Social and environmental factors have profound impacts on health and diseases across the lifespan. Each year, hundreds of millions of animals are used in biomedical research. Yet many experimental studies utilize animals housed in standard conditions conferring minimal physical, social, and mental stimulation. Lacking appreciation of macroenvironment impacts on physiology and disease risks of the laboratory animals may not only hinder the use of appropriate animal models for human diseases, but also question the validity of preclinical assessments of therapeutic agents.This book summarizes our work on environmental enrichment, a housing condition for laboratory animals, recapitulating an active lifestyle by providing a complex physical, social, and cognitive stimulations. Environmental enrichment exerts a wide range of benefits on energy balance, cancer, immunity, stress, behavior, and healthy aging. One underlying mechanism is the activation of a specific neuroendocrine brain-adipocyte axis with brain-derived neurotrophic factor as the key brain mediator. This book integrates recent discoveries regarding mechanisms, mediators, and biomarkers of environmental enrichment, and discusses its translational potential.By providing a timely review and discussion of murine models, this book should be of interest to basic, translational, and clinical researchers, as well as psychologists, nutrition scientists, and students that have interest in cancer, obesity, aging, and genetic disorders.

In 1971 Norma Guthkelch, retired neurosurgeon, published the first description of the Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). Within the next several years John Caffey, pediatric radiologist, wrote several articles supporting the SBS theory. Very soon after, when infants were brought into hospital emergency rooms in the U.S.A. with brain hemorrhages without known accidental explanations such as auto accidents or high distance falls, almost routinely the hemorrhages have been attributed to SBS or related diagnoses resulting in criminal conviction of parents or caretakers. These and other issues such as inflicted child abuse, non-accidental trauma, failure to protect, and other diagnoses are reviewed in this book "Since the original introduction of the SBS theory, conclusive evidence has emerged proving that these prosecutions have been founded upon tainted medical opinions and fundamentally flawed scientific methodology (i.e. junk science). It requires little imagination to understand the significant mental pain which parents undergo while grieving over the death of a child, as frequently occurs in these cases. Accusing this parent of murdering their child (with no real evidence) and putting the entire strength of the state behind this accusation is monstrous, when the entire accusation pivots upon facts which are now known to be false. Loss of job, loss of family and community ties follow the accusation. Moreover, the general public, the grand and petite juries, the states and the parties, all have an overwhelmingly strong interest in knowing if these prosecutions are founded upon reasonable interpretation of the facts - or - if the accusations are built around falsehoods and scientific impossibilities." Quoted from the writings of Kent Holcomb.

Pediatric Endocrine Self-Assessment Program (Pediatric ESAP (TM)), Reference Edition, 2019-2020 is a self-study curriculum specifically designed for endocrinologists seeking initial certification or recertification in pediatric endocrinology, program directors interested in a training instrument, and clinicians and health professionals seeking a self-assessment and a broad review of pediatric endocrinology. Pediatric ESAP (TM) consists of 100 multiple-choice questions in all areas of pediatric endocrinology, diabetes, growth, and metabolism. There is extensive discussion of each correct answer and references. Pediatric ESAP (TM) is updated every two years with new questions. Customers are advised that this book is a reference edition and the questions in it are designed for self-study and reference. The content is the same as the non-reference edition, but CME and MOC credits are not available upon completion of the material. Anyone with questions about CME and/or MOC credits should consult www.endocrine.org/store for further information.

The followings are the many Books that Dr. Alcena has written 1. The Status of Health of Blacks in the States of America- A Prescription for Improvement (1994) 2. The Third World Tropical Diet, Health Maintenance, and Medical Management Program (1994) 3. African American Health Book (1994) 4. AIDS the Expending Epidemic, What the Public Needs to know: A Multi Cultural Overview (1994) 5. African American Women's Health Book (2001) 6. Women's Health and Wellness for the Millennium (2002) 7. Men's Health and Wellness for the New Millennium (2007) 8. The Best of Women's Health (2008) 9. Health Care Disparity in the United States: An Urgent Call for Universal Health Insurance & A Public Health Insurance Plan (2009) 10. Triumph and Tragedies of Haiti and Its People (2010) 11. Health Care Disparity in the United States of America. (2011) 12. THIRD WORLD HEALTH CARE IN A FIRST WORLD COUNTRY (2011) 13. The Tragic History of Haiti (2011) 14. Black people and medical diseases 2012 15. The most common medical diseases seen in black people and how best to diagnosed and treat 16. Black people and medical diseases the root causes of health care disparity 17. African Americans and medical diseases An American Health Care Crisis That is Crying For Help and Actions 2013 18. Anthology of Medical Diseases 2013 19. HEALTH STATUS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS (2014)