Autism and the link to Mercury-containing vaccines

Autism and the link to Mercury-containing vaccines Free Online Research Papers Autism, can it be caused by a mercury-containing vaccine? This is a question that hasn’t been answered very clearly. Therefore, causing parents, of children with autism, to poor their time and money into unproductive pursuits; other parents become afraid to vaccinate their children. So what are the real causes of autism? First, how does mercury affect the human body? To start off, there are three forms of mercury: methyl mercury, elemental mercury, and other mercury compounds. Methyl mercury is normally absorbed into the body by eating fish and shellfish that contain methyl mercury. The effect of methyl mercury in infants, children and even unborn babies is impaired neurological development. Elemental mercury is only toxic when it’s in vapor form and absorbed through the lungs. The effects of elemental mercury, depends on the amount of exposure. For small amounts, the symptoms are tremors, emotional changes, insomnia, neuromuscular changes, headaches, disturbances in sensations, changes in nerve responses, and performance deficits on tests of cognitive function. At higher exposures symptoms are kidney effects, respiratory failure and death. Other mercury compounds, inorganic and organic, are both absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. High exposure can affect the gastrointestinal tract , the nervous system, and the kidneys. Second, what is autism? Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder, characterized by impaired social interaction, social communication and social imagination. (Fernandes, 2010) It is also know as a group of illnesses that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize or form relationships with others as well as the ability to communicate and to use imagination (including fantasy play). (Hirsch, Autism) There are many forms of autism: Autistic disorder; a disorder that normally affects children 3 years or younger, it effects their social interactions, communication, and imaginative play. This is the form most people think about when thinking about autism. Asperger’s syndrome; this form of autism is lesser form then that of autistic disorder. It doesn’t affect the child’s language skills, but still affects their social skills and limits their imaginative skills. Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), also known as atypical autism; this is a kind of catchall category for children who have some autistic problems but who dont fit into other categories. (Hirsch, Understanding) Rett syndrome; children with retts, mostly turn out to be girls, tend to start out normally then start to decline. Most begin to decline at an age ranging between 1 and 4. They start to loss their communication and social skills, repetitive hand movements replace purposeful use of the hands. Childhood disintegrative disorder; these children develop normally for at least two years, and then lose some or most of their communication and social skills. (Hirsch, Understanding) Currently, the cause of autism isn’t clear. Some studies have shown that autism could be caused by genes; others show that autism could be caused by certain drugs or chemicals that the mother comes in contact with during pregnancy. Still other studies are looking at whether autism can be caused by other medical problems or by something in your child’s surroundings. Some parents have suggested that there is a link between childhood vaccines that contain mercury, and autism. This is because parents first noted the signs of autism soon after the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, a mercury derivative. Most cases of autism are noted during the ages of 1 and 2 years, the MMR vaccine is first given to children at 12 to 15 months of age; therefore could be just an unrelated chance occurrence. (Hirsch, Autism) So does mercury containing vaccines cause autism? According to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials have been aware of a link between thimerosal, another mercury derivative, and autism since 2000. In June of 2000, CDC and FDA had a study done by Tom Verstraeten. They wanted proof that a link between thimerosal and neurological disorders was not real. Unfortunately for them, the opposite was true. Verstraeten had looked over the medical records of 100,000 children in the CDC database and discovered that there was a link between thimerosal and neurological disorders. Many cases showed children with symptoms of neurological disorders, such as speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity, and autism, after receiving a thimerosal vaccine. (Klotter, 2006) Research on this particular subject has lead us to the CDC and the FDA’s study. It looks like the CDC and the FDA found a link between mercury-containing vaccines and autism. The question now is: have they done anything about it? References: Fernandes, T. Autism. Nursing Standard 0029-6570 (2010): 24. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 6 July 2010. . Hirsch, David. Autism Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More. parenting. WebMD.com, 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 July 2010. . Hirsch, David. Understanding Autism the Basics. Brain. WebMD.com, 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 6 July 2010. . Klotter, Jule. Thimerosal, vaccines, and autism.(vaccine preservatives thimersoal link with autism )(Report). Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine 273 (2006): 28+. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 July 2010. 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buy custom Validity essay

buy custom Validity essay Validity is the level of accuracy in measurement of a concept during a study or research. It is concerned with the aptness, and convenience of the exact deductions made from test scores. Validity has been viewed conventionally through various forms related to content, criterion as well as that which is concerned with constructs a proof among others. However, there are current paradigms that take validity as a unitary concept (Cook, 2005). As a result, test proofs should be got from various sources to support an interpretation. If consideration to the orderly assortment of validity evidence is improved, evaluations in psychometric tests will be improved. When a test score and the quality being measured are in conformity, then validity is said to be achieved. The usefulness of a test score can only be achieved by having definite evidence got through definite means (Marakas, Johnson, Clay, 2007). Besides, test values should have validity for the purpose intended. There are rules of evidence that psychologists abide to, as a way of ascertaining that a test score has a meaning for a specific reason. Therefore, to attain validity, the level of deductions from test findings should be reasonable, appropriate and significant (Saccuzzo Kaplan, 2008). At initial stages of data collection in any given study, there is usually no reason to consider a test score valid. However, evidence for validity of a test score is attained through correlation between the test values and other variables in the study. Just like in a court scenario where evidence of guilt is expected to be convincing, evidence is required to show the validity of the test and even establish a connection between two or more variables being considered (Cook, 2005). It is worth mentioning that validity is not a property attached to the apparatus used in a study, but instead, to the results and interpretations of the apparatus. This means that same instrument can be used to measure different variables with different interpretations. Since validity is concerned with deductions, not the apparatus used, it should be well founded for every intended explanation (Cohen, Fu, Fu, 2008). It would be wrong to consider the validity as a concept, since it implies that it can only be found at two extremes. First, validity is attached to the deductions from measurements of an instrument which are reflected as levels of accuracy but not perfect values. The idea of validity is similar to a hypothesis (Cook, 2005). First, researchers states their hypothesis, thereafter, they gather enough proof to support the appropriateness of their arguments. Similarly, validity requires information that helps to proof and link the interpreted test values to heoretical information behind a specific study and the preferred interpretation. Nevertheless, validity cannot be proven since it is only expressed as a degree of appropriateness (Cook, 2005). The new unitary approach to validity has created some paradigms in this phenomenon. All validity should be grouped under a single structure of construct validity. This unique approach highlights that test scores obtained from an instrument are helpful when they signify a construct. At the same time, enough proof is needed to support the correlation between the two. The other forms of validity are then regarded as sources of validity proof in support of the general framework (Cook, 2005). There is no such big difference between the categories of validity, since all of them overlap. They also collectively support deductions made from the test values on construct validity. Content evidence entails steps of analyzing the correlation between the content of a test and the construct that a researcher aims to measure (Cook, 2005). The content ought to reflect the utter truth in order to obtain the intended information. The process involves scrutiny of the instrument intended to be used, development of chosen items to act as values for the information needed and qualification of the human resource used (Marakas, Johnson, Clay, 2007). Detailed description of all these steps is broadly grouped as the content evidence, and they assist in signifying the construct. Response process is an important process that helps to review, thereby shedding some light on the relationship between the construct and nature of details given by researchers (Cook, 2005). For instance, a tutor might inquire if students taking a test that involves measuring the diagnostic reasoning, whether, they invoked high-order thinking procedure. Additionally, if one of the necessities of an instrument used requires students to assess the performance of one another, evidence from the responses would suggest that the experimenters were well trained. Lastly, this category further incorporates data collection and security methods (Cohen, Fu, Fu, 2008). Existence of a relationship with test scores from another instrument where existence of a connection is found or not supports an explanation that is reliable to the fundamental construct. For instance, in order to get quality in life assessment, variations in values among patients with unstable health states would support validity (Cook, 2005). Analysis of results of an evaluation can express and even unearth any possible sources of invalidity. For instance, a test can be carried out to determine the rating levels of teachers in a certain school. If the assessment indicates that male tteachers are rated lower than their female counterparts, it could translate to a number of inferences (Cook, 2005). First, results are ambiguous. Second, the information implies that male teachers are not as effective as their female folks. In such a scenario, proof of the results is important to link test scores to the original construct before the proof can influence the validity of the deductions (Saccuzzo Kaplan, 2008). Moreover, evidence of results can still be evaluated by finding out whether what was expected from the assessment was achieved, and the unplanned effects were evaded. Therefore, if a faculty of higher authority excluded the teachers with lower test scores, the unexpected negative results would definitely affect the meaning of the score values and hence their validity (Saccuzzo Kaplan, 2008). On the contrary, if the remedy was provided and the low value of performance improves, the proof would support the validity of the interpretations. This is a clear indication of the controversial aspect of proof of consequences as far as a validity level is concerned. If the provided proof does not hold up to the original argument of validity, the argument can be declined or improved by fine-tuning the measurement process. The new argument is then re-evaluated once more. Validity is thus seen like a cyclic process of testing and revision. Nevertheless, the amount of evidence needed will depend on the anticipated uses of the instrument (Cook, 2005). Situations that require a high level of confidence in the accuracy of explanations will need more proof than situations that need lower levels of confidence for similar explanations. In addition, integration of the various sources of evidence will imply that some instruments used in measurement will depend more on some categories of validity evidence than others. Integration of categories of validity into one single framework implies that gathering of evidence requires employment of insight and careful planning. Researchers should use the sources of validity evidence as a basic framework when assessing instruments (Saccuzzo Kaplan, 2008). Conclusion Validity is concerned with the level at which test values reflect the underlying construct as well as the explanation of the results according to evidence provided. However, it does not relate to the instrument of measurement itself (Cook, 2005). A precise understanding of validity in psychometric tests and other evaluations helps the professionals in these fields a great deal. Consequently, enhancement of the consideration given to systematic gathering and appraisal of validity evidence will translate to development in research, learning and health care. Buy custom Validity essay

Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) and its Relation with Dose Essay Example

Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) and its Relation with Dose Essay Example Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) and its Relation with Dose Paper Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) and its Relation with Dose Paper The article focuses mainly on the determination mechanism of relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of radiation as a medical technique. The dose effect is normally used in the determination of this effect; and the result show differences for live and dead cells. The presence of complex reactions also poses difficulty in arriving to the valid conclusions. Because of this, the dose effect relationship is eliminated and is replaced with dose-RBE relationship in order to prevent the limitations. The physical quantities are under consideration in the dose-RBE, since RBE becomes the ratio of doses of equal effect. It was identified further that the type of critical cell is important in establishing the RBE. There are some specific considerations which pertain to the effect of low-energy neutrons and high energy neutrons to the deactivation mechanism of electromagnetic radiation by electrons, either by 1-particle or 2-particle mechanisms. The doses of x-ray and ? -rays do not have the expected effect of producing primary lesions because it cannot produce neutrons with energies up to 14MeV, but produces two electrons in radiation. The neutron radiation even at low doses can execute lesion production, but then it was still discovered that the two-electron system of x-ray can produce lesions. The study proceeds with the lesion effects and extent, using the specific energy value, z, produced in the site of radiation by single particle track or the method of superimposition of several tracks. The findings say that there is direct proportionality between effect probability and the square of the specific energy in a region above 1 Â µm. It is noted that there are arguments presented indicative of the similar dependence on z of the x-rays and neutrons of intermediate energy composition. It is determined that probability effects particles exceeding 100 keV/Â µm (high energy neutrons) have a lower proportionality to z2.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning in World War II

Lockheed P-38 Lightning in World War II Designed by Lockheed in 1937, the P-38 Lightning was the companys attempt to meet the requirements of the US Army Air Corps Circular Proposal X-608 which called for a twin-engine, high-altitude interceptor. Authored by First Lieutenants Benjamin S. Kelsey and Gordon P. Saville, the term interceptor was specifically used in the specification to bypass USAAC restrictions regarding armament weight and number of engines. The two also issued a specification for a single-engine interceptor, Circular Proposal X-609, which would ultimately produce the Bell P-39 Airacobra.   Design Calling for an aircraft capable of 360 mph and reaching 20,000 ft. within six minutes, X-608 presented a variety of challenges for Lockheed designers Hall Hibbard and Kelly Johnson. Assessing a variety of twin-engine planforms, the two men finally opted for a radical design that was unlike any previous fighter. This saw the engines and turbo-superchargers placed in twin tail booms while the cockpit and armament were located in a central nacelle. The central nacelle was connected to the tail booms by the aircrafts wings.   Powered by a pair of 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 engines, the new aircraft was the first fighter capable of exceeding 400 mph. To eliminate the issue of engine torque, the design employed counter-rotating propellers. Other features included a bubble canopy for superior pilot vision and the use of a tricycle undercarriage. Hibbard and Johnsons design was also one of the first American fighters to extensively utilize flush-riveted aluminum skin panels. Unlike other American fighters, the new design saw the aircrafts armament clustered in the nose rather than mounted in the wings. This configuration increased the effective range of the aircrafts weapons as they did not need to be set for a specific convergence point as was necessary with wing-mounted guns. Initial mockups called for an armament consisting of two .50-cal. Browning M2 machine guns, two .30-cal. Browning machine guns, and a  T1 Army Ordnance 23  mm autocannon. Additional testing and refinement led to a final armament of four .50-cal. M2s and a 20mm Hispano autocannon.       Development Designated the Model 22, Lockheed won the USAACs competition on June 23, 1937. Moving forward, Lockheed commenced building the first prototype in July 1938. Dubbed the XP-38, it flew for the first time on January 27, 1939 with Kelsey at the controls. The aircraft soon achieved fame when it set a new cross-continent speed record the following month after flying from California to New York in seven hours and two minutes. Based on the results of this flight, the USAAC ordered 13 aircraft for further testing on April 27. Production of these fell behind due to the expansion of Lockheeds facilities and the first aircraft was not delivered until September 17, 1940. That same month, the USAAC placed an initial order for 66 P-38s. The YP-38s were heavily redesigned to facilitate mass production and were substantially lighter than the prototype. Additionally, to enhance stability as a gun platform, the aircrafts propeller rotation was changed to have the blades spin outward from the cockpit rather inward as on the XP-38. As testing progressed, problems with compressibility stalls were noticed when the aircraft entered steep dives at high speed. Engineers at Lockheed worked on several solutions, however it was not until 1943 that this problem was completely resolved. Specifications (P-38L): General Length: 37 ft. 10 in.Wingspan: 52 ft.Height: 9 ft. 10 in.Wing Area: 327.5 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 12,780 lbs.Loaded Weight: 17,500 lbs.Crew: 1 Performance Power Plant: 2 x Allison V-1710-111/113 liquid-cooled turbo-supercharged V-12, 1,725 hpRange: 1,300 miles (combat)Max Speed: 443 mphCeiling: 44,000 ft. Armament Guns: 1 x Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon, 4 x Colt-Browning MG53-2 0.50 in. machine gunsBombs/Rockets: 10 x 5 in. High Velocity Aircraft Rocket OR 4 x M10 three-tube 4.5 in OR up to 4,000 lbs. in bombs Operational History: With World War II raging in Europe, Lockheed received an order for 667 P-38s from Britain and France in early 1940. The entirety of the order was assumed by the British following Frances defeat in May. Designating the aircraft the Lightning I, the British name took hold and became common usage among Allied forces. The P-38 entered service in 1941, with the US 1st Fighter Group. With the US entry into the war, P-38s were deployed to the West Coast to defend against an anticipated Japanese attack. The first to see frontline duty were F-4 photo reconnaissance aircraft which operated from Australia in April 1942. The next month, P-38s were sent to the Aleutian Islands where the aircrafts long range made it ideal for dealing with Japanese activities in the area. On August 9, the P-38 scored its first kills of the war when the 343rd Fighter Group downed a pair of Japanese Kawanishi H6K flying boats. Through the middle of 1942, the majority of P-38 squadrons were sent to Britain as part of the Operation Bolero. Others were sent to North Africa, where they aided the Allies in gaining control of skies over the Mediterranean. Recognizing the aircraft as a formidable opponent, the Germans named the P-38 the Fork-Tailed Devil. Back in Britain, the P-38 was again utilized for its long range and it saw extensive service as a bomber escort. Despite a good combat record, the P-38 was plagued with engine issues largely due to the lower quality of European fuels. While this was resolved with the introduction of the P-38J, many fighter groups were transitioned to the new P-51 Mustang by late 1944. In the Pacific, the P-38 saw extensive service for the duration of the war and downed more Japanese aircraft than any other US Army Air Forces fighter. Though not as maneuverable as the Japanese A6M Zero, the P-38s power and speed allowed it to fight on its own terms. The aircraft also benefited from having its armament mounted in the nose as it meant that P-38 pilots could engage targets at a longer range, sometimes avoiding the need to close with Japanese aircraft. Noted US ace Major Dick Bong frequently chose to down enemy planes in this fashion, relying on the longer range of his weapons. On April 18, 1943, the aircraft flew one of its most famous missions when 16 P-38Gs were dispatched from Guadalcanal to intercept a transport carrying the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, near Bougainville. Skimming the waves to avoid detection, the P-38s succeeded in downing the admirals plane as well as three others. By the end of the war, the P-38 had downed over 1,800 Japanese aircraft, with over 100 pilots becoming aces in the process. Variants During the course of the conflict, the P-38 received a variety of updates and upgrades. The initial model to enter production, the P-38E consisted of 210 aircraft and was the first combat ready variant. Later versions of the aircraft, the P-38J and P-38L were the most widely produced at 2,970 and 3,810 aircraft respectively. Enhancements to the aircraft included improved electrical and cooling systems as well as the fitting of pylons for launching  high velocity aircraft rockets. In addition to a variety of photo reconnaissance F-4 models, Lockheed also produced a night fighter version of the Lightning dubbed the P-38M. This featured an  AN/APS-6 radar pod and a second seat in the cockpit for a radar operator.    Postwar: With the US Air Force moving into the jet age after the war, many P-38s were sold to foreign air forces. Among the nations to purchase surplus P-38s were Italy, Honduras, and China. The aircraft was also made available to the general public for the price of $1,200. In civilian life, the P-38 became a popular aircraft with air racers and stunt fliers, while the photo variants were put into use by mapping and survey companies.

Leader ship Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leader ship - Assignment Example In Robins & Judge (2010) for proper discharge of companies’ services to their clients, the management should focus on excellence of their products, ensure their clients are contented with their products and give their employees inducement in order to maximize their productivity. Leadership Theory In any business environment the management should ensure proper coordination of activities right from the organization to the clients. For the management to achieve this level of operation, they should ensure they are focused and be able to control other activities of the organization. According to management theory the leaders of any organization have a task to ensure that all other components in the organization are well coordinated (Robins & Judge, 2010, p.567). On the other hand, relationship theory requires the organization leaders to give their workers stimulus in order to ensure proper coordination of activities within the organization. The managers should ensure that workers a re aware of the organizations objectives in order to pursue them. They should also ensure that all appropriate resources are available for the worker in order to promote efficiency in the organization. ... This streamlines communication within the organization hence enabling the company’s management to effectively make their objectives known to the employees and work with a common interest of achieving the set goals. This will also simplify the problem of delegating tasks to the workers. The management practicing this theory in their organization will be interested with the collective prosperity of the individual’s advancement. Motivation Giving incentives to both workers and consumers plays a magic in the performance of the organization (Gorman, 2004, p.57). The management can give their employees incentives of various forms such as increasing their salaries, offering them an opportunity to advance their careers, or just appreciating them for their good work in the presence of other workers. This enables the workers to identify with the organization and feel encouraged to work and achieve management objectives. Organizational leaders should also encourage the employees b y giving them challenging tasks in the organization and avoid public condemnation even when they have gone wrong. The management should also establish training programs in order to assist the workers to upgrade their skills (Gorman, 2004). This enables the workers to increase their efficiency and confidence of performing their duties hence increasing their output in the organization. The workers will be able to interact with their clients freely and offer them excellent services. Providing products and services to the consumers is of paramount importance to the organization because it will help to create consumer trust on company and their products. When worker provide exemplary services to the customers, the

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 30

Case Study Example Steven further states that the modern business environment does not have many managers firing their employees, and this is because there are many legal processes that may follow which may impede the operations and performance of the organization. An example is if an employee files a lawsuit citing wrongful employment termination and this has the repercussion of slowing down the development of the organization (Shaer 10). There are various important concepts to understand when counseling an underperforming employee and one of these concepts is ensuring that the employee does not rationalize his or her performance. Many employees offer excuses for their underperformance, and consequently many managers end up not guiding these employees to quality performance. Eliminating rationalization ensures that the employees accept the fact that they have performed poorly and thus generate a plan through which they can improve their performance (Shaer 25). Another concept to comprehend when carrying out the counseling process is offering the employees a chance to state their views regarding the manager’s perception of the performance. Many times the employees have influential, quality views regarding the counseling did, and it is essential that the managers offer them a chance to air views (Shaer 25). Underperforming employees rationalize their state in an organization through many different ways. One of the ways through which employees do this is by denying the fact that they have performed poorly. Most of the employees that deny the subtle performance state that the method used by the manager to determine the state of the employee’s performance is fraud, and the measurement is rather wrong. Another way through which employees rationalize subtle performance is by accepting but offering an excuse where they state that they may be performing poorly but that they make up for this through other different ways. Another way through which underperforming employees rationalize

PEER REVIEW AND SELF ASSESSMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PEER REVIEW AND SELF ASSESSMENT - Essay Example We also connected and worked together, and no one dodge d his or her responsibilities and that made it easier finishing the group work within the agreed time. However, there was a weakness in that some of the members did not respond on time, which resulted in performing in a rush so as be done with the project within the due date. In addition, communication was another issue, whereby, some members like Jennifer and Carolyn always responded late on the discussion board. It changed towards the end, though, for Carolyn as she increases the number of time she communicated. Jennifer, however, never changed and always had an excuse. Another challenge is that, initially there was we had a problem with nursing diagnosis, whereby, we kept going back and forth, on which diagnosis would be correct for the patient. Eventually, we all agreed on the final diagnosis and everyone consented on the final decision. In terms of contribution, I would say that it varied although during the diagnosis it wa s equal. Jennifer contributed the least as she always presented excuses for not being able to carry out a task. In a future project, what I would do differently is ensuring that I have every group member’s number such that communication is improved. Further, I would ensure that we hold group meetings frequently, which possibly would make everyone more serious and effective. During the first few classes, I assumed this course was easy and thought that it only involved the assessment of patients. However, I have come to learn that advance health assessment is very broad and requires a lot of critical thinking. It has developed me in the way I am to assess my patients which and now I am able to issue a quality patient examination. It was challenging at the beginning but through constant consultation with the professor and studying of books such as Jarvis Physical