Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 86

Summary - Essay Example Participants were sampled from three regions: Bakony, Tolna and Baranya, and the capital region and 150 participants were selected from each group and questionnaires administered. The sample was representative. The study identified ethnic identity matrix for noting varieties of german orientations, established differences between members of the ethnic group and recommends sensitivity to communication in marketing to different ethnic groups and sub groups. Care is however necessary, especially when marketing to the German minority, because of their sensitivity that establishes contingencies such as â€Å"inadvertent stereotypes, biology and genetics, and ethnocentric bias† (Sas and Kozma, 2009, p. 96). Implementing mainstream marketing with the target population identified one theical issue that is unavailability Germans’ preferred foods. The study concludes that ethical marketing is a viable strategy in Hungary (Sas and Kozma,

Should college athletes be paid Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should college athletes be paid - Research Paper Example These athletics provides an opportunity for post secondary education that could provide the beneficiaries a successful transition into professionalism. However, college athletics also comes with challenges, both personal and academic as documented by Block. Even so, there has been a concern for the well-being of college athletes from as early as 1905 as cited by Kissinger and Miller (2). There are arguments for and against paying college athletes which need to be well understood before making a decision on which argument to follow. There is a body of debaters who argue that college athletes should not be paid. This argument is based on the fact that paying such students would result in unfairness to the rest of the students. According to Hartnett, a college athlete gets a scholarship amounting to $25,000 per year for a full Division 1. This amounts to $100,000 in four years. Though the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA argues that such scholarships only cover tuition, fees, textbooks and boarding, this has been noted to give college athletes greater advantage over the other students. They receive greater aid than average students. Secondly, college athletes are already being paid through scholarships and should not be paid any further than that. To put this into context, Block compares this scholarship to unpaid internship. This opinion columnist argues that students in unpaid internships get no pay but still undertake such internships for the soft skills. On the contrary, college athletes get financial reward in form of scholarship. This is a form of payment for college athletes and therefore, colleges should not spend any finances paying them. Finally, paying college athletes would widen the disparity between smaller and larger universities or colleges. This would be exhibited through their athletics teams. In support of this argument, Block argues that larger universities which earn more revenue would have the ability of buying

Applied Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Applied - Essay Example The African American gay community is not local and cannot be claimed by a single state. It is a countrywide community whose boundaries extend to the national boundaries. There are a number of members who live abroad though and are actively involved in the community’s activities from there. The community membership is big and growing. The main role is communalism and the strength in numbers as well as identification. The community is a combination of two communities that face multiple challenges every day. The life of gay African Americans is hard and full of challenges. The challenges can be viewed in two dimensions; race and sexual orientation. The African American race naturally has many challenges to contend with. They do not cease with being gay, if anything they just multiply. Studies have placed lack of opportunity and safety at number one as the leading challenge for African Americans. Due to different contributing factors like lack of education, African Americans have failed to secure jobs to support themselves and their families. Starting businesses for the majority has been a hurdle due to the lack of capital. They have been victimized and segregated in terms of equal opportunities. They also lack security since the notion for a long time has been that they are the source of their own insecurity. As such, states have failed to secure African American neighborhoods. This has affected t he community and led to more insecurity. The lack of employment and opportunity has led many to crime. As if it is not hard enough to be an African American only, more challenges meet the African American gay community. On the second frontier of sexual affiliation, the African American gay community is undermined, stigmatized and victimized. The main problem however is stigma. The gay community can hardly get a voice in the African American community due to the race’s deep rooted culture and intolerance to such tendencies. The best theory therefore is the

The Color Purple Essay Example for Free

The Color Purple Essay The novel the color purple by Alice Walker is well known for is revolutionary theme of black lesbianism. Until this novel and other leading writers touched on the subject of black lesbianism, it was viewed as dirty and unspeakable. The protagonist, Celie, brings respect and positive attributes to the idea of black lesbianism. Walker’s depicture of Celie not only relates constructive events towards lesbianism, but also journeys through the rejection of male dominance and how it brings Celie freedom. Most of Celie’s freedom comes in the form of monetary relief and independence. However freedom also comes from Celie’s change of world view; from a repressive patriarchal society and God to a gentle and softer version of religion. Walker emphasizes the oppression black women face in relationships with black men (brothers, fathers, husbands, lovers) and the bond the women must form with each other in order to free themselves. Right from the beginning of the novel, Walker introduces a hard to digest picture of rape, incest, and sexual cruelty. He never had a kine word to say to me†¦ Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me† (Walker 1). This telling of rape by her father is also seen through the eyes of the reader as lacking emotion or at least the emotions such as anger and anguish that come with an event such as rape. Celie’s life begins to form into a picture of a slave’s, with her missing feelings and reactions to the horrible fates that befall her. After this rape, Celie becomes pregnant and is forced to separate with her child straight after. According to Ana Marie Fraile-Marcos who wrote a critical essay on Walker’s â€Å"womanist† representation of lesbianism, Celie’s sexual abuse becomes endemic after her two successive pregnancies and deliveries. Celie seems to accept sexual exploitation and oppression as shaping factors in her life and not only does Celie become a sexual object, her story also echoes the life of a slave. An auction scene is called to mind when Celie is told to walk in front of Albert, while he decides whether or not to take her as his new wife. Along with the physical oppression, Celie also has to endure psychological oppression due to her sexual exploitation. During Celie’s pregnancies, she had to put up with the confusing torment of her mother at the same time as her father blames her for her mother’s slow passing. Finally Celie’s mother passes cursing her, although Celie is at a loss to what she did wrong. Next to her mother’s negative affliction, Celie also curses herself and believes that she is on the road to hell for committing incest imposed on her by her father. In her mind, Celie is living in â€Å"sin without redemption† (Fraile-Marcos). The men were forces of her oppression, which made Celie turn towards women for her liberation. During her childhood, Celie was close with her sister and found a love that she would sincerely protect. â€Å"She scared. But I say I’ll take care of you. † Although Celie’s love for Nettie is a bond that lasts through the whole novel, the most important figure to influence Celie’s change in submissiveness is Shug Avery. Through uncovering the letters Nettie wrote to Celie, forcing Albert to beat Celie less, and just being the woman who did whatever she wanted, Shug was the leading character who taught Celie the beauty of sexuality. After quizzing Celie in Shug’s first stay, Shug deemed Celie a virgin due to her never having sex with someone that she loves. From that point, Shug begins to teach her about the female body, which Celie enjoys because sexuality turns from a negative and repressive force, to one that becomes exciting. Shug’s most important contribution to Celie’s self-realization is love, both sexually and spiritually† (Fraile-Marcos). Through this self-realization, Celie comes to the conclusion that she has a sister who loves her and will always write to her, and has Shug who has the intention of loving her and helping her get on her feet. All of the forces involved in Celie’s positive evolution come from the female gender, which leads Celie to her chang e in religion. Shug’s spiritual contribution to Celie’s self realization is the modification of the picture of God in Celie’s mind. At the start of the novel, Celie’s version of God was one who was a white authority figure, who only gave orders and punished the people who stepped out of line. â€Å"Okay, I say. He big and old and tall and graybearded and white. He wear white robes and go barefooted† (Walker 194). Celie’s version of God did not have time for her and saw her sufferings as something to just move on from. However, Shug soon initiates a spiritual awakening that begins with her description of God, who doesn’t have specific characteristics and instead is more a spiritual presence. God ain’t a he or a she, but an It†¦ Don’t look like nothing, she say. It ain’t a picture show. It ain’t something you can look at apart from anything else, including yourself† (Walker 195). Shug showed that God was found within everyone and everything, instead of a figure impossible to relate to. Celie’s journey dragged her from a hellish, detached exis tence to a life she could feeling pulsing through her body. After her self-revelation and freedom from oppression, Celie supported herself thorough making pants. This created an independent woman out of Celie, and taught her to rely on herself more than the people around her such as her oppressors or even Shug. Believing God was a white, despotic figure lead Celie to her rejection of the world, rejection to male dominance, and her acceptance of an unfair society. However, femininity brought Celie back to the world and showed her the kind, caring, and gentle side of life. Walker took the reader through a journey of finding Celies personal voice and also helped the reader accept and appreciate the rejection of male dominance.

Gileadean regime Essay Example for Free

Gileadean regime Essay Explore the way in which Margaret Atwood presents Moira The Handmaids Tale. Refer closely to any literary and linguistic approaches where necessary. Within The Handmaids Tale Atwood presents us with many characters that are emotionally weak; Janine, Offred and even the Commander residing in the higher echelons of society all possess a deprivation of spirit brought about by the oppressive and restrictive nature of the Gileadean regime. In contrast to this we are presented with Moira and through her Atwood is able to create tension, conflict and a rebelliousness that is otherwise only seen in the recollections of Offreds mother. Moira acts as a representative for independence and liberty in the novel, she defies her oppressors and is seen by Offred as a role model that she finds impossible to aspire to. Moira constantly battles the status quo; she parades her lesbianism and manages on two occasions to defeat the system at the disgrace of the much-hated Aunts. She is confidant in both manner and speech. Dont move said Moira or Ill stick it all the way in The boldness of this imperative paired with the violent connotations attached to the  verb stick gives Moira the sinister tone she needs to intimidate Aunt Elizabeth. Moira is portrayed as an activist, she does not merely contemplate the possibilities of freedom as Offred does and Offred recognizes this with dissatisfaction as she muses the prospect of what she can do with the fan that she has been given. If I were Moira I would know how tot take it apart, reduce it to its cutting edges. I have no screwdriver but if I were Moira I could do it without a screwdriver. Im not Moira. This quote clearly outlines the practical nature of Moira juxtapositioned with the more theoretical approach that we would associate with Offred who loathes herself for it. The syntactic parallelism If I were Moira but if I were Moira points to the irony that Moira, in the same situation as Offred could use the fan to aid her escape. When we first learn of Moiras disappearance in chapter 22 we are not fully informed as to the details of her flight; the thought of Moiras freedom made the other Handmaids feel dizzy. Atwood purposely withholds this information to let the reader share in this feeling of suspense; the mystery surrounding Moira at this point  enhances her charisma. Offred recalls the Handmaids feeling a sense of victory over the aunts; Moira had shown that they could be defeated and so easily too, through Moiras actions the Aunts power was diminished. Having belittled the enemy she is seen to have great power, Offred refers to her as a loose woman a clichi connoting sexual freedom but cleverly a second implication of the characters unbridled power now that she is free. When Moira escapes, the future seems to hold promise for the Handmaids. The thought of what Moira could do now that she is free gives them a sense of presence, a  pressure reaching its climatic point. Moira was like an elevator with open sides. She made us dizzy This simile poses threat and the sense of freedom that Moiras escape gives the other women. Much of Moiras character is revealed to us through direct speech; This is a loony bin, Moira said. Im so glad to see you, I said Where can we talk? said Moira. The used of direct address here brings the reader closer to the story and builds tension and suspense through the feeling that they are present at the time of conversation. The colloquialism loony-bin reveals that Moira is a non-conformist; Atwood  creatively uses her as a reminiscence of the time before. Moiras interrogative response Where can we talk? conveys that Moira does not linger over sentimentalities as Offred would; it shows that she is active rather than passive. The clipped syntax reflects the rushed exchange of spoken discourse giving a nervous quality to both characters and reminding the reader of the volatile situation that the Handmaids are in. Moira is incredibly blas throughout the novel; her nonchalance shows even in her response to working at Jezebels which will lead to an impending death in the Colonies. Youd have three or four good years before your snatch wears out and they send you to the bone-yard. The vulgarity of the expletive snatch corresponding with the verb wears describes the female body in a manufactured way, dispensable for male pleasure and just as easily disposed of. It is this taboo language that Atwood uses to familiarize us with Moira. Her reference to the Colonies as the bone-yard is further evidence of Moiras ability to perceive things in a brutally realistic way. The fact that she is graphically aware of the inevitable doom she faces and does not react over-  sentimentally show Moiras unwavering courage. When Offred reflect on her student life in the time before we see that Moiras attitude to sex was then just as relaxed and liberal as it is under the Gileadean rule Im giving an under-whore party Tarts stuff, lace crotches, snap garters. Bras that push your tits up Here the three-part list indicates the casual attitude that Moira has towards sex, she is comfortable with her sexuality and her taboo language reflects this. The portmanteau under-whore adds humour to Moiras character and so contrasts with the present  where humour is essentially forbidden. Moira is irreverent and shows contempt to every aspect of injustice; Camaraderie shit How much do you want to bet shes got Janine down on her knees I bet she got her working away on that dried up, hairy old withered This quote is evidence of Moiras iconoclastic beliefs; there is a linguistic shock between the positive noun Camaraderie and the negative expletive noun shit. This shows the complete disrespect that Moira has for those who blindly follow the theocratic regime. Offred sees her irreverence as a source of power. There is something in the whispering of obscenities about those in power it deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt with. Here Atwood uses visual language comparing those in power to something that can be deflated. This gives connotations of a balloon filled with air and its course is therefore precarious and fickle as to where it could blow. This is allegorical to the regime; Atwood makes the point that wherever there is oppression there is unavoidable rebellion. Moira sees through all aspects of the regime with explicit cynicism, in Jezebels she  analyses the actions of all the men in power with insulting accuracy. Its like screwing on the altar, your gang are supposed to be such chaste vessels they like to see you all painted up. Just another crummy power trip The pre-modifier crummy reduces the Commanders who perceive themselves as omnipotent to mere perverts. The use of the expletive screwing is further evidence of Moiras iconoclastic views. The use of the collective noun all painted up reduces the Commanders desires to petit and perverse, there is a linguistic shock to aid Moiras criticism in the antithesis of screwing and chaste vessels. Through Moira Atwood reminds us that Jezebels is a prescribed reality for those in power. The architects of this new society who claim their actions were to protect women from the world by eradicating pornography and prostitution are now seen as absolute hypocrites. Jezebels exposes the hypocrisy of the men who prate about sexual morality and then spend their evenings sleeping with prostitutes in a club, purpose built. The most poignant aspect of the novel is realised through the change in Moira. In their last encounter Offred learns that the spirit of both Moira and her mother, both  figures of transgression and resistance in the Handmaids life, have been broken. Throughout the novel, Atwood has set up a heroine in the eyes of both the Handmaid and the reader who believe that if there is to be a fortunate end to this grim tale then it will be accomplished through Moira. In their last meeting at Jezebels we disappointingly realise that this is not so; She is frightening me now because what I hear in her voice is indifference and a lack of volition. It is the abstract nouns indifference and volition that indicate the chance in Moira, the woman who, in times of need, Offred looked to as a source of hope has now become just like her, instead of embodying defiance Moira now embodies Gileads ability to crush even the strongest of spirits. I dont want to be like her as far as something I lack. Give in, go along, save her skin I want swash-buckling heroism from her, single handed combat. Something I lack. This three-part syndetic list describes Offred who has romanticised and projected on to Moira the qualities she wished she possessed and is here, along with the reader, sorely mistaken. I dont know how she ended Because I never saw her again What has happened to Moira is an anticlimax; we do not expect to be left unknowing, the novel now seems closer to real life than fiction and this brings the starkness of Offreds reality to the readers attention. Moiras spiritual demise and erasure is an elaboration of the full force of oppression Margaret Atwood presents us with, once a courageous, outspoken woman has become a despondent pessimist with no hope of escaping Gilead. It is this change in Moira that makes us realise the true awfulness of the situation so many women in the novel are in.

Effects of Cor and US on Taxol Production of Taxus x Media

Effects of Cor and US on Taxol Production of Taxus x Media SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RESEARCH INCLUDING KEY GOALS For scientifically qualified assessors: Taxol is a natural diterpenoid alkaloid first isolated from the inner bark of pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia (Wani et al., 1971) and widely use in the pharmaceutical industry as the antitumor agents. However, low taxol content, high cost of extraction and the destruction of yew trees spark a major environmental controversy and cause a problem to fulfil its growing demand. The application of plant tissue culture technique has appeared as an eco-friendly method and feasible approach for commercial supply, but the production rate of this secondary metabolite are still very low. Only 10% of taxol secreted in the extracellular medium of T x media suspension cultures (Wickremesinhe and Arteca, 1993). These problems prompted a great effort to discover and identify the alternative means to enhance the mass production of taxol in plant cell cultures. In this study, elicitation using coronatine (Cor) and ultrasound (US) will be used for synthesis and transport of taxol. Cor is a toxin produced by Pseudomonas syringae and can act as a plant growth regulator and stimulates the defence mechanism in plants. Meanwhile, Low-intensity US is a physical or mechanical stimulus that can enhance the cellular transporter activity and trigger the pathway of defence-related secondary metabolites. It is hypothesized that the taxol accumulation in Taxus x media culture is higher than control (unelicited) and single treatment after treated with Cor and low- energy US. The experiment will use two-stage suspension culture and longitudinally young stem as the explant. The effect of these two elicitors on biomass production and taxol production will be analysed. At the end of this study, it is expected that the taxol production and cell growth will show positive result after elicited with Cor and low-energy US. This study will be a significant endeavour in enhance the release of taxol through elicitation approach. For lay readers: Secondary metabolites are chemicals produced by plants and do not have any physiological functions, but use as flavour, food colours, fragrances and pharmaceutical study. Taxus species are one of the medicinal plants that can produce natural anti-cancer agents known as taxol. However, over exploitation of natural sources of taxol from bark, stem, roots and needles put yew trees as an endangered species. Besides, the low yield and slow growth of yew trees limit its potential as a viable source of taxol. Thus, it is important to find alternative method to increase the taxol production in Taxus sp. The production of taxol from Taxus x media can be greatly enhanced through elicitation. Elicitation is a method to stimulate the gene expression of enzymes responsible for the synthesis of secondary metabolites. The substance used in stimulating the production of exuded compound is called elicitor. Elicitor is formed inside or outside of plant cells and imitate as a stress to activate the pla nt defence systems and cause qualitative and quantitative changes in the secondary metabolite content. Two elicitors that will be used in this study are Coronatine (Cor) and low-energy ultrasound (US). Plants use Cor to build defensive compounds and as growth regulators. US, on the other hand can stimulated the cell membrane permeabilization and encourage the release of taxol to culture medium. Plant cell cultures will be used to retrieve the secondary metabolite on demand by maintain the growth of plant cells in aseptic condition with appropriate supply of nutrients. It is expected that the accumulation of taxol treated with elicitors is higher than the untreated culture. This study will provide a good understanding about the effect of elicitors in activate the chemical defence system in plants and directly stimulate the production of taxol. RESEARCH Outcomes / Products What is the proposed outcome of your project: It is expected that all treatments will give significant increase of taxol accumulation when compared with control. Combination between Cor and US exposure will improve the extracellular and cell-associated taxol production. The expected taxol production from the treatment of both Cor and US is 20 to 50% higher than control. Elicitation of Taxus x media using Cor and US also will enhance the cell growth. The use of suspension culture will be one of the reasons that improve the accumulation of taxol and can be a good strategy for the continous production of taxol. Why is it important? Taxol is well known anti-cancer drug derived from natural source of Taxus species. However, direct extraction from yew trees has subjected them as an endangered species. On the other hand, the process of extraction and purification of taxol is also time consuming and not economically feasible. Thus, plant tissue culture is a promising approach to obtain this secondary metabolite. However, one of the main problems in increase the taxol production is instability in the synthesis of secondary metabolite. In order to maximize the yield of taxol, the combination of biotic and abiotic elicitor can be a good strategy. Besides, the elicitation approach is also more economical beneficial compare with other methods such as precursor feeding, phytohormone regulation and biotransformation. US is a simple but effective elicitor while Cor is expected has the similar biological activity as methyl jasmonate (MeJA), the most common elicitor used in stimulate secondary metabolites. The results from th is study can provide a fundamental understanding of the effects of US in combination with Cor on the production of secondary metabolite and plant cell culture. Understanding how Taxus x media cell culture react with these two elicitors can provide a a beneficial in link the growth rate with the production of taxol. DETAILS OF RESEARCH PROJECT Introduction and Background: Taxus species are medicinal plants and members of the Taxaceae family that can produce taxol, a chemotheraphy drug used widely in cancers treatment. FDA approval of taxol in 1992 and a series of success of taxol in clinical test for various cancers led to massive demand for this active substance. The increase of demand was expected since taxol also useful to combact non-canceorus disorders, such as polycystic kidney disease (Woo et al., 1994). However, it is difficult to perform large-scale culture because of the difficulty to gain this active compound from natural source. Three mature, century-old yew trees would produce only 1 g of taxol. It is estimated that about 10 tons of bark or felling of 3000 trees was needed to yield 1 kg of purified taxol to treat 500 cancer patients. Besides, the natural source of taxol from yew trees is only about 0.01% to 0.06% (Sung et al., 2005). All these concerns have prompted extensive efforts in find the method that can increase the mass productio n taxol. Taxus x media is choose for this study since it is good starting materials for the taxol production via biotechnological technique. Besides, the amount of taxol produce by this cultivar is the highest among other Taxus species (Table 1). The elicitation approach has been one of the most promising strategies in improve the mass production of taxol and other secondary metabolites in cell cultures (Roberts ND Shuler, 1997). The idea of using elicitor arise from the defence pathway utilize by plant in deal with environmental stress, pathogenic microorganisms, insects and higher herbivorous predators by stimulate the production of offensive chemicals like secondary metabolites. One of the most commonly studied and effective biotic elicitor is methyl jasmonate (MeJA). However, the report that Cor resemble the biological activity of the jasmonic acid gives an idea that the mode of action between these two compounds could be similar. The chemical structure of Cor is more stable than MeJA because of the rigid cis-orientation in its bi-cyclic skeleton. This lead to the higher levels of induction in the production of secondary metabolites by plant cells treated with Cor when compare with those treated with natural JA. Although Cor stimulated paclitaxel production with less efficiency than MeJA, it resulted in higher paclitaxel excretion to the liquid phases of culture medium. Besides that, there are not many reports about the influence of Cor on the production of secondary metabolite in plant cell suspension culture. Table 1: Content (wt %) of selected taxanes in different species of Taxus plants (Lin Lidong, 2003) The combination of biotic and abiotic elicitor had synergistic effects to taxol production in many reports. Thus, it is expected that the combine use of Cor with a physical stimulus like US might increase the yield of taxol in the Taxus culture. Generally, the abiotic elicitors use in experimental studies is chemical agents, heavy metals and biochemical agents like polysaccharides and organic acid. The use of US to biotechnology is relatively new and not many reports can be found on the effects of US in increase the useful secondary metabolites. This simple and effective elicitor can activate cells or enzymes and induced plant defence metabolism by ultrasonic waves. High intensity US waves can bring detrimental effect to cells, enzymes and other biological materials. Meanwhile, low intensity US waves can change the cellular metabolism, improve the mass transfer of reagents and enhance the release of intracellular products from cultured cells by increase the membrane permeability. The use of US will not disrupt the culture process and allow continuous use of cell’s biosynthetic capacity (Kilby and Hunter, 1990). US deserve an extensive research regarding its effects in plant secondary metabolite due to its wide application in biological field. The combination of Cor and US has great prospect and economic benefits in enhance the taxol production at low cost. Until now, there is no study or information about the effect of Cor and US and their combination on the Taxus species. Work which has led up to the project: The production of taxol using cell cultures were first reported by Christen et al., in 1989. Cell suspension cultures can emit secondary metabolites into growth medium. For instance, the production of resveratrol in the medium was higher than in the cell (Zamboni et al., 2009). Work by Kajani et al., in 2010 on Taxus baccata L cell culture showed that 74.9 % of total taxanes was exuded to growth medium (5. 584 mg/ L). Roberts et al., in 2003 reported that suspension culture of Taxus canadensis secreted more than 90% of the total taxol to the medium after treated with cell wall enzymes. Cell culture of Taxus chinensis emitted 90% of the total paclitaxel in medium with chitosan (Zhang et al., 2007). Komaraiah et al., in 2003 reported that up to 70% of the plumbagin in Plumbago rosea cell culture were released into the medium. Taxol accumulate at high level (1.5 mg/L) in the second phase of growth Previous research by J. Wu and L. Lin in 2003 on the application of US as a physical stimulus and MeJA in increase the mass production of taxol in Taxus chinensis becomes a fundamental reference for this study. Their study showed that the taxol yield was increased about 1.5- to 1.8-fold with 2 minutes US exposure once or twice during a 4 week culture period. Meanwhile, the total taxol after treated with MeJA increase about 5-fold. The percentage of extracellular taxol and cell-associated taxol also showed significant increase. The taxol production from combination between US and MeJA treatment was 20 to 50% higher than each of the treatment used alone. Another research by Wu and Lin in 2002 found that low energy US can play a role as abiotic elicitor to trigger the plant defence responses and induce the production of plant metabolite in cell cultures. Apart from that, US also can increase the cell membrane permeabilization to increase the efficiency of intracellular product release. In their previous study, they found that the combination of US stimulation and in situ solvent extraction in a Lithospermum erythrorhizan cell culture led to 2 to 3-fold increases in the yield of shikonin. Tamogami and Kodama reported in 2000 that Accumulation of flavonoid phytoalexins in rice occurred when treated with Cor. This shown that the effect of Cor on flavonoid production was greater than that of JA or its precursor, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA). Cor also gave positive result in the alkaloid production in Eschscholzia californica cell cultures (Haider et al., 2000). The previous work by also showed the greater increase in the accumulation of glyceollins, the phytoalexins of soybean (Glycine max. L.), in soybean cell suspension cultures after treated with Cor. Besides, the effect of Cor in induced the phytoalexin productin was greatly better when compared with JA and MeJA. (Fliegmann et al., 2003; Lauchli et al, 2002). Aims of the project: To study the biological and synergistic effects of Cor and US on the taxol production of Taxus x media cell culture. (d) Experimental design and methods to be used in investigating this problem: Cell culture establishment Approximately 1.0 cm long section of longitudinal young stem of Taxus x media will be wash with distilled water and soak in 70% (v/v) ethanol for 30 to 60 seconds. After that, the stem will be surface sterilized by immersion in 1.5% sodium hypochlorite with a few drops of Tween 20 for 20 to 30 minutes. After sterilization, the explants will be rinsed 3 times with sterile distilled water. Next, the longitudinally halved stem sections will be placed with the inner cut surface in contact with the solid Gamborg’s B5 media to induce calli. The media supplemented/ fortified with 3.0% sucrose (w/v), 0.8% agar (w/v), 1 mg/L 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 0.5 mg/L 6-Benzyladenine (BA), at pH 5.5. All of the cultures will be placed in darkness at 25oC for 25 days. To obtain a homogenous callus, several subcultures of calli will be done every 3 weeks. The snow, friable and massive callus will be used as the inoculums for cell suspension culture. Cor treatment The same media without agar will be used for cell suspension culture. About 10 g of fresh weight of callus will be used as the inoculums and inoculated into 300 mL conical flasks containing 100 mL liquid growth B5 medium and placed on orbital shakers (120 rpm) at 25oC in darkness. 1 uM Cor will be added to the shake-flask culture on day 7 post inoculation since the Taxus cell culture is expected to be in the middle of a rapid growth phase, which is usually a favourable time for elicitor treatment in most plant cell cultures. 3) US treatment An ultrasonic cleaning bath will be used to sonicate the cells in Erlenmeyer flasks from the shake-flask culture (Lin et al., 2001). The bath will had a fixed frequency of 38.5 KHz and variable power levels. The bath temperature wwill be maintained at 25 ±0.5oC. The culture will be sonicated at level 2 US power (corresponding to 13.7 mW/ cm3 in the culture) once (on day 5, 9, or 16) or twice (day 5 and day 9) for 2 min each time (total US energy of each exposure = power x period = 1.64 J/cm3). The US power and exposure period will be selected based on the study by Lin et al., (2001) and Lin and Wu in 2002. Determination of cell density The cells in the shake-flasks will be separated from the medium by filtration through a Whatman filter paper under vacuum. The wet cell mass will be rinsed thoroughly with deionized water and then dried at 50oC in an oven to constant weight. Taxol extraction and determination The taxol content in powdered dried cell and medium in the culture flasks will be extracted by methods previously described by Wu and Lin (2003). The dried cells will pulverized and suspended in 10 mL methanol, filtered and air-dried. After that, the cells will be re-dissolved in dichloromethane: water (1:1, v/v) followed by centrifugation at 5000 rpm. Dichloromethane phase will be collected, air-dried and re-dissolved in 100  µL methanol (HPLC grade) and filtered passing through a 0.45  µm syringe filter, before being injected to HPLC. The taxol content in the extract solution will be quantified by HPLC system, equipped with a C-18 column of 25 x 4.6 mm dimension. Taxol will be eluted with a linear gradient of acetonitrile and water (45: 55, v/v)/ at a flow rate of 1 mL/min with UV detection at 227 nm. Identification of taxol will be accomplished by comparison of retention times with authentic standard. Statistical analysis The results will be analyzed statistically by one-way ANOVA analysis and Duncan multiple range tests. The data will be presented as the mean value  ± standard deviation (SD) of three independent experiments.

The Current Status of Health Care Reform :: Health Care Reform, Health Care, Healthcare, USA,

Health Care Reform is a concern for people that have health insurance, for those that can’t afford health insurance and the price of healthcare for all of us. There are the difference views on Health Care Reform: The healthcare view, the public opinion and The House and the Senate. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid will withhold 2% of base payments that would serve as incentive payments to hospital based on their total performance score derived from separate domains. The current domains include process measure, outcome and patient satisfaction. The Senate bill also requires a comprehensive review of the hospital wage index. Our cost problems, affect not only the federal budge deficit, but also individual American businesses and household. Only be aligning payment models across public and private systems will we both address federal spending and make the health care system more affordable for all Americans† (The New England Journal of Medicine) Both House and Senate versions identify â€Å"excess payments† based on performance of risk-adjusted re-admissions rates for AMI, Heart Failure and Pneumonia. The Center for Medicaid and Medicare would recoup excess payments by discounting future payments with cuts capped at a certain percentage of total payments. In effort to go beyond â€Å"fixing† fee-for service payments, the proposed legislation includes alternative models include bundled payments to cover the range of services related to a defined medical condition: global fees to cover the entire cost of care (regardless of the setting) over an extended period for a person with a condition such as cancer; extra payments for patient-center primary care delivered through medical home; and the rewarding of Accountable Care Organizations for achieving the desired performance in caring for a defined population over the course of the year. (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Reforming the delivery system. Report t o Congress) (Fisher ES) For providing episode of care for services provided three days prior to the admission, during the admission and 30 days after discharge. The service would include acute care, physician services provided inside and outside the hospital, outpatient services, post acute care services, including home health, inpatient rehabilitation, long term care hospital and others. Participating organization would required to submit data and specific measure, including measure of functional improvement, rates of avoidable hospitalization, incidence of hospital acquired infections and efficiency. An independent evaluation would review the extent to which the a pilot the selected quality of measures, improved health outcomes, improved beneficiary access to care and reduced Medicare spending.