The Science of Hadith

Hadith[1] is one of the main concepts in contemporary Islam; this term is used to describe a saying, action, or an argument that can be attributed to the prophet Muhammad (Campo 280). Each of them can be of great relevance to contemporary leading Muslim scholars.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Science of Hadith specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These sayings are critical for the understanding of Quran. Moreover, they are important for the interpretation and evaluation of different legal issues that people may need to resolve. They are also of great interest to Western historians who want to understand the life of the Muslim community. This paper is aimed at discussing the science of Hadith. Overall, this discipline is aimed at determining the authenticity of a certain statement which is ascribed to Muhammad. This science has its methodology that is supposed to examine historical evidence regarding th e Prophet Muhammad. On the whole, one can say that this science can help people better understand various aspects of Islam as well as people who practice this religion. First of all, it should be noted that Muhammad did not want other people to record his statements, even though he spent much time in order to ensure that his ideas could be understood by listeners or followers (Kamali ). He did not want other people to misinterpret his words or summarize them. So, Hadith are not recorded in Quran; more likely, they are regarded as its supplement. Unlike Quran, these texts do not have the same level of authority. In many cases, they were not properly documented. Thus, scholars attempted to develop a set of methods for assessing various Hadiths. This is the main problems that people should bear in mind when speaking about Hadith. Lack of evidence is one of the reasons why Islamic scholars question the validity and authenticity of Hadith. These researchers employ different methods to de termine whether a certain statement or argument can be attributed to the Prophet. In particular, they look at how many people mention a certain Hadith and how they learned about it (Campo 280). If there are more witnesses, it is more likely that this saying can be attributed to Muhammad. This is one of the methods that Islamic scholars apply. Additionally, they pay close attention to the credibility of the Hadith transmitter. Provided that the reputation of the transmitter was tarnished in any way, his/her testimony can no longer be regarded as valid (Ramadan 12). Additionally, the credibility of the person can be questioned, if he/she refers to unreliable testimony.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Researchers distinguish several types of Hadith, namely the actions of the Prophet, the information of about his personality, his own words, and his tacit approvals or dis approvals (Ramadan 12). Each of them is closely scrutinized before being accepted. Thus, one can say that there are certain standards that a Hadith has to reach certain standards in order to be accepted. It should be noted that the study of Hadith can be dated back to 632 of the Common Era, since this was the year when Muhammad died. Since that time, various followers of the Prophet began to dispute his legacy (Nigosian 18). In part, the history of Hadith is closely related to the political history of Islam, especially the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims. This is why there are Sunni and Shia collections of Hadith. This division still exists in contemporary Islam and it can even lead to violent conflict. Thus, this discipline can throw light on the contemporary conflicts existing in the Muslim community. One should bear in mind that the study of Hadith should not be reduced only to religious aspects. This research is of great importance to Islamic jurisprudence (Nigosian 18). In some cases, legal scholars in Muslim countries refer to various Hadith in order to evaluate the ethical aspects of a certain actions or social phenomenon. So, the sayings that are attributed to Muhammad can have significant implications for contemporary society (Nigosian 18). This is why their importance should not be disregarded. Apart from that, it is important to remember that the study of Hadith is of great relevance to contemporary Western historians, political scientists and religious scholars who attempt to better understand various aspects of Islamic faith and different disputes within the Muslim community. This knowledge can help understand the political life of many Muslim countries. Thus, one should not suppose that the study of Hadith is of great interest only to Islamic scholars. Overall, this discussion indicates that the study of Hadith still plays an important role for the life of Muslim people. By evaluating different sources, Islamic scholars can throw a new light on the personality of Muhammad, his actions, beliefs and attitudes. The use of different methods enables them determine whether a certain saying, action, or argument can really be ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad. Hadith are vital for understanding the life of contemporary Muslim people. This is one of the key issues that one can identify.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Science of Hadith specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Works Cited Campo, Juan. Encyclopedia of Islam, New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print. Kamali, Mohammad. A Textbook of Hadith Studies, London: Consortium Book Sales Dis, 2005. Print. Nigosian, Solomon. Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices, New York: Indiana University Press, 2004. Print. Ramadan, Hisham. Understanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary, London: Rowman Altamira, 2006. Print. Footnotes Singular and plural forms of this word coincide This research paper on The Science of Hadith was written and submitted by user Irvin O. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Jane Friedman Offers Writers Valuable Advice

Jane Friedman Offers Writers Valuable Advice Its undeniable that writing and the publishing industry have vastly changed over the last 20 years. Publishing and media solutions UK group Ribbonfish poignantly wrote on their website: The publishing industry is no longer restricted to ink and paper; digital technology has a vital role to play in the industrys current and future activities. Publishing companies are now just as likely to be producing, marketing and selling digital forms of fiction and non-fiction, as they are to be printing hard copies of books and magazines.E-readers and digital copies of books (plus the constant availability of the phone in our pockets) have led to a generation of readers who are able to carry their books on the go without a giant tote bag to store them. While its a positive thing overall that more people have access to literature and writing than ever before, this can make for a complicated landscape for writers and publishers to navigate through.Not since the invention of the printing press has t here been more of a revolution in the publishing industry. Today, writers and publishers are not only expected to produce their work in a traditional book format, but also for several different types of electronic formats such as EPUB, AZW (the Amazon format), PDF, ODF, and MOBI. Writers and publishers also have the task of marketing the book on social media and getting and keeping the attention of the reader, who now has millions of reading choices available to them at the touch of their fingertips.Seeing the fast-paced changes in the publishing industry, Jane Friedman- writer, author and publisher strategist, and co-founder of The Hot Sheet (the essential industry newsletter for authors)- decided that there was a need for someone to help authors and publishers make smarter business decisions in this new publishing world. She has dedicated her website, JaneFriedman.com, to advertising her services for querying, book proposals, author website critiques, and more.Lets take a look at what JaneFriedman.com offers for authors and publishers and take a dive into her blog on insights and tips for the industry.What services does JaneFriedman.com offer?Jane Friedman offers a wide range of publishing and digital media strategy services for authors and publishers who are at every stage in their career. All of the work is directly done by Jane herself- she makes it a point to let her potential clients know that she doesnt subcontract or use assistants to do this work (with the exception of administrative tasks that dont directly involve clients)Query letter and synopsis critiquesA query letter is a formal letter that is sent (typically unsolicited) to magazine editors or literary agents to propose a writing idea. They are written in a very specific format to capture the attention of the person you are writing to in order to sell them on your idea.Jane Friedman offers critiques on both the query letter as well as synopses that authors write. Jane writes on her website, If youre preparing queries or synopses for an agent or publisher, I can edit and evaluate your materials and suggest improvements to increase your chances of a response. I cant guarantee youll get representation or a publishing deal, but I can offer you insight into potential challenges or stumbling blocks in your efforts to get published.The goal is to have a finalized query and synopsis of your book that is appropriate to send out to an agent or publisher.Here is how the typical process will go:Jane will typically rewrite or revisit a clients query or synopsis.She will not write for you, as she cant write in your particular style, but she will make sure that the query is a collaborative effort in order to capture the best qualities of your book.She will correct grammar, style, mechanics, and spelling if it is necessary.She will apply the necessary formatting that is consistent with book publishing standards.Jane can also provide insight and advice on any legal issues raised by your project.Nonfiction book proposal critiquesNonfiction book proposals are a completely different ballpark than querying fiction. In order to help you prepare your proposal, Jane Friedman offers nonfiction book proposal critiques that are backed up by her extensive experience working in nonfiction as an editor as well as preparing nonfiction book proposals for her own work. In many cases, authors with little experience with or exposure to book proposals will have missed some of the necessary sections, or they havent addressed important issues such as competing titles, target market, or the marketing plan.Here is how the typical process will go:Once you have written a proposal, Jane will take a look at it and propose either a phone consultation or a book proposal edit and consult.A phone consultation will be one hour on the phone or via Skype to discuss the book proposal. This is frequently recommended if there is a lot of work to do on the proposal. Jane will recommend next steps durin g the consultation.A book proposal edit and consultation will consist of a thorough review and edit of the proposal as well as a follow-up Skype call to discuss the changes that were made.If you havent written a book proposal yet, Jane also offers an online course on book proposals that will allow writers to ask questions about putting one together on your own.Author website and blog critiquesAuthors are expected to not only write well, but also constantly be marketing their product on their website or their blog. If your website needs some work, Jane can assist you in cleaning it up or ensuring that it adheres to best practices such as search engine optimization or mobile device optimization.Here is what you can expect if you hire Jane for author website or blog critique services:First, you will be asked to complete a worksheet to help her understand the history of your website, how you manage it, and what you want to get out of the website in the future.After having time to read a nd review the website, Jane will schedule an appointment to discuss your questions and concerns.She will give you a detailed report on your website that will help you improve it based on strategic goals, prioritize your time and make the best use of what you currently have, and help you build a plan for the next stage of your website.Additionally, she will help you understand the influence of SEO on your site and help you understand your sites Google Analytics.Jane also provides blogging critiques, which includes an overview of blogging strategy, a critique of your social media accounts, how to improve the effectiveness of your online writing, and what it will take to generate more traffic.Nonfiction book concept reviewIf you are thinking about entering into the world of nonfiction and you want to test the waters with a book concept, you can send the proposal over to Jane Friedman for a safe place to review and get feedback without too high of stakes. Sometimes you may have a great idea but arent exactly sure if there is a market or how you can make the book appeal to the masses. The service is fairly affordable (only $200) and will help an author get their feet wet on a new idea.Before you begin writing your proposal, you can send me your concept for review and advice, and Ill offer written feedback via email. This can potentially save you time and frustration- so that you dont develop a book proposal for a concept thats not likely to be viable or salable.Jane FriedmanOn the nonfiction book concept review, you can expect the following:You will start by filling out a form that asks you to categorize your nonfiction book (memoir/life story, narrative nonfiction, collection of essays, prescriptive, or business). The form will also ask you to write a description of your book, talk about your background as a writer or an author, whether or not you have pitched the idea before, and what you are hoping to learn from the experience of working with Jane on this collab orative concept.By the end of the collaborative exchange, the idea is that you will have concrete next steps or a direction- and sometimes that direction is to abandon the project.Whats on Jane Friedmans blog?In addition to all of the services Jane offers on her website, she also includes a blog where she shares tips and tricks for the author and publishing community. She shares tips on strategic marketing (such as her recent post on an introverts guide to launching a book), tips on crafting stories (like her post on flashbacks in fiction), as well as tips for productivity (see her post on staying sane while publishing).The posts are regular and they offer so much insight into the ever-changing publishing industry for those in every stage of their careers.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 91

Assignment Example Zoning restrictions and state laws help to minimize the proximity of pornographic and liquor establishments to schools. The site should provide an attractive landscape that supports vegetation. Besides, the schools should have beautiful buildings that give a positive impression and motivation. There should be provision for maintenance, drainage, and parking. Middle school requires more space than high school. Streets and parking areas should be stable and smooth for easy use during all seasons. Sharp curves, dead-end streets, and excess corners should be avoided. The site should be elevated and provide contour for proper drainage and avoid soil erosion. Fault areas, steep slopes, and mines should, however, be avoided. The topographical orientation should be modest for both middle and high schools. The choice of soil type should allow good drainage schools in lowlands should be elevated to facilitate drainage that also impact on daily care costs. Scoring drainage should thus also consider student movement patterns regardless of their age. Elementary schools require for outdoor activities such as physical education and informal play while high schools need athletic and practice fields. Nature trails are also important to beauty and science learning, but open waters should be avoided. All age levels need sufficient paths, both onside, and offside, including visitors and employees. A desirable, safe walking pattern is necessary for young children vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow should be considered. Sidewalks are also requisite. There should be one parking space for every teacher and member of personnel. About 50% of older students often drive and should have parking space. Each car space should be 300 square feet. Curb cuts and 2% of the available spaces should be reserved for the disabled. The school design should blend with the physical environment. Elementary schools should be appealing, but massive structures should be avoided.

Vivid Description of Mother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vivid Description of Mother - Essay Example Whenever my mother smiles, the white, well-shaped teeth brighten her whole face when she grins. She has a well soft developed body of medium height; her skin is smooth, light brown and splendid. She has four boys and one girl thus we are five siblings; two of the boys are twins, my brother and I are the eldest followed by the other siblings. Her beauty is glimpsing, she is lovely and caring about our personal problems and spiritual arena. She maintains high standards of cleanliness and wishes that all of us to follow the same pursuit. She is a hard-working, determined, goal-oriented woman and raised her family as she carried on with her studies. Despite the fact that her studies were involving, she always had time the family. She is eloquent in talking and persuasive while presenting facts that convinces one to agree wholeheartedly with her without any act of opposition. She is an academically oriented person and rarely does she stay without a plan to pursue her higher education in spite of raising her family. She is a professor in Nuclear Physic, and she attained her PhD from the Surrey University in England. She has managed to go up the ladder and fought through the academic levels to reach the highest. Her primary objective in her studies is obtaining and achieving her self-esteem through the exploration of the opportunities that she faces. The drive towards her education and what has facilitated her pursuit of education from the lowest level to the highest level has been made possible by the well financial base that she had developed in the entire life. However, she had to quit the job at the expense of her studies. She has served many institutions that range from colleges to the universities; the University of California and Harvard University just but to mention a few.  

International Economics paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Economics paper - Article Example They should also change their message by not reinforcing fears but reassuring citizens that trade is just one of many forces that affect their lives and government's role is to help them adapt to change. WTO should encourage governments address barriers to competition within countries. The victims of restrictive practices are consumers inside each country who must pay higher prices because of a less competitive market. These barriers also harm exporters and foreign consumers. Liberalizing should address investment restrictions too. There are fears insufficient investment restriction encourages companies to relocate to lower wage countries, but people should understand foreign direct investment would go from rich countries to other rich countries rather than poor ones. Nevertheless, there are differences between views people have in the U.S. and the views people have in most developing countries about the WTO and trade liberalization. In developing countries people fear that increase trade liberalization will lead developed countries to take advantage of their resources. In the U.S., the perception is that increased free trade will lead to a loss of sovereignty. Litan, Robert. Moving Towards an Open World Economy: The Next Phase. 6 Dec. 2009.

Huntington Disease: An overview

Huntington Disease: An overview Huntington Disease Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant disorder, characterized as disease of progressive brain degeneration in late adulthood with subsequent brain atrophy. The affected areas of degeneration are the basal ganglia, which play an important role in the control of movement. This degeneration causes various motor problems such as behavioral abnormality, chorea, incoordination and dystonia (Folstein, 1989). George Huntington was the first man that described HD in the 19th century in detail especially its hereditary nature of chorea (Huntington, 1872). New findings have shown that HD involves the mutant protein huntigtin. This protein is translated from a CAG repeat forming a polyglutamine strand of variable length at the N-terminus. The molecular mechanism of HD is not fully understood but new findings using animal models have provided valuable information. The gene associated with HD is termed the HD gene and can be found on the short arm of chromosome four. As the disease is autosomal dominant, only one HD gene is sufficient to cause the disorder. The HD gene is composed of a trinucleotide CAG repeats.The alleles of the HD gene are grouped as normal, intermediate or HD-causing. Each group has a characteristic number of CAG repeats. The normal alleles have 26 or fewer CAG repeats whereas intermediate alleles have 27-35 CAG repeats (Potter et al., 2004). Carriers of normal alleles and intermediate alleles are not at risk of developing HD. However, individuals with intermediate alleles are at risk of giving birth to a child with an allele of HD-causing characteristic (Semaka et al., 2006). Thus, intermediate alleles are also termed mutable alleles as they may mutate to cause HD phenotype in the offspring. The reason for the mutation lies in the instability of the replication. The longer the number of trinucleotides, the greater the insta bility. In 73% of the cases, the instability leads to an expansion of the trinucleotide repeats and thus an increase in the risk of developing HD whereas only 23% show a contraction of the number of repeats associated with a low risk of developing HD (Chattapadhyay et al., 2005; Djousse et al.,2004, MacDonald et al., 1999). HD-causing alleles usually contain 36 or more CAG repeats and pose the carrier at an increased risk of developing HD. HD-causing alleles have been categorized into two groups: Reduced-penetrance HD-causing alleles and Full-penetrance HD-causing alleles. Reduced-penetrance or incomplete HD-causing alleles are composed of 36-39 trinucleotide CAG repeats (Rubinsztein, 2003; Rubinsztein et al., 1996; McNeil et al., 1997). Carriers of this allele may be asymptomatic and not show the symptoms. On the other hand, full-penetrance HD-causing alleles are characterized by 40 or more CAG repeats and carriers of this allele have a high probability of developing HD (Rubinsztein et al., 1996; McNeil et al., 1997; Langebehn et al., 2004). The instability of the trinucleotide repeats occurs more often in males (spermatogenesis) than in females (oogenesis). This phenomenon can also be observed in the offspring with paternal inheritance of the HD gene where the onset of HD is more potent and occurs in the early youth. In addition, families with no history of HD may develop HD via new mutations arising by the amplification of trinucleotide CAG repeats and most of these new mutations come from the paternal side (Anca et al., 2004; Squitieri et al., 2003). Somatic instability of CAG repeats can also arise and have been observed in human beings as well as animal models. Furthermore, identical twins demonstrate different clinical syndromes and have almost a similar age of onset. Twins that are carriers of homozygous alleles have no difference in the age of onset (Georgiou et al., 1999). Carriers of the HD allele are clinically healthy before the onset of the HD disease symptoms. However, in the so called presymptomatic phase, there are slight changes occurring in motor skills, cognition and personality (Walker, 2007). The onset of HD disease symptoms usually occurs in the mean age of onset which is 35 to 44 years (Bates et al., 2002). In 66%, initial symptoms are abnormalities in the neurological function or psychiatric changes. Other symptoms are minor involountary movements, difficulty in mental planning, depression and slight changes in the eye movement. In 25% of HD carriers, the appearance of initial symptoms such as chorea, dysphagia and gait disturbance is delayed until after 50 years with the disease symptoms taking a more prolonged and gentle course. At the same time, the lifestyle of the affected individuals does not change and they can still continue with their current employment. The initial onset of the symptoms is followed by an increased symptomatic chorea, difficulty in controlling voluntary movement as well as exacerbation of dysarthria and dysphagia. As a result of the worsening symptoms, the affected individuals must leave employment and may require additional help to cope with some activities in their daily life. The final stage of HD demonstrates severe motor disability. The symptoms have worsened so much that so that the carriers cannot deal with their impairment at all and require the assistance of other people. The carriers are mute and incontinent and show a median survival time of 15 to 18 years after the first onset of HD related symptoms. The life expectancy is suggested to be at 54 to 55 years (Harper, 2005). The diagnosis of HD is based on mutation analysis. For this purpose, PCR based methods can be utilized which spots alleles up to about 115 CAG repeats. Likewise, southern blot is employed for alleles with more than 115 CAG (Potter et al., 2004). Such large expansions are linked with juvenile-onset of HD triggered by homozygous HD genotypes. Moderate-to-severe Huntingtons disease illustrate larger frontal horns of the lateral ventricles and deficiency in striatal volume when routine MRI and CT scans are performed (Stober et al., 1984). However, scans are not helpful for the diagnosis of early disorder. Functional MRI studies and data from PET have displayed that affected brains started to alter before the onset of symptoms (Kunig et al., 2000, Paulsen et al., 2004). Using these techniques, it is possible to recognize caudate atrophy as easrly as 11 years before the expected onset of the disease, and it is possible to recognze putaminal atrophy 9 years before the expected onset (Aylwar d et al., 2004). Tensor-based magnetic resonance morphometry demonstrates increasing loss of striatal loss in individuals who are presymptomatic carrying the HD gene and do not show evidence of progresson by clinical or neuropsychological tests over 2 years (Kipps et al., 2005). Genetic testing for HD is only considered by 5% of HD risk carriers due to family planning and employment. Many HD risk carriers do not undergo testing as there is no efficient treatment for HD available (Laccone et al., 1999). Moreover, predictive testing can have psychological consequences for HD risk carriers leading to suicide due to mental depression (Almqvist et al., 2003). Therefore, it is crucial to identify suicidal patterns in young HD risk carriers and give pretest counseling. Epidemiological studies suggest that HD is most prevalent in the white Caucasian population with 5-7 people affected per 100000. There are also exceptions in areas where the entire population is derived from a few founders such as in Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela or Tasmania (Pridmore, 1990). Across most of Asia and Africa the incidences of HD are much lower. The reason for the various distribution of HD incidence lies in the CAG repeats. White Caucasians have a much higher frequency of HD alleles that are composed of 28-35 CAG repeats (Kremer, 2002; Harper Jones, 2002). The high frequency of this HD alleles in the white population is not fully understood. The HD gene may give a health benefit as in other genetic disorders such as sickle cell trait. It is thought that the HD gene is associated with a lower risk of developing cancer, possibly due to the upregulation of TP53 in HD disease (Bae et al., 2005; DiFiglia etal., 1995). The pathogenesis of HD involving the protein huntingtin is poorly understood. Even though orthologs of that protein have been detected in zebrafish, drosophilia and slime moulds, the role of the protein is still unknown (Jones, 2002). Huntingtin has a high dominance in all human cells. Most of it is expressed in the brain and testes whereas heart, lungs and liver show moderate amounts of it (DiFiglia et al.,1995). One hypothesis suggests that happloinsufficiency plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of HD. This would mean that insufficient amounts of huntingtin protein are generated for the cells to function properly (Ambrose et al.,1994). However, this hypothesis also have been refuted by other findings which suggest that a deficiency of HD gene in man does not cause HD in man (Rubinsztein, 2003; Ambrose et al., 1994). This is also supported by transgenic mouse models. One allele of the HD gene does not cause HD in transgenic mouse models and complete absence of the HD gene is linked to mortality in mouse embryos (Squitieri et al., 2003). Thus, new findings explain the pathogenesis of HD as a toxic gain of function derived from the mutant HD gene. Likewise, this phenomenon can also be observed in other genetic diseases such as muscular atrophy or dentatorubropallidoluysian (Ambrose et al., 1994; Andrew et al., 1993). There is not sufficient evidence to support the claim of happloinsufficiency in any of these genetic disease but an accumulation of polyglutamines with subsequent neurodegeneration. This is further supported by the relationship between length of polyglutamine repeat and age of onset. Longer polyglutamine repeat chains are associated with more aggressive progression of HD disease symptoms and the juvenile onset of HD (Mahant et al., 2003; Squitieri et al., 2002; Forproud et al., 1999). The biological structure of polyglutamine gives more insight into the toxic gain of function in HD. Experiments performed in vitro show that polyglutamine aggregates by forming dimmers, trimers and oligomers. For this aggregation to be efficient, a minimum number of 37 glutamine residues in sequence is required. The rate of aggregation increases as more glutamine repeats are added to the long chain of glutamine polypeptide. This in vitro observation may be an explaination why some individuals experience late onset of HD while others have a juvenile onset of HD. Some key points have been discovered in the mechanism explaining how aggregated polyglutamine leads to neuronal dysfunction. The mutant huntingtin protein is more prone to proteleolysis than its wild type counterpart. This higher risk of protein degradation creates truncated proteins, which lead to the formation of aggregates of truncated huntingtin. Additionally, shorter glutamine repeats are less likely to form steric clashes than longer ones. It is believed that these aggregates are toxic and locate in the cell nucleus. (Saudou et al., 1998; Peter et al., 1999; Wellington et al., 2000). Eventually, the rate of aggregation overcomes the rate at which proteosomes or autophagic vacuolization degrade the proteins in the cell. This further exacerbates the formation of aggregated protein in conjunction with the ability of aggregates to recruit normal body proteins to their matrix. Examples of normal body proteins are those proteins that interact with the wild type form of huntingtin dir ectly (Mills et al., 2005). Some papers also propose that the protein huntingtin may exert not only a toxic gain of function but also a dominant negative effect on the typical function of the wild type protein huntingtin. This way, mutant huntingtin could interfere with proteins that regulate transcription, apoptosis, tumor suppression or axonal transport (Bae et al., 2005; Busch et al., 2003; Charrin et al., 2005; Gauthier et al., 2004 , Hickey Chesselet, 2003). Lastly, one other hypothesis states that mutant huntingtin may interfere in neuron-neuron interaction. This has been illustrated in mice where the mutant protein huntingtin disrupts the axonal transport and vesicle release of neurotrophic factor in neurons leading to intrinsic dysfunction of striatal neurons (Pulst et al., 1996; Komure et al., 1995). References Almqvist EW, Brinkman RR, Wiggins S, Hayden MR. Psychological consequences and predictors of adverse events in the fi rst 5 years after predictive testing for Huntingtons disease. Clin Genet 2003; 64: 300-09. Ambrose CM, Duyao MP, Barnes G, et al. Structure and expression of the Huntingtons disease gene: evidence against simple inactivation due to expanded CAG repeat. Somat Cell Mol Genet 1994; 20: 27-38. Anca MH, Gazit E, Lowewenthal R, Ostrovsky O, Frydman M, Giladi N. Diff erent phenotypic expression in monozygotic twins with Huntington disease. Am J Med Genet 2004; 124: 89-91. Andrew SE, Goldberg YP, Kremer B, et al. The relationship between trinucleotide (CAG) repeat length and clinical features of Huntingtons disease. Nat Genet 1993; 4: 398-403. Aylward EH, Sparks BF, Field KM, et al. Onset and rate of striatal atrophy in preclinical Huntington disease. Neurology 2004; 63: 66-72. Bae BI, Xu H, Igarashi S, et al. P53 mediates cellular dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities in Huntingtons disease. Neuron 2005; 47:29-41. Bates G, Harper P, Jones L (2002) Huntingtons Disease. Oxford University Press, New York. Busch A, Engemann S, Lurz R, et al. Mutant huntingtin promotes the fibrillogenesis of wild-type huntingtin: a potential mechanism for loss of huntingtin function in Huntingtons disease. J Biol Chem 2003; 278: 41452-61. Charrin BC, Saudou F, Humbert S. Axonal transport failure in neurogenerative disorders: the case of Huntingtons disease. Pathol Biol 2005; 53: 189-92. Chattapadhyay B, Baksi K, Mukhopadhyay S, Bhattacharyya NP. Modulation of age at onset of Huntingtons disease patients by variations in TP53 and human caspase activated DNase (hCAD) genes. Neurosci Lett 2005; 374: 81-86. DiFiglia M, Sapp E, Chase K, et al. Huntingtin is a cytoplasmic protein association with vesicles in human and rat brain neurons. Neuron 1995; 14: 1075-81. Djousse L, Knowlton B, Hayden MR, et al. Evidence for a modifier of onset age in Huntington disease linked to the HD gene in 4p16. Neurogenetics 2004; 5: 109-14. Foroud T, Gray J, Ivashina J, Conneally PM. Differences in duration of Huntingtons disease based on age at onset. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1999; 66: 52-56. Folstein S. Huntingtons disease: a disorder of families. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Gauthier LR, Charrin BC, Borrell-Pages M, et al. Huntingtin controls neurotrophic support and survival of neurons by enhancing BDNF vesicular transport along microtubules. Cell 2004; 118: 127-38. Georgiou N, Bradshaw JL, Chiu E, Tudor A, OGorman L, Phillips JG. Diff erential clinical and motor control function in a pair of monozygotic twins with Huntingtons disease. Mov Disord 1999; 14:320-25. Harper PS, Jones L. Huntingtons disease: genetic and molecular studies. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 113-58. Harper B.Huntington disease.J R Soc Med.2005;98:550. Hickey MA, Chesselet MF. Apoptosis in Huntingtons disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2003; 27: 256-65. Huntington G. On chorea. Med Surg Rep 1872; 26: 317-21 Kipps CM, Duggins AJ, Mahant N, Gomes L, Ashburner J, McCusker EA. Progression of structural neuropathology in preclinical Huntingtons disease: a tensor based morphometry study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76: 650-55. Kunig G, Leenders KL, Sanchez-Pernaute R, et al. Benzodiazepine receptor binding in Huntingtons disease: [11C]fl umazenil uptake measured using positron emission tomography. Ann Neurol 2000; 47: 644-48. Kremer B. Clinical neurology of Huntingtons disease. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 3-27. Komure O, Sano A, Nishino N, et al. DNA analysis in hereditary dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy: correlation between CAG repeat length and phenotypic variation and the molecular basis of anticipation. Neurology 1995; 45: 143-49. Jones L. The cell biology of Huntingtons disease. In: Bates G, Harper P, Jones L, eds. Huntingtons disease. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002: 348-62. Laccone F, Engel U, Holinski-Feder E, et al. DNA analysis of Huntingtons disease: fi ve years experience in Germany, Australia, and Switzerland. Neurology 1999; 53: 801-06. Langbehn DR, Brinkman RR, Falush D, Paulsen JS, Hayden MR.A new model for prediction of the age of onset and penetrance for Huntingtons disease based on CAG length.Clin Genet.2004;65:267-77. MacDonald ME, Vonsattel JP, Shrinidhi J, et al. Evidence for the GluR6 gene associated with younger onset of Huntingtons disease. Neurology 1999; 53: 1330-32 Mahant N, McCusker EA, Byth K, Graham S. Huntingtons disease: clinical correlates of disability and progression. Neurology 2003; 61:1085-92. McNeil SM, Novelletto A, Srinidhi J, Barnes G, Kornbluth I, Altherr MR, Wasmuth JJ, Gusella JF, MacDonald ME, Myers RH.Reduced penetrance of the Huntingtons disease mutation.Hum Mol Genet.1997;6:775-9. Mills IG, Gaughan L, Robson C, et al. Huntingtin interacting protein 1 modulates the transcriptional activity of nuclear hormone receptors. J Cell Biol 2005; 170: 191-200. Paulsen JS, Zimbelman JL, Hinton SC, et al. fMRI biomarker of early neuronal dysfunction in presymptomatic Huntingtons disease. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2004; 25: 1715-21. Peter MF, Nucifora FC Jr, Kushi J, et al. Nuclear targeting of mutant Huntingtin increases toxicity. Mol Cell Neurosci 1999; 14: 121-81. Potter NT, Spector EB, Prior TW.Technical standards and guidelines for Huntington disease testing.Genet Med.2004;6:61-5. Pridmore SA. The large Huntingtons disease family of Tasmania.Med J Aust 1990; 153: 593-95. Pulst SM, Nechiporuk A, Nechiporuk T, et al. Moderate expansion of a normally biallelic trinucelotide repeat in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. Nat Genetics 1996; 14: 237-38. Rubinsztein DC. Molecular biology of Huntingtons disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. In: Pulst S, ed. Genetics of movement disorders. California: Academic Press, 2003: 365-77. Rubinsztein DC, Leggo J, Coles R, Almqvist E, Biancalana V, Cassiman JJ, Chotai K, Connarty M, Crauford D, Curtis A, Curtis D, Davidson MJ, Differ AM, Dode C, Dodge A, Frontali M, Ranen NG, Stine OC, Sherr M, Abbott MH, Franz ML, Graham CA, Harper PS, Hedreen JC, Hayden MR.et al.Phenotypic characterization of individuals with 30-40 CAG repeats in the Huntington disease (HD) gene reveals HD cases with 36 repeats and apparently normal elderly individuals with 36-39 repeats.Am J Hum Genet.1996;59:16-22. Rubinsztein DC. Molecular biology of Huntingtons disease (HD) and HD-like disorders. In: Pulst S, ed. Genetics of movement disorders. California: Academic Press, 2003: 365-77. Rubinsztein DC, Leggo J, Coles R, et al. Phenotypic characterization of individuals with 30-40 CAG repeats in the Huntington disease (HD) gene reveals HD cases with 36 repeats and apparently normal elderly individuals with 36-39 repeats. Am J Hum Genet 1996; 59:16-22. Saudou F, Finkbeiner S, Devys D, Greenberg ME. Huntingtin acts in the nucleus to induce apoptosis but death does not correlate with the formation of intranuclear inclusions. Cell 1998; 95: 55-56. Squitieri F, Cannella M, Simonelli M. CAG mutation eff ect on rate of progression in Huntingtons disease. Neurol Sci 2002;23 (suppl 2): S107-08. Squitieri F, Gellera C, Cannella M, et al. Homozygosity for CAG mutation in Huntingtons disease is associated with a more severe clinical course. Brain 2003; 126: 946-55. Stober T, Wussow W, Schimrigk K. Bicaudate diameter: the most specifi c and simple CT parameter in the diagnosis of Huntingtons disease. Neuroradiology 1984; 26: 25-28. OHearn E, Holmes SE, Calvert PC, et al. SCA-12: tremor with cerebellar and cortical atrophy is associated with a CAG repeat expansion. Neurology 2001; 56: 299-303. Walker FO.Huntingtons disease.Lancet.2007;369:218-28. Wellington CL, Leavitt BR, Hayden MR. Huntington disease: new insights on the role of huntingtin cleavage. J Neural Transm Suppl 2000; 58: 1-17.

Oprah Winfrey Essays -- essays research papers

"The Oprah Winfrey Show". Her show is known to not only all over the United States, but also known to all around the world. Today she is known as the America's most famous and powerful woman. Every woman in America envies her great fortune and her intelligence. But Oprah insists that she is not special or gifted. She had overcome many hurdles and reached to the top of America's national T.V host. What makes her so popular and most loved entertainer in the United States? Oprah Winfrey, a talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist, and business woman is the chairwoman of HARPO entertainment in Chicago. She joins the elite company of Lucille Ball and Mary Pickford, as the only woman in T.V and film to own their own production studios. Through HARPO productions, she produces and hosts America's number one popular show, "The Oprah Winfrey show". (Oprah Winfrey talk show bio 1997 p.1) Today many woman in America envies her life; her popularity, intelligence and her great fortunes. Though her success was gained from her hard work and education. She did not have any special background to be a most loved woman in America. She has overcame number of obstacles that most people have encountered in their own lives. She had to deal with poverty, sexual abuse, racism as a child, and her lifelong battle with weight. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. As a child, she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then moved back to Nashville. She has lived through poverty, repeated sexual abuse, and a sentence to a juvenile delinquent home. (Hyde 1997 p.57) Oprah was crowned Miss. Black Tennessee at age 19. In 1973. She left Tennessee State University and became a newscaster for WTVF in Nashville. Three years later, Oprah became a news anchor in Baltimore at an ABC station but after 9 months, she was pulled off the air because of an emotional ad-lib delivery. She eventually ended up in Chicago hosting a morning show called "AM Chicago". In less than a year, the show became number one and was expanded to one hour and re-named "The Oprah Winfrey Show". (http://pilot.msu.edu/user/bresnah2/oprahbio.htm 1997 p.1) From there, she has been an actress in the "Color Purple", "The women of Breuster place" and "There are no children here".(Oprah Winfrey)Today, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is the highest rated talk show in T.V history, and ... ...not, though many women are hoping her to remain in the show and share her power and intelligence with them. Oprah's effect on T.V is so great that since she started to appear on the show, many similar talk shows increased dramatically. And most of these talk show hosts are very popular just like Oprah. Though I believe no one among them can influence American women just like Oprah did. REFERENCES 1. Benezra, K. (1997). Products pitch talk hosts. Media week, pp. 6.2. Dickerson, D (1997). A womans's woman. U.S News & World Report. pp.10. 3. Hyde, W.S (1991). Television and Radio Announcing. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Company. 4. Schlosser, J (1997). Oprah watch. Broadcasting & Cable. pp. 10.5. Stanley, T.L (1997). What they've got. Media week. pp. 34-35.6. http://pilot.msu.edu/user/bresnah2/oprabio.htm. (1997). Oprah Winfrey. pp1.7. http://www.datalist.idsite.com/oprah-table.html. (1997). Oprah Winfrey. pp1.8. http://www.tvtalkshows.com/oprah/bio/. (1997). Oprah Winfrey Talk Show Bio. pp1-2.

Importance of Physical Fitness

English Assessment 2013 Importance of Physical Fitness Importance of Physical Fitness Physical fitness is one of the most important key to a healthy body. It is the basis of creative artistic activity. Physical fitness means the condition of being physically healthy, especially exercises and proper nutrition. It is the reason, a state of general well-being marked by physical health and mental stability. Physical fitness is not just bending our body.It is about having cardiovascular and overall muscular endurance, as well as a strong immunity system, and most importantly, a satisfied state of your mind. (Manohar, 2011) Past these days when physical exercises were meant for people who are serving in the armed forces or the people those who are having physically demanding jobs. Now a day’s most of the people believe that, having a physically fit body is the most important thing that a person can possess. The importance of physical fitness and exercise customized to the specific r equirements of both young and old. 3fatchicks, 2010) This has led to the quality and use of exercise equipment. The easy access to gyms and fitness centers helps to keep their body physically fit. This has resulted in people leading longer and healthier lives which their predecessors could not have dreamed of before. Physical fitness is important for everyone to stay active throughout their lives. Because of busy work and home lives, more than 60% do not get the best amount of physical fitness daily and these numbers are increase in day by day. Katherine, 2010) Experts recommend working out several times over the course of a week with varying exercises for the most benefit to your health. Collage of Islamic Studies Page 1 English Assessment 2013 Importance of Physical Fitness Health is one of the pre-requisites for a happy as much as well-balanced your life. There are many benefits, if a person becomes physically fit. There are some benefits of physical fitness like cardiovascular e ndurance is one of the advantages the person gets due to physically fit. This is the ability of the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues.As much as this will help to remove waste from over sustained period of time and also furthermore the strength deals with the ability of the muscle to exert force for a brief time period, while endurance is the ability of a muscle, or group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue to apply force against an inert object. (. iaepa. us, 2009) Flexibility will denote the ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion. Exercise and overall fitness helps you detoxify your body and thus lets your skin breathe. Katherine, 2010) It also helps to tone your body and thus enhances your overall appearance. So in short physical fitness keep you beautiful and glowing. 5. A healthy mind thinks in a healthy body. Any exercise included in your fitness regimen, it will lead to the production of endorphins in the body. Endorphins are the chemicals that make you feel happy and hence a healthy and physically fit body. (John, 2012) It is always accompanied by a healthy mind. Drive-away illness is also a benefit we will get from the physical fitness.Moderated and balanced workout in a fitness regimen helps to boost the immune system of the body. Fully functional and strong body immunity means that your body develops the strength to ward off diseases and infections. Body composition: this will help to consider the components of fitness. Composition refers to the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue, and organs) and fat mass. Actually, the optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness. Performing the right set of exercises Collage of Islamic Studies Page 2 English Assessment 2013Importance of Physical Fitness can help people to get rid of body fat as well as to increase and maintain muscle mass. (Hardcastle, 2010) So, in short, to have great of satisfaction in our life, it is not just the materialistic things that we need, but it is our own physical fitness. This will help us in our life as a long run. It is rare to cause a disease if our body is healthy and mind is simply priceless. Even though we have everything like money, high education, family and peers if we are not physically fit we can’t engage and enjoy with them. Deh, 2012) Like our scheduled breakfast and lunch the physical exercise also must be a part of our day to day activities. Collage of Islamic Studies Page 3 English Assessment 2013 Importance of Physical Fitness Reference Iaepa. us. (2009, july 27). Retrieved july 27, 2009, from www. iaepa. us: http://www. iaepa. us/executive-protection-physical-fitness-requirements 3fatchicks. (2010). Retrieved 2010, from www. 3fatchicks. com: http://www. 3fatchicks. com/theimportance-of-physical-fitness-in-your-life/ Iaepa. us. (2012). Retrieved 2012, from www. iaepa. s/executive-protection-physical-fitnessrequirements: http ://www. iaepa. us/executive-protection-physical-fitness-requirements Buddy, T. ( 2012, October 25 ). studymode. Retrieved October 25, 2012, from www. studymode. com: http://www. studymode. com/essays/How-To-Improve-Physical-Fitness1160490. html Deh, T. (2012, October 8). saaraaalto. blogspot. Retrieved October 8, 2012, from www. saaraaalto. blogspot. com: http://saaraaalto. blogspot. com/2012_10_01_archive. html Hardcastle, J. ( 2010, October 4). ezinearticles. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from www. ezinearticles. com: http://ezinearticles. om/? The-Importance-of-PhysicalFitness&id=284434 John. (2012, August 2). witftennis. Retrieved August 2, 2012, from www. itftennis. com: http://www. itftennis. com/scienceandmedicine/conditioning/what-is-fitness. aspx Katherine. ( 2010). fitday. Retrieved 2010, from www. fitday. com: http://www. fitday. com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-importance-of-physicalfitness. html#b Manohar, U. (2011, september 30). buzzle. Retrieved septemb er 30, 2011, from www. buzzle. com: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/importance-of-physical-fitness. html Collage of Islamic Studies Page 4

Socio-Economic Profile of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Socio-Economic Profile of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder Free Online Research Papers A Retrospection of Socio- Economic Profile of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder ABSTRACT Autism is a condition that is unique in many ways. Persons coming under the autism spectrum have difficulties in sharing thoughts, feelings, meanings, intentions and other mental experiences of living in the world. Generally persons with autism exhibit a unique set of symptoms in three areas viz socialization, communication and behaviour. There has been a phenomenal rise in institutional infrastructure and reaffirmation of the commitment to the cause promoting empowerment of Persons with ASD. India is a developing nation having a social fabric with socio-cultural, religious, geographic, climatic and demographic variation. With an objective of strengthening, streamlining as well as shouldering the needs of the persons with ASD, to empower the persons with ASD to out manoeuvre the hurdles in the form of challenges; to create a source as well as force for the empowerment of persons with ASD, NIEPMD who is also catering to the needs of persons with ASD started functioning from the year 2005. It is a basic study and aims to find out the Socio economic profile of persons with ASD attending services at NIEPMD and to correlate the condition of Autism with the Socio- Economic profile. The study also focuses on various socio- economical variables of families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study revealed that most of the children diagnosed with ASD are from Below Poverty line, hence there is a need to provide quality rehabilitation services to the children from poor socio- economic background and also the need to establish service centres in the rural areas, because most of the children with ASD are left unnoticed in the rural areas due to lack of awareness about Autism. A Retrospection of Socio- Economic Profile of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder Introduction There has been a drastic wave towards rehabilitation of persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after the efforts rendered from Action for Autism which has attracted attention of lot of professionals and parents. Creation of awareness towards ASD has seen lot of changes; media has handled the situation in a better way. Zee TV is telecasting a serial â€Å"Aapki Antara† based on the life and challenges of a girl with ASD and during the end of the programme they are depicting a brief interaction of parents who have children with ASD. Similar lines Mr. Karan Johar famour Producer Director of Bollywood movies has projected Mr. Shahrukh Khan as having Asperger’s syndrome in the movie â€Å"My name is Khan†. So definitely now there is good amount of information about the condition and the intervention approaches. There has also been an increase in the professionals undergoing training in ASD through Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) approved programmes. Autism is a condition that is unique in many ways. Persons coming under the autism spectrum have difficulties in sharing thoughts, feelings, meanings, intentions and other mental experiences of living in the world. Generally persons with autism exhibit a unique set of symptoms in three areas viz socialization, communication and behaviour. ASD is a general term that includes the following disorders: Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Rett’s Disorder, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD). In each of these disorders, social interaction is most commonly affected. The symptoms and characteristics of ASD can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Although ASD is defined by certain sets of behaviours, individuals can exhibit any combination of the behaviours in any degree of severity. Persons with the same diagnosis can act very differently and have varying skills. Therefore, there is no standard â€Å"type† or â€Å"typical† person with ASD. Modernization and urbanization have resulted in radical socio – economical changes and has given rise to new conflicts and tensions consequent upon the erosion of old age family and fraternal security. The very purpose of social security measure is to give individuals and families the confidence that their level of living and quality of life will not erode by social or economic eventuality; provide medical care and income security; facilitate the victims to vocational rehabilitation; prevent or reduce ill health and accidents in the occupations; protect against unemployment by maintenance and promotion of job creation and provide benefit for the maintenance of every PWD. There has been a phenomenal rise in institutional infrastructure and reaffirmation of the commitment to the cause promoting empowerment of Persons with ASD. India is a developing nation having a social fabric with socio-cultural, religious, geographic, climatic and demographic variation. This is of more significant in the context of subjects related to a marginalized and under privileged group. Despite economic constraints, India has a vision for all round growth and intends to enter into group of developed nations by the year 2020 (QRI). To achieve these ambitious targets, all sections of society not only including persons with disabilities but persons with ASD have to be included in the process of developing the nation. With an objective of strengthening, streamlining as well as shouldering the needs of the persons with ASD, to empower the persons with ASD to out manoeuvre the hurdles in the form of challenges; to create a source as well as force for the empowerment of persons with ASD; to promote interdisciplinary and multi disciplinary management approach to cater the growing needs of persons with ASD, NIEPMD who is also catering to the needs of persons with ASD started functioning from the year 2005. The institute aims at enabling and empowering the persons with ASD, by offering a range of comprehensive services and also follows a zero rejection policy. The services offered by the Institute are predominantly centre cum home based programme. Services offered at NIEPMD are indented for clients from all parts of the country. This study is to find out the Socio economic profile of persons with ASD attending services at NIEPMD and to correlate the condition of Autism with the Socio- Economic profile . The study also focuses on various socio- economical variables of families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).The sample is taken from the year 2002 to 2009. Review of the Literature Victor D. Sanua, Department of Psychology, St. John’s University, Jamaica, N.Y mentioned that Kanner, in his 1943 article, reported that parents of autistic children tended to be of high socioeconomic status (SES). According to Schopler, Andrews and Strupp, 1979 subsequent studies did not reveal similar findings. However, a careful analysis of these studies showed that in all instances the SES distributions of the parents were bimodal. Subba Rao, T.A. , Ravindar, D, 2002 studied the characteristics of 28 children with ASD attending services at Composite Regional Centre, Bhopal, reported that most of the parents were highly educated and were from well to do family. In a recently published study Malhotra et al, 2003 compared the socio-demographic and clinical profile of PDD patients registered at CAP Clinic, PGIMER, and Chandigarh between 1989 and 1999. M. Juneja, S.B. Mukherjee and S. Sharma, 2004 reported that most children were from the middle class. This is probably due to the upper class persons with autism usually do not avail government hospital medical facilities. Parents from lower income groups may postpone seeking medical attention for disorders other than sickness. The observed boy-girl ratio was lesser than that reported in literature. Amarnath, A, 2008, studied about the socio- economic conditions and the needs of persons with multiple disabilities in Thirupporur block of Chengalpattu taluk, Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu. Parents of persons with multiple disabilities are from low socio-economic strata and if provided with some income generation programme they families would be able to support. Methodology It is a basic study and aims to find out the Socio economic profile of persons with ASD attending services at NIEPMD and to correlate the condition of Autism with the Socio- Economic profile. The study also focuses on various socio- economical variables of families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). All the children diagnosed as ASD from 2007 to 2009 by the Multi- disciplinary team formed the subject of the study. Information were collected through both structured and semi structured interviews from the parents by the multidisciplinary team during registration and assessment of the child. The data is computed and tabulated by using mean and percentage. Procedure All the children with ASD attending the services at NIEPMD from the year 2007 to 2009 were taken for the study. A detailed case history including the demographic details of the case and the parents are noted. This include name of the client, sex, age, source of referral, community, religion, family income, language, education and occupation status of the parents etc. All these information are collected directly from the parents. For the analysis of the data the above information were classified into three profiles, 1. Personal profile (Variables used- Age, Sex, Order of the child, Diagnosis) Economic profile (Variables used- Education and Occupation of the father, mother, Family monthly income) Social profile (Family type, area of residence, religion, language spoken, school attending, state). The data has been computed and projected in percentages. Results A total of 45 children with ASD formed the subject of the study. Table- 1 shows the personal profile of the subjects in the variables of Age, gender, order of the child and the diagnosis. The study shows that 24 % of children are aged below six year and below and 60% of the children belong to the age group of 6-14 years and 16% of children belonging to the age group of 14 and above. The male female ratio in the study was 3:5 which also coorelates with the findings reported in NICHD 2001 census. The order of the child in the family reveals that 58% of children belong to the first born and 33% belong to the second born where as 7% third and 2% fourth born. This shows that a considerable number of children with ASD were first born. However an indepth study on the relationship between the birth order and incidence of ASD will be focused as a separate study. The diagnosis of the children with ASD in the study shows that 58% of children are diagnosed as Autism with Mental Retardation, 29% of children were as Autism, 11% belonging to Pervasive Development Disorder and 2% of children are Autism with Visual Impairment. Table 2 shows that 93% of fathers and 27% of mothers are reported to be working of which 32% of the families had a monthly income of Rs. 10,000 and more and 31% of families income are in the range of 6500 to 10,000. 60% of father and 56% of mother had Diploma, Graduation and Post Graduation as their educational qualification. The data also shows that 68% of the clients are from poor socio- economic strata. The data reveals the fact that majority of the fathers are working (93%) and most of the mothers are Housewife (73%). Table 3 shows that 87% of children with ASD belong to nuclear family residing in urban areas and semi urban areas while 9% of the children with ASD belong to joint families and residing in rural areas. Most of the children (93%) belonged to Hindu religion, 5% of children from Muslim region and 2% of children belong to Christian religion. The data also reveals the fact that most of the children (44%) are attending Special school and 27% of children are attending Normal schools, this correlates with the fact children with ASD would definitely benefit from Inclusive Education, but inclusion should not be forced upon them, the transition should be gradual an systematic. Further 76% of the children with ASD are from Tamil Nadu and 24% are from other states of India. Though the percentages of children diagnosed with ASD from other states are low, it substantiates the point that NIEPMD as a National Institute is yet to reach other parts of the Country. Table 1. Personal profile of Persons with ASD attending NIEPMD services 2007- 2009. AGE: S. No Age Nos. (N=45 Percentage 1 0-3 yrs 5 11 2 4-6 yrs 6 13 3 7-9 yrs 13 29 4 10-14 yrs 14 31 5 15- 18 yrs 3 7 6 Above 18 yrs 4 9 SEX S. No Sex Nos. (N=45 Percentage 1 Male 35 78 2 Female 10 22 ORDER OF THE CHILD S. No Order of the Child Nos. (N=45 Percentage 1 1st Child 26 58 2 2nd Child 15 33 3 3rd Child 3 7 4 4th Child 1 2 DIAGNOSIS S. No Diagnosis Nos. (N=45 Percentage 1 Autism 13 29 2 Autism with MR 26 58 3 Autism with VI 1 2 4 Autism with HI 0 0 5 PDD 5 11 Table 2. Economic Profile of ASD children attending NIEPMD Programme and service 2007-2009 Variables used: Father Education. Mother Education. Father Occupation. Mothers Occupation. Family monthly income. Fathers Education:. Sl. No Education Nos. (N=45) Percentage (%) 1 Illiterate 2 Primary 1 2 3 Middle 3 7 4 High 8 18 5 12th std 6 13 6 Diploma 7 Graduation 18 40 8 P.G 7 16 9 Ph.D 2 4 Mothers Education: Sl. No Education Nos. (N=45) Percentage (%) 1 Illiterate 2 4 2 Primary 1 2 3 Middle 3 7 4 High 6 13 5 12th Std 8 18 6 Diploma 12 27 7 Graduation 11 24 8 P.G 1 2 9 Ph.D 2 4 10 MBBS 1 2 Fathers Occupation: 1. Working – 42/45 (93%) 2. Not Working- 3/45(7%). Mothers Occupation: 1. Working 12/45(27%) 2. House Wife 33/45(73%) Family Income: 1. BPL 17/45(38%) 2. 6,500 10,000 14/45(31%) 3. 10,000 20,000 7/45(15%) 4. Above 20,000 7/45( 15%) Table 3. Social profile of ASD children attending NIEPMD programme and services 2007- 2009 Variables used: Family Type. Area of Resident. Religion . Language spoken. School attending. State. Family Type: Nuclear 39/45(87%) Joint Family 4/45(9%) Area of Residence: Rural 1/45(2%) Semi Rural 2/45(4%) Urban 28/45(62%) Semi-urban 14/45(31%) Religion: Hindu 42/45( 93%) Christian 1/45(2%) Muslim 2/45(4%) Language spoken: Tamil 38/45(84%) English 0 (0%) Hindi 1/45(2%) Tamil + English 5/45(11%) Any other 1/45(2%) Attending School: Normal 12/45(27%) Special schools 20/45(44%) Others 4/45(8%) State: Tamil Nadu 34/45(76%) Others 11/45(24%) Recommendations This basic study was carried out to find out the whether there is any correlation of the parents who have good education, sound socio economic strata have children with ASD. But this study revealed that most of the children diagnosed with ASD are from Below Poverty line, hence there is a need to provide quality rehabilitation services to the children from poor socio- economic background and also the need to establish service centres in the rural areas, because most of the children with ASD are left unnoticed in the rural areas due to lack of awareness about Autism. Acknowledgement The authors acknowledge Dr. K. Bala Baskar and Mr. Benjamin Victor of National Institute for Empowerment of Person with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), Chennai for compiling the data and also editing the manuscript. We also acknowledge the support of the Parents of children with ASD attending services at NIEPMD for providing details and permission to use it for the study. References 1. Beckman, P. (1991). Comparison of mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of the effects of young children with and without disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 95, 585–595. 2. Beckman, P. (1983). Influences of selected child characteristics on stress in families of handicapped infants. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88(2), 150–156. 3. Census 2001 censusindia.net/t_00_003.html). 4. Costigan, C., Floyd, F., Harter, K., McClintock, J. (1997). Family process and adaptation to children with mental retardation: Disruption and resilience in family problem-solving interactions. Journal of Family Psychology, 11, 515–529. 5. Douglas E. Carothers; Ronald L. Taylor, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Summer 2004 v19 i2 p102(3)) 6. Dyson, L., Fewell, R. (1986). Stress and adaptation in parents of young handicapped and non handicapped children: A comparative study. Journal of the Division for Early Childhood, 10, 25–35. 7. Dunst, C., Trivette, C., Hamby, D., Pollock, B. (1990). Family systems correlates of the behavior of young children with handicaps. Journal of Early Intervention, 14, 204–218. 8. Davies, S. (1923). Social control of the feebleminded. The National Committee on Mental Hygiene. New York: New York State Charities Aid Association. 9. Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. New York: Holt. 10. Dunlap, W. R., Hollingsworth, J. (1977). How does a handicapped child affect the family? Implications for practitioners. The Family Coordinator, 9, 286–293. 11. Friedrich, W. N., Friedrich, W. L. (1981). Psychosocial assets of parents of handicapped and nonhandicapped children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 85, 551–553. 12. Padmavathi. K (2005), Perception of the parents and teachers on social skills in children with Multiple Disabilities, A comparison. Paper presented in the NIMH conference on multiple disabilities. 13. Ramachandran Rajesh, What you should know (A compilation on Autism for parents) October 2008, KB associate, Bhopal. 14. Rao, L.G. (2005) NIMH conference on multiple disabilities towards abilities- an introduction, NIMH, Secunderabad. 15. Zutshi Bupinder, Center for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, Disability Status in India Case Study of Delhi Metropolitan Region*, September 2004, disabilityindia.org/StatusBookFrame.cfm Research Papers on Socio-Economic Profile of Persons with Autism Spectrum DisorderInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraWhere Wild and West MeetRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThree Concepts of PsychodynamicHip-Hop is Art

Location and Function of the Pons in the Human Brain

Location and Function of the Pons in the Human Brain In Latin, the word pons literally means bridge. The pons is a portion of the hindbrain that connects the cerebral cortex with the medulla oblongata. It also serves as a communications and coordination center between the two hemispheres of the brain. As a part of the brainstem, the pons helps in the transferring of nervous system messages between various parts of the brain and the spinal cord. Function The pons is involved in several functions of the body including: ArousalAutonomic function: breathing regulationRelaying sensory information between the cerebrum and cerebellumSleep Several cranial nerves originate in the pons. The largest cranial nerve, the trigeminal nerve aids in facial sensation and chewing. The abducens nerve assists in eye movement. The facial nerve enables facial movement and expressions. It also aids in our sense of taste and swallowing. The vestibulocochlear nerve aids in hearing and helps us maintain our equilibrium. The pons  helps to regulate the respiratory system by assisting the medulla oblongata in controlling breathing rate. The pons is also involved in the control of sleep cycles and the regulation of deep sleep. The pons activates inhibitory centers in the medulla in order to inhibit movement during sleep. Another primary function of the pons is to connect the forebrain with the hindbrain. It connects the cerebrum to the cerebellum through the cerebral peduncle. The cerebral peduncle is the anterior portion of the midbrain that consists of large nerve tracts. The pons relays sensory information between the cerebrum and cerebellum. Functions under the control of the cerebellum include  fine motor coordination and control, balance, equilibrium, muscle tone, fine motor coordination, and a sense of body position. Location Directionally, the pons is superior to the medulla oblongata and inferior to the midbrain. Sagittally, it is anterior to the cerebellum and posterior to the pituitary gland. The fourth ventricle runs posteriorly to the pons and medulla in the brainstem. Pons Injury Damage to the pons can result in serious problems as this brain area is important for connecting areas of the brain that control autonomic functions and movement. Injury to the pons may result in sleep disturbances, sensory problems, arousal dysfunction and coma. Locked-in syndrome is a condition resulting from damage to nerve pathways in the pons that connect the cerebrum, spinal cord, and cerebellum. The damage disrupts voluntary muscle control leading to quadriplegia and the inability to speak. Individuals with locked-in syndrome are consciously aware of what is going on around them but are unable to move any parts of their bodies except for their eyes and eyelids. They communicate by blinking or moving their eyes. Locked-in syndrome is most commonly caused by decreased blood flow to the pons or bleeding in the pons. These symptoms are often the result of blood clot or stroke. Damage to the myelin sheath of nerve cells in the pons results in a condition called central pontine myelinolysis. The myelin sheath is an insulating layer of lipids and proteins that help neurons conduct nerve impulses more efficiently. Central pontine myelinolysis can result in difficulty swallowing and speaking, as well as paralysis. A blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the pons can cause a type of stroke known as lacunar stroke. This type of stroke occurs deep within the brain and typically only involves a small portion of the brain.  Individuals suffering from a lacunar stroke may experience numbness, paralysis, loss of memory,  difficulty in speaking or walking, coma, or death. Divisions of the Brain Forebrain: encompasses the cerebral cortex and brain lobes.Midbrain: connects the forebrain to the hindbrain.Hindbrain: regulates autonomic functions and coordinates movement.

Contemporary Issues in World Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Contemporary Issues in World Politics - Essay Example International trade is one of the aspects of the global political economy that are prominent with regards to international relations. Foreign investment is one of the resultant aspects of economic globalization. As nations continued to advance technologically after the industrial revolution, better means of transport and communication led to the movement of investors beyond political boundaries, especially during the colonial period (Oatley, 2011). As economies expanded, trade grew and exchange of goods and services between investors from different countries continued to grow. This made international trade a phenomenon of political scrutiny. The political view point depicts foreign trade as different from domestic economic activity (Jeffrey et al. 2000). Foreign trade between different countries generates various political issues that are of interest to the nation state, particularly issues regarding the financial and military security of a country. A nation exporting products to a foreign country increases its monetary wellbeing and also promotes job creation. Nevertheless, national security may be jeopardized especially if the product is used to strengthen a foreign country’s military strength (Gilpin, 2001). For example, the discovery of gun powder by Chinese researchers in the 11th century led to a great transformation of the world order by the 17th century and subsequent centuries. China as a nation state could not achieve the military might of European countries that resulted from the application the invention of gun powder (Friedberg, 2005). On the other hand, importing leads to the development of dependency of the receiving nation on foreign countries. It also leads to a reduction in national reserves thereby contributing to inflation. Moreover, local businesses as well as the labor market are threatened. On the other hand, the importing nation may experience security concerns

Chicago a place to see Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chicago a place to see - Speech or Presentation Example Magic Chicago where magicians gather to revive the hallmark art form of Chicago, the Chicago River, which is a long eyesore that attracts large numbers of tourists while the Sears tower is a complex architectural structure in the city where people come to watch other states from the city. These and many other sites makes Chicago the place to be, hence the phrase, â€Å"Chicago the place to see† The Viola is a four-story monolith standing on Bryn Mawr Avenue that was built before the depression. What makes it a major tourist attraction site is the irony of the purpose of the reason for its construction, and its structural design in its interior. The building was built as a church by the Edgewater Presbyterian church, making it an unlikely place for some of the world’s most renowned magicians to appear and foreshow their talent. The architectural design of the theatre is what is even more spectacular, with the audience members having to walk up a long flight of stairs and wait in the hallway, making them feel like they are attending a Sunday school (Pang, 2009). Once the audience is inside, they discover the revelation of the city lit theatre, with its ornate, charmingly old-time performance space with wrap-around and an elevated seating for a hundred people. Nobody would expect such a theatre in a place like that. There is a monthly showcase of magicians and novelty acts that occupies the theatre on the first Wednesday of every month unlike the norm that was in the city about 50 years ago when magic used to be performed in restaurants and bars, Chicago nowadays sees less of such jostle due to the few options available, with comedy performances having taken over the performance arts stage. The Viola thus fills this gap and gives people a treat of magic performances by the worlds’ most famous magicians. What is even catchier about these performances is the difference in the setting to that of popular magic performances. Actually, â€Å"There is no glitzy Vegus production with tigers and industrial circular saws. More often than not, minds are blown in the audience, and the performers are close enough to catch the splatter† (Pang, 2009). The Chicago River is yet another tourist attraction site, with its long eyesore waterways turning to be a centre of tourist attraction, which are being reclaimed. Tourists have to walk past abandoned warehouses, cross-dusty railroad tracks and side step trashed mattresses in order to follow the course of the river (Valente, 1992). Dwellers of the city and concerned citizens have come up together to pull efforts together in order to rehabilitate the river, a wave that has spread across America with campaigns and initiatives to rehabilitate urban rivers. The river attracts some of the most passionate fans, which include a class of devoted poets, artists and writers. Although some of the river art have been met with a lot of problems, artists’ still believe that the river is a great place to show art. The coming into existence of the river in the city is what attracts more numbers of tourists to the city. The story is told of how for years, Chicago built a tourist attraction as being the city on the lake. Then without a warning, the underground tunnel collapsed and water came gushing into the basements of downtown offices, causing businesses to shut down for days. The course of the river is similar to most of urban waterways, where part of it flow alongside trash dumps