ear and throught disease :: essays research papers

Name: Terrean Robinson ID#: 28990809 Course: Microbiology Describe the major emerging and reemerging pathogens and disease (since 1980) and the consequence of these for healthcare system.(Include epi.&mechanism for origin of diseases) There are several emerging and reemerging diseases since the 1980. Emerging infectious disease results from newly identified and previously unknown infections, which cause public health problems locally and internationally. An emerging disease can be cause by a virus, a bacterium, a fungus, a protozoan and a helminth. Emerging disease associated with viruses since the 1980 are T-cell lympoma-leukemia,Toxic shock syndrome, Heamhorrhagic colitis; heamolytic ureamic syndrome, Hairy cell leukemia, lyme disease, AIDS, Peptic ulcer disease,Venezuelan haemorrhagic fever, Conjunctivitis, disseminated disease ,cholera,Cat scratch disease;bacillary angimatosis, Brazilian heamorrhagic fever, Hepatitis,New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Influenza. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first isolated in 1983. It is estimated that since the start of the epidemic 30.6 million people worldwide have become HIV infected and nearly 12 million ha ve died from AIDS or AIDS-related diseases. Hepatitis C, identified in 1989, is now known to be the most common cause of post-transfusion hepatitis worldwide, with approximately 90 per cent of cases in Japan, the United States and Western Europe. Up to 3 per cent of the world population is estimated to be infected; 170 million are chronic carriers at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. Sin nombre (i.e., an unnamed) virus was isolated from cases of a local outbreak of a highly fatal respiratory disease. This was done in the southern United States in 1993. It has subsequently been diagnosed in sporadic cases across the United States, Canada and several South American countries. Influenza A (H5N1) virus is a well-known pathogen in birds, but was first isolated from humans in 1997. Its emergence initially suggested the next influenza pandemic but, in the event, the virus transmitted poorly and the spread of the virus appeared to have been contained in 1997.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are also some emerging diseases that are associated with bacteria these include: Legionella pneumophillai, Escherichilia coli, Borellia burgdorferi, Vibrio cholorae. Legionella pneumophilia was detected in 1977. The bacterium resulted in an outbreak of severe pneumonia in a convention center in the United States in 1976 and it has since been associated with outbreaks linked to poorly maintained air conditioning systems. Escherichia coli O157:H7: Detected in 1982, this bacterium is typically transmitted through contaminated food and has caused outbreaks of haemolytic uraemic syndrome in North America, Europe and Japan.

The Brain & Its Functions

Opening Notes: * Interest and research in the brain is at an all-time pace The cure for some common diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis has accelerated the efforts of many scientists * Many of the names for the parts of the brain have come from Latin and Greek words * The easiest way to learn about the brain is to look at it as three divisions; the hindbrain, the midbrain and the forebrain * Modern imaging has allowed us to study the brain and locate where important functions are occurring * Functions do not happen in just one area of the brainMany neural layers and areas are found in any one activity that happens. * Some areas do appear to be predominantly involved in certain functions. The hindbrain: * The hindbrain is located where the spinal cord goes into the cranium * The first area that we see if the medulla. It is the swelling at the tip of the spinal cord. * It is concerned with all of our automatic functioning, such as breathing, h eart rate and swallowing medulla: controls all involuntary responses * reticular formation: regulates sleep and wakefulness reticular formation: regulates sleep and wakefulnessInside the medulla is the reticulum activation system It is concerned with arousal, attention and sleep * The second part of the hindbrain that we see is the cerebellum Is sometimes called the small brain cerebellum: controls coordinated motor activity e. g when you first learn to ride a bike, you have to think about everything you do. After you learn to ride a bike, it becomes totally automatic, and that is because of the cerebellum * The next part that we see is the ponsPons means bridge in Greek and that’s exactly what the pons is * It is a bridge taking in all of our sensory information and taking it to the cortex to be interpreted. pons: the bridge from brainstem to cortex The midbrain: * The midbrain takes all of the incoming neural information and channels it to the correct part of the cortex to be interpreted. * It is also involved in muscle tone and helps in sleep, wakefulness and attention. The forebrain: * It is the most complicated part of the brain, and it is what separates us as human beings from other animals. When we first look inside the skull, what we see is the cerebrum. * The cerebrum is composed of two parts called hemispheres; the right side and the left side * The outer covering of the cerebrum is called the cortex * It is made up of what is called convolutions – the worm-like structures that you see when you look at the brain convolutions: folds in the brain that store memories * We can look at the cortex in another way and divide the cortex into four sections called lobes; function of the lobe is to interpret information coming in from our senses cortex: surface layer of brainLobes: * Located in the back of the head is the occipital lobe. * The occipital lobe processes visual information, or what we see. occipital lobe: interprets visual information * Coming to the top of the head is the parietal lobe. * The parietal lobe processes information on pain, touch, temperature and pressure parietal lobe: interprets temperature, pain, pressure and touch * Located on the sides of our head, right above our ears, are the temporal lobes. * The temporal lobes process auditory information, emotion, and have a part in memory temporal lobe: interprets auditory information Located right above our forehead is our frontal lobe; it is the largest part of the cortex and the part of our brain that makes us human. * It is involved in speech production, logical and rational thought, and has the ability to understand and plan the future. frontal lobe: controls speaking, thought and future planning * There are two areas behind the frontal lobe. * The first one is the motor cortex and it interprets our muscular sensations. motor cortex: controls voluntary movements Right behind it is the sensory cortex and it is the part of the cortex that tries to coo rdinate all of the information coming in from all of our senses. sensory cortex: processes body sensations Inside of the cerebrum is the limbic system: * The limbic system is a primitive part of the cerebral cortex. It is made up of several parts that have a function in the everyday working of the brain * The first part is the corpus callosum. corpus callosum: connects the hemispheres of the brain * It is a band of nerve fibers that hold the right and left hemisphere together. It allows the right side of our brain to know what the left side is doing, and the left side to know what the right side is doing. * The second structure is the thalamus. The thalamus is sort of a relay center of the brain. * It takes in all of the sensory information and takes it to the cortex to be interpreted, and takes it from the cortex back to the spinal cord to get back to the body. thalamus: relay station for visual, auditory and somatosensory information * The next part is the hypothalamus. The hypoth alamus controls all of our drives and tries to maintain homeostasis; homeostasis is an equilibrium at which our body functions best. hypothalamus: controls drives such as hunger, thirst and sex * The next structure is the hippocampus. * The hippocampus is very important in the processing of our short-term memories into long-term memories. * This is the part of the brain that is first attacked by the disease Alzheimer’s. * The hippocampus also helps us in facial recognition. hippocampus: stores short term memories and takes them to long term memories * The next part is the amygdala. The amygdala adds emotion to memory. * It also has a direct role in the formation of our memories. amygdala: holds emotion and emotion laden memories Located inside our frontal lobe are two areas that help in our speech production: * The first is Broca’s area. For most people, all right-handed people, and most left-handed people, Broca’s area is located in the left hemisphere. Brocaâ €™s area: controls our ability to speak * This allows us to speak. It coordinates what we want to say with our tongues and our muscles. The next area is located a little bit behind Broca’s area more toward the temporal lobe is Werniche’s area. * Werniche’s area allows us to understand what is spoken to us. Werniche’s area: creates the understanding of written and spoken language Lateralization in Epilepsy Patient: * Patients with severe epilepsy have allowed us to discover another important concept about our brains. * To help severe epileptics when drugs failed, a dramatic operation was performed and it involved cutting the corpus callosum. Separating the hemispheres allows the seizures to be localized and not spread from hemisphere to the other. Split-brain patients learn that the hemispheres will have distinct, different functions; this is called lateralization. Hemispheres: * The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body. * It also coordi nates our language abilities because it has both Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area in it. * The left side is also the logical, rational brain and excels in such areas as science and math. left hemisphere: controls language, logic and sequential tasks * The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. It excels in spatial abilities. * It is our artistic and musical part of our brain. It also has a function in detecting and emoting emotions. * In all but split-brain patients, we use all of our brains and both hemispheres since they communicate with each other. * The right hemisphere knows what is happening in the left hemisphere, and the left hemisphere knows what’s going on in the right hemisphere. right hemisphere: controls spatial-visual tasks, facial recognition and creativity Extra Keywords (NEED TO KNOW THESE): * septum: controls and create rageful behavior * cerebrum: the largest part of the brain divided into two hemispheres

Iraq Backlash

The main argument in this article is that the continued involvement of the United States in the war in Iraq will lead to unforeseen and even disastrous consequences such as a civil war or even global war given the fact that the United States is ill equipped at dealing with the insurgents and in properly identifying its role in the conflict and the impact of its continued involvement in the war.The writer presents his views by first defining what backlash is and proceeding to show the escalating death toll and skirmishes that have happened in Iraq since the United States has gotten involved. The writer then paints a grim picture of future that lies ahead if the United States continues its policies and involvement in the conflicts in the Middle East and the war in Iraq.The view presented by the writer is correct to the extent that the continued involvement of the United States could indeed make them the victim of unforeseen and disastrous consequences such a rising casualties of the ar med forces currently stationed there and of the civilians. The continued involvement in Iraq could also be detrimental to the United States economy as any conflict in the Middle East causes the price of oil to rise and directly affects the economic output of any country.A prolonged war, as in this case, caused by continued United States involvement will definitely affect its economy in the long run. The writer however is too quick to point out that global war will be the direct effect of such actions. There is no substantial evidence to show that this will indeed result to a world war III or a world war IV. The other world leaders have been quick to show that the United States is acting on its own accord and have refused to lend any aid in the war in Iraq.

Discourse: Ellen Lupton’s Deconstructivist Theory Essay

Key concepts from Ellen Lupton’s A Post-Mortem on Deconstruction? * Deconstruction is part of a broader field of criticism known as â€Å"post-structuralism,† whose theorist have included Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, among others. Each of these writers has looked at modes of representation – from alphabetic writing to photojournalism – as culturally powerful technologies that transform and construct â€Å"reality†. The phrase â€Å"deconstruction† quickly became a cliche in design journalism, where it usually has described a style featuring fragmented shapes, extreme angles, and aggressively asymmetrical arrangements. This collection of formal devices was easily transferred from architecture to graphic design, where it named existing tendencies and catalyzed new ones. The labels â€Å"deconstructivism,† â€Å"deconstructionism,† and just plain â€Å"decon† have served to blanket the differences between a broad range of design practices and an equally broad range of theoretical ideas. Rather than viewing it as a style, you can view deconstructivism as a process – an act of questioning. In Derrida’s original theory, deconstruction asks a question: how does representation inhabit reality? How does the external appearance of a thing get inside its internal essence? How does the surface get under the skin? For example, the Western tradition has tended to value the internal mind as the sacred source of soul and intellect, while denouncing the body as an earthly, mechanical shell. Countering this view is the understanding that the conditions of bodily experience temper the way we think and act. A parallel question for graphic design is this: how does visual from get inside the â€Å"content† of writing? How has typography refused to be a passive, transparent vessel for written texts, developing as a system with its own structures and devices? * The Western philosophical tradition has denigrated writing as an inferior, dead copy of the living, spoken word, when we speak, we draw on our inner consciousness, but when we write, our words are inert and abstract. The written word loses its connection to our inner selves. Language is set adrift. * It has recently become unfashionable to compare language and design. In the fields of architecture and products, the paradigm of language is losing its luster as a theoretical model – we no longer think of buildings, tea pots, for fax machines as â€Å"communication† cultural messages, in the manner of post-Modern classicism or product semantics. For the design fields, â€Å"deconstruction† has been reduced to the name of a historical period rather than an ongoing way of approaching design. Derrida made a similar point in 1994, saying that deconstruction will never be over, because it describes a way of thinking about language that has always existed. For graphic design, deconstruction isn’t dead, either, because it’s not a style or movement, but a way of asking questions through our work. Critical form-making will always be part of design practice, whatever theoret ical tools one might use to identify it. Apollinaire’s Il Pleut is a perfect example of the juxtaposition of language and design – of typography and content. Like the other structural games calligrammes are often referred to, Il Pleut uses typography as an active picture rather than a passive frame, demonstrating only the beginning of the possibilities available for manipulating type to reflect language. Often graphic design can reveal cultural myths by using familiar symbols and styles in new ways, and Apollinaire does exactly that in this futurist, poetic, and exciting way. Marinetti, another Futurist-classified poet, was a master in deconstruction — letting the words themselves build imagery both literally and figuratively; the letterforms and sentences themselves becoming the building blocks of his compositions. This 1913 work by Marinetti, Words of Liberty, is a perfect example of the theory of metalanguage, proposed by Roland Barthes. In his work, Elements of Semiology, he advanced the concept of the metalanguage — a systematized way of talking about concepts like meaning and grammar beyond the constraints of a traditional (first-order) language; in a metalanguage, symbols replace words and phrases. Insofar as one metalanguage is required for one explanation of first-order language, another may be required, so metalanguages may actually replace first-order languages. Barthes exposes how this structuralist system is regressive; orders of language rely upon a metalanguage by which it is explained, and therefore deconstruction itself is in danger of becoming a metalanguage, thus exposing all languages and discourse to scrutiny. A work of design can be called â€Å"deconstruction† when it exposes and transforms the established rules of writing, interrupting the sacred â€Å"inside† of content with the profane â€Å"outside† of form. Weingart is the perfect example of this, using not only letterforms themselves but also nonobjective elements within his composition to distort the typographic content. Yet, the link between language and typography is so close that typography is, essentially, the frontier between languages and objects; languages and images. Typography turns language into a visible, tangible artifact, and in the process transforms it irrevocably. While researching the link between the â€Å"inside† and â€Å"outside† form of content, George Orwell seemed to hold very similar views in his The Politics of English Language, speaking not of the link between typography and language but instead the written and spoken versions of English itself. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble; and what trouble does this necessarily include? Protecting one’s writing from staleness of imagery, and of course lack of precision. Both are marked by vague writing or perhaps, in some cases, sheer incompetence of modern English prose, as well as the use of dying metaphors. He concludes for us that verbal false limbs and pretentious diction are the downfall for our mangled language, and we, the ambitious struggling writers of the world, can unite against its seemingly inevitable destruction. But let us look closer at Orwell’s reasoning for a moment; that if thought corrupts language than surely language can also corrupt thought. Although written nearly 60 years before our time, he shares this ideal with a modern behemoth of writing – Stephen King. King has already imparted a great secret to us about the nature of writing – that ideas come from nowhere, and that vocabulary is one of the first steps toward a novel which actually functions as it should. One should not begin writing from the abstract, trying to dictate with impressive words or alliterative sentences; one should have an idea in mind and then set about trying to convey that idea to an audience. Vague writing only begets vague understanding, which is not the vehicle in which your novel should be riding. I personally feel that this is a powerful parallel to language and typography — that the designer should have in mind what exactly they are trying to communicate before beginning their design, instead of taking text copy and moving it around, trying to design without a firm message at hand. This eventually will end in a vague, incomprehensible and garbled communication, one which has no place in today’s world; unless of course you happen to be a self-proclaimed Dada-ist.

Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson - The Scandal Essay

Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson - The Scandal - Essay Example Each member relies on what each knows of human nature, using common sense and the ability to reason If the assumptions seem ridiculous, throw them out, if the reasons make sense, convict. Here Jefferson will be convicted, but free from scandal. Jefferson was a man of passion and conviction, like many a good leader, and it is just these characteristics upon which he will be judged as well as the elemental conditions of the evidence available. As with any fair trial we must first presume that Thomas Jefferson is innocent before we can bring evidence against him. This presumption will lie in the testimony of his statements and those of his contemporaries. Thomas Jefferson himself never commented publicly on the issue, though some of his remarks have been interpreted as indirect denials. For example, he publicly stated his opposition to miscegenation (a word not yet coined at the time): "Their [blacks] amalgamation with the other color," he wrote, "produces a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of excellence in the human character, can innocently consent."1 Why would a man with these opinions ever think to "consent" to relationships outside his own race? The Jefferson Family also vehemently denies any possible impropriety on Jefferson’s part equally sighting his high moral character and his veracity. The family also states as fact that Mr. Jefferson was never geographically present at the times in which Ms. Hemings would have conceived any of her children. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson Randolph [grandson of Thomas Jefferson], holds basically that Jefferson was not at Monticello when Sally Hemings children were conceived, and that they were fathered instead by one of his nephews, either Peter or Samuel Carr.†3 However, careful studies of Jefferson Farm Book and the detailed chronology of his public life record tend to reveal otherwise (see Timeline on page ten). Also the Author of Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History reveals

Critique of Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critique of Violence - Essay Example Notably, abolishing states would not be an end to violence in the world as human beings would turn against one another. However, there is need for strict control of power possessed by states to ensure that incidences of violence are minimized and the public are at a less vulnerable point. The members of public should work together to limit government power in order to reduce cases of violence within states. State violence is a scenario that emerged as soon as the state was formed. The theories of state formation indicate that states originated from the intention of human beings to surrender power to a central body that would protect people from one another. In nature, human beings are aggressive and would do anything to acquire wealth and other material things. It is this aggressive nature of human beings that brings the urge to kill as each of them pursues their interests. Therefore, human beings had to surrender this ill power to the state so that the state would control their aggression. Consequently, the state uses this power to exercise violence within the public. As Weber (11-40) notes, the state is a relation of men dominating men by means of legitimate violence. The implication is that the state government uses the power accorded by the public to control them and to exercise violence within the boundaries. Since the state is unquestionable and is responsible for the formation o f laws, they possess the power to exercise violence with no questions from the public. Therefore, the public are submissive to the power of the government, and this puts them at a vulnerable position. The state uses violence to pursue their selfish goals and to control the rebellion of the members of public. Mbembe (12) points out that the government possesses the power to decide who dies and who lives. This implies that the sovereignty of the state is manifested in their ability to decide matters of life. While government can

Atoms of metals and LIDAR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Atoms of metals and LIDAR - Essay Example pag). LIDAR is a remote sensing technology that can measure distances or properties of a material by laser illumination (Sanderson n. pag.). Origin of metal atoms in the atmosphere Normally, meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere between 11 to 72 kilometres per second. Friction between the meteor and air molecules in the upper atmosphere generates enough heat to disintegrate it to particles less than 1mm in diameter. These particles are deposited at an altitude of 70 to 140 km in the upper atmosphere (Von Zahn, Hoffner and McNeil, 149). McNeil, Lai and Murad acknowledged the fact that meteoric material is the most significant source of metal atoms in the upper atmosphere. However, the amount of metal atoms in the atmosphere differs from the amount present in the meteor itself. This is attributed to the process known as differential ablation. Differential ablation suggests that more volatile metals vaporize earlier than less volatile metal components in a meteorite. Comparison between sodium, magnesium, and calcium ablation revealed that sodium is the most volatile of the three elements. Thus, sodium ablates at a much higher altitude. On the other hand, calcium ablates at a much lower altitude. Therefore, the rate of conversion of elemental calcium into compounds in the lower atmosphere is the primary cause of calcium ion depletion (10899-10911). Aside from sodium, metallic atoms of potassium, lithium, calcium and iron make up the rest of the metal atom layer in the mesosphere. The discovery of other metal constituents started in 1973. Potassium ions detected through the use of ruby-laser-pumped dye laser components calibrated at 769.9 and 766.5 nanometres. Lithium ions were identified using a flashlamp-pumped dye laser calibrated at 670.8 nanometres with 800 millijoules output pulse energy. Calcium was detected with a dye laser calibrated at 422.7 nanometres (Abo 315). Thin layers of sodium, calcium and iron have been detected by LIDAR in the upper atmo sphere. These layers range from 100 metres to several kilometres thick and usually superimpose on a background layer 10 kilometres thick. Despite efforts to ascertain the origins of sporadic layers, no single scientific explanation was accepted (Clemesha 725). Chemical role of metal atoms in the atmosphere The formation of metal layers in the upper atmosphere has been instrumental in several vital atmospheric processes. Rapp and Thomas have confirmed the role of mesospheric metal layers in the formation of noctilucent clouds through the nucleation of ice particles in the upper atmosphere (715-744). Murphy, Thomson and Mahoney investigated the composition of aerosol particles in the stratosphere and discovered the existence of meteoric particles in stratospheric aerosol. Thus a link was suggested between mesospheric metal particles and the condensation of stratospheric sulphate aerosols (1664-1669). Atmospheric observation over the South Pole was initiated through LIDAR to measure th e seasonal variations of the mesospheric sodium and iron layer. The polar annual mean abundance is almost equal to mid-latitude readings while the mean centroid height is 100 metres higher for sodium and 450 metres higher for