Drug Usage In Sports Physical Education Essay

Drug Usage In Sports Physical Education Essay Athletes normally use drugs while training and during an event to give themselves an unfair advantage over the other competitors. Drugs can be used during training to allow the person to train for longer, build muscle faster and to quicken the recovery after training, to allow them to train sooner than from the time taken to recover naturally. The world anti-doping agency (WADA) is the head of controlling the use of drugs within major sports, the Olympics, NBA etc.i WADA have banned many substances from use within sports for several reasons, the main reason to protect the athlete and their health as not everyone who takes then performance enhancers does it of their own free will. Other reasons include the prevention of aggressive behavior because some steroids can promote aggression and in a contact sport this could lead to fatal injuries to the opponent. Also the effect performance enhancers has on fair play, taking a substance that gives you an unfair advantage is pure and simple cheating. The use of drugs as an aid in sports dates back to ancient times, where mushrooms and herbs were used by the Greeks and Romans to enhance performance. In the 19th century these mushrooms and herbs were substituted for alcohol, opium and caffeine. In the present day there is a much larger cocktail of drugs used including; anabolic agents, ?2-agonists, diuretics, stimulants, narcotics and beta blockers to mention a few. The aim of this dissertation is to look into the classes of drugs used in the sporting world, how they affect the body, how they work in the body on a cellular level, how athletes are tested for drugs and the side effects of short and long term use. Examples of drugs used Androgenic anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the male hormone Testosterone, in sports the more common steroids are Stanozolol (aka Stromba) and Nandrolone (aka Deca-Durabolin). WADA (world anti-doping agency) holds a list of all banned steroids from the major sporting organizations some of the oral administered steroids that are banned include Anadrol (oxymetholone), Oxandrin (oxandrolone) and Dianabol (methandrostenolone). Banned injectable steroids include Durabolin (nandrolone phenpropionate), Depo-Testosterone (testosterone cypionate), Equipoise (boldenone undecylenate). Stromba can come in the form of a 50mg/ml injection or a 5mg tablet where Nandrolone comes in a 2ml vial with a dosage of 100mg/ml, the effective dose is 250 1500 mg per week. These drugs when taken increase protein synthesis and enhance muscle development, when used in the medical world these drugs can decrease the itching of chronic biliary obstruction and they are used in the therapy of some aplastic anaemias. Steroids can also be used to compensate for people who can produce testosterone or can produce enough of it for their body to function normally, this is a symptom of 47, XXY males (Klinefelters syndrome).ii In sports the enhanced muscle development side of steroids is more important. It is more likely to observe this type of drug use in athletes who will be required to use a lot of strength, ie weight lifters, shot putters, discus throwers etc in the Olympics. The use of these drugs may also be observed in sports such as rugby and baseball. Normally ?2-agonists are used in the treatment of asthma by acting as a bronchodilator, which requires stimulation of ?2 adrenoceptors. Athletes exploit the ability of these drugs to dilate the airways and use ?2-agonists in order to gain advantage over the competition by being able to take deeper breaths than normal. This was mostly seen in swimming events where the athlete could stay under water longer and reduce resistance while swimming. Some ?2-agonists are still permitted for use by the International Olympic Charter (IOC)iii, the permited drugs are salbutamol, terbutaline, formoterol and salmeterol. However if an athlete is to take one of these drugs they must wait until the initial effects of the drug have passed before competing. This drug is normally taken orally through use of an inhaler. Narcotics are one of the earliest drugs used in medicine for pain relief; they work by acting on the brain to reduce the amount of pain felt. This is useful to athletes who maybe injured to allow themselves to force their bodies back into training. This is very risky, as forcing training upon an injured body can lead to further injury.iv Narcotics can be administered through many different methods, depending on what drug it is. Cocaine is normally inhaled through the nose, heroin is normally injected into a vein and morphine can be administered through IV drip or taken in the form of a tablet. The benefit of this class of drug is it allows the athlete to push themselves further, through what is known as the pain threshold. The pain threshold is like a wall that athletes will hit while training vigorously for extended periods of time, this wall is often difficult to overcome and the use of narcotics aids in this battle. This class of drug doesnt just include illegal drugs such as hero in or cocaine but also includes morphine, and although mild, codeine. Diuretics which include Frusimide, chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide come in a tablet form and can prevent the reabsorption of water from the kidneys, this is used in the medical world as treatment for heart failure and hypertension, and it can also be used in lower concentrations to reduce blood pressure. Diuretics are controlled in sports due to their ability to remove water from the body; this type of drug is mostly beneficial to athletes who are trying to make a weight class, ie boxing. If an athlete is meant to be in a middle class weight group and looses water to put him in a light weight class it gives him an unfair advantage over who he may be fighting. Diuretics can also be used to mask the effect anabolic steroids have on the body, as these steroids can cause the body to retain water. Diuretics have also been taken to try and cover drug usage when tests are carried out, as diuretics can control the excretion of water from the body they have been taken to try and dilute the concentration of other drugs in urine.v Beta-blockers are a primary therapeutic use in the fight against cardiovascular disease, but it was also found during treatment that these medicines stopped muscle tremors.vi This is of benefit to the sports of professional archery or shooting in the pentathlon and can also be used in snooker. The down side to this is the disadvantage it holds in activates that exert the body like long distance running, so to combat the use of beta-blocker so the officials of the pentathlon held the long distance running and shooting on the same day. However the athletes then started using beta-blockers with a shorter half life. Discussion The drugs used in sport all work to the same purpose which is to enhance ones performance in a specific event through non-natural means. Although all the drugs described work towards the same goal, they each work differently in the body on a cellular receptor level. In this section I will describe and discuss the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of some of these drugs. I will also look at the desired effects on the body and the unwanted effects as well as metabolism of drugs. Pharmacokinetics deals with the half life of drugs in the body, the metabolism and excretion of drugs from the body. Pharmacodynamics is how the drug produces its response, the receptors involved and where they may be located in the cell and what organs are affected by the drug in question. Pharmacokinetics The body is a very effective tool when it comes to transforming active chemicals into inactive ones. This process is done through the use of enzymes normally produced by the cells of the liver, but some other cells throughout the body are also used for metabolism. In relation to this topic metabolism is simple changes to an active chemical or drug into a safe metabolite which can then be excreted from the body.vii However metabolism does not always work this way, sometimes an active compound can be metabolized into another active compound which the same pharmacological effect with higher or lower potency or a completely different pharmacological effect. An active compound may also be changed into a toxic metabolite or an inactive drug can be activated. Drugs can be eliminated from the body through many means. The compounds can be passes through urine from the kidneys or in faeces from the rectum. They can also be passed from the bodys salivary glands as saliva, from the sweat glands, the pulmonary epithelium as exhaled gasses and from mammary glands in the form of mammary milk. The half life of a drug is the time taken for the concentration of a drug in your system to half; the half life varies from drug to drug. Normally a drug is taken at regular intervals to keep its concentration in the therapeutic level. Athletes however may only take one dose of the drug for their upcoming event. Pharmacodynamics Anabolic steroids bind to androgen receptors found in the prostate, skeletal muscle, the liver and the CNS. The highest expression level was observed in the prostate, adrenal gland and epididermis which were determined by real-time PCR reactions.viii The androgen receptors are located in the cytoplasm of a cell, which is why steroids have to be soluble compounds. Once testosterone or DHT binds to a receptor it is translocated to the nucleus. Androgen receptors are directly linked to the regulation of gene transcription, when a receptor is stimulated by testosterone it produces primary male characteristics by activating hormones in the wolffian duct. Wolffian ducts are embryonic structures which form the male internal genitalia.ix The secondary male characteristics such as hair follicles are a response to DHT binding to the androgen receptor; DHT is produced when 5-alpha-reductase acts on testosterone. One of the more common side effects of this drug is the inhibition of your own hormones. If more of a hormone is introduced into your body it will cause your body to react and produce less of the hormone. Other side effects include not being able to perform sexually, steroids can lead to an increase in LDLs (bad cholesterol), an increase in estrogen has also been observed which can lead to the development of breast tissue in men and steroids can also have a damaging effect on the liver. ?2-agonists as the name suggest work on ?2 adrenoceptors which are located on the cell membrane. When a ?2-agonist binds to a ?2 adrenoceptor it causes smooth muscle relaxation which in asthma sufferers dilates the airways and helps them to breathe normally, in athletes this allows them to take deeper breaths and inhale more oxygen which increases stamina and reduces fatigue. The major side effect from ?2-agonists is cardiac arrhythmia, this is due to an increased myocardial oxygen demand, ?2-agonists can also lead to angina in patients with coronary artery disease and tremors have also been observed. Narcotics are classed as opioids, which are any drug that produces morphine-like-effects, and bind to opioid receptors. Opioid recrptors are linked through G-proteins to inhibition of adenylate cyclase and facilitate the opening of Potassium channels which causes hyperpolarisation. This binding also inhibits the opening of calcium channels which inhibits transmitter release. The side effects of these drugs include respiratory depression, euphoria, sedation and dependence. There are three subcategories of opioid receptors, , ? and ? receptors. Pure opioid drugs have more of an affinity for receptors; this binding is what produces the euphoric effect of opioid drugs.xThe opioid receptors can be found both presynaptically and postsynaptically depending on the cell type. Receptors are mostly presynaptic in the periaqueductal grey region of the brain. These receptors can also be found in layers of the cerebral cortex and the intestinal tract. Diuretics are divided into two categories; loop diuretics which are of the most powerful and distal tubule diuretics. Normally less than 1% of sodium that is taken into the body is excreted but the use of loop diuretics causes fifteen to twenty percent of filtered sodium to be excreted with copious amounts of urine. Loop diuretics work by inhibiting sodium, potassium and chloride co-transporters in the thick ascending loop and increase potassium and calcium loss.xi The unwanted effects of this include dehydration and hypokalaemia (defined as a potassium level of less than 3.5 mEq/l). Beta-blockers attach to ? adrenoceptors on cells of the heart and produce no response in the cell. The body normally responds to stress by releasing lots of adrenaline which activates the bodies fight or flight response which is normally useful in the cases of being chased by a bear. Some athletes however have to keep their cool and take beta-blockers to stop this response from occurring.xii Athletes that require a steady hand for accurate aim in archery may be persuaded to take these. The undesired effects of this type of drug is it disallows your heart rate to increase, so if beta-blockers are taken before a race blood wont circulate oxygen around the body fast enough to maintain a fast pace. Conclusion From my research I can understand why some athletes may take performance enhancing drugs but I am not certain the short term gain outweighs the long term loss. Boxers who are a tiny bit heavy and have to go into a tougher weight class are understandably scared; they will be among the lightest in their class going up against bigger guys, where if they use diuretics and drop some water they become the bigger guys in a lower weight class. For some athletes they may be getting on in their career and want to end it with a win so they cheat in order to finish their career on a high. Athletes at the start of their career are out of their minds, to put it politely, to use these drugs because they have a whole career ahead of them to work on weakness in a natural way and better themselves each year until they achieve their victory. Is it not better to work hard at something and reap more self satisfaction knowing that you have trained hard and achieved your goal of your own doing without damaging your body, than to win a hollow victory through the use of drugs and then be disgraced when tests come back positive for drug use. All in all I think drugs should stay where they belong, in the hospitals where they are of most benefit to society. i World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) constitutive instrument of foundation, 1999, lausanne (www.wada-ama.org) ii Hormonal studies in klinefelters syndrome august 1974, C. Wang, H.W.G. Baker, D.M. DEKrester, B, Hudson iii International Olympic Charter against doping in sports, medical commission, IOC 1990 iv Drugs in sport fourth edition, 2005, David R. Mottram v The influence of diuretics on excretion and metabolism of doping agents, 1986, Delbeke FT, Debackere M vi Heart failure reviews, pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of beta-blockers in heart failure volume 9/issue 2 April 2004 , Springer Netherlands vii Drugs and the human body fifth edition 1996, Ken Liska viii The androgen receptor: a mediator of diverse response, 1996, Keller ET, Ershler WB, Chang C [pubmed] ix Regulation of wolffian duct development, 2007, Hannema SE, Hughes IA [pubmed] x A primer of drug action, A comprehensive guide to actions, uses and side effects of psychoactive drugs eleventh edition, 2007, Robert M. Julian, Clair D. Advokat, Joseph E. Comaty xi Rang and Dales pharmacology sixth edition, 2007, H.P. Rang, M. Maureen Dale, James M. Ritter xii Pharmacology fifth edition, 2003, H.P. Rang, M.M. Dale, J.M. Ritter, P.K. Moore

Comparative Advantages and Disadvantages

With China being a market of more than 1. 3 billion people, competition for this newly emerging market Is rich. The following brands are omitting In the Chinese market. 1. 3 National comparative advantage The theory of comparative advantage propagated by the classical economist David Richard proposes that a country attractiveness to foreign investment is determined by its inherent natural factors such as land, natural resources, labor, and the size of the local population.Michael Porter's Diamond of National Advantage extends the theory to propose that a nation can create new advanced factor endowments such as skilled labor, a strong technology and knowledge base, government support, and ultra. Kicker uses Porter's model here to determine the national comparative advantage. 1. 3. 1 Factor conditions China can offer quality products because of its comparatively cheap labor. China has become the location of choice for global manufacturing. This is usually attributed to its low wages.Ch inese factory workers today earn 50 cents to $2 an hour and often work long shifts, getting minimal time off for weekends and holidays. [Prosperity, 2005] Competitive Labor: China's workers are not Just inexpensive but literate, hard irking, already reasonably skilled and desperate to be trained. There is also a sizable and growing cadre of university-educated technologists and professionals. For example, China is now graduating 330,000 engineers and scientists annually, as compared with 398,622 for the United States [Prosperity, 2005].Abundant resources: Apart from competent and cheap human resources, China also boasts of huge natural resources. All the raw materials required for producing Kicker are easily available in China at very competitive prices. 1. 3. 2 Demand Conditions The demand for car audio is increasing rapidly in China, as already noted in a previous chapter. The demand has increased steadily, however, not from Kicker's current target market, which is the higher inco me earning group.The demand for Kicker products will stagnate if it does not lower its price to suit the needs of the upcoming middle class group. Growing market populations: China offers a huge market population of 1. 3 billion people. As seen earlier, the middle class car purchasing group, which is Kicker's new target group, is increasing phenomenally wing to national growth. 1. 3. 3 Related and Supporting Industries Kicker sources most of its raw materials from China, who are suppliers of global standard raw materials.Kicker can benefit from the existence of its support industries in China. 1. 3. 4 Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry Kicker is not a single player in the market. This is good because the existence of competition ensures that there is sufficient motivation for product innovation. It also indicates that the demand for foreign car audio exists in the market and has the potential to expand. All the factors together indicate that the time is ripe for Kicker to begin i ts operations in China. . 3. 5 Government attitude towards FED / foreign firms The biggest advantage for China is its open policies on foreign direct investments. China is attracting multinational companies by improving relevant policies to attract multinationals to invest in China [China's Absorption of Foreign Investment, n. D. ]. The efforts are paying off well, as indicated earlier, the phenomenal increase of over 142% in foreign direct investment from 1999 to 2003.

My First Sexual Experience - Original Writing - 1682 Words

D) My first sexual experience was when I was 18 and I lost my virginity by being raped. The guy (J) and I had met online and we went on a first date when it happened. Absolutely no romance was involved. I barely knew the guy. I was under the influence when it happened, and because of that I didn’t realize that it was rape for quite a while. It didn’t happen like they portray it in the movies. It wasn’t violent, I was constantly saying no, it wasn’t super forceful. I was under the influence, I was in no condition to consent and I was taken advantage of by a man six years older than me that knew I was a virgin. I repressed my feelings about it for a while. I regretted the entire situation and often felt guilty, and felt that it was my fault.†¦show more content†¦For a long time, I blamed myself for the situation because I had told him to put on a condom and I felt that was me consenting. But in reality, I knew that he was going to have sex with me r egardless and I was too drunk and scared to be able to say no and push him away. I didn’t tell anyone about it for a long time. I had my suspicions that it was rape but I didn’t start calling it that until I started going to therapy and told my story. My therapist told me that it was rape and I didn’t know how to process that. I kept it to myself for a while longer, knowing that if I let it out, I would get blamed for it and I was right. When I finally told my parents, they were angry. They had basically told me that I put myself in that situation. Like I said above, I was reckless with sex and had multiple sexual partners. My parents were more stuck on the fact that I had had a lot of sex rather than the reason behind it. Because in their minds, I was an out of control slut with no morals. They didn’t realize that I had gone through something traumatic and was trying to cope with it. 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Physics Fields and Disciplines of Study

Physics is the branch of science which is concerned with the nature and properties of non-living matter and energy that are not dealt with by chemistry or biology, and the fundamental laws of the material universe.  As such, it is a huge and diverse area of study. In order to make sense of it, scientists have focused their attention on one or two smaller areas of the discipline. This allows them to become experts in that narrow field, without getting bogged down in the sheer volume of knowledge that exists regarding the natural world. The Fields of Physics Physics is sometimes broken into two broad categories, based on the history of the science: Classical Physics, which includes studies that arose from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 20th century; and Modern Physics, which includes those studies which have been begun since that period. Part of the division might be considered scale: modern physics focuses on tinier particles, more precise measurements, and broader laws that affect how we continue to study and understand the way the world works. Another way to divide physics is applied or experimental physics (basically, the practical uses of materials) versus theoretical physics (the building of overarching laws as to how the universe works). As you read through the different forms of physics, it should become obvious that there is some overlap. For example, the difference between astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology can be virtually meaningless at times. To everyone, that is, except the astronomers, astrophysicists, and cosmologists, who can take the distinctions very seriously. Classical Physics Before the turn of the 19th century, physics concentrated on the study of mechanics, light, sound and wave motion, heat and thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. Classical physics fields that were studied before 1900 (and continue to develop and be taught today) include: Acoustics: The study of sound and sound waves. In this field, you study mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids. Acoustics includes applications for seismic waves, shock and vibration, noise, music, communication, hearing, underwater sound, and atmospheric sound. In this way, it encompasses earth sciences, life sciences, engineering, and the arts.Astronomy: The study of space, including the planets, stars, galaxies, deep space, and the universe. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences, using mathematics, physics, and chemistry to understand everything outside of the Earths atmosphere.Chemical Physics: The study of physics in chemical systems. Chemical physics focuses on using physics to understand complex phenomena at a variety of scales from the molecule to a biological system. Topics include the study of nano-structures or chemical reaction dynamics.Computational Physics: The application of numerical methods to solve physical problems for which a quantitative theory already exists.Electromagnetism: The study of electrical and magnetic fields, which are two aspects of the same phenomenon.Electronics: The study of the flow of electrons, generally in a circuit.Fluid Dynamics / Fluid Mechanics: The study of the physical properties of fluids, specifically defined in this case to be liquids and gases.Geophysics: The study of the physical properties of the Earth.Mathematical Physics: Applying mathematically rigorous methods to solving problems within physics.Mechanics: The study of the motion of bodies in a frame of reference.Meteorology / Weather Physics: The physics of the weather.Optics / Light Physics: The study of the physical properties of light.Statistical Mechanics: The study of large systems by statistically expanding the knowledge of smaller systems.Thermodynamics: The physics of heat. Modern Physics Modern physics embraces the atom and its component parts, relativity and the interaction of high speeds, cosmology and space exploration, and mesoscopic physics, those pieces of the universe that fall in size between nanometers and micrometers. Some of the fields in modern physics are: Astrophysics: The study of the physical properties of objects in space. Today, astrophysics is often used interchangeably with astronomy and many astronomers have physics degrees.Atomic Physics: The study of atoms, specifically the electron properties of the atom, as distinct from nuclear physics which considers the nucleus alone. In practice, research groups usually study atomic, molecular, and optical physics.Biophysics: The study of physics in living systems  at all levels, from individual cells and microbes to animals, plants, and entire ecosystems. Biophysics overlaps with biochemistry, nanotechnology, and bio-engineering, such as the derivation of the structure of DNA from X-ray crystallography. Topics can include bio-electronics, nano-medicine, quantum biology, structural biology, enzyme kinetics, electrical conduction in neurons, radiology, and microscopy.Chaos: The study of systems with a strong sensitivity to initial conditions, so a slight change at the beginning quickly become major changes in the system. Chaos theory is an element of quantum physics and useful in celestial mechanics.Cosmology: The study of the universe as a whole, including its origins and evolution, including the Big Bang and how the universe will continue to change.Cryophysics / Cryogenics /Low-Temperature Physics: The study of physical properties in low-temperature situations, far below the freezing point of water.Crystallography: The study of crystals and crystalline structures.High Energy Physics: The study of physics in extremely high energy systems, generally within particle physics.High-Pressure Physics: The study of physics in extremely high-pressure systems, generally related to fluid dynamics.Laser Physics: The study of the physical properties of lasers.Molecular Physics: The study of the physical properties of molecules.Nanotechnology: the science of building circuits and machines from single molecules and atoms.Nuclear Physics: The study of the physical properties of the atomic nucleus.Particle Physics: The study of fundamental particles and the forces of their interaction.Plasma Physics: The study of matter in the plasma phase.Quantum Electrodynamics: The study of how electrons and photons interact at the quantum mechanical level.Quantum Mechanics / Quantum Physics: The study of science where the smallest discrete values, or quanta, of matter and energy become relevant.Quantum Optics: The application of quantum physics to light.Quantum Field Theory: The application of quantum physics to fields, including the fundamental forces of the universe.Quantum Gravity: The application of quantum physics to gravity and unification of gravity with the other fundamental particle interactions.Relativity: The study of systems displaying the properties of Einsteins theory of relativity, which generally involves moving at speeds very close to the speed of light.String Theory / Superstring Theory: The study of the theory that all fundamental particles are vibra tions of one-dimensional strings of energy, in a higher-dimensional universe. Sources and Further Reading Simonyi, Karoly. A Cultural History of Physics. Trans. Kramer, David. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2012.Phillips, Lee. The Never-Ending Conundrums of Classical Physics. Ars Technica, August 4, 2014.Teixeira, Elder Sales, Ileana Maria Greca, and Olival Freire. The History and Philosophy of Science in Physics Teaching: A Research Synthesis of Didactic Interventions. Science Education 21.6 (2012): 771–96. Print.