Amitava Dasgupta

Alcohol is a double-edged sword with many health benefits if consumed in moderation but detrimental if consumed in excess. Therefore, it is important for the general public to understand how to consume alcohol sensibly, its health benefits, as well as the dangers of drinking in excess. The first edition of the book focused on guidelines for drinking based on published scientific evidence of health benefits of alcohol as well as adverse effects of consuming too much alcohol without providing any judgement on what a person should or should not do. Those guidelines were changed in 2015. The 2nd edition of the book will provide new guidelines on how much to drink in a nice evening dinner without taking any risk of DWI and will include updated scientific information based on publications from 2011 until 2024. After reading this book a reader may enjoy their next drink with a fuller understanding of the rewards of consuming alcohol in moderation.

Dr. Amitava Dasgupta was born in Calcutta, India, in 1958 to a Hindu mother and an atheist father. A natural skeptic, he spent his early years searching for the meaning of life in the books of both theologians and scientists, but to no avail. It was not until many decades later, in 2011, that he witnessed a real life miracle that forever changed his worldview and transformed him from a fallen Hindu into a Bible believing Christian. With the help of award-winning writer Colonel Lochlainn Seabrook, Dr. Dasgupta has turned this story into an enlightening book entitled, Autobiography of a Non-Yogi: A Scientist's Journey From Hinduism to Christianity. Take this fascinating personal expedition of discovery with Dr. Dasgupta, one that spans the fields of parapsychology, quantum mechanics, astronomy, theology, thealogy, anthropology, archaeology, and cosmology, and learn how modern science is beginning to prove religion true: the soul survives bodily death and lives on in a beautiful and unseen realm, awaiting loved ones who are still on earth. "A powerful book of hope and faith that will inspire all who read it, whatever their personal views." - The Publisher. Dr. Dasgupta immigrated from India to the U. S. in 1980. He received his Ph. D. from Stanford University and his Fellowship training in Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology from the University of Washington at Seattle. Currently he is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He is the author of over 20 books, has published 182 scientific articles, and is a member of the editorial board of five international periodicals, including the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and the Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Journal. Col. Lochlainn Seabrook is a recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal and the author and editor of nearly 100 books on topics ranging from astronomy to zoology. Known as the "Southern Joseph Campbell" for his numerous scholarly works on spirituality, the Bible, and comparative religion and mythology, he is a seventh-generation Kentuckian of Appalachian heritage, a Kentucky Colonel, and the sixth great-grandson of the Earl of Oxford. He has a forty-five year background in religious studies, as well as American and Southern history. Considered the most prolific and popular Southern historian in the world today, his books have introduced hundreds of thousands to vital facts left out of our mainstream books. He is the author of the worldwide bestsellers: Seabrook's Bible Dictionary, Jesus and the Law of Attraction, and Everything You Were Taught About the Civil War is Wrong, Ask a Southerner

Clinical Chemistry, Immunology and Laboratory Quality Control: A Comprehensive Review for Board Preparation, Certification and Clinical Practice, Second Edition presents core topics and 70 case studies that illustrate the application of clinical chemistry knowledge to everyday patient care. This succinct reference offers practical examples of how things function in the pathology clinic with useful lists, key points, case studies and a bullet point format ideal for quick pre-board review. While larger textbooks in clinical chemistry provide highly detailed information regarding instrumentation and statistics, this book is designed to educate senior medical students, residents and fellows on how tests are performed. This second edition successfully helps pathology residents gain command of clinical chemistry, toxicology, immunology, and laboratory statistics in an effort to help them prepare for the American Board of Pathology examination. Clinical chemistry is a topic in which many senior medical students and pathology residents face challenges.

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Providers and the Clinical Laboratory in Understanding Who is Vulnerable covers the important aspects that are essential in fighting the opioid epidemic. This succinct reference highlights how the toxicology laboratory can play a vital role in fighting the opioid epidemic by implementing a robust system for drugs of abuse testing as well as drug testing in pain management patients. It targets health care professionals in a technical manner, discussing polymorphisms of important genes that may be associated with increased vulnerability of alcohol and drug addiction to an individual.

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Data: A Concise Guide, Fourth Edition serves as a ready resource of information on commonly monitored drugs that will help readers make decisions relating to the monitoring and interpretation of results. It is an easy-to-read source of information on intended use, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic range, and toxic concentrations, as well as bioavailability, disposition, metabolism and the excretion of commonly monitored therapeutic drugs. This fully updated fourth edition includes sections on new anticonvulsants, anti-depressant and anti-HIV drugs, new drugs for advanced cancer treatment, and thoroughly updated chapters that address new pitfalls and problems in the lab.

Hematology and Coagulation: A Comprehensive Review for Board Preparation, Certification and Clinical Practice, Second Edition, takes a practical and easy-to-read approach to understanding hematology and coagulation at an appropriate level for both board preparation and refresher courses. The book bridges the gap between large textbooks and medical technology books written for laboratory technicians, providing the sufficient background in genetics, toxicology and immunology that residents and medical students need to know in order to become successful physicians. Readers will use this quick reference to understand how tests are performed and how to interpret results. This clear and easy-to-read presentation of core topics and detailed case studies illustrates the application of hematopathology on patient care.

Biotin and Other Interferences in Immunoassays: A Concise Guide is aimed at clinical laboratory scientists, medical technologists and pathologists who are often the first individuals contacted by a clinician when a laboratory test result does not correlate with clinical presentation. Research scientists working in diagnostics companies will also find this information essential. Sources of errors in non-immunoassay based methods used in clinical chemistry and toxicology laboratory are also discussed so readers can get all important information from one concise guide. This succinct, user-friendly reference provides the necessary information to address high levels of biotin in clinical laboratory results.

Transfusion Medicine for Pathologists: A Comprehensive Review for Board Preparation, Certification, and Clinical Practice is a concise study guide designed to complement standard textbooks in the field of clinical pathology. Pathology residents and fellows of transfusion medicine will find this book useful as a preparation tool for their exams. In addition, the book is a valuable timesaver for busy residents looking for a focused and compact study guide on transfusion medicine that will also be ideal for practicing pathologists who cross-cover transfusion medicine in their clinical practice.

Stress is an inevitable part of everyday life. Sometimes we manage it well. Other times, not so much. But understanding the role of stress in our overall health and wellness is essential to taking it head-on. It’s not just that stress can take over our thoughts; it can take over our bodies. From the flight or fight response to inflammation, from feeling anxious to feeling sick, it can deteriorate our bodies and our minds from the inside out. While many books promise tips on managing stress, this book takes it one step further to consider the science behind stress and how it affects our minds and bodies, offering evidence-based approaches to managing stress for optimum results. Amitava Dasgupta guides readers to a greater understanding of the mechanisms at work when stress is present and provides guidance for dealing with those physical and mental responses. While grounded in the science of stress, this work also helps readers employ those strategies that will best manage stress for better overall health.

Microbiology and Molecular Diagnosis in Pathology: A Comprehensive Review for Board Preparation, Certification and Clinical Practice reviews all aspects of microbiology and molecular diagnostics essential to successfully passing the American Board of Pathology exam. This review book will also serve as a first resource for residents who want to become familiar with the diagnostic aspects of microbiology and molecular methods, as well as a refresher course for practicing pathologists. Opening chapters discuss issues of laboratory management, including quality control, biosafety, regulations, and proper handling and reporting of laboratory specimens. Review chapters give a quick overview of specific clinical infections as well as different types of bacteria, viruses, fungal infections, and infections caused by parasites. Following these, coverage focuses on diagnostic tools and specific tests: media for clinical microbiology, specific stains and tests for microbial identifications, susceptibility testing and use of antimicrobial agents, tests for detecting antibodies, antigens, and microbial infections. Two final chapters offer overviews on molecular diagnostics principles and methods as well as the application of molecular diagnostics in clinical practice.

Alcohol, Drugs, Genes and the Clinical Laboratory provides an overview and quick reference to genetic relationships and clinical laboratory information related to the serious public health issue of alcohol and drug abuse. Written in a clear and concise manner, this book discusses the necessary information for health and safety professionals working in public health to learn about complex issues quickly to better help their patients, employees, and others affected by alcohol and drug abuse. Alcohol, Drugs, Genes and the Clinical Laboratory covers the important aspects of drugs and alcohol abuse including genetic aspects along with laboratory methods for analysis of alcohol and abused drugs with emphasis on false positive test results. The book is helpful to healthcare professionals, such as pathologists who oversee alcohol and drug testing, emergency room physicians, family practice physicians who are first healthcare professionals who identify patients susceptible to drug and alcohol abuse, and psychiatrists involved with drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. It will also be useful to safety professionals who have to assess individuals for workplace responsibilities, ranging from police and recruitment to occupational safety and occupational medicine and public health officials.

Antioxidants in Food, Vitamins and Supplements bridges the gap between books aimed at consumers and technical volumes written for investigators in antioxidant research. It explores the role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of various diseases as well as antioxidant foods, vitamins, and all antioxidant supplements, including herbal supplements. It offers healthcare professionals a rich resource of key clinical information and basic scientific explanations relevant to the development and prevention of specific diseases. The book is written at an intermediate level, and can be easily understood by readers with a college level chemistry and biology background.

Management of Hemostasis and Coagulopathies for Surgical and Critically Ill Patients: An Evidence-Based Approach offers a concise guide to a sub-specialty of transfusion medicine from the clinical laboratory perspective. It focuses on the clinical tests that may be done during preoperative assessment, intraoperative, and postoperative assessment and management of surgical or critically ill patients. Management of hemostasis and coagulopathies is approached from an evidence-based perspective—the coagulation status of a patient according to the laboratory test results. Algorithms and decision-support software, designed by the authors, guide clinicians with an additional tool to base transfusion dosage on specific laboratory results, including the use of an artificial neural network for predicting more accurate blood use. Chapters reflect the experience of all three authors who have successfully applied the algorithm for better patient management as well as decreased wastage of expensive blood products, from both the clinical laboratory/pathology and clinical medicine perspective. This book will appeal to a broad section of clinical laboratory and medical practitioners from hematopathology, to internal medicine, surgery, and anesthesiology. For hematopathologists and pathologists who are involved in laboratory medicine and transfusion medicine, this book will help them understand the proper utilization of blood products and how to avoid unnecessary waste and costs for the hospital. For general surgery practitioners, this book will provide practical guidelines on how to use blood products rationally for best medical practice. Internists will also gain insight from this book, learning which patients are at higher risk of bleeding during surgery so that they can alert their clinical colleagues.

Alcohol and Its Biomarkers: Clinical Aspects and Laboratory Determination is a concise guide to all currently known alcohol biomarkers, their clinical application, and the laboratory methods used to detect them. Pathologists can use this resource to understand the limitations and cost factors associated with each method for determining certain alcohol biomarkers. In addition, interferences in these determinations are discussed, so that clinicians can understand the causes of falsely elevated biomarkers and pathologists and laboratory scientists can potentially eliminate them. The book focuses on the analytical methods used to detect alcohol in blood and urine, the limitations of alcohol determination using enzymatic methods, and the differences between clinical and forensic alcohol measurement. Chapters also cover cutting-edge alcohol biomarkers for potential use.

Hematology and Coagulation is a clear and easy-to-read presentation of core topics and detailed case studies that illustrate the application of hematopathology knowledge to everyday patient care. In order to be successful, as well as to pass the American Board of Pathology examination, all pathology residents must have a good command of hematopathology, including the challenging topics of hematology and coagulation. Hematology and Coagulation meets this challenge head on. This basic primer offers practical examples of how things function in the hematopathology clinic as well as useful lists, sample questions, and a bullet-point format ideal for quick pre-board review. This book provides only the most clinically relevant examples designed to educate senior medical students, residents and fellows and "refresh" the knowledge base, without overwhelming students, residents, and clinicians.

A majority of the Fortune 500 Companies implement some practice of workplace drug testing in their company policies. This practice was first initiated by President Ronald Reagan when he ordered federal agencies to drug test federal employees involved in sensitive positions as well as positions involving public safety. As a practicing toxicologist, Dr. Amitava Dasgupta is involved with the pre-employment drug testing at his own hospital and aptly shares his expertise in Beating Drug Tests and Defending Positive Results: A Toxicologist’s Perspective, which covers all major issues concerning how people try to beat drug tests and defend positive test results. In each chapter, extensive references are cited so that readers can access more information on a particular topic that may interest them. The book will undoubtedly prove helpful to toxicologists, medical technologists, pathologists, human resources professionals and anyone interested in workplace drug testing.

All pathology residents must have a good command of clinical chemistry, toxicology, immunology, and laboratory statistics to be successful pathologists, as well as to pass the American Board of Pathology examination. Clinical chemistry, however, is a topic in which many senior medical students and pathology residents face challenges. Clinical Chemistry, Immunology and Laboratory Quality Control meets this challenge head on with a clear and easy-to-read presentation of core topics and detailed case studies that illustrate the application of clinical chemistry knowledge to everyday patient care. This basic primer offers practical examples of how things function in the pathology clinic as well as useful lists, sample questions, and a bullet-point format ideal for quick pre-Board review. While larger textbooks in clinical chemistry provide highly detailed information regarding instrumentation and statistics, this may be too much information for students, residents, and clinicians. This book is designed to educate senior medical students, residents, and fellows, and to "refresh" the knowledge base of practicing clinicians on how tests are performed in their laboratories (i.e., method principles, interferences, and limitations).