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anonymous

The dope on steroids: Why some athletes take the risk : UMNews : University of Minnesota - 0 views

  • The stakes in Athens are fierce. The difference between an Olympic gold or silver medal could be a one hundredth of a second on the track or in the pool; an inch on the pole vault or shot put.
  • The athletes who make the Olympic cut are blessed with the right combination of physical and psychological traits, including an intense competitive drive and an unrelenting determination to be the best. This is the stuff of champions.
  • Steroids are not just for elite athletes--they can be used by anyone who wants to change his or her body image. The Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report shows more than a million youth taking steroids, and the numbers have been rising every year.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Unfortunately, sometimes so are steroids. For decades, athletes have used anabolic (meaning muscle-building) steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to build strength and endurance. And those drugs are getting more and more sophisticated in an effort to evade detection. Doping, as the practice is called, is illegal and, by most people's standards, unethical. Athletes who have been caught using these drugs have been stripped of their Olympic medals and world records and banned from their sports, sometimes for years, and on occasions for a lifetime.
  • "There are rights and wrongs in life, and if it's against the rules, it's cheating to do it," says Wiese-Bjornstal. "I love sports, but some athletes treat elite sports as if they are life itself, more important than their health, their loved ones, and even their lives."
  • In addition, steroids mess with your body. Potential side effects include high blood pressure, strokes, nausea, sleep problems, increased aggressiveness, and severe mood swings. In men, steroids can reduce sperm count and cause impotence, breast growth, and shrunken testicles. In women, side effects can include reduced breast size, increased body and facial hair, a deepened voice, and menstrual problems.
  • With the risks and consequences of steroid use so high, why do some athletes continue to dope?
  • "The major underlying factor [with steroids use] is that winning at all costs is the most important thing," says Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology.
  • She says that athletes that use steroids often have the mindset that "they are demonstrating that they are as highly committed to their sport as they can be and are doing whatever it takes to prove to themselves, their coaches, and to the world that they are true athletes who will do anything to win."
    • anonymous
       
      Diane Wiese-Bjornstal's Comment
  • From a moral and ethical framework, Wiese-Bjornstal believes this is twisted thinking. "There are rights and wrongs in life, and if it's against the rules, it's cheating to do it," she says. "I love sports, but some athletes treat elite sports as if they are life itself, more important than their health, their loved ones, and even their lives."
    • anonymous
       
      Wiese-Bjornstal's Comment
  • She also says there is pressure to dope because of the belief that everyone else is doing it, and that if an athlete wants to compete at the highest level, she or he has to do it, too.
  • Nancy Cullen, a sports psychology consultant for the University, says the temptation to use steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs simply comes down to the rigors and pressure of elite competition and the desire to win. She cites an alarming poll taken in 1995 of 198 sprinters, swimmers, power lifters and others, most of whom were Olympians or aspiring Olympians. The poll asked if the athletes would take a banned performance-enhancing substance if they knew if would help them win and they wouldn't be caught--195 responded, yes.
  • Most athletes train for perfection," says Cullen. "The drive to achieve and win is so strong. If the difference between winning or losing is a hundredth of a second, and there is a drug that might give you the edge, the temptation can be great."
  • For some Olympic events, steroid scandals have cast a pall over the games, leaving viewers to wonder after each win, "Did he take drugs? Did she?"
  • Both Wiese-Bjornstal and Cullen agree that education, beginning with young athletes, is important in the fight against steroid use, as are drug testing and stiffer penalties for those who are caught. They also believe that coaches and parents play an important role in supporting the healthy ambitions of developing athletes.
  • "It's important to teach athletes to know what the consequences are and to learn other training practices that are legal and don't involve taking drugs," says Cullen. "Strive to win, strive for perfection, but do it within the rules of the game."
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    Good Site for information and Comments on use of drugs on athletes. Site has lots of good comments. Very Interesting.
  •  
    Use it
Erika Moz

global warming --  Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition - 0 views

shared by Erika Moz on 05 Dec 08 - Cached
  • Scientists made an alarming discovery in the 1980s: The average surface temperature on Earth is slowly increasing. This trend is known as global warming. It is believed to be caused by an increase in the amounts of certain gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse Effect To understand global warming, it helps to first understand something called the greenhouse effect. A greenhouse is a glass house in which plants grow. The glass lets light in and at the same time keeps heat from getting out. This trapped heat keeps the plants warm even when it is cold outside. Likewise, Earth's atmosphere traps energy from the sun. Carbon dioxide and other gases—called greenhouse gases—in the air do this trapping. Without these gases too much heat would go back into space, and living things could not survive. However, as more greenhouse gases get into the air, they also trap more heat. This leads to global warming.
    • Erika Moz
       
      Greenhouse effect
Stephania D

Cactus Goo Makes Water Safe: Discovery News - 0 views

  • Other ongoing research by Alcantar's team has shown that the mucilage can also kill bacteria in the water, solving another potential water quality problem.
  • The mucilage either engulfs the bacteria and starves them, or it binds to the bacteria and causes them to settle out of the water.
  • Mucilage consists of carbohydrates and sugars.
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  • "She knows these communities so she understands the social aspects that are involved. She's keeping in mind that the one who is going to be making these filters is going to be the person who is drinking the water. That's rarely done in engineering design."
    • Stephania D
       
      In Mexico, Temamatla the people how used the cactus pear because they know it's makes the water more safe.
Kate L

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia - 0 views

  • basic laws of physics dictate that energy is conserved and can only be changed from one form to another or into matter.
  • Fuel, on the other hand, is the accumulation of matter and therefore represents a store of energy.
  • released in the form of heat when the fuel is burned in chemical or nuclear reactions
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  • cannot be reversed to regenerate the original fuel mass
  • a fuel problem does exist
  • If the supply of fuel is finite, not only will there be no energy supply when the fuel is exhausted
    • Kate L
       
      Finite means: a form of a verb that can occur as the head of a sentence. In Sam wants to leave, wants is finite, leave is non-finite.
  • all other processes that depend on it will cease
  • Several factors combine to make the problem an urgent one
  • World population
  • demand for energy will also increase
  • coal, oil (petroleum), natural gas, uranium, and fuel wood—is limited and insufficient to sustain rapid rates of development.
  • debate about the exact length of time available before the effects of a worldwide shortage become apparent
  • shortage will occur.
  • geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, peat, ocean thermal energy, solar energy, tidal energy, wind power, and fuel wood.
  • replenish themselves naturally in a relatively short time and will therefore always be available.
  • Renewable energy resources
  • indirectly responsible for many other renewable energy sources.
  • ocean currents and winds are results of the uneven distribution of solar radiation over the Earth's surface
  • winds in turn produce waves whose energy can be utilized
  • windmills and wind power
  • ocean thermal energy, solar heating of the upper layers of the ocean produces temperature gradients that can be harnessed to generate electricity
  • Sun also powers the hydrologic cycle, in which ocean water is evaporated, transported over the continents, and precipitated as rain or snow to form rivers
  • flow energy produces hydroelectric power.
  • energy locked in such renewable fuel sources as wood and peat is derived from the Sun by the process of photosynthesis.
  • renewable energy source is geothermal energy
  • arises through the leakage of heat from the Earth's interior to the surface
  • over the entire surface of the Earth at a very low average rate, leakage is much higher in certain locations.
  • Yellowstone National Park
  • Iceland, Italy, and New Zealand.
  • possible to tap the heat and use it for human purposes.
  • Nonrenewable resources originate from two processes: (1) photosynthesis, which occurred many millions of years ago, followed by the fossilization of the plant and animal life that resulted, and (2) the formation of the Earth itself.
  • fossil fuels—coal, oil (petroleum), and natural gas;
  • produced the fuels for nuclear energy, such as uranium for fission and lighter elements for fusion
  • irreplaceable fuels represent an energy capital that must be invested wisely.
  • A cleaner-burning fuel than oil, natural gas seemed to be in abundant supply at the turn of the 21st century and, with the greatly enlarged network of gas pipelines, was rapidly growing in use.
  • nearly total dependence on fossil fuels and hydroelectricity ensures that efforts to solve energy problems by switching to alternative sources will have to overcome a great deal of inertia, both economic and psychological.
  • sources as solar power, wind power, and synthetic fuels suffer from the serious drawback that few major installations now exist.
  • handicapped by the engineering problems of converting the energy to a form useful to human beings.
  • solar energy reaches the top of the atmosphere in amounts 10,000 times greater than all human production of energy, it reaches the Earth's surface at rates of only about 80 to 250 W/m2, and considerably less on cloudy days.
  • arge-scale system based on solar-collector panels will be physically huge, causing problems of maintenance and land use
  • Wind power, wave power, and ocean-thermal-generation sources suffer from similar difficulties
    • Kate L
       
      Even though there are some difficulties with working towards the alternative fuels, it may prove to be more efficient for smaller things (heat and power to small communities or single buildings) in the long run
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    Energy Problem
anonymous

Steroid Use Causes Long-term Agression, Northeastern University Report Indicates - 0 views

  • who studies the link between steroid use and aggression, has recently found evidence that use of anabolic steroids may have long-term effects on behavior and aggression levels well after they stop abusing these performance enhancing drugs.
Stephania D

Cactus Goo - 0 views

  • used for scouring arsenic, bacteria and cloudiness out of rural drinking water
  • There, the residual water from boiling the flat, oval-shaped lobes of prickly pear for salads and other dishes was used to clear up cloudy water drawn from the river before use for cooking or drinking.
  • Mucilage is the clear, gooey, viscous liquid from within the cactus which helps to seal water inside the plant so it can survive desert-dry conditions.
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  • She found that the mucilage binds to the dirt and causes the particles to coagulate, forming large enough clumps that they can settle out of the water.
  • The group's more recent research has shown that the mucilage can also form a complex with arsenic, a carcinogenic water contaminant that can occur naturally or from industrial or agricultural pollution.
  • "Sometimes we get 80 percent removal, and sometimes we get lower than 50 percent removal," Alcantar said. "We don't yet know exactly what it is; we haven't found what are the exact best conditions for the mucilage [to get the most arsenic removal]."
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    Cactus goo can make water safer
Miguel Buquing

How to Predict the Weather Without a Forecast - wikiHow - 0 views

  • Remember the rhyme: "Red sky at night, sailor's delight; Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." Look for any sign of red in the sky (not a red sun); it will not be a bold orange or red the majority of the time, but that depends a little on where you live. Sailor's delight If you see a red sky during sunset (when you're looking to the west), there is a high pressure system with dry air that is stirring dust particles in the air, causing the sky to look red. Since prevailing front movements and jet streams weather usually move from west to east (see Tips), the dry air is heading towards you.
  • Check the grass for dew at sunrise. If the grass is dry, this indicates clouds or strong breezes, which can mean rain. If there's dew, it probably won't rain that day. However, if it rained during the night, this method will not be reliable.
    • Miguel Buquing
       
      For Personal Learning Project
Christina T

Japanese history: Postwar - 0 views

  • After World War II had ended, Japan was devastated. All the large cities (with the exception of Kyoto), the industries and the transportation networks were severely damaged. A severe shortage of food continued for several years.
  • The whole operation was mainly carried out by the United States.
  • Over 500 military officers committed suicide right after Japan surrendered, and many hundreds more were executed for committing war crimes.
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  • A new constitution went into effect in 1947: The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state.
  • Critics started to grow when the United States acted increasingly according to her self interests in the Cold War, reintroduced the persecution of communists, stationed more troops in Japan, and wanted Japan to establish an own self defence force despite the anti-war article in the constitution.
  • With the peace treaty that went into effect in 1952, the occupation ended. Japan's Self Defence Force was established in 1954, accompanied by large public demonstrations. Great public unrest was also caused by the renewal of the US-Japan Security Treaty of 1960.
  • After the Korean War, and accelerated by it, the recovery of Japan's economy flourished.
  • Japan's relations to the Soviet Union were normalized in 1956, the ones to China in 1972.
Paloma Gomez

The Dubious Art Of Torture - 0 views

  • Hello everyone. My name is Guillermo Vargas Habacuc. I am 50 years old and an artist. Recently, I have been criticized for my work titled "Eres lo que lees", which features a dog named Nativity. The purpose of the work was not to cause any type of infliction on the poor, innocent creature, but rather to illustrate a point. In my home city of San Jose, Costa Rica, tens of thousands of stray dogs starve and die of illness each year in the streets and no one pays them a second thought. Now, if you publicly display one of these starving creatures, such as the case with Nativity, it creates a backlash that brings out a big of hypocrisy in all of us. Nativity was a very sick creature and would have died in the streets anyway.
    • Paloma Gomez
       
      tells the so called artist point of view
  •  
    tells the so called artist point of view
cory delacruz

Blue Sky - Why is the Sky Blue? - 0 views

  • end of the spectrum are the reds and oranges. These gradually shade into yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The colors have different wavelengths, frequencies, and energies. Violet has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum. That means it has the highest frequency and energy. Red has the longest wavelength, and lowest frequency and energy. LIGHT IN THE AIR Light travels through space in a straight line as long as nothing disturbs it. As light moves through the atmosphere, it continues to go straight until it bumps into a bit of dust or a gas molecule. Then what happens to the light depends on its wave length and the size of the thing it hits. Dust particles and water droplets are much larger than the wavelength of visible light. When light hits these large particles, it gets reflected, or bounced off, in different directions. The different colors of light are all reflected by the particle in the same way. The reflected light appears white because it still contains all of the same colors. Gas molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. If light bumps into them, it acts differently. When light hits a gas molecule, some of it may get absorbed. After awhile, the molecule radiates (releases, or gives off) the light in a different direction. The color that is radiated is the same color that was absorbed. The different colors of light are affected differently. All of the co
  • d after Lord John Rayleigh, an English physicist, who first described it in the 1870's.) WHY IS THE SKY BLUE? The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by t
  • As you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.
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  • THE BLACK SKY AND WHITE SUN On Earth, the sun appears yellow. If you were out in space, or on the moon, the sun would look white. In space, there is no atmosphere to scatter the sun's light. On Earth, some of the shorter wavelength light (the blues and violets) are removed from the direct rays of the sun by scattering. The remaining colors together appear yellow. Also, out in space, the sky looks dark and black, instead of blue. This is because there is no atmosphere. There is no scattered light to reach your eyes. WHY IS THE SUNSET RED? As the sun begins to set, the light must travel farther through the atmosphere before it gets to you. More of the light is reflected and scattered. As less reaches you directly, the sun appears less
  • The sky around the setting sun may take on many colors. The most spectacular shows occur when the air contains many small particles of dust or water. These particles reflect light in all directions. Then, as some of the light heads towards you, different amounts of the shorter wavelength colors are scattered out. You see the longer wavelengths, and the sky appears red, pink or orange.
  • RE ABOUT:THE ATMOSPHERE WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE? The atmosphere is the mixture of gases and other materials that surround the Earth in a thin, mostly transparent shell. It is held in place by the Earth's gravity. The main components are nitrogen (78.09%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%), and carbon dioxide (0.03%). The atmosphere also contains small amounts, or traces, of water (in local concentrations ranging from 0% to 4%), solid particles, neon, helium, methane, krypton, hydrogen, xenon and ozone. The study of the atmosphere is called meteorology. Life on Earth would not be possible without the atmosphere.
  • d increases with increasing altitude. The increase is caused by the absorption of UV radiation by the oxygen and ozone. · The temperature increase with altitude results in a layering effect. It creates a global "inversion layer", and reduces vertical convection. Mesosphere - Extends out to about 100 km (65 miles) · Temperature decreases rapidly with increasing altitude. Thermosphere - Extends out to about 400 km ( 250 miles)
  • hes the Earth, 30% is reflected back into space by clouds and the Earth's surface. The atmosphere absorbs 19%. Only 51% is absorbed by the Earth's surface. We are not normally aware of it but air does have weight. The column of air above us exerts pressure on us. This pressure at sea level is defined as one atmosphere. Other equivalent measurements you may hear used are 1,013 millibars, 760 mm Hg (mercury), 29.92 inches of Hg, or 14.7 pounds/square inch (psi). Atmospheric pressure decreases rapidly with height. Pressure drops by a factor of 10 for every 16 km (10 miles) increase in altitude. This means that the pressure is 1 atmosphere at sea level, but 0.1 atmosphere at 16 km and only 0.01 atmosphere at 32 km. The density of the lower atmosphere is about 1 kg/cubic meter (1 oz./cubic foot). There are approximately 300 billion billion (3 x 10**20, or a 3 followed by 20 zeros) molecules per cubic inch (16.4 cubic ce
  • ers). At ground level, each molecule is moving at about 1600 km/hr (1000 miles/hr), and collides with other molecules 5 billion times per second. The density of air also decreases rapidly with altitude. At 3 km (2 miles) air density has decreased by 30%. People who normally live closer to sea level experience temporary breathing difficulties when traveling to these altitudes. The highest permanent human settlements are at about 4 km (3 miles). LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE The atmosphere is divided into layers based on temperature, composition and electrical properties. These layers are approximate and the boundaries vary, depending on the seasons and latitude. (The boundaries also depend on which "authority" is defining them.) LAYERS BASED ON COMPOSITION Homosphere
  • LAYERS BASED ON TEMPERATURE Troposphere - Height depends on the seasons and latitude. It extends from ground level up to about 16 km (10 miles) at the equator, and to 9 km (5 miles) at the North and South Poles. · The prefix "tropo" means change. Changing conditions in the Troposphere result in our weather. · Temperature decreases with increasing altitude. Warm air rises, then cools and falls back to Earth. This process is called convection, and results in huge movements of air. Winds in this layer are mostly vertical. · Contains more air molecules than
  • · The air is very thin. · The prefix "strato" is related to layers, or stratification. · The bottom of this layer is calm. Jet planes often fly in the lower Stratosphere to avoid bad weather in the Troposphere. · The upper part of the Stratosphere holds the high winds known as the jet streams. These blow horizontally at speeds up to 480 km/hour (300 miles/hour) · Contains the "ozone layer" located
  • gen we need to breath. But it also serves other important functions. It moderates the planet's temperature, reducing the extremes that occur on airless worlds. For example, temperatures on the moon range from 120 °C (about 250 °F) in the day to -170 °C (about -275 °F) at night. The atmosphere
    • cory delacruz
       
      sounds good, by the way am i annoying you with my sticky note??? well, TOO BAD!!!!!!
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