Alzheimer's Disease

Global Health Issue

 

Learning Objectives

• The Causes of Alzheimer's
• Symptom's of Alzheimer's
• Stages Alzheimer's
• Facts about Alzheimer's

Background Summary

      





Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Dementia is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. Symptoms of Alzheimer's  usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.  Although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging. The majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. However, Alzheimer's is not just a disease of old age. Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. 

     Alzheimer's is a progressive disease. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Alzheimer's has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues.

 

Relevant Readings

www.alz.org- Alzheimer's Association
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/alzheimers-dementia/alzheimers-disease.htm#stages

www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers

www.alzfdn.org/aboutalzheimers

 

Visual Component

 

 

 

 

 

 


BBC Documentary; Mum and Me. Alzheimer's Part 1/4

 

 

 

Assessment;

 

1. List the stages of Alzheimer's and explain it's effects on an individual.

 

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2. List 4 facts about Alzheimer's that have recently been shared in the media or the medical field. 

 

 

 

3. Using what you've learned about Alzheimer's create a person who is diagnosed with the disease.  Explain their beginning symptoms, their age, their gender, what stage of the disease they are presently in and two specifics facts about the disease and how it is effecting their life. 



Good News For the Grey Wolf

The Grey wolves have been on the endangered species lists since late 19th century until around 1967. Bounty hunting was so wide spread that it wiped out the wolf population in 48 states with the exceptions of northeastern Minnesota and lsle Royal, Michigan.

      The Rocky Mountain was the first site for recolonization of the wolves in the early 1980s. The wolves were reintroduce to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho in the mid-1990s. By the year 2006 the population increased by 134 wolves and another 1,300 by 2009.  Washington and Oregon both reported wolves returning in the year 2005.

    The endanger wolves did create some controversy between the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and Congress. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the northern Rockies gray wolf in 2008, but decision was overturned after conservationists who argued that the recovery plan goal was outdated.  This was the first time in the Endangered Species Act, that Congress overruled the courts and the delisting of the Northern Rockies Gray Wolves.

    Hunting guidelines are in place in all of the regions where wolves live and breed.  Each state has it's limit for public harvest and is monitored closely.

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NFL Concussion Liability

A lawsuit against he NFL has been in the works since the 2013 season.  The NFL and former players reached a $765 million settlement over concussion issues. The core of the lawsuit states that the NFL was aware of the risks and evidence connected to traumatic brain injuries for many years, but purposefully denied and ignored along with hiding any information from the players.  Former athletes have come forward stating that they suffer from Alzheimer's, depression or dementia from blows to the head during their time actively in the NFL. Over 4,500 players have come forward and accused the league of hiding the dangers of concussions and allowing injured players back on the field.  The NFL insisted that safety was a top priority and denied any wrong doing.

The settlement states that $75 million in medical exams, $675 million in injury compensation, $10 million for research, and litigation expenses. Individuals would be given $5 million for men with Alzheimer's, $4 million for those diagnosed after their deaths with a brain condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopath, and $3 million for players with dementia.

  In opposition the NFL commissioned a study run by NFL doctors and scientists to determine long-term effects of concussions. The committee decided a concussion while playing NFL football had no long-term effects.  The league used these findings to create safety rules and a "return to play" guidelines for players.

  In 2005 Neurosurgery published an article linking the results of autopsy of a former NFL player who had suffered cognitive deterioration. The NFL strongly denied the findings and attempted to discredit the writers. With the settlement accepted it most likely means the NFL won't have to share internal files with information of concussions and brain trauma of players. NFL does have many lawyers interested in the inside workings of doctors and league's Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee.  This committee was led more than a decade by one rheumatologist. With this settlement the NFL will have no liability of admission or weakness.

  In my opinion I do believe the NFL is hiding information about concussions from previous players.  Because the settlement was accepted the NFL does not need to share any previous information about concussion or documents stating medical bills for players with concussions. The NFL tried to cover this up to make themselves look good and not have bad press.  They also were saving themselves from billions of dollars in damages and lawsuits. I wonder if we will ever really know how dangerous head injuries are to football players and if they knew the risks, would they continue to play? Alzheimer's is a terrible disease to die from.  People can live with Alzheimer's and dementia for many years before dying from it. Research by the NFL and through the NFL could be very valuable for present and future players as well as your average person suffering from car accidents, falls, or other head injuries along with Alzheimer's. It would allow for players to make informative decisions on the health and injuries.

Sources;
http://www.jetlaw.org/journal-archives/volume-14/volume-14-issue-3/three-and-out-the-nfl%E2%80%99s-concussion-liability-and-how-players-can-tackle-the-problem/

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/08/opinion/campbell-nfl-lawsuit/

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000235494/article/nfl-explayers-agree-to-765m-settlement-in-concussions-suit

Wind Power

 

Part 1  

 

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As long as it shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives.  Wind turbine usage has increased more than 25 percent each year. Wind turbines are made up as three different blades  that spin in a circular motion to create electricity. Wind power is a clean source of energy and creates no water or air pollution. The cost of building a turbine is minimal once the turbine is erected. A possible negative is that many people find them noisy and unattractive. The rotating blades sometimes kills birds. To make these energy systems the governments offers tax incentives to encourage wind-energy development.

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/wind-power-profile/



Part 2

During the 20th century small wind stations were built among farms or residences and connected to electricity grids. Today the generators powered by wind come in every size from small stations that are battery charged to gigawatt offshore wind farms that provide to national levels. Constructions of offshore are located near bodies of water to generate electricity. Hundreds of individual turbines are dispersed over a large area of land however agriculture may use in between the turbines.  These turbines were and still are transported by convoy, however more frequently  they are assembled on site to reduce transportation difficulties and moving these extremely large pieces amongst traffic and pedestrians.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power


Part 3

There are numerous incentives for using wind power. The federal government offers Corporate Exemptions and Tax Credit.  The federal government also provides grant programs, loan programs, personal tax credit and personal exemptions for home owners.

Wind power does have some obstacles to overcome. It is dependent on large subsidies, wind energy is fairly limited, and a high portion of the funding is upfront with limited return.


http://www.businessinsider.com/us-wind-energy-experiences-turbulence-as-it-takes-off-2012-1

http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=US36F&re=1&ee=1















Tenerife Airport Disaster  



       In 1977 on March 27 at Los Rodeos Airport, two Boeing 747s collided in what would be known as one of the deadliest disasters in aviation history. Now known as the Tenerife Airport Disaster on an island called Tenerife, one of Canary islands.  The collision on the runway of Los Rodeos killed 583 people of the 644 passengers on board the two jumbo jets. Forty years later, the Tenerife Air Disaster has become an example for reviewing the process of aviation and proper framework procedures taken during a take off. 

       Ironically neither plane was suppose to be on Tenerife. Both were scheduled to land at Las Palmas, a nearby island of the Grand Canary.  A bomb had exploded in the Las Palmas airport flower shop and at that time another was reported to be going off following the first bomb.  The airplanes were then detoured to Los Rodeos. Weather conditions and a lack of proper communication between the pilots and the tower lead to the catastrophe. The companies involved were Pan Am, most known for their franchise and experience in aviation history, along with KLM one of the oldest operating airlines in the world. Fog was the main issue that lead to weak visibility of the airport and the location of the different planes. The second major cause of the disaster was the inability to communicate to each party involved. At that present time, pilots and controllers communicate via 2-way VFH radios or similar to "walkie talkies."  Because of the old style radios if someone clicks to speak at the same time, the transmissions cancel each other out. The pilot of the KLM plane asked to prepare for take off, but when the air traffic controller responded the KLM pilot did not hear the entire response, but only heard the words, "take off" and "okay."  In the meantime the Pan Am plane missed its turnoff continuing onto the runway.  Other issues of airport conditions added to the problem. The tarmac was congested, the route to the runway was partially blocked, and the planes had to take a 180-degree turn before taking off. To top it off the airport had no ground tracking radar and visibility of the runway to the tower was not possible. As the KLM pilot began to take off and was picking up speed the Pan Am plane realized by what they had heard over the radio that KLM was taking off and headed straight for them down the runway.  By the time Pan Am was able to see KLM the plane was approaching take off speed.  Pan Am pilots quickly tried to move their plane into the grassy area beside the runway, but the KLM plane's landing gear struck the right side of the Pan Am fuselage and ripped it apart the center of the plan. Both planes were destroyed and many lives lost.  Some of the successes of the disaster was how the pilot of the Pan Am plane made some smart decisions. He pulled the fire handles that cut off the supply fuel, air, electricity and hydraulics running to the engines.  He and a group of others jumped from the plane or shimmied down the sidewalls jumping to safety.

  This accident had an influential change on the industry.  The major change occurred in the communication area.  Now a standardized ATC communication by both controllers and pilots are required. They have particular wording or code types words which are required by all participants. The word "take off" was removed and is only used by the ATC when the actual aircraft is departing. A new concept in team work has been implemented, called the Crew Resource Management Team.  This allows all crew members to ask questions or challenge their captains to evaluate all decisions.  This training is required by all airplane pilots. The region has since recovered and built a second airport on the island.  Los Rodeos renamed to TFN, Tenerife North Airport.  They have installed a ground radar to the airports. Memorials have been in place and Tenerife joined an international commemoration service in Santa Cruz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Container Ships

Container  Ships

• How has Container ships help today?

Container shipping ship two main types of cargo. There is a bulk cargo and break bulk cargo. Bulk cargoes are like grain or coal types of materials. The most history of shipping and common forms is in break bulk cargo. A third type of cargo is call Bagged cargo. Bagged cargo is stowed on double dunnage and kept clear of the ship's sides. The bags are kept away from pillars and stanchions and covered with a matting or a waterproof paper.

They are transported in the hull of the ship in an unpackaged,  in large bulk form. About 90 percent of non-bulk cargo worldwide is transported by container. Modern container ships can carry up to about 16,020 twenty-foot equal units. Container ships can now compete with simple oil tankers. The bulk carries as the largest commercial vessels on the ocean. Containerization has lowered shipping expense and decreased shipping time. This has helped the growth of Global trade. In a short period of time containers have helped to optimize the operation of ships, while the  burden of additional costs that has been transferred from ships onto other objects is  ignored in public eye. With a high percentage of 320% in bilateral trade, about 22 countries are found in the containerizations trade.

 In the past by ship operators accepted many elements of cost, trade as standard terms of carriage of goods by sea, have now been drastically revised by container-shipping lines.  Raw materials arrive from factories in sealed containers less than an hour before they are required in productions, resulting in reduced catalog expense. Previously, it took months for ship container make it from one country to another.  Container ships today and  the new cargo ships take less then a week to ship it. Some affects that have on some country is that its a lot cheaper to ship clothes, supplies, and food for some country. I think the container has not only help us with shipping but to other country as well, it has made it a lot easier and a lot cheaper for other countries.  So the society of shipping container has improve a lot over the years. In my opinion, ship containers will continue to improve as the years go by.

 

 

 

Should College Football Replace the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)
with a Playoff System?
The BCS Bowl series was first started in 1998. It was mad for the top two ranked college football teams in the NCAA for the national championship teams while other the other eight of the highest ranked teams play in the other bowl games. Many football fans argue that a playoff system should replace the BCS. The contend that its the only fair possible way to determine a national champion and that the BCS method is subjective, profit-motivated, and sometimes leaves the best teams out of the championship game. Fans argue that the BCS system is the best interest of athletes, fans and sponsors because the bowl games generate huge profits for the schools and their local economics, it keeps the season a lot shorter for the student athletes, and most of the time have the best two teams playing each other for the national title.

About 43% of Americans say that football is their sport to watch, more then three times then any other sport. In the year of 2008, about 37.5 million fans and college students attend college football games. About 120 colleges and universities compete in 34 post-season bowl games, and one of the schools wins the BCS national championship game each year.





Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?

In all 50 states in the United States have set their minimum drinking age to 21 although exceptions do exist on a state-by-state basis for drinking at home, under adult supervision for medical necessity, and other reasons.

Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking, and has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behavior by teens.

Opponents of lowering the MLDA argue that teens have not yet reached an age where they can handle alcohol responsibly, and thus are more likely to harm or even kill themselves and others by drinking prior to 21. They contend that traffic fatalities decreased when the MLDA increased.

Study show that in the 1970s showing that teenage car accidents increased in states where the MLDA had been lowered from 21 prompted congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Although the Act says it did not require a national MLDA of 21, it effectively mandated it by stipulating that some federal transportations funds would be withheld from states that failed to make 21 their minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcohol. Since 1984, all states that had previously lowered their MLDA from 21 have all raised their MLDA back to 21. South Dakota and Wyoming Were last states to do so in 1988.

The consumptions of alcohol by people under 21 is generally illegal across the United States, however, 45 states have set exceptions that allow underage consumption of alcohol in certain circumstances.






· Is a College Education Worth It?
The debate over whether a college education is worth it may have begun when the colonists arrived from Europe and founded New College in 1636. With 19.9 million US college students in 2013 and average student debt at over $26,500, the debate continues today.

People who argue that college is worth it contend that college graduates have higher employment rates, bigger salaries, and more work benefits than high school graduates. They say college graduates also have better interpersonal skills, live longer, have healthier children, and have proven their ability to achieve a major milestone.
People who argue that college is not worth it contend that the debt from college loans is too high and delays graduates from saving for retirement, buying a house, or getting married. They say many successful people never graduated from college and that many jobs, especially trades jobs, do not require college degrees.