ACDC (medicine)

Arterial calcification due to deficiency of CD73 (ACDC) is a rare genetic disorder that causes calcium buildup in the arteries and joints of the hands and feet, and other areas below the waist. Although patients exhibiting these symptoms have been identified as early as 1914, this disorder had not been studied extensively until recently. The identification of the specific ACDC gene and mutations occurred in 2011. ACDC is caused by a mutation in the NT5E gene, which prevents calcium-removing agents from functioning,. Patients afflicted with this mutation suffer from chronic pain, difficulty moving, and increased risk of cardiovascular problems. In experiments at the molecular level, treatment with adenosine or a phosphatase inhibitor reversed and prevented calcification, suggesting they could be used as possible treatment methods. There is currently no cure for ACDC, and patients have limited treatment options which focus primarily on removal of blood calcium and improving mobility.

Medicine

Medicine (British English ⁱ/ˈmɛdsᵻn/; American English ⁱ/ˈmɛdᵻsᵻn/) is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The word medicine is derived from Latin medicus, meaning "a physician". Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.

Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.

Medicine has existed for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge) frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher and physician would apply bloodletting according to the theories of humorism. In recent centuries, since the advent of science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science). While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.

History of medicine

This article deals with medicine as practiced by trained professionals from ancient times to the present. Early medical traditions include those of Babylon, China, Egypt and India. The Greeks went even further, introducing the concepts of medical diagnosis, prognosis, and advanced medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath, still taken (although significantly changed from the original) by doctors up to today, was written in Greece in the 5th century BCE. In the medieval age, surgical practices inherited from the ancient masters were improved and then systematized in Rogerius's The Practice of Surgery. Universities began systematic training of physicians around the years 1220 in Italy. During the Renaissance, understanding of anatomy improved, and the microscope was invented. The germ theory of disease in the 19th century led to cures for many infectious diseases. Military doctors advanced the methods of trauma treatment and surgery. Public health measures were developed especially in the 19th century as the rapid growth of cities required systematic sanitary measures. Advanced research centers opened in the early 20th century, often connected with major hospitals. The mid-20th century was characterized by new biological treatments, such as antibiotics. These advancements, along with developments in chemistry, genetics, and lab technology (such as the x-ray) led to modern medicine. Medicine was heavily professionalized in the 20th century, and new careers opened to women as nurses (from the 1870s) and as physicians (especially after 1970). The 21st century is characterized by highly advanced research involving numerous fields of science.

Shamanism

Shamanism (/ˈʃɑːmən/ SHAH-mən or /ˈʃeɪmən/ SHAY-mən) is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.

The word "shaman" probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. According to ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen, "the word is attested in all of the Tungusic idioms" such as Negidal, Lamut, Udehe/Orochi, Nanai, Ilcha, Orok, Manchu and Ulcha, and "nothing seems to contradict the assumption that the meaning 'shaman' also derives from Proto-Tungusic" and may have roots that extend back in time at least two millennia. The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552. The term "shamanism" was first applied by western anthropologists to the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols, as well as those of the neighboring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking peoples. Upon learning more about religious traditions across the world, some anthropologists began to also use the term to describe unrelated magico-religious practices found within the ethnic religions of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas, as they believed these practices to be similar to one another.

ACDC

ACDC may refer to:

Battle Tendency

Battle Tendency (戦闘潮流, Sentō Chōryū) is the second story arc of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 1989. As it is the second part of the series, the 69 chapters pick up where the first left off and are numbered 45 to 113, with the tankōbon volumes numbered 6 to 12. It was preceded by Phantom Blood and followed by Stardust Crusaders. In its original publication, it was referred to as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2 Joseph Joestar: His Proud Lineage (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 第二部 ジョセフ・ジョースター ―その誇り高き血統, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Dai Ni Bu Josefu Jōsutā Sono Hokoritakaki Kettō).

Battle Tendency was adapted in the 2012 television anime adaptation by David Production between December 7, 2012 and April 5, 2013.

Plot

The second arc takes place in 1938 and follows Joseph Joestar, the grandson of Jonathan Joestar, living in New York with his grandmother Erina. Joseph seems to have inherited the power of the Hamon, as he has a natural ability to use it. When old family friend Robert E. O. Speedwagon is reported dead in Mexico, Joseph takes it on himself to go check it out. His curiosity is piqued when he is attacked in New York City by Speedwagon's former ally-turned-foe Straizo, who has used the stone mask upon himself to become a vampire. After an intense battle, Straizo reveals to Joseph that a mysterious "Man in the Pillar" is about to be awakened before proceeding to kill himself by creating a Hamon within his own body. When he goes to Mexico he discovers a secret underground facility where the Nazis are trying to revive a man who seems to have been trapped in a stone pillar for 2,000 years. Here Joseph meets the Nazi Rudol von Stroheim.