Thursday, October 31, 2019

The process of measuring and comparing service utilization Essay

The process of measuring and comparing service utilization - Essay Example The findings of the research indicate that most community mental health programs do not possess the relevant resources to build or buy the types of systems that would help to record notes about clients and the activities that they participate in (Dewa, Horgan, Russell & Keates, 2001). This means that it was difficult to have timely, consistent and accessible information for all community support and services which make it difficult to conduct the evaluations. The research does not provide adequate statistical data. Instead, most of the data provided is descriptive. Nevertheless, the findings have practical significance because of the value it has for program evaluation purposes and administrative purposes in terms of making key decisions on prioritization, planning and staffing needs (Dewa, Horgan, Russell & Keates, 2001).The authors considered all the relevant studies in the sense that they included information from previous researches and contributions from different authors in to the study in form of a background study. The consideration of the studies helped the researchers gain an understanding of the current states of affairs as they relate to the topic of study pointing out that most studies have not given it importance. The authors have discussed all the relevant limitations because they included a section on the challenges that they encountered and a table showing this. The conclusions are justified based on the results presented because the authors provide a conclusion.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Gender Differences in Computer-Mediated Communications Essay Example for Free

Gender Differences in Computer-Mediated Communications Essay â€Å"On the Internet, no body knows you’re a dog. † Herring (2003, p. 205) mentioned this caption of a cartoon bearing published in the New Yorker (July 1993). May be in this age with the internet evolution it’s hard to know it’s a dog, but what about distinguishing user’s gender in computer-mediated communication (CMC) is it easy or not. This essay tries to shade the light on some of these gender differences in computer-mediated communication (CMC). This essay gives an idea about computer-mediated communication (CMC) modes and the gap between CMC expectations and the fact that there are gender differences in CMC. Then it gives an idea about gender differences in traditional communication followed by exploring gender differences in CMC. First, it’s important to have an idea about CMC different modes. According to Herring (2003, p. 205), â€Å"computer mediated communication (CMC) comprises a variety of interactive socio-technical modes†. She gave some examples of these modes such as: e-mail, discussion lists and newsgroups, chat, MUDs (Multi-User Dimensions) and MOOs (MUD, Object Oriented), IM (Instant Messaging). Dalampan (2006) classifies CMC modes into: synchronous and asynchronous (Figure. 1). The synchronous mode requires communication in real-time. However, the synchronous mode doesn’t require interlocutors to be online at the same time. (p. 59) According to Dalampan (2006), the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC) continues to generate interest from sociolinguists who are concerned with whether the traditional gender differences in face-to-face interaction are carried over into online discourse (p. 59). The problem that all studies tried to investigate is the gap between earlier high expectations for CMC concerning providing an environment that creates equity and the fact that gender differences still existed even in CMC environment. Li (2006) saw that many educators and researchers had high hopes for CMC, believing that it provided more equal access to information and communication and would ultimately lead to greater equity. Also, Hendry (2001, p. 3) mentioned that earlier research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) found that CMC promoted social equity. She explains that this could be due to predictions by many researchers that CMC would democratize communication and mitigate gender differences. Despite these claims that the relative anonymous communication on the Internet would break down traditional gender binaries, research has identified gender differences in computer-mediated discourse, similar to differences observed in spoken discourse. (Herring, 2006) In order to determine whether the language used by males and females in computer-mediated communication (CMC) reveal gender related differences or not, many studies were conducted. However, according to Li (2006) research findings concerning gender differences in CMC are mixed. However, this essay will explore some of these gender differences in CMC in some related studies. Linguists have long recognized gender as a factor that may affect person’s linguistic productions (Baron, 2005, p. 8). â€Å"Sociolinguists have written extensively about stylistic differences they have observed between males and females in spoken and written language† (p. 4). Based on these previous studies, Baron (2005) mentioned some gender linguistic differences such as: females tend to use more politeness indicators than males, whereas males more frequently interrupt woman than vice versa; in general, women tend to use language as a tool for facilitating social interaction, whereas males are more prone to use language for conveying information; on average, women’s speech reflects standard phonological, lexical, and grammatical patterns more than men’s does (p. 8). Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has attracted more and more researchers’ attention as a due to the dramatic increase in the use of the Internet in recent years (Li, 2005, p. 382). According to Baron (2003) linguists and other scientists have been studying CMC for we over a decade (p. 4). The essay now will give some examples for gender differences in CMC. Herring (2006, p. 4) reported a tendency for women to be more polite, supportive, emotionally expressive, and less verbose than men in online public forums. Conversely, men are more likely to insult, challenge, express sarcasm, use profanity, and send long messages. Also, Baron (2003) listed some gender differences such as women tend to use more affective markers, more hedges, more politeness markers, and more tag questions. However, men are likely to use more referential language, more profanity, and fewer personal pronouns than women. (p. 9) A study conducted by Li (2006) showed that gender is a considerable factor in the context of mathematics and sciences learning using CMC. Concerning gender communication patterns, findings show males students are more likely to present their opinions and explanations, but less likely to make specific suggestions; whereas female students tend to ask for a lot of information, but are less likely to provide explanations or opinions. Also, female students tend to initiate conversations, while male students are more likely to enter the dialogue at later stages and respond to previous discussions. Li (2006) presented a meta analysis for some studies in gender differences in CMC. Her analysis provided answers for three main questions: first one, what are gender differences in users’ communication patterns in CMC? Results show that on average, female users had a significantly higher frequency of collaborative instances using CMC than males. Also, females had a significantly higher frequency of challenging others and were more personal oriented. Males, on the other hand, used more authoritative statements. Second one, to what extent do male and female differ in their interaction pattern in CMC? Results indicated that, on average, there was a small but significant gender effect on users’ participation pattern, male users had a significantly higher frequency of posting messages or having longer access to the Internet than female users, also, male users have better access to CMC environments. Third question, who would enjoy CMC environment, males or females? Results showed that, on average, there was a moderate but significant gender effect on users’ enjoyment of CMC. Male users enjoyed more CMC environments than their female counterparts. According to Bernard (1998), males tend to dominate group discussions, even when they are in the minority. They even tend to generate more aggressive and often caustic interactions to the extent that they often marginalize female communications to the point of being excluded from the CM interactions. Savicki and Kelley (2000, p. 817) examined whether men and women communicate differently using CMC. They found that gender composition of the groups is the variable that has the strongest relationship to communication style. Results found that women in small task group developed a significantly different style of communication than men did using CMC with other men. They explained that women in female-only groups were able to overcome the limitations of the text-only format of CMC with self-disclosure, use of â€Å"I† statements and through directly addressing their message to other group members. On the other hand, they found that men in male-only groups ignored the sociomotional aspects of group functioning and were more likely to engage in a collective monologue approach to discussion with the addition of mild flaming. Men in MO groups were less satisfied with the CMC experience and showed lower levels of group development. (p. 817) Herring (2003) (Baron, 2005, p. 15) found that on many-to-many asynchronous CMC mode (listservs and newsgroups), males tended to be more adversarial and to write longer messages than females, whereas females tended to be more supportive in their postings with shorter messages and more apologizes than males. On the other hand on synchronous many-to-many CMC mode (chat and social MUDs and MOOs), males were more aggressive and insulting, whereas female had more aligned and supportive discourse. By studying IM conversations of college students, Baron (2005) concluded that there are significant gender differences in IM conversations. She found that male-male conversations tend to be shorter and have more of a spoken character, while female-female conversations tend to be longer and have more of a written character. Males use more contractions than do females. (p. 14) On the other side, Dalampan (2006) added the context factor or dimension he concluded that males and females language use seems to be influenced more by the context of use than their gender this may be because both males and females in his sample were scholars so they were acting like scholars not as males and females. He also concluded that despite the claims of previous research that females used more linguistic qualifiers, hedges, and personal pronouns, the associations were not found to be strong. (p. 65) Another study conducted by Abdul Kadir and Din (2006) shows that there are no significant gender differences in CMC learning mode orientation and learning style. (p. 50) At the end, however research findings may appear to be mixed but findings showed that computer-mediated communication (CMC) couldn’t eliminate gender differences as expected after all it is another communication environment. These gender differences are somehow similar to gender differences in spoken and written language. Some findings didn’t show significant gender differences this could be due to other factors such as the presence of the instructor in the Dalampan (2006) study. Also, findings were different depending on CMC mode either being synchronous/asynchronous or one-to-one/one-to-many. References Abdul Kadir, R. Din, R. (2006). Computer Mediated Communication: A motivational strategy toward diverse learning style. Journal Pendidikan, 31, pp. 41-51. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://pkukmweb. ukm. my/~penerbit/jurnal_pdf/jpend31_03. pdf Baron, N. S. (2003). Instant Messaging by American College Students: A case study in computer-mediated communication. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www. american. edu/tesol/Baron-SeeYouOnlineCorrected64. pdf Baron, N. S. (2005). See You Online: Gender issues in college student use of instant messaging. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www. american. edu/tesol/Baron-SeeYouOnlineCorrected64. pdf Bernard, M. L. (1998). Gender Interaction Differences Using Computer-Mediated Communication: Can the Internet serve as a status equalizer?. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://psychology. wichita. edu/mbernard/articles/GenderInternet. html Dalampan, A. E. (2006). Gender Issues in Computer-Mediated Communications. TESL working paper, 4 (2). Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://web1. hpu. edu/images/GraduateStudies/TESL_WPS/10Dalampan_Gender_a17241. pdf Hendry, J. (2001). E-gender or Agenda: Are women getting what they want?. ANZMAC 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://smib. vuw. ac. nz:8081/WWW/ANZMAC2001/anzmac/AUTHORS/pdfs/Hendry. pdf Herring, S. C. Paolillo, I. C. (2006). Gender and Genre Variation in Weblogs. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 10(4). Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www. blogninja. com/jslx. pdf Herring, S. C. (2003). Gender and Power in Online Communication. In: J. Holmes and M. Meyerhoff (Eds. ), The Handbook of Language and G

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes from Exercise

Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes from Exercise Induced Change in Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes as a Result of Intense Exercise Abstract Exercise-induced changes in gene expression of mitochondrial enzymes has become a leading target for sports medicine research. Previous indirect testing of delayed-onset muscle soreness and changes in rotation of motion do not provide a sufficient explanation of the induced changes to the genome (Hubal, et al., 2010). Biomarker testing has allowed for detecting levels of proteins within a sample. Blood and serum levels, taken before and after exercise, have been analyzed and tested for changes in protein activity. Calf-raises show an increase in creatine kinase (CK) and aldolase (ALD) activities (Kanda, et al., 2014). MicroRNA arrays along with telomere extension mRNA arrays and quantitative real-time PCR on RNA taken from white blood cells have shown to down-regulate telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (Chilton, et al., 2014). Biochemical testing at the genomic level will provide a better understanding of the long-term effects of intense exercise. Knowing these high-intensity induced gene expressions in mitochondrial DNA aids in knowing what causes diseases such as Rhabdomyolysis. Introduction Centuries ago staying physically fit was accentual to stay alive. Those that were not fit were not able to kill prey and therefore would be less likely to survive. In today’s world, being physically fit is not a necessity, but rather something that many people strive for to live a healthy lifestyle. Living an active life lowers the chance of many diseases, such as kidney and Alzheimer’s, and cancers, such as colon and breast. It is therefore crucial to understand the biochemistry behind exercise as a helpful preventative measure for health problems. When exercising, the body is put through tasks that disrupt homeostasis. The body wants to eliminate wide spread deviants of homeostasis. However, after and during exercise the body needs more oxygen and energy to be able to complete the tasks one is putting on the body. These demands, the increase in affinity for oxygen and energy, require metabolic responses that disrupt homeostasis. To test these metabolic responses, many scientists use biomarker testing on whole blood and serum samples rather than pieces of skeletal muscle. Biomarkers are used to measure the presence of a physiological state. These markers have biological properties that measure the blood and serum. There are many different changes in the mitochondrial genome during and immediately following exercise. This paper will focus on an overview of some endurance training biomarkers, but will mainly focus on high intensity exercise and the induced gene expression in the mitochondrial genome. It is important to study the effects of exercise on gene expression to know at what levels of various genes, like lactate dehydrogenase, aldose, etc., come dangerous to human health as to prevention diseases such as Rhadomyolysis (Heled, et al., 2005). Proliferator-activated Receptors association with Exercise-Induced Mitochondrial Biogenesis Transcriptional cofactors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PGC) regulate gene expression (Lin, et al., 2005). PGC-1a regulates gene expression in the mitochondrial genome. This coactivator interacts with other proteins to regulate contraction. Overexpression of PGC-1a results in an increase in mitochondrial gene function (Lin, et al., 2002). Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and nitrogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) all have important signaling that help regulate PGC-1a (Hawley, et al., 2010). Calcium is important for energy due to its role in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Contractions of skeletal muscle are dependent on high levels of calcium. The calcium then binds to troponin, which moves the myosin fibers resulting in muscle contractions. Calcium also plays a major role in calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinases. Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII) activation increases the transport of glucose in skeletal muscle (Rose, A. and Hargreaves, M., 2003). AMPK and MAPks activate PGC-1a, Figure 1, by phosphorylating transcription factors myocyte enhancer factor 2 and ATF-2, respectively (McGee and Hargreaves, 2010). Figure 1. Schematic of the Major Signaling Pathways Involved in the Control of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy and Mitochondrial Biogenesis (Hawley, et al., 2010). The right side of this figure shows the correlation of the AMPK, CAMK, SIRT1, MAPK pathways that effect PGC-1a which regulates mitochondrial biogenesis. Another inhibitor of PGC-1a is a deactelyase silent mating type-information regulation 2 homolg 1 (SIRT1) (HIgashida, et al., 2013). Since SIRT1 is NADà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ º-dependent, Figure 1, changes in concentration of NADà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ º change the SIRT1 activity in the cell (Gurd, 2011). Many studies have shown that the protein content of SIRT1 and the activity are independent, and that because of that it is thought that the SIRT1 activity is what subsidizes to PGC-1a activity (Gurd 2011). Test For Correlation between SIRT1 and PGC-1a. The following experiment was performed by Chabi and coworkers to examine SIRT1’s role in muscle during muscle use (Chabi, et al., 2009). Rats were placed into a control group and a running group. The running group were able to run on a loaded wheel. Weight was added to the wheel during weeks one through four, but maintained a 200 g weight from weeks five through eight. The plantaris (PL) and soleus (SOL) muscles were taken as well as the tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) for analysis. Once the proteins were extracted, the SIRT1 activity and deacetylase was found by fluorescence. A cycling assay was used to determine the NAD nucleotides. Immunoblotting was done to test expression of PGC-1a, cytochrome c, SIRT1 and GAPDH. SIRT1 expression showed to be the highest in the liver and slow-twitch muscle while PGC-1a immunoreactivity was highest in the heart muscle. This experiment did not show a correlation between SIRT1 and PGC-1a expression, like the scientists hoped, but it did bring up the question if SIRT1 activity is altered by acute exercise instead of high-intensity. Eccentric Exercise and Muscle Damage Markers The following was performed by Kazue Kanda and coworkers to see if eccentric exercise affects muscle damage markers (Kanda, et al., 2014). Participates in this study each performed right calf-raises on a force plate to add 0.5 Hz to each lift. With 3 min for rest, forty repetitions for 10 sets were completed with half of their weight along with the added force. Immediately following these muscle contractions, the medial and lateral gastrocnemius and soleus were measured for tenderness using a FP meter. The meter rated based on a visual analogue scale from no pain to extremely sore. The ankle was tested for range of motion (ROM) along the dosiflexion position (-20 ) to the plantar flexion position (15). Both of tenderness of the calf and the ROM was tested at 24 h increments until 168 h after the repetitive muscle contractions. After 72 h the tenderness of the right calf increased significantly (p Subsequently, samples from the blood and urine were taken both before and at various times after the exercise. Various proteins, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), aldolase (ALD) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were tested from the serum. An Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test for fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP). The activities of CK and AST increased significantly post 72 h. The activities of ALT and ALD also increased for each sample, however, it was not significant. LDH activity had a significant increase at 96 h after exercise, but not really before. The results for ALD did correlate with the tenderness of the medial gastrocnemius at the 72 h mark and could suggest that ALD might be a better muscle damage indicator because the other proteins tested did not correlate with tenderness. The ELISA testing on FABP resulted in no detectable changes. This experiment used two methods of testing muscle damage and had correlated results for ALD. Exercise-Induced biochemical changes in Quadriceps and Gastrocnemius in Mice The following was performed by L. Toti and coworkers to see the changes in blood lactate as well as mitochondrial enzymes as a result of two different exercises; intense activity with recovery periods and moderate activity with no recovery periods (Toti, et al., 2013). Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the two muscle groups, the quadriceps and gastrocnemius, to see expression of enzymes correlated with oxidative metabolism. Mice were divided into three different groups based on similar maximal velocities. Mice with higher maximal velocities partaked in the intense activity: running at 90% for 2 min followed by 1 min of recovery. The mice with lower mamximal velocities partaked in continuous running at 60% velocity. Data was collected for 40 sessions, where each mouse ran a distance of 1000 meters. Blood samples were taken at sessions 1, 20 and 40. Blood lactate was tested and showed a decrease in both groups by session 40, with the higher-velocity group measuring significantly lower than the lower-velocity group. Immunochemistry testing resulted in an increase in response for the high-velocity mice for both the quadriceps and the gastrocnemius. This experiment showed that high-intensity training impacted the biochemistry more so than the low-velocity training. MicroRNA Expression and Telomere-Associated Genes After Acute Exercise The following was performed by W. Chilton and coworkers to see mechanisms the correlation between white blood cell (WBC) telomere length and exercise (Chiltion, et al., 2014). Participants in this study ran on a treadmill for 30 min at 80% of maximum oxygen uptake. Blood samples were taken before and immediately following the running as well as an hour post-running. MicroRNA expression arrays that could measure a whole genome, were used on the samples. TERT mRNA expression levels were then tested by qPCR. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mRNA and Sirtuin-6 (SIRT6) were two of the genes tested. This experiment was able to show supporting evidence that the transcriptional regulation of key telomeric genes can be affected by exercise. TERT mRNA was upregulated as well as the SIRT6. The qPCR testing on TERT and SIRT6 showed the increase in binding miRNA. Chilton did express that the increases in both the SIRT6 and the TERT mRNAs could have been upregulations from the extra-telomeric pathways instead of just the telomeric roles since there was no definitive way to differentiate between the two in this experiment. It is important to understand exercise’s effects on telomeres and its corresponding proteins to gain an insight on how physical health improves telomere homeostasis, keeping the telomeres from getting too short and the cell dying. Chemokine Polymorphisms Association with Skeletal Muscle Damage The following experiment was performed by M. Hubal and coworkers to see if chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and chemokine receptor 2 (CCR 2) are associated with biomarkers after exercising (Hubal, et al., 2010). CCL2 is important because it recruits necessary items, such as memory T cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes, to inflammation sites in injured tissue. CCR2, the receptor molecule for CCL2, mediates with calcium mobilization. It is suggested that CCL2 and CCR3 play major roles in the repair of skeletal muscle damage. Participants performed two, 25 contractions, sets of elbow flexor muscle contractions in the non-dominant arm. It was crucial that the participants had constant maximal effort and stayed hydrated the 10 days following the exercise. Blood samples were taken and sent for genotyping. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) known to influence the level of CCL2 proteins were analyzed using PCR. There were four SNPs from CCL2 and three from CCR2 that should high phenotype associations. The minor allele found in the SNPs was correlated with an increase in damage. This study was able to show that variations of the CCL2 and CCR2 genes are related to muscle damage markers caused by exercise. Molecular and Metabolic Changes of High-intensity Interval Training The following experiment was performed by J. Little and coworkers to assess the molecular and metabolic changes of high-intensity interval training (Little, et al., 2010). Participants performed six cycling training sessions over the course of two weeks. Each session consisted of approximately 30 min of high intensity intervals. By the last sessions, the subjects were completing 12 intervals of 60 s high-intensity cycling followed by 75 s low intensity for recovery. Biopsies from the leg were taken before and after the two week training. The muscle lysates were taken for Western blotting and enzyme activity testing. Western blotting was used to test for glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), PGC-1a, and SIRT1while the mitochondrial enzyme activity was tested on cytochrome c oxidase (COX). The subjects improved in both time and power, about 10%, for cycling during the two week training session. COX activity increased by 29%. PGC-1a increased by approximately 24%, however, the protein itself was did not have any genetic changes. GLUT4 content increased by 119%, while SIRT1 increased by approximately 56%. This experiment showed some changes, due to exercise, in regulators that are important in mitochondrial biogenesis. Conclusion There are many induced changes in the mitochondrial genome during and after exercise. These changes occur to help maintain cell homeostasis while the body is being put through stress during intense exercise. Blood and serum samples along with tissue extractions have provided a way to examine these changes and see how one is correlated with another (Figure 1). PGC-1a helps muscle contractions by regulating gene expression in mitochondria biogenesis. However, PGC-1a has many cofactors helping it. CaMKII, AMPK, and MAPKs all help in providing energy to the skeletal muscles by impacting the activation of PGC-1a. Although SIRT1 deactelyation inhibits PGC-1a, it still impacts the biochemistry of the body during workouts due to deactelyation. LDH activity was shown to increase hours after high-intensity exercise because LDH it is released as pyruvate is converted into lactate. ALD, which converts sugar into energy, was found to be a good indicator because in the calf-raises experiment the results from the biomarker testing as well as the tenderness testing correlated with each other. CCL2 and CCR2 were found to have changes in SNPs that corresponded to the high-intensity exercise and most likely aide in the recruiting of the memory T cells and dendritic cells to the injured tissue. High-intensity exercise, without time for recovery, would keep the body maintained at a stressful state of trying to bring it back to homeostasis. As proven in the calf-raise experiment, LDH levels decreased as the participants were able to come accustom to the exercises. The bodies were no longer in shock. If the bodies were did not become accustom, or the body was not given any time for recovery, the chances of obtaining diseases such as Rhabdomyolysis increases. Future experiments need to focus on what levels of these regulators will become dangerous. Research should be down to further understand the relationship between SIRT1 and PGC-1a. References Chabi, B., Adhihetty, P.J., O’Leary, M.F., Menzies, K.J., and Hood, D. (2009) Relationship between sirt1 expression and mitochondrial proteins during conditions of chronic muscle use and diuse. J. Appl. Physiol. 107(6):1730-1735. Chilton, W., Marques, F., West, J., Kannourakis, G., Berzins, S., O’Briend, B., and Charchar, F. (2014) Acute Exercise Leads to Regulation of Telomere-Associated Genes and MicroRNA Expression in Immune Cells. PLoS ONE. 9, 1-13. Gurd, B. (2011) Deacetylation of PGC-1a by SIRT1: importance for skeletal muscle function and exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. App. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 36:589-597. Hawley, J., Hargreaves, M., Joyner, M., and Zierath, J. (2010) Integrative Biology of Exercise. Cell 159, 738-749. Heled., Y., Zarian., A., Moran., D., and Hadad, E. (2005) Exercise induced rhabdomyolysis – characteristics, mechanisms and treatment. Harefuah 144(1):34-8. Hubal, M., Devaney, J., Hoffman, E., Zambraski, E., Gordish-Dressman, H., Kerns, A., Larking, J., Adham, K., Patel, R., and Clarkson, P. (2010) CCL2 and CCR2 polymorphisms are associated with markers of exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage. J of App Physicol 108(6), 1651-1658. Kanda, K., Sugama, K., Sakuma, J., Kawakami, Y., and Suzuki, K. (2014) Evaluation of serum leaking enzymes and investigation into new biomarkers for exercise-induced muscle damage Exerc Immunol Rev. 20, 39-54. Lin, J., Wu, H., Tarr, P., Zhang, C., Wu, Z., Boss, O., Michael, L., Puigserver, P., Isotani, E., Olson, E., Lowell, B., Bassel-Duby, R., and Spiegelman, B. (2002). Transcriptional co-activator PGC-1 alpha drives the formation of slow-twitch muscle fibres. Nature 418, 797-801. Lin, J., Handschin, C., and Spiegelman, B. (2005). Metabolic control through the PGC-1 family of transcription coactivators. Cell. Metab. 1, 361-370. Little, J.P., Safdar, A., Wilkin, G.P., Tarnopolsky, M.A., and Gibala, M.J. (2010) A practical model of low-volume high intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms. J. Physiol. 588(6):1011-1022. McGee, S., Hargreaves, M. (2010). AMPK-mediated regulation of transcription in skeletal muscle. Clin. Sci. 118, 258-263. Rose, A.J., and Hargreaves, M. (2003). Exercise increases -calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity in human skeletal muscle. J. Physiol. 265, E380-E391. Toti, L., Bartalucci, A., Ferrucci, M., Fulceri, F., Lazzeri, G., Lenzi, P., Soldani, P., Gobbi, P., La Torre, A., and Gesi, M. (2013) High-intensity exercise training induces morphological and biochemical changes in skeletal muscles. Biol Sport 30(4), 301-309. Alissa Christian

Friday, October 25, 2019

An Analysis of Singing to Wolves Essay -- Singing to Wolves

   An Analysis of â€Å"Singing to Wolves†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The poem,   â€Å"Singing to Wolves† is a modern poem,   that tries to explain to the reader how wonderful solitude is,   but also considers it’s negative side,   with the example of a lonely girl.   The poem starts off with a brief encounter into the history of Wales,   and talks about the Llanthony monks,   who the reader is told were unloved by the Welsh,   and thus driven to a lonely life in the wilderness.   By reading this poem,   it seems as though being unloved is a popular reason for solitude.   After this brief insight into Wales’ history the reader is then taken back to the realms of modern day living.    â€Å"Why should we stay here singing to wolves?†    This opening sentence seems to act as a kind of question,   which is answered in the course of the poem.   At first it sounds like a stupid thing to do,   but eventually the reader realises that the wolves become very symbolic in the poem.   Wolves are thought of as being ruthless hunters of the wilderness,   and one could hardly imagine them being impressed by the singing of any person. For the monks the Wolves were those that despised them (the Welsh),   and by â€Å"singing† to them,   they were actually trying to convince them of their belief etc.   And seeing as no-one ever listened to them,   they may as well sing to the wolves,   as they take just as much notice of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However the wolves also have another interesting metaphorical meaning in the poem.   These days they no longer roam Britain,   and have all died out,&nb... ...flowers†¦Ã¢â‚¬     Another interesting thing that the poet makes use of is semicolons.   These are used throughout the three stanza’s.   The point of these semicolons is to make the sentences seem longer,   and bring a certain amount of continuity to it.    â€Å"†¦said Llanthony monks;   and left for soft living†¦Ã¢â‚¬     Once one has recognised the ideas behind the text,   one realises that the poem tries to make the reader think about the world he lives in,   and maybe even prompt him into looking more deeply into his way of life,   and try not to simply follow the pattern that everybody else makes.   The poet has don this by using the example of the monks in the past years,   and the little girl in our modern world.   Maybe he wants the reader to find a medium between becoming a statistic,   and singing to wolves.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Maroubra and Kogarah Essay

Maroubra and Kogarah are beautiful suburbs of Australia. Neither provinces are national capital nor commercial centres. However, each has prominent features. This report will compare and contrast the location, population, housing, sevices of these two provinces. Maroubra is a beach suburb nearby Sydney which is located 10 kilometers south-east of the central business dictrict while the residential suburb-Kogarah is slightly farther than Maroubra, about 14 kilometers. The population of these suburbs are extremely different, Maroubra has twice as much population as Kogarah. The population of Maroubra is 26.500 while Kogarah is 10.900. The propoution of the largest age group from 20 to 39 years old in Maroubra is 33 percent whereas this age group in Kogarah has only 31 percent. In the review, 53 percent of people in Maroubra were born in Autralia while in Kogarah were 47 percent. In Maroubra,47 percent of people come from many countries in the world. However, Kogarah has 53 percent of people from a lot of different countries. Housing in the two suburbs have both similarities and differences. Maroubra and Kogarah have over 42 percent of apartment. The median either house price or apartment price in Maroubra in higher than in Kogarah. The cost of a house in Maroubra is about 1.050,000 dollas while a house in Kogarah is about 650.000 dollas. An apartment’s price in Maroubra is about 575.000 dollas but one in Kogarah is just about 420.000 dollas. So there are 46 percent of apartment in Kogarah while this percent in Maroubra is only 42. There are a lot of discrepancies about services of both suburbs. In Maroubra, the number people driving to work account for about 55 percent whereas there are only about 45 percent. Basically, trains are widely used in Kogarah, it takes about 25 minutes to go to city. People in Maroubra do not travel by train. Instead, they go to the city by bus in about 50 minutes. Next point à ­ about retail. Sightseers in Maroubra can enjoy shopping having coffee or food meal in some medium-sized shopping center,small shop and cafes on major road. But in Kogarah, most small shopping center, small shops is near train station. Beside, the major hospital of Maroubra is about 3 kilometers away from the center. Whereas the major hospital of Maroubra stay at the center. But both have many private clinics.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Psychology and Association Test Essay

Experimental psychology is an area of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to research the mind and behavior. While students are often required to take experimental psychology courses during undergraduate and graduate school, you should really think of this subject as a methodology rather than a singular area within psychology. Many of these techniques are also used by other subfields of psychology to conduct research on everything from childhood development to social issues. Experimental psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers, government and private businesses. Some of these professionals may focus on teaching experimental to students, while others conduct research on cognitive processes, animal behavior, neuroscience, personality and many other subject areas. Those who work in academic settings often teach psychology courses in addition to performing research and publishing their findings in professional journals. Other experimental psychologists work with businesses to discover ways to make employees more productive or to create a safer workplace, a specialty area known as human factors psychology. Do you enjoy researching human behavior? If you have a passion for solving problems or exploring theoretical questions, you might also have a strong interest in a career as an experimental psychologist. Experimental psychologists study a huge range of topics within psychology, including both human and animal behavior. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about what experimental psychologists do, this career profile can answers some of your basic questions and help you decide if you want to explore this specialty area in greater depth. An experimental psychologist is a type of psychologist who uses scientific methods to collect data and perform research. Experimental psychologists explore an immense range of psychological phenomena, ranging from learning to personality to cognitive processes. The exact type of research an experimental psychologist performs may depend on a number of factors including his or her educational background, interests and area of employment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:â€Å"Experimental or research psychologists work in university and private research centers and in business, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. They study the behavior of both human beings and animals, such as rats, monkeys, and pigeons. Prominent areas of study in experimental research include motivation, thought, attention, learning and memory, sensory and perceptual processes, effects of substance abuse, and genetic and neurological factors affecting behavior. † Experimental psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers, government and private businesses. Some of these professionals may focus on teaching experimental methods to students, while others conduct research on cognitive processes, animal behavior, neuroscience, personality and many other subject areas. Those who work in academic settings often teach psychology courses in addition to performing research and publishing their findings in professional journals. Other experimental psychologists may work with businesses to discover ways to make employees more productive or to create a safer workplace, a specialty area known as human factors psychology. Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. Many experimental psychologists have gone further, and have assumed that all methods of investigation other than experimentation are suspect. In particular, experimental psychologists have been inclined to discount the case study and interview methods as they have been used in clinical and developmental psychology. Since it is a methodological rather than a substantive category, experimental psychology embraces a disparate collection of areas of study. It is usually taken to include the study of perception, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, the experimental analysis of behavior, and some aspects of physiological psychology. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) was a German physician, psychologist, physiologist and philosopher, known today as the â€Å"Father of Experimental Psychology† Some Famous Experimental Psychologists: Wilhelm Wundt later wrote the Principles of Physiological Psychology (1874), which helped establish experimental procedures in psychological research. After taking a position at the University of Liepzig, Wundt founded the first of only two experimental psychology labs in existence at that time. (Although a third lab already existed – William James established a lab at Harvard, which was focused on offering teaching demonstrations rather than experimentation. G. Stanley Hall founded the first American experimental psychology lab at John Hopkins University). Wundt was associated with the theoretical perspective known as structuralism, which involves describing the structures that compose the mind. He believed that psychology was the science of conscious experience and that trained observers could accurately describe thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a process known as introspection. Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus was one of the first to scientifically study forgetting. In experiments where is used himself as the subject, Ebbinghaus tested his memory using three-letter nonsense syllables. He relied on such nonsense words because relying on previously known words would have made use of his existing knowledge and associations in his memory. In order to test for new information, Ebbinghaus tested his memory for periods of time ranging from 20 minutes to 31 days. He then published his findings in 1885 in Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. His results, plotted in what is known as the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, revealed a relationship between forgetting and time. Initially, information is often lost very quickly after it is learned. Factors such as how the information was learned and how frequently it was rehearsed play a role in how quickly these memories are lost. The forgetting curve also showed that forgetting does not continue to decline until all of the information is lost. At a certain point, the amount of forgetting levels off. What exactly does this mean? It indicates that information stored in long-term memory is surprisingly stable. In the realm of mental phenomena, experiment and measurement have hitherto been chiefly limited in application to sense perception and to the time relations of mental processes. By means of the following investigations we have tried to go a step farther into the workings of the mind and to submit to an experimental and quantitative treatment the manifestations of memory. The term, memory, is to be taken here in its broadest sense, including Learning, Retention, Association and Reproduction. The principal objections which, as a matter of course, rise against the possibility of such a treatment are discussed in detail in the text and in part have been made objects of investigations. I may therefore ask those who are not already convinced a priori of the impossibility of such an attempt to postpone their decision about its practicability. Gustav Fechner did not call himself a psychologist, some important historians of psychology like Edwin G. Boring consider the experimental rising of this science in Fechner’s work (1979, p. 297). More specifically, it was Fechner’s famous intuition of October 22, 1850 that, according to Boring (quoted by Saul Rosenzweig, 1987), gave opportunity to his work as a psychophysicist (Rosenzweig also remembers that this date that serves as reference to this event, is curiously close to Boring? birthday, October 23rd). In a more concise way, if we think Fechner’s psychophysics work as the junction of a philosophical doctrine (that correlates spirit and matter as aspects of the same being), an experimental methodology (correlating the variations of stimulus and sensations perceived) and an assemblage of mathematical laws (the famous Weber-Fechner law); in addition, the last two aspects are considered especially relevant to the rising of psychology. Nevertheless, to think that the rising of a science is restricted to the establishment of experimental procedure and to a mathematical formalization, is to forget a whole field of questioning in which the instruments created by Fechner could, in the middle of the 19thcentury, overcome some obstacles and answer some questions, notably the ones made by the critic philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Ernst Weber was a German physiologist and Psychologist. He was regarded as a predecessor of experimental psychology and one of the founders of Psychophysics, the branch of psychology that studies the relations between physical stimuli and mental states. He is known chiefly for his work on investigation of subjective sensory response (sensations) to the impact of external physical stimuli: weight, temperature, and pressure. Weber experimentally determined the accuracy of tactile sensations, namely, the distance between two points on the skin, in which a person can perceive two separate touches. He discovered the two-point threshold – the distance on the skin separating two pointed stimulators that is required to experience two rather than one point of stimulation.