Monday, September 30, 2019

Chronic disease managment Essay

What is self-management? Self-care management is defined as the behaviour employed by an individual in managing and implementing the treatment regimen within the individual’s lifestyle routine and it recognizes an individual’s central role in managing chronic diseases (Costantini et al. , 2008). In sum, self-management is to help individuals collaborate with health care professionals to help themselves, by using strategies and proper interventions, to bring self-care into daily routine to help managing chronic diseases and to promote quality of life. How will you promote self-efficacy and autonomy for your clients in your practice? Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects almost every aspect of patient’s life, both physical and emotional. According to Mok (2011, p12), several strategies identified in helping patients with CKD to improve nutritional adherence. These strategies fall into three categories: patient education, behaviour modification and organizational changes. These strategies also applicable in other treatment in CKD. According to Barbra (2011,p183), when patients’ disease deteriorate or towards terminal states, strategies of ending self-management and back to medical or comfort care were also mentioned. Nurses can apply these strategies by nursing interventions to help promote patients self-efficacy and autonomy. First, patient education strategies. Nurses should assess patients’ need and their knowledge and literacy level before providing education. These assessment should make sure patients are ready to accept the changes and the education received can be fully understood. Usually when patients are knowledgeable in their own condition, their self-efficacy and autonomy will be greatly improved. In addition, education should also be provided to caregivers because a lot of patients with CKD depend on caregivers in ADLs. During assessment and education process, nurses should be aware of using good communication skills, interviewing skills and make sure accurate information and related resources are provided to patients and caregivers. Second, behaviour modification strategies. According to Mok (2011, p12), several techniques can be used in behaviour modification such as reminders, self-monitoring, and positive reinforcement. Nurses can combine effective behavioral, psychosocial strategies such as periodical reminder by using telephone, email, regular appointment or face to face interaction. Nurses should advocate patients for regular follow up to make sure patients adherence to treatment. No patient is alone in chronic disease treatment, nurses should collaborate with patients’ family members and caregivers to help maintain compliance. In addition, nurses can assist patients in using self-monitoring techniques such as blood pressure monitoring, diaries, logs, personal health records to help track their health condition. Third, organizational changes. According to Mok (2011, p13), nurses can collaborate with other health care professionals such as dietitians and physicians to enhance compliance. Nurses can directly help patients in developing dietary plan and improve patients’ satisfactory, in turn, promote treatment adherence. Lastly, according to Barbra (2011, p183), when patient unable to perform self-care, giving up self-management and return to professional medical care should be acknowledged. Nurses should educate and assess patients’ and caregivers’ capability of performing self-management, making sure they are knowledgeable of serious symptoms and capable of seeking help when needed. What are indicators of successful self-management in patients with CKD? According to Mok (2011, p12), several factors may affect successful treatment such as lack of knowledge, hectic lifestyle, lack of decision making in own dietary outcomes and dissatisfactory of dietary prescription. First, knowledge deficit will make patients unable to choose proper food or make necessary adjustments, in turn, leads to failure in self-care management. Therefore, patients education, knowledge and ample resources provision are indicators of successful self-management. Second, hectic lifestyle such as fast-paced lifestyle or elderly depend on others are often unable to adherence to the prescribed regimen. Therefore, lifestyle modification, caregivers’ capability and support are also indicators of successful self-management. Third, lack of decision making of own dietary outcome due to depend on caregivers instead of patients might influence successful self-management. Fourth, dissatisfaction of prescribed renal diet will affect patients’ adherence. Therefore, patient readiness to change, communication skills, assessment tools and psychosocial support are also indicators of successful self-management. In sum, indicators of successful self-management involves every aspect of disease process and treatment. In nurses’ and patients’ perspective, nurses’ communication skills, interviewing skills, collaboration capability, staff training, patients’ readiness, patients’ emotional support, patients’ knowledge, problem solving techniques, etc are all indicators of successful self-management.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Allusions in Arthur Millers “The Crucible” Essay

The Crucible contains many allusions, which is a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned; a covert indication; indirect reference. Miller uses allusions to convey the theological beliefs and religious convictions of his characters. There is chaos in the town after the people there find out that there might be witches that inhabited the village. Abigail and her friends are accusing people of being possessed by demons. When Hale shows up he is convinced that there are witches in the town and believes Abigail. As Abigail walks through the crowd of people surrounding the courtroom where a meeting is being held all the people disperse away from her creating a pathway. In the Old Testament Moses comes to a sea and places his staff into the ground and suddenly the seas part allowing the Moses and the slaves to pass through the other side. When Abigail passes through the crowd, it opens up just like what had happened in the Old Testament. This also is irony because Millers audience that is reading the play knows that Abigail is making up these false accusations, but some people in the town believe her and are making her into some kind of religious figure. In the Crucible there is an allusion to Good vs. Evil. In Act III Danforth says, â€Å"a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it†(Miller 1137). The town is religiously and morally based so you are either classified under a believer or someone who believes in evil. The good people are seen as opponents of the court and the bad people are seen as proponents of the court. The irony in that is that the good people are treated like criminals and the criminals are treated like heroes. Miller uses allusion to portray Reverend Hale. In the begging of the play Hale came to the town and wanted to make the town pure once again. He believed in everything that Abigail and the girls said and questioned everyone that they had accused. Then he left for a while which was just like Jesus leaving and going into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. When Reverend Hale returned he talked to John Proctor and believed him. This was like Hale went from this person who believed so much that there was witches in the town to coming to his senses and believing in the facts. We can  compare Reverend Hale to John Newton. Newton was a slave trader, who didn’t believe in God and was caught in a bad storm and called out to God for help and experienced what he was to refer to later as his â€Å"great deliverance†. After that he became believer and was baptized. So this man went form not believing to believing in god. John Proctor the protagonist in The Crucible could be compared to Jesus. In the last Act Proctor was faced with an important decision. Danforth offered Proctor a chance to get out of being hung but refused because he didn’t want them to make a mockery of him. So he took his punishment of death. He could have gotten out of being killed but did not because he knew what he was doing was right. Jesus knew the night before that the guards were coming to capture him so he could be killed. Jesus could have run and have gotten away but he made peace with God and died on the cross for our sins. When Abigail was accusing everyone in the town of being witches people were being hung without fair trials. This was like people in the early century being persecuted when they were completely innocent to begin with. In the end of the play people were started to realize that she was phony and she took off. The Crucible had a lot to due with people’s reputations than anything, which is a form of corruption, which we see a lot in these days. The Crucible contained many allusions that portrayed the bad characters in the play as religious figures. Being such as morally and religious based town he people who were innocent were seen as criminals through the eyes of the town because they believed in something that was truly evil.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Personal Statement for entry to faculty of law Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For entry to faculty of law - Personal Statement Example I got involved in activities that dealt with the rights of children. The activities made me realize that children need to be protected from the dangers they face in life. Therefore, I intend to get empowered by pursuing a law degree, and becoming their advocate. I appreciate the immense leadership skills I have acquired over time. Leading my high school basketball team for a year helped me gain extensive skills as I got to know how to integrate different personalities to accomplish given goals. Being a student leader in college also strengthened my leadership skills. I represented my school in assemblies, and this promoted my confidence. The communal activities also strengthened my leadership skills as I served as a program leader in various activities. This accelerated my advocacy skills, and encouraged me to pursue an education that would allow me serve the community in a better capacity. I am committed to academic excellence as proven by my performance in secondary school, where I was the top student for two consecutive years. More to this, I believe in education as the most powerful tool of change. I concur with Rury (2013) that education improves the state of life, and provide one with opportunities to better their life. Consequently, I want to pursue Law, given the additional knowledge I shall acquire, leading to greater empowerment. My policy in life relates to ensuring that I balance all areas of my life. Therefore, apart from doing excellently in class, and participating in making my community a better place, I always set time to exercise. I pioneered the development of a community basketball team late last year, and I have successfully led the team to date. The team allows youths in the community to participate in a sport that uses their energy productively. Consequently, the youths get less time to engage in non-productive activities, such as drugs and crime. I also take the opportunity to

Friday, September 27, 2019

E-Commerce for Government Organizations Term Paper

E-Commerce for Government Organizations - Term Paper Example In addition, security services and solutions frequently established ineffectual results or damaged performance. Therefore, the overall historical documentation of Government information technology plans is away from competence (FIPR, 2011). Moreover, new technology based security solutions like public-key arrangements and digital signatures framework hardly ever offer the advantages declared by their supporters to commerce discipline or the government. On the other hand, more and more people think that innovative technologies will facilitate public control to gather an extraordinary volume of data and information regarding people. In addition, improved competence, safety and exploration effectiveness has too been employed as explanations for the attack over people security and confidentiality. However, in presence of all these dangers the use of e-commerce for the government organizations is rising (FIPR, 2011), (Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2005) and (Slyke, Belanger, & Comu nale, 2004). This paper discusses the use of e-commerce for government organizations. The basic aim of this research is to analyze the importance of e-commerce to government organizations as well as problems that may arise and thereafter it will offer possible solutions.Evolution of Governmental E-commerceConventionally, governments have paid attention on supporting e-commerce for the improvement of rules and policies intended to corroborate or control private web based company plans (Blakeley & Matsuura, 2001). Matsuura, 2001). Additionally, this National Framework regarding the governmental services for the ecommerce enables the progress of internationally operating societies those are offering novel prospects for companies to sell abroad to earn foreign exchange. In addition, at the present there are nationwide structures those are offering great corroboration in form of open as well as protected business dealings for the small, medium and large size companies, to do business wit h Governments and other companies. In this scenario, the Governments purchase from thousands of dealers and this national structure will offer a way for customers to access business services as well as valuable products on a single platform all through the nation. Moreover, in both personal and public areas, the utilization of IT tools and applications is minimizing the expenditures as well as improving the performance and quality of B2B dealings. Furthermore, with the arrival of more lucrative and easy to use technologies this procedure has improved to a great extent (Australian Procurement and Construction Council Inc., 2011). Therefore, considering this framework in the United States, the national administration has performed several

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Thematic critical alaysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thematic critical alaysis - Essay Example Isolation may be of two forms: deliberate or forced. Deliberate, in the sense that the individual chose to isolate himself from the world for a time, perhaps to evaluate his actions and others' reactions towards them and identify the time his views were questioned. At this point, he might think that he is in the position to judge others or occurrences as either appropriate or otherwise. He becomes the point of reference--he sets standards, which might be way beyond what is generally acceptable. During isolation, he may re-construct reality and the pieces that have been altered may find its way back to its recent condition. He might even check his motives and see whether he should accept others' belief system. This is the time that he goes back from where nature dictates him to be: looking up and not looking down. Forced isolation, on the other hand, occurs when the individual cannot control himself anymore and his construction of reality goes against every dictates of society; even to the point of questioning God for the supposed ambiguity in his perspectives. In the process, he would create a make believe world where the concept of "right" and "wrong" is based on what he believes is "right" and "wrong." Hence, he is considered by society in the verge of insanity. Eventually, he is sent to a mental institution and stays there until considered by medical practitioners mentally fit. Such has been the case of Esther Greenwood, the protagonist in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. The story chronicles Esther's descent to madness and her struggle to escape from it. "From the first page of The Bell Jar, with Esther Greenwood describing a day in New York City during the summer of 1952, when she is a guest-editor of Mademoiselle magazine, Sylvia Plath vividly re-creates the perspective of a depressed, highly intelligent, sensitive young woman who feels herself losing contact with reality (Shields, 1995)." Quite contradictory to her present situation: a person who could be considered has reached mastery of her craft (since she is now occupying the editor's post and not just an ordinary freelance writer) are the accompanying images - "depressedsensitive," hence creating a character who is feels lacking in every sense that she feels she has lost contact with reality. What has caused her mental instability Perhaps her hostility toward men and the double standards set by society on men and women. Esther's outer personality and her inner identity are in constant conflict throughout the novel. She assesses her past life, especially the value of studying for academic awards, her present desire for personal fulfillment as a woman, and her need to choose a professional career for the future that will both support her financially and fulfill her aesthetically. Her inability to find solutions that will include all of these needs drives her into a reclusive mental state. At this point, it is important to note that "the novel emerges from a specific context: it was written by an American living in London during a period of heated political debate about the future of Americanness, about a period in the U.S. ten years earlier" (Baldwin, 2004). It is the time when the idea of female containment is overly used. "Containment" is the term coined by George Kennan in 1947 in "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" to

Adaptive Supply Chain Co-Management manual Essay

Adaptive Supply Chain Co-Management manual - Essay Example Collaboration and competition have often been regarded as incompatible concepts especially as evolutionary biology became well-known in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was presumed that only the fittest can survive if those with the most desirable traits are naturally selected over those that did not possess these ideas. This mentality spilled over into business literature and led to the manifestation of certain laws such as the Sherman and Clayton Anti-trust Acts (Zeiltin, 2007). However, time illustrated that sometimes certain kinds of cooperation and competition did not necessarily have to replace each other as seen through the formation of professional associations, cartels and business groups. Individuals may participate in a cartel in order to enhance the quality of output or their safety; this may also be done for reasons of efficiency. Some forms of collaboration such as the inter-firm network came about due to rising complexities of organisations. However, they took relatively long periods of time before they came to be accepted as cultural norms; a lot of ambiguity exists on the need for collaboration or cooperation; all of it depends in the nature of acceptance in the concerned nation (Zeiltin, 2007). Businesses today have now moved from the anti-trust mindset of yester years; in fact, it is not uncommon to find some form of collaboration between competitors in almost all industries of the economy. New technologies are becoming more complex and require huge capital investment to develop; markets are getting more turbulent, and the time needed to deliver products to the market is also increasing. Additionally, time and geographical boundaries have shrunk thus indicating that operating business internationally is a critical factor. Government policies are not particularly favourable in conducting business and so are other issues within

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Film - Essay Example University, who is detained as proof of the assimilation success; Sitting Bull (August Schellenberg), a Sioux chief who rejects to submit to white government policies designed to rip his people off their identity, dignity and sacred land, Dakotas gold-laden Black Hills; Senator H. Dawes (Aidan Quinn), government policy architect for Indian lands allotment to individual families to force implementation of subsistence farming; and the Red Cloud, whose resolution to make peace with American government and then go to a reservation troubled Sitting Bull (Miller, Vandome and John 3). When I commenced watching this movie I assumed I had a good handle on what happen to the Native American Indians. The Indians roams their ancestral lands peacefully and basically, with great admiration for the nation and its citizens. Then the white man approaches, stumbling all over himself with the aim of reaching the gold fields in California or the rich the high plains farmland. The Indians were no more than an annoyance, a bothersome barrier that should be relocated to one side if patent destiny is to be attained. Lands are and reservations stolen, the land that white man has already plundered or passed up, are assigned. Those who do not go to the set reservation are hunted down cruelly. Sometimes even those who agree to come in are pounced on (Sand Creek for instance) and massacres happens with cover-ups that make many people not believe the story. The Indian are massacred at Washita, Sand Creek, and Wounded Knee with petite or no public tumult, but when he reacts by killing a couple of settlers, imitating the white Americans through mutilation, the public atrocity is deep and the military is ordered a blank "kill" plaid (Miller, Vandome and John 34). With every minute the shocking treatment is recurrent, leaving the viewer with only two alternatives of responses - vomiting or weeping. It is exceedingly hard to watch this movie, not for the reason that the it looks out fashioned or

Monday, September 23, 2019

Problems of identity in the modern middle east Essay

Problems of identity in the modern middle east - Essay Example lt, the existence of such evidences is considered a rarity and must be evaluated for its authenticity, credibility, and basis for furthering assimilation knowledge. Rifa’a Rafi’ al-Tahtawis An Imam in Paris is one such document which is considered to be a comprehensive record of European society observed and narrated by an Arab. It is a descriptive narrative of the Middle Eastern scholars view of the West which has been used by many for the basis of constructing modern Egyptian collective memory. In the following report the researcher shall investigate how effective has al-Tahtawis An Imam in Paris been in endorsing collective memory of Egyptians, and its endorsement of Egyptian modern identity. The report shall explore how al-Tahtawis knowledge has helped Egyptians in streamlining and coming to terms with the Western culture through education, intellectual leadership and collective memory. During the early 19th century Muhammad Ali, an Egyptian ruler was motivated by the knowledge of its influential neighbor Europe and its impact on the world. Muhammad Ali devised a program for sending students to France or Italy to bring back Western knowledge to the Egyptian community. Muhammad Alis mission was to assimilate the knowledge fields, language, logic and arithmetic of the West to the East (particularly Egypt) to better comprehend European society. He was of the view that adaptation to European civilization would benefit the 19th century Muslims in becoming more intelligent in worldly history, and streamline their own perspective of the same. Among those who went on the mission to Paris, Rifaa Rafi al-Tahtawi was perhaps the most knowledgeable, who benefitted from the program, which was evident from his book or record of the French state (al-Tahtawi 32). From his description of the French state, al-Tahtawi learned much from the studies, discussion and knowledge gained from reading of the various fields. Al-Tahtawi describes the French as a modern state, with

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Stand your ground law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stand your ground law - Research Paper Example Controversies surrounding the SYG law have off late attracted the nations debate. From 2005, eighteen states have enacted the law extending the self-defense right without retreating to any place an individual has the right to be, and other several additional States are looking forward to passing the same law. With all these implications, of the threat to public safety, less has been done to research on the effect of the law on people’s security. There is some recorded data at the statistical agencies in U.S. to study the prevalence of homicides. The data from these agencies indicate that the increasing number of homicides is attributed to the SYG law (Yu 119). There is no evidence given by any agency as to why there is an increase in homicides in blacks. The statutes referred to as Stand Your Ground (SYG) allows one to use force, even lethal one in self-defense, in an event of reasonable threat with no duty to first retreat. The right to defend individuals home from any intruder with no obligation to retreat is apparently protected by Castle Doctrine. The difference with the new laws is that they exceed the Castle Doctrine to the places like the workplace, vehicle or anywhere else; this limits the duty to retreat (Skiba 21). Since the time Florida passed the law in 2005, other seventeen states have introduced the SYG law with proportions allowing immunity from criminal prosecution when one uses deadly defense force in areas beyond their homes. With significant help from the National Association of Riffles, the users of SYG law say that they cannot support crime on the same. They also say that citizens who abide by the law should be able to protect themselves from attackers or intruders without the worry of being prosecuted. It is al so postulated that the great increase in concerns about public safety came after the 2001 terrorist attacks and Katrina of 2005, which led to

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Social, historical and cultural implications of 19th century Essay Example for Free

Social, historical and cultural implications of 19th century Essay Significance of social, historical and cultural implications of 19th century Britain, featured in Austens Pride and Prejudice In the early 1800s, Jane Austens novels were different to anything else that had been written in those times, and regarded as quality works of literature by her critics. However, it wasnt until after her untimely death in 1817 that Austen was discovered to be a woman. She had remained anonymous throughout her career as a novelist, initially due to the prejudices and sexism of her times. The situation is similar to a fellow author of the 1800s, Mary Ann Evans, who posed as George Elliot in order to publish her literature. Without anonymity, these women would not have had millions of the worlds population poring over their writings nearly two hundred years on. It was a cultural barrier for women to enter a supposedly males world. Jane Austen wrote about the social difficulties everyday people faced in works such as Emma and Mansfield Park, but it is her most popular piece, Pride and Prejudice that displayed the most in-depth knowledge of the key themes of society. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a good wife. This is the opening line of Pride and Prejudice, which is an amazingly brief and honest summary of the book. Two of the main themes are declared, money and marriage, and it also sets the stage for a chase-either by the young man in search of a bride, or by young women in pursuit of him as a husband. In the first chapter, there is a conversation between the matriarch and patriarch of the Bennet family. Mrs Bennet, an amazingly over-scrupulous woman intent arranging the five Bennet girls marriage, relates some important news to her husband that has obviously excited her, namely- Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the North of England, a single man named Mr Bingley, of four or five thousand a year! What a fine thing for our girls! Mrs Bennett seems particularly happy over the fact that Mr Bingley is a wealthy man who will bring one of her girls a title and honourable reputation. Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest of the daughters, is a lively, good-humoured young girl with an astonishing level of intelligence. Elizabeth is able to give her judgement on certain situations which arise, and is aware of the importance of social etiquette, though she does not always follow it herself. Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy is one of the richest men in Derbyshire, and has arrived as a guest in the Bennets home town of Hertfordshire to stay with his close friend Charles Bingley at Netherfield. Mr Darcy, having had a good upbringing and high social status, looks down upon the country folk at the Lucass ball, believing himself to be above their status. When Mr Bingley asks Mr Darcy what he thinks of Elizabeth, he replies She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me. This shows how much pride he has in his own social standing. Bingleys sisters are also staying with him at Netherfield, and behave in the same proud manner of Mr Darcy. Indeed, the unmarried Miss Bingley is hoping to secure a match between her and Mr Darcy, whilst the other sister is already married to a man named Mr Hurst. By the time the second ball is held at Netherfield, Mr Darcy realises he harbours strong feelings for Elizabeth, and lets slip his feeling of admiration for her to Caroline Bingley, who cattily replies You will have a charming mother-in-law indeed, and, of course, she will always be at Pemberley with you. Miss Bingley laughs at the fact that Mr Darcy could hold a place in his heart for the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, whos family are much lower down the social charter, particularly the brash antics of Mrs Bennet. When the eldest, Jane Bennet, is taken ill on the way to lunch at the Bingleys and is forced to recover at Netherfield, Elizabeth acts quickly and leaves immediately to come to her sisters aid. Unfortunately, it is still quite muddy from the rain, and Elizabeths dress is soiled. This was definitely not how a lady would have normally behaved; she would make sure that her appearance would always remain immaculate. Miss Bingley and Miss Hurst are quite shocked by Elizabeths antics. Very nonsensical to come at all! Why must she be scampering about the country, because her sister had a cold? Her hair so untidy, so blowsy! Miss Bingley continues It seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country town indifference to decorum. Clearly, they think it is strange that one should have such affection for a person they are close to, that they would disregard their own personal appearance. It is doubtful that the Bingley sisters would have done what Elizabeth did for Jane. They pity (In other words, pretend to feel remorse for) the Bennets status, I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it. Mr Collins, Mr Bennets cousin, visits Longbourne early on in the book. Before his arrival, he sends a letter announcing his imminent arrival, to which Mrs Bennet is most displeased I do think it is the hardest thing in the world that your estate should be entailed away from your own children. Mr Bennet expands on this quote It certainly is a most iniquitous affair, and nothing can clear Mr. Collins from the guilt of inheriting Longbourne. In Austens times, unless a patriarch had a son for a male heir, there would be no chance of the women in the family staying in the house after their husband or father died. This is partly why Mrs Bennet is so intent on marrying off her daughters as soon as possible, The Collinss will turn us out, before he is cold in his grave; and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what we shall do. Jane Austen wrote about a similar situation in her previous novel Sense and Sensibility, where Mr Dashwood died, and had to leave all his estate and money to his son and his wife, so the female Dashwoods were left to find another home. Mr Collins is one of the funniest characters in the book, as he comes across as a bit of a fool. He is a clergyman in Derbyshire, but his behaviour is far from holy. Mr Collins is willing to tell anybody who listens about his noble patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh. This is a great source of humour in the book, for Mr Collins social status is far from high, but he assumes his peers will be impressed by his connections- I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh. At Netherfield, despite her dislike for Mr Darcy, Elizabeth is shocked when Mr Collins proposes he should introduce himself to Darcy, being Lady Catherine de Bourghs nephew. Her instant reply is You are not going to introduce yourself to Mr Darcy! Elizabeth is aware of the cultural barriers of this introduction, as the narration explains It must belong to Mr Darcy, the superior in consequence, to begin the acquaintance. Netherfield ball reflected how socially inept the Bennett family were in the company of aristocrats. Elizabeth and Jane are acutely aware of their mother talking at the top of her voice- Mrs. Bennet seemed incapable of fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match between Jane and Bingley. His being such a charming young man, and so rich, and living but three miles from them It is not only Mrs Bennet that is behaving in a way that no self-respecting person would do in polite company Marys powers were by no means fitted for such a display; her voice was weak, and her manner affected. This is about the middle Bennet daughter, Mary. After Mary tries to start a new song, her father makes the situation worse by trying to stop her That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough. Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit. Elizabeth knows her familys behaviour will bring unpleasant social implications amongst the guests in future, To Elizabeth it appeared that had her family made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening The day after the ball, Elizabeths second cousin Mr Collins makes her an offer she was not expecting, and proposes to her. But the fact is, that being, as I am, to inherit this estate after the death of your honoured father, I could not satisfy myself without resolving to chuse a wife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as little as possible, when the melancholy event takes place Mr Collins thinks that Elizabeths situation is so desperate that she will accept Mr Collins straightway, but he is wrong. Elizabeth refuses him You are too hasty sir. Mr Collins replies it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you. Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications. It is quite true what the otherwise idiotic Mr Collins is saying, Elizabeth with her low connections may remain an old maid her whole life if she does not settle down. When Elizabeth is staying at an inn with her aunt and uncle, Mr Darcy pays her a visit and admits how he feels about herIn vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. This is not a very wise proposal to make, as Mr Darcy has just blatantly stated that he has tried to fight off the feelings for Elizabeth in the past as he is her social superior. Elizabeth is, quite rightly, angry at the way the proposal was carried out, and Mr Darcy replies to her angry comment And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! Mr Darcy was certain that a girl from a low class would certainly accept one of the richest and eligible men in Englands hand in marriage. Lydia Bennet, the youngest out of the girls, is also the most mischievous. Lydia is very easy going and carefree with absolutely no regard whatsoever for social etiquette, much like her mother. She overrules her elder sister Kitty, for she is quite boisterous, and insists on following the regiment that has recently arrived in Meryton If we make haste, perhaps we may see something of Captain Carter before he goes. It was not the done thing for a lady to follow around other men endlessly. When Elizabeth is at Darcys house in Derbyshire, Miss Bingley says to her rather cuttingly Pray, Miss Eliza, are not the -shire militia removed from Meryton? They must be a great loss to your family. However, Elizabeth dislikes Lydias frolicking with the officers as much as Miss Bingley, and is shocked when she hears Lydia is chosen to be an escort for the wife of one of the Colonels and is going to Brighton. Elizabeth pleads with her father not disallow Lydia, Her character will be fixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself and her family ridiculous. She continues My dear father, can you suppose it possible that they will not be censured and despised wherever they are known, and that their sisters will not be often involved in the disgrace? Elizabeth is not overreacting, she is quite right. For news soon emerges from Brighton that Lydia has eloped with Mr Wickham, who has a reputation for luring young girls away and bribing them for money. This was deemed incomprehensible, that a lady had run away to live with a man without them having been married. Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcys aunt and Mr Collinss patroness, is the proud head of the noble estate Rosings Park. When she hears of the news that Elizabeth may be betrothed to her nephew, she takes a carriage straight down to Longbourne to confront her. She greatly hurts Elizabeths pride The upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune. Is this to be endured? Elizabeth replies He is a gentleman; I am a gentlemans daughter. Lady Catherine makes a swift comeback But who is your mother? Lady Catherine is quite right, Mrs Bennet is not a gentlewoman and has not grown up to become one. She secured a marriage with Mr Bennet with her good looks alone. Elizabeth turned down two proposals quite easily, unlike her close friend Charlotte Lucas, who becomes engaged to Mr Collins, much to her surprise. Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune. We learn Charlotte is twenty seven, which was not the right age to get married; it would have been younger than that. Charlotte explains to Elizabeth why, even though she felt no love for Mr Collins, she accepted his proposal I am not romantic, you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collinss character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state. It was better for Charlotte to marry a man she had no feelings for, rather than wait for a mutual appreciation with a male like Elizabeth. Marrying someone she felt nothing for w as better than being an old maid for the rest of her days. Mr Collinss connections however minor were still connections. Due to the laws in olden-day England, it was cultural for a male heir to inherit the entire estate when the head of the family had died. This would leave all the females of the household destitute. It was socially unacceptable for a lady to struggle to maintain decorum, as the Bingleys stated. Social superiors had to introduce themselves first, which is precisely what Mr Collins did not do when he met Mr Darcy. Well brought up women certainly did not elope with their suitors. It would have an adverse affect on the rest of the family, whom would find it hard to secure a marriage after such a scandal. Mr Darcy had fallen with love with Elizabeth, but certainly could not hope to marry her after the scandal of her sister. Darcy made sure Wickham married Lydia, their marriage was nothing but a social cover up. It should also be noted, how Jane Austen never wrote about a conversation between two males alone separated from other women. Perhaps this is because it wasnt socially accepted that a woman was alone for a considerable period of time with a group of males, much different to life nowadays, when plenty of females have close bonds to men. Despite this, Pride and Prejudice was quite modern in its day. A hundred years previously, Mr Darcy would not have paid attention to Elizabeth, nor would Lady Catherine have taken to the trouble of going to Longbourne to meet Elizabeth. She would have summoned Elizabeth to Rosings instead. A few things have not changed since then, gays and lesbians were a taboo subject back then and the matter is still a sensitive subject to this day with a fair amount of people. A good example of how threatening homosexuality is to others can be seen in the film Heavenly creatures, where the families of two girls were sent into panic when they discovered that the girls were possibly in love with one another. It was deemed socially unacceptable, and thought of as a phase or a brief illness. That was the 1950s, but it is still not uncommon now. However, there is a stark contrast to what was acceptable two hundred years previously to what is acceptable now. For example, it is not shameful at all for two people who are courting to live together. The rules and laws have been relaxed a great deal in general, but Austens masterpiece showed us what life was like to be living under them and the complications they bestowed.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Role of Magnesium in Health and Disease Processes

Role of Magnesium in Health and Disease Processes Health concerns have become a fundamental issue in the 21st century. People around the world are taking a more active role in matters concerning their health. The internet is loaded with information that is geared towards educating people on making healthier choices. Many factors come into play for the effective functioning of the body organs. Electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium are minute and easily can be overlooked but the impact of a deficiency of one of them on the body can be fatal. There is a paucity of information available as concerns magnesium specifically. Most people are ignorant on the importance of this electrolyte and its interplay with human health and disease. Recent study findings indicate that the role of magnesium in health and diseases processes in the human body cannot be undermined. The study findings were published in the BMC Bioinformatics journal. Chemical processes in the body are mediated by hormones and enzymes. Enzymes are protein compounds that act as catalyst or controls for the various reactions. The enzymes do not work in isolation and require various co factors for effectual working. Magnesium acts as a cofactor for over 300 enzymes in the human body. Of particular importance is the subset of enzymes that are tasked with regulating the process of energy (ATP) formation and utilization. The study revealed that human proteins contained binding sites for magnesium. This being the case, a deficiency of magnesium would therefore affect a wider range of biological processes. The human DNA is the hereditary material that encodes genetic instruction used in the development and functioning of the human body. The DNA is responsible for synthesis of over 100,000 proteins. This is a highly specialized process. Each protein is coded for by a specific portion of DNA known as proteome. Recently discovered ‘magneseome’ is the portion of DNA that codes for the proteins that bind magnesium. Consequently, deficiency of magnesium will affect the synthesis of specific proteins in the body and have impact on health and disease. In the recent past calcium has become a popular electrolyte supplement advocated for by nutritionists and clinicians with all effort geared to avoiding or combating calcium deficiency. Calcium garnered its popularity after an inaccurate definition of osteoporosis by WHO despite contrary research findings that showed that excess calcium in the body increases risk of heart disease and subsequent mortality. Magnesium research. Information gathered from magnesium related studies has build up over the last 40 years with each year having about 2000 study findings published. Cumulatively, magnesium has been shown to have over 100 health benefits. The article will highlight several key therapeutic uses for magnesium. Fibromyalgia: this is a chronic disorder that causes muscle pain, joint tenderness and fatigue. Deficiency of magnesium is a common feature of patients with fibromyalgia. Magnesium malate composed of low doses of magnesium (50mg) mixed with malic acid has been shown to provide relief for the muscle pain and joint tenderness when administerd to fibromyalgia patients. Atrial fibrillation: this is a disorder of heart rhythm and can be fatal. Study findings revealed that magnesium supplements decrease atrial fibrillation when used in isolation or together with other drugs. Diabetes Type 2: results from study conducted in 2007 found that 13.5-47.7% of patients with type 2 diabetes have magnesium deficiency. Long term complications of diabetes include peripheral neuropathy and coronary artery disease. Research has shown that patients with lower intracellular magnesium levels are likely to develop the fore mentioned complications. Oral supplementation with magnesium has been shown to be of immense benefit to patients. It results in reduction in fasting glucose, increasing levels of HDL, improving sensitivity to insulin and better metabolic control. Premenstrual syndrome: magnesium insufficiency has been found to be a common feature of women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome. Expectedly, magnesium has been shown to ease fluid retention, a common feature of premenstrual syndrome. In the course of a 3 month study period, women aged 18-45 were given 250mg of magnesium daily. The results showed that there was a roughly about a 34% reduction in symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome. Together with vitamin B6, magnesium supplementation has been shown to alleviate premenstrual symptoms that are related to anxiety. Cardiovascular disease and mortality: low magnesium levels correspond to an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease. Magnesium confers a protective effect on the cardiovascular system. It achieves this through various mechanisms. It lowers the blood pressure, it prevents spasms of the coronary arteries, it counters formation of clots within the blood vessels and acts as calcium channel blocker. Mitochondria are intracellular components that act as the site of energy production. The heart muscle is densely populated with mitochondria which require sufficient magnesium for ATP synthesis. Migraine disorders: the journal of Neural transmission recently published an article titled â€Å"why all migraine patients should be treated with magnesium†. The study found that the levels of magnesium in the body are not accurately reflected from routine investigations. This is because the bulk of magnesium is found in bone (67%) and that within the cells is 31%. Subsequently only 2% of body magnesium stores is in the extracellular space and this is what is picked up during investigations. The researchers advocated for empiric supplementation of magnesium in patients with migraines because lab results for magnesium levels in the body were unreliable. It has been demonstrated that magnesium supplementation orally reduces the incidence of headache days among children suffering from frequent migraine headaches. Magnesium used together with I-carnitine is effectual in reducing migraine frequency in adults. Aging: aging is a mandatory process of life. Magnesium insufficiency has been shown to hasten the rate of aging. This was clearly demonstrated among individuals who participated in extended space flight missions. Deficient magnesium levels in these individuals have been associated with accelerated aging of the heart tissue at a rate that is 10 times faster than normal. Neoroendocrine changes and sleep changes that are related to the natural process of aging can be reversed by magnesium supplementation. A possible explanation in which magnesium is able to undo the processes of aging is that it is essential for DNA stability and is essential during DNA replication. Best sources of Magnesium in the diet. Nature is generous to us. This is because magnesium is best sourced from food. Leafy green foods are good examples of dietary sources of magnesium. This is because they contain chlorophyll the pigment necessary for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll contains an atom of magnesium at its center. Without the atom of magnesium, the plant would not be able to employ the sunlight to synthesis energy. However elemental magnesium is colorless and foods that are not green contain it. After ingestion, magnesium is absorbed more effectively if combined with food cofactors than when it is in its elemental form. The below listed foods are rich in magnesium. The list indicates how much magnesium would be sourced from a 100 grams serving of the corresponding food. Crude rice bran(781mg) Dried seaweed agar(770) freeze-dried chives(640mg) dried coriander leaf(694mg) dried pumpkin seeds(535mg) unsweetened dry cocoa powder(499mg) dried basil(422mg) flax seeds(392mg) cumin seeds(366mg) dried brazil nuts(376mg) freeze dried parsley(372mg) sesame seeds(346mg) almond nuts butter(303mg) roasted cashew nuts(273mg) defatted soy flour(290mg) dried sweet whey(176mg) dehydrated bananas(108mg) puffed millet(106mg) freeze dried shallots(104mg) freeze dried leeks(156mg) raw salmon(95mg) dehydrated onion flakes(92mg) raw kale(88mg) Magnesium supplement formulations are also available commercially. This will be of benefit to individuals who need higher doses of magnesium or those whose palates do not tolerate the fore mentioned foods. Taking glycine together with magnesium enhances absorption of the later increasing amounts available to the body. Stool softening and laxative properties are some extra benefits on magnesium therapy experienced when a person is taking magnesium citrate or oxide.