Based on Article Called Risks of hands-free driving Essay

Based on Article Called Risks of hands-free driving - Essay Example The article was authored by the editorial board and published in The New York Times on May 28 this year. The authors indicate that the car manufacturers are striving to save lives of travelers by developing automated packaging in cars that enable free driving without the necessity of applying effort with the hands. For instance, some cars could maintain a safe distance to the cars in front without the driver’s help and this technology is applied by companies such as the Mercedes-Benz and General Motors (The Editorial Board 1). The authors, however, argue that, although the manufactures intent to install the new feature in the cars to enhance safety, it could increase distraction while driving leading to accidents. The article has pointed out some premises to their argument indicating that the drivers could be tempted to keep throwing their eyes off the road into other concentrations such as texting and they would not be able to manage the cars in case of unexpected occurrences leading to accidents (The Editorial Board 1). Following this, the belief that the new technology is safer turns out to cause accidents that could otherwise be avoided with driver’s complete concentration on the road. Distractions are common on the roads even where there are no new technologies. This affirmed in the study facilitated by the AT and T which revealed that 61 percent person confessed text while driving and 33 and 27 percent admitted they use email and Facebook respectively while on the roads (The Editorial Board 1). These are major distractions and have a strong connection to the traffic accidents. In fact, the national administration of highway traffic safety indicates that 16 percent of the total nu mber of traffic accidents reported in 2013 to the police was as a result of distractions. Other statistics developed by a nonprofit organization, National Safety Council, estimated that about 27 percent of all accidents in 2013 were due to people

Blue Mountain - Kandinsky Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blue Mountain - Kandinsky - Research Paper Example The paper "Blue Mountain - Kandinsky" discusses the famous painting by the artist Vasilii Kandinskii. As I already mentioned, the city is located in Germany. It the capital city of the famous German Bavaria. Bavaria, in its turn, is famous for its bear and sausages that are served to it. Munich is an old city that combines modern architecture with historic buildings. The entertainment possibilities are great – discos, cinemas, theatres, classical music and opera venues, music clubs, art galleries and, of course, beer halls. The city is not far from the Alps, has two rivers - the Isar and the Wà ¼rm, and enjoys a continental climate somewhat modified due to the city’s closeness to the mountains. â€Å"Blue Mountain† I am interested in is pained by oil. This picture is not too large – 41 3/4 x 38 inches, but contains three horse rides on a background of trees and a blue mountain. Instead of using actual texture Kandinskii uses color to create the impression of the presence of texture. The picture was created in the era of Abstractionism. Romanticism, Impressionism and Expressionism of the 19th century Europe and America contributed to the popularity of Abstractionism. It was also greatly impacted by the mysticism and mystical teachings that became extremely popular at that time in the world and did have some influence on Kandinskii too. That is why Kandinskii, just like many other artists of that time, turns to the religious theme in his works. â€Å"Blue Mountain† pictures some kind of a procession.

Electroencephalogram Test on Alcoholics and Non Alcoholics

Electroencephalogram Test on Alcoholics and Non Alcoholics INTRODUCTION The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a measurement of the electrical activity in the patients brain. This electrical activity is produced by the firing of neurons (a nerve cell) within the brain and varies from patient to patient. In 1875, English physician Richard Caton discovered the presence of electrical activity in the brain; however, it was not until German neurologist Han Berger in 1924 used his ordinary radio equipment to amplify the brains electrical activity so he could record it on paper. He noticed that rhythmic changes in brain waves varied with the individuals state of consciousness (sleep, anesthesia, epilepsy) and that various regions of the brain do not emit the same brain wave frequency simultaneously. (http://www.bio-medical.com). The EEG was given its name by Berger who used the German term elektrenkephalogramm to describe the graphical representation of the electrical currents generated in the brain. The scientific community of Bergers time did not believe the concl usions he made and it took another five years until his conclusions could be verified through experimentation by Edgar Douglas Adrian and B.C.H Matthews. These experiments made head-waves and other scientists began studying the field and in 1936 W. Gray Walter demonstrated that this technology could be used to pinpoint a brain tumor. He used a large number of small electrodes that he pasted to the scalp and found that brain tumors caused areas of abnormal electrical activity. (Romanowski 1999) and http://www.ebme.co.uk. The brain is the central part of the nervous system, which is the most complicated system in the body. It is an intriguing organ that has been studied right from the time of brain development in the fetus. The human brain weighs about 1.5kg in adults. The cerebrum, which forms the bulk of the brain, is divided into two hemispheres, the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. Each hemisphere of the brain interacts with one half of the body, but for unknown reasons, it is the right side that controls the left half of the body and the left half of the brain that controls the right half of the body. However, in most people, the left hemisphere of the brain is involved in language and creativeness, while the right side of the brain is more involved in understanding and judgment. The cerebrum, which is located in the forebrain, is the largest part of the human brain and is associated with higher brain functions such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections called lobes. These include: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe. The frontal lobe is associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement and problem solving. The parietal lobe is associated with movement, orientation, recognition and perception of stimuli. The occipital lobe is associated with visual processing and the temporal lobe is associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory and speech. (Khan 2009). Over the years with advancements in technology EEG electrodes, amplifiers and output devices were improved and scientists learned the best places to put the electrodes and how to diagnose its conditions. They also discovered how to create electrical maps to produce an image of the brains surface and today EEG machines have multiple channels, computer storage memories and specialized software that can create an electrical map of the brain. (Romanowski 1999). EEG has come a long way since its inception more than 100 years ago and it is used primarily in studying the properties of cerebral and neural networks in neurosciences (Michel et al. 2004). It is used to monitor the neurodevelopment and sleep patterns of infants in the intensive care unit and ultimately enable physicians to use the information to improve daily medical care (Scher 2004). The emergence of neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback has expanded the application of EEG for both cases with particular disorders or among healthy p articipants. EEG frequencies in neurofeedback can be controlled to influence certain cognitive performance and memory task, (Vernon et al. 2003). Interactive Brainwave Visual Analyzer (IBVA) is a form of biofeedback for the brain (neurofeedback). Its a training process of using technology to provide you with more information about what your body is doing than your ordinary senses provide. This feedback helps you learn to use your mind to develop greater control over your body, or, in the case of neurofeedback, your brain. IBVA detects brainwaves phasing at speeds measured in units of Hz for cycles per second between 0 and 60 Hz. It is used for sleep state and hypnosis analysis, image programming for sports training, super learning (photo reading) and for study. EEG biofeedback is effective in treating psychological disorders such as attention deficit, depression, chronic anxiety disorder, chronic alcoholics and neurological disorders like epilepsy. Patients with epilepsy that cannot be controlled by medication will often have surgery in order to remove the damaged tissue. The EEG plays an important role in localizing this tissue. Special electrodes can be inserted through the cortex or alternatively a grid of electrodes placed directly on the surface of the cortex. These recordings, often called Long Term Monitoring for Epilepsy (LTME), can be carried out for periods ranging from 24 hours to 1 week. The EEG recorded will indicate which areas of the brain should be surgically removed. (Smith n.d). Another important application of the EEG is used by anesthesiologist to monitor the depth of anesthesia. EEG measures taken during anesthesia exhibit stereotypic changes as anesthetic depth increases. These changes include complex patterns of loss of consciousness occurs (loss of responses to verbal commands and/or loss of righting reflex). As anesthetic depth increases from light surgical levels to deep anesthesia, the EEG exhibits disrupted rhythmic waveforms, high amplitude burst suppression activity, and finally, very low amplitude isoelectric or flat line activity. Quantitative EEG (QEEG) has come a long way in its relatively short life in terms of use in clinical practice. Now, as clinicians become aware of the scientific basis and power of using parametrically based measures of QEEG to assess an individual against age-matched populations, they find new ways to employ this technique. There are literally thousands of univariate electrophysiological measures that can be derived, transformed and normed into Z-scores (standard scores), to be used to indicate degrees of derivations from normal. QEEG offers a powerful application tool as a method for providing convergent evidence in the identification of clinical syndromes for individuals. Over the years, various clinicians using QEEG have attempted to establish brain maps to correspond with specific disorders such as learning disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), chronic alcoholism and depression. While certain features may be associated with general types of impairments, the utilization of univariate sets of features have, to date, been unable to provide defining specific psychiatric disorders. Looking at only the univariate features without recognizing the full space of all deviant measures, one may not realize the particular cluster of measure that may contribute to specific disorders with distinct features. Multivariate statistical measurement sets encompass the space of regions by measurement, yielding distinctive complex patterns which yield greater sensitivity in discriminability. (Budzynski, Evans and Abarbanel 2008). The basic systems of an EEG machine include data collection, storage and display. The components of these systems include electrodes, connecting wires, a computer control module and a display device. The electrodes used can be either surface or needle electrodes. Needle electrodes provide greater signal clarity because they are injected directly into the body and this in turn eliminates signal muffling caused by the skin. Surface electrodes on the other hand are disposable models such as the tab, ring and bar electrodes as well as reusable disc and finger electrodes. These electrodes may also be combined into an electrode cap that is placed directly on the head (Romanowski 2002). EEG amplifiers convert weak signals from the brain into a more discernable signal for the output device. An amplifier may be set up as follows; a pair of electrodes detects the electrical signal from the body, wires connected to the electrodes transfer the signal to the first section of the amplifier (buffer amplifier). Here the signal is electronically stabilized and amplified by a factor of 5 10 and then next in line is a differential pre-amplifier that filters and amplifies the signal by a factor of 10 – 100. After passing through these amplifiers the signals are multiplied by hundreds or thousands of times. Multiple electrodes are used since the brain produces different signals at different points on the skull and the number of channels that an EEG machine has is related to the number of electrodes used. The amplifier is able to translate the different incoming signals and cancel out ones that are identical; this means that the output from the machine is actually the diff erence in electrical activity picked up by the two electrodes. This therefore means that the placement for each electrode is critical because the closer they are to each other the less differences in brainwaves will be recorded (Romanowski 2002). EEG SYSTEM LAYOUT (www.medicalengineer.com) Recording of the electrical activity in the brain takes place over a short period of time from where information is obtained from electrodes stationed at specific points on the patients head. Electrodes are placed on the scalp of the head usually after preparing the scalp area by light abrasion to reduce impedance due to dead skin cells. In order for the placement of these electrodes to be consistent throughout an internationally recognized method called the 10-20 System is followed. The 10 and the 20 gives the actual distances between adjacent electrodes. This distance can either be 10% or 20% of the total front-back or right-left distance of the skull, i.e. the nasion – inion and preauricular points respectively, http://www.neurocarelaunches.com. Specific measurements from bony landmarks (inion, nasion and preauricular point) are used to generate a system of lines, which run across the head and intersect at intervals of 10% or 20% of their total length as mentioned above. Th e standard set of electrodes consists of 21 recording electrodes and one ground electrode. The distance between the nasion and inion is measured along the midline and the frontopolar point, Fpz, is marked at 10% above the nasion. Frontal (Fz), central (Cz), parietal (Pz) and occipital (Oz) points are marked at intervals of 20% of the entire distance, leaving 10% for the interval between Oz and inion (see Diagram 1). The midline points Fpz and Oz routinely do not receive any electrode. The distance between two preauricular points across Cz is measured. Along this line, the transverse position for the central points C3 and C4 and the temporal points T3 and T4 are marked 20% and 40% respectively from the midline (see Diagram 2). The circumference of the head is measured form the occipital point (Oz) through temporal points T3 and T4 and the frontopolar point (Fpz). The longitudinal measurement for Fp1 is located on that circumference, 5% of the total length of the circumference to the left of Fpz. The longitudinal measurements for F7, T3, T5, O1, O2, T6, T4, F8 and Fp2 are at the distance of 10% of the circumference (see Diagram 3). An electrode is then placed on each of the two ear lobes. (Jasper 1958) and (Jasper 1983). In order for the EEG test to be a success and the best possible results obtained the preparation the patient must undergo is very basic since only a good night sleep before the test is needed along with a grease-free head on the morning of the test. However, it can get more technical should the patient be taking any medication and information on this medication must be passed on to the doctor. An EEG test may be done in a hospital or in a doctors office by an EEG technologist. Using the internationally recognized 10-20 system, the electrodes are placed on the patients head and the technologist can then put the patient through a variety of different tasks such as addition/subtraction of numbers, breathing deeply and rapidly or he can ask the person to wear a goggles sending out a strobe (bright flashing light). These tasks take place normally at 15-20 second durations with 30 second breaks in between. The electrodes attached to the patients head are connected by wires to a computer wh ich records the electrical activity in the brain. An EEG test can last between 1-2 hours and the results obtained from it can be read by a certified doctor known as a Neurologist. The results of an EEG test are in the form of waveforms which gives vital information about the patient. Waves can either be Alpha waves (frequency of 8 to 12 cycles per second), Beta waves (frequency of 14 to 50 cycles per second), Delta waves (frequency less than 5 cycles per second) or Theta waves (frequency of 4 to 7 cycles per second). Basic alpha waves, which originate in the cortex, can be recorded if the patient closes his eyes and put his brain at rest as much as possible. Beta activity is a normal activity present when the eyes are open or closed. It tends to be seen in the channels recorded from the centre or front of the head. Some drugs however, tend to increase the amount of beta activity in the EEG. Theta activity can be classified as both a normal and abnormal activity depending on the age and state of the patient. In adults it is normal if the patient is drowsy. However, it can also indicate brain dysfunction if it is seen in a patient who is alert and awake. In youn ger patients, theta activity may be the main activity seen in channels recorded from the back and central areas of the head. Delta activity is only normal in an adult patient if they are in a moderate to deep sleep. If it is seen at any other time it would indicate brain dysfunction. Abnormal activity may be seen in all or some channels depending on the underlying brain problem. The stroke or blow on the head. (Niedermeyer, Ernest and Lopes da Silva 2004). ALPHA WAVES BETA WAVES THETA WAVES DELTA WAVES (http://www.electropsychology.com) Each type of wave mentioned above gives us information about the patient, for example in a normal patient we tend to observe mainly alpha or beta waves since both sides of the brain show similar patterns of electrical activity. A normal person in this case is described as one who doesnt possess any of the following diseases or injuries; head injury, neurological disease, convulsions, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, memory difficulties, confusion, depression, delusions/hallucinations and learning disabilities. If the patient is abnormal you may find two sides of the brain giving different electrical activities and this may mean there is a problem in one side of the brain caused by a brain tumor, stroke, infection or epilepsy. EPILEPTIC SPIKES AND WAVE DISCHARGES MONITORED WITH EEG (http://www.webmd.com). A stroke, which is a sudden disruption in blood flow to brain, caused by blockage or bleeding of a blood vessel and Epilepsy which is a nervous system disorder, can cause abnormal electrical activity in the brain and this abnormality can be seen from the results of an EEG test. Another common disease which is on the escalation presently is Alcoholism. This disease is known as alcohol dependence syndrome i.e. the most severe stage of a group of drinking problems, and the person who has this disease is known as an alcoholic. Alcohol clearly affects the brain since impairments such as difficulty in walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times and impaired memory are detectable after only one or two drinks and is quickly resolved when drinking stops. We do know that heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching effects on the brain ranging from simple slips in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care (White 2003). Accordi ng to the number 1 website for alcoholism, http://www.alcoholism.about.com, studies have shown that brains of alcoholics are smaller, lighter and shrunken when compared to that of a normal person. The cerebral cortex or gray matter in the brain controls all the complex mental activities and this is filled with neurons connected by single long fibers which make up the hard wiring of the brain. Heavy consumption of alcohol is particularly damaging on this hard wiring hence the reason why the brain becomes lighter and smaller and the alcoholic severe impairments. SCHEMATIC DRAWING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN, SHOWING REGIONS VULNERABLE TO ALCOHOLISM-RELATED ABNORMALITIES. (http://www.elvizy.com). Another major organ apart from the brain which alcohol affects is the liver. Long-term abusers of alcohol usually have some degree of liver damage, ranging in severity from asymptomatic and reversible fatty liver, through hepatitis and cirrhosis, to primary liver cell carcinoma, which is usually fatal. Evidence is accruing to suggest that this spectrum of disorders may be a progressive series of stages of increasing severity. Alcohol liver damage accounts for the vast majority of cases of cirrhosis in patients coming to autopsy. Further, mortality from cirrhosis is associated with national per capita levels of consumption. In North-American studies, alcoholic cirrhosis was one of the top five causes of mortality for people aged 25 to 64 years in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1992, Savolainen, Penttila and Karhunen investigated the relationship between alcohol intake and liver cirrhosis in Finland, where the per capita consumption rates doubles between 1969 and 1974. Rates of liver cirrhosi s mortality rose from 4.2 to 9.7 per 100,000 between 1968 and 1988. The mortality rate from cirrhosis has been estimated as between seven and thirteen times higher in alcoholics than in those who do not drink. Although it is more common in men than in women, there is evidence that liver disease progresses more rapidly in the female alcohol abuser (Knight and Longmore 1996). Alcoholics, they say, are not like helpless victims of measles or cancer. They may have impaired control but they can gain control through will-power and learning certain techniques. While the cause of alcoholism is unknown, a number of risk factors have been identified. These include; availability (Australian Aborigines illustrate the importance of availability of alcohol as a risk factor since when they were forbidden to drink there apparently was a low rate of alcohol abuse), family history (alcoholism in the family is probably the strongest predictor of alcoholism occurring in particular individuals), sex (st udies have confirmed higher incidence of alcoholism in men than in women), age (alcoholism in men usually develops in the teens, twenties and thirties while in women it often develops later), geography (people living in urban or suburban areas are more often alcoholics than those living in farms or in small towns), occupation (waiters, bartenders, Dockers, musicians, authors and reporters have relatively high cirrhosis rates whereas accountants, postmen and carpenters have relatively low rates), religion (almost all Jews and Episcopalians drink, but alcoholism among Jews is uncommon and appear relatively low among Episcopalians, whereas Irish Catholics in the USA and UK have high rates of alcoholism) and school difficulty ( secondary school dropouts have a record of being irritable and melancholy and experience feelings of guilt and remorse which drives them to become alcoholics. These lose interest in life and contemplate suicide which is a common outcome of alcoholism). People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be as a result of the alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor health status or from severe liver disease (Goodwin 2000). Alcoholics are not all alike since they experience different degrees of impairment and the disease has different origins for different people. Consequently, researchers have not found conclusive evidence that any one variable is solely responsible for the brain deficits found in alcoholics. Characterizing what makes some alcoholics vulnerable to brain damage whereas others are not remains the subject of active research. The good news is that most alcoholics with cognitive impairment show at least some improvement in brain structure and functioning within a year of abstinence, though some people take much longer (Bates, Bowden and Barry 2002), (Gansler 2000) and (Sullivan 2000). Clinicians must consider a variety of treatment methods to help people stop drinking and to recover from alcohol related brain impairments, and tailor these treatments to the individual patient. Development of these therapies would occur over time with advancements in technology. Brain imaging techniques are u sed by medical doctors so that they can monitor the course of these therapies and see how successful they are. This monitoring is important since imaging can reveal information such as structural, functional and biochemical changes in the living patient over a period of time. Promising new medications also are in the early stages of development, as researchers strive to design therapies that can help prevent alcohols harmful effects and promote the growth of new brain cells to take the place of those that have been damaged by alcohol. OBJECTIVES Electroencephalogram or EEG is a tool used to image the brain while it is performing a cognitive task. This allows us to detect the location and magnitude of brain activity involved in the various types of cognitive functions we study. EEG allows us to view and record the changes in your brain activity during the time you are performing the task. Results from an EEG is extremely useful since Neurologists use this to diagnose seizure disorders (epilepsy), brain tumors, brain hemorrhage, cerebral infarct, head injury, sleep disorders and in confirming death in someone who is in a coma. (Tatum 2007). In this research project we have narrowed the study of the EEG to examine male alcoholic and non-alcoholic patients. The general objective of this project requires us to compare EEG results obtained from testing alcoholic and non-alcoholic patients at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. An alcoholic is one who suffers from the disease known as alcoholism and cannot control how much they consume. Identification of one involves an objective assessment regarding the damage that imbibing alcohol does to the drinkers life compared with the subjective benefits the drinker perceives from consuming alcohol. While there are many cases where an alcoholics life has been significantly and obviously damaged, there are always borderline cases that can be difficult to classify. Apart from the general objective of this research project there were many smaller tasks which had to be completed in order for us to obtain successful results and hence fulfill our main objective. The first task of this research project entailed sourcing alcoholic and non-alcoholic volunteers to test. This was particularly important since the successfulness of this task would revolve solely around our general objective. However, once this first task was sorted out and patients were tested, from the results obtained we used analytical methods such as monopolar absolute power maps, coherence maps and chaos analysis to help us get a clearer illustration of the results and hence make the general objective much clearer. The second objective of this project required us to have sufficient background information on the EEG, the experimental methodology when conducting an EEG (10-20 System), analytical methods used to illustrate EEG results, alcoholism, EEG on alcoholics and other general topics revolving around the area of research. In order for this to be a success the necessary books, journals, websites had to be sourced and read before any practical work commenced. Once these two tasks were performed successfully, we then set out to obtain our general objective of analyzing and comparing EEG results of both alcoholics and non-alcoholics. LITERATURE REVIEW An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain by using surface biopotential electrodes. These electrodes are attached to the patients head and hooked by wires to a computer which records the brains electrical activity on the screen or on paper as wavy lines (waveforms). Among the basic waveforms are the alpha, beta, theta and delta rhythms. Alpha waves occur at a frequency of 8 to 12 cycles per second in a regular rhythm and are present only when you are awake but have your eyes closed. They normally disappear when you open your eyes or start concentrating mentally. Beta waves occur at a frequency of 13 to 30 cycles per second and are usually associated with the use of sedative medications. Theta waves occur at a frequency of 4 to 7 cycles per second and are most common in children and young adults. Delta waves occur at a frequency of 0.5 to 3.5 cycles per second and generally occur in young children or during deep sleep. Duri ng an EEG, typically about 20-30 minutes of activity are evaluated and special attention is paid to the basic waveforms, but brief bursts of energy and responses to stimuli, such as light are also examined, (The university of Texas medical branch, http://www.utmbhealthcare.org). Results from an EEG test can tell a lot about the patient and is a read by a neurologist. The waves recorded can be classified as normal or abnormal. Abnormal waves can indicate medical problems, whereas different types of normal waves can indicate various states or activity levels. The value of understanding the normal EEG lies in developing the foundation to provide a clinical basis for identifying abnormality. Knowledge of normal waveform variations, variants of normal EEG that are of uncertain significance, and fluctuations of normal EEG throughout the lifecycle from youth to the aged are essential to provide an accurate impression for clinical interpretation. When abnormality is in doubt, a conservation impression of normal is proper. EEG produces a graphic display of a difference in voltages from two sites of brain functions recorded over time. Extra cranial EEG provides a broad survey of the electrocerebral activity throughout both hemispheres of the brain while intracranial E EG provides focused EEG recording directly from the brain through surgically implanted electrodes that are targeted at specific regions of the brain. (Tatum 2007). Information about a diffuse or focal cerebral dysfunction, the presence of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), or patterns of special significance may be revealed from an abnormal EEG. For the successful interpretation of an abnormal EEG, one must first understand the criteria necessary to define normal patterns. While a normal EEG does not exclude a clinical diagnosis (i.e. epilepsy), an abnormal finding on an EEG may be supportive of a diagnosis (i.e. in epilepsy), be indicative of cerebral dysfunction (i.e. focal or generalized slowing), or have nothing to do with the reason that the study was performed (i.e. in headache). It is in the clinical application of the EEG findings that imparts the utility of EEG. (Tatum 2007). Two important applications involving EEG wave classification are diagnosis of sleep disorde rs and construction of brain-computer interfaces to assist disabled people with daily living tasks. Sleep occupies roughly one-third of a persons life and is indispensable for health and well-being. Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by a ten-second or longer pauses in breathing during sleep. A person with sleep apnea cannot self-diagnose the presence of this disorder so in order to make diagnoses for sleep disorders, physicians usually need to study patients sleep patterns through sleep recording. A typical sleep recording has multiple channels of EEG waves coming from the electrodes placed on the subjects head. The waves from a healthy subject are stable about zero and show relatively high variability and low correlation whilst the waves from a person with sleep difficulty show less variability and higher correlation. Measuring EEG signals is a non-intrusive procedure since it does not cause any pain to the subject. Sleep staging is the pattern recognition task of classifying sleep recordings into sleep stages continuously over time and is performed by a sleep stager. These sleep stages include rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, four levels of non-REM sleep and being awake. Sleep staging is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of various sleep disorders. In order to make many EEG-based applications practical enough for routine use, it is necessary to achieve high accuracy in EEG wave classification. For physicians specializing in sleep disorders, improving sleep stage classification accuracy can increase both their diagnostic accuracy and the speed with which they make diagnosis. (Min and Luo. n.d). DIAGRAM SHOWING EEG SLEEP PATTERNS, (http://www.benbest.com) Brain-Computer interfaces (BCIs) are currently being developed to facilitate the control of computers by people who are disabled. As disabled people think about what they want to have the computer do, their thinking is classified based on their EEG waves and corresponding instructions are automatically executed by the computer. Accurate EEG wave classification is a critical requirement for computers to receive correct instructions. There are various kinds of BCIs with the most promising one being the P300 BCI using EEG signals. This is so because of its non-invasiveness, ease of use, portability and low set-up cost. In neuroscience, P300 refers to a neutrally-evoked potential component of EEG. (Min and Luo. n.d). Quantitative EEG signal analysis involves the transformation of the EEG signal into numerical values that can be used to examine selected EEG features. Once a specific feature of the EEG has been quantified, it can be displayed using various graphical methods such as topographic mapping or spectral trend monitoring. Other applications of quantitative analysis include automated event detection, intraoperative or ICU monitoring, and source localization. Normative databases of quantitative EEG features (such as the peak alpha rhyth m frequency or amount of alpha reactivity) can be used for statistical comparisons in research studies. Statistical quantitative EEG analysis is not yet considered reliable as an independent measure of abnormal brain function for clinical purposes. Topographic mapping refers to the graphical display of the distribution of a particular EEG feature over the scalp or cortical surface. Advanced forms of topographic mapping attempt to display EEG activity as it might be seen at the cortical surface by superimposing a color or gray scale image of the EEG feature onto the cortical surface image taken from the subjects MRI. More simplified forms of topographic mapping create a graphic display of an EEG feature over an imaginary head surface. All methods of topographic mapping depend heavily on montage construction. (Fisch and Spehlmann 1999). DIAGRAM SHOWING AN EEG TOPOGRAPHIC MAP, (http://www.cerebromente.org) Automated event detection is a form of quantitative analysis in which certain signal characteristics are used to classify an EEG change. It is most commonly applied to the detection of electrographic seizures during epilepsy monitoring. Intraoperative EEG monitoring is performed using continuous routine EEG visual inspection alone or in combination with quantitative EEG monitoring. The most common application of intraoperative EEG monitoring is for ca

Janie Speaks Her Ideas in Their Eyes Were Watching God :: Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays

Janie Speaks Her Ideas in Their Eyes Were Watching God In life to discover our self-identity a person must show others what one thinks or feels and speak his or her mind. Sometimes their opinions may be silenced or even ignored. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie would sometimes speak her ideas and they would often make a difference. The author, Zora Neale Hurston, gives Janie many chances to speak and she shows the reader outcomes. When dealing with all of the different people Jaine faced, she would find a way to speak her ideas, receive a response, and through this exchange she developed her sense of self-worth. When Janie found a way to speak her ideas, they would have an impact on everyone. Though, Janie did not always speak her ideas. She would often do something that made an impression on someone. The first real action Janie took was to leave her husband, Logan Killicks. By doing this, she has shown the community that a person can not always be happy with material things when she or he is not in love. Janie says, "Ah want things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think." She shows her grandma that she is not happy with her Janie's next husband, Joe Starks was very nice to her and gave her everything she wanted. When it came to Janie wanting to talk or speak her mind, he would not let her, and that made her feel like she was less of a person than he. Until one day, towards the end of their long marriage, when Jody made a very mean comment about Janie's body. She came back with, "When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life." After these words came out, Jody hit her. These harsh words could never be forgiven. At the end of their marriage, before Jody died she finally told him her feelings. "....And now you got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo'self if you wants any love and any sympathy in dis world. You ain't tired to pacify nobody but yo'self. Too busy listening tuh yo'own big voice," said Janie. Her final and most loved husband was Vergible "Tea Cake" Woods. She could talk most openly with him. Once, she accused Tea Cake of having a liking for Nukie. He quickly reassured her that he didn't, and there was nothing to be worried about. After Tea Cake's death, Janie was too upset

Part Four Chapter X

X At nine o'clock on the morning of the election for Barry's seat, Parminder left the Old Vicarage and walked up Church Row to the Walls' house. She rapped on the door and waited until, at last, Colin appeared. There were shadows around his bloodshot eyes and beneath his cheekbones; his skin seemed to have thinned and his clothes grown too big. He had not yet returned to work. The news that Parminder had screamed confidential medical information about Howard in public had set back his tentative recovery; the more robust Colin of a few nights ago, who had sat on the leather pouffe and pretended to be confident of victory, might never have been. ‘Is everything all right?' he asked, closing the door behind her, looking wary. ‘Yes, fine,' she said. ‘I thought you might like to walk down the church hall with me, to vote.' ‘I – no,' he said weakly. ‘I'm sorry.' ‘I know how you feel, Colin,' said Parminder, in a small tight voice. ‘But if you don't vote, it means they've won. I'm not going to let them win. I'm going to go down there and vote for you, and I want you to come with me.' Parminder was effectively suspended from work. The Mollisons had complained to every professional body for which they could find an address, and Dr Crawford had advised Parminder to take time off. To her great surprise, she felt strangely liberated. But Colin was shaking his head. She thought she saw tears in his eyes. ‘I can't, Minda.' ‘You can!' she said. ‘You can, Colin! You've got to stand up to them! Think of Barry!' ‘I can't – I'm sorry – I †¦' He made a choking noise and burst into tears. Colin had cried in her surgery before now; sobbed in desperation at the burden of fear he carried with him every day of his life. ‘Come on,' she said, unembarrassed, and she took his arm and steered him through to the kitchen, where she handed him kitchen roll and let him sob himself into hiccups again. ‘Where's Tessa?' ‘At work,' he gasped, mopping his eyes. There was an invitation to Howard Mollison's sixty-fifth birthday party lying on the kitchen table; somebody had torn it neatly in two. ‘I got one of those, as well,' said Parminder. ‘Before I shouted at him. Listen, Colin. Voting – ‘ ‘I can't,' whispered Colin. ‘ – shows them they haven't beaten us.' ‘But they have,' said Colin. Parminder burst out laughing. After contemplating her with his mouth open for a moment, Colin started to laugh too: a big, booming guffaw, like the bark of a mastiff. ‘All right, they've run us out of our jobs,' said Parminder, ‘and neither of us wants to leave the house but, other than that, I think we're in very good shape indeed.' Colin took off his glasses and dabbed his wet eyes, grinning. ‘Come on, Colin. I want to vote for you. It isn't over yet. After I blew my top, and told Howard Mollison he was no better than a junkie in front of the whole council and the local press – ‘ He burst out laughing again and she was delighted; she had not heard him laugh so much since New Year, and then it had been Barry making him do it. ‘ – they forgot to vote on forcing the addiction clinic out of Bellchapel. So, please. Get your coat. We'll walk down there together.' Colin's snorts and giggles died away. He stared down at the big hands fumbled over each other, as if he were washing them clean. ‘Colin, it's not over. You've made a difference. People don't like the Mollisons. If you get in, we'd be in a much stronger position to fight. Please, Colin.' ‘All right,' he said, after a few moments, awed by his own daring. It was a short walk, in the fresh clean air, each of them clutching their voter registration cards. The church hall was empty of voters apart from themselves. Each put a thick pencil cross beside Colin's name and left with the sense that they had got away with something. Miles Mollison did not vote until midday. He paused at his partner's door on the way out. ‘I'm off to vote, Gav,' he said. Gavin indicated the telephone pressed against his ear; he was on hold with Mary's insurance company. ‘Oh – right – I'm off to vote, Shona,' said Miles, turning to their secretary. There was no harm in reminding them both that he was in need of their support. Miles jogged downstairs and proceeded to the Copper Kettle, where, during a brief post-coital chat, he had arranged to meet his wife so that they could go down to the church hall together. Samantha had spent the morning at home, leaving her assistant in charge at the shop. She knew that she could no longer put off telling Carly that they were out of business, and that Carly was out of a job, but she could not bring herself to do it before the weekend and the concert in London. When Miles appeared, and she saw his excited little grin, she experienced a rush of fury. ‘Dad not coming?' were his first words. ‘They're going down after closing time,' said Samantha. There were two old ladies in the voting booths when she and Miles got there. Samantha waited, looking at the backs of their iron-grey perms, their thick coats and their thicker ankles. That was how she would look one day. The more crooked of the two old women noticed Miles as they left, beamed, and said, ‘I've just voted for you!' ‘Well, thank you very much!' said Miles, delighted. Samantha entered the booth and stared down at the two names: Miles Mollison and Colin Wall, the pencil, tied to the end of a piece of string, in her hand. Then she scribbled ‘I hate bloody Pagford' across the paper, folded it over, crossed to the ballot box and dropped it, unsmiling, through the slot. ‘Thanks, love,' said Miles quietly, with a pat on her back. Tessa Wall, who had never failed to vote in an election before, drove past the church hall on her way back home from school and did not stop. Ruth and Simon Price spent the day talking more seriously than ever about the possibility of moving to Reading. Ruth threw out their voter registration cards while clearing the kitchen table for supper. Gavin had never intended to vote; if Barry had been alive to stand, he might have done so, but he had no desire to help Miles achieve another of his life's goals. At half-past five he packed up his briefcase, irritable and depressed, because he had finally run out of excuses not to have dinner at Kay's. It was particularly irksome, because there were hopeful signs that the insurance company was shifting in Mary's favour, and he had very much wanted to go over and tell her so. This meant that he would have to store up the news until tomorrow; he did not want to waste it on the telephone. When Kay opened the door to him, she launched at once into the rapid, quick-fire talk that usually meant she was in a bad mood. ‘Sorry, it's been a dreadful day,' she said, although he had not complained, and they had barely exchanged greetings. ‘I was late back, I meant to be further on with dinner, come through.' From upstairs came the insistent crash of drums and a loud bass line. Gavin was surprised that the neighbours were not complaining. Kay saw him glance up at the ceiling and said, ‘Oh, Gaia's furious because some boy she liked back in Hackney has started going out with another girl.' She seized the glass of wine she was already drinking and took a big gulp. Her conscience had hurt her when she called Marco de Luca ‘some boy'. He had virtually moved into their house in the weeks before they had left London. Kay had found him charming, considerate and helpful. She would have liked a son like Marco. ‘She'll live,' said Kay, pushing the memories away, and she returned to the potatoes she was boiling. ‘She's sixteen. You bounce at that age. Help yourself to wine.' Gavin sat down at the table, wishing that Kay would make Gaia turn the music down. She had virtually to shout at him over the vibration of the bass, the rattling saucepan lids and the noisy extractor fan. He yearned again for the melancholy calm of Mary's big kitchen, for Mary's gratitude, her need for him. ‘What?' he said loudly, because he could tell that Kay had just asked him something. ‘I said, did you vote?' ‘Vote?' ‘In the council election!' she said. ‘No,' he replied. ‘Couldn't care less.' He was not sure whether she had heard. She was talking again, and only when she turned to the table with knives and forks could he hear her clearly. ‘†¦ absolutely disgusting, actually, that the parish is colluding with Aubrey Fawley. I expect Bellchapel will be finished if Miles gets in †¦' She drained the potatoes and the splatter and crash drowned her temporarily again. ‘†¦ if that silly woman hadn't lost her temper, we might be in with a better shot. I gave her masses of stuff on the clinic and I don't think she used any of it. She just screamed at Howard Mollison that he was too fat. Talk about unprofessional †¦' Gavin had heard rumours about Dr Jawanda's public outburst. He had found it mildly amusing. ‘†¦ all this uncertainty's very damaging to the people who work at that clinic, not to mention the clients.' But Gavin could muster neither pity nor indignation; all he felt was dismay at the firm grip Kay seemed to have on the intricacies and personalities involved in this esoteric local issue. It was yet another indication of how she was driving roots deeper and deeper into Pagford. It would take a lot to dislodge her now. He turned his head and gazed out of the window onto the overgrown garden beyond. He had offered to help Fergus with Mary's garden this weekend. With luck, he thought, Mary would invite him to stay for dinner again, and if she did, he would skip Howard Mollison's sixty-fifth birthday party, to which Miles seemed to think he was looking forward with excitement. ‘†¦ wanted to keep the Weedons, but no, Gillian says we can't cherry-pick. Would you call that cherry-picking?' ‘Sorry, what?' asked Gavin. ‘Mattie's back,' she said, and he had to struggle to recollect that this was a colleague of hers, whose cases she had been covering. ‘I wanted to keep working with the Weedons, because sometimes you do get a particular feeling for a family, but Gillian won't let me. It's crazy.' ‘You must be the only person in the world who ever wanted to keep the Weedons,' said Gavin. ‘From what I've heard, anyway.' It took nearly all Kay's willpower not to snap at him. She pulled the salmon fillets she had been baking out of the oven. Gaia's music was so loud that she could feel it vibrating through the tray, which she slammed down on the hob. ‘Gaia!' she screamed, making Gavin jump as she strode past him to the foot of the stairs. ‘GAIA! Turn it down! I mean it! TURN IT DOWN!' The volume diminished by perhaps a decibel. Kay marched back into the kitchen, fuming. The row with Gaia, before Gavin arrived, had been one of their worst ever. Gaia had stated her intention of telephoning her father and asking to move in with him. ‘Well, good luck with that!' Kay had shouted. But perhaps Brendan would say yes. He had left her when Gaia was only a month old. Brendan was married now, with three other children. He had a huge house and a good job. What if he said yes? Gavin was glad that he did not have to talk as they ate; the thumping music filled the silence, and he could think about Mary in peace. He would tell her tomorrow that the insurance company was making conciliatory noises, and receive her gratitude and admiration †¦ He had almost cleared his plate when he realized that Kay had not eaten a single mouthful. She was staring at him across the table, and her expression alarmed him. Perhaps he had somehow revealed his inner thoughts †¦ Gaia's music came to an abrupt halt overhead. The throbbing quiet was dreadful to Gavin; he wished that Gaia would put something else on, quickly. ‘You don't even try,' Kay said miserably. ‘You don't even pretend to care, Gavin.' He attempted to take the easy way out. ‘Kay, I've had a long day,' he said. ‘I'm sorry if I'm not up to the minutiae of local politics the second I walk – ‘ ‘I'm not talking about local politics,' she said. ‘You sit there looking as if you'd rather be anywhere else – it's – it's offensive. What do you want, Gavin?' He saw Mary's kitchen, and her sweet face. ‘I have to beg to see you,' Kay said, ‘and when you come round here you couldn't make it clearer that you don't want to come.' She wanted him to say ‘that's not true'. The last point at which a denial might have counted slunk past. They were sliding, at increasing speed, towards that crisis which Gavin both urgently desired and dreaded. ‘Tell me what you want,' she said wearily. ‘Just tell me.' Both could feel the relationship crumbling to pieces beneath the weight of everything that Gavin refused to say. It was with a sense of putting them both out of their misery that he reached for words that he had not intended to speak aloud, perhaps ever, but which, in some way, seemed to excuse both of them. ‘I didn't want this to happen,' Gavin said earnestly. ‘I didn't mean it to. Kay, I'm really sorry, but I think I'm in love with Mary Fairbrother.' He saw from her expression that she had not been prepared for this. ‘Mary Fairbrother?' she repeated. ‘I think,' he said (and there was a bittersweet pleasure in talking about it, even though he knew he was wounding her; he had not been able to say it to anyone else), ‘it's been there for a long time. I never acknowledged – I mean, when Barry was alive I'd never have – ‘ ‘I thought he was your best friend,' whispered Kay. ‘He was.' ‘He's only been dead a few weeks!' Gavin did not like hearing that. ‘Look,' he said, ‘I'm trying to be honest with you. I'm trying to be fair.' ‘You're trying to be fair?' He had always imagined it ending in a blaze of fury, but she simply watched him putting on his coat with tears in her eyes. ‘I'm sorry,' he said, and walked out of her house for the last time. On the pavement, he experienced a rush of elation, and hurried to his car. He would be able to tell Mary about the insurance company tonight, after all.

Literature: the Chronicles of Narnia and Fantasy

Fantasy Literature and Fantastic Language Kelli Pearson Eng/290 7/30/2012 Crystal Sands Fantastic Literature and Fantastic Language Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1960s a segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of movies, television programs, novels, video games, music and other media. Fantasy Language is is a constructed language designed for aesthetic pleasure. Fantasy language has an irregular grammer, much like natural languages. Many are designed within the context of fictional worlds.Others represent fictional minority languages in a world not patently different from the real world, or have no particular fictional background attached. There are several different schools of Fantasy language construction. The most prominent is the naturalist school, which seeks to imitate the complexity and historicity of natural languages and has artistic language. Many do not use this language, but follow a more abstract style. The poem and story that I chose was an African Poem by Walter Dean Myers and the story the Chronicles of Narnia. While choosing the two of these I thought they were very interesting and I wanted to share.The poem is called Jeannie Had a Giggle which recites the words : Jeannie had a giggle just beneath her toes She gave a little wiggle and up her leg it rose. She tried to grab the giggle as it shimmied past her knees But it slid right past her fingers with a â€Å"‘scuse me if you please† It slipped around her middle, it made her jump and shout Jeannie wanted that giggle in, that giggle wanted out! Jeannie closed her mouth, but then she heard a funny sound As out that silly giggle flew and jumped down to the ground. Jeannie caught it with her foot just beneath her toes She gave a little wiggle and up her leg it rose.I chose this poem because I believe this poem is a form of dance. Where as in the African culture they interpre t a lot of movement through dance. African dance teaches values and social patterns to help people work, mature, or praise people in their community. I feel that this poem showed how Jenny was full of Joy from head to toe. This poem expresses that values of the African religion of how they use dance to interpret praise within themselves. The fantasy story that I chose was The Chronicles of Narnia. I chose this story because it is filled with fantasy and full of imagination.According to (Matt Brennan http://cslewis. drzeus. net ) The Narnia Chronicles are surely the most popular works of writer C. S. Lewis. And although they are recognized as children's fantasy novels, they are also popular with students and adults, including many Christian theologians. In the Narnia Chronicles, Lewis identifies the Biblical character of Jesus Christ as the character of Aslan the lion. He retells certain events in the life of Jesus to children. This way it is easier for a children to understand; most importantly, however, children can both relate to and enjoy the fantasy of Narnia.I feel that this story is a great story that uses animals to grasp the attention of the children. Narnia is a land of talking animals, and as children usually find the concept of animals and magical creatures more interesting than that of a historical reality of long ago. This story also has a religious aspect behind its creation. It speaks from the book of Genisis. Narnia proves to be the perfect vehicle for a captivating work of children's literature. Through using animals to create the story gains interest Animals in this story are especially apparent with the use of Aslan the lion as a God figure: â€Å"The Lion opened his mouth†¦ e was breathing out a long, warm breath; it seemed to sway all the beasts as the wind sways a line of trees. † (Lewis, 1988, p. 108). This image of life-giving breath directly correlates to a passage in Genesis: â€Å"The Lord God formed the man from the dus t of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. † (Gen 2:7). I believe that the two compare based on religious beliefs. I have viewed the Chronicles of Narnia and this story seems to have a strong affect on many viewers and I believe it is due to the fantasy of the story but the reality of the biblical times.Aswell as the poem. Its grasp the attention of children because of the laughter but it expresses movements of the traditional praise of how the African culture expresses themselves. The Chronicles of Narnia has been criticized in the past for gender stereotyping. I think that this may have caused a lot of problems with some readers because of how the story was written about Sarah. In my poem I didn’t feel as if it had any stereotyping. The way I see it is that It just basically described a fun loving little girl who enjoys life from head to toe.These two types of literature were very different but I believe that they will both gain the interest of young children. I believe the message that the poem sends to children is that the world is the limits. Go after your dream and most importantly be Happy! The Chronicles of Narnia sends a message that the world of fantasy is real. It gives children the idea to dream and hope. I gives children the belief of following their dreams and believing in yourself. Fantasy is a world of make believe that many children thrive to have. We all have had the urge to follow our dreams.As a child many children have the dream of being a princess and in the story the little girl became a princess and that is a little girls fairy tale just like a little boys to become a warrior. In conclusion children's fantasy plays a big part in literature. Its easy for children to understand what they are reading or being read to. Fantasy to a child is a big part of their lives. They believe in what they read and watch and its up to adults to help them understand better how to use their imagination. References Myers, W. D. (n. d. ). Jenny Had A Giggle. Retrieved from http://cslewis. drzeus. net Retrieved from http://www. wikipedia. com

Au Cas Où - French Expression Explained

Au Cas Oà ¹ - French Expression Explained The French expression Au cas oà ¹ (pronounced [o ka oo], note that there is no liaison between cas and oà ¹) literally translates  to in the case where Explanation and Examples The French expression au cas oà ¹ is exactly equivalent to (just) in case in English. You can use it in front of a subject plus verb in the conditional, in which case its register is normal to formal. The more interesting - and informal - usage is when its tacked on to the end of a sentence. If you dont already use au cas oà ¹ regularly, you soon will.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Au cas oà ¹ il rentrerait avant nous, je vais lui laisser un mot.  Ã‚  Ã‚  (Just) in case he gets home before us, Im going to leave him a note.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apporte un parapluie, au cas oà ¹ il pleuvrait.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bring an umbrella, (just) in case it rains.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apporte un blouson, au cas oà ¹.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bring a jacket, just in case. Synonymous Expressions For au cas oà ¹ conditional: dans le cas oà ¹des fois quepour le cas oà ¹ For the informal au cas oà ¹ at the end of a sentence: tout hasardpour le cas oà ¹