Emily Walak Essays (1231 words) - Medicine, Clinical Medicine

Emily Walak DSP 350 Dr. Thompson Final Paper DATE \@ "d MMMM yyyy" 20 April 2018 The Effects of Caffeine Caffeine is a drug that can be found in seeds, nuts, and leaves in a number of plants in South America and East Asia. It dates as far back as the Stone Age when, some anthropologists believe, the first caffeinated beverage could have been created, based on cave drawings. People use caffeine for many things; including suppressing appetite, protecting against common diseases or even some cancers, and of course, staying awake when tired. Whether one is drinking green tea or an espresso, they are ingesting caffeine. The safest average dose of caffeine is about 400 mg per day. That is about three 8 oz cups of coffee, five 8 oz Red Bulls, or eight 8 oz cups of black tea. On the flip side, caffeine becomes toxic at about 10 grams, which is about 75 cups of coffee. That's a lot of coffee. Caffeine has many positive side effects when taken in moderation, however one must be careful because caffeine can also lead to excessive overuse, dependence, and unwanted negative side effects. To understand the full effect of caffeine, one must understand what happens in the brain when caffeine is ingested. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that slows down cellular activity. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, which means there is no slow down of activity. Since the nerve cells are stimulated, they release adrenaline. The adrenaline release increases levels of dopamine. Overall, caffeine's effect on the brain is a feeling of alertness, a boost in physical energy, and a feeling of pleasure. Fredholm, Battig, Holmen, Nehlig, and Zvartau, (1999) write about this in the article "Actions of Caffeine in the Brain with Special Reference to Factors that Contribute to its Widespread Use." In this article there are studies done to try to explain why people ingest caffeine based on its different effects on the brain. He concludes that people ingest caffeine to increase motor behavior, improve mood, increase information processing and performance, delay the onset of sleep, and elevate clear-headedness under conditions of pain (Fredholm et al., 1999, p. 83). Xu, Xu, Chen, and Schwarzschild (2010) pose another article that reports on the positive effects of caffeine. Xu et al. present the research supporting the claim that caffeine intake reduces the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. In this study, experiments performed on mice using different metabolites found in caffeine show that caffeine has a neuroprotective effect on the mouse model of Parkinson's disease when administered in the right conditions (Xu et al., 2010, p. 475-481). That's not all, however. Lipton et al. (2008) write about another instance when caffeine is used to help people. Lipton et al. conducted a study on patients suffering from migraines, who met the international Headache Society's criteria for migraines. They tested the effectiveness of the combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine in reducing migraine occurrences and symptoms. The conclusion of the study is that the combin ation of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine is highly effective. It not only treats migraine headache pain, but it also alleviates common symptoms associated with migraine attacks in a safe way. Caffeine is a huge reason why the combination is so successful (Lipton et al., 2008). These are only a few of the ways that caffeine helps people functionally and medically. All of these are positive side effects of caffeine when taken in moderation. Ingesting too much caffeine will have very different effects. Everything is good in moderation, especially caffeine, however overuse of caffeine can cause serious side effects as well as dependence. The article "Caffeine Use Disorder: A Comprehensive Review and Research Agenda" by Meredith, Juliano, Hughes, and Griffiths (2013) reviewed literature that showed evidence of the behavioral and physiological effects of caffeine that were similar to the effects of other drugs of dependence. Some of these effects were subjective effects, reinforcement, conditioned taste preference, withdrawal, and tolerance. They also reviewed clinical evidence for caffeine use disorder. This evidence included the DSM-IV Substance Dependence criteria applied to caffeine. The three criteria they looked at were the: (1) persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control caffeine use, (2) continued caffeine use despite knowledge of having a persistent or

Best Consulting Firms for MBAs

Best Consulting Firms for MBAs Consulting is a popular career path for business graduates. Many graduates love the idea of providing professional advice for a fee. They also like the salary that comes along with a job at a consulting firm. Consulting is one of the highest paying career paths that an MBA can pursue. If you are interested in a career as a consultant, there are a few consulting firms that you should explore prior to graduation. Parthenon-EY Parthenon-EY offers clients strategy consultancy. They tailor their services to the client and are always on the lookout for top talent. Parthenon-EY pays top dollar to recruit the best and brightest. New MBA graduates who are lucky enough to get a job at Parthenon-EY earn a base annual salary of $170,000. Generous signing bonuses ($35,000) and performance bonuses (up to $9,000) are also available. This makes  Parthenon-EY the highest paying consulting firm for new MBAs. McKinsey Company McKinsey Company is one of the big three consulting firms; the other two are Bain Company and Boston Consulting Group. Collectively, the three are known as MBB.  The New York Times has called McKinsey   Company  the most prestigious management consultancy in the world. So, it should come as no surprise that this management  consulting firm attracts a lot of new MBA graduates. Part of the allure of this company is the  salary offered to new employees. McKinsey Company pays a base salary of $152,500. New employees also receive a sign-on bonus of $25,000 and have a chance to earn performance bonuses up to $35,000. Strategy Strategy is also a global consulting firm with offices around the world. They have large clients in every industry. According to a recent report from Glassdoor,  Strategy is the second-highest paying employer in the United States. They recruit heavily at top business schools and offer a base annual salary of $150,000. New hires also get a $25,000 sign-on bonus and can earn almost $35,000 in performance bonuses. L.E.K. Consulting L.E.K. is a global consulting firm. They have offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. They are widely considered to be one of the best consulting firms for MBAs. L.E.K. is always looking for new MBA graduates who are well-versed in mergers and acquisitions, corporate  strategy and operations. MBA grads can expect a base salary of $150,000, a sign-on bonus of $25,000 and performance bonuses up to $25,000. DeloitteSO Deloitte  SO is a well-known strategy and operations consulting firm. About 10 years ago, Business Week named Deloitte  SO one of the best places to launch a career, and since then, they have been ranked as one of the most in-demand employers in the world by LinkedIn. Deloitte  SO offers a base salary of $149,000, a sign-on bonus of $25,000 and performance bonuses up to $37,250. What sets them apart from some of the other consulting firms is the fact that Deloitte  SO  likes to reward their returning interns. An intern who works at Deloitte  SO and returns after graduation gets an additional  $17,500  in their sign-on bonus as well as reimbursement for their full 2nd year of MBA tuition; thats a big deal for any MBA student with large student loans. Bain Company As mentioned earlier,  Bain Company  is one of the big three consulting firms. They are considered a very desirable employer, and they are always seeking new MBAs who have experience with  mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy, finance, and operations. Knowledge of restructuring is also helpful. Like the other large consulting firms, Bain Company offers a high base salary, a sign-on bonus and performance bonuses. The base salary is $148,000. The sign-on bonus is $25,000. And the performance bonus is up to $37,000.   Boston Consulting Group No list of the best consulting firms for MBAs would be complete without Boston Consulting Group  (BCG). They have offices around the world, and their clients include more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. Boston Consulting Group often ranks rather high on the list of  100 Best Companies to Work For put out by Fortune. BCG offers a base salary of  $147,000 a more-generous-than-normal sign-on bonus of $30,000 and performance bonuses up to $44,100.  When you combine all of these figures, Boston Consulting Group becomes one of the highest paying employers for new MBA graduates.   Salary Data The salary data in this article  was obtained from ManagementConsulted.com, a company that compiles salary data collected from their readers, industry insiders, and other sources.