Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Essay Example for Free

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Essay SARS is a highly contagious ailment, whose indications closely resemble those of influenza. Some of the symptoms of SARS are chills, headaches, muscle pains, sore throat and high fever. As the disease continues, there is an onset of pneumonia, which can prove to be fatal. In this context, the World Health Organization had estimated that fifteen percent of the cases of SARS infection proved to be fatal. This disease has defied all attempts at a cure; moreover, there is no vaccine for this disease. The SARS virus underwent a mutation, which enabled to cross the species barrier from animals to people. SARS is a respiratory illness and the symptoms of this illness are fever when the virus infects the human body. Normally the temperature of the human body of an infected person would be in excess of 100. 40F. The infected person develops chills and symptoms like headache, discomfort and body pains. In addition, there could be mild symptoms of respiratory distress in the beginning. Within two to seven days the patient develops a dry and nonproductive cough. The nonproductive cough would result in insufficient supply of oxygen to the blood. Some patients could even require the administering of clinical ventilation. SARS is a contagious disease and it spreads through the droplets that issue forth from a person who is coughing or sneezing into the air, if that person has been infected by the SARS virus. The primary manner of transmission of the virus is through the air or from objects that are contaminated with the virus (TARGET SARS Target II SARS/CoV 3CL-PRO). In 2003, an outbreak occurred of a previously unrecognized illness – termed SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. It was caused by infection with a newly identified coronavirus, SARS-COV. Infection produced an illness with Pneumonia as the main disease; however, some patients developed other complications like the loss of appetite, diarrhea and bleeding in the abdomen or stomach. Many of those who developed this disease were health-care workers and the infection rate among them was very high (SARS. Blacks Medical Dictionary, 41st Edition. CredoReference ). Extraordinary and exceptional isolation procedures had to be necessarily adopted because the Epidemic threatened to spread all over the world from its origin in Hong Kong. Some of the measures adopted, in order to reduce the risk of the spread of this infection was the concentration of patients in individual hospitals, which were converted into isolation units. Visitors were not allowed into such hospitals. Staff and other patients who had been exposed to persons suffering from this disease were segregated in such special units. Further, routine care for in patients in the hospital was discontinued and screening of likely contacts was conducted. In addition, a number of restrictions were imposed on travel. Due to this strategy, which had been performed in coordination with the World Health Organization, the SARS pandemic was finally controlled (SARS. Blacks Medical Dictionary, 41st Edition. CredoReference ). The virus genome on careful analysis revealed that this virus was a recombinant of virus relating to bird bronchitis and a virus relating to mouse hepatitis. It takes between two to ten days for the symptoms caused by the SARS virus to become noticeable after the infection takes place. With the increasing age of the patients there is a corresponding increase in mortality rate and proves to be fatal in approximately half of the patients whose age is above sixty years of age (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). In the month of November 2002, the first incidence of SARS infection was discovered. This was in a place that was close to Foshan in the Guangdong province of southern China. However, this disease caught the attention of the people in the month of February 2003, when it spread globally due to air travel by infected persons. In the month of February 2003, Carlo Urbani, who worked for the World Health Organization in Bangkok, was asked to go to Hanoi in Vietnam, in order to treat an industrialist, from the US, who showed symptoms of an unknown disease. In this manner, Carlo Urbani became the first person to identify this disease as a new disease (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). Several scientists, especially those from Canada, were successful in establishing that this new SARS virus belonged to the family of the coronavirus. This disease spreads to other persons, if the victim is located very close to an infected person who spreads this disease by coughing. Further, this disease spreads to people who enter a place in which infected people have deposited exhaled droplets of phlegm or other fluids in their body. Moreover, infection with this disease occurs if contact is made with door handles and similar objects that have contaminated droplets on their surface. Furthermore, it is possible to get infected with this disease if a person enters an enclosed place like a lift in which contaminated droplets are present. Eight thousand victims of SARS were identified by the end of is outbreak in the year 2003. Out of these SARS victims, seven hundred lost their life. The maximum damage due to this virus took place in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Toronto, Canada there were one hundred and forty cases of such infection and twenty five of such infected persons died. In Singapore, there were around three hundred instances of this infection and out of these thirty persons lost their life (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). In the year 2003 scientists were successful in discovering the gene that made the human body prone to infection by the SARS virus. While studying the human leukocyte antigen or HLA proteins, they realized that the variation in a gene that produces the HLA-B*4601 protein was common in the South China population. This was the area of origin of the SARS virus and people with this gene variation displayed a reaction to the SARS virus that was greater in severity in comparison to those who did not have this particular gene variation. Moreover, SARS infections are very rare in people who do not possess this HLA-B*4601 gene variation. Most of the people who belong to Taiwan and Europe do not have this gene variation (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). At the time of the rapid spread of SARS, the World Health Organization sent out a global alert in which it asked the people to mask their face in public places, to avoid air travel, to thoroughly check airplane passengers for increase in body temperature and to quarantine infected persons. A number of scientists are engaged in developing a vaccine for this disease. However, this disease was controlled by the beginning of the year 2005 and does not exist anywhere in the world, except in the laboratories (SARS. The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia CredoReference). SARS has defied all attempts at a cure and there is no specific vaccine for it. This has restricted the treatment to reducing the severity of the symptoms shown by the patient and treating any side effects of this infection (SARS in full severe acute respiratory syndrome. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia CredoReference ). It is now common knowledge that in the year 2003, in Guangdong province of China, the first occurrence of this severe atypical pneumonia was observed. The epidemic was suspected to be associated with a new virus and subsequently, researchers isolated an avian influenza A (H5N1) virus from a patient in Hong Kong. Researchers focused on members of the Paramyxoviridae family since some particles were detected by the process of electron microscopy of respiratory samples from patients in Hong Kong and Frankfurt (Peiris, Chu and Cheng). Subsequent investigations revealed that the human metapneumovirus or hMPV existed in SARS patients. Researchers in China had detected the Chlamydia organism in patients who had died due to atypical pneumonia during the outbreak of SARS in Guangdong. However, these organisms were not present in patients outside China. In the month of March 2003, researchers in the United States, Hong Kong and Germany found traces of a previously unknown coronavirus in SARS patients. This discovery was in different ways and some of these methods included isolation on cell culture, demonstration by electron microscopy, demonstration of specific genomic sequence by polymerase chain reaction or PSR and by the use of microarray techniques and the indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests (Peiris, Chu and Cheng). In this context, the World Health Organization announced on the 16th of April, 2003, that the coronavirus had not been discovered in humans and animals till that date and that it was a new virus, which was the cause of SARS. Before announcing the discovery of this new virus, thirteen laboratories in ten countries tested this new coronavirus in accordance with the postulates of Koch, which is essential to prove that this new virus causes SARS. This virus causes interstitial pneumonia that shows symptoms that are similar to SARS, and the virus was isolated from the nose and throat of infected monkeys. The corona viruses belong to the family of Coronaviridae. This family consists of very large, positive – sense single – stranded RNA viruses, which replicate themselves in the cytoplasm of the animal host cells (Siddell, Wege and Meulen). The gene factors of corona viruses range in length from 27 to 32 kb, and are the largest of the RNA viruses. The diameter of the virions ranges vary from 100 to 140 nanometers. Most of the viral particles bear the distinct appearance of surface projections and these spikes extend to twenty nanometers from their base. In animals, corona viruses cause extremely virulent respiratory, enteric and neurological diseases. They also cause hepatitis, respiratory diseases that are temporarily prevalent and widespread in animals and gastroenteritis having short incubation periods between two to seven days. The symptoms revealed in SARS are the same (Holmes). Corona viruses are species – specific and when they attack immunocompetent hosts, their infection extracts neutralizing antibodies and cell – mediated immune responses, which in turn kill the infected cells (Holmes). Most of the corona viruses cause terminal diseases in animals such as feline infectious peritonitis virus or FIPV, hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis or HEV of swine and some strains of avian infectious bronchitis virus or IBV and mouse hepatitis virus or MHV. They replicate themselves in the liver, lungs, kidneys, gut, spleen, brain, spinal cord and other tissues (Holmes). Human corona viruses HCoVs were found to cause minor diseases. They are found in group 1 known as HCoV – 229E and group 2 known as HCoV – O43, and they cause minor respiratory problems (Makela). Sometimes they cause severe infections of the lower respiratory tract in children and adults and a condition termed as necrotizing enterocolitis in newborn babies. They can survive on normal environmental surfaces for three hours and they are transmitted among humans by droplets, hand contamination, fomites and small particle aerosols (Ijaz). The Coronaviruses produce Coronavirus Main Protease protein or 3CL – PRO. This protein helps the virus to replicate itself and thereby spread the infection. In order to stop the infection, it is essential to bring about a disabling of the protein from working and this would consequently, contain the virus production and the attendant infection. Therefore, researchers had concentrated on producing a drug that would hinder the functioning of the 3CL PRO protein. With the achievement of this breakthrough, pharmaceutical companies started to prepare drugs that would hinder the functions of the 3CL – PRO protein, which is responsible for the multiplication of the virus and the resultant SARS infection. Ritonavir and Indinavir are the major ingredients of the anti – HIV drugs. The Coronavirus Main Proteinase is the principal drug that is used in the treatment of SARS (TARGET SARS Target II SARS/CoV 3CL-PRO). The HIV virus and other viruses that cause influenza on infecting people have been described as wily because of their characteristic of mutating rapidly. This trait helps them to obtain immunity from antiviral drugs or from the human immune system. However, the SARS virus has not been undergoing mutation. Clinical examinations of the genome sequences of fourteen isolates from patients in Singapore, Toronto, China and Hong Kong did not establish any mutations of the original sequence and it can be concluded that the SARS virus is invariant. However, this notion that SARS virus does not mutate or fails to mutate cannot be taken for granted since the virus did not face significant resistance from human hosts (Knight). Coronaviruses are not so active in the replication of their genetic material and as a result they make one error for every ten thousand nucleotides that they replicate. This is similar to what the HIV virus does. Coronaviruses have a significant characteristic that helps them to reject mutations as and when they occur. These viruses have an enzyme that enables them to replicate their genetic material and spreads among several copies of the viral genome instead of being restricted to a single template of the genome. The result of this is that each genome is copied from multiple templates. This procedure reduces the chances of mutations in the populations of the coronavirus (Knight). The enzyme that brings about the copying of the virus functions in such a manner that instead of using just one template genome it accesses several such templates and this results in a drastic reduction in the possibility that any particular mutation will dominate in a viral population. Moreover, such haphazard template access can entail an inaccurate access by the enzyme (Knight). The consequence of such access by the enzyme would be the deletion of some portion of an essential gene, which could produce results that would be drastic, particularly, if the mutation affects the protein spikes that are bound to the surface of the viruses’ cellular victims. In 1984, there was an outbreak of a new ailment on European farms that were rearing pigs. It was determined to be a mutant of the coronavirus, in which the altered spike protein had effected changes in respect of the type of cells that could be invaded by the virus. Although, this mutant did not prove to be fatal, all the same it has spread globally and made the diagnosis of gut disease more difficult (Knight). It is assumed that genetic deletion was responsible for the SARS virus to find a new target, namely, the human body, from its previous animal hosts. In that case the mutation could be of a totally different type due to the fact that the spike protein has remained unaltered. While comparing with the viral strains present in the animals sold in the Chinese markets, it became evident that the SARS virus does not have twenty nine nucleotides in the gene for a protein whose function could not be determined. This protein was found to be appended to the inside of the protective layer of the virus (Knight). The WHO spearheaded the battle against SARS and was extremely successful in uniting the global community in combating this menace. Dr Carlo Urbani became a martyr in the battle against SARS. This disease demonstrated that there are several dangers that could surface when least expected to do with terrifying results (SARS: how a global epidemic was stopped). Within a short period of seven months, around eight thousand people were infected by this disease in twenty nine countries. 1755 persons were infected in Hong Kong and of these 299 succumbed to the disease. This disease had a serious psychological effect on its victims and it was established that such effects persisted for long periods after the disease had been cured. Several studies conducted a month after patients had been discharged revealed that thirteen to thirty two percent of them were suffering from moderate to severe anxiety and that eighteen to twenty six percent had moderate to severe depression. Another four percent were found to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD (Lee). The spread of SARS had a number of economic, political and sociological ramifications, due to extreme demands made on the countries, in which this disease was prevalent, by the WHO. Some of these demands were related to a curtailment if not the rescission of economic activities like trade, tourism, and investment. Despite SARS occurring mainly in Asia, its effects were experienced in almost every major market across the world. This epidemic brought about a tremendous increase in medical expenditure and travel. In addition consumer confidence and investment reached their nadir (Political Influences on the Response to SARS and Economic Impacts of the Disease).

Use of Imagery in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay -- Chopin Awakening

Use of Imagery in Chopin’s The Awakening Several passages in The Awakening struck me because of their similar imagery—a bird, wings, and nudity. The first passage I looked at is in Chapter 9 where Edna Pontellier has a vision of a naked man â€Å"standing beside a desolate rock† (47) on a beach who is watching a bird fly away. This image was evoked by a one particular piece that Mme Ratignolle plays which Edna significantly calls â€Å"Solitude. † Apparently Edna frequently envisions certain images while listening to music: â€Å"Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind† (47). Listening to this piece Edna envisions a solitary, naked man with an â€Å"attitude [†¦] of hopeless resignation† (47). This scene presents solitude in many different ways. The figure standing alone and naked near the â€Å"desolate rock† illustrates the mood of solitude and resignation. I was reminded of that scene at the end of the novel in chapter 39 where we find a description of a very similar situation. Now it is Edna Pontellier herself standing alone on the beach at Grand Isle. She takes ...

Caribbean Business Environment

Firstly, here are some of the consequences of regional trade arrangements: Accumulation or growth effects. If closer integration improves the efficiency with which factors are combined it is also likely to induce rater investment. While this additional investment is taking place, countries may experience a medium-term growth effect. If such investment is associated with faster technical progress or accumulation of human capital as identified in the long-run growth rates may also be improved.Investment effects. More emphasis is now given to the impact of regional Integration on production via the effect on foreign direct investment and investment creation and diversion. Transactions costs and regulatory barriers. The traditional theory of customs unions was developed in the context of riff reductions but, as noticed above, the welfare effects of Integration can be quite different If the barriers removed are cost-increasing barriers.Following the SUE experience with Implementing its Si ngle Market program, there Is now greater awareness of the importance of barriers which raise transactions costs in inhibiting trade, and of the value of removing them. Importance of credibility. Many of the effects identified in the modern theory, especially those related to or requiring investment, assume that the integration effort is credible and will not be reversed. If credibility is lacking, and there is uncertainty among investors, their behavior is unlikely to be influenced.The emphasis on credibility assumes the existence of enforcement mechanisms which will ensure the implementation of commitments entered Into when a country Joins a regional Integration scheme. Regional trade agreements reduce the tariffs between the countries which are part of the trade agreement. Regional trade agreements reduce tariffs between countries, but does not allow these countries to Increase tariffs on countries which do not participate. Tariff reductions allow people to purchase goods from ot her countries at lower prices.The gains from learning valuable skills from foreign markets that can subsequently be transferred back to the home country. Integration also has many benefits such as: gains in trade, economies of scale, limited fiscal capabilities and cultural centralization. With deeper levels of integration foreign investment will increase. The lack of resources in the Caribbean will increased more integration and also the people will get to learn other trades from the different countries. Also will adopt and enhance strategies which will help the efficiency and improve competition in the region and the US.

Scientific Inventions

ASSEMBLY LINE: Primitive assembly line production was first used in 1901 by Ran some Eli Olds (1864-1950), an early car-maker (he manufactured the Oldsmobile, the first commercially successful American car). Henry Ford (1863-1947) used the first conveyor belt-based assembly-line in his car factory in 1913-14 in Ford's Highland Park, Michigan plant. This type of production greatly reduced the amount of time taken to put each car together (93 minutes for a Model T) from its parts, reducing production costs. Assembly lines are now used in most manufacturing processes. BAEKELAND, L. H. : Leo Hendrik Baekeland (November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian-born American chemist who invented Velox photographic paper (1893) and Bakelite (1907), an inexpensive, nonflammable, versatile, and very popular plastic. BAKELITE: Bakelite (also called catalin) is a plastic, a dense synthetic polymer (a phenolic resin) that was used to make jewelry, game pieces, engine parts, radio boxes, switches, and many, many other objects. Bakelite was the first industrial thermoset plastic (a material that does not change its shape after being mixed and heated). Bakelite plastic is made from carbolic acid (phenol) and formaldehyde, which are mixed, heated, and then either molded or extruded into the desired shape. Bakelite was patented in 1907 by the Belgian-born American chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland (November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944). The Nobel Prize winning German chemist Adolf von Baeyer had experimented with this material in 1872, but did not complete its development or see its potential. Baekeland operated the General Bakelite Company from 1911 to 1939 (in Perth Amboy, N. J. , USA), and produced up to about 200,000 tons of Bakelite annually. Bakelite replaced the very flammable celluloid plastic that had been so popular. The bracelet above is made of â€Å"butterscotch† Bakelite. BAROMETER: A barometer is a device that measures air (barometric) pressure. It measures the weight of the column of air that extends from the instrument to the top of the atmosphere. There are two types of barometers commonly used today, mercury and aneroid (meaning â€Å"fluid less†). Earlier water barometers (also known as â€Å"storm glasses†) date from the 17th century. The mercury barometer was invented by the Italian physicist Evangelista Torricelli (1608 – 1647), a pupil of Galileo, in 1643. Torricelli inverted a glass tube filled with mercury into another container of mercury; the mercury in the tube â€Å"weighs† the air in the atmosphere above the tube. The aneroid barometer (using a spring balance instead of a liquid) was invented by the French scientist Lucien Vidie in 1843. BATTERY: A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Each battery has two electrodes, an anode (the positive end) and a cathode (the negative end). An electrical circuit runs between these two electrodes, going through a chemical called an electrolyte (which can be either liquid or solid). This unit consisting of two electrodes is called a cell (often called a voltaic cell or pile). Batteries are used to power many devices and make the spark that starts a gasoline engine. Alessandro Volta was an Italian physicist invented the first chemical battery in 1800. Storage batteries : are lead-based batteries that can be recharged. In 1859, the French physicist Gaston Plante (1834-1889) invented a battery made from two lead plates joined by a wire and immersed in a sulfuric acid electrolyte; this was the first storage battery. BUNSEN BURNER: The laboratory Bunsen burner was invented by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen in 1855. Bunsen (1811-1899) was a German chemist and teacher. He invented the Bunsen burner for his research in isolating chemical substances – it has a high-intensity, non-luminous flame that does not interfere with the colored flame emitted by chemicals being tested. CASSEGRAIN TELESCOPE: A Cassegrain telescope is a wide-angle reflecting telescope with a concave mirror that receives light and focuses an image. A second mirror reflects the light through a gap in the primary mirror, allowing the eyepiece or camera to be mounted at the back end of the tube. The Cassegrain reflecting telescope was developed in 1672 by the French sculptor Sieur Guillaume Cassegrain. A correcting plate (a lens) was added in 1930 by the Estonian astronomer and lens-maker Bernard Schmidt (1879-1935), creating the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope which minimized the spherical aberration of the Cassegrain telescope. CELLOPHANE: Cellophane is a thin, transparent, waterproof, protective film that is used in many types of packaging. It was invented in 1908 by Jacques Edwin Brandenberger, a Swiss chemist. He had originally intended cellophane to be bonded onto fabric to make a waterproof textile, but the new cloth was brittle and not useful. Cellophane proved very useful all alone as a packaging material. Chemists at the Dupont Company (who later bought the rights to cellophane) made cellophane waterproof in 1927. CELSIUS, ANDERS: Anders Celsius (1701-1744) was a Swedish professor of astronomy who devised the Celsius thermometer. He also ventured to the far north of Sweden with an expedition in order to measure the length of a degree along a meridian, close to the pole, later comparing it with similar measurements made in the Southern Hemisphere. This confirmed that that the shape of the earth is an ellipsoid which is flattened at the poles. He also cataloged 300 stars. With his assistant Olof Hiorter, Celsius discovered the magnetic basis for auroras. COMPOUND MICROSCOPE: Zacharias Janssen was a Dutch lens-maker who invented the first compound microscope in 1595 (a compound microscope is one which has more than one lens). His microscope consisted of two tudes that slid within one another, and had a lens at each end. The microscope was focused by sliding the tubes. The lens in the eyepiece was bi-convex (bulging outwards on both sides), and the lens of the far end (the objective lens) was Plano-convex (flat on one side and bulging outwards on the other side). This advanced microscope had a 3 to 9 times power of magnification. Zacharias Janssen's father Hans may have helped him build the microscope. DA VINCI, LEONARDO: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian inventor, artist, architect, and scientist. Da Vinci had an interest in engineering and made detailed sketches of the airplane, the helicopter (and other flying machines), the parachute, the submarine, the armored car, the ballista (a giant crossbow), rapid-fire guns, the centrifugal pump (designed to drain wet areas, like marshes), ball bearings, the worm gear (a set of gears in which many teeth make contact at once, reducing the strain on the teeth, allowing more pressure to be put on the mechanism), and many other incredible ideas that were centuries ahead of da Vinci's time. DAVY, HUMPHRY: Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was an English scientist who invented the first electric light in 1800. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires from his battery to two pieces of carbon, electricity arced between the carbon pieces, producing an intense, hot, and short-lived light. This is called an electric arc. Davy also invented a miner's safety helmet and a process to desalinate sea water. Davy discovered the elements boron, sodium, aluminum (whose name he later changed to aluminum), and potassium. EDISON, THOMAS ALVA: Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was an American inventor (also known as the Wizard of Menlo Park) whose many inventions revolutionized the world. His work includes improving the incandescent electric light bulb and inventing the phonograph, the phonograph record, the carbon telephone transmitter, and the motion-picture projector. Edison’s first job was as a telegraph operator, and in the course of his duties, he redesigned the stock-ticker machine. The Edison Universal Stock Printer gave him the capital ($40,000) to set up a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, to invent full-time (with many employees). Edison experimented with thousands of different light bulb filaments to find just the right materials to glow well, be long-lasting, and be inexpensive. In 1879, Edison discovered that a carbon filament in an oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for quite a while. This incandescent bulb revolutionized the world. ELION, GERTRUDE: Gertrude Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was a Nobel Prize winning biochemist who invented many life-saving drugs, including 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol) and 6-thioguanine (which fight leukemia), Imuran, Zovirax, and many others. Elion worked at Burroughs- Glaxo Wellcome for decades (beginning in 1944) with George Hitchings and Sir James Black, with whom she shared the Nobel Prize. She is named on 45 patents for drugs and her work has saved the lives of thousands of people. ENIAC: ENIAC stands for â€Å"Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. † It was one of the first all-purpose, all-electronic digital computers. This room-sized computer was built by the physicist John William Mauchly (Aug. 30, 1907 – Jan. 8, 1980) and the electrical engineer John Presper Eckert, Jr. (April 9, 1919 – June 3, 1995) at the University of Pennsylvania. They completed the machine in November, 1945. FARNSWORTH, PHILO T. : Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971) was an American inventor. Farnsworth invented many major major components of the television, including power, focusing systems, synchronizing the signal, contrast, controls, and scanning. He also invented the radar systems, cold cathode ray tube, the first baby incubator and the first electronic microscope. Farnsworth held over 300 patents. FOUCAULT, JEAN: Jean Bernard Leon Foucault (1819-1868) was a French physicist who invented the gyroscope (1852) and the Foucault pendulum (1851). A gyroscope is essentially a spinning wheel set in a movable frame. When the wheel spins, it retains its spatial orientation, and it resists external forces applied to it. Gyroscopes are used in navigation instruments (for ships, planes, and rockets). Foucault was the first person to demonstrate how a pendulum could track the rotation of the Earth (the Foucault pendulum) in 1851. He also showed that light travels more slowly in water than in air (1850) and improved the mirrors of reflecting telescopes (1858). FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN: Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706-April 17, 1790) was an American statesman, writer, printer, and inventor. Franklin experimented extensively with electricity. In 1752, his experiments with a kite in a thunderstorm (never do this, many people have died trying it! ) led to the development of the lightning rod. Franklin started the first circulating library in the colonies in 1731. He also invented bifocal glasses and the Franklin stove. The idea of daylight savings time was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. GALILEI, GALILEO: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. Galileo found that the speed at which bodies fall does not depend on their weight and did extensive experimentation with pendulums. In 1593 Galileo invented the thermometer. In 1609, Galileo was the first person to use a telescope to observe the skies (after hearing about Hans Lippershey's newly-invented telescope). Galileo discovered the rings of Saturn (1610), was the first person to see the four major moons of Jupiter (1610), observed the phases of Venus, studied sunspots, and discovered many other important phenomena.

Free Essays on Egocentric America

The American school setting is the perfect environment for the egocentric self to be learned by children and is clearly opposed to the development of a sociocentric self. From the first day of nursery or even before that, children are all considered special, in their own way, which sets each one apart from everyone else. Schools particularly reinforce the belief of individualism and competitiveness in almost every aspect of the American school day. This is key to American society due to the fact that success here is based on standing out from everyone else and incorporating the aspects of assertiveness, intelligence, uniqueness, and common sense. In the early elementary school years of childhood development in America, children as â€Å"individuals† get focused on by the teacher. This is established by one on one interaction between the student and teacher relationship, that is children need personalized attention and not only focusing on the â€Å"whole† mentality. Demand for smaller class sizes emphasizes this. Another example that could be provided for the egocentric self is the rewards a student will receive if they strive for the best, in the giving out of gold stars. Many American school teachers reward a child’s successful homework, project, participation, friendliness, etc. with the â€Å"gold star.† Either in the teacher’s book or better yet, on a chart displayed for everyone to view, are how many stars each child has. Some children will receive more stars than others, thus receiving more praise, rewards, and self fulfillment from both teachers and parents who reestablish their chi ld’s individuality. This conditioning process clearly promotes each child to strive for more stars, to be the best, to stand out from the crowd and proclaim his or her own uniqueness. Upon later years of schooling, the egocentric teachings in America become more prevalently displayed, accepted, and incorporated in each individual student. Gold... Free Essays on Egocentric America Free Essays on Egocentric America The American school setting is the perfect environment for the egocentric self to be learned by children and is clearly opposed to the development of a sociocentric self. From the first day of nursery or even before that, children are all considered special, in their own way, which sets each one apart from everyone else. Schools particularly reinforce the belief of individualism and competitiveness in almost every aspect of the American school day. This is key to American society due to the fact that success here is based on standing out from everyone else and incorporating the aspects of assertiveness, intelligence, uniqueness, and common sense. In the early elementary school years of childhood development in America, children as â€Å"individuals† get focused on by the teacher. This is established by one on one interaction between the student and teacher relationship, that is children need personalized attention and not only focusing on the â€Å"whole† mentality. Demand for smaller class sizes emphasizes this. Another example that could be provided for the egocentric self is the rewards a student will receive if they strive for the best, in the giving out of gold stars. Many American school teachers reward a child’s successful homework, project, participation, friendliness, etc. with the â€Å"gold star.† Either in the teacher’s book or better yet, on a chart displayed for everyone to view, are how many stars each child has. Some children will receive more stars than others, thus receiving more praise, rewards, and self fulfillment from both teachers and parents who reestablish their chi ld’s individuality. This conditioning process clearly promotes each child to strive for more stars, to be the best, to stand out from the crowd and proclaim his or her own uniqueness. Upon later years of schooling, the egocentric teachings in America become more prevalently displayed, accepted, and incorporated in each individual student. Gold...

Apple Incorporation. Overview of the Company and its Major Operations Research Paper

Apple Incorporation. Overview of the Company and its Major Operations - Research Paper Example The influence of Steve Jobs in the company and the development of â€Å"i† series products etc are explained in detail in this article. Kim R (2010) Apple Passes Microsoft As Top Tech Company, Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/26/BUDJ1DL0IU.DTL This article provides details about the achievements of Apple company in the recent past. It compares Apple’s performances against the performances of the competitors. Moreover it provides more details about Apple’s strengths and business strategies which helped it to become the number one technological company in the world. Krazit, T (2008). Apple's Mac Strength Could Keep Tech Industry on a Rol. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9926068-37.html This article mainly focusses on Apple’s financial performances in the recent past. It says that apple is one among the few American companies which escaped from the recent recession. It analyses the performances of appleà ¢â‚¬â„¢s different business units individually to get more comprehensive picture about apple’s performances as a whole. Apple and Environment (2011), Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/environment/ This article is taken from Apple’s own website. It says many things about the commitments of Apple in maintaining sustainable business practices. It says that apple has better knowledge about the environmental impacts caused by their activities and they are taking every possible step to reduce environmental problems as much as possible. Steve Jobs Issues Statement on Apple’s Environmental Commitments (2007), Retrieved from http://www.texasenvironment.org/pr_story.cfm?IID=342 This article analyses the reliability of Apple’s claims as an environmentally friendly company with the help of some statistical analysis. It compares Apple’s environmental protection activities against similar activities of other companies. Overview of the company and its major ope rations and challenges it faces â€Å"Apple was founded in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne to sell the Apple I personal computer kit† (Apple Inc. History, 2008). It is currently the second largest company in the world in market capitalization and also the most valuable technological company in the world (Kim 2010). Apple faced many challenges in the past mainly because of the stiff competition from Microsoft. However, they were able to bounce back with the introduction of its â€Å"i† series produces such as iMac, iPhone, iPad, iPod iTune etc at the begging of the twenty first century. Apple is the number technological company in the world now and consumers all over the world rates apple products above its competitor’s products. Krazit (2008) has pointed out that the Wall Street is expecting Apple to report â€Å"earnings per share of $1.07 on revenue of $6.9 billion in 2008†. In his opinion â€Å"App le is a company which is under-promising and over-delivering† (Krazit, 2008).   Its founder and charismatic leader Steve Jobs passed away recently and many people have the belief that the loss of Steve may affect Apple immensely in future. It should be noted that Apple was one the verge of closing down during the latter part of twentieth century when Steve stayed away from the company for a while. A suitable replacement for Steve is the major challenge facing by Apple at present. Analysis of Apple’s efforts to improve/promote environmental sustainability   Apple follows sustainable business practices which helped them to become one of the topmost companies in the world. Apple has comprehensive knowledge about the environmental impacts caused by their activities. According to Apple’s claims Apple products are â€Å"

Obesity Epidemic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Obesity Epidemic - Essay Example now been declared a worldwide epidemic by the World Health Organization, after research indicated that it parallels to around 265 million adults and children around 15 million, simply meaning that there must be something we ought to do in order to regulate this situation and work towards an obese free world (Debasis & Preuss 30). According to Debasis and Preuss (38), for the last thirty years, there has been a drastic increase especially in childhood obesity. People should be asking themselves why there must be such a situation today. Take into consideration the situation of Barry Austin; he believed in eating so much that at one point he was heard saying that food was his god! Just at a mere age of 29, he was having a weight close to 320kg! From his close study, it was revealed that Barry’s breakfast consisted of four packets of crisps and almost three quarters a box of biscuits of which he consumed all. During lunch, which was from the chip shop, he would add several plates of beans on toast, additional Crips, and fruit cakes. If he was taking tea, he would have 12 roast potatoes, pie, custard, vegetables and gravy and 5 lamb chops. All these would then be cleared down the threat by 11 liters of soda every day. With respect to Hatfield and Stanton, they explain that studies have shown that Americans are consuming their foods well but not wisely. They further explain that the food habits have been growing for Americans every now and then. This is due to their ignorance in consuming a balanced diet. Some biological factors such as genes and the history of the family tend to increase the chances of developing obesity. Emotional factors could also be a contributing factor to this world catastrophe. One unique thing with obesity is that it doesn’t discriminate age nor gender. It affects the young and the old, the women and the men, blacks and whites, meaning that every kind of person is affected (Stern & Kazaks, 108). Obesity has symptoms that most people