that brings together many of the conventional modalities of therapy schools. The reader will learn to integrate the best practices available today into an effective method of engaging, motivating and teaching the patient effective coping, and most of all, healing through the development of trust and security. Initially developed for rapid stabilization on the psychiatric inpatient unit, DSA is dis...

Despite evidence that 90% of violent crimes are committed by men, higher education professionals and researchers still understand relatively little about the process by which male students acquire the attitudes, knowledge, values and skills which serve as deterrents to perpetrating violence against women and against other men. Men Against Violence is a peer advocacy organization at a large, public Research I institution in the South which focuses on the special and unique responsibility men have to end violence. Through participation in a wide array of service learning, community action and leadership opportunities, MAV members challenge cultural norms which link masculinity with violence. Types of violence targeted by MAV include: fighting, domestic violence, rape, vandalism, hazing, h...

The aim of this study was to establish what is known about the treatment of schizoid personality disorder using psychodynamic psychotherapies, by conducting a systematic review of the literature. The limitations of this approach are set out, followed by an account of the development of the use of the term in descriptive psychiatry and the psychodynamic literature. The inclusion criteria used were studies in English and of adults, that had a methodology, had confirmed a diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder in the subject during the study, that used any type of psychodynamic approach, and that measured the outcome. Search terms included "schizoid", "psychotherapy", "therapy", "psychodynamic", "psychoanalysis", "trial", "efficacy", "effectiveness", "method", "methodology", "qualitative"...

A continuous search for comforts, conveniences, and novel objects has brought humanity to a state where a continuation of this process endangers the welfare, perhaps even survival of humanity. The present lifestyle of profligate consumption, aided by developments in science and technology, imposes a heavy burden on the planetary resources and harms the ecosystem that supports us. Considering Earth to be a limitless source of useful materials and an infinite sink of waste products is endangering our future by depleting natural resources and degrading the environment. Many such developments have already begun to adversely affect the ecosystem and are multiplying rapidly. The book discusses these issues in a comprehensive manner, including climate change and its deleterious consequences, degr...