Thursday, November 28, 2019

Pineapple Jelly Enzyme Lab free essay sample

Ms. Balmer Pineapple Jelly Enzyme Lab Discussion After completing the Pineapple Jell-O Enzyme lab, the final results were that the canned pineapple formed the jelly while the fresh pineapple did not. Pineapple In order for this to have occurred, there has to be a comparison between fresh and canned pineapple in terms of their physical and chemical properties. The physical properties of fresh pineapple are that it is sweet, ripe and raw. These properties make fresh pineapples very healthy and delicious to eat. The chemical properties of fresh pineapple are that it contains bromelain, vitamin C, antioxidants, carbohydrates and helps defend the immune system. Bromelain is an enzyme that â€Å"promotes the digestive process and helps to break down proteins in foods† (Jomard, 2007). It also breaks â€Å"collagen, preventing Jell-O from gelling† (Helmenstine, 2013). It is also used as an anticoagulant, which prevents blood clotting. Fresh pineapples also have â€Å"anti-inflammatory properties, which make it useful to reduce pain† (Botanical-online, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on Pineapple Jelly Enzyme Lab or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Vitamin C is â€Å"important to the health of your immune system and enables your body to repair and grow tissue† (Cespedes, 2011). The physical properties of canned pineapple are that they are sweet and â€Å"it can be canned in various forms – slices, chunks or crushed† (Dalal, 2008). Canned pineapples are not as fresh or nutritious as fresh pineapples. The chemical properties of canned pineapple are that it is used in gelatin desserts. It does not have bromelain because of the canning process. Fruits that might have the same anticoagulant properties as pineapple are â€Å"cherries, cranberries, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, tangerines and oranges† (Simmons, 2012). Each fruit does not provide the same type of action because each provides different types of nutrition. Chefs use chillies to make pineapple jellies is because to add some flavor in the jelly and also that chilli is considered an alkaline, meaning that it has a pH greater than 7. The three sources of experimental error for this lab were that, 1) either too much hot or cold water was poured in the beaker for fresh or canned pineapple, 2) either too much Jell-O powder was added in the mixture and 3) either too much canned or fresh pineapple was added in the mixture. The suggested improvements for these errors would be, 1) to be more careful while applying water to the mixture, 2) to be careful by adding the right amount of Jell-O powder into the mixture and 3) to be careful by adding the right amount of canned or fresh pineapple into the mixture.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on Comparison Between Rome And Greece

The Greeks and Romans both started their own civilizations as city-states. While the irregular coastline and the mountainous terrain of the Greek peninsula isolated the multiple Greek civilizations from one another, the city of Rome was located in the geographical middle of a generally north-south plain bordered on the east with mountains and on the west by the sea. With most their land being open, Rome was exposed to the migrations of trade and invasions of people from the Po River in the north and Sicily in the south. This strategic location provided Rome with the ability to communicate and trade within all the city-states very easily. And with being open to invasion evolved Rome to create a dominating army. The two primary ethnic and cultural influences upon the Romans were determined to a degree by this geography. The first influence was that of the Etruscans in the north, and the second major influence was that of the Greeks in the south. By the time the city-state of Rome had emerged as a distinct entity out of its Etruscan origins and was prepared to expand its own unique influence, Greek civilization had spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. However, the fierce exclusiveness of the Greek city-states from one another, stemming from their geographical isolation, had determined that Greek colonization of the Mediterranean would be an extension of isolated city-states. The Greek polis did not permit the building of a Greek empire, and the strict barrier to the extension of citizenship prevented any one of the Greek’s city-states from becoming dominant and was hard to unite the isolated cities through the mountains. As we have seen from Greek history, the Athenians were on t he way to creating an empire through their domination of the Delian League, but this trend was reversed in the Pelopponesian Wars. The Romans, on the other hand, brought other communities on the Italian peninsula under their control, first by conquest,... Free Essays on Comparison Between Rome And Greece Free Essays on Comparison Between Rome And Greece The Greeks and Romans both started their own civilizations as city-states. While the irregular coastline and the mountainous terrain of the Greek peninsula isolated the multiple Greek civilizations from one another, the city of Rome was located in the geographical middle of a generally north-south plain bordered on the east with mountains and on the west by the sea. With most their land being open, Rome was exposed to the migrations of trade and invasions of people from the Po River in the north and Sicily in the south. This strategic location provided Rome with the ability to communicate and trade within all the city-states very easily. And with being open to invasion evolved Rome to create a dominating army. The two primary ethnic and cultural influences upon the Romans were determined to a degree by this geography. The first influence was that of the Etruscans in the north, and the second major influence was that of the Greeks in the south. By the time the city-state of Rome had emerged as a distinct entity out of its Etruscan origins and was prepared to expand its own unique influence, Greek civilization had spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. However, the fierce exclusiveness of the Greek city-states from one another, stemming from their geographical isolation, had determined that Greek colonization of the Mediterranean would be an extension of isolated city-states. The Greek polis did not permit the building of a Greek empire, and the strict barrier to the extension of citizenship prevented any one of the Greek’s city-states from becoming dominant and was hard to unite the isolated cities through the mountains. As we have seen from Greek history, the Athenians were on t he way to creating an empire through their domination of the Delian League, but this trend was reversed in the Pelopponesian Wars. The Romans, on the other hand, brought other communities on the Italian peninsula under their control, first by conquest,...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Cuban Missile crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Cuban Missile crisis - Essay Example In an attempt for the Soviet Union to gain control of Cuba, they took some missiles to Cuba. This formed the basis of bargaining power. Their intention was not for the missiles to be in Cuban Island permanently. This was to create fear in the United States who thought that the Island had been taken over by the communist (Gabrielle 34). The missiles were to boost the Russian military that was overwhelmed by that of the capitalist.The use of missiles was greatly condemned at the time. This was one of the strategies for enhancing the world peace. The missiles that were taken to Cuba were a trap for the United States. The communist believed that if the capitalist would have discovered the missiles it would lead them to attack Cuba (Gabrielle 14). This would have facilitated retaliatory attacks from the Russians.Thus; the United States was justified to attack Cuba in the missile crisis so as a means of taking measures for enhancing world peace.Retaining Cuba as a trading partner was also very useful for the United States of America. They never wanted any countries to be an obstacle for them especially in having an influence over their trade partners (Gabrielle 54). Their attempts to control the Cuban Island as also being considered from the perspective of trade partners. In summary, the united states were reluctant to have attacks on the Island and get rid of the missiles because the Soviet soldiers were the ones who were in control of the missiles. This would have led to Great War in the region.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Brain Drain from India to the UK Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brain Drain from India to the UK - Outline Example I cannot fully agree with the negative perspective concerning the brain drain, as one should consider the benefits of labor emigration to the country itself. Relocation of both gifted and incompetent specialists from India has been occurring subsequent to the nineteenth century. In the mid-1800s, after the nullification of subjugation, the British delivered Indian workers to its provinces to work in manors (Upadhya, 2013). Streams to the UK topped in 1968 when confinements were at last situated setup. The numbers diminished from the top of 23,000 for every year to 5000 for each year (Raveesh, 2013). Truly, Indians left because of better financial open door abroad. This is most likely still one of the fundamental reasons why Indians leave today. However, numerous variables add to the Indian departure. Understanding these elements will help policymakers enhance conditions to urge Indians to return or to stay in any case. A number of medical understudies in India select to study abroad due to increasing expenses and constrained limit at their open organizations (Raveesh, 2013). The therapeutic cerebrum deplete in India not just decreases the number of specialists accessible for consideration, however, it likewise evacuates the individuals expected to push for health awareness changes (Hawkes, Kolenko, Shockness & Diwaker, 2009). Indian understudies traveling to another country for their higher studies costs India a remote trade outpouring of $10 billion yearly (Prakash, 2012). A great many Indian researchers, specialists, engineers and other qualified persons have moved and are staying in different nations. In total terms, India is among the nations, which lose most exceptionally talented laborers to outside business sectors (Prakash, 2012).

Monday, November 18, 2019

Ethics and Professional Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics and Professional Practice - Essay Example Among these responsibilities are the wise use of land, energy conservation, aesthetic delight and the safety and security of buildings. In 2004 and 2005, the American Institute of Architects recognized these responsibilities as it rewrote the AIA public policies and position statements. There exist only 10 public policies which emphasize the power the architect has to affect people and communities, the built environment, and the natural environment. The National Architectural Accrediting Board made it mandatory for all students interested in pursuing architecture as a profession to develop an understanding of the professionalism and ethics involved in the field of architecture at the beginning of their studies and not at the end. This allows for the establishment of a foundation for an individual’s approach to the profession and students formulate the principles for their future professional practice. The Board’s aim was to provide people with knowledge of the diverse n eeds, values, and behaviors that characterize different cultures and the implications of this diversity on the societal roles and responsibilities. The Board provided guidelines on integration of ethical perspectives on safety and codes. It also explained the role of professional judgment concerning social, cultural and political issues. It outlined the registration laws that should be followed when a contract is being undertaken. The guidelines provided by the Board expect the academic institutions to be more accountable in their objectivity in assessing progress against defined objectives as well as the program’s strengths and weaknesses and then use the results of this assessment to design and implement changes that lead to provide adequate public information regarding accreditation, candidacy, and problems a program may be facing. The ‘Standard of Reasonable Care’ is also a key concern in professionalism especially in architecture. The architect should provid e the client with adequate professional advice when sought. They are also expected to ensure that the safety of the public is put into consideration as they design buildings. Reasonable care involves the professional knowing societal and professional responsibilities and integrating community service into the practice of architecture. The historical perspective of ethics in architecture enlightens us by providing a historical overview of the evolution of architectural ethics. The AIA's Code of Ethics describes the principles upon which the Code of Ethics is based upon. It ensures that members of the American Institute of Architects are dedicated to the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and competence. The Code is arranged in three tiers of statements: Canons, these are broad principles of conduct; Ethical Standards, which are more specific goals that members should aspire to when it comes to performance and behavior; Rules of Conduct, the guidelines which if not follo wed to the latter leads to a member facing disciplinary action. A commentary is provided to further explain each of the ethical standards and the National Ethics Council enforces the Code of Ethics. Architecture has not always been covered by copyright law unlike books, maps and charts which were included in the first copyright law passed in 1970. In 1909,

Friday, November 15, 2019

Should Middle Schools be Drug Tested?

Should Middle Schools be Drug Tested? Drugs are ruining everyones lives and its killing children and adults. We all know the damage it leaves, by causing families to suffer from addiction or death. Kids are getting money for drugs by stealing, their parents, or even friends, its hard to say when they start and how far gone,   since not everyone is open about their addiction. We do have a chance to fight the drug war by drug testing in middle school. Drug testing kids in junior high would identify behavior issues, effect they learning, the effects of long term abuse and the most important addictions. Behavior issues is one of the most obvious tell of abuse of drugs paranoia, aggressiveness, and impulsiveness are the most common things to look for. People who are consuming drugs lose their sense of compassion or even common sense. It shows that drugs strips you of what makes you human and gives you this need to fill a void that always empties in the end. They slowly lose themselves to a never ending need that will deter people, so they will be forced to live alone leading them to be introverted. Abusing drugs eventually leads to you slowly kill your brain cells therefore killing any chance to learn again. Drugs hijacks your nerves to flood your brain with dopamine but the problem with that it floods your system, and just like a regular flood there is a abundance so you are drowning your brain in dopamine. Draining you of both memory and focus so your losing the memory to do basic things like get up in time, personal hygiene, balancing eating, and sleep. Addiction is the absolute worse effect, making you want more of your fix leading you to a destructive circle. Its much easier for a teen to get caught in this circle and once there caught it hard to break out. Your life starts to circle around the drugs you take; you start hanging out with other people who also do it, so you can get more drugs. You work more to get more drugs; even waking up just to get another fix in order to keep your body in balance. The more you do the drug the more it becomes a part of your life; but when it hits a certain point there will no help to break you out of the circle. Once you fall in the circle you will start to feel a physical need to your fix once you go a time without it your body start to shut down; leaving you with no immune system getting you sick more of the time. After all the sickness and getting more drugs your emotions connected when you get another dose you start feeling normal, but as soon as you run out thats when desperation kicks in. leaving you to lie and steal more drugs or things to sell to pay for them. All that leads you to is a life of crime running or going to jail doing all you can for your little drug to feel normal again leaving you back to the decision that got you here. Drugs cause a much shorter life expectancy because of all the health concerns a few major one are cancer, strokes, and even abnormal heart rate. Cancer would just be a lingering thing that will follow you throughout your life ether slowly killing you or just being an everyday thing dealing with it. Your body is all you have why would you just give it a deadly debases that will be a slow and painful death. Strokes are a thing that can happen to anybody the only thing is it increases the chances to get them. The strokes affect your whole body giving your body a weakness and numb feeling making everyday thing much harder. Not to mention the increase heart rate can lead to all kinds of problems a few are faintness, dizziness, loss of coordination, and lightheadedness. In any case increase heart rate for too low will cause much more problems than the benefits of taking drugs will ever give you, In conclusion I agree with the idea of drug testing of junior high students for purpose of identifying at risk students for potential drug addiction.   By identifying the students through behavioral issues as well as learning problems, we can start to break the chain of addiction and ensuring we get them medical help to these students who become more productive and valued members of society. Concept Of Hegemony: The US Concept Of Hegemony: The US Forms Of United States Power And The Concept Of Hegemony According to Warteberg, power can be described as a natural artifact which is an aspect of human life which provides human being with means to cooperate with each other and at the same time make group decisions. This can be considered as ability to perform certain actions or to look over something. According to Warteberg, there are two positions of power which provides external structures for dominant and subordinate position. In this respect, there is a dominant and on the other hand a subordinate. In most cases you will find that socially aligned agents will act to represent the dominant agent in a bid to control subordinate agents. From this we can conclude that there exist power relationships which can be described as a social phenomenon which is made possible due to the fact that there is an external set of agents and practices but not due to any individual capacity. It is in view of the above theory that this paper is going to look closely at the power of US. This paper will examine closely the seat of US power and how the above theory applies to its relationship with the states and with the international community. This paper will also look closely at the concept of hegemony and how it has been applied in the current power status of the world. Finally it will look on how the concept of hegemony can be defeated in the world. In its simplest definition, power can be considered as the ability to influence others to do what you want. Power is articulated in many ways including threatening, paying or co-opting those who you want to exercise your power on. Of all the threes means of articulating power, getting others attracted to what you want is the best means since it cost less and is even has more effect. (Nye 1990, p. 23) If we look closely at the theoretical power structure of the United States, we acknowledge that there are four main building blocks of power in this country. Power in any form is manifested in networks of ideological, economic, military and political which can simply be termed as the building blocks of power structures. A close analysis of American power reveals that it is class dominated and it is close to the power of Europe and Middle ages in the 19th century which was dominated by economic and political power networks. But we have to come to an agreement that power is rooted in organizations in the United States and in other nations. According to Michael Manns theory (1986, p. 1) the structures of power in most western civilization can be understood by determining the intertwining and relative importance of the organizations at any time in four overlapping and intersecting social spatial networks of power. These networks are basically as mentioned above. The United States can be considered to the pinnacle of the world power as far as many of us are concerned. This comparison is often made to what was reached by other states which had assumed the same status as the United States like the British or Roman Empire. But contrary to the earlier powers, todays power is vested in military might, economic power and cultural sway all which have not been found effective enough to wield a powerful position in the modern world. (Fergusson, 2003) Let us look at the concept to hard power. Hard power is the predominant realistic measure of the power of a nation usually seen through population, military, economy and others aspects. Although many scholars have accepted that the level of technology and problems that the modern world is facing makes it impossible for one country to wield that power, it is clear that the United States occupy a unique position in the world which it can use to lead the world in a constructive manner. United States wields much economic and military power both which are regarded as hard power which can be used to persuade other nations to follow its suit. (Boehm 1999, p. 124) On the other hand it also wields what can be called soft power which is vested in culture, strength of ideals, the willingness of other nations to adopt the articulated ideals and the capacity to leaders moral authority. Soft power is the term that is used to describe the capacity of any political body like a state that have an indirect influence on other states in terms of behaviors and interest which are articulated through culture and ideologies. There is a general agreement that the strength of American soft power is vested in the spread of modern culture in fashion and clothing like the spreads of blue jeans, music ant others. Many countries in the world are today following the ideal of democracy which has been nurtured in America and which is spreading fast to other states. All these countries which have adopted these ideals look upon America for protection of freedom and observation of basic human rights. As has been expressed there are basic things that must be present if nat ion is to express its soft power. The aspect of culture, values and foreign policies must be exercised very well in order for the concept of soft power to work. (Stanford 1994, p. 126) The above two forms of power are seen as what has driven America to occupy its current position in the world. There is a general agreement that if the above powers are used wisely, America can remain on the seat of power for the next decades. But it is not everyone who agrees to this idea. The concept of hegemony Let us look at the concept of hegemony. The concept of hegemony has been used for along time now to refer to the idea of existence of dominance by one social group. It was first used by Italian Communist Antonio Gramci who had been imprisoned by Mussolini up to his death in 1926. He supported this concept with the idea of emergence of new elite which was followed by a change of mens consciousness. He reasoned that a class that is politically dominant is also ideologically dominant meaning that it keeps its position because the dominated class accepts its moral and intellectual leadership. (Stanford, 1995) In this regard, it follows the earlier description of power by Wattenberg in that there is a ruling group called the hegemon which acquires a degree of consent from the subordinate group unlike in a case where the dominance exerts its power on the subordinate group using force. The concept of hegemony has been used widely in many places to refer to any form of dominance more so when one is refereeing to dominance through culture and non-military. The concept of hegemony can be described in many fronts all which refer to the way dominance is created. For example it can be achieved through the use of institutions in a bid to formalize power, the use of bureaucracy which makes others see power as abstract, and in other manes. It can also be achieved through the articulation of hard power over others like the use of military or imposition of economic sanctions. The rise of the concept is directly linked to the struggle that has been there in the world to acquire dominance. Since the era of cold and the signing o the Warsaw Pact, there had been many instances in which the concept of hegemony has been applied. In this era, it was seen as a moment of attaining the much needed hegemony through the struggle of cold war. In particular, it was seen as a bitter struggle between the then two superpowers of the world, Russia and America in a bid to find their rightful position in the world. After the end of the cold war and the collapse of the communism Russia, the concept of hegemony has been purely used to refer to the role played by the United States as a superpower. This is due to the role that American has played since then which makes it appear like it is having the power to lord over others. But has it really grasped the concept of hegemony? This has been an issue of contention and a topic that attracts many scholars of international relations. The opponents argue that although the United States has used all its hard and soft power to realize dominance, it has been able to achieve this. This is because it seems to lack the necessary resource to position itself well in a position to dominate others. The emergence of other powers in the world like European Union, China, India and others is also seen as a big stumble for the United States in a bid to reestablish itself as the world power. On the other hand proponents point out the various achievements that the United States has which puts it in a position to dominant others. They argue in support of its military might. This is a concept that with but we have to ask ourselves the extent to which the United States has been able to use this power. Except in the end of the Second World War, there are other very few instances in which the United States has bee able to use its military power to dominate others. The United States used it military power to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan which somehow brought the bitter Second World War to end. If we take another example, it also used its power during Gulf war to drive Saddam Hussein and his troops out of Iran. But since then, it seems there is a surging rise of the concept of responsibility which has been achieved through world bodies like the United Nations. The United Nations has put in place rules which require the exercise of veto power in voting for any military action. Here some proponents of the idea of hegemony for United States argue that although it holds the hard power, it is restricted by the provisions of some of those agreements to exercise this power. But lets us look at this closely. (Stewart 2001, p. 78) There are many incidences in which America has tried to use its hard power but it has failed. Take an example of Vietnam. During the cold war, American soldiers underwent serious military casualties in Vietnam. Here America rallied all its military power but it failed. From Vietnam America learned that hard power alone is not enough to guarantee dominance and some soft power is needed as well. It learned that there must be the use of influence of culture, value and foreign policies if a country will succeed in achieving the concept of hegemony. One of the worst calamities to hit America in the recent past has been the terrorist attack on Twin Towers on September 11 2001. This attack reminded America that although it presumed to have dominance over others, its hard power could be put to test. After that the Bush administration mobilized all the hard power in American possession in what was descried as war on terror. But again the issue of hegemony comes in light here again. The United States had to seek support of its allies who thought that they were also at risk of a terrorist attack. In its campaign, America was able to convince some countries in the world with almost equal hard power like Britain and others. But eight years down the line, the war which was seen to come to end in a matter of days owing to the military might of the force is still to end and no progress has been achieved. To make the matter worse, Britain which is a partner of United States in Afghanistan where the Taliban and the Al Qaeda are supposed be h iding also suffered a terror attack in London Railway system. Even a combination of all that force could not subdue the terrorist. From Afghanistan, America directed its force to Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and install a democratic government in the country. But still there are no positive results coming from the country. This teaches us one lesson that in the modern world no single county can assume to have achieved the concept of hegemony. Though it may be referred to in many incidents, it does not apply in the real sense. What we are witnessing is the rise of power axis. This is mainly practiced in the United Nations Security Council where we see another bitter struggle for dominance. We see is a scenario where Russian and China always vote against the United States and its allies. This indicates that the so called powerhouse of the world have realized that they can no longer remain effectful in the face of the changing world. We can therefore say that the concept of hegemony has not achieved its meaning in the modern world. But if the current trend continue, we are going to come to a situation where there will emerge two parallel axis as history repeat itself. What many articulate here is that, the cold war has not ended, and the emerging axis is still allied to the earlier axis in the cold war. It is a struggle between capitalism and communism which is taking place once again. This is bringing more polarization to the concept of hegemony. How can we overcome hegemony? One thing we all agree to is that the concept of hegemony is being practiced in various sectors of life in our society. Therefore we cannot say that because it has become difficult for individual countries to achieve the concept of hegemony, then we should sit and watch. Since it practiced in our smaller societies there is need to work towards fighting the concept and its development. With the current trend in the world, we have seen that there is likelihood that the concept will take root. So what can we do to fight the concept? There is a common concession that the only best way to fight hegemony in the world would be by bringing about equality among all nations and among all communities living in a nation. The source of hegemony is directly attributed to a system of inequality which gives one party advantage over the other. Inequality in the world has been the source of acceptance of dominance by many countries especially those in the developing world. Tracing history since the era of colonization, there had been systematic inequality in access of resources which gives some countries undue advantage over the rest. (Joseph 2002, p. 54) Therefore, the only method that we can use to end hegemony would be through implementation of policies are aimed helping nations access resource in an equal manner. This will call for reviewing of international relationship including trade agreements which has been oppressive to the developing world. Following the postulation by Gramci, this will be achieved only when intellectuals rise to the challenge. In this regard the school ahs a role to play. This means that one of the most important tools that can be used to fight hegemony would be ensuring that there is access to quality education by all people in the world. (Moraes 2003, p 654) The modern world is driven by technology and many countries in the world which are fighting to acquire dominance like China have achieved this by improving their economy through technology. Education plays a crucial role in advancement of technology in any nation. In this regard intellectuals must inculcate a degree of self discipline and moral autonomy to resist colonization of their minds. This means intellectuals must become the ambassadors of the new culture in their own nations. Conclusion As we have seen no county can be said to have practiced the idea of hegemony not even the United States. But hegemony is practiced in our small societies and there is need to take bold measures in order to fight its. This will be achieved only when there is some degree of equableness in the society. Reference: Boehm, C 1999, The evolution of egalitarian behavior, Harvard University Press, Cambridge Fergusson, N 2003, Hegemony or Empire? Retrieved from, http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20030901fareviewessay82512/niall-ferguson/hegemony-or-empire.html on 7th March 2008 Joseph, J 2002, Hegemony, A realist Analysis, Routledge, New York Mann, M 986, The sources of social power, Cambridge University Press, New York Michael, C 2004, Whatever happened to American Decline? International Relations and the new United States Hegemony Moraes, R 2003, Antonio Gramci on Culture, University of Brasilia Nye, J. S1990, Bound to lead: The changing nature of American power, Basic Books Inc, New York Stanford, M 1994, Companion to the Study of History, Blackwell Stewart, A 2001, Theories of power and domination, the politics of empowerment in the late modernity, Sage, London

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Wernicke’s Encephalopathy Essays -- Biology Health Medicine Papers

Wernicke’s Encephalopathy Introduction Carl Wernicke first described the syndrome in 1881. He referred to the disorder as acute superior hemorrhagic polioencephalitis. Some of the original patients he described included two male alcoholics and a women with esophageal stenosis. He described a clinic triad of encephalopathy, ophthalmoplegia, and ataxia. Unfortunately, most diagnoses are not made clinically but rather at autopsy. This suggests that the classic clinical triad is rare, or that clinicians do not properly recognize the symptoms. In some clinical studies, only one third of patients diagnosed with Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE) presented with the classical triad. The majority of the patients presented encephalopathy (characterized by disorientation, indifference, and inattentiveness). Ocular motor abnormalities (nystagmus, lateral rectus palsy, and conjugate gaze palsies) occurred in 96%, resulting from oculomotor, abducens, and vestibular nuclei lesions. Gait ataxia presented in 87%, probably due to a combination of cerebellar and vestibular involvement as well as polyneuropathy. However, an autopsy-based study revealed that while 82% had mental status abnormalities only 23% had ataxia, 29% ocular motor abnormalities, and 11% polyneuropathy. The clinical triad was identified in only 17% of autopsy cases, and 19% sh owed none of the classic symptoms. This discrepancy between the clinical and autopsy-based studies is probably due to exclusion of atypical cases in the clinical series and the underestimation in the autopsy series of classic signs that were not properly elicited, recognized, or recorded (1). At autopsy the characteristic lesions of WK occur primarily in nuclei and structures surrounding the thi... ...e), 8 (2):107-113. 6. Butterworth, R. F., Pathophysiology of Cerebellar Dysfunction in the Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome. Canad. J. Neuroscien., 1993 (May), 20 suppl. 3: sl23-126. 7. Parkin, A. J., Dunn, J. C., Lee, C., O’Hara, P. F., Nissbaum, L. Neuropsychological Sequelae of Wernicke’s Encephalopathy in a 20-Year-Old Woman: Selective Impairment of a Frontal Memory System. Brain Cognition, 1993 (Jan), 21(1): 1-19 8. Halliday, G., Ellis, J., Harper, C. The Locus Coeruleus and Memory: A Study of Chronic Alcoholics With and Without the Memory Impairment of Korsakoff’s Syndrome. Brain Research, 1992 (Dec), 598; 33-37. 9. Halliday, G., Ellis, J., Heard, R., Caine, D., Harper, C. Brainstem Serotonergic Neurons in Chronic Alcoholics With and Without the Memory Impairment of Korsakoff’s Psychosis. J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol., 1993 (Nov), 52(6):567-579.