1.
Nutrition
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Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism. It includes food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism, the diet of an organism is what it eats, which is largely determined by the availability, the processing and palatability of foods. A healthy diet includes preparation of food and storage methods that preserve nutrients from oxidation, heat or leaching, and they also provide preventive and therapeutic programs at work places, schools and similar institutions. Government regulation especially in terms of licensing, is less universal for the CCN than that of RD or RDN. Another advanced Nutrition Professional is a Certified Nutrition Specialist or CNS and these Board Certified Nutritionists typically specialize in obesity and chronic disease. In order to become certified, potential CNS candidate must pass an examination. This exam covers specific domains within the health sphere including, Clinical Intervention, a poor diet can cause the wasting of kwashiorkor in acute cases, and the stunting of marasmus in chronic cases of malnutrition. The first recorded dietary advice, carved into a Babylonian stone tablet in about 2500 BC, scurvy, later found to be a vitamin C deficiency, was first described in 1500 BC in the Ebers Papyrus. According to Walter Gratzer, the study of nutrition probably began during the 6th century BC, in China, the concept of Qi developed, a spirit or wind similar to what Western Europeans later called pneuma. Food was classified into hot and cold in China, India, Malaya, humours developed perhaps first in China alongside qi. Ho the Physician concluded that diseases are caused by deficiencies of elements, the first recorded nutritional experiment with human subjects is found in the Bibles Book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends were captured by the king of Babylon during an invasion of Israel, selected as court servants, they were to share in the kings fine foods and wine. But they objected, preferring vegetables and water in accordance with their Jewish dietary restrictions, the kings chief steward reluctantly agreed to a trial. Daniel and his friends received their diet for ten days and were compared to the kings men. Appearing healthier, they were allowed to continue with their diet, around 475 BC, Anaxagoras stated that food is absorbed by the human body and, therefore, contains homeomerics, suggesting the existence of nutrients. Around 400 BC, Hippocrates, who recognized and was concerned with obesity, the works that are still attributed to him, Corpus Hippocraticum, called for moderation and emphasized exercise. Salt, pepper and other spices were prescribed for various ailments in various preparations for example mixed with vinegar, in the 2nd century BC, Cato the Elder believed that cabbage could cure digestive diseases, ulcers, warts, and intoxication. Living about the turn of the millennium, Aulus Celsus, an ancient Roman doctor, believed in strong and weak foods
2.
Tobacco smoking
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Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and inhaling the smoke. The practice was believed to begin as early as 5000–3000 BC, Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 17th century where it followed common trade routes. In 1950, British researchers demonstrated a relationship between smoking and cancer. Evidence continued to mount in the 1980s, which prompted political action against the practice, rates of consumption since 1965 in the developed world have either peaked or declined. However, they continue to climb in the developing world, Smoking is the most common method of consuming tobacco, and tobacco is the most common substance smoked. The agricultural product is mixed with additives and then combusted. The resulting smoke is inhaled and the active substances absorbed through the alveoli in the lungs. Combustion was traditionally enhanced by addition of potassium or other nitrates, many substances in cigarette smoke trigger chemical reactions in nerve endings, which heighten heart rate, alertness, and reaction time, among other things. Dopamine and endorphins are released, which are associated with pleasure. As of 2008 to 2010, tobacco is used by about 49% of men and 11% of women aged 15 or older in 14 low-income and middle-income countries, the gender gap tends to be less pronounced in lower age groups. Many smokers begin during adolescence or early adulthood, after an individual has smoked for some years, the avoidance of withdrawal symptoms and negative reinforcement become the key motivations to continue. In a study conducted by Jennifer OLoughlin and colleagues, first smoking experiences of students were studied. They found out that the most common factor leading students to smoke is cigarette advertisements, Smoking by parents, siblings and friends also encourage students to smoke. The practice worked its way into shamanistic rituals, many ancient civilizations — such as the Babylonians, the Indians, and the Chinese — burnt incense during religious rituals. Smoking in the Americas probably had its origins in the ceremonies of shamans but was later adopted for pleasure or as a social tool. The smoking of tobacco and various hallucinogenic drugs was used to achieve trances, adults as well as children enjoyed the practice. It was believed that tobacco was a gift from the Creator, apart from smoking, tobacco had a number of uses as medicine. As a pain killer it was used for earache and toothache, in 1612, six years after the settlement of Jamestown, John Rolfe was credited as the first settler to successfully raise tobacco as a cash crop
3.
Metabolism
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Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, usually, breaking down releases energy and building up consumes energy. The chemical reactions of metabolism are organized into metabolic pathways, in one chemical is transformed through a series of steps into another chemical. Enzymes act as catalysts that allow the reactions to proceed more rapidly, enzymes also allow the regulation of metabolic pathways in response to changes in the cells environment or to signals from other cells. The metabolic system of a particular organism determines which substances it will find nutritious, for example, some prokaryotes use hydrogen sulfide as a nutrient, yet this gas is poisonous to animals. The speed of metabolism, the rate, influences how much food an organism will require. A striking feature of metabolism is the similarity of the metabolic pathways. These striking similarities in metabolic pathways are likely due to their appearance in evolutionary history. Most of the structures that make up animals, plants and microbes are made from three classes of molecule, amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids. These biochemicals can be joined together to make such as DNA and proteins. Proteins are made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain joined together by peptide bonds, many proteins are enzymes that catalyze the chemical reactions in metabolism. Other proteins have structural or mechanical functions, such as those that form the cytoskeleton, Proteins are also important in cell signaling, immune responses, cell adhesion, active transport across membranes, and the cell cycle. Lipids are the most diverse group of biochemicals and their main structural uses are as part of biological membranes both internal and external, such as the cell membrane, or as a source of energy. Lipids are usually defined as hydrophobic or amphipathic biological molecules but will dissolve in organic solvents such as benzene or chloroform, the fats are a large group of compounds that contain fatty acids and glycerol, a glycerol molecule attached to three fatty acid esters is called a triacylglyceride. Several variations on this structure exist, including alternate backbones such as sphingosine in the sphingolipids. Steroids such as cholesterol are another class of lipids. Carbohydrates are aldehydes or ketones, with hydroxyl groups attached. Carbohydrates are the most abundant biological molecules, and fill numerous roles, such as the storage and transport of energy, the basic carbohydrate units are called monosaccharides and include galactose, fructose, and most importantly glucose
4.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase
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Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the methyl cycle, and it is encoded by the MTHFR gene. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase catalyzes the conversion of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, natural variation in this gene is common in healthy people. Some mutations in this gene are associated with methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency, in the rate-limiting step of the methyl cycle, MTHFR irreversibly reduces 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. 5, 10-methylene tetrahydrofolate is used to convert dUMP to dTMP for de novo thymidine synthesis, 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate is used to convert homocysteine to methionine by the enzyme methionine synthase. MTHFR contains a flavin cofactor and uses NADH as the reducing agent. Mammalian MTHFR is composed of an N-terminal catalytic domain and a C-terminal regulatory domain, MTHFR has at least two promoters and two isoforms. MTHFR activity may be inhibited by binding of dihydrofolate and S-adenosylmethionine, MTHFR can also be phosphorylated – this decreases its activity by ~20% and allows it to be more easily inhibited by SAM. The enzyme is coded by the gene with the symbol MTHFR on chromosome 1 location p36.3 in humans, there are DNA sequence variants associated with this gene. In 2000 a report brought the number of polymorphisms up to 24, two of the most investigated are C677T and A1298C single nucleotide polymorphisms. The MTHFR nucleotide at position 665 in the gene has two possibilities, C or T, C at position 665 is the normal allele. The 665T allele encodes an enzyme with reduced activity. Individuals with two copies of 665C have the most common genotype, 665TT individuals have lower MTHFR activity than CC or CT individuals. About ten percent of the North American population are T-homozygous for this polymorphism, the degree of enzyme thermolability is much greater in 665TT individuals compared with 677CT and 677CC. Individuals of 677TT are predisposed to mild hyperhomocysteinemia, because they have less active MTHFR available to produce 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, low dietary intake of the vitamin folic acid can also cause mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Low folate intake affects individuals with the 677TT genotype to a greater extent than those with the 677CC/CT genotypes, 677TT individuals with lower plasma folate levels are at risk for elevated plasma homocysteine levels. In studies of human recombinant MTHFR, the protein encoded by 677T loses its FAD cofactor three times faster than the wild-type protein, 5-Methyl-THF slows the rate of FAD release in both the wild-type and mutant enzymes, although it is to a much greater extent in the mutant enzyme. 677TT individuals are at a risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Mutations in the MTHFR gene could be one of the leading to increased risk of developing schizophrenia
5.
Alcohol
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In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which the hydroxyl functional group is bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term alcohol originally referred to the alcohol ethanol, the predominant alcohol in alcoholic beverages. The suffix -ol in non-systematic names also typically indicates that the substance includes a functional group and, so. But many substances, particularly sugars contain hydroxyl functional groups without using the suffix, an important class of alcohols, of which methanol and ethanol are the simplest members is the saturated straight chain alcohols, the general formula for which is CnH2n+1OH. The word alcohol is from the Arabic kohl, a used as an eyeliner. Al- is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to the in English, alcohol was originally used for the very fine powder produced by the sublimation of the natural mineral stibnite to form antimony trisulfide Sb 2S3, hence the essence or spirit of this substance. It was used as an antiseptic, eyeliner, and cosmetic, the meaning of alcohol was extended to distilled substances in general, and then narrowed to ethanol, when spirits as a synonym for hard liquor. Bartholomew Traheron, in his 1543 translation of John of Vigo, Vigo wrote, the barbarous auctours use alcohol, or alcofoll, for moost fine poudre. The 1657 Lexicon Chymicum, by William Johnson glosses the word as antimonium sive stibium, by extension, the word came to refer to any fluid obtained by distillation, including alcohol of wine, the distilled essence of wine. Libavius in Alchymia refers to vini alcohol vel vinum alcalisatum, Johnson glosses alcohol vini as quando omnis superfluitas vini a vino separatur, ita ut accensum ardeat donec totum consumatur, nihilque fæcum aut phlegmatis in fundo remaneat. The words meaning became restricted to spirit of wine in the 18th century and was extended to the class of substances so-called as alcohols in modern chemistry after 1850, the term ethanol was invented 1892, based on combining the word ethane with ol the last part of alcohol. In the IUPAC system, in naming simple alcohols, the name of the alkane chain loses the terminal e and adds ol, e. g. as in methanol and ethanol. When necessary, the position of the group is indicated by a number between the alkane name and the ol, propan-1-ol for CH 3CH 2CH 2OH, propan-2-ol for CH 3CHCH3. If a higher priority group is present, then the prefix hydroxy is used, in other less formal contexts, an alcohol is often called with the name of the corresponding alkyl group followed by the word alcohol, e. g. methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol. Propyl alcohol may be n-propyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, depending on whether the group is bonded to the end or middle carbon on the straight propane chain. As described under systematic naming, if another group on the molecule takes priority, Alcohols are then classified into primary, secondary, and tertiary, based upon the number of carbon atoms connected to the carbon atom that bears the hydroxyl functional group. The primary alcohols have general formulas RCH2OH, the simplest primary alcohol is methanol, for which R=H, and the next is ethanol, for which R=CH3, the methyl group. Secondary alcohols are those of the form RRCHOH, the simplest of which is 2-propanol, for the tertiary alcohols the general form is RRRCOH
6.
Coagulation
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Coagulation is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, the mechanism of coagulation involves activation, adhesion, and aggregation of platelets along with deposition and maturation of fibrin. Disorders of coagulation are disease states which can result in bleeding or obstructive clotting, Coagulation is highly conserved throughout biology, in all mammals, coagulation involves both a cellular and a protein component. The system in humans has been the most extensively researched and is the best understood, Coagulation begins almost instantly after an injury to the blood vessel has damaged the endothelium lining the vessel. Platelets immediately form a plug at the site of injury, this is called primary hemostasis and this localization of platelets to the extracellular matrix promotes collagen interaction with platelet glycoprotein VI. Binding of collagen to glycoprotein VI triggers a cascade that results in activation of platelet integrins. Activated integrins mediate tight binding of platelets to the extracellular matrix and this process adheres platelets to the site of injury. Activated platelets will release the contents of stored granules into the blood plasma, the granules include ADP, serotonin, platelet-activating factor, vWF, platelet factor 4, and thromboxane A2, which, in turn, activate additional platelets. The granules contents activate a Gq-linked protein receptor cascade, resulting in increased concentration in the platelets cytosol. The calcium activates protein kinase C, which, in turn, pLA2 then modifies the integrin membrane glycoprotein IIb/IIIa, increasing its affinity to bind fibrinogen. The activated platelets change shape from spherical to stellate, and the fibrinogen cross-links with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa aid in aggregation of adjacent platelets, the coagulation cascade of secondary hemostasis has two initial pathways which lead to fibrin formation. These are the activation pathway, and the tissue factor pathway which both lead to the same fundamental reactions that produce fibrin. Coagulation factors are generally indicated by Roman numerals, with a lowercase a appended to indicate an active form, the coagulation factors are generally serine proteases, which act by cleaving downstream proteins. For example, FVIII and FV are glycoproteins, and Factor XIII is a transglutaminase, the coagulation factors circulate as inactive zymogens. The coagulation cascade is therefore divided into three pathways. The tissue factor and contact activation pathways both activate the final common pathway of factor X, thrombin and fibrin, fVIIa circulates in a higher amount than any other activated coagulation factor. FVII is itself activated by thrombin, FXIa, FXII and FXa, the activation of FX by TF-FVIIa is almost immediately inhibited by tissue factor pathway inhibitor. FXa and its co-factor FVa form the complex, which activates prothrombin to thrombin
7.
Tryptophan
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Tryptophan is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains a group, an α-carboxylic acid group. It is essential in humans, meaning the body cannot synthesize it, tryptophan is also a precursor to the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin. Like other amino acids, tryptophan is a zwitterion at physiological pH where the group is protonated. The isolation of tryptophan was first reported by Frederick Hopkins in 1901 through hydrolysis of casein, from 600 grams of crude casein one obtains 4-8 grams of tryptophan. As an essential amino acid, tryptophan is not synthesized from more basic substances in humans and other animals, the ring of the ribose moiety is opened and subjected to reductive decarboxylation, producing indole-3-glycerinephosphate, this, in turn, is transformed into indole. In the last step, tryptophan synthase catalyzes the formation of tryptophan from indole and these strains carry either mutations that prevent the reuptake of aromatic amino acids or multiple/overexpressed trp operons. The conversion is catalyzed by the tryptophan synthase. For many organisms, tryptophan is needed to prevent illness or death, amino acids, including tryptophan, act as building blocks in protein biosynthesis, and proteins are required to sustain life. In addition, tryptophan functions as a precursor for the following compounds, Serotonin. Serotonin, in turn, can be converted to melatonin, via N-acetyltransferase and 5-hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase activities, niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is synthesized from tryptophan via kynurenine and quinolinic acids as key biosynthetic intermediates. The disorder fructose malabsorption causes improper absorption of tryptophan in the intestine, reduced levels of tryptophan in the blood, some studies did not find reduced tryptophan in cases of lactose maldigestion. In bacteria that synthesize tryptophan, high levels of this amino acid activate a repressor protein. Binding of this repressor to the tryptophan operon prevents transcription of downstream DNA that codes for the involved in the biosynthesis of tryptophan. So high levels of tryptophan prevent tryptophan synthesis through a feedback loop and. The genetic organisation of the trp operon thus permits tightly regulated, tryptophan is a routine constituent of most protein-based foods or dietary proteins. Contrary to the belief that turkey contains an abundance of tryptophan. A common assertion in the US is that consumption of turkey meat results in drowsiness
8.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
