In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, is Scout the one who states the following?A Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night, he would cut...

Yes, but this is not a direct quote from five-year-old Scout, it is Scout in her adult voice as narrator.

The passage you quote comes from Chapter One.  Scout opens the book narrating in the first person about events that happened over several years in her childhood, beginning when she was "almost six."  She is looking back on these events from a distance of time.  In Chapter One, she gives a lot of background about her family history and the conditions in her town and immediate neighborhood at the time.  This is information that was known to the child Scout, though she would not have delivered it in the confident and well-organized narrative voice that the adult Scout uses as she tells the story. 

The passage about the Radleys' yard, which begins, "A Negro would not pass ..." is information that was generally known in the neighborhood during the years Scout was five and six.  Scout-the-narrator is supplying this background information so that the reader can be up to speed on what the child Scout, and every other child in her neighborhood, knew about the Radley Place.

Which scene in Shakespeare's King Lear is known as the "heath scene"?

The "heath scene" you're referring to in Shakespeare's King Lear is most likely Act 3, Scene 2, in which King Lear and his Fool wander on a heath in the midst of a terrible storm. This scene is perhaps one of the most important moments in the play, as it focuses on one of the play's most important themes: the meaninglessness of the human condition in the face of the unfeeling, pitiless forces of Nature. The barren and desolate setting of the scene serves as the perfect backdrop for Lear's ravings, as the old man launches into a tirade against injustice, his family's betrayal, and the hopeless nature of his position. Moreover, the storm in which the characters wander becomes a metaphorical representation of Lear's agonized emotional and mental state. All in all, the heath scene illustrates the tragic plight of human existence faced with the wild anarchy of Nature.

What symbolized bad luck for Huck and Jim?

In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim proves to be a very superstitious character, as he interprets a variety of signs as omens of both good and bad luck. The most prominent symbol of bad luck for Jim, however, is handling snake skin, an assertion that Huck initially scoffs at. This derision proves unwise, as Huck's handling of snake skin in Chapter Ten (which is appropriately called "What Comes of Handling Snake Skin") ultimately results in a snake biting Jim and infecting him with poison. Now, there's no reason for the reader to necessarily believe that true bad luck is at work in this scenario (although it is an unfortunate turn of events, to be sure); Huck's foolish decision to kill a snake, lay its carcass in Jim's bed, and attract its live mate is more to blame than fate or bad luck. However, this sequence is valuable because it illustrates the superstitious nature of Jim and Huck's society, and so it provides an insightful look into the thought processes of a bygone era in American history. 

What is hereditary rule by one person known as?

The most likely answer to your question is “monarchy.”  Monarchy is the term that applies to almost every system of government in which a country is ruled by one person who gains their political legitimacy from their membership in a given family.

In a true monarchy, the ultimate authority rests with one person.  We typically call that person the king, the queen, or the emperor.  While that person has certain pressures on them to rule in particular ways, there is no one who actually has the legal authority to overrule them or to tell them what to do.

In a monarchy, power is hereditary.  Queen Elizabeth I of England had the right to rule because her father had been King Henry VIII.  She was selected because of her bloodlines, not because of her political skills or her charisma.  The same held true for all monarchies, which is why monarchies would occasionally fall into civil war when a monarch died and there was no single person who was clearly the most closely related to that monarch.  Since power was supposed to be hereditary, tremendous problems could arise when there was no person who clearly “deserved” to inherit that power.

Not every country that has hereditary rule by one person is called a monarchy.  We do not call North Korea a monarchy even though it has now had three autocratic rulers, all from the same family.  Kim Il Sung took power when North Korea became a country.  His son, Kim Jong Il replaced him when he died.  When Kim Jong Il died, his son, Kim Jong Un, replaced him.  This country certainly appears to be a monarchy, but we do not call it that because it claims to be communist.

Countries like North Korea notwithstanding, the best answer for this question is that this type of governmental system is called a monarchy. 

What language and dramatic features from the following quotations would best help to decide how to dramatize this soliloquy for an audience?Hie...

After Lady Macbeth receives the letter from her husband in which he tells her of his experience with the Weird Sisters, she says,

Hie thee hither,

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,

And chastise with the valor of my tongue

All that impedes thee from the golden round (I.5.28-31).

Lady Macbeth wants her husband to hurry home so she can convince him to go after the crown now.  She uses a metaphor to compare her "spirits" (her ruthlessness, ambition, and courage) to a liquid that can be "pour[ed]," as though Macbeth is an empty vessel she can fill up with her own bitterness.  Further, Lady Macbeth personifies her tongue when she speaks of its "valor"; valor refers to the strength of spirit that enables one to meet danger with resolve.  Lady Macbeth means that she will speak strengthening words to him, words that will increase his courage to face the risks that will get him to the throne the fastest.  She also uses the phrase "golden round" to mean the crown, by which she's referring to the kingship of Scotland.  She doesn't just want him to acquire the crown itself, so the crown is standing in for the position of king when she uses this example of metonymy: when a writer uses something related to the thing he means to stand in for the thing itself.  In this case, the "golden round" stands in for the position she wants him to have.  Because figurative language is meant to enrich and layer meaning, it would make sense to emphasize words like "pour" and "valor" and stretch out the long vowel sounds in "golden round," as these are the words that indicate figurative meanings and enhance her speech's content.

Once Lady Macbeth learns Macbeth and Duncan are on their way to her home, she prays to evil spirits, asking them to "unsex [her] here / and fill [her], from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty!" (I.5.48-50).  Here, Lady Macbeth wants to lose any qualities associated with femininity. She doesn't want to be compassionate, remorseful, or kind.  Instead, Lady Macbeth wants to possess the qualities more often associated with men: the abilities to be ruthless and cruel when necessary.  Interestingly, she now seems to compare herself to an empty vessel, via metaphor, just as she compared Macbeth in the other quote.  It is also notable that she calls the top of her head her "crown;" while this isn't really figurative language, it does seem to be careful and purposeful word choice since Lady Macbeth hopes to become queen.  Therefore, an actor might emphasize "unsex," "fill," and "crown," speaking quite slowly as though praying because that is essentially what Lady Macbeth is doing.

Discuss Montresor's family coat-of-arms and motto in The Cask of Amontillado.

It seems likely that Montresor doesn't even have a coat of arms or a family motto--and that Fortunato knows it! This may be an example of the thousand injuries Montresor has suffered at Fortunato's hands. Fortunato is being disingenuous. Montresor reacts by inventing just the kind of coat of arms and motto he would like to have. The coat of arms is bizarre. Fortunato should understand that, if he were not drunk. He probably doesn't understand the motto either, because it is in Latin and Montresor knows Fortunato is not well educated.

Fortunato asks his questions in the cunning expectation of hurting Montresor's feelings by forcing him to admit that he doesn't have a coat of arms or a family motto because he is not upper class but a commoner and a johnny-come-lately to Italy. Montresor describes his coat of arms as:

“A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.”

“And the motto?”

“Nemo me impune lacessit.”

“Good!” he said.

Both the coat of arms and the family motto are all too appropriate. The idea of a "huge human foot in gold" on a shield is comical, like something that might have been created by Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali. Fortunato thinks he is kidding Montresor. But he is too drunk to understand that Montresor is kidding him. He probably doesn't understand the implicit threat in the motto because he doesn't know Latin, but he pretends to understand when he says "Good!" and quickly drops the subject. 

This discussion of the coat of arms and family motto is a good illustration of the relationship between these two men. Fortunato is socially superior and treats Montresor with veiled discourtesy. Montresor puts up with Fortunato's little "digs" and snubs because he benefits financially from their "friendship." Fortunato is rich and Montresor is poor. Montresor is retaliating on Fortunato in this underground scene because he is through with the man and knows he is as good as dead.

Poe invents all this conversation because the men have to talk about something, and he doesn't want them talking about the Amontillado. Fortunato knows a great deal more about Amontillado than Montresor, and he could easily become suspicious and alarmed. The only reason that Fortunato doesn't ask a lot of questions about the wine is that he doesn't want to show a great interest in Montresor's "bargain." But he intends to trick Montresor. He would certainly tell him it was only ordinary sherry--then go to find the ship that brought it in and buy up the whole cargo for himself. That is, assuming the wine really existed and were really genuine Amontillado. Montresor has learned from some of his previous "thousand injuries" that Fortunato is not to be trusted.

In Chapter 12 of Swiss Family Robinson, the boys see something they think are men on horseback, perhaps Arabs. What do the "Arabs" prove to be?

In Chapter 12 of Swiss Family Robinson, the family is crossing plains that have become desertlike in the dry season. The family sees what appears to be a group of people on horseback galloping towards them, and they pass a spyglass (a kind of telescope) among themselves to see the distant objects more clearly. When the father, William, looks through the spyglass, he sees that the objects are actually large ostriches. There are five ostriches--4 "ashen brown" females and one male, whose white plumes contrast with his glossy black neck and body. An eagle swoops down on the male ostrich and kills it, and then the dogs devour it. The boys discover a nest filled with ostrich eggs, and as each egg weighs three pounds, the eggs are quite difficult to carry. However, the father ties the eggs to a stick so that they can be carried more easily.

In the 1820s, 1830, and 1840s, the Second Great Awakening helped to inspire a reformist impulse across the nation. As History in the Making points...

As you have pasted in the entire assignment sheet to the question field rather than asking a specific question, I'm assuming that you are struggling to get started on your assignment and are looking for help in developing a central theme and argument and some sense of what you need to do to develop it. 

First, on choosing sides, one's obvious instinct is to argue against slavery. To most of us in the twenty-first century, slavery is abhorrent and our immediate reflex is to oppose it. You actually will learn more, though, and probably get a better grade if you go against that immediate instinct, and rather than simply dismiss the anti-slavery arguments, try to use the paper as a way to understand how basically decent and intelligent human beings could uphold slavery. Thus your thesis statement might be something on the order of: "Although the overwhelming majority of twenty-first century Americans consider not only slavery but even racial discrimination self-evidently morally abhorrent, such was not the case in the nineteenth century."

Next, you should develop an outline focused on the categories listed in your assignment sheet. Some issues you should address are:

• Paternalism: Even now, we believe that certain categories of people, including children, the mentally disabled (including people suffering certain mental illnesses, the developmentally disabled, and seniors suffering from dementia) should have their behavior restricted in certain ways because they are not capable of caring for themselves or making good life choices. Many of the pro-slavery writers make a similar argument, that slaves, like children, need to be under the power of wiser people for their own good.


• Religious: Although some evangelicals tended to be abolitionists, many people argued for slavery on Biblical grounds, including its apparent acceptance in the Pauline letters. 


• Conditions of slaves: Here, you might look at how the anti-abolitionists argued about the conditions of slave life as opposed to how African-Americans might live if they were freed. You also might look at the image of the "happy slave" as portrayed in these documents. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, why did Mayella think Atticus was making fun of her? What does this tell you about her upbringing?

That scene takes place in Chapter 18, which is one of the trial scenes.  Mayella Ewell is on the witness stand to testify against her alleged rapist.  

First, she is interviewed by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Gilmer. At first, she is hesitant to testify at all, and even bursts into tears.  It emerges that she is afraid of Atticus, because she has just seen him trap her father into admitting that he is left-handed.  

Atticus begins to cross-examine her in a very polite and reassuring manner, calling her "Miss Mayella" and even "ma'am."  

"Won't answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin' me," she said.

"Ma'am?" said Atticus, startled.

"Long's you keep on makin' fun o'me."

Judge Taylor said, "Mr. Finch is not making fun of you.  What's the matter with you?"

"Long's he keeps on callin' me ma'am and sayin' Miss Mayella.  I don't hafta take his sass, I ain't called upon to take it."

In other words, it was Atticus' polite words that Mayella took for mockery.

Obviously she has never been treated with respect or courtesy.  In fact, she has always been treated with such great disrespect that the only way she can interpret respect, when it is shown to her, is as sarcasm.  

This shows that, not only do her father and siblings never show courtesy, she has also never been treated with courtesy by anyone in Maycomb.  This might be because she and her family are such outcasts, but it is more likely because she never has any reason or means to go into town. 

What are natural treatments for congestive heart failure?

Introduction

When the heart sustains injury that weakens its pumping ability, a complicated physiological state called congestive heart failure (CHF) can develop. Fluid builds up in the lungs and lower extremities, the heart enlarges, and many symptoms develop, including severe fatigue, difficulty breathing while lying down, and altered brain function. Medical treatment for this condition is quite effective and sophisticated, consisting of several drugs used in combination.

Principal Proposed Natural Treatments

CHF is too serious a condition for self-treatment. The supervision of a qualified health-care professional is essential. However, given medical supervision, some of the following treatments may be quite useful.

The herb hawthorn appears to be effective for mild CHF and also may
be helpful for more severe CHF. However, while standard drugs have been shown to
help reduce hospitalizations and mortality associated with CHF, there is no
similar evidence for hawthorn. Also, adding the supplement coenzyme
Q10
to standard treatment may improve results.
Finally, the supplement vitamin B1
(thiamin) may be
helpful for persons who take loop diuretics (such as furosemide) for
CHF.

Hawthorn. Several double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, involving about 750 participants, have found hawthorn helpful for the treatment of mild to moderate CHF. In one of the best of these studies, 209 people with relatively advanced CHF (technically, New York Heart Association class III) were given either 900 milligrams (mg) or 1,800 mg of standardized hawthorn extract or matching placebo. The results after sixteen weeks of therapy showed significant improvements in the hawthorn groups compared with the placebo groups. Benefits in the high-dose hawthorn group included a reduction in subjective symptoms and an increase in exercise capacity. Subjective symptoms improved to about the same extent in the lower-dose hawthorn group, but there was no improvement in exercise capacity.

In an analysis that mathematically combined the results of ten controlled trials involving 855 persons, hawthorn extract was found to be significantly better than placebo for improving exercise tolerance, decreasing shortness of breath and fatigue, and enhancing the physiologic function of an ailing heart in mild to moderate CHF. In another study, however, researchers found that persons with mild to moderate CHF taking a special extract of hawthorn, 900 mg daily, were more likely to experience an initial worsening of their condition compared to those taking placebo. By the end of six months, however, there was no difference in the two groups. In light of numerous other studies supporting the safety and effectiveness of hawthorn in CHF, the results of this special extract study need to be repeated before drawing any firm conclusions.

A comparative study suggests that hawthorn extract (900 mg) is about as effective as a low dose of the conventional drug captopril. However, while captopril and other standard drugs in the same family have been shown to help reduce hospitalizations and mortality associated with CHF, there is no similar evidence for hawthorn.

Like other treatments used for CHF, hawthorn improves the heart’s pumping ability. However, it may offer some important advantages over certain conventional drugs used for this condition.

Digoxin, and other medications that increase the power of
the heart, also make the heart more susceptible to dangerous irregularities of
rhythm. In contrast, preliminary evidence indicates that hawthorn may have the
unusual property of both strengthening the heart and stabilizing it against
arrhythmias. It is thought to do so by lengthening what is
called the refractory period. This term refers to the short period following a
heartbeat during which the heart cannot beat again. Many irregularities of heart
rhythm begin with an early beat. Digoxin shortens the refractory period, making
such a premature beat more likely, while hawthorn seems to protect against such
potentially dangerous breaks in the heart’s even rhythm.

Another advantage of hawthorn involves toxicity. With digoxin, the difference between the proper dosage and the toxic dosage is dangerously small. Hawthorn has an enormous range of safe dosing.

However, digoxin is itself an outdated drug. There are many newer drugs for CHF (such as angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors) that are much more effective than digoxin. Many of these have been proven to prolong life in people with severe CHF. There is no reliable evidence that hawthorn offers the same benefit (although one large study found hints that it might). Also, it is not clear whether one can safely combine hawthorn with other drugs that affect the heart.

Coenzyme Q
10. People with CHF have significantly lower levels of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in heart muscle cells than healthy people. This fact alone does not prove that CoQ10 supplements will help CHF; however, it prompted medical researchers to try using this supplement as a treatment for heart failure.

In the largest study, 641 people with moderate to severe CHF were monitored for one year. One-half were given 2 mg per kilogram of body weight of CoQ10 daily; the rest were given placebo. Standard therapy was continued in both groups. The participants treated with CoQ10 experienced a significant reduction in the severity of their symptoms. No such improvement was seen in the placebo group. The people who took CoQ10 also had significantly fewer hospitalizations for heart failure. Similarly positive results were also seen in other double-blind studies involving a total of more than 270 participants. However, two later and very well-designed double-blind studies enrolling about eighty-five persons with CHF failed to find any evidence of benefit. The reason for this discrepancy is not clear.

Vitamin B
1
. Evidence suggests that the strong diuretics (technically, “loop diuretics,” such as furosemide) commonly used to treat CHF may interfere with the body’s metabolism of vitamin B1 (thiamin). Because the heart depends on vitamin B1 for proper function, this finding suggests that taking a supplement may be advisable; preliminary evidence suggests that thiamin supplementation may indeed improve heart function in persons with CHF.

Other Proposed Natural Treatments

A large Italian trial involving almost seven thousand persons found that
fish
oil may modestly reduce the risk of death or admission to the
hospital for cardiovascular reasons in persons with CHF. Several studies
(primarily by one research group) suggest that the amino acid taurine may be
useful in CHF and could be more effective than CoQ10.

Another treatment for CHF that has some evidence is the supplement L-carnitine,
especially when given in the special form called propionyl-L-carnitine. Carnitine
is frequently combined with CoQ10. Three small double-blind studies
enrolling about seventy persons with CHF found that the supplement
arginine significantly improved symptoms of CHF and improved
objective measurements of heart function.

Evidence suggests that the sports supplement creatine may
offer some help for the sensation of fatigue that often accompanies CHF. One small
double-blind study found preliminary evidence that the supplement ribose may
improve CHF symptoms.

Combination therapy with several of the supplements mentioned here may also be helpful. A double-blind trial of forty-one persons found that the use of a supplement containing taurine, CoQ10, creatine, and carnitine, along with other nutrients, improved objective measures of heart function. Also, a study performed in China reported that berberine (a constituent of various herbs, including goldenseal and Oregon grape) can decrease mortality and increase quality of life in CHF.

There is some evidence that supplementing with magnesium may
be helpful for persons taking both digoxin and diuretics; diuretics can deplete
the body of magnesium, and this, in turn, may increase the risk of digoxin side
effects. One study found that the use of magnesium (as magnesium orotate) may
improve exercise capacity and reduce heart arrhythmias in people with CHF who have
just undergone bypass graft surgery. Additionally, in a well-designed trial
involving seventy-nine persons with severe CHF, magnesium orotate significantly
improved survival and clinical symptoms after one year compared with placebo.

Weak evidence suggests that relaxation therapy (specifically
Transcendental Meditation), Tai Chi, and yoga may improve functional capacity and
quality of life in people with CHF. Also, vitamin E has been proposed as a
treatment for CHF, but a small double-blind study did not find it effective.

Herbs and Supplements to Use Only with Caution

One study found hints that supplementation with vitamin C at a dose of 4 grams daily might worsen muscle function in people with CHF. Various other herbs and supplements may interact adversely with drugs used to treat CHF.

Bibliography

Belardinelli, R., et al. “Coenzyme Q10 and Exercise Training in Chronic Heart Failure.” European Heart Journal 27 (2006): 2675-2681.

GISSI-HF Investigators et al. “Effect of N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure (The GISSI-HF Trial).” The Lancet 372 (2008): 1223-1230.

Jayadevappa, R., et al. “Effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life of African Americans with Congestive Heart Failure.” Ethnicity and Disease 17 (2007): 72-77.

Keith, M. E., et al. “A Controlled Clinical Trial of Vitamin E Supplementation in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 73 (2001): 219-224.

Nightingale, A. K., et al. “Chronic Oral Ascorbic Acid Therapy Worsens Skeletal Muscle Metabolism in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.” European Journal of Heart Failure 9 (2007): 287-291.

Omran, H., et al. “D-Ribose Improves Diastolic Function and Quality of Life in Congestive Heart Failure Patients.” European Journal of Heart Failure 5 (2003): 615-619.

Pittler, M., R. Guo, and E. Ernst. “Hawthorn Extract for Treating Chronic Heart Failure.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2008): CD005312. Available through EBSCO DynaMed Systematic Literature Surveillance at http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed.

Pullen, P. R., et al. “Effects of Yoga on Inflammation and Exercise Capacity in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.” Journal of Cardiac Failure 14 (2008): 407-413.

Stepura, O. B., and A. I. Martynow. “Magnesium Orotate in Severe Congestive Heart Failure (MACH).” International Journal of Cardiology 134 (2008): 145-147.

Yeh, G. Y., P. M. Wayne, R. S. Phillips. “Tai Chi Exercise in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.” Medicine and Sport Science 52 (2008): 195-208.

Zick, S. M., B. Gillespie, and K. D. Aaronson. “The Effect of Crataegus oxycantha Special Extract WS 1442 on Clinical Progression in Patients with Mild to Moderate Symptoms of Heart Failure.” European Journal of Heart Failure 10 (2008): 587-593.

What is Scout's most important action in To Kill A Mockingbird?

Scout's most important action is her approaching and addressing Mr. Cunningham during the mob scene outside the jailhouse.

In Chapter 15 Scout hears her brother Jem in his bedroom. She knocks on his door, asking him what he is doing. "I'm goin' downtown for a while," he replies. Scout asks him why he is going at ten o'clock at night, but he is somewhat evasive. After their aunt's light goes out, the children sneak out and pick up Dill on the way. Jem tells Dill only that he just has "a feeling."

The children look first at Atticus's office, then in the bank. Finally, they decide to check Mr. Underwood's office which looks over the jail. They find Atticus sitting in front of the jail with a light over the door. Soon, the children witness a stream of dusty cars driving up. Men get out of these cars in pairs and surround Atticus, hiding him from the children's view. They speak in whispers: "He in there, Mr. Finch?" and "You know what we want."
But, Atticus only addresses Walter Cunningham, saying that they should depart, and that Heck Tate is around somewhere. But, another man contradicts Atticus, saying that Heck has been sent on a wild-goose chase.

When Scout hears her father say a familiar phrase used when he plays checkers and someone is about to make a bad move, she rushes forward, followed by Jem and Dill. Atticus shows fear when he sees the children, and a man tells Atticus to get the children out of there. When a burly man grabs Jem, Scout kicks him. As the tension rises, Scout looks at the men, then addresses one whom she recognizes,

"Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How's your entailment gettin' along?"

Mr. Cunningham is taken off guard by Scout's address. As he shifts his feet, Scout tells him who she is and that she goes to school with Walter, his son. Then, she continues talking about entailments, but becomes uncomfortable with so many people looking at her. Finally, the tension is broken as Mr. Cunningham kneels down and tells Scout that he will tell his son that she says "hello." Then, he orders the men to go: "Let's clear out....Let's get going."

After the mob leaves, Tom Robinson asks, "They gone?" [sic] Atticus assures him that they are. Soon, Mr. Underwood appears in his office window with a double-barreled shotgun in his arms. Clearly, Scout has diffused a very tense situation.

Did King Duncan have a banquet in Macbeth's castle before he died?

Yes, after the battle in which Macbeth shows his bravery and becomes Thane of Cawdor, Duncan and his men come to Macbeth's castle for a banquet. This gives the Macbeths the perfect opportunity to kill Duncan, who is completely unsuspecting, and it adds greatly to the horror of the act. In that time and place, the hospitality code was highly valued and meant a host was under an active obligation to protect his guests. To murder Duncan when he was under the Macbeths' care was a double violation of the loyalty they owed the king, both as monarch and as guest. Lady Macbeth, when she contemplates this, asks the spirits to "unsex" her and fill her with "direst cruelty," in part, we may imagine, because she knows it's wrong to murder a guest under her roof. Macbeth himself will say that his role as host means he should shut the door against anyone who is trying to murder Duncan, not murder him himself. The fact that the Macbeths would wine and dine Duncan in their own home with smiles and welcome and then kill him highlights their ruthless ambition.

What kind of joint is the knee joint?

There are three types of joints in the human body: fibrous, cartilaginous and synovial joints. This classification is based on the material used for making the joint. For example, fibrous joints are those that are joined by fibrous ligaments. Cartilaginous joints, on the other hand, are the joints in which bones are connected together by cartilage. Synovial joints are formed by a fluid-filled capsule, known as the synovial capsule and cartilage. They are also classified based on mobility. For example, fibrous joints are permanent (and hence immobile), cartilaginous joints are partially movable, while synovial joints are mobile or freely movable joints.

Knee joints are synovial joints, while the joint between the teeth and jaw is fibrous and those between vertebrae are cartilaginous joints. The joints at our ankle are also synovial joints. In fact, synovial joints are the most common classification of joints in our body. 

Hope this helps. 

Retell an episode in the story which is a good example of irony in a situation?

After several failed attempts to get himself arrested, Soapy spots what looks like an ideal opportunity.

In a cigar store he saw a well-dressed man lighting a cigar at a swinging light. His silk umbrella he had set by the door on entering. Soapy stepped inside, secured the umbrella and sauntered off with it slowly. The man at the cigar light followed hastily.

“My umbrella,” he said, sternly.

“Oh, is it?” sneered Soapy, adding insult to petit larceny. “Well, why don't you call a policeman? I took it. Your umbrella! Why don't you call a cop? There stands one on the corner.”

Soapy would not have taken the umbrella if he hadn't seen the policeman standing on the nearby corner. To Soapy's surprise, it appears that the man who claims to be the owner of the umbrella doesn't want to have anything to do with policemen. He must have stolen the umbrella out of a stand inside some restaurant or bar. All men's umbrellas look pretty much alike. They are always black, and in O. Henry's time women would also carry black umbrellas. This is one of many examples of how Soapy can't get arrested when he wants to. There is one example of how he finally does get arrested when he doesn't want to.

As the title "The Cop and the Anthem" suggests, Soapy has an epiphany at the end when he hears the church anthem and thinks about his former life. He decides to become a new man. He will get a job and climb back into the respectable world he left behind. But ironically a cop approaches him at that inspirational moment:

“What are you doin' here?” asked the officer.

“Nothin',” said Soapy.

“Then come along,” said the policeman.

“Three months on the Island,” said the Magistrate in the Police Court the next morning.

So Soapy gets the three months on Riker's Island he originally wanted—but only after he doesn't want it anymore.

How does Harry Potter change?

Considering the extraordinary things that happen to Harry during his eleventh year of life, the actual changes to his character are pretty ordinary. At the beginning of the novel, right up until his eleventh birthday, Harry is the hated cousin and nephew of a thoroughly unpleasant family, with no friends, no love, and no hope for the future. He also, obviously, has no magic. 

When his circumstances change and he discovers that he is a wizard and will be boarding at a school where everyone knows his name and he'll be learning magic, he is daunted but thrilled to be embarking on his new life. Over the course of the school year, Harry changes from a lonely boy without a single friend or even a place he could accurately call "home" to a boy with a strong circle of loyal friends and friendly acquaintances and a school/home that he cannot wait to return to. Harry overcomes the loneliness and friendlessness that has plagued him his entire life in just a few months away from the Dursleys and these friendships strengthen throughout the book, even throughout the series. The climax of the book, when he, Ron, and Hermione work together to rescue the sorcerer's stone and protect the world of magic demonstrates both the strength of Harry's new friendships and his commitment to protecting his new, magical home.

How does Shakespeare use language to make Macbeth sound confident?

In Act 4, scene 1, Shakespeare presents a very confident Macbeth, in part, through his use of imperative (command) statements.  He does not ask questions or seek assurance as he did when he spoke with the witches for the first time.  No, now he demands answers, saying, "I conjure you by that which you profess / (Howe'er you come to know it), answer me [....] answer me / To what I ask you" (4.1.51-64).  The Weird Sisters respond differently to him now, allowing him to "Demand" things of them (4.1.66).  When they offer to call their "masters" for Macbeth so that he may speak to them directly, Macbeth, rather nonchalantly, says, "Call 'em.  Let me see 'em," as though he is completely unconcerned that he could be speaking with demons or devils (4.1.70).  Even when he's presented with the witches' "masters," he still attempts to make demands of them though the sisters tell him that these "will not be commanded" (4.1.86).  He is even somewhat irreverent and jokey when presented with the second apparition who calls his name three times, when he responds, "Had I three ears, I'd hear thee" (4.1.89).  Perhaps he's trying to exercise his wit in order to cover up some nervousness, but it makes him seem even more arrogant than his demands do.  

Finally, when he asks about Banquo's descendants and whether or not they will ever reign, the sisters tell him that he shouldn't try to learn any more, but he persists, "Deny me this, / And an eternal curse fall on you!" (4.1.119-120).  His confidence (and arrogance) reaches epic proportions here; he is no longer in awe or fearful of the sisters, and he's gone beyond making jokes and demands.  Now he actually threatens to curse them if they disobey them.

What are natural treatments for attention deficit disorder (ADD)?

Introduction

Originally, children who simply were incapable of concentrating at school were
thought to have attention-deficit disorder (ADD). Hyperkinesia was used
somewhat synonymously as a descriptive term for children who could not sit still.
The definition has broadened to include adults and has been refined into two
conditions: ADD and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder). Characteristics include difficulty sustaining
attention or completing tasks, easy distractibility, impulsive behavior, and, in
the case of ADHD, an excessive inclination to fidget and move about. These
problems make it difficult to succeed at work or at school.

Conventional treatment focuses on stimulants, such as amphetamine,
dextroamphetamine, and methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta),
and the newer drug atomoxetine (Strattera). Certain antidepressants may also be
useful.

Proposed Natural Treatments

2-Dimethylaminoethanol. There is some evidence that the supplement 2-dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) may be helpful for ADD, according to studies performed in the 1970s. Two such studies were reported in a review article. Fifty children age six to twelve years who had been diagnosed with hyperkinesia participated in a double-blind study comparing DMAE to placebo. The dose was increased from 300 milligrams (mg) daily to 500 mg daily by the third week and continued for ten weeks. Evaluations revealed statistically significant test-score improvements in the treatment group compared with the placebo group.

Another double-blind study compared DMAE with both Ritalin and
placebo in seventy-four children with learning disabilities. (Today, the
participants likely would have been given a diagnosis of ADD.) The study found
significant test-score improvement for both treatment groups over a ten-week
period.

Zinc. The mineral zinc has shown some promise for treatment of ADHD. In a large double-blind, placebo-controlled study (approximately four hundred participants), the use of zinc at a dose of 35 mg daily produced statistically significant benefits compared with placebo. This dose of zinc is higher than nutritional needs, but not so high as to be unsafe. However, the benefits seen were quite modest: About 28 percent of the participants given zinc showed improvement, but so did 20 percent in the placebo group.

Another, much smaller study evaluated whether zinc at 15 mg per day could enhance the effect of Ritalin. Again, modest benefits were seen. Finally, exceedingly weak evidence hints that zinc might enhance the effectiveness of evening primrose oil for ADHD.

Essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are “good
fats,” substances as important to general health as vitamins. Based on evidence
that essential fatty acids are necessary for the proper development of brain
function in growing children, EFAs found in fish oil and
evening primrose oil have been used for the treatment of ADHD and related
conditions. The results, however, have been less than impressive.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of seventy-five children with ADHD found that daily supplementation with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may reduce ADHD symptoms in some children. However, in a similarly designed study of fifty such children, the use of essential fatty acids from fish oil and evening primrose oil failed to provide any consistent, significant benefit above and beyond the placebo effect. (The placebo effect, incidentally, was considerable.) In a slightly smaller trial, weak evidence of benefit was seen, but the results are difficult to interpret because of the high number of people who dropped out of the study.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of children already using stimulant therapy, the addition of the essential fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, found in fish oil) for four months failed to further improve symptoms.

Evening primrose oil alone failed to prove effective for ADD in a small, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. In a placebo-controlled comparative trial, evening primrose oil proved less effective than standard medical treatment. However, a close look at the data in this last trial hinted that evening primrose oil might have been more effective in people with adequate zinc levels. This suggests that combination therapy with zinc and evening primrose oil should be tested, but thus far, this approach has not undergone meaningful study.

Other natural treatments. A small, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial evaluated the possible efficacy of the supplement carnitine for ADD in boys age thirteen years and younger. Approximately 50 percent of the participants responded to carnitine, a significantly higher percentage than responded to placebo. These promising results suggest that a larger trial is warranted.

A combination of American ginseng and Ginkgo biloba has shown some promise for treatment of ADHD. Vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B6, and multivitamin-multimineral supplements have been recommended for the treatment of ADD. However, a review of the literature found no meaningful evidence to indicate that these treatments are effective. One study reportedly proves that magnesium is helpful for ADD, but this study’s design was too inadequate to prove much of anything.

Other supplements that are sometimes recommended for ADD include calcium, iron, inositol, trace minerals, blue-green algae, combinations of amino acids (usually gamma-aminobutyric acid, glycine, taurine, L-glutamine, L-phenylalanine, and L-tyrosine), and combinations of the polysaccharides galactose, glucose, mannose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, fucose, N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, and xylose. St. John’s wort has also become popular, but unlike its effectiveness in depression, there is no convincing evidence for its effectiveness against ADD. St. John’s wort interacts with many medications and could conceivably impair the effectiveness of conventional treatments for ADD.

One study hints that massage might be helpful for ADD. Also, it is commonly said that sugar, food allergens, and food additives, such as artificial colors, contribute to ADD symptoms. However, published evidence regarding these therapies remains incomplete and contradictory. The best evidence regards artificial colors and food additives. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 153 persons without ADD, the use of certain food additives significantly increased hyperactivity compared with placebo.

A double-blind study reported in 2005 failed to find benefits for ADD with a
treatment known as Bach flower remedies. Another study
found that the supplement melatonin may be helpful for improving
sleep in children with ADHD who are also taking stimulant medications. However,
melatonin does not appear to be helpful for ADHD symptoms per se.

Homeopathic Remedies

In a double-blind study of sixty-two children with ADD, the use of constitutional, or classical, homeopathic remedies proved more effective than placebo. However, a similar study of forty-three children, again using constitutional remedies, failed to find statistically significant benefits.

Bibliography

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Bilici, M., et al. “Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Zinc Sulfate in the Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 28 (2004): 181-190.

Breakey, J. “The Role of Diet and Behaviour in Childhood.” Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health 33 (1997): 190-194.

Field, T. M., et al. “Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Benefit from Massage Therapy.” Adolescence 33 (1998): 103-108.

Frei, H., et al. “Homeopathic Treatment of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” European Journal of Pediatrics 164 (2005): 758-767.

Jacobs, J., et al. “Homeopathy for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 11 (2005): 799-806.

Johnson, M., et al. “Omega-3/Omega-6 Fatty Acids for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial in Children and Adolescents.” Journal of Attention Disorders 12 (2009): 394-401.

Krummel, D. A., F. H. Seligson, and H. A. Guthrie. “Hyperactivity: Is Candy Causal?” Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 36 (1996): 31-47.

Lyon, M. R., et al. “Effect of the Herbal Extract Combination Panax Quinquefolium and Ginkgo biloba on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 26 (2001): 221-228.

McCann, D., et al. “Food Additives and Hyperactive Behaviour in Three-Year-Old and Eight/Nine-Year-Old Children in the Community.” The Lancet 370 (2007): 1560-1567.

Pintov, S., et al. “Bach Flower Remedies Used for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children.” European Journal of Paediatric Neurology 9, no. 6 (2005): 395-398.

Rapp, D. J. “Does Diet Affect Hyperactivity?” Journal of Learning Disabilities 11 (1978): 383-389.

Richardson, A. J., and B. K. Puri. “A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of the Effects of Supplementation with Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids on ADHD-related Symptoms in Children with Specific Learning Difficulties.” Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 26 (2002): 233-239.

Schab, D. W., and N. H. Trinh. “Do Artificial Food Colors Promote Hyperactivity in Children with Hyperactive Syndromes?” Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 25 (2004): 423-434.

Stevens, L., et al. “EFA Supplementation in Children with Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Other Disruptive Behaviors.” Lipids 38 (2003): 1007-1021.

Van der Heijden, K. B., et al. “Effect of Melatonin on Sleep, Behavior, and Cognition in ADHD and Chronic Sleep-Onset Insomnia.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 46 (2007): 233-241.

Weber, W., et al. “Hypericum Perforatum (St John’s Wort) for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents.” Journal of the American Medical Association 299 (2008): 2633-2641.

Weiss, M. D., et al. “Sleep Hygiene and Melatonin Treatment for Children and Adolescents with ADHD and Initial Insomnia.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 45, no. 5 (2006): 512-519.

Wolraich, M. L., D. B. Wilson, and J. W. White. “The Effect of Sugar on Behavior or Cognition in Children.” Journal of the American Medical Association 274 (1995): 1617-1621.

In The Giver, why would Fiona, a trainee in the care of the old, probably accept the practice of releasing the old?

The only people in the community who know that release means putting someone to death are the Elders and the Giver.  Fiona has no idea that the elderly people she helps to care for are being killed. No one is present when the elderly are released except for a committee, one probably composed of some Elders, that is in charge of the process. It is also possible that, as in the release of an infant that Gabriel witnesses, a caregiver like his father will perform the actual release.  As far as most in the community know, people who are released, young or old, "were sent Elsewhere and never returned to the community" (43).  It is difficult to know what Fiona would do if she understood this, but since she does not, she pictures all who have disappeared from the community being Elsewhere, and thus there is no reason for her to protest the process or be at all concerned about it.  Additionally, this is a community in which people are almost "programmed" to follow all rules, and Fiona is probably going to accept any rules or processes that the Elders require. 

What does it mean when the unit of moles is raised to the power of -1?

Raising any number to the power of -1 is the same as 1, divided by the original number. For example, 4 to the power of -1 is the same as 1/4, or 0.25

Moles can be raised to the -1 power pretty frequently if you're doing stoichiometry or other forms of dimensional analysis. If you had 1 mole of something, and it had a molar mass of 5 grams, you could just simplify this whole thing into an equation like "1 mol x 5g x mol e-1." This is an alternative to writing out the "railroad track" method, where you write each relationship in the form of a numerator and denominator in a separate line. The mole raised to the -1 power would cancel out the first mole, leaving you with an answer in the unit of grams. 

Basically, any time you have a relationship between a unit and a mole, and the value is "N units per mole," you could write it as "N units x mol e-1" instead.

How were the Jews stripped away from their families in Night by Elie Wiesel?

In Elie's case, his family is separated at Birkenau, the reception center to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. As soon as the Jews from Sighet disembark the train they are divided by gender with the women and girls going to the left and men and boys to the right. Elie comments that he was parting from his mother and youngest sister "forever." They probably perished in the crematory that same night. At this point Elie and his father are still together, much to Elie's comfort, but at every step throughout the book they are in danger of being separated. In fact, the two are lucky to survive the initial "selection" (being selected meant certain death) since Elie is only fifteen at the time and his father fifty. They receive some important advice from an unknown man who tells them to alter their ages when they come before Dr. Mengele. Several times in the book, Elie is close to losing his father to a selection, yet the two are able to stay together almost until the end of the war. Unfortunately, Elie's father dies from dysentery at Buchenwald, only a short time before that camp was liberated.

Jews may also have been separated at the time of deportation as was the case of Stein, Elie's relative from Antwerp. Stein reports that he was deported by the Nazis in 1942 but his wife and children stayed behind in Belgium. To calm the man, Elie lies about his mother having received news from Antwerp that Stein's wife and children were doing fine. In reality, it is almost certain that they perished in a concentration camp in the same manner as Elie's mother and sister. Luckily for Elie, his two oldest sisters did survive the war and they were eventually reunited in a French orphanage. 

In The Slave Dancer, what causes Jessie to lose his breath?

Interesting question! In the book The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, Jessie loses his breath several times throughout the story.

Although Jessie loses his breath multiple times, he commonly seems to lose his breath in relation to the slaves. Frequently, when Jessie learns about the slaves, he loses his breath, which shows his shock and surprise. This happens multiple times.

For example, when Jessie sees the land from where they would take the slaves, his breath stops. As the text reveals:

“My breath came short – here, within eyesight, was the very world from which such slaves had been taken. Here on this small ship, we would be carrying God knows how many of them.”

This also happens when Jessie sees how the slaves are treated on the ship. As the text shows:

“Although many [slaves] were silent now, some continued to lament. I prayed they would stop for I had not drawn a breath since the child’s face [slave’s face] had appeared at the railing, and I wondered, gasping, when I would again.”

Thus, Jessie loses his breath multiple times. He commonly loses his breath in relation to the slaves. Additionally, Jessie loses his breath during other times as well, such as when he first comes on board and smells the ship (which arguably might be related to the odor of slave ships).

What are the implications of the prominent dialogue in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"?

Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" focuses on the dialogue between a man and a woman while they are waiting for a train. The dialogue at first appears to be innocuous small talk while the couple passes time waiting. However, their discussion soon turns to a more troublesome topic, revealing tension between the man and the woman that centers around a condition about which they clearly do not want to speak directly -- the woman's pregnancy.  

The initial dialogue between the man and the woman merely involves what they want to drink. While their conversation appears to be light and amiable, the woman makes an offhand remark about the hills they can see from their table looking like white elephants. His reaction to this remark reveals an underlying tension between them. This tension is further revealed when they discuss trying a type of drink the woman has never before tried. Although both the man and the woman claim they are trying to have a "fine time," the growing tension between them belies that stated goal. 

About halfway through the story, the man broaches the source of the tension between them:

"It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig," the man said. "It's not really an operation at all." 

The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.

"I know you wouldn't mind, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in."

The girl did not say anything. 

"I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's perfectly natural."

After this exchange, the woman seeks assurance from the man that they will be happy after she has the procedure. She is not sure of this, so the man attempts to convince her. However, as the conversation continues, it becomes clear that the man is looking forward to a time when he and the woman can again be as they were before; he has no wish to share her with anyone, even their child. The woman, conversely, seems to be looking toward a future in which they have the child, and she is dismayed that it seems as if the child does not mean anything to the man. 

The story ends with the woman clearly telling the man that there is nothing wrong with her. From this, the reader may conclude that the woman has come to realize that her pregnancy is not a condition to be rectified, as the man seems to believe, but something more. We do not know how the man and the woman will resolve the differences between them, or even if resolution is possible, but we know that each seems to have come to a conclusion about how they wish to proceed. 

What are sociological reasons why men in full-time work are paid more on average than female full-time workers?

Much of this, as stated in Paepin's excellent answer, has to do with historical factors. In patriarchal societies, there was a gender based division of labor, with traditionally male tasks being monetized and the value of female activities in the domestic sphere (child rearing, making and maintaining clothing, housework) not being assigned monetary value. This connection between traditionally female care-giving or domestic labor and a lack of monetary value has led to an ideology that care-giving is a task not associated with money. Thus while one expects people in traditionally male professions such as bankers, engineers, architects, or managers to demand high salaries for their skills, female teachers, nurses, or social workers are often condemned as "greedy" when negotiating for higher pay and are expected to do highly demanding and skilled labor out of an ethos of "caring" rather than demanding equivalent compensation for equivalent work. Even when women are in traditionally male professions, they are often condemned as "greedy" or "ambitious" when they ask for salaries or positions equivalent to those of their male counterparts. An excellent example of this is that Hillary Clinton was pilloried by the press for accepting speaking fees less than those charged by Donald Trump, Rudy Guilani, Tony Blair, or other prominent male speakers who are not normally condemned for high speaking fees. 

Gender segregation accounts for a significant part of the wage gap, with predominantly male semi-skilled labor fields such as construction, plumbing, or manufacturing paying substantially more than equivalent "feminized" jobs such as secretarial work, house cleaning, child care, or food service.

What attitudes and ideologies help you understand the problems homosexuals face?

Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question from your perspective, but I can share with you my thoughts on understanding the experiences of others. It can be difficult to imagine a life lived in any way but our own, and when we talk about sexuality, this can be a source of conflict or misunderstanding. I have found that when engaging in discussions about or trying to understand the experiences of others, even when they differ from my own lived experience, relativism and empathy go a long way.

Relativism is the idea that there is no one "right" way to be or do things, and we must consider people's experiences in their own context. When it comes to the experiences of homosexual people and others in the LGBTQ+ community, it is important not to try to evaluate their experiences, thoughts, and feelings in the context of what it means to live life as a heterosexual person. Relativism can help us understand sexuality and its implications across space and throughout time-- did the Ancient Greeks think of homosexuality the same way a present-day American does? Relativism can be useful to understand others in our own cultures, too. For example, when we talk about what is desirable in a partner or relationship. Even if you personally are not attracted to the same gender or have certain relationship goals, it is important to understand that these determinants may be of value to others relative to their own experience.

Empathy is vital in coming to understand the experiences of others. Even if you cannot relate directly to the experiences of LGBTQ+ people, having the capacity to imagine yourself in similar situations will aid you in understanding. In trying to understand the oppression of LGBTQ+ individuals, imagine if your lived experience was one of oppression. If you are heterosexual, imagine what life would be like if you were judged for your sexuality, at risk for violence, or not allowed to marry someone you loved? 

When confronting any new or different experiences, it's important to be open-minded and willing to listen to what others have to say. Empathy and relativism can work hand-in-hand to help you put yourself in the place of others and understand why these experiences are important to those who live through them.

What is the economic importance of bacteria?

Bacteria can be negative. Bacteria cause many diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, and tetanus. While many of these diseases are treatable and/or preventable with antibiotics, proper sanitation, and vaccines, they are still a problem in the developing world and cost businesses billions of dollars a year because of lost productivity (many employees have to take sick days because of bacteria-caused illnesses). Bacteria also cause food spoilage. The waste products of bacterial metabolism is what causes food to go bad, and this costs grocery stores and food producers billions of dollars per year.  

That said, bacteria are not entirely bad. You need a certain amount of bacteria in your stomach to digest food, and your doctor may prescribe a probiotic if you are taking antibiotics to ensure your stomach has the proper amount of bacteria. Cows and other ruminants need bacteria to digest the cellulose in plants. Bacteria in soil break down plant and animal matter in order to make nutrients available for plants—without bacteria, plants would not have enough food and the world would experience widespread famine. Bacteria also assist in making beer and cheese.  

How does Napoleon use the sheep in Animal Farm?

Since the sheep are the most stupid animals on the farm, it is easy for Napoleon to indoctrinate and manipulate them for his own purpose. The sheep find it very difficult, for example, to memorize even the simplest of commandments, so Snowball simplified it for them to 'Four legs good, two legs bad,' as indicated in chapter 3:

It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart. After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced to a single maxim, namely: "Four legs good, two legs bad."

They took a liking to it and would spend long periods bleating it repeatedly. 

When they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking for this maxim, and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad! Four legs good, two legs bad!" and keep it up for hours on end, never growing tired of it.

Napoleon saw this as an advantage and used their incessant bleating at crucial points during Snowball's speeches. They would suddenly burst out repeating the maxim loudly when Napoleon realized Snowball was getting the upper hand. He had surreptitiously gained their support and trained them to do so in secret, as indicated in the following extract from chapter 5:

Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times. He was especially successful with the sheep. Of late the sheep had taken to bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad" both in and out of season, and they often interrupted the Meeting with this. It was noticed that they were especially liable to break into "Four legs good, two legs bad" at crucial moments in Snowball's speeches.

Later, after Napoleon had gotten rid of Snowball, he assumed leadership of the farm. He was now called 'Our Leader, comrade Napoleon', and changed the commandments to suit himself and the other pigs. They adopted human characteristics and behavior and exploited the other animals as much as Mr Jones did, whilst the pigs enjoyed lives of luxury.   

Napoleon's dictatorial rule reached its apex when he and the other pigs started walking on their hind legs. When Napoleon presented himself, he was carrying a whip. The animals were dumbfounded on witnessing this and would have protested, but then the sheep started bleating loudly: 'Four legs good, two legs better!'

It went on for five minutes without stopping. And by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed, for the pigs had marched back into the farmhouse.

This ignominy happens in chapter 10. The pigs had become absolute masters of the farm. Napoleon had, once again, used the sheep for his own selfish ends and had evidently instructed Squealer to teach them this new maxim to drown out any protest, as shown in the following extract from this chapter.

One day in early summer Squealer ordered the sheep to follow him, and led them out to a piece of waste ground at the other end of the farm, which had become overgrown with birch saplings. The sheep spent the whole day there browsing at the leaves under Squealer's supervision. In the evening he returned to the farmhouse himself, but, as it was warm weather, told the sheep to stay where they were. It ended by their remaining there for a whole week, during which time the other animals saw nothing of them. Squealer was with them for the greater part of every day. He was, he said, teaching them to sing a new song, for which privacy was needed.

Lady Macbeth advises her husband to "Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it." What are examples of things in the modern world...

Politicians sometimes present themselves as "innocent flowers" when they are really "serpents." Before they are elected, some politicians make all kinds of promises to gain votes. After they are elected, though, politicians may neglect to keep their promises because they never intended to in the first place. 

Even a new job could be presented to a candidate as an "innocent flower" but really be a "serpent." If a candidate is offered certain perks or made particular promises about a new role or job, and then the job turns out to be dramatically different — less prestigious or more menial, for example — than they were told, this would qualify.

A house could also appear to be an "innocent flower" but actually be a "serpent." A house might seem like a great investment, and people might believe a particular house would make a wonderful home. If someone buys that house and later learns it needs a new roof, has cracks in the foundation, or faulty wiring, the house could easily be revealed as a serpent that will ruin the new owner's finances.

These are all examples of things that look good but are actually bad, just as Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to be before they murder Duncan.

What year did the Romans defeat the last Etruscan king?

509 BC (in the Roman calendar 244 ab urbe condita), is the year usually attributed to the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus, the last Etruscan king, and the establishment of the Roman Republic.

However, there is some debate among historians over whether Tarquinius (also known as Tarquin the Proud) was actually a historical person, and if so, the precise date at which he was overthrown. This is a traditional tale and a best guess.

And as for the reasons for the revolution, there are a number of myths about the triggering event (most famously the Rape of Lucretia), but basically none of them are historically credible. We simply don't know what exactly inspired people to rise up against Tarquinius, topple his government, and establish the Roman Republic.  Unless we find new information (perhaps from archaeological finds), we may never know.

With the aid of examples, explain how globalization has affected an industry of your choice.

One industry that has been significantly affected by globalization is the automotive industry. Originally, automotive manufacturers were vertically integrated and operated in individual countries or regions, exporting completed products to countries without indigenous car industries or with less sophisticated ones. The contemporary car industry has moved to a “design anywhere, make anywhere, sell anywhere” model.

In the 1960s, the "big three" (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) dominated the US car market. The first seismic shift to a more globalized model occurred in the 1970s when Volkswagen and Toyota began to challenge the oligopoly of the big three with inexpensive, fuel-efficient models. 

The 1990s saw full globalization of the automotive industry, with US car makers investing in foreign ones and automotive firms building plants across the world. Supply chains also became increasingly globalized.

In the 21st century, the automotive industry has become fully globalized to the point where an "American" car might be designed in Italy, built of Chinese materials and Canadian parts, and assembled in Mexico, and sold by dealerships relying on call centers in the Philippines and IT offices in India. 

What are some character traits of Aunt Alexandra?

Aunt Alexandra is a traditional Southern Belle who values femininity and family heritage. She is also an austere woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. Aunt Alexandra views Scout with contempt because of her "tomboy" persona and affinity for playing outside with the boys. Aunt Alexandra also values her family's reputation and even argues with Atticus about teaching his children about their heritage. Alexandra takes pride in her appearance and is rather confrontational. She is also actively involved in the community and hosts Maycomb's missionary circle. Aunt Alexandra is well known in the community and enjoys being the center of attention. Even though she is prejudiced towards poor white families and African Americans, she is a responsible individual who loves her family.

How might Jem have acted differently if he knew about Mrs. Dubose's morphine addiction and impending death?

In Chapter 11, Jem is punished for destroying Mrs. Dubose's camellia bush and Atticus makes him read to her each day, except on Sundays, for an entire month. Jem obeys his father and reads to Mrs. Dubose without being aware that she is a morphine addict with a chronic illness. Although Jem does not enjoy reading to Mrs. Dubose, he serves his punishment without complaining. After Mrs. Dubose passes away, Atticus informs Jem of her illness and addiction. Jem might have been more tolerant and accepting of Mrs. Dubose had he known about her affliction and morphine addiction. Jem would have been more sensitive to her needs and would have probably not feared her as much. If Jem would have known about Mrs. Dubose's condition prior to him destroying her camellia bush, he would have probably continued walking home instead of losing his temper. 

What are pesticides? How do they affect the food chain?

Related cancers:

Lymphomas, brain tumors, leukemias, and cancers of the breast, skin, stomach, prostate, and ovaries

Definition:
Pesticides refer to any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or lessening the damage of any pest. A pest is any living organism that could harm crops and people or other animals, or is in an undesirable location. Pesticides may be chemical, biological, or antimicrobial. They are released into the environment primarily through the spraying of insecticides on fruits and vegetables and other crops, such as corn, wheat, rice, and cotton, and by the use of herbicides on grass. Pesticides are believed to be responsible for a number of cancers.

Exposure routes:
Ingestion, inhalation, absorption

Where found: Pesticides are found in the environment, in streams, rivers, lakes, groundwater, and the soil, including fields (where chlorophenols, particularly in the form of weed killers, build up over the years) and chemically treated lawns. DDT, banned in the United States in 1972, still exists in the soil and is stored in the fatty tissues of individuals; it may also be on products imported into the United States from countries where it is allowed.

Pesticides have entered the food chain: chemicals from pesticides get into groundwater or streams, then into the grass and other vegetation, then into herbivorous animals and then carnivorous and omnivorous animals such as humans. Those animals at the top of the food chain, such as humans or scavengers, fare worse than those below them, as the buildup of toxins is much greater at the top. In the aquatic food chain, chemicals from pesticides enter agricultural runoff or wastewater, then are taken up by algae and plankton, then small organisms, then larger fish, and finally humans. Fish containing mercury or other chemicals can be lethal to people.

At risk: People who produce or distribute pesticides, agricultural workers and people living in close proximity to fields, people who use pesticides in and around their homes, and people who eat fish or pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables

Etiology and symptoms of associated cancers:
Studies have shown that human bodies contain hundreds more chemicals, including those contained in pesticides, than they did in the mid-twentieth century. Pesticides are linked to lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells. Of the two kinds of lymphoma, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), the latter is most associated with pesticide carcinogens. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma begins when a blood cell (lymphocyte) becomes malignant and subsequently produces descendants of the single cell in which mutations (errors) have occurred. Although lymphoma can occur in any part of the body, tumors typically form in the lymphatic system, meaning bone marrow, lymph nodes, the spleen, and blood. The initial symptoms are usually perceived as swelling around the lymph nodes at the base of the neck, fever, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss.

Breast cancer is linked to organochlorine pesticides, which affect the endocrine system. Absorbed through ingested foods, the pesticides mimic, alter, or modulate hormonal activity and are therefore known as endocrine disruptors. Raising the activity and quality of estrogens the human body produces causes tumors to form. Pesticides are also linked to ovarian cancer, in that malignant ovarian tumors are endocrine related and hormone dependent.

Atrazine—used on some 75 percent of the United States corn crop, as of 2012, according to the EPA—exists in most drinking water supplies in the Midwest and has been linked to birth defects in farmers’ children. Long-term exposure to atrazine has been linked to weight loss, cardiovascular damage, retina and muscle degeneration, and cancer.

Organophosphate pesticides, which have largely replaced organochlorine pesticides, are connected with skin and eye problems, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. The thirty-seven compounds that make up this group destabilize a key enzyme in the brain known as cholinesterase, causing trauma to the brain and nervous system. Studies have related pesticide risk with respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic conditions, cancer, depression, neurologic deficiencies, miscarriages, and birth defects. Primarily, these pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting the enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.

Definitive proof that DDT is a human carcinogen is still lacking, but it has been associated with liver and lung tumors, as well as lymphoma, in experimental animals, as reported in the Thirteenth Report on Carcinogens (2014). Epidemiological studies have further shown association with breast cancer, leukemia, multiple myeloma, and liver cancer in humans.

History: More than four thousand years ago, Sumerians dusted sulfur on their crops to kill insects, and more than two thousand years ago, ancient Greeks used pesticides to protect their crops. By the fifteenth century, arsenic, mercury, and lead—highly toxic chemicals—were used on crops to eliminate insects. During the seventeenth century, farmers used nicotine sulfate, derived from tobacco leaves, as an insecticide, and in the nineteenth century, pyrethrum, extracted from chrysanthemums, and rotenone, removed from roots of tropical vegetables, were used as pesticides.

In 1939 Swiss scientist Paul Müller discovered the potency of a compound made of carbon and hydrogen called dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), first used in World War II against typhus, plague, malaria, and dengue and yellow fevers. After the war, DDT use in the United States soared. Farmers killed pests such as boll weevils that were devastating cotton crops, and the government used low-flying crop-dusting planes to rid the forests of gypsy moths. Other parts of the world began using DDT to combat malaria; after homes and huts were sprayed in North Africa, Asia, India, and Zanzibar, the number of malaria cases declined drastically.

In 1962 Rachel Carson published
Silent Spring, the product of more than four years of research, in which she maintained that pesticides were harming wildlife and the environment. Using meticulous documentation, Carson claimed that the government knew little about the dangers of pesticides. Although the book was criticized as well as praised, it spurred concerns about pesticides and other pollutants, leading to the beginning of the environmental movement and President Richard M. Nixon’s creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970. Soon the EPA targeted DDT, eventually banning it in 1972. Although time has proven Carson’s position on the harm from pesticides to wildlife correct, the idea that DDT is a human carcinogen is still being investigated.

In the years since its ban, DDT has been replaced by a huge array of insecticides, herbicides, and pesticides that have been tentatively linked with tumors and cancers of the lymphatic, endocrine, neurological, respiratory, and reproductive systems but have not been proven to be carcinogens. Although studies have shown an increase in the rates of tumors or cancers in agricultural areas where large amounts of pesticides are used, scientific proof of the connection is inconclusive. Because of the gap in time between exposure and the first symptoms of illness (frequently decades) and the inability to pinpoint a particular pesticide as the carcinogen, definite scientific proof is hard to provide.

Nevertheless, strict regulations are in effect: The EPA must approve any pesticide for sale or use in the United States, and the Food Quality Protection Act (1996) requires the oversight of the manufacture, distribution, and use of pesticides. Although the causal relationship between pesticides and cancer is hard to establish, pesticides have other proven health risks, and many people in the United States are trying to minimize or avoid their use. The EPA provides many suggestions on how to use pesticides more safely, and some people have turned to organically grown products as a way to avoid most pesticides.

Because of the carcinogenic potential of pesticides, the organic foods industry has grown. The Organic Foods Production Act (1990) authorized national standards for the production, handling, and processing of organically grown agricultural products. Essentially, organic farming is an ecological system that avoids chemical pesticides, promotes soil conservation, and integrates the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole. Although organic farming cannot guarantee that the soil does not contain pesticide residue, the practice follows methods designed to minimize contamination from air, soil, and water. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are not given any antibiotics or growth hormones and that are raised on organically grown feed. Organic food is produced without using conventional pesticides or fertilizer made from synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge. Organic farms use cover crops, green manures, animal manures, and crop rotation to manage weeds, insects, and diseases and promote biological activity and long-term soil health.

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What is a vegan diet?

Overview

The vegan diet can also be called strict vegetarianism because it excludes not only meat and fish but also eggs, honey, and milk (dairy) products. Many practitioners of the vegan diet additionally avoid the use of animal products in other forms, such as clothing (wool, leather, silk), jewelry (pearls) and cosmetics (lanolin). People who adopt veganism may do so for health reasons, ethical considerations, or both.

There are several forms of veganism, and these may disagree on various major and minor points. For example, the raw-food diet and the macrobiotics diet are both vegan, but while macrobiotic practitioners believe that raw food is unhealthy, raw-foodists believe that cooked food is the source of many health problems.

The word “vegan” was created in 1944 by Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson, “pure” vegetarians who were annoyed that many people who called themselves vegetarian ate dairy products and even fish. They combined the first three and last two letters of the word “vegetarian” to form “vegan,” thereby intending to indicate that veganism was “the beginning and end of vegetarian.”

Scientific Evidence

Some proponents of veganism claim that a vegan diet can cure many health conditions. However, in attempting to scientifically verify such claims, one runs into a significant problem: It is difficult, if not impossible, to design a scientifically reliable study of diet. For the results of a study to be trustworthy, participants and researchers must not know (be “blinded”) who received the treatment under study (the active group) and who received a placebo treatment (the control group). If practitioners and researchers know who is in which group, numerous confounding factors will take over and produce misleading results. These factors include observer bias, reporting bias, and the placebo effect. To briefly summarize this complex issue, unblinded studies usually mean little to nothing. It is difficult to keep knowledge of the vegan diet from study participants.

Uses and Applications

Those who adopt veganism for health reasons may do so for a variety of desired outcomes, from general health to targeting specific disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis is the prime condition for which veganism has been advocated. In several studies, people put on a vegan diet showed improvement in symptoms compared with those who were allowed to eat in an ordinary fashion. However, the absence of blinding makes these results unreliable. These studies would have been more meaningful if, for example, all participants ate a vegan diet and in addition consumed cookies that, without participants’ knowing, contained either animal or vegetable fats. No studies using this or any other properly blinded control treatment have been reported.

A small study of similarly inadequate design weakly hints that a vegan diet might be helpful for fibromyalgia. Another small study compared a vegan diet to an antidepressant for treatment for fibromyalgia, and the antidepressant appeared to be more effective. Here, however, unconscious bias may have been working in the opposite direction: This study was conducted in Bangladesh, where a vegan diet is not exceptional, whereas the Western drug used could have had something of an aura. Even weaker evidence hints that vegan diets might be helpful for treating hypertension and for preventing heart disease and cancer.

While there is no definitive evidence that a vegan diet may be used to target a specific disease, general health trends have been observed among vegans and nonvegans. Studies have found that, in general, vegans as well as vegetarians have a smaller chance of being obese or overweight than nonvegans. They typically also have lower cholesterol and blood pressure and lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

In 2014, a study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience suggested that men and women who follow a vegan diet experience less stress and anxiety than omnivores. The authors of the study hypothesized that these results could have something to do with the high amounts of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. Vegan participants also reported consuming fewer sweets than those who eat meat; the consumption of sweets had correlated with higher levels of stress.

Safety Issues

A vegan diet can in principle provide all necessary nutrients, with the exception of vitamin B12
. However, in practice, vegans are frequently deficient in calcium, iron, vitamin D, selenium, phosphorous, and zinc.

Vitamin B12 presents a special issue. This bacterially-produced vitamin is not provided to any meaningful extent by plant foods. (The alga spirulina contains B12, but in a nonabsorbable form.) Deficiency in B12 is therefore widely thought to be inevitable among those who follow a strict vegan diet and who do not take supplements. Such deficiency has led to serious health consequences among vegans and among breast-fed infants of vegan mothers. When severe, B12 deficiency can cause irreversible nerve damage. Mild deficiency leads to anemia and, in association with other common deficiencies, increased risk of bone thinning and fracture. However, some vegan advocates argue that supplements are not needed to maintain adequate B12 levels.

There is an additional potential issue for athletes to consider: A vegan diet is very low in the nonessential nutrient creatine. It is possible that creatine supplements may be particularly helpful for vegan athletes.

Popularity

Watson and others formed the Vegan Society in England in 1945, and the movement grew slowly as a subset of vegetarianism. In the 1970s, shifting social, political, and scientific attitudes helped contribute to increasing interest in animal-free diets, particularly in the United States. Both ethical and dietary forms of veganism gained followers and public awareness. However, it was not until the 2000s and 2010s that veganism began to be accepted as a mainstream phenomenon. During this time restaurants reported a surge in the popularity of vegan options, popular media covered various issues related to veganism, and analyses of online search activity suggested increased public interest in learning about veganism. Still, a 2012 Gallup poll found only 2 percent of Americans self-identified as vegans, while the 5 to 6 percent that identify as vegetarian remained stable from 1999 to 2012. According to a study by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Friends of the Earth, as reported by the Guardian, still only about one in fifty Americans claimed to be vegan as of 2014.

Bibliography

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What are dissociative disorders (DD)?

Introduction

According to the classification system in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-V (5th ed., 2013), which is published by the American Psychiatric Association, dissociative disorders can be divided into three major types that share the underlying process of dissociation. When some people are faced with unusual stress from a traumatic event, they cannot cope with the situation and experience overwhelming levels of anxiety. To escape the anxiety, they may experience dissociation as a defensive reaction. Dissociation involves the splitting of the event from the conscious mind so that the stressor or trauma is not remembered. Consequently, these people may experience a loss of memory about the trauma, which enables them to escape the emotional distress. Dissociation has often been associated with such traumatic events as combat, rape, incest, natural disasters, and accidents. Without the memory of the trauma in the conscious mind, a person can avoid the emotional turmoil and anxiety that normally would be present.

Dissociative disorders emerge when the dissociation becomes extreme and begins to negatively affect everyday functioning. The split in consciousness can affect a person’s integration of thoughts and feelings while influencing how the individual acts toward others. Some people with dissociative disorders develop conflicting images of themselves or form actual coexisting personalities.

The DSM-V presents the diagnostic criteria for three major types of dissociative disorders: dissociative amnesia, dissociative identity disorder, and depersonalization/derealization disorder. Dissociative fugue, a fourth subtype listed in previous editions of the DSM, has now been combined with dissociative amnesia.

Amnesia

The most common dissociative symptom is
amnesia, which can be found in most of the dissociative disorders. The DSM-V identifies dissociative amnesia as one of the dissociative disorders. This diagnosis is made when the dissociation is limited to amnesia and does not involve other symptoms. The person with dissociative amnesia is unable to remember information, and this memory loss cannot be explained as mere forgetfulness. The memory loss usually involves a traumatic event. A specific trauma, such as an accident, is the precipitating event for the amnesia and is associated with painful emotions and psychological turmoil. Most often the amnesia has an abrupt onset and the memory loss is apparent to the person with amnesia. However, the person with amnesia usually shows a lack of concern about or appears indifferent to this loss of memory. The lack of concern or indifference stems from the fact that the amnesia prevents the person from experiencing emotional upset or anxiety as a result of undergoing a stressful event. The dissociation serves as a protective device to retain emotional stability. The DSM-V describes several forms of dissociative amnesia, including localized amnesia with loss of memory of a specific situation, generalized amnesia with loss of memory of an entire lifetime of experiences, and selective amnesia with only partial loss of memory. An interesting aspect of dissociative amnesia is the person’s attempt to adapt to the memory loss. Some individuals begin to create false information or false memories to hide the loss in memory caused by the amnesia. This process is termed confabulation.

Dissociative fugue is a variant of dissociative amnesia in which those with memory loss travel away from their homes, leave their jobs, and take on new activities. The onset of the fugue occurs very suddenly. This type of amnesia is considered to be fairly rare and takes place in response to unusual stressors such as war or natural disasters. When a dissociative fugue begins, the person usually wanders far from home. The wandering and amnesia can last for several days or even months but most often last only for a brief period of time. Amnesia is present during the dissociative fugue, but the person is unaware of the memory loss. It is only when the dissociative fugue disappears that the person is again aware of events preceding the onset of the disorder.

Identity Disorder

Dissociative identity disorder is commonly referred to as multiple personality disorder. The person with dissociative identity disorder has at least two distinct personalities that repeatedly take over the individual’s actions. The number of personalities varies for people with the disorder, but the number usually ranges from five to ten distinct personalities that can emerge at any given time. Usually one personality is dominant and is termed the host, and the other secondary personalities are called alters. The movement from one personality to another is usually sudden and can be dramatic. It is common for each personality to be unaware of or to have amnesia about the existence of the other personalities. Memories of events that took place when one personality is present usually remain with only that personality. However, in many cases, one personality has knowledge of all of the alter personalities, or there is superficial awareness among all the personalities. The personalities that emerge in dissociative identity disorder can be either male or female, can differ in ethnicity, and can have dissimilar ages. The different personalities typically show different traits or characteristics, such as one alter being extroverted and another shy and introverted. In casual conversation, the different personalities do not usually seem unusual or strange in their behavior or manner. It is often only through lengthy interactions or clinical interviews with mental health professionals that the different personalities become apparent. The exact cause of dissociative identity disorder is not clear, but people with the disorder usually have experienced a traumatic event in childhood. The most common childhood traumas are physical or sexual abuse, including incest.

Depersonalization and Derealization

Depersonalization/derealization disorder is characterized by the symptom of people experiencing recurrent alterations in their perceptions. People’s perception of the physical environment may change so that it seems unreal or strange. This change in perception is known as derealization. When derealization takes place, people report that everything seems different, as if they have entered a dream state. Depersonalization is the sensation or perception that the person’s body or personal self has become strange or different. Both internal feelings and external perceptions become changed, so that the person feels estranged or alienated. A person may have the sensation that part of the body have changed in size or shape. Some specific symptoms of depersonalization include hemidepersonalization, in which the person feels that one half of the body has changed or is unreal; doubling, in which a person feels himself or herself to be outside the body; and double orientation, which is having the sensation of being in two places at the same time. A person with depersonalization/derealization disorder may experience symptoms of either depersonalization or derealization, or may experience both.

The symptoms of depersonalization usually occur quickly and afflict mostly young adults. Although the causes of this disorder are not exactly known, it has been found that it develops after periods of extreme stress, or after an experience of extreme anxiety.

Other Dissociative Conditions

Beyond the three major types of dissociative disorders, the DSM-V includes two diagnoses for dissociative conditions which do not fall under any of those categories, other specified dissociative disorder and unspecified dissociative disorder. Other specified dissociative disorders include chronic symptoms of more than one dissociative disorder, identity issues as a result of brainwashing or torture, and short-term dissociative reactions to stressful events. Unspecified dissociative disorder (like its predecessor in the DSM-IV, Dissociative Disorder—Not Otherwise Specified) is a diagnosis used when a patient experiences dissociative symptoms but does not fully meet the criteria for any existing dissociative disorder, or when the clinician has insufficient information to determine which specific diagnosis would best fit the patient.

Patient Demographics

Dissociative amnesia is fairly common and appears to occur more often in women than in men. The incidence of dissociative amnesia varies depending on the prevalence of traumatic events such as natural disasters and combat situations. The majority of cases are initially identified in emergency departments of hospitals.

Dissociative identity disorder has been found to be most common in adolescence and young adulthood, with most diagnoses made around the age of thirty. Women have most often been diagnosed with the disorder, which is considered to be a fairly rare disorder. The professional community has engaged in extensive debate about the prevalence of the disorder in the general population. Some professionals dispute the validity of the diagnosis.

Depersonalization/derealization disorder is most often seen in women and is usually diagnosed during young adulthood or adolescence. According to the DSM-V, 95% of those who experience symptoms of this disorder do so prior to the age of 25. There are insufficient scientific studies to establish the prevalence of the disorder in the general population.

Treatment Options

Treatments for dissociative disorders usually focus on the underlying trauma or source of anxiety that triggered the dissociative symptoms. In dissociative amnesia, the treatment tries to reveal the lost memories through extensive psychiatric interviewing, drug-assisted interviews to overcome the memory blocks, and hypnosis. The most common drugs used to assist in the recovery of lost memories are the barbiturates and the benzodiazepines. After forgotten memories are retrieved, the person receives psychotherapy to help cope with the associated anxiety of the memory.

The treatment process for dissociative identity disorder is directed toward discovering the childhood traumatic event that began the development of alternative personalities. The psychotherapy for this disorder is usually a long-term process as the various personalities need to be assessed and eventually integrated into the host personality. The therapist needs to eventually work with the personality that recalls the trauma that triggered the dissociation to overcome the anxiety associated with the event. The person must come to terms with the early childhood trauma and begin to give up the various alters that have helped to manage the anxiety and other negative emotions that were created from the childhood experience. The childhood traumas associated with dissociative identity disorder involve serious violations of basic trust and security. For example, the child who is sexually abused or is the target of incest experiences the extreme betrayal of the nurturing and security that a parent should provide. The different characteristics of the various personalities develop over time to cope with that basic betrayal.

The treatment for the depersonalization disorder has a different focus. There is little scientific evidence regarding the best approach for treatment. Many of the persons with this disorder eventually receive psychotherapy and some psychoactive medication. Most often antianxiety medications such as the benzodiazepines are used to help control the patient’s apprehensions and worries.

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