What Are Some Risk Factors to Prevent Illness Essay Example for Free

What Are Some Risk Factors to Prevent Illness Essay * What are some risk factors that may be controlled to prevent serious illness? Do any of these controllable risk factors apply to you? What can you do to eliminate these risk factors in your life? We can prevent serious diseases if we have strong immune systems, so we have to strengthen them, we can take vitamin c daily. We can ingest fruits every day, citrus fruits are more important, they are rich in vitamin c. and we could take supplemental vitamins to help our body become stronger to prevent diseases. Yes some of these things can be taken control over. You can change the conditions through diet and exercise. Your best defense is information. Talk to your health care provider to find out if u are at risk for any serious diseases. Work with your health care provider to come up with a plan of action to help you control the risk factors in your life. High blood pressure is a very important risk factor for someone to have a stroke. Strokes affect 40 percent of ethnic populations over age 20. Just remember to check your family history to see if you are at risk for certain illnesses. * With widely publicized information on the health and environmental consequences of smoking, why do you think people still choose to smoke? Even with the widely dispersed information on smoking people still choose to smoke because the tobacco companies spend billions of dollars annually on campaigns to entice younger and younger generations to start smoking. Some of the other reasons is because nicotine is extremely addictive and it is hard to put cigarettes down and just quit them cold turkey and people mainly start smoking either from peer pressure or just smoke in social situations only and then they start to develop the addiction for the nicotine. Nicotine also makes people feel energized and alert right after they have smoked but the results are very short lived and then they need another one because they want that energy burst again. Smoking has been determined to be more addictive than cocaine, heroin, or alcohol. Smoking mainly get started in high school or college because of the major tobacco companies and social situations with other people because you want to look cool. * What is the difference between a problem drinker and an alcoholic? What factors can cause someone to become an alcoholic? What effect does alcoholism have on an alcoholic’s family? Alcoholism is a serious, debilitating disease which literally destroys lives. Problem drinkers are those whose alcohol abuse has adversely affected their lives, causing adverse issues in most or all areas of their lives. The nature of alcohol abuse often means there are underlying unresolved issues plaguing the problem drinker. The following factors can be a cause for a person to become alcoholic: 1. It can be genetic 2. Escape from reality and personal problems. Cover up or mask their depression and anxiety. 3. Lack of supervision from parents has a high tendency to develop a habit that deals with alcoholic drinks. 4. Alcohol is a method to escape from stress, fatigue and can be inherited, Boredom, among others. 5. Genetics also play a role and there are indications that alcoholism can be inherited. Alcoholism can impact a family in one of two ways either emotionally or financially it can also impact a family by creating health problems.

Cause and Effects of Stress in Children Essay Example for Free

Cause and Effects of Stress in Children Essay Stress is a response to a factor or situation that negatively affects the physical, emotional, or psychological existence of a person. Stress is good in small quantities as it motivates a person making him/her more productive. However, too much stress is detrimental to a person. Stress can interfere with the general life of a person. Most people assume that stress only affects adults. However, statistics indicate that stress also affects children. Children face intense pressure from their environment. Continuous stress in children is harmful to their activities, health, and development. There are a number of causes and effects of toxic stress in children. Stress can be caused by both negative and positive situations. Children living in abusive environments, both physical and emotional, experience stress. Arnold wrote that children who are bullied are in continuous state of depression. They, therefore, alienate themselves from their colleagues. Parents who constantly beat their children are also causes of stress. The fear that is manifested in children disorients them. They will not be able to talk about what they feel to anybody but rather keep to themselves. Events such as accidents, loss of loved ones, and rejection are also causes of stress in children. Social change patterns in children cause many stressful situations. Children at puberty yearn for freedom. This creates tension between them and the parents, who are constantly monitoring and regulating their activities. In the same stage, children will constantly be in need of money. Lack of money causes stress in children as they are not always able to buy whatever they may need. They will compare themselves with other children who are in comfortable financial positions. Such children are always anxious and worried of where and how they will get money. Stress in children is not only caused by what happens in their own lives but also by what happens in their parents’ lives. The greatest effects of stress are experienced by the brain. The brain controls all the stress mechanism in the body making it the primary stress organ. Johnson stated that the vulnerability of children’s brain is caused  by the fact that they are constantly growing and developing. Constant stress in children disrupts brain development and compromises its normal function. Research has indicated that children experiencing stress have smaller brains. Toxic stress impairs the connection of brain circuits resulting in development of a smaller brain. Prolonged period of stress in children affects their nervous and immune system. Stress hormones are released when a child is exposed to stress. Cortisol hormones, which are released as a result of stress, suppress the body immune system. This leaves a person vulnerable to diseases and infections. Depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, and chronic diseases are also linked to childhood stress. Psychological effects of stress include changes in personality, aggressiveness, and irritability. Children under stress are likely to experience frustrations and isolation from friends and family. They spend more time on their own and lack motivation. Children may also have difficulty in concentration thereby affecting their academic performance. Children under extreme stress exhibit change in behavior. They may be more disobedient, fight often, stutter, and cry often. In conclusion, stress in children has many causes and effects. The notion that stress only affects adults is wrong. Too much stress, often referred to as toxic stress, is detrimental to the life of a child. Toxic stress affects the physical, emotional, psychological, and social aspects of a child. Even though every child reacts differently under stress, it is clear that stress affects the neural system and the health of a child. Children under stress tend to develop negative characteristics like irritability and disobedience. Research has indicated that there are number of causes of childhood stress which are interrelated. Social change patterns, abusive environment, and stress in parents are just some of the cause of childhood stress.

Cell Migration And Cell Cytoskeleton Biology Essay

Cell Migration And Cell Cytoskeleton Biology Essay The cytoskeleton of a cell plays a vital role in controlling the movements of the cell. 3 types of fibres form this structure; microtubules, microfilaments and intermediate filaments. Microtubules are large hollow fibres, microfilaments are the smallest at only 6nm in diameter (1) and intermediate filaments are in between. Microtubules are formed from the subunits ÃŽ ± tubulin and ÃŽ ² tubulin, which form dimers. Each tubulin dimer contains 1 ÃŽ ± tubulin subunit and 1 ÃŽ ² tubulin subunit. These then polymerise to form long protofilaments, which join together into sheets. Once a sheet of 13 protofilaments has been formed, they then fold over to produce a hollow microtubule, which continues to elongate from the +ve end where only ÃŽ ² tubulin subunits are showing. Microfilaments are made of a protein subunit called actin. There are two types; G actin and F actin. G actin is turned in to F actin by the hydrolysis of ATP, forming a fibrous filament. The actin filament continues to elongate from the -ve barbed end. There are several types of Intermediate filaments, each made of different proteins depending on the function of the cell in which they are contained. Type I Keratins acidic and Type II Keratins basic are found in epithelial cells and in the hair and nails. Nuclear lamins are found in the nuclear lamina and type III vimentin/desmin/peripherin are found in muscle cells, some neurones and stem cells (2). The monomers form dimers by coiling. Tetramers are then formed from dimers arranged in staggered formation with opposite domains together. These then arrange together forming strong coiled filaments. Many cells move by crawling over surfaces (3). Of the three fibrous structures, explained previously that make up a cell, the microfilaments play the largest part in the movement and migration of a cell. This means that actin is the vital component for cell movement. A fibroblast crawls by a leading protrusion, called a lamellipodium, which is where most of the cells actin is located. The actin is extremely flexible due its twisted, linked structure. The filaments clump / bundle together near the cell membrane, particularly at the protrusions such as the microvilli in an intestine lining epithelial cell. The actin penetrates in to the cytoplasm, where they become cross linked in to a three dimensional meshwork, governing the shape and mechanical properties of the plasma membrane and the cell surface. (4) . This means that the actin provides structural support, as well as movement potential for the cell. Filopodia are very similar to lamellipodia. They also protrude out from the mai n body of the cells like lamellipodia, and act like fingers for the cell to feel the environment around it and also to aid the detection of where the cell is supposed to migrate to. Filopodia have almost the exact same structure as lemellipodia, however have smaller protrusions and therefore contain less actin. They are about 0.1 Â µm wide and between 5 10 Â µm long, and each contains a loose bundle of 10 20 actin filaments, orientated with their positive ends pointing outward'(5), exactly like the orientation of the actin filaments in lamellipodia. However, filopodia are present around the whole circumference of the cell, not just protruding from the lamellipodium, which creates an even larger surface area for the cell to detect its surroundings. The protrusions grow by the growth of the actin filaments, where dimers are added to the positive terminals of the filaments. Although dimers are removed from both terminals, particularly the negative end, this is outweighed by the mor e rapid addition of actin at the positive end. The growth is a very quick process, which therefore allows the cells to move around the body at a fairly fast pace. Once the lamellipodium is protruded from the main structural shape of the cell, the newly produced bottom section of the cell then adheres to the surface it is moving along, hence pulling the rest of the cell along with it. At the same time, contraction occurs at the rear of the cell, then draws the body of the cell forward, in the direction the lamellipodium is protruding, in a process called traction. (6) Cell migration is extremely important to an organisms survival. It is essential for the movement of cells in the immune system, an example of which is a macrophage, which finds destructive cells and eats them. This is because it is vital for cells to be able to travel to the site of an infection in order to fight it and clear it up or to communicate with other cells, to let them know that there is a problem, which they can then sort out. Cells that can do this are called fibroblasts, which migrate through connective tissue, remodelling them where necessary and helping to rebuild damaged structures. (7). If this was not possible, the organism would be in serious trouble and could die or be badly damaged by very superficial wounds and mild diseases which are overlooked as non-serious in humans due to cells being able to migrate. The cell migration mechanism is vital to a macrophage, as its job is to move around the body, detecting and destroying harmful cells. If movement was not possi ble, the macrophage would only be able to detect destructive cells that were situated in the immediate vicinity, which means to successfully remove all harmful pathogens would be impossible. This would mean the organism would have very little protection against disease. Cells are also able to migrate by means other than by lamellipodium protrusions. Cilia are one example, as well as a male humans sperm, which moves by a tail like structure called a flagellum. The sperm is able to beat the flagellum, which is designed to move the entire cell, and instead of generating a current, they propagate regular waves along their length that propel and drive the cell through liquid (8). Unlike most other migrating cells in the human body as described above, the main component for movement in flagella is tubulin. Microtubules span the whole length of the flagellum in an axoneme, which contains two central microtubules that are surrounded by an outer ring of nine pairs of microtubules. (9). The movement is enabled by molecules of ciliary dyenin that form bridges between neighbouring microtubules around the circumference of the axoneme. (10) The end tail of one molecule attaches to a microtubule, while its other end, the head of the molecule attaches to another m icrotubule. This promotes a sliding mechanism similar to that of actin in the migration of cells with lamellipodium protrusions. Bacteria and cilia also have flagella, made of flagellin and dynein. The bacterial flagellum has a similar structure to a microtubule in the way that it is a hollow, tube like shape. Ciliary beating can either propel single cells through a fluid or can move fluid over the surface of a group of cells in a tissue (11). The second is apparent in the human respiratory system, where ciliated respiratory epithelium cells in the trachea prevent any foreign, potentially harmful particles such as dust and bacteria in the air from entering the bronchioles and lungs. They do this by acting like tiny hairs and by beating the saliva containing the harmful particles back up the trachea to exit the nasal cavities by coughing. If the cilia are unable to beat, it causes problems such as Kartageners syndrome or primary ciliary dyskinesia. Although this syndrome is extremely rare, it is a genetic disorder, meaning it is hereditary. Due to the respiratory system having little to no defence against dust and pathogens which enter the nasal cavities and then travel down the trachea and bronchi, harmful particles may enter the lungs. This causes infection and disease of the lungs, such as pneumonia or bronchitis. In conclusion, the presence of cell migration mechanisms in organisms as small as bacteria to the large, multi cellular organisms such as humans is extremely vital to their individual survival. Without such an important ability, cells would not be able to detect or fight disease, from minor superficial impediments to very serious illnesses. Reproduction in humans would not be possible and bacteria would find it extremely difficult to invade host cells for reproduction. Without cell migration, the whole human immune system would not be able to function correctly. Although the movement of cells is quite complex, it is only the beginning of a massive sequence of mechanisms in which cells can communicate with each other to orchestrate the correct workings of the human body.

The Marxist Hamlet Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

The Marxist Hamlet In his article "'Funeral Bak'd Meats:'   Carnival and the Carnivalesque in Hamlet," Michael D. Bristol mingles Marxism and Bakhtin's notion of double discoursed textuality into an unique reading of Shakespeare's drama as a struggle between opposing economic classes.   Bristol opens with a two paragraph preface on Marxism, highlighting Marx's own abnegation of Marxism:   "Marx is famous for the paradoxical claim that he was not a Marxist" (Bristol 348).   While he acknowledges some of the flaws inherent in Marxist criticism, Bristol uses the introductory paragraphs to assert the "enormous importance" of "the theory of class consciousness and class struggle" which Marxist theory includes (349).   Having prepared readers for a discourse whose foundation lies upon "the most fundamental idea in Marxism," Bristol recasts Hamlet as a class struggle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A strange, mutli-faceted mingling pervades Bristol's argument, and, according to his thesis the drama of Hamlet as well.   According to Bristol, two contrasting texts, two opposing social worlds, flow past one another in the drama, forming a strange suspension "of grief and of festive laughter" (350).   This odd juxtaposition of opposites becomes the basis for Bristol's introduction of the carnivalesque.   The echoes of Carnival within Hamlet, according to Bristol, ceaselessly evolve throughout the play until they reach their most perfect representation in the grave-diggers' scene of the fifth act.   Bristol assigns Carnival a function that immensely strengthens his thesis:   "Carnival opens up alternative possibilities for action and helps to facilitate creativity in the social sphere" (351).   Bristol's discussion of Carnival expands in order to include the theories ... ...istol concludes his article by explaining the ultimate end of the Carnivalesque, "the dissolution, and finally the extinction of identity, the annihilation of the individual in the historical continuum" (365).   The bodies of the festival-makers, the court of Hamlet, lie on the stage like "slaughtered 'meat'" (364).   Bristol concludes that the second culture, or the second language, of Carnival within the drama of Hamlet, supplies an alternate reading for the drama by "uncrowning the shifting rationales used to explicate political intrigue," by transforming the play into a struggle between social classes as expressed by the carnivalesque (365).   The doubleness of Hamlet, the mingling of tragedy and the comic, sheds new light on the drama as an ambivalent and grotesque Carnival which diametrically contrasts the power and propriety typically associated with the play.

The Importance of History :: World History

The Importance of History Can anything worthwhile be gained from continued research into historical events? History seen as study of the past is an integral part of many education systems across the world. Many countries spend huge amounts of money and resources to uncover their past. Every year new and new historical sites are uncovered, excavations on those sites are conducted and the result are studied by archeologists throughout the world. But have we gained anything worthwhile from research into the past? The answer seems clear: Yes, we have. The Study of history especially into historical battles and wars is beneficial when not vital for the evolution of warfare in the modern world. Military strategists continually study wars such as the World Wars, the Napoleonic Conflicts and many modern wars. Tactics and strategies are analyzed and continuously refined, so as to improve their effectiveness and efficacy in future conflicts, without historical study into conflicts, advanced warfare tactics prevalent today would never have evolved from those primitive tactics man used to use in wars. Many countries nowadays are trying to acquire Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), as history has convincingly displayed their awesome destructive power, and their potential to deter aggressions and conflicts thrust upon on a country, like the Cold war remained 'cold' because both countries had WMD and were aware of the consequences if they were used. Another example were historical research is vital is the judicial system. History sets precedents of judicial cases, which are studied by judges to before they make decision in similar cases themselves. The effectiveness of certain punishments for offences is also evaluated through history. Thus we study history in order to learn from it, improve our past experiences and avoid repeating past mistakes. However this is not always the case. When World war one broke out in Europe, The Empires of Germany, Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman, were fighting against the axis France, Britain, and Italy. The result of this conflict was total destruction for all of Europe. However just after 20 years, the same nations were getting closer to another military confrontation. Yet again the same nations were allowing Germany to rise militarily, yet again they failed to act soon enough, and yet again they found themselves in another conflict. Yet again the conflict brought total destruction for Europe. What went wrong here, why didn't the study of history prevent a cataclysm in Europe when just one had happened 2 or 3 decades ago?

Gus germs and steel Essay -- English Literature

Gus germs and steel 1. Yali asks Diamond, â€Å"Why is it that you white people developed sp much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own.† 2. Jared Diamond’s thesis seems to be that external factors such as geography can affect the fate of human societies. In other words, what separates the winners from the losers is geography. Chapter 1 1. â€Å"The Great Leap Forward† is when human history developed about 50,000 years ago. 2. The giant moas in New Zealand and the giant lemurs in Madagascar were exterminated by humans. 3. 15,000 years ago the American West looked like Africa’s Serengeti Plains. It was filled with elephants, giraffes, zebras, and other African animals. All of these animals living in the American West were either killed off by Clovis hunters or died due to drought. 4. All of the giant animals residing in Africa were able to survive because there were no extreme weather conditions and there were not nearly as many deadly hunters in Africa as there were in America. Chapter 3 1. Pizzaro’s capture of Atahuallpa â€Å"offers a broad window onto modern history† because it has happened many times since then. 2. Technology, or the guns and the steel, was used in exterminating the Incas. The germs that the Spaniards brought over on their horses produced small pox. 3. Diamond refers to the battle at Cajamarca a collision because two of the greatest empires â€Å"collided† in a huge fight. Chapter 4 1. Societies with successful food production would grow because there was enough food for everyone. The greatest food producers became the world conquerors because they were a big society with big ideas for technology. 2. The development of diseas... ...teel, I would have to say that the most decisive factor would be the germs. A good example is Smallpox; the virus alone killed more people than either guns or steel. 4. The East lost its enormous lead to the West (Europe) because Europe developed a merchant system, capitalism, and patent protection for invertors. Europe also did not have a dictatorship like China, so inventors in Europe were worry free. 5. China lost its technological lead to Europe because they were a dictatorship and had high taxations. 6. China’s connectedness became a disadvantage for them because their fertile crescent had no other geographical advantages other than domesticating wild plants and animals. China also had an absolute despot that was controlling the country. 7. The histories of the Fertile Crescent and China hold important lessons for the modern world including.

Bugsy Malone and a short comparison Essay

In this scene when Peter comes back and surprises them, it almost as if they expect every thing they have said to have not happened, which is typical of children, they are relieved to see Peter and are happy. Further on in the scene John tries to regain his pride by pretending he knows about the way the ‘wop’ got out ect. At the end of the scene John and Peter join forces as I were to go to the top and find out what id happening, this part was played quite well, it was difficult because the lines all sound the same and remembering them was not easy, the rest of the group stayed in character really well. The last few scenes are very short and consist of John and Peter scaring the rest of the group buy pretending they have been caught, the rest of the group played this part very well, and acted as children would in this kind of situation, Me and Fraser were not on stage a lot but played it fairly well when we were. This entire play was very difficult to perform because of lines, accents and movement ECT. We tried to use space effectively and we used costume to add to the effect. I think that over all we did quite well performing this piece. Bugsy Malone and a short comparison As I do not know much about Bugsy Malone, I will only write a brief part on it, the basic out line of this story is that children who are put into adult situations, in the reverse to Blue Remembered Hills, are gangsters who fight against each other throughout the play, Bugsy is the leader f one gang. The gangs compete with things to try and get better than the other gang, instead of using guns, they use paint guns and water pistols. I think in comparison to Blue Remembered Hills this shows the small amount that children and adults know about each other’s roles in life. The two are very similar in the way that the ‘children’ in Blue Remembered Hills are put in a very childlike situation, and the ‘adults’ in Bugsy Malone are put in a very adult situation, I both play the characters have very different fears and emotions to one another and these are expressed well throughout both plays.