Exercise Might Be Able to Help Fight Alzheimer's

                               

With my personal hopes of becoming a doctor someday, the title of this article immediately peaked my interest. A study by The Archives of Neurology promoted Professor Denise Head to begin an experiment at Washington University in St. Louis. The experiment gathered 201 patients who had not shown any clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's with some who did have a family history. In the experiment, the scientists scanned their brains for amyloid plaques (flashing red lights for Alzheimer's), a variant of the APOE gene, which is involved in cholesterol metabolism, called e4 (multiples the risk for Alzheimer's by 15%), and asked for a history of exercise habits. The reports came in that people who exercised at least 30 minutes for five times a week had less amyloid plaques than those who didn't exercise. Another result was that those he did have the APOE-e4 variant gene had a lot of amyloid plaques, unless they had a history of exercise. The exercise by those who had the variant gene had equal levels of amyloid plaque to those negative e4 variants. This is good news for those patients who know they have a family history of Alzheimer's.

The author of "How Exercise Might Be Able to Help Fight Alzheimer's", Gretchen Reynolds, uses a lot of logos appeals. One of her logos appeals was how well she reported on the experiment performed, its process, its location (Washington University in St. Louis), and its results. Reynolds explained the difficult scientific jargon so that anyone who was not from the science field or didn't know anyone with Alzheimer's could understand difficult things like the amyloid plaques and the APOE-e4 variant. Another logos appeal that Reynolds uses is her quotes from the most relevant person in the experiment, Dr. Denise Head, who conducted the study. The audience can definitely rely on her words and Reynolds for knowing who to talk to. The diction of this article is mainly that of medicine and genetics, such as "amyloid plaques," "APOE," "e4," and "positron emission tomography". However, unlike previous articles that I have read, Reynolds made her article "How Exercise May Keep Alzheimer's at Bay" understandable for most audiences about another positive step in the fight against Alzheimer's.

Source: Reynolds, Gretchen . "How Exercise May Keep Alzheimer's at Bay." The New York Times 18 Jan. 2012, sec. Health: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

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Abortion: Worldwide Rate Stopped Falling After 2003

         

In Donald G. McNeil Jr.'s New York Times article "Abortion: Worldwide Rate Stopped Falling After 2003", McNeil writes about the controversial issue of abortion and how there has been a leveling off in the rate. Since 2003, the rate of abortion was 29 out of 1,000 women and has since leveled off. For some countries, access to birth control is limited. In others, the need to fight more deadly issues like AIDS and malaria are more important to purchase medication and protective tools for than abortion. One interesting thing I found from this article was that the United States contributes the most support in money and medication to birth control to other countries, but that has decreased since the influx of money towards AIDS and malaria. Another interesting fact from this article was that abortion rates are higher in countries where abortion is illegal than in countries where it is legal. Definitely human nature...

The rhetorical techniques McNeil utilizes in this article are an excellent source of logos that gets the point across to the audience. The first appeal of logos is his citation of the study where his facts and statistics came from, the Lancet by World Health Organization and Guttmacher Institute in New York. With that citation, the audience gives McNeil credibility. His statistics included the abortion rates of 1999 and 2003. Another logos appeal that McNeil uses is quotations from relevant people, one of whom is Gilda Sedgh. Sedgh is the lead author of the study and a research associate at the Guttmacher Institute. McNeil gets straight to the point in this article and doesn't leave the audience with any questions. Donald G. McNeil writes an effective article utilizes a straightforward approach and a logos appeal.

Source: McNeil, Donald G. Jr.. "Abortion: Worldwide Rate Stopped Falling After 2003." The New York Times 23 Jan. 2012, sec. Health: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.

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A Boost for the World's Poorest Schools

                 

Ever wonder how many children in the world do not attend school today? Well, right now, 69 million children do not go to school. Pretty big number, I'd say. However, in 1999, 106 million children didn't attend school, which is even worse. So, in 13 years, the world has increased the amount of kids going to school by 37 million. That's a lot of progress. Tina Rosenberg writes about the organization Save the Children and the Literacy Boost program they have developed in her New York Times article "A Boost for the World's Poorest Schools". The organization has done a lot of good for countries like Ethiopia, Nepal, Mozambique, and Malawi especially in providing for those children with illiterate parents. One of the shocking thing about the program was the large amount of absenteeism in the teachers. Their reasons including HIV, living in poverty, and too many kids in a class. However, Save the Children was able to develop a program where the student would take a picture of their teacher in the morning and afternoon of the school day to show that they were there.

Tina Rosenberg's strongest technique in "A Boost for the World's Poorest Schools" is her logos appeal. Her first logos appeal is the statistics she uses throught the article including 69 million children don't attend school, 18 percent increase in primary school enrollment in sub-Sahara Africa, schools in Malawi with 175 students in a class, and 20 percent of teacher absenteeism in Uganda. Rosenberg's second logos appeal is through the people she quotes and how relevant they are including Amy Jo Dowd Save the Children's senior adviser to educational research, Idalina Mauaie a teacher in Chingoe, Mozambique and Esther Duflo a poverty researcher at Harvard University. Throughout the article, Rosenberg uses the pathos appeal for the audiences that have an education and go to school to feel grateful for what they have and sympathize for those 69 million children who don't go to school. Rosenberg also gives her audience an understanding of what the definition o going to school in third world countries is like with books, supplies, teachers, class sizes, and the style of learning. After reading Tina Rosenberg's article from the New York Times, I definitely have more of an appreciation for my education.

Source: Rosenberg, Tina. "A Boost for the World's Poorest Schools." The New York Times 19 Jan. 2012, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

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Bye Bye Twinkies and Hostess Cupcakes

                           

The Hostess company has filed for bankruptcy so kids say goodbye to those Ring Dings, Hostess Cupcakes, and Twinkies. While I can never say I have ever had a Ring Ding or a Twinkie, I have had a Hostess cupcake and those treats were amazing. However, after having my friend's home-made "Hostess" cupcake, the packaged one does not compare. The company is in debt by millions of dollars and because of this, they want to change their labor agreements with their 19,000 employees. This means more job losses and more people back on the search for the low amount of employment. One different component of Hostess from many modern day food production companies is that they don't try and advertise the "healthy" or "no sugar" or even "organic" approach. At least their honest that their food is terrible for consumers's health. But, one things for sure. A company that owes millions of dollars, sells food full of pure sugar, and not provide worthwhile employment is not needed in the current economy of the United States.

"Twinkies, the Undead Snack" by Mark Bittman uses some nice comparisons, pathos, and expresses his opinion with direct diction. One of Bittman's techniques was the comparison he used for the Hostess company. Bittman writes, "In fact the story of Hostess, as much a fixture as Chevy when I was a kid, is the common tale of extreme debt, real obligations to real live workers and an inability to change with the times," (Bittman 1). This comparison can help audiences closer to age to Bittman compare with the current situation of the Hostess company. The pathos technique used in this article is Bittman's personal experiences with the products of Hostess and how he describes their wonderful tastes and flavors. Bittman also expresses his opinion without doubt, especially when he says,
               "While I would never wish a cut in the standard of living of any worker, and few
                working-class people have control over which job they wind up in, the companies
                that deserve to survive are the ones that produce things we need and provide
                gainful employment.," (Bittman 1).
With that statement, I couldn't agree more with Bittman and he makes a valid, convincing point.

Source: Bittman, Mark. "Twinkies, the Undead Snack." The New York Times 17 Jan. 2012, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 18 Jan. 2012.

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Memoir #1: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

                                   


I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is my first memoir that I am going to read. So far, I have read the first chapter about Maya Angelou and her brother Bailey going to stay with her grandmother. This book was highly recommended to me and knowing how much good Maya Angelou has done for the world, I am excited to read her memoir. My cards are all set up and the rest of the book awaits...

How the Marines video made the Afghan war even tougher

This personal reflection opinion article by Timothy Kudo on the viral video of United States Marines urinating on dead Taliban insurgents was an incredible inside look of what it is like to be a Marine. Timothy Kudo served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2009-2011 as a Marine captain. And what was even more interesting was that he knew the infantry that posted the disgraceful video on the Internet, the 3rd Batallion, 2nd Marines. Kudo speaks of the Marines most important mission of a sense of morality in building local support. The 42 second video ruined that sense of morality and is going to create a hard battle ahead for those going back to Afghanistan. Not only that, but the peace negotiations the United States is trying to achieve now are going to be more difficult to achieve. Kudo's anger at his fellow Marines provides so much emotion when he describes the process of dealing with enemy death with respect.

The main appeal of the Washington Post's "How the Marines video made the Afghan war even tougher" is ethos and pathos. The ethos appeal is established immediately when Timothy Kudo defines himself as not only a United States Marine, but one who has been to Afghanistan and Iraq. This ethos establishes a great amount of credibility with the audience because Kudo can relate to the Marines and tell his audience what other Marines think of this action. The pathos appeal shows when Kudo says, "I can't imagine what went through the heads of the men in the video, because desecrating the dead goes against every custom and value the Marines hold dear," (Kudo 1). The disappointment and failure of morality in these Marines is what Kudo writes about and how they were taught to treat the dead with respect. With that, Kudo writes of his own experiences while fighting in the Afghan war and how there were situations where discipline was hard, especially when one of their own died, but it still shined through. The pathos appeal and Kudo's Marine experiences really make this Washington Post article incredible.

Source: Kudo, Timothy. "How the Marines video made the Afghan war even tougher." The Washington Post 13 Jan. 2012, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The Washington Post. Web. 14 Jan. 2012.

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Italian Cruise Goes Ashore

When I was younger, I never wanted to see the movie Titanic because I was afraid of the ship sinking, me drowning, and the nightmares brought on by it. Well, here is a somewhat modern day occurrence of the Titanic. An Italian cruise ship went ashore Giglio Island off the coast of Italy late last night. The Costa Concordia was carrying about 4,200 people and right now around 50 of those people are missing. Three were reported dead. The accounts of the Italian Coast Guard, some of the passengers, and a crew member really intrigued me. It was terrible how people were shoving and climbing over each other to get into the life boats. The even more shocking news was that the people aboard the Costa Concordia had not yet performed an evacuation drill yet. The drill was supposed to be performed later today. Honestly, why wouldn't they do the evacuation drill the second day on the boat, so everyone is settled in and it would be performed at the earliest possible time. Even more surprising was what Ms. Alessandra Grasso told the author, "no crew member was trained for evacuation," (Flegenheimer, Pianigiani 1). How can your own crew members not know how to evacuate???? One things for sure and that's I won't be taking a Costa Concordia cruise anytime soon.

Matt Flegenheimer and Gaia Pianigiani both coordinated from New York and Rome to write the article "Search Is On for Survivors From Italian Cruise Ship That Ran Aground" for the New York Times. With that byline at the end of the article saying their location where they were reporting from, ethos is established that this article was not just reported from the distant United States, but with an onsite reporter. Another technique Flegenheimer and Pianigiani use is how they give the need to know facts right away in the first couple sentences. This technique really pulls the audience in so they aren't left waiting. A logos technique that the authors use is how they quote specific and relevant people from the accident including Commander Cosimo Nicastro from the Italian Coast Guard, passengers Alessandra Grasso, Melissa Goduti, relative Christian Arca  to his mother, and crew member Fabio Costa. This technique shows Pianigiani knew who to talk to in Italy and what would appeal to the audience. The correspondence between Flegenheimer and Pianigiani in separate countries to combine together an informative article on the Italian cruise ship crash.

Source: Flegenheimer, Matt, and Gaia Pianigiani. "Search Is On for Survivors From Italian Cruise Ship That Ran Aground." The New York Times 14 Jan. 2012, sec. Europe: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 14 Jan. 2012.

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Dogs can identify communication cues

Well, here's a comparison that I would have never imagined...dogs and human babies (except for maybe the cuteness factor). In The Boston Globe, Deborah Kotz reports that dogs can understand simple communication cues like pitch and eye contact, which is very similar to the understanding that human infants try to have with their parents and others trying to talk to them. If you make direct eye contact with your dog and use a high pitched voice, they are more able to try and understand you. Without making eye contact or using a high pitched voice, it is harder for the dog to be able to understand the communication signals. One of the researchers, Jozsef Topal, said, "Our findings reveal that dogs are receptive to human communication in a manner that was previously attributed only to humans," (Kotz 1). Whoever said "Dog is man's best friend" knew what they were talking about!

The beginning of the article "Dogs, like babies, detect subtle communication cues" lacked the official credibility of ethos for author Deborah Kotz. The vague diction makes the audience wonder if the study was actually conducted by scientists or if she is an author spouting out her opinion. The diction with words like "the researchers" and "the experiment" aren't the type of words an audience wants when reading about a scientific study. Eventually, Kotz does cite where the study was conducted, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and one of the researchers on the study, Jozsef Topal. These citations gain Kotz some ethos back, especially when she quotes Topal on the study. Also, Kotz does describe the experiment that the researchers performed. This technique allows the audience to understand how the Hungarian researchers make their statement of dogs understanding communication cues. The clear audience of this article is anyone who is, has been, or will be a dog owner as Kotz describes how dog owners can apply this new information with their dogs. Dogs are like babies in their recognition of communication cues through eye contact and a high pitched voice.

Source: Kotz, Deborah. "Dogs, like babies, detect subtle communication cues." The Boston Globe 5 Jan. 2012, sec. Health/Wellness: n. pag. The Boston Globe. Web. 8 Jan. 2012.

Best AIDS Vaccine in Monkeys

                                         

One of the few reasons that this article peaked my interest was that my biology class studied the immune system over Christmas break and honestly, I enjoyed the content. The best vaccine that the researchers found contained two strains of adenovirus and reduced the monkey's chances of contracting AIDS by 80 percent. Adenovirus is a strain of a virus that causes most colds. Also, with that vaccine, there was less of the HIV virus circulating throughout the blood and body fluids. The new vaccination has given researchers insight that the successful AIDS vaccine is going to need a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) shell around the protein. In this article, the positive attitude of the author, David Brown, really helped the audience see that this piece of research is a positive step towards finding an AIDS vaccination and the scientific world is making progress on this issue.

David Brown's rhetorical techniques used in his Washington Post article "Researchers report the best-yet AIDS vaccine in monkeys" are effective in informing his audience. One technique Brown uses is that he quotes experts on the research project including Dan A. Barouch and Anthony S. Fauci. Not only does he quote these experts, but he also cites their titles and professions which establishes ethos with the audience that his sources are valid. However, some of the jargon and diction that Brown uses in his article is probably foreign to many audiences. The only reason I was able to follow the scientific diction, like "immunogens" and "adenovirus" was because I have knowledge on the immune system and immunodeficiencies. Brown's audience is intended to be scientists, doctors, and students who have an understanding of AIDS and the HIV virus. David Brown's article on the new AIDS vaccine is keeping the scientific world and patients with AIDS positive for a successful vaccination.

Source: Brown, David . "Researchers report the best-yet AIDS vaccine in monkeys." The Washington Post 4 Jan. 2012, sec. National: n. pag. The Washington Post. Web. 5 Jan. 2012.