Preserving Water is Preserving Life Essay

There are various resources that the Earth provides its inhabitants, but the most important natural resource is water. However, despite the fact that water is an irreplaceable natural resource, humans tend to abuse without knowing the implications. It is necessary to save water not only because it is a very manageable resource (Padmavathy & Malarvizhi, 2006), but also because of the fact that water provides life to every living thing on Earth. Without it, life cannot be sustained: humans can survive weeks without food, but without water, they will only be able to survive for a few days. Apart from this, water also sustains the growth of life in forests, jungles which are the habitats of other species. Unfortunately, as much as the world would like to believe that nature’s resources would last forever, such is not possible. Water is a finite source, and only about 0. 024% of all the water resources in the world is accessible, while the rest of the world’s water supply consists of oceans and inaccessible freshwater in the deep earth (Dauvergne, 2005). Humans, animals, and plant life will not be able to subsist without water; plant life would not be able to grow, and animals which eat plants will not have any food supply. These animals will deplete in numbers, they will devastate the food chain and bigger animals which eat these animals will also lose their food supply. If animals continue to thin in numbers, they would eventually become endangered, and unfortunately, it is possible that they may become instinct. In order to preserve life on Earth, every individual should have the initiative to save water. There is a need to educate people of the implications of losing freshwater on Earth, for the first step to understanding would be education. If people pitch in and do their part for the preservation of water, life on Earth may have a chance in subsisting for generations. References Dauvergne, P. (2005). Handbook of global environmental politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgas Publishing Limited. Padmavathy, S. & Malarvizhi. (2006). Conservation of protected water resource in household. In G. Chandrakumar & N. Mukundan, Water resource management: Thrust and

Financial assets are made up of securities

Financial assets are made up of securities, stocks and derivatives. These are claims to the cash flow generated by real, tangible assets which are the lands, buildings and machineries we use. These pieces of paper are how citizens of highly developed countries increase their wealth. Wealth generation involves risk, for no business activity is certain to provide returns. Financial markets allow investors to participate in money-making ventures without being physically present in the project site.Most risk tolerant individuals prefer stocks, for it has the potential to yield very high returns, while conservative ones go for bonds which provides a steady, fixed income. In this activity, stock trading is the main focus. Objectives Just like any investor, generating cash flow was the primary goal. The amount of cash to be gained from trading should compensate the risk undertaken. The goal was to achieve steady growth. The expected was return is 40%. After setting the required return, a po rtfolio strategy was chosen.Assets were then selected which would comprise the efficient portfolio– provides the highest return for a given level of risk. Fundamental analysis was the method used to pick the stocks. Diversification was another tactic used to maximize return while spreading the risk. Construct a portfolio Portfolio construction was a tedious task. I had to weigh the risk and returns, and sometimes, to trust my gut feel. Stock prices, as studies have shown follow a random walk movement. The approach used was a top-down portfolio construction. A portfolio is basically a collection of investment assets.The type of assets to be held was first determined. It was then followed by security analysis to pick out the stocks deemed profitable. Diversification was one principle used in choosing the stocks. It simply meant that equities from different industries were held in the portfolio so that risk exposure was limited. Shares from the software industry (RIMM, JAVA), ar ms(SWHC), pharmaceutical (GERN), computer (PALM), insurance (HUM), health care(HMA), power (FL), SAM, metals and mining(AUY, AA) ,oil and gas(IEO), index fund(SWPIX), cement(CX),AXP Asset Analysis Fundamental analysis was mainly used in the decisions undertaken.This approach uses earnings and dividend prospects of the firm, expectations of future interest rates, and risk evaluation of the firm to determine proper stock prices. It relies on the company's financial health indicators. The stocks’ annual growth rate, quarterly earnings records, and P/E (price-to-earnings) ratios were measured. Historical data was also used. One such statistic is the EPS, or earnings-per-share ranking. PALM stocks were bought since the firm’s return on investment was stated at 2470. 70%. Also, on the day that it was traded, it was lower priced. Smith and Weson, SWHC had a P/E ratio of 5. 50%, an ROE of 19.7%. Thus, a total of 4000 shares of SWCH were bought. Alcoa, or AA’s ROE was 16 . 20%. Its EBITDA was 5. 45 B. Meanwhile, its P/E ratio was 11. 60 and its annual dividend was at . 68 per share. Alcoa looks financially healthy, but was expensive, so only 1000 shares were purchased. Similarly, FPL’s ROE was 14. 6%. Its P/E ratio was 12. 7%. Its EBITDA was 4. 47 B. The market values FPL shares highly. But, I found it unsmart to invest in highly valued stocks, because market perceptions fluctuate wildly. Thus, I only acquired 700 shares of FPL. RIMM had an ROE of 30. 60%. Its P/E ratio was 50%. For me, RIMM shares were really costly.In fact, it was has the highest cost per share in my portfolio. But I was attracted to its financial forecast. Furthermore, its 52 week high was at $148 so I found the $80 per share enticing. I thus bought 1000 shares from RIMM. HUM had an ROE of 19. 9% and a P/E ratio of 18. 00. It was quite overpriced, so I only bought 1000 shares. HMA was the lowest priced stock in my portfolio. But, I decided to purchase it believing that dem and for health care services will increase in the near future. CX, compared with its competitor, Heidelberg cement had higher earnings and historically displayed returns higher than the market average.I bought 1000 shares. I also bought SWPIX, an index fund as a comparison for the return of my trading activities. Event Selection One of the most remarkable news was the launching of PALM’s Pre. With the belief that the Pre will be hot in the market, just like Apple’s I-pod, I bought 4,000 shares from PALM. I deem that the future value of PALM will increase more than two-fold once the Pre is introduced. The hype will push the price of its stock. Thereafter, I can sold my shares at a profit. In addition, the popularity of smart phones, or phones which serve more than just talking devices was forecasted to increase steadily in the near future.Aside from purchasing PALM stocks, I decided to buy shares from BlackBerry’s maker, RIMM. News of the global swine flu outbrea k prompted me to purchase HMA shares. HMA , a healthcare provider would have more profits if the flu would become widespread. In addition, Citigroup upgraded HMA shares from hold to buy. Meanwhile, the news on the pending sale of JAVA drove me to sell my 1000 shares. Monster stocks which were identified two weeks in a row included AUY. The information urged me to buy 3000 shares of AUY.

My extraordinary leadership lessons from an ordinary experience

When I was at grade school, I placed special reverence to teachers. I specially admire their power over their students: the way they make them seated properly in their designated seating arrangements, the way they let them enter and leave the room in a file and the simple way of making each student to greet them even outside the school campus. There were times when I also dreamed of being a teacher when I finished school for one good reason: I wanted to lead. As I grew older, I have learned that teaching profession is not as easy as what I thought it was. As a joined school and community activities, I have learned that holding positions in organizations makes a lot of sense in terms of leadership training. I also learned that leading does not always take intelligence, energy and time and that being a leader does not in anyway make anyone greater than the ones being led. Leadership rather takes the whole personality of a person, including his heart, his mind and his soul. Leadership is not all about power; it’s about love and concern. With this ordinary experience, I will prove that the leader and the follower in its sense are ordinary participants in the game of life where everyone is regarded equal. My experience will prove that by being a protà ©gà ©, one will be able to prepare himself to be a good leader someday. I was raised in a conservative family; conservative in a sense that my family has countless rules and regulations set for us children. When it’s a rule, conformity has to be no more, no less. At home, the power lies in the hands of my strict father. House rule says no one has to be outside the house when it’s already dark. House rules say everyone has to around the table when it’s dinner time, no talking, and most of all, eat whatever food is prepared. When my father says â€Å"you’re wrong†, don’t dare to question his judgment and don’t ever dare to speak a word to explain and to defend yourself. Until I entered high school, there’s nothing I know about leadership but power. I studied really hard because father wants me to have good grades. So no one can blame me if I see leadership as having the power to make others fear you. Not until I was asked to join a stage play and have the courage to try, that these views on leadership have all changed. The organizers were meticulously picking the players. Actors and actresses were selected from different levels and when the final list came out, I was really glad to find my name there. But no, I was not one of the stage actresses. I will be part of the play as the narrator, and yes, I chose to play that part. It may sound really weird for some because people often desire to be at the lime light. It is but common for anyone to grab the opportunity of having his or her abilities and talents be shown to many. If there be exemption to this common life scene, I am an exemption. I chose to stay behind the stage because I am afraid to ruin the presentation in the event that I forget my lines. My family training developed me into a well-behaved individual, but it also deprived me of learning how it is to be outside my own home. I was locked in the house all my childhood life so I was not able to develop my social skills. I was raised to be a loner, and so I lived that kind of life until I entered high school. My family training deprived me of the opportunity to gain self-confidence. That is maybe the reason why I chose to be behind the scenes of the stage play. What made me choose to play as a narrator is my stage fright. I lack the confidence of bringing myself in front of many people. I hate being in a place where I am noticeable. I am weird, they say. Yes, I am. I am afraid to make a mistake, so I chose to just narrate since I have something in my hand to read. During rehearsals, I often got insulted by the trainor for my poor diction. There were many times when I was threatened to be replaced by someone who could do better than I do. Few days have passed and yet the trainor still told me I have not yet improved. I felt like I am the least performer in group. I have the least coaching time while I had the most naggings and silly words swallowed during the practice. I was then planning to quit but I was halted by the thought that my father would not surely like the idea of his daughter giving up. I have to continue, I have to strive more. I have to make sure my trainer will not replace me when he got fed up of nagging at me. One rehearsal session made all things in my mind changed. The trainer gathered all the stage play participants, including the support group. He has to make some announcements on some little changes on the script and on the planned stage set-up. We were all gathered in the gym, with the trainer’s microphone as loud and clear so that anyone will surely hear what he has to say. He asked the group to make the best of every session as the play is as important as the name of the school. We have to make sure that everything will turn out fine and excellent in the night of the performance. He told the main characters that they are the one who will face the audience and should therefore have the assurance of performing very well. He told the support group that even if they only play as backgrounders, they are great contributors to the success of the presentation. He said the play will not be as beautiful as it is supposed to be when the facilities, especially the sounds and the lights are not properly set-up. He then called me up and said that I am holding an important role in the play. He said that as the narrator, I am the one who will bring life to the scenes that are not to be played on stage but are important in bringing out the essence of the story. He told me that I am not in anyway the least of the group because I have in my hands the responsibility of connecting every scene in the play. I am, in its essence the light of the dark spots in the story. WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED ABOUT MYSELF My energy from that day seemed to have been refueled. I strived really hard by reading my lines over and over again, day and night. I realized that I am not in anyway the least of the group, nor I am to let myself be the least performer. My life has never been this busy and meaningful until I started gaining my self-confidence. To believe in yourself in not what others call pride but it is a thing that I believe a personal need. I have learned that everyone has his own talent, ability and skill that is innate in him. That precious thing in a person just needs to be discovered and be used to meaningful activities. HOW THE EXPERIENCE STRENGTHENED MY SELF-LEADERSHIP SKILLS I have learned that every person has a unique way of discovering his abilities. Some just naturally show up. There are some that need to be tapped, some need digging up, and there are those which require pain and suffering before their talents are squeezed up. Having these facts, I have learned that mentors, teachers, trainers and anyone who manage people have their own style of handling things. If they choose to be generous and considerate, they have all good reasons of doing so. If mentors choose to be strict and display their strong personalities, they all the valid reasons to do so. What I have most importantly learned in my experience is that teachers, mentors and even parents all wanted their students, their subordinated and their children to learn the vital lessons of life: that is, to bring out the best out of them. I have realized that my trainer chose to be too strict to me because he wanted me to strive harder. He did not mean to frighten me, not he did want to make me feel that he did not like me. Since that day, my trainer eventually noticed and commended the improvements on my performance. He told me that I have already gained the confidence that he long been wanting me to bring out. He told me that loners like me are not at all hard to handle. Like him, loners need encouragement like what he did. HOW THE EXPERIENCE IMPROVED MY INTERPERSONAL SKILLS Since the school play, I have not yet had the guts of joining activities which require a lot of public exposure. I did join more activities and have chosen the same roles. I did so not because I was not able to learn and apply what my trainer have taught us. It is because I have learned that leadership need not to be as publicly done as many think it is. I have learned fro, that experience that leadership is not all about taking a post, having an official designation and handling people. I have learned that leadership begins when one was able to conquer his fears in life. Leadership begins by leading your own life and let others see the difference when you come out of your own shell. I have learned that extraordinary lessons in life are learned by paying attention to little things in ordinary life experiences. When one has to learn, he has to experience pain and sufferings before glory comes in his hands. My journey in life did not go that smooth and easy. It took me to endure insults and discouragements. But all of these are part of training and I believe, every tear shed and every sweat that comes out of my body is worth the lessons of leadership. AN EVALUATION OF MY PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS After the activity, I have never been a loner. I still did not have the guts of doing public appearances but I did improve on handling people who work as supports. It was not because this is all I can do but because I chose to do it, and this is what makes me happy. I feel that by doing so, I am able to give my best and that in this area where my talents and skills are best utilized. HOW THE EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN A VALUABLE EXPERIENCE TO ME Now I understand why my father has to lock us up in the house all day long during weekends. Now I understand why we have to behave well during dinner. Now I understand why I have to bring out my books and notes even after school and at night after meal. Now I understand why father deprived us of reasoning out at him. Like all parents, father wants us his children to be raised as well-behaved individuals. He just wants us to learn that childhood life is not all about eating and playing matters. He has been this strict because he wanted to show us the realities of life. Sometimes, it really takes to deprive someone of common and ordinary things in order to gain the extraordinary lessons of life. By my father’s way of training us, I have learned that leadership is not all about fear, but obedience. Leadership is not all about power, but respect. If they have not handled me this way, I am afraid that I was not able to reach my status in life now. The experience has been a valuable event in my life that whatever life takes me, I will surely look back to the time when I was in that time of my life, trying to grasp the valuable lessons of life.                  

Sea world orlando Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sea world orlando - Essay Example The park is highly popular as tourist spot for children and adults alike. The theme based marine park has contributed to the environment conservation and preservation mainly through its adventure trips and exhibitions of wild lives of ocean. The highlights of the park are its killer whale; seal and dolphin display; adventure rides like wild arctic, Shamu happy harbor, journey to Atlantis; shows, exhibits; and wild life experience with killer whale, penguins, dolphins and other marine lives. The exhilarating ride and breathtaking shows keep the visitors entranced. Some of the rides like Shamu are thrilling in their experience as they take the riders under the oceans to have a close animal encounter. The various adventure camps and programs are especially helpful in creating deep awareness of the ocean wild life creatures as many of them encourage interaction with the sea animals. The friendly penguins and playful dolphins serve dual purpose of entertaining visitors and creating awareness amongst them. The normal hours from October 6, 2011 would be from 9 a.m to 6

Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 10

Reflection Paper - Essay Example sues of division of powers between the federal government and the state governments have been debated and amended all along since the republic was founded. Nevertheless, the powers of the federal government have remained on the top and ever increasing since the civil war period (Baumer & Van, 1989). However, there has been success in the actions undertaken by the congress and constitution interpretation to control the powers of the federal government. The philosophy of applying checks and balances has been the base for the success and the stance of the federal government. The congress has the powers of making laws, while the presidency has the veto powers in any legislative act. Additionally, the president has the powers to nominate judges of the Supreme Court, though they have to be verified by the congress. The Supreme Court has the powers to overturn any law that has been passed by the legislature. The essay seeks to describe and reflect on the current status of the key institutions of the federal government, namely; the presidency and the congress (Marshal &William, 2008). The executive branch is also known as the presidency. The federal government powers are bestowed on the president of the United States. The presidency is made up of the cabinet, the vice president, president and other officials, who the president delegates the powers to (Baumer& Van, 1989). The United States president has a unitary executive theory that is provided by the American constitution. The unilateral executive enables the president to have the power to control the whole executive branch. The provision is found in the Article Two of the United States Constitution. The powers that are bestowed by the constitution are universally agreed with the citizens of the United States of America. Nevertheless, these powers have for long faced criticism. In my point of view, they are dangerous and inappropriately granted. The separation of the powers among the various arms of the government

Choose ANY project from the pre-modern (pre-1750) period Essay

Choose ANY project from the pre-modern (pre-1750) period - Essay Example The need to construct the Suez Canal therefore became imperative with the growing need for quick transportation to facilitate trade and human transport. A French company took the initiative of constructing the canal and obtained a 99 year concession for the canal. Thereafter, the Suez Canal Company was established with much funding obtained from Europe. Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained the concession in 1854 from Egypt and Sudan in order to build the canal (Farnie 58). He brought together a team of thirteen experts who were to be in charge of overseeing the construction of the canal. Indeed, myriad challenges were anticipated and it was expected that these challenges would be addressed in the course of the process. Surveys were done in Egypt and most of the discussions and deliberations were conducted in Paris. A final unanimous report for the construction was therefore produced detailing all the relevant aspects of the canal that would create any relevance at that time and in the future. The real construction work began at Port Said in Egypt on 25th April 1859 (Karabell 89). In order to provide the much needed labor that was necessary for the excavation work, forced labor was effectively used. Sources estimate that at any given time, up to 30,000 people were working on the project. It is further estimated that a total of 1.5 million, at one time or another, actually worked on the project. Challenges often abound in this process. The excavation work was very difficult and so many workers died in the process. The desert conditions where the workers did most of their work were never favorable in any way for such kind of work. Despite the imperative need for the canal, the British government had always opposed the whole idea behind the canal from the outset. In the course of the project, the British government totally opposed the use of slaves as the main source of labor for the construction of the canal.

Skills Of Scholar-Practitioners Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Skills Of Scholar-Practitioners - Assignment Example In order to perform the last stage, critical thinking, it is relevant to take part in coursework and writing, thus enabling me to become a connoisseur in my field. Academic writing enables me to better analyze and evaluate relevant information of my field and develop my personal critical reflections based on the latest developments in the modern researchers and studies. Professional communication is triggered once a person is able to identify relevant information for discussion, remember and understand it and further on discuss it with other scientists because the truth is born of arguments (Bell 2007, p. 55). With the help of modern technologies and the Internet web, it is possible to develop proficient searches in different fields. Online libraries and databases are fertile grounds for further improvements and scholar-practitioner skills’ application. In order to advance by basic and proficient skills of a scholar-practitioner, I am going to:1) Outline relevant databases for my research field;2) Evaluate and analyze information available from online and printed sources;3) Remember and understand it;4) Use smart think, the writing center, communicate with faculty members and colleagues for support. Moreover, in order to penetrate into depths of scholar-practitioner skills and information search strategies, I am going to go up the ladder of Paul and Elder’s six stages for developing a good habit of thought. Currently, I am at stage four: The Practicing thinker.

Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Philosophy - Assignment Example Through this statement, we are able to know that human beings are superior when compared to animals, i.e. pigs (Hamilton, 73). Furthermore, through this statement, we are able to know that within human being, there are classes, and this class is between the wise and the fools. Socrates is a well respected philosopher, and he is considered as one of the wisest men, to have ever lived, and therefore, through this statement, Mills uses him as a symbol of wisdom. The principle of utility denotes that the behaviors or actions of people are right and good, only if they are able to promote the pleasure or happiness of an individual. This principle further denotes that the actions or behavior of people are unjust, if they are able to produce pain, or unhappiness. As a human being, there are instances whereby I have been faced with the moral dilemma (Troyer, 12). An example is a circumstance, when I was in a restaurant, and unfortunately, I had forgotten to carry my wallet with, which consisted of money. I ordered food, with the knowledge that I would pay, but unfortunately, I realized that I had no money, and a wallet had just fallen down, and the owner did not realize it. This situation, was a dilemma to me, because I had two choices, the first choice is to pick the wallet, remove money, and pay for my bill, while the second option was to pick the wallet and return to the owner (Troyer, 12). While analyzing these options, I had to choose an opt ion, that would make us both happy, my-self, and the owner of the wallet, and this option was to return the wallet. Utility appears in this sense, when I was able to act rightly, satisfying my conscious, and the happiness of the owner of the wallet, when I returned it to him. This theory denotes that workers will lose the control of their lives, and this is because of the loss of control over the work that they are doing. Therefore, a worker ceases

Alone Together by Sherry Turkle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Alone Together by Sherry Turkle - Essay Example Subjects in this study preferred the company of robots from that of other people or their pets. The author captures our dependence on the internet by the incalculable time we spent on social media, text messaging, Blogspots and email. We use our icons and archetypes to share experiences in virtual worlds, communicate through instant messengers and email and publish news on blogs. All the while yearning for the delayed replies, ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ that accompany such posts. The result is a population of constantly distracted individuals who hang on to their electronic devices being aloof their immediate environment (Turkle). An expert in her field, Sherry Turkle is a professor of Social Science and Technology and a licensed Clinical Psychologist (Turkle). She spent fifteen years of quality research to compile this book. It is an accurate representation of day-to-day activities in our households, schools, communities and workplaces and therefore not a misguided rant of an alarmist

Identify the artifacts produced on the images during CT scans.describe Essay

Identify the artifacts produced on the images during CT scans.describe the method used to reduce or remove these artifacts - Essay Example ion, movement of patients during the scanning process or presence of metals on the body, problems with the scanner or during the reconstruction process (Barrett & Keat, 2004). The various types of artifacts and the methods used for reducing their occurrence are discussed below. The most common physics-based artifact is beam hardening which is caused due to differential absorption of low and high energy photons of an x-ray beam as it passes through an object. Such beam hardening phenomena can give rise to cupping and streaking or dark band artifacts. Cupping artifacts arise when the x-rays passing through the middle portion of an object become hardened which causes a reduction in its attenuation rate resulting in an intense beam reaching the detector. Streaking is another common phenomenon where streaks or dark bands appear between two dense objects again due to the hardening effect. This is usually visualized in scans taken in bony regions (Barrett & Keat, 2004). The methods used to reduce artifacts due to beam hardening include filtration of low energy particles, calibration correction, and use of appropriate software algorithms to correct the hardening (Barrett & Keat, 2004; Huang, n.d; Petit et al, 2010). Presence of a heterogeneous tissue mix can result in a CT number that is an attenuation average of all tissue types which can in turn result in a partial volume artifact as bands or streaks. Presence of off-axis objects in the path of the x-ray beam can result in the appearance of shading artifacts in the scan image. Such artifacts can be avoided using thinner sections and image noise can be limited by combining thinner sections to form a thicker section (Barrett & Keat, 2004; Huang, n.d). This effect occurs in parts of the body where attenuation of the x-ray beam is greatest such as the shoulders and the hip. This results in low number of photons reaching the detector which causes noisy projections that are in turn magnified during the reconstruction

Non-fatal and fatal domestic violence incidents are interconnected to Term Paper

Non-fatal and fatal domestic violence incidents are interconnected to specific demographics and social groups - Term Paper Example Non-fatal and fatal domestic violence incidents are interconnected to specific demographics and social groups It is due to this reason that Carl G. Buzawa gas observed, â€Å"†¦it is a problem of women in marital relationships being assaulted, and the terms wife abuse or wife battering are most appropriate†¦.the act of battering occurs just as frequently among couples who are dating or living together but are not married. From this perspective, the term violence against women captures the essence of the problem.† It is not that due to such acts of domestic violence among genders that, women only suffer from injuries. Men also suffer from such acts of domestic violence but statistics reveals that the rate of women injury is more than that of the males. There are several instances that the act of domestic violence has been initiated by a woman but once compared to the violence caused by their male counterparts, it is automatically proved that violence caused by the females are far less severe than that of the males. In this context survey done by the National Family Violence S urve is extremely important. National Family Violence Survey has cited that â€Å"the injury rate of women was 6 times higher than that for men.† Another survey, done by the same organization exposes the startling data that in 1998, almost among 1 million reported domestic violence crimes, 85% was inflicted over women. NCVS survey conveys that more than 50% of the total victims of domestic violence were women, whereas only 32% males were reported to be the victims of domestic violence caused by women.

Teenage love Essay Example for Free

Teenage love Essay Do teenagers today have their priorities in the correct order when it comes to dating? More and more often, it does not seem they do. Some teenagers these days spend too much time focusing on their romantic relationships instead of the things that should be more important. Teenagers who are in serious relationships do not care as much about school, their families, or their jobs. These teenagers seem to forget everything that should be important to them. School should be a very important priority for teenagers. In high school, teachers try to prepare young people for what lies ahead in life. That includes going off to college and entering the working world. But many teenagers in serious relationships begin putting off doing their homework and studying for tests. Their grades begin to drop, and sooner than they know it, they are failing their classes. Most times when these lovesick teenagers begin failing, they do not care. In some cases the teenagers even drop out. In todays world it is nearly impossible  Ã‚  middle of paper  nship without getting my priorities mixed up. So for the people who say it is impossible to do all of these things, I know from personal experience that it is not. I am not saying that it is wrong to date as a teenager. Just remember what is important. The teenage years are to be used as a time to grow and experience new things, but not at the expense of what is important in life. Just keep a level head and do not get too involved with that significant other right now. It is important to remember what it important in life.

Degrading Marine Bacteria: Isolation and Characterization

Degrading Marine Bacteria: Isolation and Characterization Isolation and Characterization of (PAH) Biodegrading Marine Bacteria Sulaiman Ali Alharbi1*, M.E.Zayed1, Arunachalam Chinnathambi1, Naiyf S. Alharbi1 and Milton Wainwright1,2 ABSTRACT Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are considered to be important and dangerous pollutants which cause serious health problems and/or genetic defects in humans, as well as harming the flora and fauna of affected habitats. In this study, we interested in determining if bacteria can be successfully used to bioremediate PAH pollution as an alternative to physical and chemical methods. The bacteria used in this study were isolated from three PAH polluted sites of Mediterranean Sea, off Alexandria, Egypt. The study is devoted to the isolation of bacteria that can degrade three low molecular weight PAHs and to determine the effect of pH on this process. Nine phenanthrene-degrading, seven-naphthalene-degrading and eight anthracene-degrading bacteria were isolated, by enrichment, from the marine water sample. All of the isolates grew on the PAHs (phenanthrene, anthracene and naphthalene) at varying rates and utilized them as sole source of carbon and energy. Key words:   Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), Biodegrading marine bacteria, Environmental contamination, Marine water, Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are contaminants of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems which generated continuously by the inadvertently incomplete combustion of organic matter, for instance in forest fires, home heating, traffic, and waste incineration1. PAHs constitute a large and diverse class of organic compounds and are generally described as molecules which consist of three or more fused aromatic rings in various structural configurations2. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are composed of fused, aromatic rings whose biochemical persistence arises from dense clouds of Ï€-electrons on both sides of the ring structures, thereby making them resistant to nucleophilic attack3. Environments contaminated with PAHs are deemed hazardous because of their carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects4,5 and low molecular weight PAHs such as naphthalene (the simplest, containing two benzene rings), anthracene and phenanthrene (both of which contain three benzene rings) are also known to possess potentially hazardous health effects6. A variety of techniques have been applied to the treatment of environments contaminated by PAH containing petroleum hydrocarbons, notably physical treatments using thermal or chemical processes7. However, these treatments are generally time consuming and expensive8,9. Microbial bioremediation however, provides a potentially cheap and effective means of bio-remediating PAH-contaminated environments10. The ability of microorganisms to degrade PAHs is well documented11, 12 and microbial degradation is a major environmental process affecting the fate of PAHs in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems13. Bioremediation using microbes converts toxic or persistent organic molecules into harmless end products, such as carbon dioxide and water 14. Unfortunately PAHs possess physical properties, such as low aqueous solubility and high solid water distribution ratios, which militate against their rapid microbial utilization resulting in their accumulation in the terrestrial and aquatic environments1. It is imperative therefore that the factors which influence the bioavailability and decomposition of PAHs in the environment be studied and optimized7. The aim of the work described here was to screening environmental samples for bacteria that are capable of degrading PAHs and use them a sole carbon and energy source. Materials and Methods Isolation of bacteria: Bacteria were isolated from three PAH-polluted sites of the Mediterranean Sea, Alexandria, Egypt, where PAH pollutants have been continually released. All isolates were preserved in 750 ÃŽ ¼l LB culture supplemented with 250 ÃŽ ¼l of 60% glycerol and maintained at -80oC. Media used: Bushnell-Haas (BH) medium, Luria-Bertani, Nutrient broth and Blood agar were used for the isolation of bacteria. All media were prepared using distilled water and sterilized by autoclaving at 120oC for 20 min. Medium- pH was adjusted as required before sterilization using   1N NaOH or 1N HCl. Hydrocarbon stock solutions: Stock solutions of each PAH (100 mg/ml) were prepared in ethyl acetate and sterilized by filtration. Isolation of phenanthrene, anthracene and naphthalene degrading bacteria: Water samples were collected from three PAH-polluted sites in the Mediterranean Sea, off Alexandria, Egypt, where PAH pollutants have been continually released into these aquatic environments without any control. Water samples (50ml) were collected from the contaminated sites under aseptic conditions. Phenanthrene, anthracene and naphthalene degrading bacteria were isolated from water samples by spreading onto solid medium; 100  µl of each water sample was spread over the surface Bushnell-Haas agar plates containing (100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 mg/l) of either, phenanthrene, anthracene or naphthalene, as the sole carbon and energy source. The plates were then incubated at 30oC for 7 days. Assay of phenanthrene, anthracene and naphthalene degradation: Phenanthrene, anthracene and naphthalene degradation by the bacteria under a variety of concentrations was determined using 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing 100 ml Bushnell-Haas broth supplemented with phenanthrene, anthracene and naphthalene in the concentration range,10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 130 to 150 mg/l.. The cultures were inoculated by transferring 1 ml of nutrient broth of pre culture medium of the strain under test. The cultures were then incubated at 30oC and 200 rpm; bacterial growth was daily evaluated by measuring the increase of OD600nm of the culture. Determination of naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene residues in the culture medium: The concentration of naphthalene and phenanthrene residues in the culture medium was determined by measuring the optical density at a wavelength of 254 nm and 275 nm respectively15. Extraction was carried out in a separator funnel, by mixing for two minutes an aliquot of the culture medium with an equal volume of hexane. The resulting organic phase was then used for the spectrophotometric readings. In some cases the sample was diluted with hexane in order to bring it out within the range of the calibration line (0.01-0.07 mg/ml for naphthalene and 0.001-0.1 mg/ml for phenanthrene). For the determination of anthracene residue, aliquots of the culture medium were mixed for two minutes with an equal volume of ethyl acetate and the optical density of the resulting organic phase was measured at a wavelength of 254 nm using ethyl acetate as a blank. For preparation of standard curve of anthracene, a stock solution of 10 ppm in ethyl acetate was prepared and aliquots in the range of 0.2 to 1 ppm were separately measured at 254 nm16. Utilization of carbon source: All purified isolates were tested for growth on 0.01%, of either, naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene or phenol which were added as sole carbon sources to BH liquid medium. Sterilized BH medium containing the desired amount of hydrocarbon source was inoculated with the test strain and incubated in an orbital shaker at 200 rpm and 30oC for 72 h. Growth was tested by measuring the increase of OD600nm of the cultures. Effect of pH on the degradation of naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene: In order to determine the effect of pH on naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene degradation, 50 ml of BH broth cultures were first prepared at the following pH; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. After sterilization, 50 mg/l naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene was added to each flask, separately. 0.5 ml of Nutrient Broth overnight culture of bacterial strains (OD600 1.3-1.5) was added to each flask. The flasks were incubated at 30oC and 200 rpm for 72h. Bacterial growth was estimated using spectrophotometer at OD600nm of the cultures. Results and Discussion Isolation and selection of phenanthrene, naphthalene and anthracene biodegrading bacteria: Phenanthrene, naphthalene and anthracene degrading bacteria were isolated from water samples.   A range of bacterial colony types were observed on the different carbon source-containing plates, nine isolates were found to utilize phenanthrene, seven   grew on the naphthalene plates and eight isolates grew on anthracene amended media. Isolates Ph1, Ph2, Ph3, Ph4, Ph5 and Ph7 showed the ability to degrade phenanthrene as sole carbon sorce. The optical density (OD600)   for the bacterial isolates respective was was; 0.16, 0.512, 0.17, 0.482, 0.632 and 0.24. Isolates Ph6, Ph8 and Ph9 on the otherhand failed to utilize phenanthrene as sole carbon and energy source (Fig.1). Among the tested isolates only Ph5 isolate showed sustantial   growth rate on phenanthrene when compared with other tested isolates. According to the ioslates which showed no degrdation of the tetsed PAH, We assume that these isolates which did not degrade PAH may have lost this ability during preservation, or may have lost genes which control the utilization of this substrate; assumptions mirored in the work of   Zhao, et al., (2009)17, who reported that some phenanthrene degrading isolates lost their ability to degrade phenanthrene after a period of more than three weeks of preservation. Figure 1. Degradation of phenanthrene (20 mgl) by 9 bacterial isolates (named; Ph1-Ph9).       In studies using naphthalene, only two isolates Na6 and Na7 showed dehradation   with the latter being the best naphthalene degrader (Fig.2). The other isolates, Na1, Na2, Na3, Na4 and Na5, in contrast, failed to use naphthalene as a sole carbon and energy source. Regarding the anthracene-degarding isolates, five- An1, An2, An3, An4 and An7 degraded the substrate with ODs respectively oft: 0.174, 0.614, 0.551, 0.482 and 0.164 (Fig.3). Isolate,   An2 isolate was the msot active anthracene degrader,while isolates An5, An6 and An8 were unable   to use anthracene as a sole source carbon and energy source. Figure 2.   Degradation of naphthalene (20 mgl) by 7 bacterial isolates (named; Na1-Na7). Figure 3. Degradation of anthracene (20 mgl) by the bacterial isolates (named; An1-An8). Effect of pH on hydrocarbons degradation by the different bacterial isolates: The effect of pH (2.0, 3.0, 4.0,   up to 11.0) on PAH degradation by the isolated bacteria Ph5, Na7 and An2 was investigated in BH medium containing 50 mgl phenanthrene and 20 mgl naphthalene or anthracene respectively. In the case of phenanthrene, the optimum pH for bacterial growth and phenanthrene degradation was pH 7. At pH 6 and pH 8, bacterial growth and substrate degradation was markedly reduced (Fig.4). Shin et al.,(2008)18 reported that, relatively high mineralization rates of phenanthrene are found over a pH range of 6-8, with maximum mineralization rate occurring at pH 6 in a mineral salt medium. In the present study we found that the pH 7 is the optimum for obtaining a high mineralization rate of phenanthrene in BH medium; in agreement with Simarro, et al., (2011)19, our results confirm that the optimal pH value for the degradation of this substrate,   in BH medium, is pH7. Figure 4. The ability of the selected Ph5 isolate to degrade 50 mg/l phenanthrene at different pH. Growth and biodegradation depends on the type of PAHs used and the optimum pH range is very variable20. Some acid resistant Gram-positive bacteria, such as Mycobacterium sp., show better PAH degradation capabilities under acid conditions, largely because low pH seems to render such Mycobacteria more permeable to hydrophobic substrates21. However, other microorganisms belonging to Pseudomonas genus tend to prefer neutral pH conditions. In agreement with previous works19, our results confirm that neutral pH is optimum for the biodegradation of PAHs. Our results are also in agreement with Bisht, et al.(2010)22, who reported the ability of D. radiodurans SBA6 and B. circulans SBA12 to degrade naphthalene and anthracene over in the pH range of 5.0 to 11 (Fig.5). Othman et al.(2009)23 observed that changes in media pH can alter the electrical charge on various chemicals groups in enzymes molecules, thereby probably altering the enzymes ability to bind its substrate and catalyze a given rea ction. Imbalance of the electrical charges in very acidic and alkali conditions can also disrupt hydrogen bonds and other weak forces that maintain enzyme structure. Such disruption of enzyme structure is called denaturation, a phenomenon which leads to poor rates of biodegradation. Figure 5. Determination of the ability of Na7 and An2 isolate to degrade 20 mg/l naphthalene and anthracene respectively, over a range of pH. Utilization of different hydrocarbons by the same bacterium: Phenol (a single ring compound) was also included in this experiment as an example of a low molecular weight PAHs to provide a comparison with the high molecular weights hydrocarbons e.g. naphthalene (two rings), anthracene, and phenanthrene (both three compounds). Isolate Ph5 was shown to use phenol, naphthalene and anthracene as sole carbon and energy source (Fig.6). These results are slightly different from those reported by Zhao, et al. (2009)17, who reported that a bacterial isolate (ZP2) was able to degrade phenanthrene and naphthalene but failed to degrade anthracene as sole carbon source. Figure 6. Assimilation of 0.01% of naphthalene, anthracene and phenol as a sole   carbon source in Bushnell-Haas medium by Ph5 isolate. The same response was seen in the other two isolates Na7 and An2.   Isolate, Na7 rapidly mineralized phenol, phenanthrene and anthracene when added as sole carbon sources (Fig.7). Isolate An2 degraded phenol, naphthalene and phenanthrene as sole sources of energy (Fig.8). An isolate used in a study by Dean-Ross, et al. (2001)24 in contrasts was able to mineralize anthracene and phenanthrene but not naphthalene when grown under identical conditions. Figure 7. Utilization of 0.01% of phenanthrene, anthracene and phenol as a sole   carbon source in Bushnell-Haas medium by the isolate Na7. Figure 8. Consumption of 0.01% of phenanthrene, naphthalene and phenol as a sole   carbon source in Bushnell-Haas medium by An2 isolate. Phenanthrene, naphthalene and anthracene are the main components of crude oil and ubiquitous in contaminated water and soil. These carbon-sources could be utilized by a range of living in these polluted environments. Hydrocarbon mineralization occurs in a variety of ways depending on the species of bacterium isolated and it use of a preferred pathway. In this study, the wide range carbon-source utilization of tested isolates confirms their ability to use potentially different degradation pathways. Al-Thani, et al.(2009)25, similarly reported that the acclimation of a microbial community to one substrate frequently results in the simultaneous acclimation to some, but not all structurally related molecules. As a result, individual microbial species have the ability to act on several structurally similar substrates and therefore more easily act on their analogues following initial exposure26,27. Conclusion: In this investigation, we fascinated in determining if bacteria can be successfully used to bioremediate PAH pollution as a substitute to physical and chemical methods.In conclusion, some of our isolates grew well on the tested 4 low molecular weight organic aromatic compounds and as also reported28, individual bacterial strains could degrade several PAHs, but tended to prefer a single one and also we establish that the pH 7 is the optimum for obtaining a high mineralization rate of phenanthrene in BH medium. Acknowledgements Authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding the work through the research group project No. RGP-VPP-332. References 1Johnsen, A. R., Wick, L. Y. and Harms, H. 2005.Principles of microbial PAH-degradation in soil. Environ. Pollut. 133(1):71-84. 2Blumer, M. 1976. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in nature. Sci. Am. 234:35-45. 3Nnamchi, C. I., Obeta, J. A. N. and Ezeogu, L. I. 2006.Isolation and characterization of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria from Nsukka soils in Nigeria. Int. J. Environ. Sci.Tech. 3:181-190. 4Miller, E. C. and Miller, J. A. 1974.Biochemical mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis. Edited by Busch, H. The Molecular Biology of Cancer, New York: Academic Press, pp.377-403. 5Autrup, H. 1990.Carcinogen metabolism in cultured human tissues and cells. Carcinogen. 11: 707-712. 6Klaasen, C. D. 2001. Casarett and Doulls Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp.107-132. 7Piskonen, R. and Itavaara, M. 2004. Evaluation of Chemical Pretreatment of Contaminated Soil for Improved PAH Bioremediation. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 65: 627-634. 8Leahy, J.G. and Colwell, R.R. 1990. Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbons in the Environ. Microbiol. Rev. 54: 305-315. 9Ward, W., Singh, A. and Van Hamme, J. 2003.Accelerated biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon waste. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 30: 260-270. 10Phillips, T.M., Liu, D., Seech, A.G., Lee, H and Trevors, J.T. 2000. Monitoring bioremediation in creosote contaminated soils using chemical analysis and toxicity tests. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 24: 132-139. 11Churchill, S. A., Harper, J. P. and Churchill, P. F. 1999. Isolation and characterization of a Mycobacterium species capable of degrading three-and four ring aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:549-52. 12Weissenfels, W. D., Beyer, M., Klein, J. and Rehm H. J. 1991. Microbial metabolism of fluoranthene: isolation and identification of ring fission products. Appl. Microbiol. 34:528-535. 13Supaka, N., Pinphanichakarn, P., Pattaragulwanit, K., Thaniyavarn, S., Omori, T. and Juntongjin, K.2001. Isolation and characterization of a phenanthrene- degrading Sphingomonas sp. strain P2 and its ability to degrade fluoranthene and pyrene via cometabolism. Sci. Asia. 27: 21-28. 14Lee, S. and Cutright, T. J. 1996. Nutrient medium for the bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminated soil. US Patent. 5, 508, 194. 15Marta, I., Alquati, C., Morgia, P., Mansi, A., Scotti, R., Nicolini, L. and Papacchini, M. 2006.Contaminated sites: assessment of the metabolism, growth and genetic characterization of wild-type microbial strains able to degrade naphthalene. Prevention Today. 2: 35-50. 16Kumar, G., Singla, R. and Kumar, R. 2010. Plasmid associated anthracene degradation by Pseudomonas sp. isolated from filling station site. Natur. and Sci. 8: 89-94. 17Zhao, H. P., Wu, Q. S., Wang, L., Zhao, X. T. and Gao, H. W. 2009. Degradation of phenanthrene by bacterial strain isolated from soil in oil refinery fields in Shanghai, China. J. Hazard. Mater. 164: 863-869. 18Shin, K., Kim, J. and Kim, K. 2008.Effect of biosurfactant addition on the biodegradation of phenanthrene in soil-water system. Environ. Eng. Res. 13: 8-13. 19Simarro, R., Gonzalez, N., Bautista, L. F., Sanz, R. and Molina, M. C. 2011. Optimization of key abiotic factors of PAH (naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene) biodegradation process by a bacterial consortium. Water Air Soil Pollut. 217: 365-374. 20Dibble, J.R. and Bartha, R. 1979.Effect of environmental parameters on the biodegradation of oil sludge. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 37: 729-739. 21Kim, Y.H., Freeman, J.P., Moody, J.D., Engesse, K.H. and Cerniglia, C.E. 2005.Effects of pH on the degradation of phenanthrene and pyrene by Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 275-285. 22Bisht, S., Pandey, P., Sood, A., Sharma, S. and Bisht, N. S. 2010.Biodegradation of naphthalene and anthracene by chemo-tactically active rhizobacteria of Populus deltoides. Braz. J. Microbiol. 41: 922-930. 23Othman, N., Hussain, N.H., Abd Karim, A.T. and Abdul-Talib, S. 2009.Isolation and optimization of napthalene degradative bacteria. International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure and Built Environment in Developing Countries. Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.101-105. 24Dean-Ross, D., Moody, J. D., Freeman, J. P., Doerge, D. R. and Cerniglia, C. E. 2001.Metabolism of anthracene by Rhodococcus species. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 204: 205-211. 25Al-Thani, R.F., Abd-El-Haleem, D.A.M. and Al-Shammri, M. 2009.Isolation and characterization of polyaromatic hydrocarbons-degrading bacteria from different Qatari soils. African J. of Microbiol. Resear. 3: 761-766. 26Bauer, J. and Capone, D. 1985. Degradation and mineralization of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons anthracene and naphthalene in inter tidal marine sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 50: 81-90. 27Mitchell, J. and Cain, R. 1996. Rapid onset of the accelerated degradation of dicarboximide. Pesticides Sci. 48: 1-11. 28Tadros, M. G. and Hughes, J. B. 1997. Degradation of polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by indigenous mixed and pure cultures isolated from coastal sediments. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 63(65): 865-870 Can Liberty and Equality be Reconciled in Political Theory? Can Liberty and Equality be Reconciled in Political Theory? The word reconcile means that, to find a way in which two situations or beliefs that are opposed to each other can agree and exist together. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile for instance science and religion. When two people are reconciled they become friendly again after they have argued, (Cambridge advanced learners dictionary). In this essay I will dwell much on whether liberty and equality can be reconciled by defining these concepts. Liberty and freedom are often used interchangeably, however they essentially mean the ability to think or act as one wishes. Gerald McCallum: â€Å"Freedom is always of something (an agent or agents) to do or not to do, become or not become something†. Most political theorists assume that people ought to be free unless there are compelling reasons for restricting their freedom. For instance J.S.Mill believes that, to be human is to enjoy a sphere of in which one is able to think, express ideas and lead a lifestyle of one’s own choosing. He went on to say, â€Å"even if a person finds himself in an opinion, he should be free to express that opinion† and â€Å"if all mankind, minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would not be justified to silence that person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind† By allowing individuals to be free, society can progress, hence the ideas of mi nimal government and protection of human rights and freedoms. There are two concepts of liberty, these includes negative and positive liberty (Isaiah Berlin, 958). Negative liberty involves response to the question: what is the area within which the subject a person or group of persons is or should be left to do what he is able to do or be, without interference by other people. It implies freedom of choice, therefore, Law and Government should only serve to enlarge and not restrict freedoms, and privacy of the individual must be respected by recognizing a clear distinction between what is public and what is private and finally it advocates individual rationality as the basis for choice. On the other hand, positive liberty is involved in the answer to the question: what or who is the source of control or interference that can determine someone to do or be, also interested in the question ‘By whom am I governed?’ However, as opposed to â€Å"How much am I governed? G.C. Mc Callum, (1972). According to T.H. Green it means personal gr owth and self-development. Liberalism is one of the dominant political ideologies of the contemporary world that favors liberty in terms of equality. It is founded on the traditional notions of individualism: this reflects the belief in the supreme importance of the human individual as opposed to any social group or collective body. The liberal goal is therefore to create a society within which individuals can flourish and prosper with everyone pursing what they consider as good in any way they choose to define it. Therefore, individual freedoms or liberties are given priority over notions of equality, justice and authority. It is thus based on the presumption that freedom is a good thing and that any limitations of the same should be justified. It is strongly against limitation on freedom of individuals to pursue self interest. It however, favors private property and free enterprise, for instance freedom to buy and sell anything. And finally it is against state control and seconds that role of the state limit ed to maintaining law and order, in this respect, it should provide defense and oversee enforcement of contracts. Equality refers to the belief that human beings are born having equal rights. The Declaration of Independence asserts some of these rights to be life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Equality is not about blanket uniformity but rather to establish the legal, political or social conditions in which people will be able to enjoy equally worthwhile and satisfying lives. The principle of equality sometimes contains the assertion that people must have equal access to wealth and property in order for them to more fully realize the principle of equality. According to Oxford English Dictionary, equality implies the condition of having equal dignity, rank or privilege with others, the condition of being equal in power, ability, achievement of excellence, fairness, impartiality, due proportion, and proportionateness. Therefore, this term is defined in the light of equal conditions guaranteed to each for making the best of him. In the words of Barker, it implies that â€Å"whatever conditions are guaranteed to me in the form of rights, shall also, and in the same measure, be guaranteed to others and that whatever rights are given to others shall also be given to me†. So says Laski: undoubtedly, it implies fundamentally a leveling process. It means that no man shall be so placed in society that he can over-reach his neighbor to the extent which constitutes a denial of the latter’s citizenship†, J.J. Rousseau [(1762) 1969]. There are two forms of equality positive and negative. Positive form implies the adequate provision of opportunities for all. Here, the term ‘adequate opportunities’ does not mean ‘equal opportunities’. Since people differ in their needs and capacities and also in their efforts, they need different opportunities for their individual self-development, Friedrich Hayek and Keith Joseph (1979). Negative equality implies the absence of undue privileges. That is to say there should be no artificial grounds of discrimination, such as of religion, color, race, caste, wealth, sex, and many more. The underlying principle being that no talent should suffer from frustration for want of encouragement. It is still a challenge to provide a coherent defense of equality. This however requires separating out the various principles, and explaining what it is that is being equalized or equality is in danger of degenerating into a mere political slogan unless it is possible to a nswer the question ‘equality of what’?: is it income, or well being, the capacity to acquire certain goods, or something else? Socialism is also one of the dominant ideologies of the modern world that favors equality than liberty. Socialists believe in a Common Ownership: this relates to the ownership of property in the community as opposed to individual ownership. The argument here is that by placing property in joint community ownership, the common good is promoted rather than the good of individuals. To them a positive view of freedom must be examined in a social context and therefore in the context of resources of a material kind. The right to read and write, for example, requires the provision of schooling if such a right is to be meaningful. In the Socialist World Order all classes and private property are abolished. The means of production for instance, that is all land, machinery, factories and other productive resources must be under the democratic control of the people. Wage labor is unknown. All worked for the collective good and products are distributed according to the principle of â€Å"From all according to their ability to all according to their need. They however, call this a good society. Liberty and Equality are political concepts that strongly oppose each other, to be specific; between them there is what we call war of principles. For instance, Libertarians believes that Libertaria is the place where humankind should seek its future. This is because it is a society where people are truly free. They have the economic freedom to pursue their own ends in a market society. Indeed Libertaria is run exclusively on market lines. They do not believe in the good society as such, as market choices constantly fluctuate. Individuals must choose their own good life and the market is where they make their key decisions. On the other hand, Egalitarians believes that Egalitaria is the ideal place to which humankind should commit itself. It is the benchmark by which other societies can measure whether they are serving the aims which any good society should fulfill. Individuals believe that market decisions produce what people want. In Libertaria all make market choices and all receive from the market that which is their due. They are free from both the stifling collectivity of Communitarian and from the fear of having to make sacrifices, a fear which haunts Utilitarian. While Egalitaria would be the good society because it would be one in which all citizens are treated as being of equal worth. It would have basic political liberties, equality of opportunity and the rule of law, all of which are constitutionally guaranteed. It would also be dedicated to ensuring that these basic rights are of equal worth to their possessors (Lukes, 1993: 34). Libertaria has freedom of speech, of movement, of thought and of association. The rule of law prevails and there is no torture. They have a minimal state which oversees the system of free exchange, the courts, contractual disputes, the armed forces and the police. They realize that the state can build up its own interests which can conflict with those of private individuals. They therefore, keep its role to an absolute minimum. Freedom is their watchword and freedom to choose is prized above all else. On the other hand, the citizens of Egalitaria would be filled with a basic abhorrence of injustice and would strive to overcome any involuntary disadvantage whether such disadvantages are the result of religion, class, gender, ethnicity or whatever. Egalitaria would not tolerate the gross inequalities which characterize some of the communities within Communitarian. Rights in Egalitaria would be universal, not subject to the dictates of history, culture and tradition. Considering the above argument it seems like each ideology is giving no space to the enjoyment of the other ideology, or in simple terms we can say that it is hard for liberty and equality to go together, however, in practice these terms are mutually reinforcing each other. It is also very hard to find a society that is purely libertarian or that is purely Egalitarian, this means that in libertarian the possibility of finding some element of equality is there, same applies to the egalitarian, there are some sort of liberties though to the slightest degree. Therefore, there are some instances where liberty and equality move together with a common goal for instance the promotion of welfare of the people. It is also of great important that liberty and equality should work hand in hand, just because they act as watch dog to each other, for instance, the relationship that is between them is that like of three arms of government executive, parliamentary and judiciary. The problem with establishing the realm of liberty is that there are a bewildering number of grounds upon which freedom can be upheld. In much liberal political thought freedom is closely related to the notion of rights. However, as many political theorists employ a value-free or social-scientific understanding of such terms, they are quite prepared to accept that certain freedoms such as the freedom to murder should be constrained. In that sense, liberty or license distinction merely begs the question: which freedoms are we willing to approve, and which ones are we justified in curtailing? Alternative means of distinguishing between liberty and license was proposed by J.S. Mill. As libertarian who believed that individual freedom was the basis of moral self-development, Mill proposed that individuals should enjoy the greatest possible realm of liberty. However, Mill also recognized that unrestrained liberty could become oppressive, objectionable, morally corrupt and even tyrannical. In on Liberty (1859) 1972) Mill proposed a clear distinction between self-regarding actions and other-regarding actions, suggesting that each individual should exercise sovereign control over his or her own body or life. The only justification for constraining the individual, Mill argued, was in the event of ‘harm’ being done to others. Mill emphasizes that liberty becomes license not only when the rights of another are violated, or when harm is done to others, but when liberty is unequally shared out. In this sense equality is seen as standing block to the existence of license . Equality is a multi-dimensional concept. Diverse opinions are put forth in locating the exact relationship between these two concepts. Writers like De Tocqueville and Lord Acton hold the view that liberty and equality are opposed to each other as they are antagonistic. The desire to have equality destroys the possibility of having full liberty. Achievement of equality demands positive state action. Equality needs a positive state and liberty needs a Negative State. The Elite theory of Democracy is against the principle of equality. But on the other hand writers like Maitland, Rousseau, Barker, Laski and others, hold the view that they are complementary to each other, in the sense that they both play an important part in human life, fulfilling separate but complementary. Since the principles of liberty and equality are ideals capable of being mutually realizable, one answer to the continuing debate regarding each principles precedence would be the check of each principle on the excesses of the other. A just society might hold itself to the standard that, while difficult to reconcile, it is still most desirable to strive to strike a balance between upholding the belief in the inherent equality of all individuals, and the protecting the right to liberty for all its members. L. T. Hothouse opined that liberty without equality is a high-sounding phrase with squalid results. Liberty lies in equality. Liberty without equality degenerates into license and equality without liberty lapses into uniformity. To Prof. Barker Equality in all its forms, must always be subject and instrumental to the free development of capacity; but if it be pressed to the length of uniformity; if uniformity be made to thwart the free development of capacity, the subject becomes th e master, and the world is turned topsy-turvy. Liberty unites men but equality criticizes the social hierarchy and contributes towards the stability of the community ((1931) 1969) R.H. Tawney. Therefore liberty would be hollow without some measure of equality and equality would be meaningless without liberty. In this age of democracy where voting is a powerful weapon in the hands of the electorate economic equality is most essential condition because the economically powerful person will use his economic resources to gain political power. Political equality will be a mockery in the absence of economic equality. As per above argument it is hard to say that liberty and equality can be reconciled or not, in the sense that these terms are supported by different ideologies but which are reinforcing each other. So to say that they can be reconciled is forgetting that the terms are founded on different ideologies and on the same point to say that they cannot be reconciled is also forgetting that these terms are mutually reinforcing each other, hence making this question very contested one. Who determine that excessive use of liberties leads into license? What yard stick do they use to determine harm to others? And what is harm? It is good to know that what is harm to me cannot be harm to others and vice-versa. For instance, a society that is comprised of well-off and worse-off, come together and agree that they should be following the principle of â€Å"to each according to ability† can another man from a distance society come and say that the well-off in this particular society are harming the worse-off? This cannot be possible since what he calls it harm cannot be harm to others. In this case the worse-off choose to do what they can manage to, according to the level of their economic status, therefore, it is not harm to them, because they have decided to follow it based on their will and rationality. And again, who determine that excessive use of equality leads to uniformity? What is uniformity? What yard stick do they use to measure uniformity? In every time we talk of equality we must also note that there are some forms of inequality. What is equality to a particular society cannot be equality to the other, since society perceives things in different way all together. The issue of inequality will not come to an end since they were there before, they are here today and possibly they will be there tomorrow. What a just society would do is to come up with measures or initiative to overcome them. For instance legitimate inequality, affirmative action and positive discrimination where the society comprised of well-off and worse-off come to a consensus that they should accept the status of inequality and that they will be following a principle of â€Å"to each according to needy†, but the end result should be greater to the worse-off so that they should little by little cover the gap that is there between them. On the other hand this makes sure that talents, skills and ability are not hindered. Therefore, one cannot come and say, this is uniformity since what is uniformity to him cannot be uniformity to others. It is good to reflect on these questions and acknowledge that what is liberty or equality to the state cannot be liberty or equality to individuals or the collectives group and vice-versa. What was liberty or equality yesterday cannot be liberty or equality today. These things keeps on changing based on circumstances that people as a nation are going through. Therefore, liberty and equality are continuously changing depending on time and who uses them. Finally, based on argument above its very tricky and challenging to say that liberty and equality can be reconciled or not. However, beauty lies in the hands of the beholder; even though, there are no general examples that can be sighted to show that liberty and equality can be reconciled, but there is a room for reconciliation since they are complementary. Therefore, liberty and equality have a common end, the promotion of the value of the personality and the free development of its capacities. No one of these can be enjoyed in isolation. Bibliography Heywood, A. (2004). Introduction to Political Theory. In A. Heywood, Introduction to Political Theory (p. 252 and 284). china: Palgrave Mc Millan. J.C, J. (2004). Principle of modern politcal science. In J. Johari, Principle of modern politcal science (p. 200). New Dehli: Sterling. Hoffman J. and Graham P (2009) introduction to Political Theory. Professor Wizeman Chijere Chirwa, Dr. Fidelis Edge Kanyongolo and Dr. Edrinnie Kayambazithu. (2004). Building an informed Nation. In Building an informed Nation (p. 58). Lilongwe: Democracy Consolidation Programme.

Food Safety for the Home Environment

Food Safety for the Home Environment Milena Marcinek Part 1: Handling food This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 1: Know the importance of handling food safely Learning objective Place in Assessment Explain why it is important to handle food safely Question 1 Page 1 1.2 Identify hazards relating to food safety Question 2 Page 2 1.3 Identify ways in which food should be handled safely to avoid contamination during the following operations: Storage Preparation Cooking Serving Re-heating Question 3, Page 2 1. Explain why it is important to handle food safely. [1.1] Safe food handling prevents food from being contaminated. It is highly important to preven food contamination as contaminated food can cause not only heachache or atomach pain but also can lead to severe health problems such a kidney failure and even death. If people who are responsible for handling the food do not take enough care for safe food handling they might put peoples health at risk. 2. What are the key hazards to be aware of when it comes to food safety? Identify at least three examples in your answer. [1.2] Bacterial Hazard: Over time food can be subject to a range of changes caused by micro- organisms such as bacteria, fmould, yeast, viruses. As a result the color, taste texture can be affected. Some of the changes look unpleasant bu they do not have to be dangerous for humans life although some forms of bacterial contamination, caused by pathogenic bacteria, causes the food to become inedible or a potential hazard to health. Foreign Bodies: The food may be contaminated by the foreign body even before the food is reacheing the home. Examples of foreign body: I pieces of metal, wood, plastic and food packaging, II bones, shells, pips, stalks and stones. III hairs, jewellery, plasters, nails, saliva Allergic Hazard The most common food that cause alergic reaction are milk, soya, nuts, seafood. Even just a tiny bit of certain food can cause severe reaction. Food allergic can lead to anaphylaxis. Sufferers can experience swelling of the throat, breathing problems and potential collapse. Food labels have to always inform if the food might have any conatct with any of food that can cause allergic reaction. Chemical Hazard 3. Complete the table below by identifying how food should be handled in order to avoid contamination during each of the operations listed: [1.3] Operation How food should be handled Storage Every type of food has an ideal storage condions. If food is storaged in a wrong way the food can quickly become inedible or unusasble. Preparation Keep the highest hygine standart at the place where food is being brepared. The perosn who prepares the food should fallow the highest hygene standarts. Cooking Food should be cooked throughly to avaoid bacterial contamination. If the temeperature of cooking is not high enough then bacteria may survive and people eating undercooked food risks becoming ill. Serving It is important to ensure that hot food dont go cold, persihable foods are not left in room temperature for longer than two hours and people do not make contact with food they do not intend to eat. Re-heating Food shouldnt be re-heated more then one time. Re-heated food must be minimum 75 degrees C. To check the temeperature of food an appropriate thermometer should be used. Take particular care when feeding pre-heated food to vulnerable people. For food such as soups be sure to stir them so the whole foodstuff is at required temperature. Now that you have completed Part 1 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment. Part 2: Personal hygiene This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 2: Know the importance of personal hygiene when handling food Learning objective Place in Assessment 2.1 Explain ways of maintaining personal hygiene when handling food that helps reduce the risk of contamination Question 1 Page 3 2.2 Identify how and when to wash hands Question 2a Page 4 Question 2b Page 5 2.3 Describe potential problems resulting from not maintaining personal hygiene when handling food Question 3 Page 5 1. Explain three ways of maintaining personal hygiene when handling food. Also provide a brief explanation as to how these efforts can reduce the risk of contamination. [2.1] a) People should avoid touching or combing their hair while handling with food as hairs can physically contaminate the food. In commercial enviroment food handlers have to cover their hair with a hair net or other form of covering. These efforts reduce risks of getting hairs into food what is not only not pleasant but olso have a potential to be harmfull to death. b) People should take off jewellery while they handle the food. Jewellery can harbour bacteria and dirt and also brings a risk of phissical conatmination c) People should ensure their nails are short and tidy while they handle food. The food handler shouldnt use nail varnish or fake nails that can drop of. Following this rules reduces risks of physical conatmination ( bits of nails, varnish, dirt undar nail, or pieces of fake nails can conataminate the food ) 2a. Read the case study below describing a typical day for Chris. Afterwards, identify three situations where he should have washed his hands. [2.2] Chris works in a sandwich shop every weekday from 9am to 6pm. He gets up and out of bed at 7 and jumps into the shower straight away. Once dressed, he heads downstairs for breakfast. Today, he’s decided to have his favourite; bacon sandwiches. He puts the bacon into the sizzling hot pan and waits until it is brown and crispy. He also chops up some fresh tomatoes from the fridge before putting together his meal. He is running late so takes his sandwich with him to the bus stop. He needs to finish it quickly to pay for his ticket and hold on to the side bar because the journey is unusually bumpy and busy. When he arrives at work, Chris puts on a plastic apron and gloves immediately and positions himself behind the counter awaiting his first morning customers. By lunchtime, Chris has put together 34 sandwiches and he sets about making the total 35 by preparing his own. Once he has made his lunch, Chris removes his gloves and apron and sits himself in the staff room, ready to rewa rd his hard work. Between mouthfuls, he decides to make a cup of tea so wanders over to turn the kettle on and get a spare mug from the cupboard. He sits himself back down until the kettle has boiled which conveniently coincides with his final bite. He places his plate in the dishwasher, makes his tea and prepares to head back to his second shift. After returning home from work, Chris quickly uses the bathroom before beginning to prepare his dinner. He takes some chicken from the fridge and cuts it into cubes for a stir fry. Whilst doing so, his phone rings so he runs to answer it. It’s his mum, so he finds comfy place to sit down as he expects it will be a long chat! Your answer: a) before touching bacon, after touching bacon and before cutting tomatoes b) When arriving to work befor he starts making sandwiches and before coming back to work after the break c) Before cutting the chicken 2b. Prepare some simple instructions that could be used to explain the correct technique for hand washing. [2.2] use warm water and good amount of soap rub palm to palm rub backs of both hands rub palm to palm with fingers interlaced rub backs of fingers ( interlocked) rub each thumb clasped I nopposite hand using a rotation movement rub both palms with fingertips dry torhoughly in clean paper towel or use hand dryer 3. Describe three potential problems that can result from not maintaining personal hygiene when handling food. [2.3] a) foreign object conatmination If people who deal with handling the food dont keep high hygene standarts as covering their hair, wearing appropriate clothes, keeping nails clean and tidy or they wear jewellery while they handle any food they might contaminate food with foreign objcect such as for example : hairs, pieces of jewellery, pieces of nails or clothes. b) Food poisoning bacteria Lack of personal hygiene can result in food poiosning bacteria. To avoid it people handling the food should remember to wash their hands, keep the kitchen area clean, not to store rice at room temeperature for sustained period, carefool cook and cool the food, wash thoroughly the meat, fish and vegetable, not to use damaged cans, preserve food carefully, keep raw and cooked food separately, keep food at safe temeperature, keep animals away from food, avoid coughing and sneezing on food, cover cuts, pay attention to use by dates. c) Foodborn disease Foodborne illness is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. Many different disease-causing microbes or pathogens can contaminate foods, so there are many different types of foodborne illnesses. Most foodborne diseases are infections caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Other diseases are poisonings caused by harmful toxins or chemicals that have contaminated food. Of note many foodborne pathogens also can be acquired through recreational or drinking water, from contact with animals or their environment, or through person-to-person spread. Here are a few dos and donts to prevent food borne illness: *Dont leave foods that need to be chilled sitting out. Refrigerate and freeze necessary foods right away. *Do use a meat thermometer to make sure your food is cooked thoroughly. *Do wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with warm, soapy water before and after handling any raw meats, fruits and vegetables. *Do wash utensils and disinfect surfaces before and after use. *Dont defrost food on the kitchen counter. Instead, use the refrigerator, cold running water, or the microwave oven. *Dont let food marinate at room temperature. *Keep marinating food refrigerated. *Dont over pack the refrigerator. Now that you have completed Part 2 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment. Part 3: Storing food This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 3: Know how to store food safely Learning objective Place in Assessment 3.1 Explain how to store the following types of food correctly to avoid contamination: Fresh Convenience High risk Low risk Question 1 Page 6 3.2 Explain why it is important to follow food storage instructions Question 2 Page 7 1. In the table below, explain the correct way to store the different food types in order to avoid contamination: [3.1] Food type Storage method Fresh Raw meat, fish and poultry should be stored in the bottom of a fridge below ready to eat food. Fresh salad vegetables should be stored in lided boxes in a fridge to prevent it from being contaminated by drips from raw food. Convenience Convenience food should have a label saying what is its best storage method. High risk High risk food should be keeped in low temeperature enviroment such as refrigerator and only for short duration outside of that. Low risk Can be stored in dry, cool, dry area , ideally in the shade. 2. In 50 words or less, explain why it is important to follow food storage instructions. [3.2] IT is importarnt to follow food storage instruction to be sure that the food is being kept in right condition and to prevent food spoiling to quickly and to reduce risk of food poisoning. Now that you have completed Part 3 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment. Part 4: Importance of correct food storage This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 4: Know how food storage can affect the nutritional value of food Learning objective Place in Assessment 4.1 Outline how storage methods can affect the nutritional value of food Question 1 Page 8 Outline in 50 words or less, how storage methods can affect the nutritional value of food. [4.1] Nutrition in food is prone to change with time. Exposure to light, temeperature, water or oxygen can cause all sorts of reactions in food what effects in nutritional changes of the food. Now that you have completed Part 4 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment. Part 5: Keeping the food work area clean This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 5: Know how to keep the food work area clean Learning objective Place in Assessment 5.1 Describe why it is important to keep the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected Question 1 Page 9 5.2 Outline ways of keeping the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected Question 2 Page 9 1. Describe why it is important to keep the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected. [5.1] Keeping the food work area clean, hygenic and disinfected eliminates bacteria growth, reduces bacteria to safe level, creates the inviroment that is uinattractive to pests and verim, minimises the possibility of cross conatmination, results in a clean and safe enviroment for the people who are preparing the food. 2. Outline three actions that you can take in order to keep the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected. [5.2] a) To avoid cross conatamination you can restrict some food preparation and cooking tasks to specific part of the kitchen. Yo can also have dedictaed equipment for certain tasks, such as colour coded chopiing boards. b) Disinfect food contact surfaces, hand contact surfaces as well as equipment used to clean the kitchen to avoid cross contamination . c) Clean the kitchen area systematically and implement kitchen cleaning scheadule. Now that you have completed Part 5 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment. Part 6: Checking food is cooked to the correct temperature This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 6: Know how to check food is cooked to the correct temperature Learning objective Place in Assessment 6.1 Describe why it is important to ensure that food is cooked to the correct temperature Question 1 Page 10 6.2 Give examples of ways to check food is cooked to the correct temperature Question 2 Page 10 1. Describe why it is important to ensure that food is cooked to the correct temperature. [6.1] Bacteria multiply in the temperature between 5 and degrees 65 Celcius. Baceria are killed in the temeperature above 75 degrees Celcius so it is important to check the food is cooked all the way through to be sure there is no threat to peoples health. 2. Give two examples of how you can check that food is cooked to the correct temperature. [6.2] Example 1: U can use food thermometer to check if the food is cooked in a correct way. Example 2: Yo can also see if food is piping hot and steam is visible before the food is served. Now that you have completed Part 6 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment. Part 7: Disposing of food waste This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 7: Know how to dispose of food waste safely Learning objective Place in Assessment 7.1 Describe why it is important to dispose of food waste safely Question 1 Page 11 7.2 Outline how to dispose of food waste safely Question 2 Page 11 1. Describe why it is important to dispose of food waste safely. [7.1] It is important to dispose of food waste safetly to avoid cross contamination- when the food is no longer going to be consumed it should be thrown away straight away. If we leave the unwanted food at home it can be a place where bacteria are able to thrive. Bacteria van be spread to other food that still can be consumed what causes a risk for humans health. It is also important to dispose of food waste in a safe way to avoid pests at home. 2. Outline two ways in which you can dispose of food safely. [7. 2] a) Do not left food waste undercovered before throwing it away. Waste needs to be disposed of immediately b) Clean with water food containers and food packaging. This removes small bits of food that can facilitate bacteria growth. Now that you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment, go to www.vision2learn.com. Log in to the platform and send your Assessment to your tutor via your My Study page for marking. Good luck! Â © Creating Careers Ltd, 2015. All rights reserved.Page 1 of 16

Breast Cancer Essay -- Diseases Medical Medicine Essays

Breast Cancer Chromosome 17 and BRCA1 Among the most common diseases affecting the female population, breast cancer develops in one of every eight American women. This means that almost 200,000 women suffer from the disease each year. Doctors would advise women to take necessary precautions, such as routine surveillance, in order to ensure a life without obtaining this disease prior to understanding any genetic linkage of breast cancer. Although many external factors contribute to breast cancer, current investigations reveal that five to ten percent of these cases may be attributed to genetic inheritance (Lynch, 1999). This knowledge, an ingenious finding by Mary-Claire King in 1990, linked breast cancer to the long-arm of chromosome 17 (Biesecker, 1997). Since the discovery of possible genetic linkage, doctors have been able to delineate those individuals who are most prone to the disorder, and immediately, these women begin to act in accordance with doctor’s suggestions to reduce their risk (Rosenthal et. al., 1 999). Mary-Claire King not only determined that breast cancer was a genetic disorder, her findings also suggest that the mutation of gene BRCA1 (Breast Cancer one) is responsible for most inherited breast cancer. Further investigations pointed to another gene, BRCA2, as also contributing to genetic inheritance. Unlike BRCA1, BRCA2 is found on chromosome 13. Researchers have found that 90% of all inherited cases of breast cancer may be due to mutations of these individual genes (Lynch et. al., 1999). The BRCA1 gene has the locus designation, 17q21, and is responsible for this autosomal dominant syndrome (Merajver et. al., 1995). This tumor suppressor gene, contains 23 exons, each ranging from 41 to 311 bas... ...counseling in hereditary breast cancer. Cancer Genet. Cytogenet 1999(109): 91-98. Merajver, S.D., Frank, T.S., Xu, J, et. al. Germline BRCA1 mutations and loss of the wild-type allele in tumors from families with early onset breast and ovarian cancer. Clin. Can. Res. May 1995 (1): 539-544. Miki, Y., Swensen, J., Shattuck-Eidens, D., et. al. A strong candidate for the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1. Science. Oct. 1994(266): 66-71. Puget, N., Stoppa-Lyonnet, D., Sinilnikova, OM., Pages, S., Lynch, HT., Lenoir, G.M. and Mazoyer, S. Screening for germ-line rearrangements and regulatory mutations in BRCA1 led to the identification of four new deletions. Cancer Research. Jan. 15, 1999 (59): 455-461. Rosenthal, T.C., and Puck, Stirling M. Screening for genetic risk of breast cancer. American Family Physician. Jan 1999 (59): 99-104.

alan turing Essay -- essays research papers

Alan Turning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alan Turning is known to be a pioneer of many facets of the computer age. The digital computer, artificial intelligence, memory subroutines, the Turning Machine, the Turing Test, and the application of algorithms to computers are all ideas somehow related to this man. Alan Mathison Turing was born in Paddington, London, on June 23, 1912. He was a precocious child and began his interests in science and mathematics at a young age, but was never concerned about other right-brain classes such as English. This continued until an important friend of his passed away and set Turing on a path to achieve what his friend could no longer accomplish. When his friend Christopher Morcom died, Turing was launched into thoughts in physics about the physical mind being embodied in matter and whether quantum-mechanical theory affects the traditional problem of mind and matter. Many say today that this was the beginnings of Turing’s Turning Machine and the test still used today for artificial intelligence, the Turing Test. Soon after his public schooling Turing began working on his undergraduate at King’s College. Here he became interested in the readings of Von Neumann’s quests into the logical foundations of quantum mechanics. Through these readings Turing was believed to structure his thinking from the emotional states that he had been suffering from to a more valid form of thought. Turing earned a fellowship at King’s college and the following year the Smith’s Prize for his work in probability theory. Afterward, he chose a path away from pure math into mathematical logic and began to work on solving the Entscheidungsproblem, a problem in decidability. This was an attempt to prove that there was a method by which any given mathematical assertion was provable. As he began to dive in to this he worked on first defining what a method was. In doing so he began what today is called the Turing Machine. The Turing Machine is a three-fold inspiration composed of logical instructions, the action of the mind, and a machine which can in principle be embodied in a practical physical form. It is the application of an algorithm embodied in a finite state machine. The Turing Machine is a simple kind of computer. It is limited to reading and writing symbols on a tape and moving the tape along to the left or right. The tape is marke... ...at today is known as the Turing Test. This was a test where a person would ask questions from both a human and a machine without knowing which was which. If after a reasonable amount of time the difference between the two was not obvious, then the machine was thought to be somewhat intelligent. A version of this test is still used today by the Boston Museum of Computers to host a contest of the best artificial machines for the Loebner Prize. Turing continued working on the digital computer and ideas in artificial intelligence until he died on June 7, 1954. He was found with a half-eaten apple loaded with cyanide, the half-eaten apple a familiar symbol of innocence. Some say he had committed suicide over an embarrassing incident with a 19-year old student , while his mother says he was just performing another experiment with household chemicals and became careless. Whichever it may be, Alan Turing passed away and left the world with many raw ideas to work out. In my opinion, the biggest contribution that he left with us was his idea of a single machine running off a finite number of algorithms to perform multiple tasks. This being the vision of the computers we all use today.

Invasion of Privacy Essay

While straightening your teenager’s room, a book falls on the floor. You pick it up and see that it is her diary. As a parent, do you have the right to read it? Would it matter if you found the diary outside her room? Is it okay to read the diary if you suspect there is problem your teen is not telling you about? As a child, did you ever go into your parent’s room (without permission) and snoop around? Was that an â€Å"invasion of their privacy†? Did you find anything you weren’t supposed to? Did you learn from it? Did you tell them? You have every right to read your child’s diary whether it’s found in the laundry or their bedroom. There is nothing wrong with knowing what your child is thinking, the changes that they are experiencing, or perhaps any troubling matters they don’t feel they can approach one of their parents with. Consider yourself lucky you found it. Invasion of privacy? I don’t think so; it could save their life. As long as your child is living at home with you, yes, you should read her diary entries. You are there to protect your child not only from outside influences but also from herself. If it means going through their belongings then so be it. When they move out and establish lives of their own, this is when you give up certain rights as parents, including reading their diaries. I guess my term is not snooping; it is monitoring your children. My parents monitor me. There is nothing in my room that my mother does not have access to. It is unacceptable for anyone to hide anything in our house. And, she monitors which people I hang out with. Granted, I didn’t appreciate it for a while, but as some of her â€Å"NO WAY† choices started ending up hurting me, or others, I knew she had my best interest at heart, and wasn’t trying to sabotage my life. I agree that it’s okay to go through your kid’s belongings. What should be done if you are going through it and you find something inappropriate, you find some roundabout way to bring it up to your child and see if they open up about it. By no means do you say, â€Å"Oh, I was in your room snooping and found this or that.† You have to protect your kids. Sometimes they will get into the habit of believing everything their friends say, not thinking that their mom or dad have been through or experienced just about everything they’re going through and have the wisdom to help them out in certain situations. Of course children do not believe that you should be snooping into what they want to call â€Å"their privacy†. They also think they know everything and can make wise decisions. They think it is ok to text and drive, drink and drive and show their private parts while on spring break. Kids think they should not have to go to school or have a bedtime. Do I have to go on? I think you get the picture. Bottom line is, they are not paying for a phone, internet, computers, Ipads and the electricity it takes to keep them running and until they do those items are not theirs. They are the property of the parent or guardian and can be looked at, searched, monitored at anytime they please. My point is, if you’re not doing anything wrong then there should not be a problem with anyone looking at your text messages or emails which by the way are not private anyway. If you feel you should have privacy and you are old enough then get a job, be responsible, and pay for all of your things yourself and you may also want to move out on your own until then, As my mom says â€Å"My house, my rules.† Legally, parents have the right to monitor their child’s communications simply because they are legally responsible for the child’s actions. Parents are legally responsible for their children. I know of past cases where parents have been arrested for crimes a child has done and they also can be held financially responsible. The trust element also comes into play when both the teen and the parent know they can trust each other that their home is a place free of harmful communication. To do that, the parent has to actively monitor the media that the teen uses and engage in censorship, no matter how awful the word seems. It is simply the act of a responsible society that harmful communication is not displayed to children and that children do their part in respecting the laws of society. I am a teenager. I think parents should be able to monitor my personal life, specifically my texts, because of all the dangerous things in the world. You start to notice on the news teens using drugs more often than they have before. Using a simple text message to one of your friends about drugs or anything can start peer pressure. You’re not talking in person so it’s easier to text it then actually say it. I was reading a story on CNN about a computer programmer who figured out slang use of words to cover so parents won’t get it. He does have a website up with the meaning of the slang use of words. I looked at one and it said â€Å"tdtml†. This means â€Å"talk dirty to me later†. Parents should be able to ask for the phone to see what they are talking about. They should be able to ask for it at random times. My parents also told me that they will check my phone whenever giving me a heads up that I will just hand it over at any time. This has helped me a lot in my life to stay away from peer pressure and many other things as well. Using the website noslang.com can help parents figure out what their kids are texting. Reading the CNN report on what they could code for words was absolutely amazing. Go to cnn.com and in the search bar type in â€Å"Parents do you know what these texts mean?† Parents you will be stunned at the reports and the type of coding teens use in these days.