Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Causes

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Causes Herla Dorvil Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of many public health issues America faces. It is among the leading causes of death in the United States. It is affects more Americans just as any other disease. People with COPD are impacted where it can affect daily living. Due to the destruction of the alveoli in lungs, more individuals are requiring hospitalization frequently. Many people are diagnosed with COPD each year. COPD is a group of chronic pulmonary diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema that impair air flow to the lungs causing difficulty in breathing. According to (Chen et al., 2013), the World Health Organization has reported approximately 5/100 deaths worldwide due to COPD. Although COPD is a huge issue in public health, still many are unaware of the risk factors, target population it affects and the impact this creates in someones life. There are many ways that people can develop COPD. COPD occurs mostly in current or former smokers. Cigarette smoking and long-term exposures irritates and damage the lungs. â€Å"Cigarette smoke causes progressive destruction of the lung tissue, resulting in irreversible narrowing and scarring of the airways and loss of the alveolar interface where gas exchange takes place.† (Barnes et al., 2011, p. 612) Environmental factors such as air pollution, dust particles, and chemicals are also detrimental to one getting COPD. People who work around chemicals for a long time are at risk to damaging their lungs. The chemicals that are inhaled from the work environment and air pollution causes serious affects to the lungs. Breathing in secondhand smoke also poses a risk because they are around it all the time. People are most likely to develop COPD after being around family members who smoke or have a history of smoking. Another factor is the heredity of alpha one antitrypsin deficiency . An absence of alpha one antitrypsin increases your risk for lung disease. The lungs are protected by this protein and it is produced in the liver. It protects the body from unwanted effects from other proteins that cause harm to different organs of the body (Cox, 2011). Some patients that have asthma are usually categorized under chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. It affects the lungs by narrowing the airways and making it hard for one to breathe and usually have to take maintenance drugs if necessary. Common symptoms that are seen with COPD are chronic cough, increase in sputum production, chest tightness, wheezing, and shortness of breath. People with COPD usually have exacerbations, which is when their condition becomes worst over time. COPD is more common in older age groups and is said to be prevalent in women. People who get COPD are usually 18 years and older. Sometimes individuals are unaware that they have COPD until later in life after it progresses and they start developing symptoms. Studies say that women are twice as likely as men to get COPD. Although COPD affects all ages and mostly older age, the prevalence is high among adults less than 65 years old (Barnes et al., 2011). Due to under diagnosis the amount of people who have COPD may be higher. Many people don’t go to get regular check-ups and don’t have the money to do so, therefore they go a long time without noticing symptoms and end up finding out when it exacerbates. COPD is a chronic progressive disease that affects the pulmonary system creating a huge burden on ones life depending on the severity. Some patients with COPD experience weight loss skeletal muscle dysfunction and it makes it difficult to perform daily living activities as well as physical activities. The disease can cause one to experience shortness of breath with any type of movement. Kulich, Molen, Polkey, Rabinovich, Troosters, Vogiatzis (2013) emphasizes that the lack of physical activity contributes to the progression of the disease and creating poor outcomes. It is marked as reasons for mortality in hospitalized stations for many individuals. When physical activity is increased, it produces better outcomes for the patient. As the disease progresses individuals are frequently hospitalized, thus creating increased debt and healthcare expenditures. According to Chen et al. (2013), the average amount of medical expenses for a COPD patient is estimated at $27,656 per year, which i s four times higher than the average cost for patients without the disease. The individual has to constantly buy medication and it also creates problems at home where it interferes with their economic stability. It causes one to become unstable and unable to pay their bills and incompetent to take care of their selves which then leads them into depression. â€Å"In individuals with COPD, depression is significantly associated with decreased functional status; impair quality of life and disease progression and mortality.† (Das, Negi, Pandey , Raval, Sarkar, 2014 p.403) Due to the clinical depression, patients may not be in compliance with their management programs such as taking their medications, attending smoking cessation programs and pulmonary rehabilitation. By not taking these measures it leads to poor clinical outcomes and patients tend to relapse. COPD Individuals with depression cause higher financial problems for themselves. Das et al (2014) also showed that the occ upational status of a person showed an association with the presence of depression which develop into mood disorders. Not only is there an economic burden and depression, it also triggers other illnesses that will generate further complications (Chen et al., 2013). Some people later get peripheral artery disease, stroke and lung cancer. The impact of COPD can causes people to completely stop working because of the severity and the complications it produces. An understanding of the chronic disease complexity can help improve the quality of life for those individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Recognizing the impact of COPD may help the population to better identify, to get proper treatment and to reduce severity and exacerbations. The population of young, older men and women has to be educated and be made aware of the risk factors and importance of preventing the disease progress for a better and an improvement in life expectancy. References Chen, P., Livneh, H., Lu, M., Sung, F., Tsai, T. (2013). Increase risk and related factors of depression  among patients with COPD: A population-based cohort study. BMC Public Health, 13. doi: 10.11.1186/1471-2458-13-976 Coz, L.A. (2011). A casual model of obstruction pulmonary disease risk. Risk Analysis, 31(1), 38-62. doi:  10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01487 Barnes, N., Buist, S., Fishwick, J., Fletcher, M., Hutton, J., Jones, P., Walsh, J. (2011). COPD uncovered:  an international survey on the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on a working population. BMC Public Health, 11(1). doi: 612.62410.1186/1471-2458-11-612 Das, P., Negi, H., Pandey, K., Raval, A., Sakar, M. (2014). Presence of depression and its risk factors in  patients with chronic obstruction pulmonary disease. The Indian Journal of Medical Research, 139(3), 402-408. Retrieved from http.www.ebcohost.com Kulich, K., Molen, T., Polkey, M., Rabinovich, R., Troosters, T., Vogiatzis, I. (2013). Improving physical  activity in COPD: Towards a new paradigm. Respiratory Research, 14(1),115. doi:10.1186/1465-9921-14-115

A Seperate Peace, by John Knowles :: essays research papers

A Separate Peace was written by active author John Knowles from his real experiences and personal struggles. Knowles attended Phillips Exeter Academy, an exclusive New Hampshire prep school, for two summer sessions in 1943 and 1944. This book vaguely outlines his experiences at Exeter with himself as the main character but under the name of Gene Forrester. Knowles' novel tells the somber story of a young man's struggle to escape from himself and his world; to achieve a special and separate peace. The primary setting of A Separate Peace is at the Devon School. The exact location of this school is not known in terms of a state, but it is identified as being in the South, sitting between a freshwater and a saltwater stream. The bulk of the story takes place in the years of 1942 through 1944 at the same time as World War II, but the beginning and end of the book consist of Gene looking back on his years at the Devon School 15 years after he had attended it. A Separate Peace considers two conflicts: man against man and man against himself. Early in the story Gene believes that his problems lie within his best friend Phineas (Finny), but later he realizes that his conflict is internal. Misplaced jealousy, fear, love and hate fight for control of Gene's actions. When the dark side of him wins for a brief moment and he pushes Finny out of a tree it ends his man against man conflict and makes Gene realize that Finny's intention has never been to sabotage him. He had only wanted to have a close and meaningful relationship with his best friend, but their relationship was forever scarred by Gene's betrayal. Gene also learns that people destruct themselves all of the time for no reason, believing that others are enemies when they actually are not.. This can be observed in the last lines of the book when Gene states, "All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thoug ht they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never attacked that way -if he ever attacked at all; if he was indeed the enemy." The climax of the story occurs when Gene and Finny finally have a two-sited discussion about the incident at the tree. This tear-filled conversation makes each boy realize how much they actually care for each other.

Stem Cell Research Under Fire Essay -- essays papers

Stem Cell Research Under Fire Stem cell research should be continued so that it will one day lead to cures for the world's worst diseases, such as Alzhiemers, heart disease, Parkinsons, and diabetes. The stem cells are taken from a human embryo and placed in a petri dish, where scientists can manipulate them to produce whatever cells are needed (Blumenstyk, 2004). Stem cells can be used to regenerate bones, organs, tissues, and can even aid in treating such diseases as listed above. Many universities, such as Vanderbilt and Case Western, are participating in the research for two main reasons. One, to help contribute to the research to manufacture drugs to help the sickly, and two, to share in the profits of the quickly growing industry. Eventually, scientists will have figured out how to use stem cells from another donor, and not just of the diseased or injured person, to regenerate cells and/or muscle tissues. As an embryo is in its development stage inside of the womb, there are different chemicals that ar e exposed to the stem cells, which in turn â€Å"tell† the stem cells what type of neuron to be. Stem cells are the body’s master cells. They can renew themselves indefinitely and can even turn into any number of different types of cells needed in the body such as muscles, nerves, bones or even blood. Stem cells can be â€Å"molded† into what type of cell our bodies need. This makes them essential to repairing and renewing bodily tissues throughout our lives. Our body retains stem cells that are formed at conception, and store them in various parts of the body so as to have a reserve that can be accessed at any point in time later on in life (World Almanac & Book of Facts, Science News of 2003, p670 ... ...opic† until something else remotely controversial comes alone for people to be up and arms about. No matter what, you cannot please everyone all the time, and with as many billions of people in this world, someone is bound to do something that someone else does not like. Stem cell research is and will be for a long time a big breakthrough in the field of bio-Medicine. Whether funding come from the state itself, the federal government, or even the private sector, these promising ideas should not be stopped. For chance of sounding ignorant, you cannot make an omelette withou breaking a few eggs. Many lives could be saved if this research found a way to cure and treat some diseases. If this research is stopped at its relatively early age now, then we may never know what might be. If we do not at least try, then we are not bettering our race for future generations.

Should Members Of Congress Earn More Money Or Less? :: essays research papers

Well, it really depends on one thing; I'm talking about their reason for becoming a congressman. If I were to become a congressman, my reason would be to help Californians express their opinions better. However this is my reason. Different people have millions of other reasons. I think there are three major reasons for becoming a congressman: represent his/her state, power, or money. I don't believe that most people get into Congress for the money. I believe most people that become congressmen want their state to be heard, and they want to improve it. However not everybody is so good some people are in it purely for power, usually power means money. I do not believe their salaries should be lowered, because if they feel they don't get what they deserve, they might not do their best in the office, they might abuse their privileges, etc. If they don't get paid enough they become more susceptible to taking bribes; this is the first sign of corruption. This might explain the paying less part, however it doesn't say much about raising their salary. I've considered the idea of raising their salary, however after a careful examination of facts, I didn't think raising it would improve much. As I have mentioned before, people (the Congressmen) don't do it for the money. Basically money isn't their primary concern. What would happen if you say doubled their salaries? People are not perfect, nobody is... if you pay them a lot more, chances are they might become greedy; when the only thing a person cares about is money, nothing ever gets accomplished. Greed is a terrible "sickness," even though you have a lot of something, in this case money, you want more, and more, and more, this craving never stops. The last thing you'd want is a greedy congressman. It is very likely that a greedy congressman would take bribes, and use his office to make even more profits, any way possible. A greedy congressman would probably forget his responsibilities, and duties as a congressman; this would only make it worse for that particular state.

Work has been a driving force for all of the people living in the society today

Work has been a driving force for all of the people living in the society today. They devote most of their lives working, and they justify this act as something that they have to do in order to live. Some people associate working with earning money, but doesn’t end with only that. There are a lot more reasons why people work, and it can be rooted to the people’s needs, not the money, but the things that could be derived from what you earn. Meaningful work is a work with a purpose, not of monetary compensation, but with a deeper reason, either for the fulfillment of a person’s interest or for the welfare of other people (Samuel, 2007). Some consider working as something they need to do; something that could earn them what they need in order to fulfill their wishes. But for me, the concept of work is a lot different than how others perceive it. For me, work is the realization of my efforts in my younger years. I am studying so that I can be able to work with my field of expertise; thus I’ll be able to exercise my talents to the fullest. If I will be able to do what I think I can do best, then I’m sure all my efforts will be rewarded by a good payment, and when I am earning a good deal of money, then I could live a life that is free of financial problems. Well, it depends on the people’s perceptions; their view on something could be a manifestation of their perspective in life (Young, 2007). I am a person who takes things positively. For me, working is not a burden that we have to carry all throughout our lives. It is true that if a person doesn’t work, he will eventually suffer, especially if he is living on his own, and is not blesses with a wealthy family. But working shouldn’t hinder you from enjoying your life. I think of work as a way to practice the things that I can do best, and it doesn’t limit you to a single work alone. You can do various things, as long as you put your heart into it. It is only a matter of thinking that classifies work as a burden. Reasons why people work Working is also a way to express what you feel to your loved ones. Working for the sake of another person is a manifestation of love. When you work, you are able to afford things that are essential for their happiness. Working also entails responsibility. You hold yourself responsible in providing the basic needs of a person whom you dedicate your work to; your loved ones and family members. You seek to provide the basic necessities in life, like food, shelter and clothing through working and earning money to buy these things (â€Å"Why Do People Work?† 2004). Working also entails social responsibility. I treat work as an obligation to the society. You are wasting your talents if you don’t work, and it means you are a waste of the society. Working also brings out the abilities of a person, and with those abilities, the society is able to produce quality outputs; art masterpieces like paintings and sculptures are the work of brilliant minds of the past, and they have worked their way in order to produce it. Working doesn’t only mean being able to produce an output. You need to put your heart into it, so that the output you create is really a product of hard work. Meaningful working entails a sense of responsibility from the person itself, and that they should treat every opportunity to work as an opportunity to show the people his talents; he should treat everything he does as a masterpiece and give all his effort into it. The product of a meaningful work is a meaningful output. References: â€Å"Why Do People Work?†Ã‚   2004.   Why do people work? April 12 2007. . Samuel, Alexandra. â€Å"Meaningful Work†.   2007. April 12 2007. . Young, Susan. â€Å"Meaningful Work†.   2007. April 12 2007. .   

Analyzing Psychological Disorders Essay

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is chronic and severe. It can be a disabling illness that affects men and women with the same ratio or frequency. This term is from a Greek word that means having a â€Å"split mind†. Though this usage in medical terms is not accurate. The Western perception of this illness is their belief that the term is equal to a disorder of split personality. They have been found to be very distinct mental disorders. People afflicted with schizophrenia do not manifest split personalities. Schizophrenia is an illness hat affects the mind and is characterized by the disability of perceptions and manifestations of reality. Schizophrenia has five classifications. The first is the paranoid type where hallucinations and delusions are present but there is absence of disorganized behavior, thought disorder and active flattening. The disorganized type of schizophrenia occurs when active flattening and thought disorder are both present. Catatonic schizophrenia occurs when there is evidence of psychomotor disturbances. There is the presence of psychotic symptoms in the undifferentiated type but there is also absence of criteria for the other types of schizophrenia. The residual type is wherein all the symptoms of the mental disorder is present at low level of intensity. Signs and symptoms for people with schizophrenia suffer from delusions and false faith in their personal convictions despite the presentation of evidence disproving the matter. This symptom is not explained by a person’s cultural background and orientation. Those afflicted also suffer from hallucinatory perceptions that can manifest when there is a lack of external diversion. The most common type of hallucination is the hearing of voices and other sounds. There is also the manifestation of disorganized attitude, behavior and thoughts. Speech is also incoherent and disorganized. The person suffering from this type of mental disorder display catatonic behavior wherein the person’s body may become rigid and unresponsive. The causes of schizophrenia are unknown. There are a lot of factors that are said to be involved with the formation of this illness. There is an interaction between genetics, biology, psychology and the environment that leads to the mental disorder. Medical science does not have a full understanding of all the causes and other concerns related to the mental disorder. Recent research and medical studies is slowly but surely shows improvement and progress that would help define the causes of schizophrenia and their explanation. An increase in the dopaminergic activity that is inside the mesolimbic pathway of the brain is a constant and significant finding (Bentall 2005). Data gathered from a PET study shows suggestions that the lesser frequency the frontal lobes are activated during a task that involves a working memory there is a greater increase in the abnormality of dopamine activity in the striatum that is though to be related to deficits in neurocognition in schizophrenia. While the credibility of the diagnosis has introduced many difficulties in the measurement of the relative effect of genes and the factor of environment, more and more evidence have suggested that environmental and genetic factors can combine and create a reaction that would lead to the mental disorder of schizophrenia. Suggestions have also been made regarding the diagnosis of schizophrenia had an important genetic composition but that is influenced by the stressors or factors relating to the environment. The concept of a vulnerability that can be inherited from by some people can be destroyed by psychological, biological and environmental stressors. This is known as the stress-diathesis model. The idea that psychological, biological and social factors is more significant is called the biopsychosocial model in analyzing the causes of schizophrenia (Goldner, Hsu 2002). The approximate degree and frequency of hereditary causes in schizophrenia has a tendency to vary because of the difficulty in the separation of the effects of the environment and genetics. Twin studies have both suggested that there is a high rate of cases involving schizophrenia caused by genetic factors. It is possible that schizophrenia is a mental condition that is complicated in hereditary nature with many genes likely interacting to increase the risk of schizophrenia or the separate parts that can also occur that will lead to its diagnosis. Studies in genetics have implied that genes that increase the risk for the development of schizophrenia are not specific and may also increase the risk of development of other psychotic disorders. A breakthrough in recent research also suggested that very rare copies or omissions of small DNA sequences within the genes that are known as copy number variants were also related to the increased rate of risk for the development of schizophrenia (Noll 2006). It has also been thought that factors that cause schizophrenia can combine in the early development of the human brain during pregnancy. This would later increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. One finding that raised a great amount of curiosity is that people who were diagnosed with the mental illness is said to have been more possibly born in spring or winter in those living in the northern hemisphere of the planet. There is current evidence that exposure to infections during the prenatal stage can increase the risk of the development of schizophrenia in the age of maturity. This finding provides additional proof that linked the utero-developmental pathology with the risk of developing the mental disorder. Social conditions also help the increased risk of schizophrenia. People who are living in a highly urbanized environment have been found out to be exposed to great risk of being afflicted with the mental disorder. Poverty, poor living conditions and social status has also been found to contribute to the risk factor. Migration of people that is related to social problems like racial discrimination, unemployment and people coming from broken families also become factors of developing schizophrenia. There has been an implication made regarding the risk factor of childhood abuse and trauma that can cause schizophrenia later on in life. Lack of support and family dysfunctions also increase the risk but not directly connected to parenting. Substance use have also been found to increase the risk of schizophrenia but the relationship of this link is found to be complex. There has been some difficulty in distinguishing a clear relationship of substance use and the mental disorder. There is also solid evidence that the usage of certain illegal substances can start the onset or relapse of the mental illness in some people. These people who were diagnosed with schizophrenia use these substances to overcome negative emotions that comes with the intake of anti-psychotic medication and the mental condition itself. Negative feelings of paranoia and anhedonia were considered to be primary characteristics. The ingestion of amphetamines can trigger the brain to release dopamine that would increase dopamine activity. It is this excessive increase in activity that it is known to be partially responsible for the manifestation of psychotic symptoms of the mental disorder. This is partially supported by the idea that amphetamines can worsen the symptoms present in schizophrenia. This type of mental disorder can be triggered by heavy usage of stimulants and hallucinogens. One study has suggested the that the use of cannabis contributes to the occurrence of psychosis though some researchers suspect that the use of this substance was only a small part of the many factors of schizophrenia (Green 2002). There is also a number of psychological reasons that have been implicated in the development and sustainability of schizophrenia. A number of cognitive biases have been named in those that have been diagnosed and those that are at risk especially when there is the application of stress or in a state of confusion overly increased attention to potential threats, arriving at conclusions and impaired reasoning. There is also the manifestation of difficulty in differentiating from inner speech mechanism to one coming from an external entity and difficulty in retaining concentration. Case Studies: Anxiety Tom is an engineer, he is happily married, and he is the father of three bright, healthy children. By all appearances, his life is stable and satisfying. Tom, however, suffers from continual worry that he has a difficult time turning off. His anxiety may center on anything from his perceived health problems (he has recently been to his doctor for a physical, but no health issues were discovered) to money and job responsibilities. At times his anxiety peaks to the point that it interferes with his ability to function on the job. Physical symptoms include muscle tension, headaches, and hot flashes that often accompany Tom’s anxiety. Tom often feels nauseated, and he becomes easily fatigued. When he feels anxious, Tom has difficulty concentrating, he becomes irritable, and he has difficulty falling asleep at night. All of these symptoms have been present for the last 6 months. Tom has tried to talk himself out of his anxiety, but this has not worked for him. Toms wife is supportive, but she does not know what to do for her husband (Hauser, 2005). Neural circuitry involving the amygdala and hippocampus is thought to underlie anxiety. When confronted with unpleasant and potentially harmful stimuli such as foul odors or tastes, PET-scans show increased bloodflow in the amygdala. Possible mechanism is malfunction in the parabrachial nucleus, a structure in the brain, that among other functions, coordinates signals from the amygdala with input concerning balance. The amygdala is involved in the emotion of fear. Biochemical factors come into play. Low levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that reduces overactivity in the central nervous system, contributes to anxiety. A number of anxiolytics achieve their effect by modulating the GABA receptors.

Commanding Heights Essay

†¢ Episode 1: The Battle of Ideas begs a comparison between socialism and capitalism. †¢ It traces the world’s economic history from the early 1900’s to the events following 9/11. †¢ Asks the question which is a better and more foolproof economic system government control or free markets? †¢ It delves into how the First World War impacted two brilliant economists, Keynes and Hayek. And then follows both Keynes and Hayek through their respective career paths (Keynes role as an advisor to the British Government on wartime economy and Hayek as an Austrian soldier). †¢ Keynes predicted that the result of the treaty of Versailles and demanding reparations from an already bankrupt Germany and Austria would cause another war, The Second World War. †¢ Meanwhile Hayek and his disciple Zlabinger fought against hyper inflation and encouraged free markets. †¢ Simultaneously the American Economy was booming, till October 24th, 1930 when the great depression hit and unemployment soared and industry stopped and half of the US banks were closed down. †¢ During this time Keynes’s theory of government intervention helped lead the way out of the problem (Keynes wrote about Macroeconomics). †¢ Meanwhile Lenin had introduced the New Economic Policy which consisted of grass root level capitalism but the commanding heights would still be under the government. The reform was met with scrutiny from the left, soon after Stalin took power and employed centralised planning of every economic aspect. †¢ Owing to the recovery from the Great Depression and Keynes’ key role in the Breton Woods Conference, in America Keynesianism took control and Hayek faded into the background. †¢ In Britain a welfare state and socialism built the country back from the bottom up. †¢ Newly independent countries like India also employed Keynesian methods, allowing for State led industry. †¢ One third of the world followed aspects of socialism until Churchill and Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph were influenced by Hayek’s book, ‘Road to Serfdom.’ †¢ In Germany, Ludwig Erhard stopped price control and re-started the free market economy to combat hyperinflation. The success of his risky decision led to the German Economic Miracle. †¢ While Keynes’ still had a strong hold over Washington, a Chicago School of Economics was created and it emphasised Hayek’s theory as a measure to battle stagflation. †¢ Finally Thatcher’s election and confidence in Hayek’s theory allowed for free markets to be established again. Thus, after a period of a century came back to where it was at the beginning of the century, back to free markets.