The Big Lebowski Essay Example For Students

The Big Lebowski Essay The entirety of the connections among the components in the film the Big Lebowski may appear to be baffling with one another, yet this style of film makes an incorporated arrangement of disunity. The Coen siblings show this style through different themes all through the film, from the fundamental characters name to what he drinks. The film is an ideal case of a film which has the topic of disunity. In the film the fundamental character Jeffery Lebowski, alludes to himself as the Dude. This component of the story turns into a theme. The Dude is alluded to, and alludes to himself as the Dude since it speaks to his character, which is an accommodating cool character. The basic Western culture slang which is related with the word man, is male whore. In the scene where the Dude gets back in the wake of being captured in Malibu, he wind up participating in sex in line with Mod Lebowski. After they finish, Mod discloses to the Dude that she was utilizing him to yield a kid. We will compose a custom article on The Big Lebowski explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now Clearly he was not given cash in return for sexual favors at the same time, the Dude, much like genuine whores was utilized for sex. The Dude is consistently utilized by his companions and business relates all through the entire film. In spite of the fact that introduced as a laidback cool character, the Dudes title is illustrative of how he is seen by everybody around him. In the film, Bowling is viewed as a keeps an eye on movement, a place where go to contend and escape from the world. In the bowling alley there will never be a female present in the shot inside any scene. This theme is strengthened during the scene entitled Gutter Balls. In the Dudes trip-out it begins as a bowling parody explicit film, which can likewise be viewed as a male thing. It has shots of coasting bowling pins and balls improved in various sexual positions, where the pins speak to the male genitalia. Further on in the fantasy, Mod, who is a solid free character, is spoken to by Viking ensemble she is wearing. In opposition to this, she despite everything required assistance from the Dude when bowling. In the Big Lebowski bowling is viewed as a male ruled movement. During the scene where the Dude and Mod Lebowski participate in sex, the Dude pores himself a White Russian. The Dude clarifies that the liquor and maryjane encourages him think. Im keeping on a severe medication regiment to ahh, keep my ahh, mind nimble. This is demonstrated when very quickly after he smokes his maryjane and pours his White Russian he makes sense of where enormous Lebowskis cash is. As opposed to this, the medications and liquor can likewise be viewed as an obstruction in the Dudes exertion to tackle the case. At a certain point the Dude crashes his vehicle in the wake of spilling his beverage and dropping a lit joint onto his lap. In another scene the Dude is captured in light of the fact that his White Russian was sedated. Medications and liquor become a Catch 22 of the Dudes achievement. In light of these themes we can see that the Coen siblings utilized various themes show any number of various things about the film. They can work together subjects of manliness to societys perspectives on the powerless. With this, the Big Lebowski has a subject which must be called varied.

Biography of King Abdullah, Ruler of Saudi Arabia

Account of King Abdullah, Ruler of Saudi Arabia Abdullah receptacle Abdulaziz Al Saud (August 1, 1924â€January 23, 2015) was the lord of Saudia Arabia from 2005 to 2015. During his rule, strains expanded between traditionalist Salafi (Wahhabi) powers and liberal reformers. While the lord situated himself as a relative moderate, he didn't advance numerous meaningful changes; indeed, during Abdullahs residency, Sauda Arabia was blamed for various human rights infringement. Quick Facts: King Abdullah Known For: King Abdullah was the ruler of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015.Also Known As: Abdullah receptacle Abdulaziz Al SaudBorn: August 1, 1924 in Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaParents: King Abdulaziz and Fahda bint Asi Al ShuraimDied: January 23, 2015 in Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaSpouse(s): 30Children: 35 Early Life Little is thought about King Abdullahs adolescence. He was conceived in Riyadh on August 1, 1924, the fifth child of Saudi Arabias establishing ruler, Abdulaziz canister Abdulrahman Al Saud (otherwise called Ibn Saud). Abdullahs mother, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim, was Ibn Sauds eighth spouse of 12. Abdullah had somewhere in the range of 50 and 60 kin. At the hour of Abdullahs birth, his dad Amir Abdulazizs domain included just the northern and eastern segments of Arabia. The Amir crushed Sharif Hussein of Mecca in 1928 and pronounced himself ruler. The imperial family was very poor until about 1940,â at which point Saudi oil incomes started to increment. Training Subtleties of Abdullahs training are inadequate, however the official Saudi Information Directory expresses that he had conventional strict instruction. As indicated by the Directory, Abdullah enhanced his conventional tutoring with broad perusing. He likewise spent a long spell living with the desert Bedouin individuals so as to learn conventional Arab esteems. Vocation In August 1962, Prince Abdullah was designated to lead the Saudi Arabian National Guard. The National Guards obligations incorporate giving security to the illustrious family, forestalling overthrows, and guarding the Muslim Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. The power incorporates a standing armed force of 125,000 men, in addition to an inborn civilian army of 25,000. In March 1975, Abdullahs stepbrother Khalid prevailing to the seat upon the death of another relative, King Faisal. Ruler Khalid named Prince Abdullah second agent leader. In 1982, the seat went to King Fahd after Khalids demise and Prince Abdullah was advanced again, this opportunity to agent PM. In this job, he managed gatherings of the lords bureau. Lord Fahd likewise formally named Abdullah the Crown Prince, which means he was next in line for the seat. Official In December 1995, King Fahd had a progression of strokes that left him pretty much crippled and incapable to satisfy his political obligations. For the following nine years, Crown Prince Abdullah went about as official for his sibling, in spite of the fact that Fahd and his associates despite everything employed impressive impact over open arrangement. Ruler of Saudi Arabia Lord Fahd kicked the bucket on August 1, 2005, and Crown Prince Abdullah became ruler, accepting force in name just as practically speaking. He acquired a country conflicted between fundamentalist Islamists and modernizing reformers. The fundamentalists once in a while utilized psychological militant acts, (for example, shelling and abducting) to communicate their indignation regarding issues like the positioning of American soldiers on Saudi soil. The modernizers progressively utilized sites and weight from global gatherings to call for expanded womens rights, change of Sharia-based laws, and more prominent press and strict opportunities. Lord Abdullah got serious about the Islamistsâ but didnt make the huge changes for which numerous onlookers both inside and outside of Saudi Arabia had trusted. International strategy Lord Abdullahâ was referred to all through his vocation as a firm Arab patriot, yet he connected with different nations too. In 2002, for instance, the ruler set forth a Middle East Peace Plan. It got recharged consideration in 2005, yet has moped from that point forward and presently can't seem to be actualized. The arrangement requires an arrival to the pre-1967 fringes and a privilege of return for Palestinian evacuees. Consequently, Israel would control the Western Wall and the absolute West Bank, and get acknowledgment from Arab states. To assuage Saudi Islamists, the lord prohibited U.S. Iraq War powers to utilize bases in Saudi Arabia. Individual Life Ruler Abdullah had more than 30 wivesâ and fathered in any event 35 kids. As indicated by the Saudi Embassys Official Biography of the King, he reared Arabian horsesâ and established the Riyadh Equestrian Club. He additionally wanted to peruse, and set up libraries in Riyadh and Casablanca, Morocco. American ham radio administrators additionally delighted in talking broadcasting in real time with the Saudi ruler. At the hour of his passing, the ruler had an individual fortune assessed at $18 billion, making him among the main five most extravagant royals on the planet. Demise Lord Abdullah turned out to be sick and was taken to the medical clinic toward the start of 2015. He kicked the bucket on January 23 at 90 years old. Inheritance In the wake of King Abdullahs demise, his relative Salman container Abdulaziz Al Saud turned into the ruler of Saudi Arabia. Abdullahs inheritance is a questionable one. In 2012, the United Nations granted him an UNESCO Gold Medal for his endeavors to advance exchange and harmony in the Middle East. Different gatherings including Human Rights Watch-censured the lord for his supposed human rights infringement, including the abuse of detainees. Abdullah was additionally censured for his approaches on strict opportunity. In 2012, for instance, the Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari was captured for making a few Twitter posts that purportedly stigmatized the Islamic prophet Muhammed; he was detained for about two years. People rights gatherings, for example, Amnesty International were exceptionally disparaging of Saudi Arabias treatment of the case. Sources Keyes, David. â€Å"Saudi Writer Hamza Kashgari Faces Charge of Blasphemy after Tweets about Muhammad.† The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Feb. 2012.Knickmeyer, Ellen, and Ahmed Al Omran. â€Å"Saudi Arabias King Abdullah Dies.† The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Company, 23 Jan. 2015.Rasheed, Madawi al-. Salmans Legacy: the Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia. Hurst Company, 2018.

SIPA Love Stories Love is a poem COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

SIPA Love Stories Love is a poem COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog Heres our sixth and last story were sharing in this mini series. This final story is actually a poem someone wrote for their classmate. A  SIPA love poem: I dont have any pic left but only a poem written in 2006 for my SIPA classmate : Poem for Sarah Autumn of 2005. Resistance, struggle, hesitation Jostle in the bosom of the newcomer. Yet still a flicker of expectation Upon arrival in New York, The city dreamed of. Then Columbia, SIPA. Weight of study: Meetings assignments papers reports; No interruption to the flurry of work As precious life is left to waste. No one to turn to among these cold connections And in the sudden sickness That pushes me to death’s rim. New home, New York Frigid as the ice of winter. Then… Seemed it couldn’t be true: Sarah, The loveliest girl my life had ever seen Came to my heart. In the nights of swirling snowflakes And the freeze of subzero mornings, You were ever shining with your sunlight, Giving me warmth that lasted all day. And with the heat of a fire on a summer’s afternoon You lit the dull classroom discussions, Making me forget all concerns. Among the things Of that year in New York, What I will treasure most Is not the great charm of the Big Apple, Not the beautiful grounds of an IVY League school. It is a girl called Sarah. She fills my memory, Occupies my thoughts. And if I yearn to return to New York And relive being a student at SIPA, It is only because I wish to Replay the time that we shared, And hold on tightly to moments Of beauty ineffable, Praying for time to leave me there. Alinson I hope youve enjoyed them all as much as I have.  And dont forget to return to  the blog tomorrow, Valentines Day,  to discover some new connections Seeple submitted to us this week! And a big thank you to Columbia Alumni Association for coordinating the series. Find the entire Love Stories collection in  Columbia Alumni Associations  Facebook album.

A Comparison of Online Shopping at JCPenney and Kohls Essay

JCPenney Dominates Over Kohl’s in Online Shopping Being a multi-billion dollar retailer comes with its perks. JCPenney’s dominance over catalog merchandising has now extended into the cyber world at www.jcpenney.com. This website is multi-functional and easy to navigate, but how would JCPenney’s new e-commerce site stack up against its toughest competitor, Kohl’s, on the web? The answer may surprise you. This is an intriguing look at how varied retail comparisons can be. While JCPenney is struggling with sales on the retail floor, Kohl’s continues to exceed expectations in their stores. Online though, it is a completely different story. Kohl’s has a fledgling site located at www.kohls.com. The homepage for this site looks very†¦show more content†¦Kohl’s homepage is simple and bare unlike JCPenney’s cluttered doorstep; however, JCPenney lists all links on the homepage, which makes online shopping easier overall. The major difference between these two sites is the shop-ability of each. Kohl’s has yet to expand their website to an e-commerce base. It was dramatically easier for JCPenney to expand online because of their established warehousing ability for the catalog consumer. JCPenney has the ability to receive an online order and ship the merchandise within 48 hours, a feat unsurpassed by any online retailer. Kohl’s would need to contract their suppliers to â€Å"drop ship† (the process of shipping merchandise to fill open orders with no warehousing needed) all merchandise to fill Internet orders. JCPenney’s site includes color pictures of every catalog item, and the customer can shop online by using a catalog number. This amenity is something Kohl’s can not pursue because their lack of catalog merchandising. JCPenney also has the advantage of offering direct customer service online. Any online customer can quickly contact JCPenney by completing an online questionnaire detailing precisely what the customer needs. On the Kohl’s website, a customer may scroll through several screens of customer service information before they are given the email address to contact their customer service department. On www.jcpenney.com a customer can click the â€Å"Customer Service†Show MoreRelatedCase Analysis: Macys3825 Words   |  16 Pageshaggling and bargaining was most popular. Macy’s employed the first in store Santa Claus and brought the Christmas spirit into the retail business (Rowland). Today Macy’s is known for creating excitement with an assortment of top retail brands, ordinary shopping experiences, as well as special events most people know to include the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (Macy’s). History. Rowland Hussey Macy opened his first store in Massachusetts in 1851. In 1858, he established a new store after moving to NewRead MoreJcpenney Industry Analysis17889 Words   |  72 PagesDegree Course: MGMT 6800 MAY 9th, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 COMPANY PROFILES 4 1. JC Penney 4 Strategy initiative 4 Mission†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2.KOHL’S†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Strategy initiative 5 Mission 6 3. Macy’s 6 Strategy initiative 6 Mission 7 4. Sears 7 Strategy initiative 7 Mission 8 INTRODUCTION 8Read MoreJc Penney Marketing Analysis4341 Words   |  18 Pageswant to be treated. That strategy worked well for them over the years as indicated by several financial milestones, including their first $1 billion sales year in 1951, their first $1 billion catalog sales year in 1979, and their first $1 billion online sales year in 2005. JC Penney weathered the storm through many major crises, including World Wars I and II and the Great Depression. They benefited from the enormous population growth and spending power of the American middle class, their core customersRead MoreMacys Strategy6474 Words   |  26 Pagesmerchandise offering and superior shopping experience. Organization has been following that principal for over a decade and today Macy’s targeting consumers through dynamic department stores and online sites. Main issue Advancing e-commerce and internet technologies cause recent declines in sales in the entire industry. Online retailers offer more convenient and fast shopping on the internet directly from your personal computer or smartphone. Along with efficiency online retailers striking departmentRead Morecostco company analysis4171 Words   |  17 Pages20% savings than the leading national brand. The average markup on the company’s merchandise is much lower compared to 20%-25% at supermarkets, 30%-35% at home improvement retailers and 50%-100% at traditional mall retailers. Furthermore, over the online retail channel, the company s markup is even lower. Offering attractive value proposition to the customers acts as a competitive advantage for the company. Value price positioning enables Costco to drive customer traffic and generate strong membershipRead MoreSears Marketing Plan5417 Words   |  22 Pagesyoung adults. Sears will also offer deals to include markdowns and rebates througho ut the year to promote many of its retail lines and market to the thrifty shopper. The retailer will continue to see aggressive competition from Target, Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Home Depot and Lowes. These companies are some of the national retailers that Sears will have to contend with in order to survive. According to Sears Holding 2011, annual 10K Report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Home Depot

See Why the Sky Is Blue and Sunset Is Red - Easy Experiment

The sky is blue on a sunny day, yet red or orange at sunrise and sunset. The different colors are caused by scattering of light in the Earths atmosphere. Here is a simple experiment you can do to see how this works: Blue Sky - Red Sunset Materials You only need a few simple materials for this weather project: WaterMilkTransparent container with flat parallel sidesFlashlight or cell phone light A small rectangular aquarium works well for this experiment. Try a 2-1/2-gallon or 5-gallon tank. Any other square or rectangular clear glass or plastic container will work. Conduct the Experiment Fill the container with  about 3/4 full of water. Turn on the flashlight and hold it flat against the side of the container. You probably wont be able to see the beam of the flashlight, although you may see bright sparkles where the light strikes dust, air bubbles, or other small particles in the water. This is much like how sunlight travels through space.Add about 1/4 cup of milk (for a 2-1/2 gallon container—increase the amount of milk for a larger container). Stir the milk into the container to mix it with water. Now, if you shine the flashlight against the side of the tank, you can see the beam of light in the water. Particles from the milk are scattering light. Examine the container from all sides. Notice if you look at the container from the side, the flashlight beam looks slightly blue, while the end of the flashlight appears slightly yellow.Stir more milk into the water. As you increase the number of particles in the water, the light from the flashlight is more stron gly scattered. The beam appears even bluer, while the path of the beam furthest from the flashlight goes from yellow to orange. If you look into the flashlight from across the tank, it looks like it is orange or red, rather than white. The beam also appears to spread out as it crosses the container. The blue end, where there are some particles scattering light, is like the sky on a clear day. The orange end is like the sky near sunrise or sunset. How It Works Light travels in a straight line until it encounters particles, which deflect or scatter it. In pure air or water, you cant see a beam of light and it travels along a straight path. When there are particles in the air or water, like dust, ash, ice, or water droplets, light is scattered by the edges of the particles. Milk is a colloid, which contains tiny particles of fat and protein. Mixed with water, the particles scatter light much as dust scatters light in the atmosphere. Light is scattered differently, depending on its color or wavelength. Blue light is scattered the most, while the orange and red light is scattered the least. Looking at the daytime sky is like viewing a flashlight beam from the side -- you see the scattered blue light. Looking at sunrise or sunset is like looking directly into the beam of the flashlight -- you see the light that isnt scattered, which is orange and red. What makes sunrise and sunset different from the daytime sky? Its the amount of atmosphere the sunlight has to cross before it reaches your eyes. If you think of the atmosphere as a coating covering the Earth, sunlight at noon passes through the thinnest part of the coating (which has the least number of particles). Sunlight at sunrise and sunset has to take a sideways path to the same point, through a lot more coating, which means there are a lot more particles that can scatter light. While multiple types of scattering occur in the Earths atmosphere, Rayleigh scattering is primarily responsible for the blue of the daytime sky and reddish hue of the rising and setting sun. The Tyndall effect also comes into play, but it is not the cause of blue sky color because molecules in air are smaller than the wavelengths of visible light. Sources Smith, Glenn S. (2005). Human color vision and the unsaturated blue color of the daytime sky. American Journal of Physics. 73 (7): 590–97. doi:10.1119/1.1858479Young, Andrew T. (1981). Rayleigh scattering. Applied Optics. 20 (4): 533–5. doi:10.1364/AO.20.000533

Zara Market Share Free Essays

Three generations of Data Management in Decision Support 1. Early 1970s – required a repository of data : sourced from operational system + other data (e. g. We will write a custom essay sample on Zara Market Share or any similar topic only for you Order Now external data) – Data was customized for the specific DSS – Application-centric approach : data support a single or a few related applications used to help make the business case for the warahouse – Sprague provided the Data-Dialog-Models (DDM) paradigm 2. Late 1980s Telecommunications, retailing and financial services industries built warehouses to store vast amounts of customer and sales-related data – These industries remain leaders in terms of the size of the warehouses and how the warehouses are used – Data-centric approach : support a variety of applications 3. In 2000 – the movement to real-time data warehousing – changes in the way that warehouse data is used – different : Previous : data aims to understand what had already happened and to predict what would happen in the future * limit to influence real-time decisions and current operations * Now : real-time data (current decisions and critical business process) such as customer-facing and supply chain applications can be significantly enhanced Real or Right Time ? – Incorrect concept applied to warehousing : real-time = instantaneous – Reason : much of warehouse data cannot be captured and entered into the warehouse in seconds or minutes. * expensive difficult to make real-time * may not be a business need for real-time data – Example : Some source systems, e. g. a legacy COBOL program, is undated once a month Continental Airlines – a leader in real-time business intelligence – won The Data Warehousing Institute’s prestigious Best Practices and Leadership Awards – Real-time data warehouse : provide the data that is required to implement real-time BI – Firms can use BI to affect current decision making and business processes by usine real-time – Importance : especially for customer-facing applications, e. g. hose found in call centers and check-in processes, help firms become more customer-centric – Terms describe firms use real-time BI : â€Å"real-time enterprise† , â€Å"zero latency organization† – Purpose of real-time BI : * increase revenues and decrease costs =gt; improve profitability – e. g. Continental Airlines * taken a $30M investment in hardware, software and personnel to generate over $500M in revenue, resulting in a ROI of over 1,000% – Firms must overcome both organizational and technical challenges for real-time BI successful – Organizational must be executive : * sponsorship and support * initial and on-going financial support governance processes put in place * BI and data warehousing personnel with the requisite personnel – Technical : * acquire and implement new hardware and software * establish processes and procedures for supporting and managing real-time data feeds from source systems * data must be quickly transformed and loaded into the warehouse * data must be analyzed and made available to operational s ystems and personnel – briefly discuss an application that illustrates Continental’s use of real-time BI – focus on the technical issues associated with Continental’s implementation of real-time BI How to cite Zara Market Share, Papers

Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today Essay Example

Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today Essay More than 30 years ago the hypothesis of an interventional approach in patients with unstable angina or non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was considered only after a cooling-off period. This negative attitude was in part justified by the lack of effective antithrombotic adjunctive therapies and devices in the management of lesion containing thrombus and the subsequent early hazard of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The delay—many days or weeks after hospital admission—to interventional treatment could result in an apparent stabilization of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with a high incidence of early recurrent ischemia or nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) in the more favorable cases or in a definitive cooling of the patients. During this long period many trials comparing an early invasive strategy with a conservative strategy in patients with unstable angina or NSTEMI have produced conflicting results that have delayed the current general consensus regarding the benefit of an early invasive strategy, which is more evident in high-risk patients and mainly driven by the decrease in MI and the need for percutaneous or surgical coronary revascularization. This troubled history might be explained at least in part by the design of most studies that randomized patients before cardiac catheterization and the use of a wide temporal windows—from 24 to 48 h to 5 days—for the definition of early intervention. We will write a custom essay sample on Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Randomization before cardiac catheterization resulted in the enrolment of a high percentage (30%) of patients who did not receive coronary revascularization, because of mild or absent atherosclerotic coronary artery disease in most of them, making the comparison of an early invasive strategy versus a conservative or a delayed invasive strategy in selected patients distorted by the high number of patients at low risk of events whatever the strategy adopted. The use of temporal windows as long as 24 to 48 h to several days for the definition of an early treatment hides the potential benefit of a true early treatment (within 24 h of patient presentation) and contributes to maintaining considerable uncertainty about the optimal timing of cardiac catheterization and revascularization for patients with unstable angina or NSTEMI. The study by Sorajja et al. 1) in this issue of the Journal overcame these 2 critical points and provides important data on the impact of delay to PCI on clinical outcome in the large cohort of patients with ACS enrolled in the ACUITY (Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage strategY) trial who underwent PCI (2). Patients who underwent PCI (7,749 patients) were stratified by time from hospital presentation to PCI into 3 groups: 24 h. A delay to PCI 24 h after clinical presentation was associated with 50% increase in 30-day and 1-year mortality as compared with patients who were treated earlier. Moreover, true early PCI was associated with a decreased rate of nonfatal MI. The incremental risk of death attributable to PCI delay 24 h was greatest in high-risk patients. The study results are consistent with those of the ISAR-COOL (Intracoronary Stenting With Antithrombotic Regimen Cooling-Off) trial (3). This elegant study is the only randomized trial comparing early intervention (delay to PCI 24 h after clinical presentation than among patients who had earlier PCI: no deaths at 1 year in the Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score 1 to 2 subgroup with a time-to-PCI 2% in the subgroup with a time-to-PCI 24 h. This point is really important, because it outlines a major limitation of risk-scoring before cardiac catheterization in the individual patient and at the same time weakens a strategy of deferring for expedited cardiac catheterization only patients with a high risk score. A low TIMI risk score might correspond to a very-high-risk angiographic profile. This event is frequent and confirmed also by early coronary angiography in the PCI-ACUITY patient cohort (1). Nearly one-half of patients who underwent coronary angiography within 24 h of presentation had a baseline target vessel TIMI flow grade 2. A strategy of plaque passivation before PCI could be effective in decreasing PCI complications in the portion of patients who spontaneously or with an intensive antithrombotic treatment may experience improved coronary flow. Also in this subset of patients with an initial favorable course, the incidence of recurrent refractory ischemia is high—as is MI even after successful emergency PCI—whereas a remarkable portion of patients will not respond to antithrombotic therapy: in the ACUITY PCI study, 38% of patients who underwent coronary angiography with a delay 24 h still had a baseline target vessel TIMI flow grade 36 h after randomization). The difference between groups in the primary study end point (6-month death, MI, stroke) rate was not significant (9. % of patients in the early-intervention group, and 11. 3% in the delayed intervention group) (hazard ratio [HR]: 0. 85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0. 68 to 1. 06, p = 0. 15). As in previous trials with similar results, the lack of significant difference in outcome between the 2 strategies might be explained by the fact that the study could be underpowered for the primary end point (the study was stopped prematurely because of recruitmen t challenges), involved mainly low-intermediate-risk patients with a subsequent low rate of PCI (

Free Essays on Influences On Society

Influences on Society Michael Novak stated that there were three influences on any society: Political influences, Economic influences, and MoralCultural influences. The political influences consist of the governmental body of that society and the laws and regulations set by this governing group. The moralcultural influences consist of the "voluntary associations" of a society: the churches, media, education systems, the people in this society. The final influence being the economic influence, which is the rate of employment, GDP, incidence of poverty, and structure of economic activity. Novak made this theory into an object, a "triangle" of sorts, with each influence being a point on this "triangle." Novak goes on later in his theory to deal with other influences, but as other dimensions. What Novak appears to have missed in his theory is another very important influence on society that influences, and is influenced by the other points of this "triangle," technology. The Middle Ages did come up with a few inventions, such as windmills and horseshoes, but technological process was imperceptible compared with what is happening now. Very soon, a fiber the diameter of a human hair will be able to transmit, in less than a second, the contents of every issue of The Economist magazine that was ever printed (Economy Survey 4). Since Adam Smith, economists have recognized that technology is important for growth, but only in the past two decades have they been studying this subject in earnest (7). There pioneer was Joseph Schumpeter, one of the few economists who tried to explain growth mainly in terms of technological innovation. In the 1930's, he presented a model that postulated growth through the interaction of bursts of technological development and competition between companies (8). His evidence pointed to history. First, the 1780s to the 1840s, which brought the steam power ... Free Essays on Influences On Society Free Essays on Influences On Society Influences on Society Michael Novak stated that there were three influences on any society: Political influences, Economic influences, and MoralCultural influences. The political influences consist of the governmental body of that society and the laws and regulations set by this governing group. The moralcultural influences consist of the "voluntary associations" of a society: the churches, media, education systems, the people in this society. The final influence being the economic influence, which is the rate of employment, GDP, incidence of poverty, and structure of economic activity. Novak made this theory into an object, a "triangle" of sorts, with each influence being a point on this "triangle." Novak goes on later in his theory to deal with other influences, but as other dimensions. What Novak appears to have missed in his theory is another very important influence on society that influences, and is influenced by the other points of this "triangle," technology. The Middle Ages did come up with a few inventions, such as windmills and horseshoes, but technological process was imperceptible compared with what is happening now. Very soon, a fiber the diameter of a human hair will be able to transmit, in less than a second, the contents of every issue of The Economist magazine that was ever printed (Economy Survey 4). Since Adam Smith, economists have recognized that technology is important for growth, but only in the past two decades have they been studying this subject in earnest (7). There pioneer was Joseph Schumpeter, one of the few economists who tried to explain growth mainly in terms of technological innovation. In the 1930's, he presented a model that postulated growth through the interaction of bursts of technological development and competition between companies (8). His evidence pointed to history. First, the 1780s to the 1840s, which brought the steam power ...

Clint Schaff (LA Times)

Why Marketers Should Think Like Publishers w/ Clint Schaff (LA Times) How do you create content? Plan for it? Identify what will resonate with your audience? Marketers need to think of themselves as content producers and publishers. They’re all trying to come up with a story that has an angle and narrative to provide insight or leadership. Today, we’re talking to Clint Schaff, vice president of strategy and research at the Los Angeles Times. Clint is a dynamic marketer and journalist who offers his perspective on marketers as content creators and publishers, and journalists and media storytellers as marketers. He shares processes around content planning, creation, and promotion. Doing social good by transforming relationships between consumers and brands; content creation is meant to serve an advocacy for communications Content to cover involves complicated collaboration, stories consistent with brand, and commercial viability Feedback from influencers and data on your audience help determine content Editorial calendar serves as a way to plan and manage content Return on investment (ROI) and generating revenue from content Create unique, exclusive content experiences through experimentation Leverage different mediums and promote content through social media, paid advertising, and other ways to get more content and generate attention Write weekly summary of what you did and what you’re going to do to make sure everyone on your team is moving in the same direction Be a better marketer by making a list of the most surprising things you could do to move toward your objective Links: Los Angeles Times Dirty John Podcast Chartbeat LA Times Festival of the Books What topics and guests do you want on the Actionable Marketing Podcast? Send me your suggestions! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Clint Schaff: â€Å"It’s about content creation that’s meant to serve an advocacy for something. Advocacy for communications, whether that’d be for a brand or a cause or an idea or story.† â€Å"If you create amazing, impeccable journalism, but no one reads it, and you haven’t figured out how to meet a need in the market, well, that’s not a very good business.† â€Å"Our whole brand is based on credibility and trust.† â€Å"We’re turning on the dials, trying every possible way to get eyeballs on our content that people need to see.†

Application letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Application letter - Essay Example At the same time, being of a practical bent of mind, I have diligently searched for solutions to such problems. This has launched me upon a serious study of psychology. It is my fervent desire to acquire proficiency in psychology, and as discerned by me, the best institution to acquire such expertise is none other than the University of Dallas. This explains my ambition to study at this hallowed institution. The primary purpose of a temple of learning, such as the University of Dallas is to promote the acquisition of knowledge, and the superb faculty of this university leave no stone unturned in their endeavor to facilitate their students to achieve this goal. Such features of a university hold intense attraction for a student who is keen to acquire knowledge and embark upon a successful career. It is my humble submission that I am such a student. Moreover, psychology, upon being studied diligently, furnishes the student with a specific manner of awareness and basic knowledge that tends to be common to all psychologists. This branch of knowledge is characterized by a vast range of knowledge and innumerable skills. The graduate student of psychology acquires a varied and deep knowledge. This tends to be limited to a few fields of knowledge. My gargantuan appetite for several types of information and skill will thus find a suitable outlet in psychology. Any problem can have a number of origins, and this is rapidly assimilated by the students of psychology. The latter become habituated to searching for the various possible causes for any issue. This enables psychologists to have an open mind when dealing with issues. As a cognitive skill, this trait tends to be rare. In addition, psychology serves the purpose of integrating the arts and sciences. This has the consequence of providing students with liberal education. Moreover, psychology bestows a number of practical and professional skills upon its students.

Leadership Issues - Managing Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Leadership Issues - Managing Diversity - Essay Example Hence, multinational companies have increased their presence in most Asian economies such as China. These multinational companies have seen the growing potential because of the massive improvement in this country that has greatly benefitted from almost three decades of reforms (Warner 2008). Managing in the Chinese Empire The entry of these multinational companies has likewise necessitated the presence of foreign managers to help in the management as well as operations of these multinationals in the Chinese soil. Hence, it was the expatriates that have been tapped for this role. It is their job to supply the necessary skills, both managerial and technical, so that the local counterpart can cope up with the operations of the parent company. Likewise, it is hoped that the presence of the expatriate will greatly enhance the relationship between the foreign and domestic managers of the company. However, be it China or other country, it is important for the foreign counterparts assigned t o these areas to be able to recognize the requirements of the different cultures that they are being immersed into. Globalization has brought forth the need for different multinational companies to maintain a global workforce which requires the foreign nationals that are assigned into these countries to be aware of the cultural differences that is a very important requirement for these foreign managers to be able to work with teams that comprise different cultures (Ibrahim 2010). Key leadership Issues in China A Mass of Followers, A Lack of Leaders In China, the different culture can be really challenging to the expatriate that will be assigned to the area. Chow & Liu (2008) states that most Chinese employees are not that keen on having additional duties or being involved with different or increasing responsibilities. Most of them are just too convenient in the boss-subordinate agreement. It is therefore important for the expatriates to understand and be able to work around such str ong cultural make up. This presents a strong challenge since it is important for the multinational companies to be able to develop their employees and have a fully functional global workforce that will jive with the way the parent company does its business. Employees are very important for a company’s success thus it is very important for the expatriates to be able to rally them behind the corporate strategies necessary for the success of their venture. True, this trait enables the local unit of a multinational company to have sufficient workers that are following the company’s policies and regulations. This trait somehow ensures them there will be followers whenever they lead. However, this relative aloofness as stated by Chow and Liu (2008) can also rob them of possible potential managers that may be tapped to lead the locals. Political Forces Warner (2008) has highlighted the importance the changes have had in China for propelling them into the current stature that they are in right now in the global economy. China has indeed benefitted much from opening their doors to the benefits and opportunities of global commerce. This has been instrumental in providing the necessary boost that is unavailable in a strictly closed economy that has been characteristic of a communist country. However, it is important to remember that the Chinese economy is not yet a full free market economy. Despite having been opened to businesses, the government retains substantial

Thalamic Glutamate as a Marker of Global Brain Pathology -MS

Thalamic Glutamate as a Marker of Global Brain Pathology -MS Author contributions: LP design conceptualisation of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript for intellectual content. JR design conceptualisation of the study, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript for intellectual content. IRB analysis and interpretation of data, revising the manuscript for intellectual content. GS analysis and interpretation of data KZ data collection RN design conceptualisation of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript for intellectual content.[LP1] Disclosures: LP no disclosures. JR no disclosures. IRV no disclosures. GS no disclosures. KZ no disclosures. RN Bayer, Biogen, Genzyme, Merck Serono, Roche honorarium for speaking, advisory boards. Biogen, Genzyme, Novartis funds for organising education, staff. Biogen, Novartis Principal investigator.[LP2] [LP3] Multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by demyelination and variable degrees of axonal loss and gliosis. People with MS (pwMS) present with sensory disturbances, spasticity, fatigue, ataxia, pain and urinary dysfunction1. The most common form of MS is relapsing-remitting and 85% of pwMS initially present with it, with most eventually progress to a secondary, progressive phase2. Without adequate treatment, 25% of pwMS become wheelchair-bound3. Charcot was the first to describe the inflammatory demyelinating plaque as a hallmark of MS in the late 19th century4. While white matter lesions (WML) contribute to disability5,6, they are likely not its only drive. Recent evidence supports the concept that grey matter lesions (GML) and atrophy are likely contributors to disability7,8. Furthermore, recent studies have looked at diffuse axonal loss and support the notion that this process drives long-term disability, due to a combination of focal inflammation and cortical damage driven by meningeal inflammation9-13. Large clinical trials in MS infrequently correlate the effect of therapies with brain lesion volumes and atrophy. This is due to the fact that as of today, no automated software exists which is able to consistently calculate WMLs14 and GMLs are grossly underestimated as they are not readily visible on MRI15,16. Lastly, brain atrophy is hard to quantify, can only be measured longitudinally and is subject to non-tissue related (pseudo-atrophy) volume loss subsequent to disease modifying treatment17,18. There is an unmet need for a simple biomarker that can act as a surrogate for neuronal damage in MS for use in observational and interventional studies. Natalizumab Natalizumab (Tysabri) is a disease-modifying treatment given intravenously as a monthly infusion19. In the UK it is licensed as a second-line treatment for severe, rapidly evolving, relapsing-remitting MS. It is directed against the ÃŽÂ ±4 subunit of integrin on lymphocytes and acts as an immune-modulator by inhibiting their migration to the brain20,21. Compared to placebo, it has been shown to reduce relapse rate by 68%. Furthermore, it reduced the risk of disability progression by 42%, defined as a change in EDSS score sustained for 24 weeks21. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive MRI sequence that allows identification and quantification of in vivo metabolites present in a small, preselected brain region. Proton nuclei (1H) are most commonly used in studies of the human brain due to their abundance and high sensitivity. MRS sequences distinguish between different metabolites by measuring the frequency at which 1H nuclei flip, which is in turn dependent on the molecular group carrying the hydrogen atom22. Measuring these metabolic changes allows researchers to gain an insight into changes at a cellular and molecular level in the brain, which cannot be acquired using conventional MRI techniques23. The thalamus is a subcortical hub, with multiple reciprocal connections to both white matter tracts and cortical grey matter24. Previous studies evidenced the fact that it is sensitive to pathology occurring in other brain regions25. We speculated that by using the thalamus as our region of interest (ROI), investigated metabolites would give a measure of global neuronal damage. Aims We investigated thalamic MRS as a biomarker for global brain neuronal damage in MS by comparing baseline metabolite concentrations between pwMS and HCs. Metabolites that were found to be statistically significantly different between these two groups at baseline were investigated further. To additionally support using MRS imaging as a surrogate for global central nervous system pathology, we investigated the correlation between these metabolite concentrations in pwMS and total lesion volume. In order to investigate whether thalamic MRS can be used to monitor treatment response, we measured changes in their concentration following treatment with the disease-modifying drug natalizumab. Population Participants aged 21-65 underwent inclusion criteria screening. For the pwMS group, this included satisfying the McDonald criteria 2010, having highly active MS and having been scheduled to initiate natalizumab treatment as part of routine NHS Case. Following ethics approval and written informed consent from participants, 17 pwMS and 12 HCs were recruited to the study. HCs underwent an MRI baseline scan while pwMS underwent a scan at baseline, and follow-up scans at 10 and 56 weeks after initiation of natalizumab treatment. Acquisition of MRS data All experiments were carried out in the same Siemens 3T Magnetom Verio with a 32-channel receiver head coil[LP4], used to acquire combined MRI and 1H-MRS scans. A magnetisation-prepared rapid gradient-echo sequence (MPRAGE) was used to obtain high-definition T1 weighted scans with the following parameters: (repetition time (TR)= 2300s;echo time (TE)= 3ms; inversion time (TI)= 900; 160 sagittal sections; slice thickness 1.0mm; in-plane resolution of 1x1mm2 . A single voxel was placed over the left thalamus. In order to acquire the single-voxel scans, a Point-RESolved Spectroscopy sequence (PRESS) was used which had variable power and optimized relaxation delays (VAPOR) water suppression (TR/TE, 2000/30ms) on a single 15-mm slab. This was aligned to the T1 sequence sections (Figure 2). Four reference transients were used to align the data. The average of 96 transients was used for water suppressed spectra. The volume of interest was 15x15x15mm, voxel size was 3.4mL. These parameters we re also used to acquire reference MRS datasets without water suppression. This was done to obtain an internal water reference, which was used to scale metabolite signals. Double inversion recovery pulse and phase sensitive inversion recovery sequences were also acquired. Lesion volumes White and grey matter lesions were identified on 160-slice T1 scans with co-registered double inversion recovery sequences. Lesions were manually segmented in T1 space using the Imperial College software ImSeg. The images obtained by this process [LP5]were used to derive proportions of grey matter, white matter and total lesion volumes. T1, double inversion recovery pulse and phase sensitive inversion recovery sequences were used to check for presence of lesions in the thalamus. Data processing T1 and spectroscopy data were initially obtained from scans in dicom format (dcm). A modified MATLAB (v.2015b) script was used to convert the T1 scans into nifti format (nii), the single voxel spectroscopy scans into rda format (rda) and to generate mask files in rda format. LCModel (v.6.3-1K) was run by using a second modified MATLAB script, in order to obtain spectroscopy data from 0.2-4.0 ppm. The software is a user-independent fitting routine that works by superimposing spectra obtained in vivo with high-resolution model spectra. It is an accurate and reliable method to quantify MRS data with short echo times (ETà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤30ms)28,29. Partial volume corrections to explain different concentrations of water in the grey matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were conducted by converting T1 sequences from dicom to nifti format, and segmenting the obtained images using MATLABs SPM8 toolbox. This allowed scaling metabolite concentrations obtained from PRESS sequence with water-suppression, to the waters internal reference signal from the unsuppressed water PRESS-sequence. The segmentation was used to calculate voxel proportions of GM, WM and CSF, which are in turn needed to obtain the water concentration (WCONC) value from the unsuppressed water reference signal used to estimate absolute concentrations of metabolites. Total WCONC values for each voxel were computed in accordance with Section 10.2.2.3 of the LCModel manual29.Eddy-current correction was performed by using LCModel. Relaxation effects were not corrected for, and therefore reported metabolite concentrations will differ from actual ones by an unknown factor. The latter is likely to be negligible, as all reported concentrations will deviate from actual concentrations by this same, unknown factor. As per LCModels manual, metabolite concentrations were multiplied by a factor of 1.04, which amounts to the specific gravity of brain tissue29, and were reported in mmol/L (mM). Data exclusion A heat map (Figure 4, right side) was created in order to check for voxel placement by using FSL view v.3.2.0. T1 sequences and mask files were reoriented to match the Montreal Neurological Institute standard template, followed by brain extraction from the surrounding tissue. T1 sequences and mask files were registered to standard space using the Montreal Neurological Institute template, which consists of 152 averaged brain T1 scans of 2mm resolution. The heat map is a depiction of each voxel mask overlaid onto the che2better template for T1 sequences taken from the mricron software.[LP6] No MRS spectra were removed from the analysis owing to minimal inter-scan variability. Spectra generated by LCModel were checked for overall data quality in accordance with the softwares instruction manual29. 2 baseline HC and 2 pwMS spectra were excluded from data analysis (Table 1). For a metabolite to be investigated, it had to be relevant to MS pathology as evidenced by previous studies, as well as to demonstrate sufficient data quality, measured by having Cramà ©r -Rao lower bounds ratio of 75% of individual scans. Five metabolites were investigated: choline-containing compounds (Cho), glutamate (Glu), myo-inositol (Ins), total creatine (tCr) and total n-acetylaspartate (tNAA) (Table 1). In a given subjects scan, metabolite concentrations with a Cramà ©r-Rao lower bounds (CRLB) value of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥15% were excluded from data analysis, as per LCModels manual of instructions. Concentrations exceeding 2 standard deviations (2SD) out with the group mean were also excluded. QCa for entire spectra QC for individual metabolites Participant group Before spectra QC (n) After spectra QC (n) Metabolites (marker of)6 Participant group Before metabolite QC(n) After 1st QCf (n) After 2nd QCg (n) HCsb 12 10 Cho1 (membrane turnover) HCs 10 9 9 pwMS BLc 17 15 pwMS BL 15 12 12 pwMS 10wd 16 16 pwMS 10w 16 16 16 pwMS 56we 16 16 pwMS 56w 16 15 15 Glu2 (metabolism and neurotransmitter activity) HCs 10 6 6 pwMS BL 15 9 8 pwMS 10w 16 14 14 pwMS 56w 16 15 14 Ins3 (glial marker) HCs 10 7 7 pwMS BL 15 14 14 pwMS 10w 16 15 14 pwMS 56w 16 15 15 tCr4 (metabolic activity) HCs 10 10 10 pwMS BL 15 15 14 pwMS 10w 16 16 15 pwMS 56w 16 16 16 tNAA5 (neuronal loss, mitochondrial activity) HCs 10 10 9 pwMS BL 15 15 14 pwMS 10w 16 16 16 pwMS 56w 16 16 15 Statistical analysis Prism GraphPad (v.7) and IBM SPSS Statistics 24 software were used to conduct statistical analysis. Participant demographics results are reported as mean and standard deviation (SD). Metabolite concentrations are reported as mean, standard error of measurement (SEM) and 95% confidence intervals. Parametric tests were used after testing for normal distribution of the data. Unpaired t-tests were used to compare metabolites between pwMS and HCs cross-sectionally. Pearsons coefficient was used to correlate between metabolite concentrations and bilateral lesion volumes. A linear mixed model was used to quantify longitudinal changes in metabolite concentrations in pwMS. MRS data were obtained from 17 pwMS (mean age (SD) was 41.6 (10.6), range 21-58 years) and 12 HCs (mean age (SD) was 41.9 (8.3), range 29-61 years). Mean time since diagnosis in years was 12.1 (10.6) and mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) was 4.1 (1.1). People with MS, n 17 Age, mean (SD) 41.6 (10.6) Sex, n (%) M 6 (35) F 11 (65) Years since diagnosis, mean (SD) 12.1 (10.6) EDSS score, mean (SD) 4.1 (1.1) Healthy controls, n 12 Age, mean (SD) 41.9 (8.3) Sex, n (%) M 9 (75) F 3 (25) Lower concentrations of glutamate are found at baseline in the thalami of people with highly active MS A statistically significant difference in the concentration of glutamate was found between the two groups (7.67 ±0.3456 in HCs and 6.55 ±0.232 in pwMS, p=0.016). No significant difference was found between the two groups using other metabolites. Metabolite Healthy controls (n=10) People with MS (n=15) 95% CI Cho 1. 69 ±0.0826,n=9 1.75 ±0.25, n=12 -0.232 0.216 Glu* 7.67 ±0.346, n=6 6.55 ±0.232, n=8 * -2.00 0.253 Ins 3.98 ±0.250, n=7 4.45 ±0.281, n=14 -0.452 1.380 tCr 34 ±0.134, n=10 5.42 ±0.150, n=14 -0.350 0.510 tNAA 8.60 ±0.134, n=9 8.46 ±0.178, n=14 -0.656 0.375 Baseline thalamic glutamate concentrations in pwMS correlate negatively with total lesion volumes Baseline glutamate concentrations in pwMS negatively correlated with T1 scan total lesion volumes (n=8; r=-0.80, p=0.017; Figure 6). No other thalamic metabolite correlated with lesion volumes. Lesion volumes in HCs (n=6) were assumed to be zero and are depicted in Figure 6, but this parameter was excluded from statistical analyses. No lesions were found in the thalami of pwMS in this study. Glutamate concentration correlated even more strongly with left hemisphere lesion volumes (p=0.0091), an expected finding given that the left thalamus was used as the studys ROI. The correlation was least significant when using right hemisphere lesion volumes (p=0.030). These results are reported in Table 3. Sampled lesion load location r, correlation coefficient p-value Left hemisphere -0.84 0.0091 Right hemisphere -0.75 0.030 Both hemispheres/Total -0.80 0.016 Thalamic glutamate concentrations increase following natalizumab treatment Glutamate concentrations measured in the thalami of pwMS increased significantly (p=[LP7]) between the 10 and 56 weeks (n=12 pairs of data-points) follow-up scans. At 56 weeks, no significant difference between the pwMS and HC groups was recorded, suggesting that glutamate levels had normalised[LP8]. No significant difference in glutamate concentration was recorded between baseline and 10 weeks follow-up scans (n=7 pairs of data-points) and between baseline and 56 weeks follow-up (n=7 pairs of data-points).[LP9] This observational study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to compare metabolite concentrations in 17 pwMS and 12 HCs. Study findings indicate a lower baseline concentration of glutamate in the thalami of pwMS compared to HCs. In pwMS this correlated negatively with total baseline brain lesion volume, which supports our initial hypothesis that thalamic MRS specifically measuring glutamate can be used as a surrogate for global central nervous system pathology. An increase in glutamate concentrations was recorded following natalizumab treatment between 10 and 56 weeks of follow-up. To our groups knowledge, this is the first 1H-MRS study to identify baseline cross-sectional differences in thalamic glutamate, correlate glutamate concentrations with total lesion volumes, and report longitudinal changes in thalamic glutamate following natalizumab treatment. Thalamic glutamate is a potential surrogate for total brain neuronal damage in highly active MS Glutamate, the chief central nervous system excitatory neurotransmitter is mainly synthesized from glutamine31,32. In addition to its neurotransmitter role, glutamate concentration is closely linked to the Krebs cycle, which reflects the cells metabolic activity. Previous proton MRS studies in MS reported higher levels of glutamate in lesioned white matter of pwMS compared to HCs33,34. One of these studies also reported lower levels of glutamate in lesioned grey matter regions34. The limitation of using white or grey matter lesions as ROIs is the high heterogeneity of these brain regions. With regards to WMLs, their definition includes- among others- active, inactive and remyelinating lesions. As for grey matter, this can be affected by exposure to cytokines from meningeal follicle-like structures or, similarly to WMLs, demyelination13,35,36. Current MRS imaging is unable to discriminate between these different pathologies. Therefore, metabolite concentrations obtained from these ROI s are likely to reflect the aforementioned local pathological changes, rather than global MS pathology. In contrast, the potential advantage of thalamic MRS is that the thalamus is rarely affected by local inflammation in MS37,38. Given that it is a subcortical hub highly connected with numerous other brain areas, this study hypothesised that the thalamus could be used as a biomarker of total brain neuronal damage in highly active MS. Two results in our study support this hypothesis: the decreased concentration of glutamate in pwMS and the negative correlation between glutamate and total brain lesion volume. Lesion volumes in MS have been found to correlate with axonal loss39 and disability40. Moreover, glutamate is mainly found in synaptic vesicles, therefore the decreased thalamic glutamate recorded in pwMS in this study could represent neuronal degeneration and synapse loss. Thalamic glutamate increases following natalizumab treatment Between 10 and 56 weeks of natalizumab treatment our group recorded a significant increase (p=,) in the concentration of thalamic glutamate in pwMS. At the end of the follow-up period, glutamate levels normalised, with no significant difference being recorded between pwMS and HC groups. No significant differences in glutamate concentration were found between baseline and 10 (n=x pairs?) and baseline and 56 weeks (n=x pairs?)[LP10] follow-up scans. It can be hypothesised that the limited sample size of pairs of data-points between baseline and 56 weeks follow-up glutamate prevented us from recording an existing statistically significant difference. With regards to changes in glutamate between baseline and 10 weeks, there could be a significant change in glutamate concentration within this timeframe, which was not picked up due to our limited sample size. It also cannot be excluded that thalamic MRS may take longer to respond to treatment. Previous published literature has shown lower glutamate concentrations in lesioned white matter of pwMS at baseline, which increased following treatment with natalizumab41. This effect can be attributed to the anti-inflammatory proprieties of natalizumab. By preventing production of nitrogen oxide and reactive oxygen species by macrophages, the drug could reduce axonal damage otherwise caused by these compounds42,43. Study limitations The algorithm used my SPM8 is incapable of accurately differentiating between the brighter grey and surrounding white matter, as the image intensity in the thalamus is very close to the intensity of white matter. Therefore the software records a higher white matter proportion in the thalamus than the true one. It should be however noted that this inaccuracy in measuring white/grey matter ratio should not cause any systematic error that would affect overall results. The studys HCs were adequately age-matched but poorly gender-matched to pwMS. Previous studies however reported no significant differences in any of the metabolite concentrations in the brain between different genders44. Therefore, no correction for a gender effect was made. The HC group only had a baseline scan, with no longitudinal data recorded. A useful longitudinal control group may be untreated pwMS. The absence of such a control group is currently however a common limitation, as people with highly active MS are nearly always on treatment. Having no information on the natural history of thalamic MRS in pwMS, it is difficult to interpret the significance of longitudinal changes in glutamate seen in this study. Lastly, albeit the thalamus is seldom affected by inflammatory activity in pwMS, the presence of inflammatory lesions has been previously described45. Such lesions are a confounding factor as they directly influence measured metabolite concentrations. However, based on T1, double inversion recovery pulse and phase sensitive inversion recovery sequences, no thalamic lesions were observed in our study. Future work Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our baseline findings, as well as to confidently interpret longitudinal changes in glutamate concentrations following natalizumab treatment. The presence of a pwMS untreated control group is not justifiable on ethical and legal grounds, however fu

Social Worker Field

Name: Monique Headley Course/Section: BEHS453 6980 Project #1 Paper Social Work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people’s lives. Social workers assist people by helping them cope with and solve problems they may have in their daily lives, such as family and personal problems and dealing with relationships. Social workers assist can be child, family, and school social workers. They all provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and families. Some social workers specialize with child protective services, adoption agencies, or foster care.In this particular situation, I interviewed a friend of mine’s social worker Ms. Ayunda. A social worker serves as the link between the child and families. She addressed problems such as the child misbehavior, family problems, parent drug problem, family abuse, etc. Ms. Ayunda has been a social worker for 6 years. She has worked as a Social Worker fo r Child and Family Services Agency in Washington, DC. Her duties include, working a 40 hour week and some weekends meeting with clients, attending meetings, and coordinating services to help assist with the child or family. Ms.Ayunda is a family social worker. She provides social services and assistance to families. She keeps a record and history of all family updates, concerns, interests, and conflicts. If any abuse or neglect is present, she reports it to child protective services, and from there a resolution happens. Sometimes a child will be placed with a foster home, foster care, or adoption agency depending on their home situation. It has to be hard as a social worker to deal with people’s behavior, children feelings, and emotions. You must have to emotionally be strong and ready to handle anything in this career field.The academic training that prepared Ms. Ayunda for her Social Worker career was first receiving a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Then she recei ved her master’s degree in social work after 2 years where she concentrated on her chosen field. That helped her develop the skills required to perform clinical assessments, manage large caseloads, take on supervisory roles, and a way on how to explore things upon a client’s need. Ms. Ayunda then got her license in DC & MD, which is a requirement for social work practice and the use of professional titles.Also, Ms. Ayunda stressed that as a social worker you have to be strong, responsible, willing to work independently, and able to communicate well with your clients and colleagues. Right now I am pursuing my BA degree in Psychology. My interest is Social Worker now and I will defiantly look into this. The reason why Ms. Ayunda became a social worker is because she wants to make a positive impact on someone’s life. She is furthering a cause that she is passionate about and she wants to help countless others overcome comparable obstacles.There are so many stories and situations she witnessed of children being abused and neglected in their homes or parents struggling and can’t afford to take care of their child. She even runs into families who parent(s) are on drugs. To make a change and to be that person to make that change is an honor. The challenges that she has faced were when she had to take action and have CPT take children from their home because their parents were on drugs, neglected their child, abused them, or another serious issue. Few parents spoke harsh words to her and acted very violent.Even the child will not speak to her because they felt as though it was her fault they were taken away or they didn’t want to get in trouble by their parent. The child will be crying for their parents and it is just a situation that you never want to happen because you don’t want to break up a home or separate a child from their parent. As far as balancing your work with your life responsibilities beyond work Ms. Ayunda just recognize her boundaries and separate her professional and personal lives. That has to be so hard to see and witness a child’s pain and their parent’s pain.I really felt for Ms. Ayunda at that moment when she mentioned the challenges she faced. In one case a mother was on drugs, had bi-polar, and was schizophrenic. The mother had a 9 year old son and the case opened when she had an episode walking with her son on the highway into traffic and saying that she was going to kill herself. Someone reported other things to Child Protective Services that the mother neglects the child and he stays out real late at time. The mother did have drugs in her system when tested.For the fact that the mother was using illegal drugs and had a psychological sickness made her even worst. The 9 year old mother was not herself when she did drugs or didn’t take her medication. When you are on drugs you tend to abuse your child and when they interviewed the boy he did mention that his mother abused him. It was not the form of punishment abuse, but she would hit him obsessively to a point he will have marks on him. The boy even came to school with a black eye the next day he got suspended from school. When he got suspended he was scared to go home.They put the boy in counseling and some days he would not speak to the counselors scared he will get in trouble by his mother if he does. There were many more episodes that occurred and the child had to be taken from Child Protective Services. Family violence is an act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, or that is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm or bodily injury (Gosselin, 2010, pp. 31).Child abuse and child neglect is defined as any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm (Gosselin, 2010, pp. 93-94). A child that is being physically abused behavior indicators is withdrawal, aggressiveness, frightens of parents, afraid to go home, reports of injury by parents (Module 3). In Ms. Ayunda case the child was abused by his mother and hurtful things were said to him as well.Emotional abuse plays a role in the mother and 9 year old boy’s case. Emotional abuse includes excessive, aggressive, or unreasonable parental behavior that places demands on a child to perform beyond his or her capabilities (Module 3). The signs of emotional abuse are uncommunicative behavior, unreasonable fearful or suspicious, lack of interest in social contacts, or evasiveness (Gosselin, 2010). I think that a lot of hurt is said to a child when their parents are using drugs and also are bi-polar/schizophrenic because they are not themselves.The motherà ¢â‚¬â„¢s background explains a lot. My friend was abused by her son’s father and she was raped by her uncle when she was in her young teens. Her mother’s mother was schizophrenic, so that was a genetic psychological behavior that passed to her. A lot of times when you do not get counseling and you are raped at a young age it can really mess you up. Some people turn to drugs because they think that drug’s heals them, makes them feel better, and forget their problems. Really they need to receive psychological help or counseling.It looks like the boy’s mother went through a lot and as she got older she got worst. Now, her son is receiving counseling and I think that is good because the things his mother done to him, around him, and him being taken away from his family really can affect him. After reading the Modules and Textbook I came across that the boy was being neglected by his mother. Neglect is defined as failure or refusal to provide care or services for your child when there is an obligation to do so (Gosselin, 2010). Neglect is one of the primary types of family violence in the textbook.When you leave a young child unsupervised or unattended that can be considered as neglect and many people do not look at it like that (Gosselin, 2010). Module 3 describes three types of neglect and how child neglect is the failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. In this case the mother was doing self-neglect. The mother was refusing to take her medications for her psychological behavior and using drugs in her household which makes it an unsafe living condition because she could flip out on her child, go crazy, or not be herself.She is unable to pay her bills or manage her finances due to her addiction. Personally, I have learned a lot from the interview and from the readings. I think that the readings related to the case situation that the social worker mentioned. Child protective services were involved in this case. I think that they made the right decision into getting the 9 year old boy into their custody. If he stayed with his mother any longer he would not have got counseling, psychological help, and he would be pretty messed up.Some young children show behavioral issues or act out when they go through family or household problems. As a social worker it must be hard to get involved in situations and cases like those. References Gosselin, D. (2010). An Introduction to the Crimes of Family Abuse. History of Violence in the Family, 4, 31-56. Gosselin, D. (2010). An Introduction to the Crimes of Family Abuse. Child Abuse, 4, 85-112. Module 3 Commentary: Domestic Violence: Children, the Youngest Victims.

The Development Of The Malquiladora Industries In Mexico

Economics Questions Question 1 If business is booming in a fast food restaurant and there is the potential to increase business with an increased output there may be two ways of increasing the output; by increasing the amount of labor used and by making capital investment, such as buying more equipment, such as a new grill and fryer. Management will have to decide which of the two strategies to follow. This can be assessed by looking at the marginal costs and marginal returns which may be created by the two choices. If the machinery is offering unused capacity, where the addition of more employees would increase the overall output, then simply hiring more employees for the shift would increase the output and increase sales. However, the ability to add more employees to increase output is limited, which can be appreciated with the law of diminishing returns, which may also be seen as the law if increasing relative costs (Rittenberg and Tregarthen, 2009). For example, if the restaurant has one person maki ng French fries with the fryer and increases this to two people, using the same fryer they may increase output, but it may not double. If a third person is added then there may be some increase in output, but the benefit is likely to be less than the firm saw when adding the second person. Furthermore, there may not be room for a third person, and they may only have a small impact on the production level. The increase of one input without an increase in another will see

The Family Of Hmong Culture - 886 Words

With the centrality of the family in Hmong culture, having sons or a son is very important as they are the ones who will take on the last name and lead the future generation of the family (Cha, 2010). Cha states, â€Å"The clannish nature of Hmong society favors a son. A family that does not have a son is viewed as a burden to the clan and community, because such a family will not contribute much to the community,† (p. 24). In the culture, the son(s) will take care of the parents as the daughter will get married and move to live with the husband’s family. Religion also plays a role since the traditional belief is that although the daughter can take care of the parents physically when they are alive, they cannot take care of them spiritually after they pass away. This is because the daughter becomes a part of the other family and cannot worship her parents’ spirits after death (Cha, 2010). From what is described above, the culture is seen as favoring the sons and males more. Nevertheless, the parents still love their children equally and the daughters still play an important role in the household (Cha, 2010). The daughter usually cleans and cooks in the house. The sister-in-law who marries the brother can only lighten this burden for the daughter. Cha (2010) points out, â€Å"It is said that the daughter is the guest and the daughter-in-law is the caretaker,† (p. 25). The daughter-in-law starts to bear the responsibilities once they enter their husband’s household. They take the leadShow MoreRelatedHmong Culture : Influences On A European American Society1488 Words   |  6 PagesThe Hmong Culture: Influences in a European American Society The Hmong people do not call any one country home, but have relocated several times throughout history due to war and political oppression. An article published in the Journal of Multicultural counseling and Development finds that the Hmong primarily lived in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. 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