Alzheimer’s Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition where the neurons degenerate in the brain, while the brain substance shrinks in volume. Alzheimer’s is also the number one cause of dementia. When it was first noticed, Alzheimer’s was thought to be a pre-senile disease, but now it is known to be responsible for seventy-five percent of the dementia cases in people over sixty-five years of age. Alzheimer’s disease usually causes several years of personal and intellectual decline until death. Because there is an increasing number of elderly citizens in the United States, research into the causes and possible cures for the disease is on the rise (1). Several theories have been made concerning factors that may cause the condition; however, the cause remains unknown. Some suggest that it may be caused by some type of chronic infection or from exposure to a metal that may be toxic, such as aluminum (1). This line of belief originated from high levels of aluminum deposits being found in Alzheimer’s brain lesions (2). It is also known that people with Alzheimer’s have reduced levels of brain chemicals, such as acetylcholine (1). Additionally, people with Down’s Syndrome are more likely to acquire this dementia, with about fifteen percent of Alzheimer’s patients showing a family history of this disease. This leads many scientists to believe that there is a genetic link to the disease. When twins have been studied, a high agreement rate has been found for the disease. Furthermore, there is sometimes a very dominant pattern of inheritance of this disease, where a person has a fifty percent chance of acquiring it if either parent has Alzheimer’s (autosomal dominant transmission) (1,2). It is rare to acquire Alzhei... ...al and family study of 22 twin pairs. Neurology, 1987, 37, 359-3B3. 4. Thomas, C. L. Alzheimer’s Disease. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 15th ea., 1985, 61. 5. Murray, R. K., Cranner, D. K., Hayes, P. A. and Rodwell, V. W. Deposition of Amyloid Beta Protein is Involved in the Causation of Alzheimer’s Disease. Harper’s Biochemistry, 23rd ed., 1993, 750-752. 6. Miyakskawa, T., Katsuragi, S., Watanabe, K., Shimoji, A. and Ikouchi, Y. Ultrastructure Studies of Amyloid Fibrils and Senile Plaques in the Human Brain,1986,70: 202-208. 7. Frazier, S. H. American Psychiatry Glossary, 5th. ed., 1988, 11; 50: 153. 8. Cohen, C. D. Useful Information on Alzheimer’s Disease. Department of Health and Human Services, 1990, 5-7. 9. Rosenberg, R. N. A Causal Role for Amyloid in Alzheimer’s Disease: The end of the beginning. Neurology, 1993, 43:851-854.

Mexican and american mexican

Mexican American forms one of the most oldest and largest of ethnic communities living in USA. The overwhelming majority of Mexican Americans live in four southern US states, although many of them are spread also in upper northern parts. Spanish Mexicans were among the first people to explore and inhabit USA, even before arrival of western settlers. Later, as USA expanded its territories after the Mexican war of 1846, Texas was annexed from Mexico and thousands of Mexicans automatically found themselves as part of United States, forced to assimilate themselves with a distinct culture. The assimilation of Mexicans has been a very slow and comparatively unaccomplished process and ethnic Mexicans have always formed a distinguished niche for them, continuing in their traditional docile and peaceful outlook that stands at sharp contrast with materialist and high paced American lifestyle. This paper analyzes the social, political and economic factor that have guided the relation between Americans and Mexican Americans History of Mexican American Relation Spanish explorers had conquered Mexico by 16th century and they used Mexican territories as base to continue their exploration of USA. As the Spanish empire crumbled, Mexico struggled to get its independence, which it achieved in 1826. However, Mexican independence was not a sanguine affair by all accounts and there were numerous issues of internal discord, the chief one them being the problem of Texas. Mexico had allowed American settlers to inhabit the barren and desolate landscapes of its northern states, bordering with USA that included, Texas and   California in particular. However, the number of American settlers increased dramatically in these areas, and it reached to the proportion that Americans began to dominate the political and economic life of these areas. The dominance of Americans started episodes of conflict between the two people as Americans would not accept the hierarchical, state centric and rather outdated political and social model of Mexican people and this caused frequent incidents of friction among them and Mexican authorities. The American settlers of northern Mexican border areas definitely perceived that their future lay with a far more prosperous, secure and economically sound USA than a comparatively regressive and stagnant Mexico. Meanwhile US senators also perceived the economic and strategic importance of these northern bordering states. The troubles in these areas rapidly snowballed into a major problem when Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836, a decision that Mexico did not recognize. As the mutual affinity of both Texas and US was to each other, USA formally annexed Texas and as result Mexico entered in a two years war with USA. The results of war were disastrous for Mexico and it lost more than one third of its territories to USA at the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. However, the effects of the war were not limited to mere annexation of territories but also of Mexican people living in this huge geographical area who overnight became subjects of USA. The relations among Americans/Yankees and Mexicans were always strained due to superior attitude of Anglo-Americans that had always made them behave with certain arrogance towards Mexicans. In this context, the results of war were more humiliating, and the loss of national land created a lasting perception of injustice and wrong that stayed with American Mexicans for decades, and to an extent even today. Alienation of Mexican Americans Of all the major ethnic groups living in USA, the Mexican American community is unique in several respects. Despite their living in a predominantly American society, they have been able to preserve their value system, their culture and tradition, their family structure and their belief, a fact that has puzzled many social scientists. Although the likeliest explanation of this phenomena relates to the fact that most of the Mexican-American and newly arrived Mexican immigrants continued to settle in southern states of USA, bordering with Mexico, providing a sense of continuousness and native familiarity that helped them to stay in their niches. However, this is only partially true and doesn’t throw full light upon the causes. A major reason of separate and distinguished Mexican identity has been long lasting grievances of many Mexicans on account of their forced assimilation in USA and subsequent highhandedness of Americans towards Mexicans after the war years. The American superiority in terms of education and affluence when contrasted with general level of impoverishment, illiteracy, and ignorance of early Mexican Americans definitely presented a great divide between two people with a firm notion that any assimilation among them would be impossible. This stereotype further caused Mexican to recede in their self formed shell, and minimize their interaction with one of most rapidly changing and advancing world, of which they had become an unwilling part. Even the fact they were granted all the rights as any other American citizen and no discrimination, at theoretical and ideological level was practiced with them, it did not help in their assimilation in an completely alien and foreign political and social system. As a matter of fact, the very decisions of American government allowing complete political and religious freedom to Mexican population at the time of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo allowed Mexican people to preserve their cultural and traditional identity in the great cultural potboiler called USA. However, the ground political, social and economic realities worked to gradually dilute the barriers that Mexican American had created around them. Slowly many of them started to interact with the mainstream society as they realized the necessity of assimilation in order to exist in circumstances that had changed irrevocably. Most of the Mexican Americans fanned out, taking participation in the world around them, though maintaining their cultural roots intact. Those with deeper sense of wrong and who found new system unacceptable, took violent methods of protests while some who completely failed to get assimilated continued to live isolated lives. Although some dissatisfied Mexicans tried to express their anger through means of violence, in general the Mexicans rejected violence as expression tool, for they realized that through peaceful course alone they could ensure the survival in a largely Anglo USA. As the Mexicans realized their future destiny to be intertwined with USA and their new status as Mexican Americans, they also gradually accepted the new political and social system. Mexican Americans formed their own political parties, elected representatives in the democratic processes and for a time become influential political force in the southern states, owing to their numerical superiority. The Mexican political leaders tried to protect the rights and privileges of their people to the best extent possible for them, notwithstanding the fact that among themselves there were frequent instances of both political and economic exploitation. However, the influence of Mexican politics lasted only as long as they could held to their numerical superiority. As the southern states were connected to rest of the country through extensive system of railways by 1880s, the inflow of North Americans (Yankees) reached steadily, and soon they outnumbered the native Mexicans to end their political and even cultural influence, gradually absorbing them in the Yankee mainstream. As the general trend showed in perspective, Mexicans Americans were successful in preserving their cultural roots and identity in all those places where they enjoyed numerical superiority, such as Southern Arizona, New Mexico and South Texas. In other places, where they were outnumbered, they become American Mexicans from Mexican Americans. The composition of Mexican Americans changed after the heavy immigration of Mexicans in USA in early 20th century, when USA offered much better employment opportunities. For a considerable time, the immigrants identified themselves merely as workers in an alien land, while culturally mingling with their own countrymen. But since 1960s Mexican community has seen wave of cultural liberation and social assimilation and integration in the mainstream American system. Reference David J. Weber. 1973. Foreigners in Their Native Land: Historical Roots of the Mexican Americans.; University of New Mexico Press, 1973. Leo Grebler, Joan W. Moore, Ralph C. Guzman, et al., 1970. The Mexican-American People: The Nation's Second Largest Minority . New York, p. 10. â€Å"The Mexican-American People: A Review Symposium†, Social Science Quarterly 52, no. 1 ( June 1971): 8-38, El Grito. 1968. The Anthropology and Sociology of Mexican-Americans: The Distortion of Mexican-American History†, 2, no. 1 (1968) The Anthropology and Sociology of Mexican-Americans: The Distortion of Mexican-American History†, El Grito 2, no. 1 (1968)            

In the start of Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s thoughts are that...

In the start of Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s thoughts are that fire is good for society. He burns books for a living, and never thought twice about doing his job. That is until he meets characters such as Clarisse, Beatty, and the academics. Montag’s understanding of the nature of fire changes as he becomes enlightened through his relationships. â€Å"It was a pleasure to burn† (1). Montag never thought much of his job, to him, it was merely his duty. Meeting Clarisse starts Montags revision of life. Her interest and questioning is so unique that Montag is intrigued by her. He had never met someone who asks why instead of how. Soon, Clarisse disappears, and is then presumably dead for the rest of the book. Shortly after his disappearance,†¦show more content†¦Beatty supports this by saying since he has read some himself, he can affirm that they are worthless and contradictory. Through this experience, Montag has a new understanding of his profession. Although he is still skeptical, he knows more than he did before, and most importantly, Beatty has started to get Montag’s mind thinking. An important quote from this conversation is, â€Å"We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal. . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it .† This is when Beatty is ‘confiding’ in Montag, making him finally piece together what he has been doing all of these years as a fireman. He finally can begin to comprehend the society he is in, and what measures the government has taken to subdue the population. Later on in the book, Beatty and Montag face each other once more. After Montag is brought to his own house and told to burn it down, and facing no escape due to the hound, he burns it down. After burning down his own home, Beatty tells him he is under arrest, and begins to provoke him. As Beatty clearly intended, Montag kills him, turning him into a charred corpse. The fact that he died by fire, and knowingly chose to die by the flamethrower is interesting. Nevertheless, this is the point of no return for Montag, knowing that he did what he had to do, and that he was now an enemy of the state. At this point, GuyShow MoreRelatedFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1661 Words   |  7 Pages1.) In the n ovel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag’s view on life reverses. Two characters the influence the main character Guy Montag are the old lady whose house and books were burnt down and Mildred. The old lady was caught preserving books in her home. Firemen including Montag were ordered to burn the books. The old lady refused to leave her books, so she too was burned. She bravely gave an allusion as her last words, â€Å"Play the man,’ she said, ‘Master Ridley.’ Something, somethingRead MoreTechnology and Society in Fahrenheit 4511723 Words   |  7 PagesDo you  think  that  living in  a technical world would destroy society? 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This is one of the conflicts the characters face in the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 is a book about a fireman named Guy Montag. In his society fireman start fires rather than putRead MoreBiblical And Literary Allusions Of Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451 1735 Words   |  7 Pagesassociate the themes present within the novel with the current state of the world. He does not want his audience to stop at the end of the novel; rather, he wants them to use his message to understand the dangers of the world around them. After all, there is much to fear from the world. In Bradbury’s mind, if the audience does not heed his warning, then humanity could one day lose its ability to think individual thoughts, and with this loss comes the all-too-real possibility that dangerous i deas mayRead MoreTheme Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451800 Words   |  4 Pages2017 Fire. The symbol of warmth, destruction, and renewal, is a prominent theme in the novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury. Guy Montag, lives in a grim, futuristic United States where people have given up books and knowledge for entertainment and technology. The use of fire in the past is to give warmth and heat and has now been replaced for the use destruction and satisfaction. Montag’s job as a fireman is to burn books and houses that have books stowed away. Montag’s view of fire and burning