American Goldfinch essays

American Goldfinch essays The American Goldfinch is a typical member of the North American seed-eating birds that are members of the finch, or Fringillidae, family. This state bird has adapted to eating seeds with its short, heavy, and conical beak. American Goldfinches use their feet extensively. They have adapted to their low body weight (about 11 g) and their dexterous foot and bill. Their foot is special because it allows them to clamp and extract seeds. The Goldfinch also has adapted to its small size and unique wing structure which provides it with speed. It has adapted to a low-protein diet by having a prolonged moulting period. The American Goldfinch has adapted to predators by utilizing a mostly seeds diet, which predators find insufficient for their health. The American Goldfinch can be all across Southern Canada and most of the United States. The Temperate zone is the very colorful climate they live in. This environment is somewhat warm and sunny, with many plants and animals. Rain and storms are not common, though they do occur sometimes. American Goldfinches may build their nest on the terminal branches of bushes or trees. Pretty much every adaptation of this state bird refers to its characteristics. The American Goldfinches adaptations of eating seeds, avoiding predators, and living on a low-protein diet refer to the characteristic of its short, heavy, and conical beak. Their adaptation of their light weight, and dexterous foot and bill enables this bird to take advantage of food sources relatively inaccessible to some potential competitors. Their wing shape and weight allow them to reach seeds quickly and their bill and feet allow them to break the seeds down. ...

A Dolls House essays

A Doll's House essays Henrik Ibsens, A Doll House, is a realistic play written in the mindset of realism. Throughout the play, lines of mockery and emphasis are present, giving the audience the feeling of fakeness and showing them a particular depiction of women in the 19th century. It is apparent that Ibsen set out to give a specific character, Nora, a role to play as the stereotypical 19th century woman, continually showing her need for individuality and lack of dependency. This is the main theme in A Doll House. From the first lines of the show, it is clear how Ibsen wants the audience to portray the role of women and continues to use this theme throughout the remainder of the show. As the show progresses, we see a parallel progression in the character of Nora. She has been babied her entire life, not only by her father but now by her husband, Torvald, whom only treats her as a pet, not as a wife. Her main struggle through the play is to find her independency and freedom as an individual. This is difficult for her, however, for she has never had to strain to get anything. Shes always had things handed to her and has always lived an over-comfortable lifestyle. Even through her dialogue, its easy to sense that all of her happiness is fake because she feels like a trapped animal, just living life as its given to her, instead of her taking the initiative to do things for herself. As a result of this upbringing, Nora is materialistic and impulsive. Over the duration of the play, however, the development of Noras character shows the audience that her ways are only a cover for the emptiness she feels each day. In the play, we find out that she secretly negoti ates a loan with Nils Krogstad, in order to pay for a trip to Italy for her husbands illness and recovery. Everyone thinks that Noras father funded the trip, but the audience finds, to their surprise, that it was she who actually paid for it. This...

'Do pesticide residues in food pose a significant risk to consumer Essay

'Do pesticide residues in food pose a significant risk to consumer health - Essay Example Studies revealed that residues of pesticides remain in the crops for some time that eventually enter the cycle of the food chain. If these chemicals can kill and destroy the pests, they can also pose a potential danger to human beings. A safe level is then studied by researchers to establish the tolerable amount of pesticide residues that can ingested and does not endanger human beings. Incidents from around the globe reveal that human beings suffer from pesticide poisoning or overdose that has adversely affected life and health. This occurred despite stringent regulation by government regulatory agencies. Can pesticide be continuously used so that crops can be grown in abundance and free of disease but still not endanger the life of human beings? Without pesticide, farmers and growers will suffer great losses when pests and diseases attack their farms. But on the consumer end, death and illness can result. A balance has to be made so that both the production and consumer sides can b enefit. Pesticides that can be used in plants must be approved by regulating agencies (Food Standards Agency 2004). Introduction Pesticide is a general term that refers to a wide array of products used to decimate pests in the house, agricultural farm, etc. such as insect killers (called insecticides), mould and fungi killers (or fungicides), weedkillers (herbicides), slug pellets (molluscicides), rat and mouse killers (rodenticides), plant growth regulators, and bird and animal repellents (Health and Safety Executive 2009). United States Environmental Protection Agency (2010) included disinfectants and sanitizers (for kitchen or laundry), chemicals used for swimming pools, personal insect repellents, baits and sprays for cockroaches, and powders and sprays for fleas and ticks. There are natural pesticides such as pyrethrums (taken from chrysanthemum plant) and others are modified forms of natural chemicals (Health and Safety Executive 2009). For several decades, pesticides are bein g used by food growers in order to make the produce look good and abundant (Health and Safety Executive 2009). The chemicals used in regulating the growth of plants (e.g. one that slows down sprouting in potatoes) are likewise classified as pesticides and are regulated (Food Standards Agency 2004). Without using pesticides, the crops can lose their quality (Food Standards Agency 2004) making them not saleable in the market. Pesticide is used primarily for the benefits it can offer. In the farm, it protects the crops from pesky insects, weeds and fungi that cause diseases in plants (Health and Safety Executive 2009). Farm crops grow healthy and protected from diseases by pesticides (Food Standards Agency 2004). It also prevents rats, fungi and insects from contaminating the food while under storage (Health and Safety Executive 2009). In most instances, there are trace amounts of the chemicals used that remain inside or around the produce after harvest or while being stored (Food Stan dards Agency n.d.). These chemicals are called pesticide residues, and also include traces that result from the breakdown of pesticides (Food Standards Agency n.d.). It is sometimes necessary that a pesticide must stay longer on the crop to effectively protect it (Food Standards Agency n.d.). Exhaustive studies are conducted by regulatory agencies in collaboration with scientific institutions to confirm the report submitted by a company about the pesticide intended to be sold to the public. Upon the grant of approval, the

Management Principles of Pursuit of Happiness Term Paper

Management Principles of Pursuit of Happiness - Term Paper Example In any business, money is the language people speak, even in the business of families. When money is not smooth-flowing, members of a company or family could break apart, leaving broken relationships. This is a common mistake made by the untrained or novice businessman, foreseeing a great future in a business without making careful studies of the feasibility of an enterprise before investing in it. In the case of Gardner, he bought all the machines he could and though he worked hard to sell them compounded with good communication skills, he still lost his wife. However, serendipities could happen when perseverance is present as seen in the life of Gardner when his selling of the machines led him to places which brought him to the success in stockbrokerage. Gardner proved to have keen eyes for success when he looked enviously at a stockbroker’s car and asked him what he did and how he did it, showing qualities that are essential to successful management. He was not only observa nt but he had a way of expressing himself without reservations, he had good communication skills. Honesty was one he could have never thought would be the very key for his having a chance in his dream job as it is shown in his confession to the interviewers that he tried to make up a great story why he went to the interview dressed like a garbage man. Although choosing appropriate clothes is as important as the product in every business, Gardner was able to persuade his interviewers that he could do the job by selling himself first, his abilities and capabilities. Although he was a leader of a basic unit of society, his family; he seemed to be unsuccessful managing it, failing to keep his wife to work with him in their pursuit of the happiness they both longed for. Despite the trials they have been through, he stood to the discipline of never hitting a woman or leaving his son, borne of a desperate need for the father he never knew. This became his personal motivation, to stay with his son and not give him the chance to have a piece of the abuse he experienced in the hands of his stepfather when he was a child, and to work hard to give his son the care he needed as his wife left them for New York. Birthed from such a need, the high-paying job of a stockbroker became to him a challenge and a motivation as he had the opportunity to grab the job, with it not needing a college diploma to qualify as an applicant. Crossing the bridge to take the training as a stockbroker became painfully difficult when he learned that the six-month long training is without pay. Faced with the dilemma of raising his son alone, he had to stand firm, making sacrifices to be able to accomplish every task that was set before him. This is where Gardner’s planning and strategic management skills became evident when he had to work while training and at the same time attending to his parental responsibilities. He managed his time pretty well, studying in the train and working while ta king his leisure time with his son, juggling his various responsibilities and making wise use not only of his time but also of all resources available to him. Moreover, when he was in the training scene, Mr. Witter became one of his motivations, praising him for his wit and hard work, driving him all the more to be productive. He was a natural strategic planner, valuing every tick of the clock so that he even estimated an eight minute productive time he had, from refraining to drink, and hanging in between calls. He was a team-player,

Cultural acceptance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cultural acceptance - Essay Example The dish is a blend of the American tradition and the Chinese heritage. This made her celebrate her mixed culture, despite her white complexion. She describes her identity, as ‘My very existence is a mark of progress and a symbol of my country’. Cultural diversity appreciation creates a sense of pride and personal belonging. Cultural diversity in America as presented by Fong in her article presents different pros and cons. The demise of Fong’s grandmother is a reminder of the cultural appreciation that the family embraced especially through the ‘Thanksgiving dish’. The dish was so special in integrating the American tradition and the Chinese heritage, Fong and her cousins always enjoyed the dish and the meal was a true source of their heritage, she describes it as ‘the feast she prepared was always much larger’. The Thanksgiving acted as a reminder of the grandmother’s eleven grandchildren who would gather for the feast. The thanksgiving feast reminded Fong of the grandmother’s delicacy and not other common American traditional beliefs and practices. Fong’s description of her mixed racial affiliation depicts her belonging. She describes herself, as ‘I’m half Asian, half Anglo and completely American’. Despite the earlier discrimin ation against cultural affiliations, the picture has continued to change. The current crop of people has come to a point of celebrating cultural diversity and has been viewed positively especially, because of what the young generation has been able to learn in school. The government could rarely provide for people of mixed cultures but now the picture appears different. Fong could always indicate that she was Asian despite her mixed affiliations. Full embrace of Chinese culture is something that never came to happen for Fong. The fact that her grandmother never taught her father the Cantonese language, ate using

Treatment Research for Multiple Myeloma (MM)

Treatment Research for Multiple Myeloma (MM) ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological neoplasm that appears after transformation and uncontrolled proliferation of plasma cells. MM is characterized by a heterogeneous genetic aberrations and very different clinical outcomes (Avet-Loiseau, . Boyd KD). Although treatments for MM have increased by develop new and more sophisticated therapeutics drugs such an immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) and proteasome inhibitors (PIs)( Shaji K. Kumar, Raghupathy, Antonio Palumbo) the marked variability of responses indicate that larger studies will be required. Currently, identification of cytogenetic abnormalities is performed by conventional karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization. However, these disorders are not sufficient to explain the malignant phenotype given that are also observed in premalignant states of MM such a monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) or smoldering myeloma(SM)(Bergsagel, Hideshima). This finding justifies the need for a comprehensive screening of genetic abnormalities in MM patients, which has not been incorporated in the medical workup yet. Recently, the introduction of massive sequencing of patient genome using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has considerably increased the understanding of the biological features of MM. Many works have described the complex and heterogeneous mutational profile of MM patients(bolli nuevo, walker). Whole Exome Sequency (WES) studies in newly diagnosis MM patients have confirmed that more than 50 genes are mutated in the first manifestation of disease (walker). However, only few genes have been detected recurrently mutated at diagnosis, including KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, DIS3, TP53 and FAM46C, and only TP53 mutations have been recurentelly associated with poor survival. In addition, other studies have assessed the clonal evolution over time, pointing out that systemic treatment with chemotherapy may affect the livelihood of some subclones more than others, and thus may influence the tumor evolution over time(Egan JB, bolli, Keats JJ, ) The introduction of targeted studies allows the detection of mutations even with very low allele frequencies at an affordable price, allowing the incorporation of extensive genetic studies to the clinical workup. In the last years, several groups have applied this approach in order to achieve a better patients stratification and prognosis prediction. Although many studies have highlighted the importance of the subclonal landscape in MM and many efforts have been undertaken to stratify patients and predicts their responses, there is no clear relation between sensitives or refractories clones to treatment, and more information about the prognostic impact of this subclonal profile in series of homogeneously treated MM patients is needed. A large number of clinical trial are being carried out with this aim, unify treatments in order to study more effectively the impact of genetic alterations in prognosis. In this work, newly diagnosis MM patient homogenously treated have been genetically characterized using a combination of the most recent techniques, including FISH and ultra-deep targeted sequencing. We applied the highest read depth described in the literature with the aim to detect minority subclones ignored to date. We also integrated these data with the clinical features to find out new patterns of behavior, relate them with survival and reveal new insight into the complexity of clonal and subclonal architecture of MM. Patient samples Samples were taken from the available 79 newly diagnosed MM patient enrolled in the clinical trial GEM10MAS65 (registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01237249). This is a phase III trial where patients older than 65 years were randomly assigned between two treatments arms: sequential melphalan/prednisone/Velcade (MPV) followed by Revlimid/low dose dexamethasone (Rd) versus alternating melphalan/prednisone/Velcade (MPV) with Revlimid/low dose dexamethasone (Rd). Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were measured from the starting date of the treatment. The median time to progression was 26.4 months with a median follow up of 31.5 months. Targeted sequencing and mutation calling Positive plasma cells CD138 were isolated from bone marrow aspirates and DNA was extracted using AllPrep DNA/RNA mini kit (Quiagen). Only 20 ng of DNA were used to prepare libraries using Ampliseq Library Kit 2.0. We also sequenced DNA from the 15 available CD138 negative fractions in order to filter out potential artifacts and corroborate detection sentivity. Samples were sequenced using Ion Torrent platform (IonProton, Thermofisher, Carlsbad, CA, USA) using the M3P gene panel (Mayo Clinic, Arizona). This panel spreads out over 77 genes frequently mutated in MM, which are related to critical pathophysiological pathways, associated to drug resistance or targetable with molecular drugs [paper mayo kortum etal]. Quality filter and alignments was performed using Torrent Suit software (Life Technologies) Single nucleotide variants were calling and annotated using Ion Reporter software applying in-house modifications in call variants process. Variants listed in Single Nucleotide Polimorph ism database (dbSNP, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/SNP/) were excluded from samples without germline available, as well as variants that were detected in multiple samples. In addition, to test the ability of the workflow previously described, we applied a novel bioinformatics pipeline developed by Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO). All reported mutations were detected by both bioinformatics approaches. The integrative genomic viewer (IGV) was used to visualize the read alignments, single variants and correct sequencing errors due to homopolymer regions. Statistical analysis All statistical analysis was performed using the statistical environment R. Correlation coefficients between mutated genes and cytogenetic aberrations was assessed and plotted using corrplot (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/corrplot/). Differences in survival were tested using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazard regression was employed to obtain hazards ratios (HR) and evaluated at 5% of significance level. A second approach called LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) was performed to detect relevant variables among clinical, cytogenetic and mutated genes.   Further details can be found in Data Supplement. RESULTS Mutated genes and altered pathways (cambiar tà ­tulo) We sequenced 79 tumor samples with a mean coverage depth of 1600X. The minimum coverage of the detected variants was 60X and the average coverage 370X. We identified 170 nonsynonymous missense/nonsense/stoploss single variants, 81 of them (48%) were predicted pathogenic by Sift and Polyphen and 61 (36%)   have been described in COSMIC data base.   85% of patients harbored at least 1 mutation with a median of 2.1 mutations per patient. We detected mutations in 53 genes (Figure1), although 6 genes accounted the 39% of the total number of mutations; KRAS= 21.5%, DIS3= 19%, NRAS= 16.5%, BRAF= 10.1%, TP53= 8.8% and ATM= 7.6% of the patients.  Ã‚   48% of patients (38/79) presented at least one mutation in genes envolved in RAS/MAPK pathway, being the most frequently mutated pathway. 72 and 100% of variants in KRAS and NRAS respectively were detected in the hotspot codons 12, 13 and 61, and the targetable V600E BRAF mutation was detected in 1 patient. (Figure 2 supplemental?). NFKB p athway was the second most frequently mutated in our cohort, accounting for the 15% of all mutations distributed in 25 % of the patients (19/79). This pathway included TRAF3 (5 mutations, one nonsense and 4 missense) and TRAF2 (3 missense mutation) all of them predicted pathogenic by Sift and Polyphen. Other pathways importantly altered in the cohort were MYC in 11% of patients (9/79), cereblon and ciclyn both in 9% of patients (7/79). Multiple mutations within the same gene were observed in 11 patients: 4 of whom harbored 2 and 3 mutations within DIS3 (patient 1-24= Glu501Lys and Phe120Leu at 8 and 53 % of VRF, patient 2-236= Asp487His and Asp479Glu at 4 and 21 of VRF respectively, patient 3 321= Tyr753Asn and Glu126Lys at 2 and 58 % of VRF respectively and patient 4-42 = Arg820Trp, Gly249Glu and at 14, 20 and 24% of VRF respectively). Other 2 patients showed 2 and 3 mutation in KRAS (patient 5-168= Gly13Asp and Gln61His at 9 and 13 %of VRF and patient 6-269 = Tyr71Asp, UTR3 in exon 6 and Gln61Glu at 3, 15 and 37 % of VRF respectively; 2 patients with 2 mutation in NRAS(patient 7-177= .Gln61Lys   and Gly12Ala at 5 and 12% of VRF respectively and patient 8-257=   Gln61Glu   and Gly12Ala at 5 and 6% of VRF respectively), one patient with 3 mutations in MAX (patient 9-190= Arg36Lys , Arg35Leu and Glu32Val at 10, 20 and 26 %of VRF), one patient with 3 mutations in TRAF3 (patient 10-40 = Lys453Asn, His136Tyr   and Phe445Leu 8, 11 and1 3% of VRF) and one patient with 2 mutation in TP53 (patient 11-40 = Asp208Val   and Glu204Ter at 35 and 36% of VRF respectively). Variant Read Frequency study The VRF found in our cohort were diverse.   We detected 50% of variants (85/170) below 25% of VRF and 27% (46/170) below 10% (Figure 2). KRAS (n=5) DIS3 (n=5), BRAF (n=4), NRAS (n=4), and TP53 (n=3) were the genes that harbored the largest number of low frequency mutations (Figure 2). KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and TP53 mutations were, in all cases, lower than 50% of VRF while DIS3 showed mutations in a broad range (from 2 to 85%)(Fig3). ). Most of DIS3 mutations with VRF

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Edgar Allan Poe once said, "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." The 13 years that I have spent attending school have quickly passed through my life as if a dream, much as I imagine it did Edgar Allan Poe. I can still remember my first day of school in Vietnam when I was five years old. Timid and scared, I held my mother's hand tightly, frightened that if I let go, I would lose her forever. My mother looked at me and said gently in Vietnamese: "Su hoc nhu thuyen tren dong nuoc nguoc. Khong tien at se lui" Translated into English it means: "Education is like a boat heading upstream against the river's current. If it is not going forward, it will be left drifting behind." Now, years later, I stand among fellow students who have also bravely faced the challenge of that upstream river of knowledge. We are gathered here tonight for a very special and important occasion. It will be a night for all of us to remember, a night of wonderful memories, a night that celebrates the end of one journey and the beginning of another. I would like to welcome all of you here today -- faculty, family, friends, fellow Phi Theta Kappans, and of course, the one, the only Harding Community College graduating Class of 2006. Thank you for giving me the honor of speaking to you on this very special occasion in our lives. Giving a commencement speech is a very challenging task. The faculty would like a speaker with a substantive message. The parents would appreciate a sentimental tone, and the graduates would like the speech to be brief! Two years ago, we came to this institution with great enthusiasm and determination to build a bridge to the future for ourselves and for the next generation. We brought with us impressive... ...e has given us, to work together to translate the abstract into reality. In closing, and rather than saying good-bye to all of you, I ask the Class of 2006 to please rise. Let us give a grateful applause to Harding Community College for all that it has done and continues to do to help students like us in our quest for success. Let us thank you, our distinguished faculty, for believing in us, compelling us, and teaching us to explore the fullness and strength that lie within ourselves. Let us thank our family and friends for loving us, supporting us, and encouraging us to pass through the challenges of that upstream river of knowledge. And, let us celebrate this day with cheerful applause and congratulations to each other for being wonderful companions along this journey. Class of 2006, I wish you all a bright future and may another journey begin here.