18. April 2012 by student.

The background of osteoporosis

In the United States there are more than ten million people who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease by which bones become fragile and are more prone to break.  Many of those ten million are mostly individuals who have thin body structures, family history, lack of exercise and low consumption of calcium.

Normal bone is composed of protein, collagen and calcium which gives the bone its strength. With lack of those, bones are more vulnerable to osteoporosis or osteopenia. Osteoporosis causes the bone to become very fragile; under a microscope the appearance of the bone would look more as a sponge rather than a a brick out look. Osteopenia is a disease similar to osteoporosis, however, osteopenia is lack of bone density. 

Bones that are effected with osteoporosis have severe cases. Bone fractures are usually associated with minor injury that causes the bone to become fractured. Hip fractures or collapsing are mostly in the spine, this is the most severe. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization. It can impair a human’s ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability and or sadly, death. Another area of the body that is more seen in having osteoporosis is the vertebrae. When the vertebrae is weak, the spine becomes curved, having the “hunched-back,” image. Spinal or vertebral fractures have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain and deformity.

There are different ways on how to determine if an individual has osteoporosis. It can be detected by x-rays, which the bone appears thinner and lighter than normal bones. Or a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan (DEXA) which is known from medical organizations that diagnoses osteoporosis, DEXA measures the bone density in the hip and spine. With the results of the bone density test examiners usually  compare the average peak with the same sex and age of the patient. 

There are several different drug treatments for osteoporosis that can prevent the disease from becoming more severe. Bisphosphonates and Raloxifene are types of drugs used for both the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. These are oral drugs. Calcitonin is a medicine that slows the rate of bone loss and relieves the bone pain. This is a nasal spray or injection. There is also hormone replacement therapy, but, there is a positive and negative side to this therapy. The positive side is estrogens are used to help prevent osteoporosis but are not approved to treat women who have been diagnosed with this condition. On the contrary, health benefits and the risks of hormone replacement therapy can cause breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots to occur. Vertebroplasty is a procedure that can help treat small fractures in the spinal column due to osteoporosis, by injecting a hardener  into the fracture causing the bone to become less weak.

Hip fractures leave about half of patients unable to walk indepentently. This is one of the  major reasons people are admitted to nursing homes. Osteoporosis does not affect the life expectancy of a human being.

In order for someone not to experience this life changing disease or prevent another fracture from happening, an individual needs to do the following: eat right- consuming your daily recommended calcium (help build strong and healthy bones) and vitamin D (build foundations for maintaing bone density and strength). Engaging in regular weight- bearing and muscle strengthening excersise. Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Talk to a health care provider. And most of all, have a bone density test taken. However, there is no cure for osteoporosis, there is no possibility for a human being to completely rebuild bone that has been weakened by osteoporosis, that is why individuals have to take care of themselves.

Osteoporosis is one of the most leading diseases that causes human beings to become left dependent because of the decreased physical daily activity. This disease is very serious, once someone is diagnosed with osteoporosis, that indiviadul should follow a healthy, well-balanced diet that can help the disease from becoming worse and preventing osteoporosis.

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/default.htm

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18. April 2012 by student.

This is a link that talks about world hunger and poverty that many are not educated in. An estimated 925 million hungry people are affected by this unfortunate cause. The majority of people that are starving are in Asia and the Pacific. In the year 2010 it was estimated that there was the most under nourished individuals. Unfortunalty, children are the most known victims of under nutrition. Children who from the start are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of sickness per year. Poor nourished is at least half of the 10.9 million deaths of children each year. The entire world produces enough food to feed everyone, however what causes many to go starving is not having sufficient land for agriculture and low income. 

Click on the link provided below to read more informative news on what is going on with world hunger and poverty.

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

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17. April 2012 by student.

In February, Republicans unveiled a plan to cut funding for Pell grants by 25 percent and slash the maximum award by $845, anges that would knock funding to below 2008 levels. The White House responded by asking for more modest cuts, to atleast keep the full pell grant at $5,500. The Republicans are tryng to say that cuts like thi sare never easy, yet all they are doing is taking the money away, college money, that student use to have a better future for themselves. On the other President Obama is trying to get the, yet the fact is that even if Obama wins and manages to preserve most Pell funding, students will lose. The total pool of funds is decreasing dramastically,and anything short of a serious increase in federal support to fill the gap will curtail the dreams of thousands upon thousands of young Americans. A great amount of students did not qualify for any scholarship, the financial aid is all they had, if that is taken away , the numbers of college drop out will increase. This does not only affect florida, but other states as well. In Michigan, where state financial aid plummeted by $135 million r over 60 percent. Missouri’s budget will cut need-based aid by about 60 percent. In Iowa, spending on public universities dropped 20 percent, or $141 million, in the last two years. These changes are real, lets just hope the young generations of now and the future do not have to suffer

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16. April 2012 by student.

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – Crying and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, a slight, 9-year-old boy stood before a judge who would determine whether he would face criminal charges in a school shooting that left another third-grader critically wounded. The week before, court records say, the boy had told classmates that he planned to run away from his uncle’s house, where he has lived since his grandmother died a year ago. He told them he would bring his dad’s gun with him for protection. Instead, he found a gun at his mother’s house, where he had visited over the weekend, records say. On Wednesday, the boy stowed the .45-caliber Heckler and Koch pistol at the bottom of his backpack. The safety was off and the gun was cocked. Around 1:29 p.m., one minute before school let out, the boy plopped his backpack on a desk in his third-grade classroom in Bremerton, Wash, a quiet community that is an hour from Seattle by ferry.

     The gun went off, making a loud boom, and Amina Kocer-Bowman, age 8, crumbled to the floor, bleeding from a hole in her stomach. Mina’s teacher administered first aid before a flight across Puget Sound to Harborview Medical Center. An officer found that the bottom of the boy’s backpack had been blown open where the pistol’s muzzle had been pointed. The gun had another live round in the chamber and a spent .45 casing was still in the pack.

Preliminary hearing
during the hearing on Thursday, the boy sat next to his father, who rubbed his son’s back. After, as officers led the boy away, his father, Jason Cochran, had tears in his eyes as he hugged his son.”I just want everyone to know that my kid made a mistake. It was a terrible mistake,” his father, Jason Cochran, said outside the courthouse, according to The Associated Press.The boy is being investigated on these charges: Third-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree and possession of a firearm on school facilities. Bail was set at $50,000 bail. The boy would be released to his uncle and legal guardian, Patrick Cochran, if it is met.

Kids and guns
Twenty-seven states have some form of firearm child access prevention laws. Such laws can include criminal penalties for adults who allow children to get their hands on guns, but Washington is not one of those states, according to the San Francisco-based Legal Community against Violence.

       Gail Hammer, a law professor at Gonzaga University in Spokane, said it is very rare for a child as young as 9 to be charged with a crime. Even if a young child is convicted, they wouldn’t be sent to an adult prison, Hammer said.”Generally with young children they try to deal with it in the juvenile system,” she said. In 2000, 6-year-old Kayla Rolland, a Michigan first-grader, was fatally shot by a 6-year-old classmate who brought a gun from home. Last year, a 6-year-old kindergartner at a Houston elementary school accidentally fired a gun as he was showing it off to friends, injuring three students. Bremerton Schools spokeswoman Patty Glaser said the school where Wednesday’s shooting happened, with about 400 students, was open for classes Thursday with 10 counselors available to talk with teachers, students and parents. Glaser said the classroom where the shooting took place remained closed and that the students from that classroom have been moved.

This article includes reporting by msnbc.com’s Sevil Omer and Isolde Raftery and the Associated Press.

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16. April 2012 by student.

High gas prices are usually caused by high prices for crude oil, which accounted for 72% of the price of gasoline as of February 2012. Distribution and taxes influence the remaining 28% of gas prices. Usually, distribution and taxes are stable, so that the daily change in the price of gasoline directly reflects oil price fluctuations.

Why Are Gas Prices Going Up Right Now?:

In February 2012, concerns about a potential military action, by either Israel or even the U.S., against Iran caused high oil prices. Second, some oil refineries in the U.S. were closing, according to an EIA report. Third, oil and gas prices tend to rise every spring, in anticipation of increased demand during the summer driving vacation season.

As a result, gas prices hit the benchmark $3.50 a gallon by February 15, two weeks earlier than in 2011. By mid-March, the national average had jumped to $3.87 a gallon. That’s because the price of oil reached its benchmark of $100 a barrel two weeks earlier, as well. Oil went on to hit $109.77 by the end of February, before dropping slightly to $107.40 in mid-March. (Source: EIA)

When Else Have Gas Prices Been High?

In April 2011, fears about unrest in Libya and Egypt sent oil prices up to $113 a barrel. In May 2011, as oil prices dropped, gas prices stayed high. Why? Commodities traders were concerned about refinery closures due to the Mississippi River floods.

In the summer of 2008, gas prices rose to $4 a gallon as oil prices skyrocketed to $145 a barrel, even though demand and supply were fairly constant. In summer of 2009, gas prices again rose, despite the recession, which decreased demand. Commodities traders were the reason for both. Gas prices also usually rise during the summer vacation season, as driving increases. Finally, gas and oil prices also increase whenever there is concern about surging demand from China and India, or a curtailment of oil supply.

What’s the Real Reason Behind High Oil Prices?:

Oil prices are set by commodities traders who buy and sell futures contracts on the commodities exchanges. These are agreements to buy or sell oil at a specific date in the future at a specific price. Commodities traders can create a self-fulfilling prophecy by bidding up oil futures prices. Once this starts, it can create an asset bubble. Unfortunately, the one who pays for this bubble is you!

Like most of the things you buy, oil prices are affected by supply and demand. However, oil prices are also affected by oil price futures, which are traded on the commodities futures exchange. These prices fluctuate daily, depending on what investors think the price of oil will be in the future. When traders think oil will be high, they bid it up even higher. This soon causes rising gas prices.

What Makes High Gas Prices Go Down?

The summertime vacation driving season usually increases gas prices by an average of ten cents per gallon. This price increase is despite the increased use of ethanol. Gas prices usually go down in the winter, since transportation needs are lower. This even offsets an increase in oil usage for winter heating in the Northeast U.S.

What Can We Do About Rising Gas Prices?

The most immediate thing we can do is reduce our usage of gas, either through driving less or increasing fuel efficiency. Surprisingly, the best way to increase fuel efficiency is to keep tires inflated. These, and other suggestions, are included in the “Related Reading” section of this article.

Longer term, we can change our need for oil and gas by switching to alternative fuel vehicles, using public transit and moving closer to work to reduce commuting time. This will reduce the impact of gas prices on each of us individually by reducing use.

The only real way to lower gas prices is to lower demand for gas and oil over a long period of time. This would work, since the U.S. consumes 25% of the world’s oil. This has increased over the last 20 years, from 15 million barrels per day (bpd) to 20.7 million bpd. A concerted effort might convince commodities traders that oil was a bad investment, thus allowing oil prices to return to pre-bubble levels. Article updated March 20, 2012

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16. April 2012 by student.

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14. April 2012 by student.

              I believe that an individual’s morale’s are certainly compromised when they are unemployed, because they may be appealed to engage in illegal activities, such as stealing, selling drugs and probably even murder, which would in effect affect a society. The main impact unemployment has on society and the economy is the productive power that it withholds any person who is unemployed could be doing something productive and thus contributing to the economy as a whole in which unemployment affect our society. Frequently, crime rates rise as people are unable to meet their needs through work. Divorce rates often rise because people cannot solve their financial problems. The rate of homelessness rises, as do the rates for mental and physical illness. Homes are foreclosed upon or abandoned, and neighborhoods deteriorate as a result.

             Unemployment also has a direct cost to the government in the form of any unemployment benefit paid to the unemployed and in lost tax earnings. The ability of government to provide for people is also seriously compromised. When there is high unemployment, people pay less in income taxes and also pay less in sales taxes because they purchase fewer goods and services. This leads to less in the way of public services, which includes everything from police and fire protection to the staffing for the municipal swimming pool and rubbish pickup.

         Moreover, the increased taxes suppress consumption, which in turn may lead to increased unemployment (people spending less, less revenues for companies, companies forced to lay people off). Increased borrowing by the government can have similar effects as the government takes more money than normally out of the financial markets, thus having an upwards pressure on interest rate, which results in higher cost for companies, less profits and more layoffs. As you can see, unemployment is not a good thing for anyone in our society, and even the people who remain employed will suffer as a result.

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13. April 2012 by student.

While listening to morning edition on the way to work yesterday (April 12), there was a story about the Titanic and why economist believe social order took place during the sinking of the Titanic.  After studying accounts from survivors of both the Titanic and the Lusitania, economist David Savage believes that social order took over on the Titanic because it took the Titanic 2 hours to sink.  The Lusitania, a ship very similar to the Titanic, sank in less than 20 minutes. The passengers on the Lusitania were acting off of pure instinct and didn’t have time for social order to take place. Savage believes that while yes we all have self interest, social order took place because we’re part of a society and the passengers on board the Titanic had time to assert the social norms.   Savage also tells of a man who swam to a lifeboat with an extra seat, the passengers on the lifeboat told him to get in.  When the man returned home, he was deemed a coward for the rest of his life because he took the open seat. I found it very fascinating that these people knew the end was coming and still chose to act according to how society tells them they should. 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/04/12/150421710/why-didnt-passengers-panic-on-the-titanic

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13. April 2012 by student.

On 04-11-2012 George Zimmerman was charged with 2Nd degree murder. Now we all have strong feelings on this case one way or another. The entire country and the small town of Sanford is on the verge of violence because of this case. This blog has nothing to do with is Zimmerman guilty or not. I have already written a post on that and you can read and comment on guilty or not guilty in that post.

This post is about something bigger than guilty or not guilty. For all the people that think George Zimmerman is guilty you will not be happy unless he is convicted and sent to jail. Here is the problem the prosecutor charged Zimmerman with 2nd degree murder not manslaughter. They have to prove that Zimmerman had a depraved mind, that he acted willfully and maliciously. Now I know that we the public have not been given all of the facts in the case and the prosecutor may have something that proves that. Unfortunately every lawyer that I have heard interviewed on this does not believe that this was a good choice and says it is going to be very hard to prove.

Even harder now that Martins own mother has come out an said on the Today Show that she thinks that the shooting was just a accident. Martins own mother would not convict him on 2nd degree murder. Manslaughter she would convict.

With all that said here is the question I want to ask all of you.

Was he charged with 2nd degree murder because they have some amazing evidence that has not leaked out. OR was he charged with 2nd degree murder because of political pressure. I believe that it was all political pressure and it is going to blow up in everyone’s faces. If Zimmerman is found not guilty I think there will be riots and violence not only in Sanford but across the country. This case is a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode.

2nd degree murder definition:

Murder with a Depraved Mind

Murder with a Depraved Mind occurs when a person is killed, without any premeditated design, by an act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind showing no regard for human life.

The primary distinction between Premeditated First Degree Murder and Second Degree Murder with a Depraved Mind is that First Degree Murder requires a specific and premeditated intent to kill.

Accomplice Felony Murder

Accomplice Felony Second Degree Murder occurs when you are an accomplice to a person who kills another human being while engaged in the commission, or attempted commission, of the following statutorily enumerated felonies, regardless of whether they intended the death:

Manslaughter:

The crime of Manslaughter can be committed in one of three ways, either by:

1. Manslaughter by Act: Committing an act that was neither excusable, nor justified that resulted in the death of another person.
2. Manslaughter by Procurement: Persuading, inducing, or encouraging another person to commit an act that resulted in the death of another person.
3. Manslaughter by Culpable Negligence: Engaging in “Culpably Negligent” conduct that resulted in the death of another person.

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13. April 2012 by student.

Voted teacher of the year twice, a teacher from Pontiac Academy for Excellence, a Michigan middle school was fired last month.  Brooke Harris, 27, was trying to encourage her students to stand up for what they believe in.  After watching CNN news coverage of the Trayvon Martin case, she gave her 8^th grade journalism students an editorial writing assignment. The students took the case personally and imagined themselves in Trayvon’s shoes. They decided that they wanted to have a fundraiser to help out the Martin family.  They wanted to have a “pay a $1.00 to wear a hoodie to school” day.  Harris took the students’ request to her school leaders and the leaders accused Harris of forcing her opinion upon the students. Harris insisted that it was the students’ idea.  School officials accused the students of just wanting a dress down day, so they would not have to wear their standard school uniform.  Harris wants her students to know that their opinion matters and that they should stand up for what they believe in.  Harris is confused by her dismissal and wants to know what exactly she did wrong.  A number of groups have called for her to be reinstated.  Unless there are other facts that are not being released, the school’s decision to punish the teacher and to disallow the hoodie day is a horrible social injustice for the students just trying to take a stand for what they believe in.  And now a teacher of year is out of a job.

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