Aquaporin-1 Essay -- Biology Aquaporin

Background Most modern biology textbooks will tell you that low-molecular-weight molecules like CO2, NH3 (ammonia), and urea cross cell membranes by simple diffusion. Some scientists postulate, however, that specific pores mediate this transport. A recent study conducted to further this hypothesis examines expression of the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP-1) and its enhancing affect on CO2 permeation into cells. Why would scientists challenge the traditional simple diffusion theory? Two strong points of evidence led to this experiment: First, many cell membranes have a very low permeability to small molecules: The outer membranes of some gastric glands allow very little CO2 to enter the cell, while most frog egg cells have membranes that act as virtual barriers to the harsh materials present in their environment. If the simple diffusion theory is correct, diffusion of small molecules into cells should be an unregulated process. If diffusion is an unregulated process, how could some cells have a lower permeability to small molecules than others? Second, scientists have already found membrane proteins that facilitate the entrance of water and urea: While the UT2 protein enables transport of urea past the cell membrane, an entire class of membrane proteins called the aquaporins enable the permeation of water into cells. If small molecules enter the cell by diffusion, why would the cell have extra mechanisms to facilitate their entry? Any Questions? Q) What's this diffusion thing you keep talking about? A) Particles randomly flow from areas of high concentration (a lot of particles) to areas of low concentration (not many particles) until they are evenly dispersed. If you've ever put a normal cell in a c... ...ially exciting opportunity to manipulate gas transport rates lies in cancer research, where inhibiting the transcription of AQP-1 could be the key to killing cancer cells . Cancer cells release more CO2 than most other cells, so stopping these cell's abilty to extrude the gas to their environment would result in cell death. This example is one of many uses for the manipulation of gas transport, however, and the opportunities are endless. The idea that gas transport is actively mediated by the cell is a huge paradigm shift from the traditional belief that transportation is uncontrolled. Further studies (Cooper and Boron, Am. J. Physiol. In press) have proven the conclusion drawn from this experiment, and the search for pores that mediate transport of specific gasses has already begun. The diffusion dogma has been destroyed, and the textbooks will be re-written.

Prolonging Life Essay

Abstract This term paper will discuss Prolonging Life, death & dying, patients and their families as well as the removal of life support. This paper is also discussing the pros and cons, the debates. Prolonging Life is one of the debates we have had for centuries. Even when doctors say it is enough families still fight to prolong life. Death has ceases to be a private struggle but has rather become a public affair involving teams of physicians. Theirs is many different medical ethical issues involving prolonging life. For years families and hospitals have fought on how to treat critically ill patients. Some families fight to keep their loved ones alive and on life support, while some doctors well suggest other wise; and sometime it is also the other way around. Life support technology has advanced, allowing physicians to prolong lives in circumstances that were not possible before. However, Family members and legal proxies well be called to make a decision for those patients who aren’t able to speak or for those who are in a coma. Therefore emotional and ethical confusion often cloud the decision-makers mind and heart in these circumstances. Consider this scenario: An elderly woman of the age of 67 decided to write out her living well in which she clearly states she does not want to be resuscitated or be put on life support. Three days later she was rushed to the hospital for a critical heart attack which put her in a coma. There was nothing the doctors could do and was put on a ventilator. Her husband refused to take her of life support even when he knew about her living well. The doctors decided to give him some time to grieve and think about it. Three days passed with no hope of recovery for the elderly women and the doctors tried to approach the husband once again about his wife’s condition. He still refused to take her off life support. However the doctors gave him a few more days. By the end of the week the doctors decided to take her off life Prolonging Life 4 support. The scenario is one of many debates in which everyone would have their own opinions about. In which has happen plenty of time.

Guy Montag Change Essay

Change is a big factor of life, without changes we are like robots. Sometimes we change to adapt, change for a cause, change to be a better person, change for a better living, and some time change for fun. Similarly in the novel Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury changes his main character Guy Montag throughout the novel. He uses other characters to bring changes into Montag’s life. Montag is a fire man, not a fireman who puts fire out rather who works under Captain Beatty to burn books, and houses. In the beginning of the movie he just follows order and burns books but as the novel goes he changes himself to be a better person. Firstly, Clarisse seventeen years old girl, Montag is introduced to in the novel bring several changes in his life. She teaches him how to love and express his thoughts. In the beginning he doesn’t think much to care about anything, but Clarisse teaches him love nature. He never even thinks let alone expressing his thoughts, But Clarisse changes him to look differently and to express them to change him to be a better person. â€Å"It’s just I love to watch people too much†¦ Sometimes I ride the subway all day and look at them and listen to them.† Second is Mildred, Montag’s wife who just watches T.V shows with her friend all the time. She was like the rest of the society, who was bored with life and tried to commit suicide. She sort of holds Montag back from changing, reading books. As his wife she had more effect on him than anyone else in the beginning.

Do You Have a One-Size-Fits-All Resume 5 Tips to Avoid this Fatal Error!

Do You Have a One-Size-Fits-All Resume 5 Tips to Avoid this Fatal Error! At a July 4th event, I was talking shop with another successful author, AnnaMaria Bliven. Her book, Work at Home with a Real Online Job, is about being successfully employed and working from home. Of course part of that success entails successful job applications. So she was excited to promote How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile to her clients. Then our conversation turned to a related topic: â€Å"I wrote another book that might be of interest – How to Write a WINNING Resume,† I stated helpfully. â€Å"Oh, I’m not interested in a book about resumes,† she said. â€Å"Every resume needs to be unique.† I was surprised by AnnaMaria’s response. The idea that any resume book would advocate a cookie cutter resume was beyond my comprehension. But hearing this perspective, from someone who built her career helping people get jobs, made me think it’s important to clarify my philosophy: NEVER write a â€Å"one size fits all† resume!! Here are some tips on how to ensure your resume is targeted to the position you’re seeking and paints you as a unique candidate: 1. Tailor each resume to the job description. If you’re applying for two different types of jobs, you will probably need two different resumes that highlight different aspects of your experience and qualifications. Let’s say, for example, you are a registered nurse with management experience and you are currently pursuing an MBA. If you are applying for a â€Å"worker bee† nurse position, you will focus on the details of the types of procedures you know how to do with patients, and the different types of medical conditions you are familiar with. You might not include information about your MBA at all, and you would want to play down the fact that you created a wound care program at your hospital from scratch. In contrast, if you want to be a manager, you will highlight your managerial, organization and training skills, and downplay your ability to put in an IV. This strategy applies to every single profession and resume. We used it when we had a CFO who wanted to be an Executive Assistant, and she got the job. Currently, we have a client with an executive business background who is applying to be a house mother at a sorority. We are putting her sorority experience up front and center. If she had been applying for a VP of Marketing position, sorority experience would be relegated to the final lines of her resume. If you have just one version of your resume, it might work well for some positions, but you might also be futilely throwing spaghetti at a wall. It’s worth the time and energy to emphasize the things that will matter for each job application you send. 2. Use keywords from job descriptions. Part of tailoring your resume to job descriptions is using actual keywords and language from those job description. You might feel like you’re â€Å"cheating† but trust me, it works. Here’s a sample bullet from a job description for a Marketing and Sales Manager: Meets marketing and sales financial objectives by forecasting requirements; preparing an annual budget; scheduling expenditures; analyzing variances; initiating corrective actions. It’s easy to see how someone with the skills listed could put them in a resume bullet, ideally by tying them to a quantifiable achievement such as the dollar amounts of those marketing and sales financial objectives. But a resume with these keywords can only be truly valuable when the keywords are in the job description. Yes, this means you will be tailoring each resume to the job description. I wasn’t kidding. Yes, there is work involved in applying for jobs. It’s worth it. 3. Use concrete facts to describe yourself in the top section of your resume. As I discussed in my â€Å"New York, New York principle† blog, it’s important to write a summary of yourself at the top of your resume that could not have been written by anyone else. This section is your opportunity to brand yourself and state your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). I’m not sure when it became customary to use vague, general, or even flowery language in a resume summary, but I’m telling you now, it is not helpful! Instead, list some big name companies or clients you worked for, a specialized skill you have, and a big result or two. The person next to you can be â€Å"results-oriented† and capable of â€Å"cross-functional leadership.† But how many of them worked for Coca-Cola and launched one of its most successful product lines? If you leave the most impressive pieces of your background for the Experience section, you are leaving money on the table. 4. Use professional formatting techniques. If your resume looks like the one your college career office helped you write, it’s time for a refresh. Look into the many formatting tricks that will bring your resume into the modern age. Possibilities include nicely designed headers (for sections like Profile, Experience and Education); bolded sub-headers; text boxes, charts and graphs; and varied font styles (within reason). Be careful to keep your format within the standards for your industry. For instance, financial and legal resumes are more conservative format-wise than biopharmaceutical executive resumes or sales resumes in general. Create something that you feel represents you and that is in line with your industry standards. Important: if you are sending resumes through computerized Applicant Tracking Systems, they might not recognize text in a text box or table. Format a separate document that you’re confident will pass through the ATS. 5. Vary your language. If you start every bullet with â€Å"Increased† or â€Å"Managed,† you will have a hard time keeping your readers’ attention. Instead, use a variety of verbs like â€Å"Boosted,† â€Å"Pushed,† â€Å"Grew,† â€Å"Raised,† â€Å"Expanded,† â€Å"Directed,† â€Å"Trained,† â€Å"Supervised,† and more. Sprinkle these verbs throughout your resume and your reader might not even realize what is keeping them reading past the first six seconds! Seeking more resume resources? Check out How to Write a WINNING Resume, by Brenda Bernstein, or Resumes for Dummies, by Brenda’s mentor, Laura DeCarlo. Do you have other ideas of how to make your resume unique? Share them below!

Nike in Vietnam Case Study Essay Example

Nike in Vietnam Case Study Essay Example Nike in Vietnam Case Study Paper Nike in Vietnam Case Study Paper Nike, Inc. is the world’s leading innovator in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Before there was the Swoosh, before there was Nike, there were two visionary men who pioneered a revolution in athletic footwear that redefined the industry. Nike Employees Nike Employee Networks are designed to help Nike move toward greater diversity. In the U. S. , six employee networks focus attention on important communities within Nike. The intended role of each network is to foster professional development, enhance work performance, identify mentors, assist in recruiting diverse professionals, develop increased community interaction, and encourage improved teamwork and interaction within and across work groups. Location The Company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. Nike has been criticized for contracting with factories (known as Nike sweatshops) in countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. Vietnam Labor Watch, an activist group, has documented that factories contracted by Nike have violated minimum wage and overtime laws in Vietnam as late as 1996, although Nike claims that this practice has been stopped. As of July 2011, Nike stated that two-thirds of its factories producing Converse products still do not meet the companys standards for worker treatment. It serves an area worldwide with its products. It has also been investigated into the claim of child labour in Pakistan. Benefits for the company and the country of origin The company employs 650 000 contract workers worldwide at relatively low labour costs. Because of the early decision to manufacture shoes in Asia allowed his company to enjoy lower labor and production costs, Nike was able from the outset to produce highquality athletic shoes at competitive prices. Nike’s presence provides an influx of U. S. currency with which host countries can buy the imports, such as high-tech equipment, that are critical to economic and cultural development. Drawback for the company and country of origin The Global Economy- when the global economy falls, so do the sales of the company, therefore they make less profit and then eventually have to lose employees due to not being able to pay them, this would then have a negative impact on the host country as they would not have as much money going back into the economy. Organisational structure – when the company grows and expands overseas, this often means that a lot of the original structure and control can be lost. Working on a global level- the advertisements for Nike didn’t first work in all cultures as they had different meanings to different people, this then led to Nike changing the advertisements to fit in with the local culture to appeal to a global market. The Nike Foundation (a social benefit for the host country e. g. Brazil) Absolutely everything Nike does supports the Girl Effect: the unique potential of 250 million adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and the world. Nike believes in the power of unleashing human potential – on the field, on the court, and in life. At the Nike Foundation, they take the power of potential to a new playing field to combat one of the most pressing issues of their time: global poverty. When the Nike Foundation started in 2004, it sought the best investment with the highest returns. They traced the symptoms of poverty back to their roots, and it led them to an unexpected solution and a catalyst for change: adolescent girls. There are 250 million adolescent girls living in poverty in the developing world. That’s a quarter of a billion girls aged 10-19 living on less than $2 USD a day. When a girl in the developing world realizes her potential, she isn’t the only one who escapes poverty she brings her family, community, and country with her. It’s a leverage strategy that can’t be beat. That’s why adolescent girls are an exclusive focus. Investing in a girl stops poverty before it starts. Many girls migrate from the rural areas of Kenya to the city of Nairobi in search of opportunity. But quickly, these girls find that opportunities are limited. With no education and no prospects, often, she is left with her only asset: her body. The Nike Foundation however, meant that girls could go into employment legally and safely. This then benefitted the host country as there was more legal employment and less spread of illness or disease. Benefits for the host country Increased education levels as girls are being educated to work rather than using her body to earn money, therefore better jobs can be found and therefore more money can be put back into the country. The increase in the level of jobs can provide better employment for people living in that country therefore increased money put back into the country. Drawbacks for the host county As many young girls are moving to the city to find employment in these factories, the population left in the rural areas is ageing. This means that less work will be able to be done and is known as a ‘brain drain’ where all the talented young people move out of an area in search of job opportunities. The building of infrastructure to attract the TNC can end up costing the host country a lot of money, possibly more money than the GDP; therefore the country may end up in debt and then become unattractive for money lenders.

8 Amateur Mistakes You Must Avoid at Work

8 Amateur Mistakes You Must Avoid at Work Sometimes getting jobs, changing jobs, and dreaming about dream jobs takes up so much of our career energy that we forget to focus on the job we’re in now. Take care not to make careless mistakes or get too complacent. Make sure you’re not guilty of any of the following blundersand then go back to daydreaming.1. Playing politicsIt never pays to be cutthroat, backstab, or even to go in the other direction and be sickeningly nice to everyone. People can read a phony from miles away. Don’t be one.Rather than constantly posturing, stick to your own personality, smoothed over a bit to maintain your professionalism, of course. Be genuine.2. Over-taskingMulti-tasking is one thing- and a very valuable skill, but it can be overdone. When you have too much on your plate, some projects will get lost in the shuffle. Keep your head, choose your priorities, and stay focused on one thing at a time whenever possible. That means not answering emails or texts during meetings, and actually listening when your colleagues speak.3. WhiningNobody likes all aspects of their job. But everyone appreciates a positive attitude. Keep quiet about what makes you most disgruntled, even if you really wish you could blast it on Twitter for sheer catharsis. Focus on what you can change, and stay quiet about the rest. If things are really all that bad, start looking for another job.4. Promising too muchWe all want to be the hero and say â€Å"yes† whenever called upon. But it’s important to make sure you can deliver on the promises you make. Don’t overextend yourself and end up disappointing people. Help whenever you can, and push yourself to greater heights, but stay honest and don’t let expectations get away from you.5. StruttingKnow your place. If you’ve just started in a company, don’t walk around like the C.E.O. You have to earn your coworkers’ (and boss’s) respect over time. That way, when you run the place, everyo ne will still like you, as well as fear you.6.  Being antisocialDon’t just mainline a salad at your desk, or grab lunch with only your team every day as if nothing else- not even the rest of the company- exists. Don’t forget to make friends that aren’t necessarily working with you on a day-to-day basis. It will help you maintain a work-life balance, even at the office. And it helps you make more connections and develop a more diverse profile at your company and in your field.7. Not answering opportunity’s knockEven if you like your job, you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to new opportunities. You never know when a better position or more exciting opportunity will come your way. It pays to be prepared.8.  Letting small failures keep you downWe all make mistakes. What we should all do is learn from them. It keeps us from making even more mistakes, keeps us humble, and keeps us improving ourselves in hopes of greater and greater success.

Determinism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Determinism - Essay Example Free Will, Soft Determinism, (In)compatibilism Some of the eternal normative questions such as that of morality too have shaped the major arguments of compatibilism. The problem is that without free will, it is believed that there cannot be any morality among the human beings. The issue is ultimately about human choice. The starting point of the debate is not that what the choice must be. On the other hand, the question here is about whether human beings have the choice of choice at all, especially in their crucial actions with regards to life struggles. Pippin proposes that â€Å"freedom is understood by Hegel to involve a certain sort of self-relation and a certain sort of relation to others; it is constituted by being in a certain self-regarding and a certain sort of ‘mutually recognizing’ state. This state of self-consciousness and socially mediated self-reflection, defined in a highly elaborate systematic way as a ‘rational’ self- and other-relation, c ounts as being free† (p. 194). It means that free will is not only constituted with relations to one’s self but also in relations to other as well. Free will, in other words, is constituted by a dialectical relationship between the individual and the society. Here, in Hegel, the conflict between free will and determinism progressively blurs. One of the most important questions that need to be addressed reflexively is the problems of whether determinism is inconsistent with free will. But, one could argue that there is no given inconsistency as such between determinism and free will based on his/her lived in experiences alone. If the actions of a person are completely determined by rational factors, we must be in a position to correctly predict that person’s future course of action as well. No determinists have ever come up with a mechanism to do so whatever determinism they preach in theory. According to Steward, â€Å"it appears that it is a matter of luck in s ome sense that we ever manage to decide things, but this luck does not appear to prevent those decisions we do manage to make from having been truly up to us. And this means that we must be cautious, in turn, about the demands we impose on the libertarian. In particular, we must not insist that the libertarian story entail that luck be entirely absent from the arena of action† (p. 169). The dialectics between chance and necessity of course have a crucial role in understanding the interactions between free will and determinism. God or the ultimate determinism must itself be seen as an expression of the free will of the universe. Pippin suggests that â€Å"treating Geist itself as a kind of norm; a collective institution whereby we (remaining the natural organisms we ontologically are) hold each other to a responsiveness to and directedness by reason, and thereby realize spirit as ‘freedom† (p. 204). It is the universal and human beings’ hold with it determin es our free expression of the will. The free will does not exist independently. It materializes itself only in the given conditions. To argue that human beings are completely governed by their decisions is completely wrong. Even our own decisions do not determine our own behavior or a particular course of action. It is one of the strongest assertions of Steward is that â€Å"decisiveness is an executive virtue we do not all possess – so vacillation – even vacillation that is ultimately fatal to treasured aims - does not constitute the sort of behaviour we cannot make