Quit-Smoking Drug Chantix May Help Heavy Drinkers

Quit-Smoking Drug Chantix May Help Heavy Drinkers Addiction Coping and Recovery Methods and Support Print The Quit-Smoking Drug Chantix May Help Heavy Drinkers By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Updated on August 13, 2019 efenzi/Getty Images More in Addiction Coping and Recovery Methods and Support Overcoming Addiction Personal Stories Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use A drug used to help people stop smoking may also help heavy drinkers cut back the amount they drink, thereby reducing their harmful level of alcohol consumption. A study of the drug varenicline, marketed as Chantix, significantly reduced the level of consumption by a group of heavy-drinking smokers, who were seeking treatment for smoking, not for alcohol. Researchers believe the drug could possibly be a new treatment for those who need to reduce their level of harmful drinking. At the Wheeler Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, researchers studied 64 patients seeking treatment for smoking cessation over a 16-week period. Part of the group was given Chantix and the other a placebo. The Average Number of Are Drinks Reduced The participants who took Chantix reduced their average number of drinks per week by 35.32% compared to those taking the placebo. The researchers found that the drugs effects on drinking were separate from its effects on smokingâ€"there was no correlation between the average number of drinks and the average number of cigarettes they smoked. The study found that Chantix did not reduce the number of days per week the participants drank  but reduced the number of drinks they consumed when they did drink. People initiated drinking at the same rate, but they drank less once they started, said lead author Jennifer Mitchell. If your usual pattern was to come home and have a few beers, you would still do that, but you might have one or two instead of four or five. Medications for Alcoholism Reducing Harmful Drinking The authors concluded that Chantix could potentially be valuable in reducing the harm caused by alcohol abuse. If you currently drink seven drinks a night, and we can turn that into two or three, then youre not only drinking at a level thats going to harm you less, youre less likely to harm others, as well. If we could lower the rates of drunk driving, spousal and child abuse and other secondary effects of alcoholism, that would be tremendous, Mitchell said in a news release. Chantix helps people stop smoking by blocking the pleasant effects of nicotine in the brain. The authors believe that alcohol and nicotine use a common pathway in the brain to provide feelings of pleasure and reward. Low Side Effects in Controlled Group The downside to Chantix, however, is the negative side effects of producing depression and thoughts of suicide. In this study, the researchers said the side effects were low and reduced over time, but that may be due to the fact that participants were carefully screened for mental health disorders before they were allowed into the study. Further research is needed to examine side effects that include depression and suicidal thoughts. The researchers recommend future studies with participants who have comorbid mental health conditions as well as with heavy drinkers who do not smoke. The Link Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Depression

Understanding Ancient Maya Storage Systems

A chultun (plural chultuns or  chultunes, chultunob in Mayan) is a bottle-shaped cavity, excavated by the ancient Maya into the soft limestone bedrock typical of the Maya area in the Yucatan peninsula. Archaeologists and historians report that chultuns were used for storage purposes, for rainwater or other things, and after abandonment for trash and sometimes even burials. Chultuns were early noted by westerners like Bishop  Diego de Landa, who in his â€Å"Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan† (On the Things of Yucatan) describes how the Yucatec Maya dug deep wells near their houses and used them to store rainwater. Later explorers  John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood  speculated during their trip in Yucatan about the purpose of such cavities and were told by local people that these were used to collect rainwater during the rainy season. The word chultun probably comes from the combination of two Yucatec Mayan words which mean rainwater and stone (chulub and tun). Another possibility, suggested by archaeologist Dennis E. Puleston, is that the term comes from the word for clean (tsul) and stone (tun). In modern Yucatecan Maya language, the term refers to a hole in the ground that is wet or holds water. Bottle-Shaped Chultuns Most of the chultuns in the northern Yucatà ¡n peninsula were large and bottle-shaped, a narrow neck and a wider, cylindrical body extending as much as 6 meters (20 feet) into the ground. These chultuns are usually located near residences, and their internal walls often have a thick layer of plaster to make them waterproof. A smaller plastered hole provided access to the interior subterranean chamber. Bottle-shaped chultuns were almost certainly used for water storage: in this part of the Yucatan, natural water sources called cenotes are absent. Ethnographic records (Matheny) illustrate that some modern bottle-shaped chultuns were built for just that purpose. Some ancient chultuns have huge capacities, ranging from 7 to 50 cubic meters (250-1765 cubic feet) of volume, capable of holding between 70,000-500,000 liters (16,000-110,000 gallons) of water. Shoe-Shaped Chultuns Shoe-shaped chultuns are found in the Maya lowlands of southern and eastern Yucatan, most dating to late Preclassic or Classic periods. Shoe-shaped chultuns have a cylindrical main shaft but also with a lateral chamber that extends out like the foot part of a boot. These are smaller than the bottle-shaped ones, only about 2 m (6 ft) deep, and they are typically unlined. They are dug into slightly elevated limestone bedrock and some have low stone walls built around the opening. Some of these have been found with tight-fitting lids. The construction seems to be intended not to keep water in but rather to keep water out; some of the lateral niches are large enough to hold large ceramic vessels. Purpose of the Shoe-Shaped Chultun The function of the shoe-shaped chultuns has been debated among archaeologists for some decades. Puleston suggested they were for food storage. Experiments on this use were carried out in the late 1970s, around the site of Tikal, where many shoe-shaped chultuns had been noted. Archaeologists dug chultuns using Maya technology and then used them to store crops such as maize, beans, and roots. Their experiment showed that although the subterranean chamber offered protection against plant parasites, local humidity levels made the crops such as maize decay very quickly, after only a few weeks. Experiments with seeds from the ramon or breadnut tree had better results: the seeds remained edible for several weeks without much damage. However, recent research has led scholars to believe that the breadnut tree did not play an important role in the Maya diet. It is possible that chultuns were used to store other types of food, ones that have a higher resistance to humidity, or only for a very short period of time. Dahlin and Litzinger proposed that chultuns could have been used for the preparation of fermented drinks such as maize-based chicha beer  since the chultuns internal microclimate seems particularly favorable for this kind of process. The fact that many chultuns have been found in the close proximity of public ceremonial areas in several sites of the Maya lowlands, could be an indication of their importance during communal gatherings when fermented beverages were most often served. The Importance of Chultuns Water was a scarce resource among the Maya in several regions, and chultuns were only part of their sophisticated water control systems. The Maya also built canals and dams, wells, and reservoirs, and terraces and raised fields to control and conserve water. The chultuns were very important resources to the Maya and may well have had a religious significance. Schlegel described the eroded remains of six figures carved into the plaster lining of a bottle-shaped chultun at the Maya site of Xkipeche. The largest one is a 57 cm (22 in) tall monkey; others include toads and frogs and a few have explicitly modeled genitalia. She postulates that the sculptures represent religious beliefs associated with water as a life-giving element. Source:AA.VV. 2011, Los Chultunes, in Arqueologia Maya Chase AF, Lucero LJ, Scarborough VL, Chase DZ, Cobos R, Dunning NP, Fedick SL, Fialko V, Gunn JD, Hegmon M et al. 2014. 2 Tropical Landscapes and the Ancient Maya: Diversity in Time and Space. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 24(1):11-29. Dahlin BH, and Litzinger WJ. 1986. Old Bottle, New Wine: The Function of Chultuns in the Maya Lowlands. American Antiquity 51(4):721-736. Matheny RT. 1971. Modern Chultun Construction in Western Campeche, Mexico. American Antiquity 36(4):473-475. Puleston DE. 1971. An Experimental Approach to the Function of Classic Maya Chultuns. American Antiquity 36(3):322-335. Schlegel S. 1997. Figuras de estuco en un chultun en Xkipche. Mexicon 19(6):117-119. Weiss-Krejci E, and Sabbas T. 2002. The Potential Role of Small Depressions as Water Storage Features in the Central Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity 13(3):343-357.

The Plague By Albert Camus - 2232 Words

Non-American Author Research: The Plague by Albert Camus The Plague by Albert Camus is a novel that forms themes around human suffering, greed, and religion. Although, most of the cultural points in this novel are based off of the authors own traditions and culture, the major things to focus on are the differences between history, culture, and religious beliefs between the novel and Oran, Algeria. In Camus’s story, the community of Oran is thrown into panic due to a plague spreading throughout the city, compared to how Algeria actually functioned in the 1940’s. The cultural approach in ‘The Plague’ is based more off of how the author lived his life, rather than what the culture aspects of Oran, Algeria really are. As well as how the religion in the novel is different than what is majorly of Oran’s citizens practice in real life during in this country. Another big focus is the symbolism Albert creates within his plot that compares to German-Nazism dur ing the 1940’s. The Plague by Albert Camus is about how during April of 1947, thousands of rats straggled into the city of Oran, Algeria and died without explanation. This caused mass hysteria throughout the town, and the authority of the city arranged a large cremation of the corpses of the rats, but the hysteria does not die down. Dr. Rieux, who works countless hours working for the people of Oran, discovered the death of the concierge for the building he works in, who apparently passed due to a strange fever. Soon after theShow MoreRelatedThe Plague By Albert Camus1511 Words   |  7 PagesThe Plague It is always awful when an epidemic starts to spread out. Regardless of have severe it is, it always has bad consequences. These hard times often bring the citizen closer to each other and make them appreciate life more. In the book â€Å"The Plague† written by Albert Camus the readers get a sense of how incredibly the spread of a deadly disease is. In this case it is the plague. Throughout the novel, the author tells the reader through Dr. Rieux, which is actually the author but he talksRead MoreThe Plague by Albert Camus1001 Words   |  5 Pageslife. Albert Camus highlights the theme of time in his 1947 novel, The Plague. Through the use of allegory and point of view, Camus substantiates that when people are not aware of time and its advancing, they are wasting the precious and limited time of their lives. He constantly establishes that the amount of consciousness obtained by a person is the difference between spending time wisely and foolishly. In order to fully utilize it, people need to be aware of time and its passing. Camus uses pointRead MoreAnalysis Of The Plague By Albert Camus1101 Words   |  5 PagesThe novel, The Plague, written by Albert Camus, will be the focal point of the Multicultural essay. Further delving into Albert Camus and his life, he was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. At a young age, he lost his father due to an injury suffered during World War I, and was raised under the domineering hand of his grandmother alongside his mother (Lottman 52). Camus did exemplary in school and through his political engagement led him to join the Communist Party. Deeply advocating forRead MoreThe Plague by Albert Camus Essay1998 Words   |  8 PagesThe Plague by Albert Camus Albert Camus The Plague, takes place in the desert town of Oran, Algeria, in northern Africa. It is the perfect setting for this story to take place. The ordinariness of Oran is contrasted with the extraordinary business of the plague. Sprintzen points out that There is a mythic significance of Oran. Given the previous description of the quality of Oranian life, the selection of Oran as the location for the outbreak of plague should not come as a surprise(SprintzenRead MoreThe Holocaust And The Plague By Albert Camus1499 Words   |  6 PagesHolocaust and the plague the total is 90 million people, with 75 million people dying of the plague, and 15 million people died in the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the mass murder of certain groups of people that Hitler, the leader of the toleration state, disliked and wanted to get rid of. The plague happened in a very different fashion, it was the disease that spread quickly and was very contagious. In the book, The Plague by Albert Cam us, it describes what effect the plague had on the populationRead MoreCharacterization Of The Plague By Albert Camus2269 Words   |  10 PagesCharacterization of The Plague In this book The Plague by Albert Camus, it’s interesting to read as this book is centered in the fiction genre. Camus develops a story with characters who’s brought together by the natural disaster. I find the author’s plot, tone, and theme for the story satisfied about understanding survival. The story takes place in Oran, Algeria in the 1940s (World War II era). The author makes a reference about the real world’s bubonic plague in World War II that affect to otherRead MoreAnalysis Of Albert Camus The Plague Essay1395 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The evil in this world comes almost always from ignorance. Goodwill can cause as much harm as ill-will, if it lacks understanding.† Wrote Albert Camus in the plague. Today, more than ever, this quote is relevant in the context of Afghanistan, a country in the crossroads between South and Central Asia, country mired in conflict of varying intensity since 1979. In the history of Afghanistan, a state, in order to be deemed as legitimate, had to satisfy three preconditions. Firstly, it had to be aRead More Existentialism and Albert Camus The Plague Essay3940 Words   |  16 PagesExistentialism and The Plague      In the mid 1940s, a man by the name of Albert Camus began to write a story. This story he called La Pestà ©. Written in French, the novel became extremely popular and has since been translated numerous times into many languages. This story has been read over and over, yet it tells more than it seems to. This story tells the tale of a city gripped by a deadly disease. This is true enough, but this is not what the novel is about. The Plague can be read as an allegoryRead MoreCriticism Of Heroism In The Plague, By Albert Camus811 Words   |  4 PagesThe Plague, written by Albert Camus, is a story about a bubonic plague outbreak in the French Algerian city of Oran. â€Å"I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesnt even matter.† This quote from the band, Lincoln Park, describes the Absurdist philosophy shown in the Plague. Camus brings the reader on a rollercoaster of heroism and self-sacrifice, just to drop them off at the fact that none of it mattered in the end. The story starts out by an unnamed narrator giving brief backgroundRead MoreSuffering And Morality In The Plague By Albert Camus711 Words   |  3 Pagesfrom a higher power, like the church. Institutions such as religion are a way of expressing morality and a means to cope with suffering, a crucial understanding of the human condition. In â€Å"The Plague† by Albert Camus, his construction of the human condition is centered on the catastrophic plague in the town of Oran. Dr. Bernard Rieux, an atheist, cures the victims of the town while simultaneously being an unbiased narrator to the events of the disaster. Other main characters, like the Christian

Deep Sea Fishing Free Essays

â€Å"If deep-sea fishing is the most dangerous of all civilian occupations, it is especially so during winter months or during storms at any time of year. † Yet, â€Å"risk taking is something they are paid to accept† (Cockerham, 131). [Epigram] As depicted by Sebastian Junger’s nonfiction account, The Perfect Storm, deep-sea fishing requires a level of determination that can override scientific data and superstitious judgment, in the interest of getting money. We will write a custom essay sample on Deep Sea Fishing or any similar topic only for you Order Now He tells the story of the Andrea Gail, which sets out for its fatal last voyage. In October 1991, the crewmembers say their last goodbyes and leave their loved ones behind. It’s late in the season, to go so far out at sea. Also, a number of people had been having strange feelings about the trip and are struggling to push them aside. Since the very beginning in the book, there have been many premonitions presented. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a premonition is â€Å"a strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant† (â€Å"Premonition†). â€Å"Premonitions are often about something that is a threat to our survival tells us the purpose they serve: they are overwhelmingly about survival† (USA, Under Attack). Some fishermen hired to work the Andrea Gail are willing to take this risk regardless of the premonitions they have. Others decide not to go. While the Andrea Gail is out fishing, events unfold that lead to the sinking of the boat. The last voyage of the Andrea Gail proves the tension that must be faced between scientific data and superstitions the crewmembers had and the need for money. Based on extensive interviews, Junger describes the determination shown by deep-sea fishermen. How to cite Deep Sea Fishing, Papers

Why Do Projects Fail

A Computer-assisted dispatch system (LASCAD) was implemented by the London Ambulance Service in October 1992 (Beynon-davies 1995, p.171). This was a major software project that was supposed to substitute the manual system (Fitzgerald Russo 2005, p.248).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Why Do Projects Fail? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The LASCAD system started experiencing problems only nine days after it was launched. Erroneous vehicle information was recorded by the system due to the wrong key that was pressed by a crew member (McGrath 2002, p.254). Hence, vehicles were incorrectly allocated leading to long delays. The LASCAD system soon came into a standstill because of the large and spiraling calls made by patients in order to receive help. Several calls were captured by the system within a very short time. The delay caused a massive death of patients. Eventually, the chief executive officer of LASCAD w as compelled to resign. A new LASCAD system was put in place after four years. From the case study, it is evident that the initial management of the VCF, LASCAD and the baggage-handling project were not realistic at all. In addition, the software project failed due to lack of prior testing of LASCAD’s emergency backup system. Worse still, the LASCAD’s operators lacked adequate training before the system went live (Chua 2009, p.33). In yet another project failure, a large IT software platform known as MANDATA was set up by the Australian Public Service Board in 1970 (Chua 2009, p.33). The IT project was supposed to automate personnel administration. However, the software project failed and did not meet the set objectives. The brainchild of the project retired shortly after the feasibility of the study was accomplished (Hamill Goseva-Popstojanova 2009, p.488). One of the reasons for failure was the funding restriction. Lack of adequate funding to install all the pertine nt software and maintenance of the facility was a core challenge. There was also limited support from the MANDATA users. In addition, lack of full engagement among the Rural Inclusion Support Program (RISP) workers was also noted as a major source of failure (Hamill Goseva-Popstojanova 2009, p.487). Lack of frequent interaction among the stakeholders of CONFIRM. The complexity of the project in the course of its operation hampered the smooth monitoring of all the pertinent activities. For example, the strategies used to implement changes at MANDATA were quite ineffective and complicated. These were some of the failure reasons for the large software project that was supposed to ease down operations at both the locak and national level.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Beynon-davies, P 1995, â€Å"Information systems ‘failure’: the case of the London Ambulance Service’s Computer Aided Despatch project†, European Journal of Information Systems, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 171-184. Chua, A.Y.K. 2009, â€Å"Exhuming It Projects From Their Graves: An Analysis Of Eight Failure Cases And Their Risk Factors†, The Journal of Computer Information Systems, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 31-39. Fitzgerald, G., Russo, N L 2005, â€Å"The turnaround of the London ambulance service computer-aided despatch system (LASCAD)†. European Journal of Information Systems, vol. 14 no. 3, pp. 244-257. Hamill, M. Goseva-Popstojanova, K. 2009, â€Å"Common Trends in Software Fault and Failure Data†, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 484-496. McGrath, K. 2002, â€Å"The Golden Circle: A way of arguing and acting about technology in the London Ambulance Service†, European Journal of Information Systems, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 251-266. This report on Why Do Projects Fail? was written and submitted by user Isabella Tyler to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

buy custom Virtual Classrooms essay

buy custom Virtual Classrooms essay A virtual classroom consists of education activities being conducted online and learning resources are also available which are free and easy to access. This means that students dont have to travel to school and have face to face lectures with the teachers but can access these lectures at the comfort of their homes. These classrooms have developed due to the advancement in technology and the schools adopting this technology with the aim increasing the number of students intake in these schools due to increased demand for education. It is proven that web based learning or rather use of virtual classrooms is an efficient method of learning, in which students who go through this system are as competent as the ones who attend the classes physically. Some people disagree with this claiming that students experience social isolation, where they cannot have fun with other students or share their personal experiences unlike the students who attend classes personally. They argue that education does not only entail reading of books but it also involves one developing well physically, mentally and socially. On the other hand schools are now able to register more students in their schools because not all of them have to attend the classes physically. This kind of learning saves the students time and cash, as opposed to the students who have to travel to and from the school. Also virtual schools save a lot of money because they dont have to employ some employees such as security officers and Janitors. The teachers are at a greater position to monitor and interact with the students because they can easily identify the students whove not been attending classes and the ones who need some more assistance in some fields of study. The greatest of all is that it makes the learning process easy because, one can access notes, exams and lectures easily online. Virtual classrooms have been of great help in expansion and improvement of the learning process because students can access learning materials and lectures easily. This has made it possible for more people to access good education at an affordable cost. Buy custom Virtual Classrooms essay

Soft Skills in the Workplace The Top 4 Skills for Successful Managers

Soft Skills in the Workplace The Top 4 Skills for Successful Managers Ever looked at your supervisor and thought in exasperation, I could totally do that job!? Dont be fooled- odds are theres more to a managers job than meets the eye. If youre a manager yourself or just have your eye on the managerial prize, consider how you can develop and maintain behind-the-scenes soft skills that will keep you at the top of your game like these, from Lei Han at BeMyCareerCoach.com.1. Leadership and People Management SkillsAs a manager, you need the leadership and people skills that will help you attract, retain, direct, motivate, train, and manage the people you supervise. Get to know your workers one-on-one so you can more effectively make use of their strengths, accommodate their challenges, support their goals- employees know when their manager has their best interests at heart, and its a great way to motivate your team.2. Communication SkillsYou have to be able to work up and down the chain of command in your workplace- that means learning to advocate for your team to the higher-ups and  supporting the initiatives that youre handing down to your employees. Make sure everyone understands their roles, and make sure you offer a receptive ear whenever one of your employees needs to be heard.3. Conflict Resolution SkillsNothing says Im in charge like being the end of the line for employee conflicts. Incompatible personalities or differences of opinion on a complex project can blow up into a catastrophe if not managed from the start.  Take the time to assess your mediation skills. If they could use a tune-up, see what programs or classes your company might offer to help you improve them. You can then offer coaching to employees that helps them resolve future conflicts on their own, paying your new skills forward and making everyones worklife run more smoothly.4. Networking SkillsFor managers, the ability to foster relationships and put the right people in touch with one another solves problems and generates great ideas. Its a demonstration of judgment and generosity that supports all of your employees across different divisions and departments.Keep in mind that skills that support are just as important as skills that demand accountability when it comes to managerial relationships; soft skills like these will help you remember your employees are people first, and workers second.4 Soft Skills Every Manager NeedsRead More at bemycareercoach.com