Science and its Future Essay Example for Free

Science and its Future Essay Technology is, in its essence, new ways of thinking. The most powerful type of technology, sometimes called enabling technology, is a thought incarnate which enables new knowledge to find and develop news ways to know. This kind of recursive bootstrapping is how science evolves. As in every type of knowledge, it accrues layers of self-reference to its former state. New informational organizations are layered upon the old without displacement, just as in biological evolution. Our brains are good examples. We retain reptilian reflexes deep in our minds (fight or flight) while the more complex structuring of knowledge (how to do statistics) is layered over those primitive networks. In the same way, older methods of knowing (older scientific methods) are not jettisoned; they are simply subsumed by new levels of order and complexity. But the new tools of observation and measurement, and the new technologies of knowing, will alter the character of science, even while it retains the old methods. Im willing to bet the scientific method 400 years from now will differ from todays understanding of science more than todays science method differs from the proto-science used 400 years ago. A sensible forecast of technological innovations in the next 400 years is beyond our imaginations (or at least mine), but we can fruitfully envision technological changes that might occur in the next 50 years. Based on the suggestions of the observers above, and my own active imagination, I offer the following as possible near-term advances in the evolution of the scientific method. Compiled Negative Results — Negative results are saved, shared, compiled and analyzed, instead of being dumped. Positive results may increase their credibility when linked to negative results. We already have hints of this in the recent decision of biochemical journals to require investigators to register early phase 1 clinical trials. Usually phase 1 trials of a drug end in failure and their negative results are not reported. As a public heath measure, these negative results should be shared. Major journals have pledged not to publish the findings of phase 3 trials if their earlier phase  1 results had not been reported, whether negative or not. Triple Blind Experiments – In a double blind experiment neither researcher nor subject are aware of the controls, but both are aware of the experiment. In a triple blind experiment all participants are blind to the controls and to the very fact of the experiment itself. The way of science depends on cheap non-invasive sensor running continuously for years generating immense streams of data. While ordinary life continues for the subjects, massive amounts of constant data about their lifestyles are drawn and archived. Out of this huge database, specific controls, measurements and variables can be isolated afterwards. For instance, the vital signs and lifestyle metrics of a hundred thousand people might be recorded in dozens of different ways for 20-years, and then later analysis could find certain variables (smoking habits, heart conditions) and certain ways of measuring that would permit the entire 20 years to be viewed as an experiment – one that no one knew was even going on at the time. This post-hoc analysis depends on pattern recognition abilities of supercomputers. It removes one more variable (knowledge of experiment) and permits greater freedom in devising experiments from the indiscriminate data. Images-25 Combinatorial Sweep Exploration – Much of the unknown can be explored by systematically creating random varieties of it at a large scale. You can explore the composition of ceramics (or thin films, or rare-earth conductors) by creating all possible types of ceramic (or thin films, or rare-earth conductors), and then testing them in their millions. You can explore certain realms of proteins by generating all possible variations of that type of protein and they seeing if they bind to a desired disease-specific site. You can discover new algorithms by automatically generating all possible programs and then running them against the desired problem. Indeed all possible Xs of almost any sort can be summoned and examined as a way to study X. None of this combinatorial exploration was even thinkable before robotics and computers; now both of these technologies permit this brute force style of science. The parameters of the emergent  library of possibilities yielded by the sweep become the experiment. With sufficient computational power, together with a pool of proper primitive parts, vast territories unknown to science can be probed in this manner. Evolutionary Search – A combinatorial exploration can be taken even further. If new libraries of variations can be derived from the best of a previous generation of good results, it is possible to evolve solutions. The best results are mutated and bred toward better results. The best testing protein is mutated randomly in thousands of way, and the best of that bunch kept and mutated further, until a lineage of proteins, each one more suited to the task than its ancestors, finally leads to one that works perfectly. This method can be applied to computer programs and even to the generation of better hypothesis. Simmatrix Multiple Hypothesis Matrix – Instead of proposing a series of single hypothesis, in which each hypothesis is falsified and discarded until one theory finally passes and is verified, a matrix of many hypothesis scenarios are proposed and managed simultaneously. An experiment travels through the matrix of multiple hypothesis, some of which are partially right and partially wrong. Veracity is statistical; more than one thesis is permitted to stand with partial results. Just as data were assigned a margin of error, so too will hypothesis. An explanation may be stated as: 20% is explained by this theory, 35% by this theory, and 65% by this theory. A matrix also permits experiments with more variables and more complexity than before. Pattern Augmentation – Pattern-seeking software which recognizes a pattern in noisy results. In large bodies of information with many variables, algorithmic discovery of patterns will become necessary and common. These exist in specialized niches of knowledge (such particle smashing) but more general rules and general-purpose pattern engines will enable pattern-seeking tools to become part of all data treatment. Adaptive Real Time Experiments – Results evaluated, and large-scale experiments modified in real time. What we have now is primarily batch-mode  science. Traditionally, the experiment starts, the results are collected, and then conclusions reached. After a pause the next experiment is designed in response, and then launched. In adaptive experiments, the analysis happens in parallel with collection, and the intent and design of the test is shifted on the fly. Some medical tests are already stopped or re-evaluated on the basis of early findings; this method would extend that method to other realms. Proper methods would be needed to keep the adaptive experiment objective. AI Proofs – Artificial intelligence will derive and check the logic of an experiment. Ever more sophisticated and complicated science experiments become ever more difficult to judge. Artificial expert systems will at first evaluate the scientific logic of a paper to ensure the architecture of the argument is valid. It will also ensure it publishes the required types of data. This proof review will augment the peer-review of editors and reviewers. Over time, as the protocols for an AI check became standard, AI can score papers and proposals for experiments for certain consistencies and structure. This metric can then be used to categorize experiments, to suggest improvements and further research, and to facilitate comparisons and meta-analysis. A better way to inspect, measure and grade the structure of experiments would also help develop better kinds of experiments. Wiki-Science – The average number of authors per paper continues to rise. With massive collaborations, the numbers will boom. Experiments involving thousands of investigators collaborating on a paper will commonplace. The paper is ongoing, and never finished. It becomes a trail of edits and experiments posted in real time — an ever evolving document. Contributions are not assigned. Tools for tracking credit and contributions will be vital. Responsibilities for errors will be hard to pin down. Wiki-science will often be the first word on a new area. Some researchers will specialize in refining ideas first proposed by wiki-science. Defined Benefit Funding — Ordinarily science is funded by the experiment(results not guaranteed) or by the   investigator (nothing guaranteed). The use of prize money for particular scientific achievements will play greater roles. A goal is defined, funding secured for the first to reach it, and the contest opened to all. The Turing Test prize awarded to the first computer to pass the Turing Test as a passable intelligence. Defined Benefit Funding can also be combined with prediction markets, which set up a marketplace of bets on possible innovations. The bet winnings can encourage funding of specific technologies. Zillionics – Ubiquitous always-on sensors in bodies and environment will transform medical, environmental, and space sciences. Unrelenting rivers of sensory data will flow day and night from zillions of sources. The exploding number of new, cheap, wireless, and novel sensing tools will require new types of programs to distill, index and archive this ocean of data, as well as to find meaningful signals in it. The field of zillionics — dealing with zillions of data flows — will be essential in health, natural sciences, and astronomy. This trend will require further innovations in statistics, math, visualizations, and computer science. More is different. Zillionics requires a new scientific perspective in terms of permissible errors, numbers of unknowns, probable causes, repeatability, and significant signals. Images-23 Deep Simulations – As our knowledge of complex systems advances, we can construct more complex simulations of them. Both the success and failures of these simulations will help us to acquire more knowledge of the systems. Developing a robust simulation will become a fundamental part of science in every field. Indeed the science of making viable simulations will become its own specialty, with a set of best practices, and an emerging theory of simulations. And just as we now expect a hypothesis to be subjected to the discipline of being stated in mathematical equations, in the future we will expect all hypothesis to be exercised in a simulation. There will also be the craft of taking things known only in simulation and testing them in other simulations—sort of a simulation of a simulation. Hyper-analysis Mapping – Just as meta-analysis gathered diverse experiments on one subject and integrated their (sometimes contradictory) results into a large meta-view, hyper-analysis creates an extremely large-scale view by pulling together meta-analysis. The cross-links of references, assumptions, evidence and results are unraveled by computation, and then reviewed at a larger scale which may include data and studies adjacent but not core to the subject. Hyper-mapping tallies not only what is known in a particular wide field, but also emphasizes unknowns and contradictions based on what is known outside that field. It is used to integrate a meta-analysis with other meta-results, and to spotlight white spaces where additional research would be most productive. Images-24 Return of the Subjective – Science came into its own when it managed to refuse the subjective and embrace the objective. The repeatability of an experiment by another, perhaps less enthusiastic, observer was instrumental in keeping science rational. But as science plunges into the outer limits of scale – at the largest and smallest ends – and confronts the weirdness of the fundamental principles of matter/energy/information such as that inherent in quantum effects, it may not be able to ignore the role of observer. Existence seems to be a paradox of self-causality, and any science exploring the origins of existence will eventually have to embrace the subjective, without become irrational. The tools for managing paradox are still undeveloped.

Analysis of Emergency Healthcare in Nigeria

Analysis of Emergency Healthcare in Nigeria 1.1 Background of Study USAID reported in 2009 that in Nigeria out surveyed 107 healthcare centre, 20% health care givers washed their hand before and after giving injection, 63% receive vaccination, 43% have no training or information on how to dispose waste, 32% use an off-site disposal method, 20% burn waste of theirs in the open hole which burn freely to the air, this shows that we have a long way to go in achieving a stable and good health care environment to start with and making sure our emergency are safe and secured for the patients to come. Also from the report release by the Economic Global Forum, life expectancy rate of the people in Nigeria is on the average as 47% for the female, 46% for the male, this gives an insight to the level of their survival at the emergency unit. In order to improve the chances of survival, there’s need for improvement on the performance level of the emergency for quality of life for both adult and children; the emergency unit of the hospitals is responsible to provide initial urgent treatments for patients with severe form of illness and injuries. Emergency unit was first introduced in the 20th century in response to the need to manage critical illness and acute health emergency situations, it has been observed in Nigeria that most patients about 54 percent end up at the hospital emergency as a last resort after seeking help elsewhere, like from healthcare traditional givers, praying houses, dealers in drugs and so on, due to self acclaimed knowledge, belief and lacking of enlighten and ignorance and sometimes because they cannot afford the bill of the modern healthcare centre as they belief their other options are cheaper. However some of the healthcare centre has their own challenges like inadequate facility and man agement staff which falls the expectation of the patients, because the expectation of an emergency unit is to increase survival chances for accident victims or patients that need urgent attention with acute critical situations, and through the emergency unit, one can have an insight of the equipments, organization and level of man human resources of the healthcare institution, as some emergency department have poor electricity supply nor do they have a standby power supply which has decrease the survival chances of the patients. In Nigeria most of the emergency situations are road accidents usually motor cycle bikes and automobiles cars, heart attack also known as cardiovascular attack, asthmatic challenge, domestically accidents, riot violence and occupational hazards and others in which from this research we will find out seasonal trends and projection to provide the hospital management with a good information and how to improve on their future budget and funding. Observing that road traffic accidents are on the increase and the major cases at the hospital emergency as seen that in Nigeria hospital emergency unit, one of three persons dies and these have claimed more lives since the civil war ( from Time Series Analysis of Emergency Unit ) The emergency management team of the emergency unit exists so as to address issues concerning the healthcare management of the unit which over sees the maintenance and development of the emergency procedures, coordination of staff, ensuring they are qualified and have professional knowledge of the field, adequate supply and maintenance of new age equipments and facilities, proper human resources training and on time attention to patients on arrival at the hospital emergency. It has been observed that time pressure continually increase at the emergency, therefore effectiveness, efficiency and speed have become very important and highly demanded at the emergency unit of the hospitals to eliminate complains of long wait by patients and avoid them leaving before being attended to making them unsatisfied and risk of being expose to more dangers, volume of patients have been lost to about 10 percent because threshold for left before exam (LBE) of 1 percent shows that for every nine patients who LBE due to long wait lines or long time wait and left for another hospitals. Patients dissatisfaction is not all that suffers here but the risk of their survival at critical emergency situations and can be expressed through angry family members over waiting for long, in the case of accidents, patients are not being attended to immediately unless there is a police report about the situation, these situation have result to some patient’s death and eliminated their chances of survival. Fifty percent of the issue of efficiency here is system issue while the other fifty percent is management issues, the five sub-unit of the emergency unit include: Staffing of qualified doctors and nurses Clerical unit staff of cleaners and attendants X-ray and lab unit Chart flow system Patients admission unit The efficiency and speed from this units and there turnaround time determines the performance rating to be high, moderate or low, hence a need to put in place strategies for doing thing better and faster (Clinical practice management 2004) Another task is to include emergency medicine physician who is someone who intervenes to resuscitate and stabilize acute patients that need urgent attention, this person is physician who practice basically at the emergency unit trained to take care of adult and children patients with serious injuries or illness that requires an immediate attention medically, although he/she does not provide a long term care to continual care he/she makes sure emergency patients are stable and at a safe state before referring them to other units of the hospital and sometimes the intensive-care unit. Also the emergency medicine aside general medicine attention include surgery which include surgical sub-specialties, they see a lot of patients, giving them immediate attention and making sure they get continuous medical attention after them at the hospital or discharging them from the hospital if they do not need any further medical observations, then the professional emergency medicine physician, who is believed to have broad knowledge in very important fields like, resuscitation of trauma, cardiac arrest, life support, procedure for surgical situations and managing advance airway problems, amidst other skills needed is the ability to stabilize and resuscitate a patient from a critical situation, manage a difficult anesthesia i.e. difficult airways, attending to dislocated joint and fractured bones, treating a heart attack, ability to stop a nose bleed, vagina bleeding from pregnant patients, conduct, read and interpret x-rays from the radiology (World Health Organization). It is also important to improve on pain management at the emergency because this is one common thing present at the emergency yet it might be difficult to identify pain in some patients and unfortunately there is no test that can prove or disprove a patient’s pain level, more than 60 percent of patients at the emergency have pains symptoms, due to the fact that there is no vivid signs, but can easily be read from the expression of the face, body reactions or language and instinct and guts understanding of the healthcare giver can be useful to validate a patient’s rate of pain, many studies have shown that there is inadequacy to which pain is treated, in most cases it can only be suppress with analgesic after which survey feedback shows about 43 percent of the patients were still in severe or moderate pain and 50 percent of patients show that their post-operative management of pain has proven to be inadequate unfortunately one of the barriers to effective pain management is proper training, even in the medical schools few hours only are dedicating to the study of analgesia while the healthcare givers are expected to pick up these knowledge at the clinical locations during rotations. With the new pain management standards set with some guidelines by the American Pain Society (APS), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), these have been applied to emergency medicine where healthcare practitioners are asked to ask screening questions to assist in easily identification of patients in pain, these should be assessed and documented, staff with relevant link to the emergency unit should be adequately trained and importantly the patience be involved in decision making of their pain managing situation not forgetting to put in place policies and procedures for effective pain management at the emergency unit (practical pain management) 1.2 Problem Discussion The major challenge of the emergency unit is inadequate implementation of the management emergency system, not adequately or fully manned, making it to lack in complete resources, under qualified or unqualified healthcare staff with improper training and development of their skills. It has been observed that most emergency unit of the hospitals in Nigeria do not have an emergency medicine physician so is professional in the field of emergency, someone that is always readily available to give urgent attention to an acute critical situation, resuscitating the emergency patients and bring them to a point of stability, the presence of an emergency medicine physician eliminate any time wastage in getting the hospital doctors or nurses to attend to the emergency patients. Secondly, just like a need to include an emergency medicine physician, a police protocol officer should be included in the management emergency team (MET) system, because in Nigeria, when there is an accident especially a traffic road accident, the victims are rushed to the hospital emergency unit by witnesses and just kind hearted people and in most cases they are not allowed to sign a consent form to secure the urgent commencement of treatment, and sometimes due to delay to reach out to the victims, a police officer is required to give a police report to guarantee the commencement of treatment, most times the patients die in the process of delay in signing of the consent form for their treatment as most of them are unconscious in the situation, therefore including a police protocol officer means putting a police officer their standby to meet this need and eliminating any time wastage, hence increasing the survival rate of accident victims in the emergency unit. Thirdly inadequate facilities and equipment at the emergency department, most of the equipments are either outdated or faulty and most times absence of the needed equipments. It is very important for an hospital emergency to be well equip with recent high technology machines to meet up with the new age change and demand, so that time wasting can be eliminated and proper healthcare attention given to increase the survival level of the patients, presence of oxygen at all times cannot be over emphasize, but most hospitals in Nigeria do not have this on standby and has become a major challenge and have cause the lost of lives. Lastly, the level of power supply is a challenge and big issue in my country Nigeria, the absence of adequate and uninterrupted power supply to the hospitals has been a big challenge, some patients have lost their lives due to this problem, either in the middle of medical attention the light goes off or there is no light at all to start a treatment, especially those that need presence of light before treatment commencement, the only alternative in this situation is to get a standby generator that can also supply electricity but this is not fully guarantee because it might just break down in the middle of an operation, and have caused the hospital management to increase the medical bills so that they can maintain the extra expense, this can leave the patients with inability to make up for the bill and increase the level of LBE (leave before exam) patients. 1.3 Research Purpose From the above discussed problem, there is need to urgently address the problems associated in Plateau state hospital, as they are faced with all this challenges, and eliminating this challenges means improving a high performing emergency for the hospital emergency management team, increasing the survival rate and decreasing the mortality rate for patients brought to the emergency. The essence of this research to help improve health care performances at the hospital emergencies, in terms of quality healthcare service rendering, adequate and proper emergency equipments, with adequate and well trained health care givers (man power), protocol observations, security presence and general presence of emergency team and it’s necessity, which summarizes the improvement for the MET (Medical Emergency Team) systems of the hospitals, therefore reducing the mortality rates which has been observed to be on a high rate at the emergencies and increasing the survival level of emergency victim s. Most times when accident victims are rushed to the hospital, the medical personnel cannot attend to these patients immediately due to absence of protocol officers to give in their consent or due to the immediate absence of the medical personnel at the emergency because they are attending to some patients within the same hospital, amidst attending to other challenges. The delays to give prompt attention in the process have caused the death rate at the emergency to increase. To attain this, some important questions need to be asked and clarified: What is healthcare givers qualification in Nigeria focusing on the Plateau State hospital? What knowledge, attitude and skills do the healthcare givers have towards emergency situations of the hospital Do the hospital have a first aid box Are the emergency management team staff trained on how to use the first aid box What is the status of the equipments available at the emergency 1.4 Objectives of the Study To have the enlightenment knowledge of the situation currently for the healthcare emergency unit of the plateau state hospital To efficiently know those qualified to be healthcare personnel and their specializations. To understand what and who makes up for the emergency management team and how to improve on the system To identify the modes of practices and how the patients are attended to at the Plateau state hospital emergency. To add knowledge to the operations of the emergency unit of the hospital 1.4 Research Hypotheses The patients are the most vulnerable in the situation of emergency; therefore it is very important to access the knowledge, practice, behaviors and attitudes of the healthcare givers towards making the emergency high performing, for effectiveness and efficiencies of the outcome. Formulating the hypothesis includes: Improving the MET system by including an emergency medicine physician and a police protocol officer, this will strengthen the MET and eliminate a lot of time wastage Training and development of the MET members so that they can improve on there skills Improving on the right attitude for the job for the personnel Putting in the right ethical practices for the emergency unit Improving the equipment of the emergency unit Proper training on how to use this equipments, especially the on new high technology machines Basic first aid training on use of the first aid box at the emergency unit Questionnaires will be distributed to get a surveyed feedback from the patients, their relatives and the healthcare givers (Nurses, doctors and attendant) 1.6 Delimitations My focus here is at the emergency unit of the hospital only; therefore other patients in the hospitals are my delimitations as I will not investigate the performance level nor measures or controls of any other patient survival at the hospital except those at the emergency. 1.7 Outline of Study This research study is divided into five chapters, where chapter one is the general introduction where all the content are discussed, then chapter two which involves the general review of related literature, generally know as literature review, base on the works and research other authors have done in their books, journals and articles on improving the MET system for a high performing emergency unit, chapter three provides an in-depth methodology on the study, by extracting the feedback gotten through the questionnaires shared and reviewed, chapter four where the result gotten from the previous chapter will be analyzed and result be presented from the data followed by discussing the findings. The last chapter is five, showing conclusion base on the findings from the research, through the study, research and questionnaires for further recommendations. 1.8 Operational Definition of Terms Emergency Department: is a department of the hospital responsible for providing urgent medical treatment and specializing in acute care for patients arriving to the hospital due to injuries, attacks, accidents or any casualty requiring an urgent attention Management Emergency Team (MET) System: they are made up of a group of hospital personnel who are responsible to give acute care to patients arriving at the hospital in a capacity of a emergency manager, doctor, nurses, emergency medicine physician, attendants and sub-staff like the cleaners and waste management team. Healthcare Personnel: is someone who has been trained to give healthcare services to the patients, who need them, they can involve professionals Sub-staff: are the supporting staff to the emergency unit, they include the cleaners and waste management team.

Corky :: essays papers

Corky As I was walking through the Memorial Union the other day, I noticed a magnificent sculpture encased in a glass fixture. This sculpture is of Corky, Emporia State University’s esteemed mascot. Seeing this sculpture, I decided that it would be perfect for this paper. When an individual thinks of what a sculpture is, they often think of marble or rock of some sort that is carved into shapes or figures of famous people from the past. Taking Analysis of the Fine Arts, one would learn that sculpture is also made of things like metal, clay, and even wood. This brings me to the sculpture of Corky. When discussing sculptures in class one of the questions asked is â€Å"Where does your eye go first.† For this sculpture my eye first goes to Corky’s face. It’s obvious that the sculptor meant for it to exude confidence and happiness. The eye then goes down the sculpture, studying the intricate carvings of the torso down to the legs. I then moved around the sculpture and noticed the wings in the back made of glass. I had never noticed them before now. After walking around the sculpture, the eye ultimately goes back to the face. Corky is carved out of wood. The sculpture is full round. This is where the sculpture is created by the subtracting of a wood from the base to leave a free standing figure that has shape and form on all sides. The sculptor also used addition by adding the glass to serve as wings. The sculpture can be viewed from any angle, also known as three-dimensional sculpture. The sculpture stands on a base that is also made of wood. Corky is extremely smooth and shiny. The sculpture is very intricate, has strong detail, and is proportionate. The lines of the carving are straight, curved, and jagged. Some are carved very deeply and others not so deep. The exterior of the sculpture was probably sanded and then some sort of oil or protectant was probably applied to help maintain the shine and smoothness. The sculpture gives off the feeling of happiness and pride. It conveys a feeling of Emporia State University and what it means to be a student here. He is in a walking stance giving the sculpture action. His shoulders are pulled back and he strides with confidence. Corky :: essays papers Corky As I was walking through the Memorial Union the other day, I noticed a magnificent sculpture encased in a glass fixture. This sculpture is of Corky, Emporia State University’s esteemed mascot. Seeing this sculpture, I decided that it would be perfect for this paper. When an individual thinks of what a sculpture is, they often think of marble or rock of some sort that is carved into shapes or figures of famous people from the past. Taking Analysis of the Fine Arts, one would learn that sculpture is also made of things like metal, clay, and even wood. This brings me to the sculpture of Corky. When discussing sculptures in class one of the questions asked is â€Å"Where does your eye go first.† For this sculpture my eye first goes to Corky’s face. It’s obvious that the sculptor meant for it to exude confidence and happiness. The eye then goes down the sculpture, studying the intricate carvings of the torso down to the legs. I then moved around the sculpture and noticed the wings in the back made of glass. I had never noticed them before now. After walking around the sculpture, the eye ultimately goes back to the face. Corky is carved out of wood. The sculpture is full round. This is where the sculpture is created by the subtracting of a wood from the base to leave a free standing figure that has shape and form on all sides. The sculptor also used addition by adding the glass to serve as wings. The sculpture can be viewed from any angle, also known as three-dimensional sculpture. The sculpture stands on a base that is also made of wood. Corky is extremely smooth and shiny. The sculpture is very intricate, has strong detail, and is proportionate. The lines of the carving are straight, curved, and jagged. Some are carved very deeply and others not so deep. The exterior of the sculpture was probably sanded and then some sort of oil or protectant was probably applied to help maintain the shine and smoothness. The sculpture gives off the feeling of happiness and pride. It conveys a feeling of Emporia State University and what it means to be a student here. He is in a walking stance giving the sculpture action. His shoulders are pulled back and he strides with confidence.

Cinnamon: Its Not Just For Making Cinnamon Rolls :: Botany

Cinnamon: It's Not Just For Making Cinnamon Rolls Most people around the world are familiar with the sweet and pungent taste of cinnamon. Cinnamon is the common name for the trees and shrubs that belong to the genus Cinnamomum of the Laurel family (Lauraceae). Cinnamon spice comes primarily from the Sri Lankan cinnamon known as Cinnamomum zeylanicum. It is obtained from the plant by drying the central part of the bark, which is then sold in stick or powdered form. The cinnamon oil is extracted from the waste products of drying and the pointed black fruits that the tree bears (1). This oil is used for medicinal purposes or flavoring (2). Cinnamomum Zeylanicum is the source of cinnamon that we in the United States commonly buy. Cinnamon contains cinnamic aldehyde, essential oils, Eugenol, metholeugenol, muscilage, sucrose, starch, and tannin (3). Distribution Have you ever wondered where cinnamon comes from? It is unbelievable to think that there is a place somewhere in the world where cinnamon is commonly seen growing along the side of the road. Just imagine walking through campus with cinnamon trees growing all around you. Cinnamon is native to India, Mayala, Ceylon, China, Japan and Taiwan, where it is as common to them as an Oak tree wood be to us (1). The spice grows in a number of tropical forests and is extensively cultivated throughout the tropical regions of the world, including Madagascar, Brazil, and the Caribbean (4). Cinnamomum zeylanicum, True Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka, India, where it was one of the spices responsible for world trade (5). Description The Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree grows up to thirty feet tall with ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves that can be four to seven inches long. The flowers are inconspicuous, and the panicles of the yellowish flowers are usually longer than the leaves (6). These panicles bear pointed black fruits from which cinnamon oil is extracted. The cinnamon sticks are made from the bark of the tree and are rolled naturally when the bark is sun-dried. The tree grows best in deep, well-drained, moist soils (1). Uses Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) has many common everyday uses and some not so common uses. Everybody has probably used cinnamon for some reason, whether for cooking purposes or medicinal purposes. Despite being widely used in food and pharmacy it is also important in the cosmetic and perfumery industries (7). In some areas cinnamon has been known to be used for religious purposes.

Essay on Dreams and Escape in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie e

Dreams and Escape in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚  Ã‚   The dream of escape is the focal point in the play, The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams. Although each character wants to escape from a different reality, they all feel the need to get away. The father is the most successful in his escape - he leaves the family and doesn't look back. Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim, are not as fortunate, they seem to be stuck throughout the play. Jim seems to be the only one with a real chance at breaking away from his reality. Tom seems to breaks free, but we discover that his escape attempt fails because he can't forget Laura.    Throughout the play, each person escapes their reality in some way and is somewhat successful at it. Whether through dreams or actually walking away, everyone manages to break free. Tom is, by far, the biggest dreamer. Tom dreams of leaving the "...over crowded urban centers of lower middle-class population" (Williams 1267). Tom envies his father who actually had the guts to walk out. Tom expresses this when he tells Amanda, "...Mother, I'd be where [the father] is!" (Williams 1277). Tom wants to leave so desperately that he "...paid [his Merchant Marine] dues this month, instead of the light bill" (Williams 1295). Tom would rather think of himself and let his mother and sister sit in the dark, alone, than take responsibility for his family. Tom says he is "...tired of the movies" (Williams 1294) meaning that he is ready for his own adventures. He "...[retires] to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business [is] slack in the warehouse" (Williams 1289) By doing this, Tom is looking for yet another escape from the reality of working at a job he hates.    Tom also loathes his mother in some... ...en have a chance are the people least connected with the Wingfield family. Just like the glass unicorn, this family is transparent, pitiful and broken. They never succeed in anything except dreaming for a better reality that will never come.    Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 1-8. King, Thomas L. "Irony and Distance in The Glass Menagerie." In Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 85-94. Levy, Eric P. "'Through Soundproof Glass': The Prison of Self Consciousness in The Glass Menagerie." Modern Drama, 36. December 1993. 529-537. Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.

Laos Wedding

Laos Wedding When I watched the Thai movie Lao Wedding, I remembered Khru Poi’s wedding and compared how similar the weddings are. The movie’s premise is very interesting. The movie started with the female protagonist, seen as anxious and nervous about the wedding. She called her fiance and we learned that they haven’t really been together for so long yet they will marry. The male protagonist is a magazine writer/photographer form Thailand while the girl is from Laos. The guy is sure about their wedding, but the girl is a bit worried.But eventually, the wedding went on as planned. I found the setting very interesting, it’s in Laos, and it seemed like it was in the provincial area since there were only a few people shown. When the couple are going out in restaurants and clubs, there are only very few other customers, most of the time the establishments are even empty. The town seems very quiet and peaceful, very different from the city. I think it was inten tional that the setting was placed there, to compare how different it is from the usual city life.It was really interesting to see the different customs and traditions of Laos wedding ceremonies. I also compared it with the Filipino wedding and it was quite similar especially the part where the parents of the ones to be married talk about the event. Overall, I find the film okay. I was not totally jumping about it. It wasn’t really boring but I just found that not much happened, not much comedy, not much romance. But I find the movie interesting because of the real life situation/dilemmas couples from different countries face.

How likely is this to be a heart problem, asthma, or panic attack?

Denise’s case is very likely to be a heart attack or what is medically known as the acute myocardial infarction (MI). Asthma was eliminated in the diagnosis because there was no prior indication that Denise had been exposed to allergens, sensitizer, irritants or any form of air pollution.   Asthma is associated with chronic inflammation of the lower respiratory tract and requires a triggering factor like one of those mentioned above (Fauci, et al., 2008).  Cardiac ischemia was also considered but was eliminated because of the absence of its hallmark symptom of angina pectoris.   An asymptomatic cardiac ischemia was also not considered because Denise presents some symptoms like breathlessness or dyspnea, anxiety, irregular beating of the heart and cold sweating.   These symptoms, however, are present in painless acute myocardial infarction.It had also been indicated in several studies that cigarette smoking also increases the risk of MI (Fauci, et al., 2008).   Althou gh Denise had not been smoking, she is in close association with someone who had been a chronic cigarette smoker, her husband.   It could be inferred that Denise had suffered from second hand smoking and is, therefore, at risk of having a heart disease, too.2. Why do you say this? What are the symptoms that are consistent with your preliminary diagnosis? Is there anything unusual?Myocardial infarction usually presents with pain as the chief complaint of the patient. The pain felt was usually described as heavy, squeezing, and crushing.   In rare cases, the pain is also described as stabbing or burning.   It is very similar to the pain experience in cases of angina pectoris or chest pain.   However, pain of MI usually occurs at rest, more severe, and lasts longer.  In our case, however, no pain was felt.   Nevertheless, this is not to be used as a basis in eliminating the possibility of MI.   The clinical presentation of Denise’s case is termed as the painless my ocardial infarction. The proportion of painless MI is greater in elderly patients and is and usually presents with breathlessness, appearance of an arrhythmia, and a sensation of profound weakness (Bayer, Chadha, Farag, & Pathy, 1986).An arrhythmia is the medical term referring to irregular beating of the heart.   Denise’s case is a type of arrhythmia called tachycardia or the abnormal increase in heart rate, i.e. heart is beating very fast (Guyton, 2006).   MI, in general, is also accompanied by sweating, anxiety, and a sense of impending doom (Fauci, et al., 2008).   All these clinical presentations had been experienced by Denise.The oxygen-poor blood from the (1) right atrium empties to the (2) right ventricle, which then pumps blood to the (3) pulmonary artery.   The blood then enters the pulmonary circulation through the (4) pulmonary arterioles and pulmonary capillaries where exchange of gases takes place.The oxygen-rich blood the goes back to the heart via the (5) pulmonary vein and empties to the (6) left atrium and then passes to the (7) left ventricle.   The left ventricle then pumps the oxygen-rich blood to the (8) aorta, the largest artery, and flows through the large (9) systemic arteries to reach the organs they supply.The blood then flows through (10) arterioles and (11) capillaries of the organs to deliver oxygen and nutrients.   Cellular waste products and carbon dioxide are exchanged for nutrients and oxygen at the level of the capillaries.The blood then passes through the (12) venules and then to the (13) larger veins.   Blood from the upper part of the body, e.g. head and upper extremities, drains into the (14) superior vena cava.  Ã‚   Blood from the lower part of the body, e.g. stomach, intestines, and lower extremities, drains into the (15) inferior vena cava.   Both the superior and inferior vena cava drains into the right atrium (Guyton, 2006).3. What are the characteristics of Denise’s lifestyle that mi ght lead to a heart problem?Denise’s genetic make-up predisposes her to hypercholesterolemia.   However, her diet aggravates her situation and causes her blood cholesterol level to be higher than normal.   It has been shown that hypercholesterolemia induces the formation of atherosclerosis (Prassad & Kalra, 1993).The disruption of atherosclerotic plaques attracts platelets and promotes the formation of thrombus or blood clot leading to obstruction of blood supply to the heart. Hence, patients with hypercholesterolemia are at very high risk of having myocardial infarction.  From the case, it could also be gathered that Denise is closely associated with a man who had been a chronic cigarette smoker and that she has been exposed to second hand smoking.   Smoking had been found in many studies to be associated with the increased risk of myocardial infarction.   Tobacco contains nicotine that promotes vascular constriction and aggravates the narrowing of vessels caused b y of atherosclerosis (Wilhelmsson, Vedin, Elmfeldt, Tibblin, & Wilhemsen, 1975; Rosenber, Plamer, & Shapiro, 1990).Denise had also been undergoing a lot of emotional and physical stress, which had been found to trigger acute MI (Gelernt & Hochman, 1993).   Also there are several facts that point to Denise’s predisposition to MI such as aging and being in early menopausal stage (Rosenberg, Hennekens, Rosner, Belanger, & Speizer, 1981).4. Has Denise suffered a heart attack?Indeed, Denise had suffered from heart attack or acute myocardial infarction (MI).   However, her case might, in the early part of the case, have only been a painless and mild MI.   The infarct located on her left ventricle.   This is due to the obstruction on her left anterior descending artery, the major blood supply of the left ventricle.The left ventricle is a high pressure chamber and, therefore, demands a very high blood supply.   Her case may have developed over the years such that angiogenes is, i.e. formation of new blood vessels, or the opening of collateral vessels had provided her with heart enough blood that the infracted portion is not very great (Fauci, et al., 2008).   She also presents the symptoms typical of older women presenting painless MI with dyspnea or what is commonly known as breathlessness, anxiety, tachycardia, and sweating.5. Define the following terms: cholesterol, hypercholesterolemia, cardiac ischemia, collateral vessels, angina pectoris, and plaque.Cholesterol is the best know steroid probably because of its association with atherosclerosis and other various heart disease.   Biochemically, it is also of great importance because it is the precursor of equally important steroids that include the adrenocortical hormones, sex hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids.   It occurs in animals but not in plants or bacteria.   Figure 4 shows the chemical structure of cholesterol (Murray, Granner, & Rodwell, 2006).