Ingredients in Coke and Their Function

Ingredients in Coke and Their Function You probably know that once upon a time Coca-Cola or Coke contained cocaine. What you might not know is that the beverage is still flavored with an extract from the coca leaf and that the cocaine which is extracted from the leaves is sold for medicinal use. The Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which is sold to Mallinckrodt, the only US company that is licensed to purify cocaine. So... what are the other ingredients in Coke and what do they do? Coke contains a fairly short list of ingredients: Carbonated waterSugar (which can be sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup)CaffeinePhosphoric acid v. caramel (E150d)Natural flavorings (which include coca leaf extract) The purpose of the carbonated water and sugar is obvious, but you may be unaware caramel coloring is also an important flavoring agent... well, unless you ever tried the clear versions of Coke or Pepsi. Theres a good reason those never became popular. Caramel color is a soluble food coloring that is prepared by heat treating carbohydrates. The golden or brown liquid retains a bitter taste and burnt sugar odor. The caffeine is a stimulant, but also contributes a characteristic bitter flavor to the cola. The secret formula of the additional flavorings is known to two executives at Coca-Cola. The original copy of the formula is kept in Atlanta in the SunTrust Banks vault.

Amygdalas Location and Function

Amygdala's Location and Function The amygdala is an almond-shaped mass of nuclei (mass of cells) located deep within the temporal lobes of the brain. There are two amygdalae, one situated in each brain hemisphere. The amygdala is a limbic system structure that is involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those that are related to survival. It is involved in the processing of emotions such as fear, anger, and pleasure. The amygdala is also responsible for determining what memories are stored and where the memories are stored in the brain. It is thought that this determination is based on how huge an emotional response an event evokes. Amygdala and Fear The amygdala is involved in autonomic responses associated with fear and hormonal secretions. Scientific studies of the amygdala have led to the discovery of the location of neurons in the amygdala that are responsible for fear conditioning. Fear conditioning is an associative learning process by which we learn through repeated experiences to fear something. Our experiences can cause brain circuits to change and form new memories. For example, when we hear an unpleasant sound, the amygdala heightens our perception of the sound. This heightened perception is deemed distressing and memories are formed associating the sound with unpleasantness. If the noise startles us, we have an automatic flight or fight response. This response involves the activation of the sympathetic division of the peripheral nervous system. Activation of the nerves of the sympathetic division results in accelerated heart rate, dilated pupils, increase in metabolic rate, and increase in blood flow to the muscles. This activity is coordinated by the amygdala and allows us to respond appropriately to danger. Anatomy The amygdala is composed of a large cluster of around 13 nuclei. These nuclei are subdivided into smaller complexes. The basolateral complex is the largest of these subdivisions and is composed of the lateral nucleus, basolateral nucleus, and accessory basal nucleus. This nuclei complex has connections with the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. Information from the olfactory system is received by two separate groups of amygdaloid nuclei, the cortical nuclei, and medial nucleus. Nuclei of the amygdala also make connections with the  hypothalamus and brainstem. The hypothalamus is involved in emotional responses and helps to regulate the endocrine system. The brainstem relays information between the cerebrum and spinal cord. Connections to these areas of the brain allow amygdaloid nuclei to process information from sensory areas (cortex and thalamus) and areas associated with behavior and autonomic function (hypothalamus and brainstem). Function The amygdala is involved in several functions of the body including: ArousalAutonomic responses associated with fearEmotional responsesHormonal secretionsMemory Sensory Information The amygdala receives sensory information from the thalamus and from the cerebral cortex. The thalamus is also a limbic system structure and it connects areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in sensory perception and movement with other parts of the brain and spinal cord that also have a role in sensation and movement. The cerebral cortex processes sensory information obtained from vision, hearing, and other senses and is involved in decision-making, problem-solving, and planning. Location Directionally, the amygdala is located deep within the temporal lobes, medial to the hypothalamus and adjacent to the hippocampus. Amygdala Disorders Hyperactivity of the amygdala or having one amygdala that is smaller than the other has been associated with fear and anxiety disorders. Fear is an emotional and physical response to danger. Anxiety is a psychological response to something that is perceived as dangerous. Anxiety can lead to panic attacks that occur when the amygdala sends signals that a person is in danger, even when there is no real threat. Anxiety disorders that are associated with the amygdala include Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and social anxiety disorder. Sources Sah, P., Faber, E., Lopez De Armentia, L., Power, J. (2003). The Amygdaloid Complex: Anatomy and Physiology. Physiological Reviews, 83(3), 803-834. doi:10.1152/physrev.00002.2003

Tourism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Tourism - Research Paper Example Consequently, tourism is advantageous to any nation that desire growth. Countries should encourage tourism because it creates a significant amount of job opportunities, leads to economic growth, and enhance the preservation of cultural heritage. Tourism is among the sectors that create employment opportunities for people. The service nature of tourism is human resource intensive. As one of the globe’s leading job creators, it allows migrant workers, youth, and women to enter quickly into the workforce. About 250 million people, representing approximately eight percent of the world’s workforce, work in the tourism sector (Unep, 2011). According to United Nations Environmental Program (2011), fifty percent of the employees in the industry consist of people aged 25 years and below. It further says that women make up the majority of the tourist industry workers, which is between 60 and 70 percent. Developing countries greatly benefit from sustainable tourism investment as it helps in the creation of job opportunities especially for people that are poor. Apart from the creation of direct job opportunities, there is evidence of the sector creating many indirect employment opportunities. Indirect jobs grow in segment s that lean towards the natural environment and local culture. It is estimated that about one and a half indirect jobs spring from one job in the primary tourism industry. Examples of indirect workers that a person working in the hotel can create may include travel agency staff, taxi drivers, guides, food suppliers, textile workers, gardeners, souvenir shop staff, laundry workers, and airport employees. Developing sustainable tourism can further increase employment opportunities since it allows people to work on water, energy, and waste services. The relationships enhance multiple workplace situations such as part-time, full-time, casual, temporal, and seasonal jobs. Tourism is thus an