PAPER Topics

... headed by American virologist Jay Levy at the University of California at San Francisco isolated a retrovirus from people with AIDS and from individuals having contact with people with AIDS. All three groups of scientists had isolated what is now known as HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In 1995 HIV was estimated to infect almost 20 million people worldwide, and several million of those people had developed AIDS. The disease is obviously an important social issue. AIDS has caused many to rethink their own social behavior. People are forced to use caution when involving themselves in sexual activity. They must use contraception to avoid the dangers of infection. Many people consider ...

... disease can occur in an infected person when the body's resistance is low or if there is a large or prolonged exposure to the germs that overcome the body's natural defenses. The body's response to active TB infection produces inflammation which can eventually damage the lungs. The amount of damage may be quite extensive, yet the symptoms may be minimal. The usual symptoms of disease due to TB are: -Fever -Night sweats -Cough -Loss of appetite -Weight Loss -Blood in the sputum (phlegm) -Loss of energy Diagnosing TB To diagnose TB, your clinician will gather five important pieces of information: -Symptoms -History of possible exposure and onset of symptoms -Tuberculin ski ...

... the field of medicine will continue, as they have in this century, to address and participate in almost all concerns. For example, methadone is currently being used as a therapeutic intervention for some drug addictions. In addition, various medications are now being given in the treatment of criminals, like anti-psychotic drugs to curb aggressive or violent behavior in schizophrenics. A new and improved group of antidepressants is also being used to treat and reduce the growing rate of suicide in all ages of our society. Because a very high percentage of homeless people suffer from psychological problems and/or drug addictions, doctors may also eventually play a larger role in presc ...

... that women can perform on their own with a few simple steps. Another way of detecting breast cancer is with a mammography. This is an X-ray that scans in make up of the breast to show whether there are and tumors. This is the most effective type of detection to date. (Cancer Facts, Detection. National Cancer Institute) One disadvantage to using mammography is that with mammography, the x-ray picture sometimes detects substances in the breast that are not recognizable. (NCI ) This can cause unnecessary worrying if the substances are not recognizable. NCI is now working on improving the equipment that is available. An extension of the mammography is the digital mammography. This is ...

... first recorded some 5,000 years ago (Myers,1995). The most popular case is that of Phineas Gage a railroad worker that had severe frontal lobe damage. This happened when a rail road spike was shot through his head by a piece of dynamite. Miraculously he lived through the experience, but with a severe change in his personality. From this physiologists learned that personality was largely controlled from this point namely by removing a persons inhibitions. For the most part the brain has been a mystery that is waiting to be opened. The last two decades have witnessed a period of research on the human cerebral functions comparable to the great era of discovery initiated by Broca ...

... that people in professions where physical appearance is of extreme importance are more likely to develop an eating disorder. In the Western world, over the past two decades eating disorders have increased substantially. People believe that this increase in eating disorders is due to the fashion industry. The fashionable female figure of today has become thinner and more tubular (Szmulker, McCance, McCrone, & Hunter, 1986). In the world today, Apter believes that thinness is more and more a symbol of the feminine ideal. He finds that the Western role of a woman is now beginning to include success in the work force, sexually attractive as well as the traditional roles as n ...