When Healing becomes a crimeby Kenney ausubel Essay

When Healing becomes a crimeby Kenney ausubel - Essay Example To better understand the nature of this opposition, it would be useful for all to read the book by Kenny Ausubel titled â€Å"When Healing Becomes a Crime †. This work is centered on the account of the story of Harry Hoxsey, the private practitioner of alternative cancer treatment with the allegedly very high rate of successful healings. During the course of his book, the author manages to demonstrate what factors have influenced the development of the current medical practices, and some of those factors are definitely not very comforting. One of the specific topics that were of the great interest to me in the book and turned out to be almost a revelation was the fact that despite testimonies of cancer surgeons about numerous accounts of "people who got well when they werent supposed to" (Ausubel, 2000, ch.2), the medical establishment, represented by the American Medical Association (AMA), acted to suppress alternative cancer therapies under such pretences as for example that their proponents in reality had no medical skill, while AMA itself was lead by Dr. Morris Fishbein who â€Å". . . failed anatomy in medical school . . . never completed his internship . . . [and] never practiced a day of medicine or treated a single patient . . .† (Ausubel, 2000, p.117). And especially unpleasant it was to learn that such persecution was initiated after unsuccessful attempts of Fishbein to buy the formula of Hoxsey`s anti-cancer preparations. All this information impressed be because it convincingly shows that medical pr ogress is unfortunately far from being always directed by the principles from the Hippocratic Oath. Another piece of information that I found interesting was more optimistic, and concerned the description by the author of instances when the protest of general pubic and the larger medical community was able to prevent unethical actions of AMA, like when in a commercially lucrative for them step

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Essay Example for Free

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Essay HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) that disables the immune system.  It was discovered in 1983 .HIV enters the body through the bloodstream and duplicates itself rapidly.  The victim is susceptible to infectious diseases that eventually are fatal (1). Statistically, HIV/AIDS is the number one killer of African-American women ages 25 to 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Between 2000 and 2003, they were nineteen times more likely than White females and five times more likely than Hispanic females to contract the disease.   African-American men were seven times more likely than White men and three times the rate of Hispanic men to contract HIV/AIDS (2). In 2008, there is still not a cure for AIDS.  Instead, scientists have discovered drugs that can slow down the progression of the disease. Protease inhibitors (PIs) are antiviral drugs that slow down the spread of HIV (1). The virus produces a protein called protease so that it can replicate itself.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Protease cuts long chains of proteins and enzymes into shorter chains, the first step in the process by which HIV infects a cell† (1).  If this doesn’t happen, replication does not continue. In 1987, AZT was the first anti-HIV medication that was created.   It showed hope and kept people healthier longer.   However, the side effects were very high for men.   Since that time, more HIV medications have evolved.   Antiretroviral therapy usually consists of combinations of nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, or fusion inhibitors, which are prescribed in the later stages of HIV (19). Dual protease inhibitor therapy is also being used clinically (3).  They are also associated with improving morbidity and mortality of HIV-positive persons (5).  Although these drugs are expensive, they have proven to be the most successful therapy in managing HIV.   However, some patients don’t comply 100% with their treatments.   This is largely due to the side effects. Sometimes they make a patient feel worse than the actual disease. The most commonly reported ones are abdominal pain, abnormal bowel movements, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, and nausea.   Children usually develop a skin rash. The more serious side effects are liver problems and pancreatitis.   Some patients have also seen large increase in triglyceride ad cholesterol levels.   Diabetics saw an increase in their blood sugar levels.   Other patients developed diabetes while taking protease inhibitors (16). Presently, nine PIs have been approved for use in the United States and Europe:   amprenavir, atazanavir, fosamprenavir, lopinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, tipranavir, and nelfinavir. Three non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are used for treatment of HIV:  nevirapine, delavirdine, and efavirenz (7). Drug treatment selection depends on factors such as drug resistance, tolerability, drug interactions, and effectiveness. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) â€Å"has been proposed so that practitioners may better maintain appropriate plasma concentrations of drugs in their patients by identifying interactions with other medications and assessing medication adherence   (7). Figure 1 shows the structures of these compounds. Fig. 1. Chemical structures of protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. About 50% of â€Å"treatment-naà ¯ve patients† don’t have continued antiviral response after one year of therapy (18). In some cases, there is a development of drug resistance and metabolic complications.   Also, â€Å"there is increasing evidence that virological treatment failure is correlated with variations in the pharmacokinetic parameters of drugs (20).   This can be due to drug interactions, low bioavailability, and variations in metabolic enzyme activity.   Atazanavir (ATV) has good oral bioavailability and a favorable pharmacokinetics profile (18).   With this in mind, patients can mostly take a once-daily dose. A separate analytical method has been recently published for quantifying ATV in human plasma using solid phase extraction and HPLC with PDA (photodiode array) detection at 201 nm (18).   This method provides excellent separation of ATV from its internal standard, clozapine (CLZ) and the other PIs, thus, obtaining an accurate measurement of the drug (see figure 2). CLZ elutes at 8.9 minutes, and ATV elutes a 24.4 minutes. A 40-ml injection resulted in a recovery yield of 100%. Fig. 2.   Chromatogram of ATV with PIs/NNRTIs (8000 ng/ml) spiked with CLZ Nelfinavir mesylate has been shown in phase III controlled clinical trials to significantly reduce viral load and increase CD4+ cell counts when used with reverse transcriptase inhibitors. It’s prescribed as part of triple drug combination therapy (9). CD4+ are helper T cells.   They are important for immune reconstitution in patients that are receiving antiretroviral therapy (10).   After a large number of these cells are destroyed, AIDS develops (7). Six clinical trials was conducted in the past ten years using 2, 148 HIV-infected children enrolled in the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group treatment trials (10).   Patient ages varied from 2 to 7 years of age.   The focus was to observe short-term variability of CD4 percentages.   The study found that 49% of patients had CD4 percentages above 25%.   32% of patients had CD4 counts between 15% and 24%; 19% were less than 15%.   Finally, 5.4% had a CD4% of less than 5% (10). In June 2006, Darunavir (DRV) was licensed in the United States.   It is a promising PI that is active against HIV strains that are resistant to the other PIs that currently on the market (17).   It is prescribed in 600-mg doses that are taken twice daily with 100 mg of ritonavir that acts as a booster. Protease inhibitors are associated with unfavorable pharmacokinetics and many side effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances and lipid abnormalities (5).  Four of the most common PIs used are indinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, and nelfinavir (3).  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Monitoring blood concentration of PIs, which can indicate both therapeutic and toxic levels of the drugs as well as patient noncompliance with the medication, may improve the care of both HIV-infected adults and children† (3). When ritonavir was first introduced, it was given in doses of 600 mg every 12 hours. â€Å"However, patient intolerance of full doses led to its primary use as a pharmacologic enhancer to increase the concentrations in plasma of a second protease inhibitor to improve the convenience of antiretroviral regimens by extending the dosing interval, reducing pill burden, and /or eliminating food-induced reductions in pharmacokinetic exposure† (8).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Researchers used High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to determine concentrations of PIs in blood.  Various methods have been used to study the pharmacokinetics and drug interactions. Interpreting plasma levels can be used to â€Å"individualize drug dosage of antiretrovirals (4). Quality control (QC) procedures must be done to ensure that these methods are accurate and precise.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Such procedures usually include intralaboratory (internal) method validation, intralaboratory QC procedures, and participation in an interlaboratory QC program for antiretroviral drugs† (4). Since the latter hadn’t been done before, it was established so that laboratories can obtain better measurement results of antiretroviral drugs. Nine laboratories participated in the first part of the program.  The first part of the experiment involved the measurement of the protease inhibitors:  indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir.  All had a specified purity of 99% or higher.  QC samples were prepared by spiking blank plasma from HIV-negative volunteers with PI standard. The low concentrated standards ranged from 0.087 to 0.15 mg/L while the intermediate concentrated standards contained ranged from 2 to 3 mg/L of all four PIs.  Finally, the high-concentrated standards contained approximately 5 to 11 mg/L of drug.  All drugs were dissolved in methanol following accurate weighings and diluted with blank plasma (4). High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze twelve samples.  All laboratories measuring more than one protease inhibitor used as assay for â€Å"simultaneous determination† (4).  Six laboratories used HPLC/UV and three labs used HPLC-MS/MS. Mass spectrometry detection is often recommended for measurement of low concentration levels.  Also, this type of analysis is usually faster and â€Å"does not require complete resolution of drugs for detection and quantification† (5).  Only five laboratories were able to measure all four PIs.  Three laboratories were not able to determine nelfinavir.  One laboratory only measured indinavir (4). Acceptable accuracy results are between 80% and 120%.  Only indinavir resulted in an acceptable accuracy of 80%.  The remaining PIs had between 36% and 74% accuracy.  These results should encourage laboratories to improve their analytical methods and QC procedures.  Other PIs, such as amprenavir and lopinavir, can be analyzed as well (4). HIV-positive plasma samples are heat inactivated before analysis, approximately 58 °C for 40 minutes, to decrease the risk of infection to the operator.  They may also go through a freeze/thaw cycle. As with the QC study, blank plasma was spiked with seven PIs (indinavir, amprenavir, atazanavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, lopinavir, and nelfnavir) at low, intermediate, and high concentrations measured in ng/ml.  Certain assays only require 100  µl of plasma for analysis.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This is advantageous when measuring PI concentrations as part of clinical studies as they often necessitate hourly sampling to generate complete PK profiles; therefore less blood can be drawn from the patient† (5).  In addition, seven PIs can be quantified in one assay, but impossible to assay all seven in a single preparation. â€Å"The use of liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) has emerged as the developmental method of choice supporting clinical and pre-clinical pharmacokinetic studies† (13). Recovery for the HPLC-MS/MS methods was above 87% for all seven drugs at all three concentration levels (5).  It was successful in quantifying seven PI concentrations in plasma of HIV positive persons that participated in a run time of nine minutes.  Therefore, the assay may be used for determining PI concentrations in semen, lymphocytes, and cerebrospinal fluid (5). A fast and highly-sensitive LC-MS-MS method was developed that could analyze five protease inhibitors (amprenavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir) in one run using an internal standard.   Sample sizes were small (ng/ml) and run times were approximately 5 minutes.   Recoveries for all five PIs were between 87% and 92%(11). Tipranavir is part of a class of non-peptidic PIs that works against both â€Å"wild-type virus and variants resistant to current PIs†(6).  It also has a high genetic barrier.  Tipranavir is prescribed in a 500-mg dose taken in combination with 200 mg of ritonavir twice daily as part of antiretroviral therapy for patients with HIV-1 strains that are resistant to multiple PIs (6). Fig. 3. Tipranavir chemical structure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An HPLC-UV method has been validated and is currently applied when monitoring tipranavir (TPV) plasma levels in HIV patients.  Samples were prepared for solid phase extraction (SPE) by conditioning the cartridges with 0.1% phosphoric acid, pH 7.  TPV stock solutions with a concentration of 5 mg/ml were diluted from with 50% methanol. Samples were spiked with TPV at 1.875, 7.5, 18.75, 37.5, 60, and 75  µg/ml in triplicate. QC samples were diluted with blank plasma and phosphate buffer to 5.625, 22.5, and 67.5  µg/ml.  Clozapine was used as the internal standard (6).  5-ml aliquots of blood samples were obtained from HIV infected patients.  The plasma obtained from centrifugation was heated at 60 ° C for one hour in a water bath. TPV in plasma was measured at a UV absorbance of 201 nm with a retention time of 32.2 minutes. Its internal standard, clozapine (CLZ) has a retention time of 8.3 minutes (6). Figure 4 below shows the chromatogram of TPV, its internal standard, and all other PIs and NNRTIs  present.   Figure 5 shows TPV and its internal standard CLZ only. Fig. 4. Chromatogram of plasma control sample of TVP (22.5 mg/ml) spiked with internal standard and all PIs and NNRTIs. Fig. 5. Chromatogram of calibration sample of TVP (37.5 mg/ml) spiked with internal standard CLZ. Isocratic HPLC methods combined with the use of UV and fluorescence detection produces more sensitivity. Amprenavir is a fluorescent compound.   Its internal standard PR25 can also be seen under fluorescence (see figure 6). Fig. 6.   Blank plasma with 100 ng/ml amprenavir and 1000 ng/ml of PR25 seen under fluorescence. In conclusion, much progress has been made in the development of protease inhibitors and other antiretroviral therapy. HPLC with UV detection has been the most commonly used method of analysis.   It is rapid, simple, and highly sensitive.   LC-MS-MS has been noted at the developmental method of choice for clinical and pre-clinical pharmacokinetic studies (13).   More compounds can be analyzed in less time.   Also, they can be used for methods using other human biological matrices. For the majority of protease inhibitors, all side effects are not known. In 2007, darunavir was the new HIV protease inhibitor with eleven other antiretroviral agents on the market.   They can affect patients that have diabetes, liver problems, and hemophilia; their conditions can worsen as a result of taking PIs. Only a patient’s health care provider can determine the best treatment option REFERENCES Nagel, Rob. 2007. Protease Inhibitors. UXL Encyclopedia of Science; [cited 2008 May 8], Available from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1docnum=cv2644301082. Health Hotline:   HIV and Genital Herpes [cited 2008 May8]; Available from http://www.ebony.com. â€Å"HPLC Assay for Common Protease Inhibitors Developed.†Antiviral Weekly; [cited 2008 May 07; Available from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1docNum=A60069570. Aarnoutse, Rob E., Verweij-van Wissen, Corrien P.W.G.M., van Ewijk-Beneken Kolmer, Eleonora, W.J., Wuis, Eveline, W., Koopmans, Peter P., Hekster, Yechiel A., and Burger, David, M. 2001. International Interlaboratory Quality Control Program for Measurement of Antiretroviral Drugs in Plasma; Antimicrobial Agents and Chemo 46(3): 884-886. Dickinson, Laura, Robinson, Lesley, Tjia, John, Khoo, and Saye, Back, David. 2005. Simultaneous determination of HIV protease inhibitors amprenavir, atazanavir, indinavir, lopinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir and saquinavir in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; J of Chrom. B 829:82-90. Colombo, S., Beguin, A., Marzolini, C., Telenti, A., Biollaz, J., and Decosterd, L.A. 2006.   Determination of the novel non-peptidic HIV-protease inhibitor tipranavir by HPLC-UV after solid-phase extraction; J of Chrom. B 832:138-143. Rezk, Naser L., Tidwell, Richard R., and Kashuba, Angela D.M. 2004.   High-performance liquid chromatography assay for the quantification of HIV protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in human plasma; J of Chrom. B 805:241-247. Shelton, Mark J.,Hewitt, Ross G., Adams, John, Dela-Coletta, Andrew, Cox, Steven, and Morse, Gene D. 2003. Pharmacokinetics of Ritonavir and Delavirdine in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients; Antimicrobial Agents and Chemo 47(5): 1694-1699. Zhang, Kanyin E., Wu, Ellen, Patick, Amy K., Kerr, Bradley, Zorbas, Mark, Lankford, Angela, Kobayashi, Takuo, Maeda, Yuki, Shetty, Bhasker, and Webber, Stephanie. 2001.Circulating Metabolites of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus protease Inhibitor Nelfinavir in Humans:   Structural Identification, Levels in Plasma, and Antiviral Activities; Antimicrobial Agents and Chemo 45(4): 1086-1093. Carey, Vincent J., Pahwa, Savita, and Weinberg, Adriana. 2005.   Reliability of CD4 Quantitation in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Children:   Implications for Definition of Immunologic Response to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy; Clinical and Diagnostic Lab Immunology 12(5): 640-643. Chi, Jingduan, Jayewardene, Anura L., Stone, Judith A., Motoya, Toshiro, and Aweeka, Francesca. 2002.   Simultaneous determination of five HIV protease inhibitors nelfinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir and amprenavir in human plasma by LC/MS/MS; J of Pharm and Biomedical Analysis 30:675-684. Verbesselt, R., Van Wijngaerden, E., and de Hoon, J. 2007. Simultaneous determination of 8 HIV protease inhibitors in human plasma by isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography with combined use of UV and fluorescence detection: Amprenavir, indinavir, atazanavir, ritonavir, lopinavir, saquinavir, nelfinavir and M8-nelfinavir metabolite; J of Chrom. B 845:51-60. Frerichs, Valerie A., DiFrancesco, Robin, and Morse, Gene D. 2003. Determination of protease inhibitors using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; J of Chrom, B 787:393-403. Gangl, Eric, Utkin, Ilya, Gerber, Nicholas, and Vouros, Paul. 2002. Structural elucidation of metabolites of ritonavir and indinavir by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; J. of Chrom. A 974:91-101. Turner, Michele L., Reed-Walker, Kedria, King, Jennifer R., and Acosta, Edward P. 2003. Simultaneous determination of nine antiretroviral compounds in human plasma using liquid chromatography; J. of Chrom. B 784:331-341. 2008. Kaletra. [Cited 2008 May 16], Available from http://www.heartandsoul.com. D’Avolio, Antonio, Siccardi, Marco, Sciandra, Mauro, Lorena, Baietto, Bonora, Stefano, Trentini, Laura, and Di Perri, Giovanni.2007. HPLC-MS method for the simultaneous quantification of the new HIV protease inhibitor darunavir, and 11 other antiretroviral agents in plasma of HIV-infected patients; J. of Chrom. B 859:234-240. Colombo, S., Guignard, N., Marzolini, C., Telenti, A., Biollaz, J., and Decosterd, L.A. 2004. Determination of the new HIV-protease inhibitor atazanavir by liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction; J. of Chrom. B 810:25-34. Weller, Dennis R., Brundage, Richard C., Balfour, Jr., Henry H., and Vezina, Heather E. An isocratic liquid chromatography method for determining HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor and protease inhibitor concentrations in human plasma; J. of Chrom. B 848:369-373. Sarasa-Nacenta, Maria, Lopez-Pua, Yolanda, Mallolas, Josep, Blanco, Jose’ Luis, Gatell, Jose’ M., and Carne’, Xavier. Simultaneous determination of the HIV-protease inhibitors indinavir, amprenavir, ritonavir, saquinavir and nelfinavir in human plasma by reversed-phase high- performance liquid chromatography; J, of Chrom. B 757:325-332.

A Land Rembered by Patrick D. Smith Essay -- essays research papers

The novel, A Land Remembered, is the epic saga of three generations of MacIveys. The novel begins with a flash back, from the last generation MacIvey, Sol. Sol was a real estate tycoon in Miami and the surrounding areas. He has chosen to give up his life in Miami to live his last hours in the cabin in Punta Rassa , Florida; the cabin his grandfather had built. Thus, the three generations of MacIveys in Florida ends. The first generation of MacIveys consisted of the father and husband, Tobias, the mother and wife, Emma, and their young son, Zech. The family had decided to escape the pressures of the Civil War in their native Georgia, and move to the scrub of Northern Florida. The MacIveys experience many troubles and learn many new things during their stay in the scrub, such as meeting Indians, that will turn out to influence their life greatly. Other experiences included Tobias being recruited by Marshall Adler to drive cattle to the confederate troops and also being recruited to chop trees to build walls of defense for the confederate forces. During the excursion to chop down trees, confederate deserters raided Emma and Zech and burned down their house. Tobias and Emma made the decision that the war was getting to close to the scrub, and that moving South would be a good idea. The MacIvey clan packed up their wagon and headed south along the St. John’s and Kissimmee rivers and settled in a hammock along the Kissimmee river. In Kissimmee is where Tobias begins his empire that turns the family into one of the wealthiest families in Florida. In the swamps of Florida, wild cows live and Tobias tries his best to capture these cows and make a drive, but without horses and dogs, Tobias makes little headway in his project. In the woods one day, Skillet, a freed slave, was found. Skillet agreed to stay on with the MacIveys and help them start their empire. Dogs and a marshtackie were given to the MacIveys by their Indian friends they helped in the scrub. The MacIveys now popped cows out of the swamp and their first drive to Punta Rassa ended in a disaster with all the cows being lost to a great flood. The determined MacIveys never looked back and gathered another heard and the whole clan drove the cows to Punta Rassa. In Punta Rassa, the cows were sold for fifteen dollars a head and the MacIvey empire begins. Also on this first trip, Hendry, the cattle buyer,... ... they too can experience the life of a Florida Cracker turned millionaire family of Florida. Throughout all three generations of MacIveys, all of the MacIvey men lose a woman who is so close to them and all of them realize once they are gone, that they didn’t do enough for their loved one, when they easily could have. Tobias had three trunks full of Spanish gold, and all he did for Emma was buy her a cook stove. Zech had even more trunks of Spanish gold, and he never took Glenda on the trips to the far away places she wanted to go. Sol had a multimillion acre vegetable business and owned half of Miami, and he never married Bonnie, yet, when he lost her, he missed her like his wife. I believe that Smith is trying to make us realize that you shouldn’t take for granted what you have, when they do so much for you. These lessons are ageless, and can be applied to today’s society as well as to the first ever society. A Land Remembered is a novel that truly is the epitome of a saga, that spans the trials and tribulations of three generations of the MacIvey fami ly as they enter Florida as a family destined to start a better life and die out as one of the wealthiest families in Florida.

Zotero: a guide for librarians, researchers, and educators Essay

Zotero is an open-source and free software management used in managing bibliographic data and related researched materials (Pucket 2011). Mendeley is a web program and a desktop used in sharing and managing research paper, collaborating online and discovering research data (Banbaj 2009). RefWorks is a commercial web-based software package used for reference management (Tung 2009). The three types of citations play an important role in bibliographic data management, researching on relevant materials used in making bibliographies, share and manage the online research data, and finally ensure proper reference management (Pollack, Cruess, Sternet, Sillitoe, Perou, Jeffrey, 2009). RefWorks provides databases of stored online references that allow easy access and update of information from any computer with internet connections. The software provides a better link of RefWork user’s account to journals that are electronically edited with institution’s library subscription. Providers of bibliographic databases have implemented the ability of directly exporting references to RefWorks (Hasjim 2013:pp.742-749). Mendeley comprises of a team of graduates, researchers, and developers from different academic institutions. It has become a famous website through different awards it has won, which include â€Å"European start-up 2009†, â€Å"bets society social innovation 2009† and â€Å"100 tech top media companies† (Sledz 2009: pp.1407-1408). The name ‘Zotero’ is derived from a verb Albanian which means ‘to master’ (Rimikis 2013: p.792). Zotero has the ability of converting ens style of proprietary EndNotes int o language style of citation. Citation is an important aspect in all academic writings. Majority of academic researchers has adopted the use of the three modules in ensuring proper management of references. In all types of research and scholarly writing, it is necessary to have source works documented. These works are used to underpin particular positions, concepts arguments and propositions with citations. They serve the following purposes; assist readers in relocating and identifying the source work, gives evidence that the position was researched well, and provides credit to the author of the presented theory or an original concept (McMurray 2011: pp.647-654). References Banbaji, A., & Beersheba, I. (2009). Mendeley whasiypwr halÊ ¼wmiy. Ê ¼Wr Yhwdah: Dbiyr :. Puckett, J. (2011). Zotero: a guide for librarians, researchers, and educators. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. Tung, K. L., & Pan, Y. (2009). EndNote & RefWorks: lun wen yu wen xian xie zuo guan li (Chu ban. ed.). Tai bei shi: Wu nan. Source document

Genetically Modified Food Essay

â€Å"Mommy,† a five year-old child states, â€Å"this food is tastier than the other kind. † The reason for this is simple; genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is modification of a plant’s or animal’s DNA. Scientists do this to enhance a certain gene within the organism. Some opponents of genetically modified food argue that growing this kind of food will ruin the environment and the ecosystem permanently. In fact, genetically modified food is beneficial for the environment and for society. With the creation and use of genetically modified food, the world shall change forever. To begin with, GM (genetically modified) crops are able to be used for medical purposes. Meaning, these modified plants â€Å"have medical benefits that prevent cancer and other diseases† (Institute 32). Medically, this is extremely important because thousands of people have died to cancer. The world would be a better place without cancer. Not only does this help people, a plant can be made to produce more nutrients that are essential (Manning 10). A persons immune system can be boosted to help fight off viruses and other bad organisms. Sadly, â€Å"800 million people around the world are undernourished† (Pence 58), causing diseases to run rampant. In the medical world, rampant diseases can cause harm to millions of people. Not only this but 400 million child bearing women have iron deficiency and 100 million children suffer from blindness from Vitamin A deficiency (Penning 58). This is unfortunate in all aspects. People do not deserve to die due to spoiled or a shortage of food. GM food can help people. Without a doubt, medical usage of GM food is essential. Another piece of evidence that shows GM crops in their finest is their tactics in feeding the world. One conclusion can be drawn from the fact that â€Å"GMOs [Genetically Modified Organisms] provide healthier food for [farmer’s] farm animals]† (Institute 32). The healthier an animal eats, the better the animal is to consume. The meat and milk from animals will have more nutrients. Not only this, the government backs up GMOs and says these can feed millions of people in third world countries (Manning 10). People that are living in poverty can be fed and not die due to unsuitable conditions. Once again, people do not deserve to parish due to starvation. Mr. Pence states that â€Å"GM crops are the tools for feeding the world† (59). For this world feeding tactic, he states the truth; better crops and better animals will make food last longer or have bigger quantities to share with the world. This means that countries like Brazil can change. Brazil is able to challenge the â€Å"big five† food exporters of the world (â€Å"How† 11). The fact is clear the genetically modified foods can feed the world. Additional proof that GM foods are beneficial to the people of the world is their environmental benefits. Mr. Pollan shares his thoughts by saying that â€Å"biotechnology is the replacement of expensive and toxic chemicals† (15). What he means is that the environment will not need to endure through as much of the harmful chemicals that farmers have to use to eradicate insects. This leads to the point that â€Å"farmers has not to spray anything, has not to dust anything† (Manning 68) and does not need to destroy the environment. This can give the soil a break from the plagues that are herbicide and insecticide. Not only is the soil being saved, natural land marks can be saved. For example, the forests of the Amazon are being deforested for land. However, with the help of GMOs, Brazil can use the plains and farmland they have better (â€Å"How† 2). Forests can then be saved because countries like Brazil can then use the entire land plot for what it is worth and more. As the evidence clearly shows, genetically modified organisms can benefit the environment. Finally, the most important piece of evidence that genetically modified foods are beneficial for humanity is its effect on crops as a whole. To begin with, plants have improved nutrition (Institute 31). For people who want to lose weight, this is a plus. The reason of this is that the person can eat less and still feel healthy. Not only this, the â€Å"[use of] biotechnology can make a crop more resistant to pests, herbicides, or disease† (Manning 10). A pest can be defined as a grasshopper, beetle, locust, and other animals that consume farm crops. Hundreds of crops can now be saved due the natural insecticide (instrument for killing insects). Not only this, unwanted plants, such as weeds, can be killed without the crop being affected. A natural herbicide resistance can cut down on the amount needed by farmers to kill a plant. Finally, disease resistant plants are very important. The Great Potato Famine of 1840 showed what one disease can do. If a disease like that struck a major crop field, millions of people could starve. This absolutely proves the importance of GMOs. Shockingly, as stated, countries like Brazil can go from â€Å"zero to hero† with benefits from GMOs (â€Å"How† 11). If the entire world could be like this, world hunger could end. Only one conclusion can be drawn; genetically modified crops are extremely beneficial to the world. Overall, the world as we know it is being affected by biotechnology. This is an extremely good thing! With society being able to prosper, the world can become a better place. Learning about GM food in a community can help support biotechnology and all of its benefits. This can be an important decision. If the world shall change, why not change for everyone’s benefit.

010 Transitions and MLA Professor Ramos Blog

010 Transitions and MLA The Other Side is not Dumb Quick Write What was your favorite reading so far? What was your least favorite? What do you think has been the best class lesson so far? Why? The Other Side is not Dumb In groups, come up with two to three takeaways/lessons from the article that we can use in our own writing. Chapter 8  Ã¢â‚¬Å"As a Result†: Connecting the Parts Chapter 8 covers what to do when connecting the parts of your essay together. They explain that creating connections between sentences and ideas increases sentence variety and helps construct a more convincing argument. Consider transitions both  within  a paragraph and  between  paragraphs. Look at  pages 108-109  for transition words. They give four principles: Using transition terms (like â€Å"therefore† and â€Å"as a result†) Adding pointing words (like â€Å"this† and â€Å"such†) Developing a set of key terms and phrases for each text you write Repeating yourself, but with a difference Let’s come up with a list of transition words to use in our essays. What words do you use to transition? MLA Sample page Dean, Cornelia. Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet.  The New York Times, 22 May 2007, nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 May 2016. Ebert, Roger. Review of  An Inconvenient Truth, directed by Davis Guggenheim.  rogerebert.com, 1 June 2006, rogerebert.com/reviews/an-inconvenient-truth-2006. Accessed 15 June 2016. Gowdy, John. Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability.  International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology,  vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 27-36. ETC. Effective Images Mass Incarceration in the USA Grading Criteria Report Use of Sources and Research Organization MLA and Sources Title and Images Word Count, Word Choice, Grammar

Exterminate All the Brutes essays

Exterminate All the Brutes essays In the early 1800s, European nations played a minor role in Africa, controlling only areas along the coast. Areas which provided markets for trade and an opportunity to increase their economy were concentrated upon. Although there was little monetary value, Europe renewed its interest in Africa by the mid-1800s. Colonial claims were established while ignoring the claims of African ethnic groups, kingdoms, and city-states. Although many Africans resisted, many of these attempts failed. In his book Exterminate All the Brutes, Sven Lindqvist explains European imperialism as well as the brutality of the time. Europeans renewed interest in Africa, stemmed partly from a desire to create overseas empires. By controlling these lands, they had access to raw materials needed for their industrial economies. Markets were also opened up for the goods they produced. Sven Lindqvist agrees with this idea by summarizing Benjamin Kidd s Social Evolution, Driven by the inbuilt forces of his own civilization, the Anglo-Saxon goes to the foreign country to develop its natural resourcesand the consequences seem to be inescapable 138-9). The Europeans began to build plantations where they grew peanuts, cocoa, rubber, and palm oil. The discovery of minerals in Africa increased European interest in the continent. The Congo produced copper and tin, and South Africa produced gold and diamonds. Another factor was nationalism. It was often thought that a countrys greatness could be measured by the number of colonies it controlled. Europe had the power to control many territories; this power rested upon military superiority. A European specialty was the art of killing from a distance (46). Although Europe was poorly resourced in the sixteenth century, they produced ocean-going ships with guns capable of spreading death and destruction across huge distances. Three hundred years later, the gods o...