Diana Ross Essays - Spanish West Indies, Age Of Discovery

Diana Ross Columbus Columbus. Christopher Columbus of Spain went to the king and queen to ask authorization for an expedition. He wanted to venture to the India. The New World, he believed, could be found by sailing west across the ocean. No one had ever sailed west before. The reason no one had done this before was because everyone believed that the world was flat. Columbus, on the other hand, believed that it was round. The movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise brings out the handout Privileges and Prerogatives Granted to Christopher Columbus. According to the handout, Columbus was to have complete control over whatever land he discovered. After his death, his heirs would inherit the land and take over control. Spain wanted to ensure that they would have power over whatever he discovered, and this was the way to do it. This was so in the movie as well. Columbus was to take gold back to Spain and to spread the word of God in the discovered land. In August of 1492, Columbus and his adventurers set out to fin d the New World with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. They reached their destination in October of 1492. The island that they found was full of native people dressed in loincloths and caring speared sticks. They were very friendly for the time Columbus and his crew were there. The island was great, but what Columbus really wanted was to find the mainland of India. At any rate, they stayed for a while and when a man got sick, Columbus headed home. He took with him some gold from the New World. After a short stay in his homeland, Columbus returned to the New World. Upon reaching the island again, Columbus found something awful. The crew that he had left behind was dead. Columbus did not want to take revenge, but some of the crew did. He managed to hold them off for a while. The explorers built up the land on the island, adding a ringing bell and some buildings. Soon a battle broke out over the deaths of the crew left behind from the first voyage. Spain took contro l of the island away from Columbus. Of course, he was very upset because he had worked his whole life for this opportunity. Spain had broken their agreement with Columbus. They promised him all sorts of titles and the same for his heirs. He was supposed to become a Don and he was supposed to be able to choose whomever he wanted to run the island. When he chose his brothers, Spain had a problem with his decision. He discovered this New World and got no reward for it. In the movie, it did not seem like a waste for him because his memory of what happened and telling the story to his family reminded him of a happy time in his life. Sure, it would have been great to get what was promised to him by Spain, but the experience of it all was enough for him. Bibliography microsoft encarta Internet misc

The History of the Computer Game Spacewar

The History of the Computer Game Spacewar If I hadnt done it, someone wouldve done something equally exciting, if not better, in the next six months. I just happened to get there first. - Steve Russell aka Slug on inventing Spacewar. Steve Russell - Inventing of Spacewar It was in 1962 when a young computer programmer from MIT named  Steve Russell, fueled with inspiration from the writings of E. E. Doc Smith, led the team  that created the first popular computer game. Starwar was almost the first computer game ever written. However, there were at least two far-lesser-known predecessors: OXO (1952) and Tennis for Two (1958). It took the team about 200 man-hours to write the first version of Spacewar.  Russell wrote Spacewar on a PDP-1, an early DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) interactive mini computer which used a cathode-ray tube type display and keyboard input. The computer was donated to MIT from DEC, who hoped MITs think tank would be able to do something remarkable with their product. A computer game called Spacewar was the last thing DEC expected but they later provided the game as a diagnostic program for their customers. Russell never profited from Spacewars. Description The PDP-1s operating system was the first to allow multiple users to share the computer simultaneously. This was perfect for playing Spacewar, which was a two-player game involving warring spaceships firing photon torpedoes. Each player could maneuver a spaceship and score by firing missiles at his opponent while avoiding the gravitational pull of the sun. Try playing a replica of the computer game for yourselves. It still holds today up as a great way to waste a few hours. By the mid-sixties, when computer time was still very expensive, Spacewar could be found on nearly every research computer in the country. Influence on Nolan Bushnell Russell transferred to Stanford University, where he introduced computer game programming and Spacewar to an engineering student named Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell went on to write the first coin-operated computer arcade game and start Atari Computers. An interesting sidenote is that Doc Smith, besides being a great science fiction writer, held a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and was the researcher who figured out how to get powdered sugar to stick to doughnuts. Spacewar! was conceived in 1961 by Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanen. It was first realized on the PDP-1 in 1962 by Steve Russell, Peter Samson, Dan Edwards and Martin Graetz, together with Alan Kotok, Steve Piner and Robert A. Saunders. Try playing a replica of the computer game for yourselves. It still holds today up as a great way to waste a few hours: Spacewar Online - The original 1962 game code runs on PDP-1 emulator in Java.Play Spacewar - The a, s, d, f keys control one of the spaceships. The k, l, ;, keys control the other. The controls are spin one way, spin the other, thrust, and fire. Steve Russell is a computer scientist who led the team that invented Spacewar in 1962, one of the first games ever written for the computer. Steve Russell - Other Achievements Steve Russell also contributed to the IBM 704, which was a 1956 upgrade of the 701. Steve Russell - Background Steve Russell was educated at Dartmouth College from 1954 to 1958.

Pharmacology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pharmacology - Case Study Example These include: fatigue, insomnia, increased appetite, anxiety and worry, melancholy and poor concentration among others. A medical work-up has to be conducted to check for organic causes that are underlying. This should encompass a complete performance of physical examination. The laboratory test for an individual presenting with depression symptoms should be designed in a way that rules out medical conditions which can cause depression. A hematological profile with differential must be obtained to check for signs of anaemia or infection. Potential abnormalities such as liver function and electrolyte panel tests are indicated for evaluation of potential metabolic abnormalities for instance, thyroid, kidney disorders and renal dysfunction (Richard, 2012). Depression may also be a result of substance abuse, and thus a drug screen may be indicated for commonly abused substances. Many of the prescription medications such as anticonvulsants, corticosteroids and some antibiotics have been depression-associated. According to the symptoms that GF has presented, she could be suffering from dysthymic disorder. GF has symptoms such as fatigue, overeating, low self-esteem, hopelessness and poor concentration. There are generalized anxiety disorder associated with anxiety, worry, fatigue, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, sleep disturbance and irritability (Erick, 2014). Treatment for worry or anxiety involves both pharmaceutical and psychotherapy treatments. The most efficacious kind of therapy for treatment of depression is cognitive-behavioral therapy. This therapy is short-term and incorporates self-empowerment and self-help philosophy. This therapy form encompasses techniques such as substitution of negative for positive thoughts and blocking negative thoughts from developing while taking credit for optimism and encouraging more

Annotated Bibliography on The Obama administration's policy lifting

On The Obama administration's policy lifting the prohibition of women from serving in combat roles - Annotated Bibliography Example It further displays their immense roles calling for a redefinition of women roles in ground combats. Davis, Robert et al. "This research was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and was conducted in the RAND Center on Quality Policing within the Safety and Justice Program of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment." (2011). this is a research paper that was conducted by the national institute of justice at the RAND center to access the quality of decisions that are often made by the executive organs in various organizations. In view of the ban the paper reviews its suitability an applicability bearing in mind the delicate nature of women serving in ground combats. The paper shows concern on safety upon implementation of such policies. In addition, the paper undertakes a review to ascertain implementation policies that have so far been passed such as the 1990’s ban on women flying in combat and serving in war ships. Miller, Laura et al. The Extent of Restrictions on the Service of Active-Component Military Women; Rand National Defense Research Institute: Santa Monica, 2012. This is a review by the Rand Defense Research Institute. The paper investigates the harm that a restriction on women serving in combat positions affects the entire military operations. The paper argues that although restriction of women can yield better results, it can as well yield poor results since some women are more talented in ground combat more than their male counterparts. It further stresses that when women are accepted to work in a free environment they are more likely to have their military experience boosted. Skein, Rosemarie. Women in Combat: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. This is a handbook that outlines proposals and measures that should be put in place to ensure fair participation of women service in combat positions in the military. In this regard, the paper bases its arguments on the ban

Police Corruption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Police Corruption - Research Paper Example ainly due to what is known as the â€Å"blue code of silence.† This code of silence is the unwritten code by which police believe that it is better to not report unethical and criminal conduct by ones’ police brethren for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons are that the police feel a sense of solidarity with one another, a sense of kinship and brotherhood, and this makes it difficult to report a fellow officer. Other reasons are that the culture of individual police forces encourages this silence by tacitly instilling, from the first day of training, the importance of developing this code of silence. Another reason is that police see one another as all dealing with the same level of corrupt citizenry, with breeds sympathy with one another and distrust of the citizens, which also makes it less likely to report misbehavior – the citizen probably â€Å"had it coming.† Still another reason is that there is a sense of fear that is instilled into the offic ers, as officers see whistle-blowers suffering social, psychological and career consequences from their willingness to report, and these officers do not want the same to happen to them. Consequently, it is difficult to measure the level of corruption, because police are not likely to report each other. It is further difficult to measure the level of corruption, due to the fact that individual police forces are reluctant to report corruption within their ranks, because the citizens put pressure on corrupt forces, which makes it more difficult to do their jobs. That said, corruption has been investigated and there has been successful policing of the police by independent agencies that gather knowledge about the forces and are able to use this knowledge to obtain convictions against police who engage in criminal behavior. Police corruption can run the gamut, from accepting gifts and gratuities, to using excessive force or drinking on the job. Wright (2010) has classified the types of corruptions that can

Importance of biofuels

Importance of biofuels Abstract World demand for energy has been projected to double by 2050 and be more than triple by the end of the century. Since industrial revolution in the 1850s, the human consumption of fossil fuels has been one of the growing causes of international concern and unease among some industrial nations. The reasons for which can be attributed to the rapidly depleting reserves of fossil fuels. Over the past few decades, with the successes achieved in genetic engineering technology, advances made in the field of biofuels offer the only immediate solution to fossil fuels. Presently, most of the ethanol in use is produced either from starch or sugar, but these sources have not proven to be sufficient to meet the growing global fuel requirements. However, conversion of abundant and renewable cellulosic biomass into alternative sources of energy seems to be an effective and promising solution. But for this technology to become viable there is a need to develop cheap and sustainable sources of cellulases along with eliminating the need for pretreatment processes. The review thus aims to provide a brief overview about the need and importance of biofuels particularly bioethanol with respect to the growing environmental concerns along with an urgent need to address the existing problems about cost-optimisation and large scale production of biofuels. 1.0 Introduction Biofuels are liquid fuels derived from plants. Currently, first generation biofuels are extensively being produced and used. These are generated using starch, sugar, vegetable oils and animal fats using fairly expensive conventional technology. In recent years, the fact that production of ethanol from cellulosic and lignocellulosic material is being hindered due to inadequate technology to enable efficient and economically viable methods to break down the multipolymeric raw material has gained wide popularity (Verma et al, 2010). Therefore, there is a need to develop efficient systems for the production of cellulases and other cellulose degrading enzymes. Lignocellulosic biofuels are thus likely to be seen as a part of the portfolio of solutions being offered to reduce high energy prices, including more efficient energy use along with the use of other alternative fuels (Coyle, 2007). 1.1 Importance of biofuels: Factors like the finite petroleum reserves and constantly rising demands for energy by the industrialised as well as the highly populated countries (on their Way to industrialisation) like India and china have made it absolutely necessary to look into alternate and efficient methods to replace these fuels in future (Stephanopoulos, 2008). Also, concerns like steep rise in fossil fuel prices in the recent years, increasing concerns about climate change like global warming, insecurity and unrest among governments due to their depleting natural reserves are just a few factors that define an urgent need for a sustainable path towards renewable fuel technology development (Stephanopoulos, 2008). Among the various types of alternative fuels considered (liquid fuels from coal and/or biomass with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS)), biofuels derived from lignocellulosic biomass offer the most clean and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels essentially because of their cost compet itiveness as opposed to the current expensive methods of ethanol production from sugarcane and corn (Stephanopoulos, 2008) (Shen and Gnanakaran, 2009). The global production and use of biofuels has increased tremendously in recent years, from 18.2 billion litres in 2000 to about 60.6 billion litres in 2007. It has been estimated that about 85% of this amount is bioethanol (Coyle, 2007). This increase is primarily a result of the reasons stated above along with rising concerns about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions due to excessive fossil fuels usage since biofuels are carbon-neutral and reduce green house emissions (Sainz, 2009). Also, one of the factors contributing to the viability of biofuels as an alternative transportation fuel is their ease of compatibility with our existing liquid fuel infrastructure (Sainz, 2009). An important step in the production of biofuels is the breakdown of cellulose fibres by the enzymes capable of degrading it. But the production of these enzymes is still an expensive task due to their production in large microorganism bioreactors. One method for the inexpensive production of these enzymes is the use of transgenic plants as heterologous protein production systems (Danna, 2001; Kusnadi et al., 1997; Twyman et al., 2003). Plant based enzyme production offers advantages over the traditional bacterial and fungal cultures by being commercially viable and particularly attractive since in plants, the desired protein can be made to accumulate at high levels i.e. at even greater levels than 10% of total soluble protein (Gray et al, 2008). Another major economic advantage of plant-based protein production over one that is microorganism-based is in the scale-up of protein expression. Whereas scale-up of microbial systems implies large purchase and maintenance costs for large fermentors and related equipment, scale-up of plant-based protein product would only require planting of more seeds and harvesting of a larger area (Gray et al, 2008). Cellulase expressing transgenic plants may thus offer significant capital cost savings over more traditional cellulase production via cellulolytic fungi or bacteria (Gray et al, 2008). Ethanolis an alcohol fuel currently made from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, as well as potato skins, rice, sugar cane, sugar beets, molasses and yard clippings. Currently, there are two methods employed for the production of bioethanol. In the first process, sugar crops or starch are grown and fermented to produce ethanol. The second process, naturally oil producing plants like Jatropha and algae are utilised to produce oils which can directly be utilised as fuel for diesel engines after heating them to reduce their viscosity. However, currently, it is majorly being produced from starch (Corn in US) and sugar (Sugarcane in Brazil) sources. According to the latest statistics (in 2008), USA and Brazil (fig. 1) were the major producers of fuel ethanol by producing 51.9% and 37.3% of global bioethanol respectively (http://www.ethanolrfa.org/industry/statistics/#E). Brazil especially produces ethanol to a large extent from fermentation of sugarcane sugar to cater to one-fourth of its ground transportation needs (Sticklen, 2008).Similarly, to meet part of its own needs; United States produces ethanol from corn. Unfortunately, inspite of being breakthrough developments, the production of ethanol by this method is not cost-effective and barely manages to meet less than about 15 % of the countrys demands (Sticklen, 2008). Their use as energy crops is thus posing to be inappropriate since these are primary food sources, and are unstable from the viewpoints of long-term supply and cost (Sainz, 2009). The restrictions on available land and the rising price pressures would soon limit the production of grain and corn based ethanol to less than 8% in the US transport fuel mix (Tyner, 2008). Similarly, in spite of a predicted increase to 79.5 billion litres by 2022 in ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil, this technology would eventually be limited by the same agro-economic factors affecting the grain and the corn based ethanol production (Sainz, 2009). For e.g. the use of corn for production of ethanol has led to an increase in the prices of livestock and poultry since it is the main starch component of the animal feed. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new and sustainable technologies for a significant contribution of biofuels towards the progress of renewable sources of energy and the reduction of greenhouse gases (Sainz, 2009). Thus, the benefits of a high efficiency of carbohydrate recovery compared to other technologies and the possibilities of technology improvement due to breakthrough processes in biotechnology, offer cost-competitive solutions for bioethanol production, thus making the second generation or lignocellulosic sources the most attractive option the large scale production of biofuels (Wyman et al, 2005). 3.0 Potential of cellulosic bioethanol Cellulosic ethanolis abiofuelproduced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants. It is a type ofbiofuelproduced frombreaking down of lignocellulose, a tough structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants and provides them rigidity and structural stability (Coyle, 2007). Lignocellulose is composed mainly ofcellulose,hemicelluloseandlignin (Carroll and Sommerville, 2009). Another factor that makes the production of cellulosic bioethanol a promising step in future is that unlike corn and sugarcane, its production is not dependent on any feedcrop since cellulose is the worlds most widely available biological material that can be obtained from widely available low-value materials like wood waste, widely growing grasses and crop wastes and manures (Coyle, 2007). But production of ethanol from lignocellulose requires a greater amount of processing to make the sugar monomers available to the microorganisms that are typically used to produce ethanol by fermentation. Bioethanol is one fuel that is expected to be in great global demand in the coming years since its only main requirement is the abundant supply of biomass either directly from plants or from plant derived materials including animal manures. It is also a clean fuel as it produces fewer air-borne pollutants than petroleum, has a low toxicity and is readily biodegradable. Furthermore, the use of cellulosic biomass allows bioethanol production in countries with climates that are unsuitable for crops such as sugarcane or corn. For example, the use of rice straw for the production of ethanol is an attractive goal given that it comprises 50% of the words agronomic biomass (Sticklen, 2008). Though cellulosic ethanol is a promising fuel from an environmental point of view, its industrial production and commercialisation has not been progressing successfully. This can mainly be attributed to the high cost of production of cellulose degrading enzymes -Cellulases (Lynd et.al, 1996). Yet another very important factor is the pretreatment of lignocellulosic content in the biomass to allow cellulases and hemicellulases to penetrate and break the cellulose in the cell wall. These two steps together incur very high costs and are a hindrance in efficient production of cellulosic bioethanol. Thus plant genetic engineering is the best alternative to bioreactors for an inexpensive production of these enzymes (cellulases and hemicellulases). It can also be used to modify the lignin content/amount to reduce the need for expensive pretreatment (Sticklen, 2008). 4.0 The abundance and structure of cellulose Photosynthetic organisms such as plants, algae and some bacteria produce more than 100 million tonnes of organic matter each year from the fixation of carbon dioxide. Half of this biomass is made up of the biopolymer cellulose which, as a result, is perhaps the most abundant It is the most common organic compound on Earth. Cellulose comprises about 33 percent of all plant matter, 90 percent of cotton is composed of cellulose and so is around 50 percent of wood (Britannica encyclopaedia, 2008). Higher plant tissues such as trees, cotton, flax, sugar beet residues, ramie, cereal straw, etc represent the main sources of cellulose. This carbohydrate macromolecule is the principal structural element of the cell wall of the majority of plants. Cellulose is also a major component of wood as well as cotton and other textile fibres such as linen, hemp and jute. Cellulose and its derivatives are one of the principal materials of use for industrial exploitation (paper, nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) etc.) and they represent a considerable economic investment (Pà ©rez and Mackie, 2001). Cellulose and lignin are the majorcombustiblecomponents of non-foodenergy crops. Some of the examples of non-feed industrial crops are tobacco, miscanthus, industrial hemp, Populus(poplar) species and Salix(willow). Celluloseserves as one of the major resistance to external chemical, mechanical, or biological perturbations in plants. This resistance ofcelluloseto depolymerization is offered by its occurrence as highly crystalline polymer fibers (Shen and Gnanakaran, 2009).it occur in plants in two crystalline forms, I-aand I-ß(Nishiyama et al, 2002) (Nishiyama et al, 2003). The crystal structures of both these forms suggest that hydrogen (H) bonding plays a key role in determining the properties ofcellulose (Shen and Gnanakaran, 2009).Thechemical formula of cellulose is(C6H10O5) n. It is apolysaccharideconsisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand ß (1?4) linkedD-glucoseunit (Crawford, 1981) (Updegraff, 1969). This tough crystalline structure of cellulose molecules is proving to be a critical roadblock in the production of cellulosic bioethanol as it is difficult to breakdown the microfibrils of crystalline cellulose to glucose (Shen and Gnanakaran, 2009). 4.1 Primary structure of cellulose The main form of cellulose found in higher plants is I-ß. The primary structure of cellulose as shown in figure 2, is a linear homopolymer of glucose residues having theDconfiguration and connected byß-(1-4) glycosidic linkages (Sun et al, 2009). Essentially, the occurrence of intrachain and interchain hydrogen bonds (fig. 3) in cellulose structures has been known to provide thermostability to its crystal complex (Nishiyama, 2002). Intrachain hydrogen bonds are known to raise the strength and stiffness of each polymer while the interchain bonds along with weak Wander-Waals forces hold the two sheets together to provide a 2-D structure. This arrangement makes the intrachain bonding stronger than that holding the two sheets together (Nishiyama, 2002). The chain length and the degree of polymerisation of glucose units determine many properties of the cellulose molecule like its rigidity and insolubility compared to starch (Shigeru et al, 2006). Cellulose from different sources also varies in chain lengths, for e.g. cellulose from wood pulp has lengths between 300 and 1700 units while that from fibre plants and bacterial sources have chain lengths varying from 800 to 10,000 units (Klemm et al, 2005). Cellulose, a glucose polymer is the most abundant component in the cell wall. These cellulose molecules consist of long chains of sugar molecules. The process of breaking down these long chains to free the sugar is called hydrolysis. This is then followed by fermentation to produce bioethanol. Various enzymes are involved in the complex process of breaking down glycosidic linkages in cellulose (Verma et al, 2010). These are together known as glycoside hydrolases and include endo- acting cellulases and exo-acting cellulases or cellobiohydrolase along with ß-glucosidase (Ziegelhoffer, 2001) (Ziegler, 2000). In the cellulose hydrolysis process, endoglucanase first randomly cleaves different regions of crystalline cellulose producing chain ends. Exoglucanase then attaches to the chain ends and cleaves off the cellobiose units. The exoglucanase also acts on regions of amorphous cellulose with exposed chain ends without the need for prior endoglucanase activity. Finally ß-glucosidase breaks the bonds between the two glucose sugars of cellobiose to produce monomers of glucose (Warren, 1996). Presently, two methods are widely used for cellulose degradation on an industrial scale: Chemical hydrolysis: This is a traditional method in which, cellulose is broken down by the action of an acid, dilute and concentrated both acids can be used by varying the temperature and the pH accordingly. The product produced from this hydrolysis is then neutralised and fermented to produce ethanol. These methods are not very attractive due to the generation of toxic fermentation inhibitors. Enzymatic hydrolysis: Due to the production of harmful by-products by chemical hydrolysis, the enzymatic method to breakdown cellulose into glucose monomers is largely preferred. This allows breaking down lignocellulosic material at relatively milder conditions (50?C and pH5), which leads to effective cellulose breakdown. 6.0 Steps involved in cellulosic ethanol (bioethanol) production process The first step in the production of bioethanol, involves harvesting lignocellulose from the feedstock crops, compaction and finally its transportation to a factory for ethanol production where it is stored in a ready form for conversion. The second step is the removal of lignin present in the feedstock biomass by using heat or chemical pre-treatment methods. This step facilitates the breakdown of cell wall into intermediates and removes lignin so as to allow cellulose to be exposed to cellulases, which then break down cellulose into sugar residues. Currently, cellulases are being produced as a combination of bacterial and fungal enzymes for such commercial purposes (Sticklen, 2008). This is then followed by steps like detoxification, neutralisation and separation into solid and liquid components (Sticklen, 2008). The hydrolysis of these components then takes place by the enzymes like cellulases and hemicellulases that are produced from micro-organisms in the bioreactors (Sticklen, 2008).and finally; ethanol is produced by sugar fermentation. The figure below (fig. 4) depicts the main steps in the production of bioethanol:   7.0 Major cell wall components and the key enzymes involved in their breakdown 6.1 Cellulose and cellulases: About 180 billion tonnes of cellulose is produced per year by plants globally (Festucci et al, 2007). In the primary and secondary cell walls, about 15-30% and 40% dry mass respectively is made up of cellulose (Sticklen, 2008). Till date, it is the only polysaccharide being used for commercial production of cellulosic ethanol because of the commercial availability of its deconstructing enzymes (Sticklen, 2008). As described above, three types of cellulases are involved in the breakdown of cellulose into sugars namely, endoglucanases, exoglucanasees and ßglucosidase (Ziegler, 2000). 6.2 Hemicellulose and Xylanases: xyloglucans and hemicelluloses surround the cellulose microfibrils. So in order to break cellulose units, specific enzymes are first required to first remove the hemicellulose polysaccharide. Hemicelluloses are diverse and amorphous and its main constituent is ß-1, 4-xylan. Thus, xylanases re the most bundant type of hemicellulases required to cleave the endo-and exo-activity (Warren, 1996). These are mainly obtained from the fungi Trichoderma reesei, along with a large number of bacteria, yeast and other fungi which have been reported to produce1.4 ß-D xylanases. 6.3 Lignin and Laccasses: The major constituent of plants secondary cell wall is lignin. It accounts for nearly 10-25% of total plant dry matter (Sticklen, 2008). Unlike cellulose and hemicelluloses, the lignin polymer is not particularly linear and instead comprises of a complex of phenylpropanoid units which are linked in a 3-D network to cellulose and xylose with ester, phenyl and covalent bonds (Carpita, 2002).   White rot fungi (esp. Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Trametes versicolour) are thought degrade lignin more efficiently and rapidly than any other studied microorganisms (DSouza, 1999). P. Chrysosporium produces laccases like ligninases or lignin peroxidase, which initiate the process of degradation of lignin and manganese dependent peroxidises (Cullen, 1992). 8.0 Production of cellulases and hemicellulases in tobacco chloroplasts Protein engineering methodologies provide the best answer to concerns regarding production of improved cellulases with reduced allosteric hindrance, improved tolerance to high temperatures and specific pH optima along with higher specific activity (Sainz, 2009). The table below (table 1) lists different type of cellulases and hemicellulases that have been expressed in plant chloroplasts: Chloroplasts are green coloured plastids that have their own genome and are found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms like algae. The targeted expression of foreign genes in plant organelles can be used to introduce desired characteristics in a contained and economically sustainable manner (fig. 5). It also allows us to combine various other advantages like easy and efficient scalability along with being entirely free of animal pathogens. Unlike most other methods of plant genetic engineering, the major advantage with chloroplast transformation is their characteristic of transgene containment i.e. transgenes in these plastids are not spread through pollen (Verma and Daniell, 2007). This implies that chloroplast genetic transformation is fairly a safe one and does not pose the risk of producing herbicide resistant weeds (Ho and Cummins, 2005). Chloroplast transformation involves homologous recombination. Thisnot only minimises the insertion of unnecessary DNA that accompaniestransformation of the nuclear genome, but also allows precisetargeting of inserted genes, thereby also avoiding theuncontrollable, unpredictable rearrangements and deletions oftransgene DNA as well as host genome DNA at the site of insertionthat characterises nuclear transformation (Nixon, 2001). Another advantage of chloroplast transformation is that foreign genes can be over-expressed due to the high gene copy number, up to 100,000 compared with single-copy nuclear genes (Maliga, 2003). While nuclear transformants typically produce foreign protein up to 1%TSP in transformed leaf tissue, with some exceptional transformants producing protein at 5-10%TSP, chloroplast transformants often accumulate foreign protein at 5-10%TSP in transformed leaves, with exceptional transformants reaching as high as >40%TSP (Maliga, 2003). Research is needed to determine the stability of the biological activity of extracted plant-produced hydrolysis enzymes in TSP when stored under freeze conditions for different periods of time before their use in hydrolysis (Sticklen, 2008). Two other important and related areas for further research are increasing the levels of production and the biological activity of the heterologous enzymes (Sticklen, 2008).Many cell wall deconstructing enzymes have been isolated and characterised and more need to be investigated for finding more enzymes that can resist higher conversion temperatures and a range of pHs during pretreatment. Serious efforts to produce cellulosic ethanol on an industrial scale are already underway. Other than the Canadian Iorgen plant, no commercial cellulosic ethanol plant is yet in operation or under construction (Sticklen, 2008). However, research in this area is underway and funding is becoming available around the world for this purpose, from both governmental and commercial sources. For example, British Petroleum have donated half a billion dollars to US institutions to develop new sources of energy primarily biofuel crops (Sticklen, 2008). 10.0 Conclusion The fact that corn ethanol produces more green house gas emissions than gasoline and that cellulosic ethanol from non-food crops produces less green house gas emissions than electricity or hydrogen, is one of the factors that highly favour production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass (Verma, 2010). However, biofuel production from lignocellulosic materials is a challenging problem because of the multifaceted nature of raw materials and lack of technology to efficiently and economically release fermentable sugars from the complex multi-polymeric raw materials (Verma, 2010). After decades of research aimed at reducing the costs of microbial cellulases, their production is still expensive (Sticklen and Oraby, 2005). One way of decreasing such costs is to produce these enzymes within crop biomass. Although some important advances have been made to lay the foundations for plant genetic engineering for biofuel production, this science is still in its infancy (Sticklen, 2008). A general challenge is to develop efficient systems for the genetic transformation of plant systems for the production of cellulose degrading enzymes. Research is particularly needed to focus on the targeting of these enzymes to multiple subcellular locations in order to increase levels of enzyme production and produce enzymes with higher biological activities (Sticklen, 2008). A huge potential exists to produce larger amounts of these enzymes in chloroplasts, and exciting progress has been made in terms of the crops for which the chloroplast can now be genetically engineered. More effo rts are however needed towards the development of systems to genetically engineer chloroplasts of biomass crops such as cereals and perennial grasses (Blaschke, 2006). Some of the key aims of the project would be: To characterise cell wall degrading enzymes Overexpression of cellulose cDNA in pET30 vector systems Induction and characterisation of proteins in different conditions The use of tobacco plant as means of producing cellulases through chloroplast genetic engineering to simultaneously addresses the most important question of shifting the agricultural land from feed crops to biofuel crops (like corn and sugarcane at present) along with the cost-effective large scale production of cellulose degrading enzymes.

A Demon Haunted World Essay -- essays research papers

A Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark Well I can certainly see why this book was rated with five stars. I found Sagan’s book, â€Å"A demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark† one of the most eye-opening books that I have read in a very long time. I must admit that when this book was first presented to me I doubted just how great this would be. Here in my head I was thinking â€Å"Okay I don’t want to read a book about engineering I want to do engineering.† But the thought process went on and I must admit it was well worth reading this book. Although the book was slow to begin, as most books are, the pace picked up and took me right along for the ride.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main theme of this book was how much science not only opens are minds but also how much science influences our lives. I liked the example that Sagan uses close to the beginning of this story of how he was at a gathering and asked everyone in the room how many of them had not been helped someway in their lives by science. I thought the fact that only one person raised their hand was a good way of showing just how influential science is in everyone’s lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that there could also be another theme for this book. The other theme I saw to be very present throughout the book was the mere fact that science alone can not necessarily answer questions but can give the flaws to someone’s story. I am very interested in and have been a strong belie...

Ford Pinto Case Study

Ford Pinto Case Study MGT 216 Ford Pinto Case Study The purpose of this paper will be to determine whether Ford was to blame in the Ford Pinto Case. This paper will provide possible solutions as well as supporting statements. This paper will examine all external social pressures and determine how external pressures affect individuals’ points of view. Further, this paper will discuss how the issue would be viewed differently in today’s society. In today’s society ethical issues are under heavy scrutiny. To examine this case thoroughly, the time and social norms of the time must be taken into consideration. The big question with the case is whether or not the Ford business acted ethically when designing the Pinto’s fuel system. The case was put under a microscope and analyzed because the company did not upgrade the integrity of the system until 1978 because of the cost benefits analysis. In determining whether or not to make the production change, the Ford Motor Company defended itself by contending that it used a risk/benefit analysis. Ford stated that its reason for using a risk/benefit analysis was due to the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required them to do so (Leggett, 1999). Business people should not forget that they have a social responsibility as well as a responsibility of maintaining business ethics. If faced with an ethical dilemma similar to that in the Pinto case, it would be important to consider the factors and remind management that it is unethical to knowingly market a car with unsafe parts to the public (De George, 2006). Taking the time to put in a bit more money to make a quality product is more important than building a car that will eventually be recalled and decline in future profits. Quality and safety are on the minds of consumers when purchasing a car. When the cars are made of good quality, it shows the consumers that the values and ethics of a company are solid and that the company puts pride in their work. This ensures that there develops a trust between consumer and company, and possibly a long relationship between the two. If these observations do not convince management, it should be suggested to publish a warning on the risks associated with the Pinto and/or issue a recall. The last option would force management to take nother look into investing more in their cars. If management declines the request to inform the public then the ethical decision would be to â€Å"blow the whistle†. Safety should be the first concern. Putting oneself behind the wheel with family would make that decision easy. Any information would be distributed anonymously and made known in all forms of media to the public (Nadler & Schulman, 2006). The social pressures that Ford Motor Company faced were: decline in sales, increased risk of litigation and lawsuits, and their reputation being slandered. The Ford Corporation knew from the beginning that the Pinto was dangerous. If the corporation continued to manufacture the Pinto they knew there was a risk of many lawsuits (class action) and litigation on the horizon. The corporation conducted a cost-benefit analysis to determine how many deaths would occur and how it would impact the company financially. The cost-benefit analysis would determine the cost the company would be responsible for if a certain percentage of the deceased persons’ families sued the company and won (DeGeorge, 2006). It was in the best interest of the company to cut their losses and stop manufacturing the Pinto because the issues became public. Their reputation was tarnished, despite the fact that they corrected the problems. This lead to a reduction in sales/profits since the consumers wouldn’t invest in the Pinto due to prior issues. Consumers didn’t care that they corrected the issues. The best option for Ford is to invest in a safer and better product and cut their losses. During the 1970s it should have been obvious to Ford that the general public was not favorable to them ignoring the problems concerning the fuel tank. Even though they reasoned it out of their calculations by using a risk/benefit analysis, safety was a factor to buyers even back then. The same approach mentioned above could have been used back then as well. Step one would have been encouraging management to make the right decision. Ford should have decided to not produce additional cars with the issue. Publishing a warning to all purchasers of the (impaired) car should also have occurred, along with an offer of updating the fuel tank with the appropriate parts free of charge. If management declined to do any of these then blowing the whistle would be best. As indicated before, one just has to put themselves in the driver’s seat along with their family to understand the importance of correcting the problem. You truly cannot put a price on a human being, no matter how hard you try. Essentially, ethics and morals are nearly bound at the same hand. A vehicle, knowingly defective, can be sold day in and day out for personal and corporate gain. Ethics plays its part when the entire corporation is knowingly and encouraging these actions. A re-call on a vehicle is not the fault of the salesman selling the car in Wheeler, TX. It is the right and duty of the auto-maker to let the salesman in Wheeler, TX aware of the defaults in the vehicle in order for that salesman to inform his customers of the automobile that they are prepared to purchase. THIS is an ethical violation! It becomes an ethical question, when the Corporates encourage the sales of these ill-made vehicles simply in order to meet they’re bottom line. (Toyota). It is fascinating that when we speak of ethics that we never speak of values. The CEO’s, COO’s CFO’s have no values in these instances; therefore they have no morals or ethics. Rarely do we see the head of a Fortune 500 Company come out publicly and admit that they had no ethics going into this project. Ethics has gone by the waste-side in recent years and the corporations are not the only ones to blame. These employees of they’re rightful companies have literally forced most of there employees to, so called, â€Å"play ball† for sales, benefits and bonuses. No matter what the cost or expense to the consumer. Many believe that ethics still lives and breathes in our corporate world, but until there are morals and honesty, the American people are simply done buying what they are selling! References De George, R. (2006). Chapter 12 Whistle blowing. â€Å"Business Ethics†, 6thed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Leggett, C. (1999). Life as it applies to the Negligence-Efficiency. Retrieved from http://www. wfu. edu/~palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto. html on February 9, 2011 Ford Pinto Case Study Ford Pinto Case Study MGT 216 Ford Pinto Case Study The purpose of this paper will be to determine whether Ford was to blame in the Ford Pinto Case. This paper will provide possible solutions as well as supporting statements. This paper will examine all external social pressures and determine how external pressures affect individuals’ points of view. Further, this paper will discuss how the issue would be viewed differently in today’s society. In today’s society ethical issues are under heavy scrutiny. To examine this case thoroughly, the time and social norms of the time must be taken into consideration. The big question with the case is whether or not the Ford business acted ethically when designing the Pinto’s fuel system. The case was put under a microscope and analyzed because the company did not upgrade the integrity of the system until 1978 because of the cost benefits analysis. In determining whether or not to make the production change, the Ford Motor Company defended itself by contending that it used a risk/benefit analysis. Ford stated that its reason for using a risk/benefit analysis was due to the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required them to do so (Leggett, 1999). Business people should not forget that they have a social responsibility as well as a responsibility of maintaining business ethics. If faced with an ethical dilemma similar to that in the Pinto case, it would be important to consider the factors and remind management that it is unethical to knowingly market a car with unsafe parts to the public (De George, 2006). Taking the time to put in a bit more money to make a quality product is more important than building a car that will eventually be recalled and decline in future profits. Quality and safety are on the minds of consumers when purchasing a car. When the cars are made of good quality, it shows the consumers that the values and ethics of a company are solid and that the company puts pride in their work. This ensures that there develops a trust between consumer and company, and possibly a long relationship between the two. If these observations do not convince management, it should be suggested to publish a warning on the risks associated with the Pinto and/or issue a recall. The last option would force management to take nother look into investing more in their cars. If management declines the request to inform the public then the ethical decision would be to â€Å"blow the whistle†. Safety should be the first concern. Putting oneself behind the wheel with family would make that decision easy. Any information would be distributed anonymously and made known in all forms of media to the public (Nadler & Schulman, 2006). The social pressures that Ford Motor Company faced were: decline in sales, increased risk of litigation and lawsuits, and their reputation being slandered. The Ford Corporation knew from the beginning that the Pinto was dangerous. If the corporation continued to manufacture the Pinto they knew there was a risk of many lawsuits (class action) and litigation on the horizon. The corporation conducted a cost-benefit analysis to determine how many deaths would occur and how it would impact the company financially. The cost-benefit analysis would determine the cost the company would be responsible for if a certain percentage of the deceased persons’ families sued the company and won (DeGeorge, 2006). It was in the best interest of the company to cut their losses and stop manufacturing the Pinto because the issues became public. Their reputation was tarnished, despite the fact that they corrected the problems. This lead to a reduction in sales/profits since the consumers wouldn’t invest in the Pinto due to prior issues. Consumers didn’t care that they corrected the issues. The best option for Ford is to invest in a safer and better product and cut their losses. During the 1970s it should have been obvious to Ford that the general public was not favorable to them ignoring the problems concerning the fuel tank. Even though they reasoned it out of their calculations by using a risk/benefit analysis, safety was a factor to buyers even back then. The same approach mentioned above could have been used back then as well. Step one would have been encouraging management to make the right decision. Ford should have decided to not produce additional cars with the issue. Publishing a warning to all purchasers of the (impaired) car should also have occurred, along with an offer of updating the fuel tank with the appropriate parts free of charge. If management declined to do any of these then blowing the whistle would be best. As indicated before, one just has to put themselves in the driver’s seat along with their family to understand the importance of correcting the problem. You truly cannot put a price on a human being, no matter how hard you try. Essentially, ethics and morals are nearly bound at the same hand. A vehicle, knowingly defective, can be sold day in and day out for personal and corporate gain. Ethics plays its part when the entire corporation is knowingly and encouraging these actions. A re-call on a vehicle is not the fault of the salesman selling the car in Wheeler, TX. It is the right and duty of the auto-maker to let the salesman in Wheeler, TX aware of the defaults in the vehicle in order for that salesman to inform his customers of the automobile that they are prepared to purchase. THIS is an ethical violation! It becomes an ethical question, when the Corporates encourage the sales of these ill-made vehicles simply in order to meet they’re bottom line. (Toyota). It is fascinating that when we speak of ethics that we never speak of values. The CEO’s, COO’s CFO’s have no values in these instances; therefore they have no morals or ethics. Rarely do we see the head of a Fortune 500 Company come out publicly and admit that they had no ethics going into this project. Ethics has gone by the waste-side in recent years and the corporations are not the only ones to blame. These employees of they’re rightful companies have literally forced most of there employees to, so called, â€Å"play ball† for sales, benefits and bonuses. No matter what the cost or expense to the consumer. Many believe that ethics still lives and breathes in our corporate world, but until there are morals and honesty, the American people are simply done buying what they are selling! References De George, R. (2006). Chapter 12 Whistle blowing. â€Å"Business Ethics†, 6thed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Leggett, C. (1999). Life as it applies to the Negligence-Efficiency. Retrieved from http://www. wfu. edu/~palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto. html on February 9, 2011

Review Of The Great Gatsby

Review Of The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the greatest novelists of his time, and has written many novels about the American Dream during the Swinging Twenties, and the materialism that came with that dream. "The Great Gatsby" is one of those novels. "The Great Gatsby" is about a man, Nick Carraway, who moves to the east coast of New York in the 1920s. He moves next door to an extremely wealthy man named Jay Gatsby who has an extraordinary gift of hope. The woman who lives across the bay is Gatsby's long-lost love, and Gatsby tries extremely hard to make her come back to him. Daisy, the woman that Gatsby loves, is already married, but when the two meet for the first time in five years, Daisy falls back in love with Gatsby and forgets about her arrogant and egomaniacal husband, Tom.When I first started reading the novel, I couldn't get into it at all.The Great GatsbyI would have to put the book down to keep from falling asleep. Then after painfully getting through the first part of the book, my i nterest arose. I began to enjoy reading the book very much. By the end, I was extremely drawn into the actual story. I realized this when I started actually getting angry with Tom at how pathetic and immoral he was. At the same time, I would be sympathizing with Gatsby for his hope and his amazing skill in making dreams come true. Too bad that those dreams do not achieve his expectations, or deserve his effort.F. Scott Fitzgerald has an amazing writing style. The way he wrote this novel, making Nick Carraway narrate in both first and third person, presenting only what Nick himself observes works flawlessly. This method is successful because Nick not only narrates, but also...

George Orwells Animal Farm essays

George Orwell's Animal Farm essays George Orwell was chiefly interested in justice and equality. He was a deeply pessimistic man who had powers of imagination which few of his contemporaries dreamed one man could have. Orwells character and writing style was so deep that qualities that were and still are manifest in his work, did not reveal themselves in his life (Scott-Kilvert 273). In his short life, Orwell distinguished himself as a novelist, journalist, essayist, literary critic, and political polemicist. In his writings, Orwell used a personalized blend of moral commitment and social commentary to distinguish himself as a major spokesman for his generation (Beacham 1084). Animal Farm was one of the first real attempts to use a beast fable to satirize communism. The novel is quoted to be a struggle about farm animals that have driven out their human exploiter, to create a free and equal community. In doing this, Animal Farm takes the form of a mast ingeniously worked-out recapitulation of the history of Sov iet Russia from 1917 up to the Teheran Conference. George Orwell uses the events of the Russian in his political satire Animal Farm to express the main theme, Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Animal Farm is a frivolous form of the animal tale that conveys with immense power a profoundly bitter message (Williams 107). George Orwells travels to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War had a profound impact on Animal Farm. Because of his travels to Spain, Orwell developed disillusionment with the Communist party and convinced himself of the impending treat of totalitarianism on the survival of intellectual freedom (Beacham 1082). In Animal Farm Orwell shows and expresses his opposition of the doctrine of imperialism which fosters aristocratic privilege at the expense of the poor and disadvantaged (1082). For example, shortly after the Revolution in Animal Farm, everyone from the pigs to the horses are consi...

Building law and contract adminisratation. General contract law Essay

Building law and contract adminisratation. General contract law - Essay Example These terms are relating to the title of the goods, description of the goods, fitness or quality of the goods and merchantable quality of goods etc. The law monitors the contract whether the goods fulfill the necessary standards set by the Sales of Goods Act 1979 or not, with some exceptions. Issues related to breach of contract of sale are also dealt by this Act. As breaches resulting due to the implied terms where they are complied with or not or the passage of property whether payment or damages can be claimed or not. This is similar to the case of Hoeing vs Isaac (1952), where the Isaac was supposed to decorate Hoeing’s apartment at a cost of  £750 and after the completion of the work it was found that there was problem with the wardrobe and the book case costing  £55. Hoeing refused to pay the remaining  £350. But the judgment went against Hoeing as the substantial part of the contract was performed and there was only a claim for the damages. (UBC) As per the decided case, the court only allowed damages to be paid to the plaintiff and the remaining amount due was paid in full. Therefore, the plaintiff can only claim the damages and cannot stop the further payment of  £4,000 which is already due. A similar case that of Carlil vs carbolic smoke ball company was presented where the Smoke ball company had given an advertisement regarding a flu remedy known as the smoke ball and claimed that it will pay  £100 to any person who gets sick even after using their remedy. Mrs Carlill used the remedy and got sick and claimed  £100. The company refused to pay the reward but later the judgment was provided that the company was liable to pay as there was a contract based on the reliance placed on the advertisement and the performance of the said act. (Law-Essays) Similarly, the person has acted upon the directions of the owner of the dog. As per the decided case, the unilateral contract is formed only when the person acts upon the directions and there

The purpose of the study is to observe whether proper methods and Case

The purpose of the is to observe whether proper methods and techniques of Financial Statements preparations are used in Mi - Case Study Example The Board may also pay specific attention to how well management is employing information to feedback about its operations, to propose new strategies and to make decisions. Operating and financial statements of MFI will report on a quarterly / monthly basis, including a set of carefully selected indicators for identifying progress against financial goals of the MFIs social objectives and operations plans. These financial and operating reports should give the top management of MFI an exhaustive and focused portrait of MFIs progress as regards to its triple bottom line. In this study, I will be analysing in detail about whether proper methods and techniques of Financial Statements preparations are used in Microfinance Institutions in order to help the CEOs with data pertinent to day-to-day operations and decision making. (Goldberg & Palladini 30) 2. â€Å"Purpose of the study â€Å" â€Å"The purpose of the study â€Å"is to observe whether proper methods and techniques of Financia l Statements preparations are used in Microfinance Institutions in order to help the CEOs with data pertinent to day-to-day operations and in decision making. Thus, the main aim of this research study is to make recommendations for appropriate financial standards, keeping in mind the professionals in the sector who may be required to have a preface to the implications and the depth of such financial standards. 3. ... This again corroborates that MFI should pay more attention to prepare its financial statements with the above specific requirements well within the time limit. (Ledgerwood & White 313). CAMEL system was first perused by the bank regulators in North America to assess the managerial and financial soundness of the commercial financial institutions in U.S.A. MFI are using the CAMEL appraisal norms and grade five provinces of managerial and financial performance. It includes the following Asset quality Capital Adequacy Management Liquidity management Earnings Employing the original CAMEL’s conceptual framework, â€Å"ACCION international structured its own apprising strategy.† â€Å"The ACCION CAMEL model assesses the analogues five provinces but the ratings and indicators mirror the conditions and challenges of the microfinance industry. â€Å"ACCION CAMEL methodology needs the MFI to offer the following information: Cashflow and budget projections Financial statements pr epared in accordance with GAAP Portfolio aging schedules Funding sources Operations and staffing Microeconomic data With the above information from the financial statements of MFI, the ACCION CAMEL makes the following fine-tuning: 1) loan write-offs, 2) loan loss provision 3) Impacts of inflation 4) explicit and implicit studies 5) accrued interest income . Further, it rates and analyses twenty-one major pointers with every pointer accorded with a separate weighting. (Goldberg & Palladini: 13). Management Information System (MIS) is one another area that is required to be fortified in the microfinance sector and Information Technology can make a huge difference in this province. Now, there are available IT solutions,