Alzheimer’s disease Essay Example for Free

Alzheimer’s disease Essay #1 Make Observation What causes Alzheimer’s disease neurologically? This question came to my mind when I was watching the movie ‘The Notebook’ for the fifth time. Unusual for a guy, I love romantic genre movies and I was wondering why Alzheimer causes short and long term memory loss. I also had an interest on the Alzheimer’s disease after watching the movie ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ where the protagonist tries to fix the neurology nerve system to heal his father’s Alzheimer. #2 Ask Question What causes Alzheimer’s disease neurologically? #3 Create possible explanation I think the core reason of the Alzheimer’s disease lie on the nerve pathway signal transmission. I think the nerve pathway signal transmission system is same as all of the body functional system and as it grows older and older, the functioning of the specific nerve pathway signal transmission for memories weakens and decreases. #4 Making predictions based on this model If the problem of the Alzheimer’s disease is in the nerve pathway signal transmission, then the Alzheimer’s disease is indeed a neurological problem. If we can find out the way to re-ignite the signal or heal the receiving or sending parts of the neurological nerve signal system, then we will be able to delay the process of the disease or even fix it permanently. #5 Test with controls I do not know the system of the central neurological nerve system of the human nor the treatment of the Alzheimer’s disease. However, to find out numerous people with and without the disease should complete the cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. Run a MRI test on brain of the participants and compare the MRI results with the people with and without the Alzheimer’s disease. If it shows some difference showing the weakening or decreasing of the nerve pathway signal transmission then we can conclude that the neurological nerve pathway signal transmission is the cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. However, we can’t be sure that that is the only causes of the Alzheimer’s disease so we will have to create more experiments. #6 Exploration Alzheimer disease is a neurological disease and it is one of the many forms of dementia. The researches says that the Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia since its percentage is over half of the total dementia cases. My question was ‘what causes the Alzheimer’s disease neurologically?’ so I decided to first go research about the neuroscience of the human body since the Alzheimer’s disease is primarily the degenerating of the signal pathway system in the brain. The human have a special cell called the neurons in the nervous system and these cells communicate with other cells by synapses. This is the most basic difference between a normal cell and a neuron. Synapses signal can be either chemical or electrical and they are just membrane-to-membrane junctions with such molecular machinery that produces rapid transmission of signals. There isn’t just one neuron in human. In fact, there are hundreds of different types with differ ent functions and shapes. So all these information led me to an another question of ‘what kind of neurons are related to the Alzheimer’s disease?’ I found out that Alzheimer’s kills neurons due to the accumulation of proteins in the brain. That is why the Alzheimer’s diseases are called the neurodegenerative diseases. I couldn’t specifically find the exact neurons that are related to the Alzheimer’s disease but I found out that the Alzheimer’s kills these neurons in the brain by proteinaceous plaques. An article by ‘Journal of Neuroscience’ did a research on A-beta, a peptide that surrounds the dying neurons in certain regions of the brain. The research said they weren’t sure if the A-Beta is the protein that kills the neurons. A-Beta becomes toxic when it forms an oligomer. Oligomer means a molecule that consists of a few monomer units. A-Beta oligomers are bad for neurons because it causes the neurons to re-enter the cell cycle. This is bad because once the brain neurons become adult cells, these are not supposed to divide. This is why neuronal cancers are very rare because the neurons cells don’t divide once it reaches adulthood. Then the articles went into deeper matters with mouse models so I stopped my research of A-Beta here. It says that the cause for the Alzheimer’s disease is essentially unknown and all of these researches are part of the hypotheses. There are many hypotheses including the cholinergic and the amyloid hypotheses. But the A-Beta is the most recent hypotheses in the field of  science since the A-Beta theory was updated in 2009. Then, I took my TA’s advice and went to find the biology behind the transmission of nerve impulses. Neurons have a part called the dendrites and this is where the neuron fires a correct impulse to another neuron through the axon. Axon is a long projection that connects nerve cells. Just like a normal cell, the neurons have cell membranes as well. When the neuron is not transmitting impulse, the reason is in its cell membrane. When the neuron cell is polarized, that is when the neuron is inactive. The outside of the cell contains excess sodium ions and the inside of the cell contains excess potassium ions. However, the inside of the cell is negative due to other negatively charged protein and nucleic acid molecules inside the cell. There are Na+/K+ pumps on the membranes and it is permeable! When the neuron gets stimulated, the sodium ions flow in to the cell and the neuron gets depolarized. When the neuron reaches the complete depolarization, impulse is transmitted through the axon and thus makes the cell active. When the impulse fires from a neuron, the other neuron at the end of the axon depolarizes and calcium ions are allowed to enter the cell. Then a chemical called a neurotransmitter is released into the synapse. The neurotransmitter then binds to proteins on the neuron membrane to receive the impulse. The proteins are the receptors of the many different neurotransmitter and the neurotransmitters does have specific receptor proteins. It is logical that when the neurons die from proteins of the Alzheimer’s disease, the synapses and impulse decreases and decreases. Therefore, I began to have questions about the effect and the symptoms of the Alzheimer’s disease due to the death of many neurons. Alzheimer’s disease equals the loss of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex. The most common effect and symptom of the Alzheimer’s disease is the loss of memory and mental skills. The chance of getting an Alzheimer’s disease is higher for older populations. The symptoms advance as the time passes. The speed of the progress of the disorder differs from person to person but most of them start with forgetfulness. It is probably the neuron transmission failure. As the brain neuron dies, the mental state of the human weakens and decreases. When the Alzheimer’s disease attacks the frontal lobe of the brain, the person’s mood swing can be dangerously unstable. It is because the frontal lobe controls the feeling and the behavior of a person. The person can also have problems  with washing and cleaning him/herself because another function of the frontal lobe of the brain is to plan things based on what is wrong and what is right. Also 40% of the Alzheimer’s patients have low appetite in food and have significant weight loss because as the neuron dies, the olfactory and taste nerves fails. All of these symptoms are all directly connected to the problems with the brain neurons. So my first starting question of ‘what causes Alzheimer’s disease neurologically?’ was answered. A simple but sophisticated disruption of a tiny neuron cells in the brain causes the Alzheimer’s disease. Then I began to think if there are any treatment researches going on in the field of biology. I found one research that caught my eyes and it was stem cells. Professor Kim of the Chung-Ang University in South Korea successfully restored a mouse’s brain function by transplanting a human nerve stem cell. He was able to transplant a stem cell containing acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, and the articles said that the mouse restored its brain function to a normal state. Professor Kim’s work is also announced in an international journal called ‘Cell Transplantation.’ #7 Repeat (Modify, extend or reject) ‘What is the specific molecule (possibly a protein) that affects the neuron of the brains so it causes the Alzheimer’s disease neurologically?’ and ‘How will transplanting stem cell containing a neurotransmitter called ‘Acetycholine’ affect the human Alzheimer’s disease?’ These are my two refined questions after my exploration of the Alzheimer’s disease.   Reference and Citation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_system#Neurons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimers_disease http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-transmission-of-nerve-impulses.html http://scienceblogs.com/purepedantry/2009/02/12/how-does-alzheimers-kill-neuro/ (Authors: N.H. Varvel, K. Bhaskar, A.R. Patil, S.W. Pimplikar, K. Herrup, B.T. Lamb) http://voices.yahoo.com/the-dreadful-effects-alzheimers-disease-116725.html?cat=70 (Publisher: Carl Kolchack, freelance article writer) http://blog.naver.com/vitaminmd?Redirect=LoglogNo=110133967592 (Publisher: Vitamin MD) http://www.medworld.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=63612 (Youn Sang Yong Reporter)

The Four Humors :: European Europe History

The Four Humors Medieval doctors had quite an understanding of the human anatomy, considering their lack of equipment and knowledge. Most doctors in medieval times were philosophers more than actual medical doctors as most people know them today. Much of the knowledge they did acquire may have only been speculation, but quite a bit of it was due to concentrated observation. Many scientists studied wounds and diseases intensely and one scientist in particular, Empedocles, came to the conclusion that that body consists of four main fluids, or humors. These humors were yellow bile, black bile, phlegm and blood. If one of these components was out of proportion in the body, disease occurred. The imbalance was called isonomia, an idea which was also proposed by the Greek scientist Empedocles. Empedocles followed the Pythagorean school of natural philosophers rather than the Hippocratic school as most other physicians in the time did. He felt people must use their senses, even though they are not thoroughly reliable at all times. The other schools preferred more mystic ideas as opposed to natural ones. He also hypothesized that all substances and objects were made up of air, fire, water, and earth in different proportions. His proposal of the four humors of the body was later accepted by the Hippocratic school. Each of Empedocles' four humors was connected to one of the four seasons. Black bile was considered to be a part of autumn, blood was associated with spring, phlegm with winter and summer with yellow bile. Each humor was identified with its corresponding season due to the belief that each humor contained certain qualities. These qualities were closely related to the conditions of the seasons. Thus yellow bile was thought of as hot and dry like summer. Its opposite, phlegm was cold and moist like winter. Black Bile was cold and dry, while its opposite, blood, was hot and moist, like their counterparts, autumn and spring. As well as being connected with seasons, the four humors were also linked to four elements of nature. Black bile was associated with Earth, blood with air, fire with yellow bile and phlegm with water. This theory of nature and the body being interrelated was also proposed by Empedocles. Also each of these was also connected with the type of personality one presented. Too much earth made a person melancholic, which meant they were very depressed and saddened often.

The Role of Performance Appraisal to Motivate Employee

How to Use Performance Appraisals to Motivate Employees By Ken Lloyd from Performance Appraisals and Phrases For Dummies Motivation is the process that energizes employees and propels them to pursue their goals. Well-designed and well-executed performance appraisals have a strong motivational impact. Appraisals have the power to motivate employees because they provide a number of interconnected benefits: They demonstrate the need for improvement. If employees don’t have a clear understanding of how they’ve been performing, they can’t be motivated to make any improvements. They meet higher-level psychological needs.Researchers continue to find that recognition is one of the most powerful forms of motivation for large numbers of employees. Although you can find numerous possible sources of recognition on the job, performance appraisals are an opportunity for employees to receive formal, significant, and enduring recognition from their manager. They build a sense of personal value. When managers take the time and effort to carefully review, analyze, document, and discuss performance with employees, the underlying message to the employees is that they’re important and valuable, and this alone is quite rewarding, whether the feedback is positive or not.They enhance personal development. Performance evaluations are motivational for employees who are looking to enhance their personal learning, growth, and development. Appraisals are a highly valuable source of information, insights, and tools necessary for such progress. Performance appraisals are similarly motivational for employees whose needs are centered on achievement, goal attainment, and sensing personal effectiveness, respect, and trust. They turn employees around. When employees are performing poorly, performance appraisals can provide the wakeup call that they need to get refocused and reenergized.With performance appraisal, however, the purpose of the session is not strictly disc iplinary, so the employee is more likely to walk in with a more receptive and open mind. As a result, your comments regarding an employee’s questionable performance have an excellent chance of being heard and generating action as a result. They increase satisfaction. When performance appraisals meet the employees’ needs in such areas as gaining recognition, sensing achievement and competence, experiencing growth, and meeting objectives, they’re also contributing to the employees’ job satisfaction, and this is one of the most important elements at work today.When employees are satisfied, some of the most visible indicators are reduced turnover, absenteeism, and tardiness. On the flip side, when employees are subjected to a shoddy or even nonexistent performance appraisal system, the opportunities to fulfill these higher-level employee needs are substantially reduced. How to Use Performance Appraisals to Motivate Employees By Ken Lloyd from Performance Appr aisals and Phrases For Dummies http://www. dummies. com/how-to/content/how-to-use-performance-appraisals-to-motivate-empl. html

Influences of China Essay - 698 Words

Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism To understand China’s current government you need to look at its influences. Daoism involves a deep acceptance of the rhythms of nature and the way of all things (World Religions); which effects people’s personal beliefs and is one of China’s main religions. Confucianism helped pave the way for communism and still is a powerful philosophy today. The ideas of Legalism directly affect the Chinese government. Despite the fact that modern China is one of the largest countries in terms of geography and population, its communist government is able to maintain control over the country in part because of the influence of Daoism, Confucianism and, Legalism. Daoism or Taoism is philosophical and religious†¦show more content†¦Confucianism also believed every person was equal; Communism strives to make all people equal. The facts states in this paragraph show that Communism and Chinese society is influenced by Confucianism because of the direct links between Confuc ianism and Communism. Legalism was founded by a bunch of philosophers and Legalism believes in severe punishments and laws are the key to social order. Communism and legalism have many things in common. For instance, Legalism is excessive conformity of the law or religious moral code (Merriam and Webster), like communism. A highly efficient and powerful government is another idea of legalism. Communism also has a highly efficient and powerful government, so they can maintain control over the country. The third thing that relates the two is strict laws and harsh punishments are in both forms of government. Despite the fact that modern China is one of the largest countries in terms of geography and population, its communist government is able to maintain control over the country in part because of the influence of Daoism, Confucianism and, Legalism. Daoism is the main religion of China and has a major effect on the Chinese culture and people. Confucianism helped mold China’s people and society. Legalist’s ideas are still present in China’s current government. China’s power and efficiency is attributed to its history and roots of Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Works Cited 50 Years of Communism inShow MoreRelatedChina s Influence On The China Of The 21st Century864 Words   |  4 Pagesdirect influence on the China of the 21st century. First, the immense importance of the cultivation of rice, which became a staple source of food in China for centuries. Next, the primary source of accounts of ancient china comes from the Shujing, which spanned the Xia, Shang, and Zhou empires. 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