Definition and Examples of Echo Utterances in English

An echo utterance is  speech that repeats, in whole or in part, what has just been said by another speaker. Sometimes called simply echo. An  echo utterance, says  Ãƒâ€œscar Garcà ­a Agustà ­n, isnt necessarily an utterance attributable to a specific person; it can refer to a group of people or even to popular wisdom (Sociology of Discourse, 2015).  A direct question that repeats part or all of something which someone else has just said is called an echo question. Examples and Observations Claire Dunphy: All right, everybody back to work!Gloria Delgado-Pritchett: Everybody back to work!Claire Dunphy: I just said that.Gloria Delgado-Pritchett: And I co-said it.(Julie Bowen and Sofà ­a Vergara, Dance Dance Revelation. Modern Family, 2010) Olivia: If the temperature is dropping, this mess could freeze up. We got to get outta here.Cassie: We got to get out of here.Olivia: I just said that. Where are you going?Cassie: If the temperature is dropping, this mess could freeze up.Olivia: I just said that.Cassie: We got to get out of here.Olivia: I just said that!(Marsha A. Jackson, Sisters. The National Black Drama Anthology, ed. by Woodie King. Applause Theater Books, 1995) Echo Utterances and Meanings We repeat one another. This is how we learn to talk. We repeat one another, and we repeat ourselves. An  echo utterance is a type of spoken language that repeats, in whole or in part, whats just been said by another speaker, often with contrasting, ironic, or contradictory meaning. How old are you, Bob asks.Nineteen, Gigi says.He says nothing, as this does not deserve the courtesy of response.Seventeen, she says.Seventeen?Well, not quite, she says. Sixteen until I get to my next birthday.Sixteen? Bob asks. SIX-teen?Well, maybe not exactly, she says. (Jane Vandenburgh,  Architecture of the Novel: A Writers Handbook. Counterpoint, 2010) Echo Utterances and Attitudes Wolfram Bublitz, Neal R. Norrick,  A phenomenon that is not extra communicative and still represents hardly an instance of metacommunication is the so-called  echo-utterance, where the speaker echoes the preceding speaker by repeating some linguistic material yet giving a specific turn to it . . ..  Echo statements such as in the following example  usually just convey attitudes toward the propositional state of affairs quoted/echoed. He: Its a lovely day for a picnic.[They go for a picnic and it rains.]She: (sarcastically) Its a lovely day for a picnic, indeed.(Sperber and Wilson, 1986: 239) (Axel Hà ¼bler, Metapragmatics. Foundations of Pragmatics, ed. by  Wolfram Bublitz et al. Walter de Gruyter, 2011) The Fifth Type of Sentence The traditional classification of major sentences recognizes statements, questions, commands . . . and exclamations. But there is a fifth type of sentence, used only in dialogue, whose function is to confirm, question, or clarify what the previous speaker has just said. This is the echo utterance.Echo utterance structure reflects that of the preceding sentence, which it repeats in whole or in part. All types of sentences can be echoes. StatementsA: John didnt like the filmB: He didnt what?Questions:A: Have you got my knife?B: Have I got your wife?!Directives:A: Sit down here.B: Down there?Exclamations:A: What a lovely day!B: What a lovely day, indeed! Usage Echoes sometimes sound impolite unless accompanied by an apologetic softening phrase, such as Im sorry or I beg your pardon. This is most noticeable with the question What did you say?  often shortened to What? Dont say what, say pardon is a common parental plea to children.(David Crystal, Rediscover Grammar. Pearson Longman, 2004) Read More Broken-Record ResponseConversation AnalysisRepetitionSpeech ActUtterance

Todays Mafia Essays - 1186 Words

Todays Mafia Although many arrests have been made, organized crime and the Mafia are still very active. Organized crime and its families, particularly the Italian mafia, have increased their illegal activities significantly over the past few decades. The Mafia and organized crime go hand and hand, one cannot be spoken without the other. Both of these forms of criminal actions have been recognized since the late 1800s, and police say it is not disappearing too fast.(Widener 6) Migration from Italy, has brought over many Italian criminals and crime tactics. The Italian Mafia has always been based on the island of Sicily and the southern mainland provinces of Calabria and Campania. (Worsnop 273) Traffic in drugs, chiefly†¦show more content†¦This family has over 500 members and are located throughout the nation. Although indicted this family is still managed by John Gotti. Most of the focus of this family is on contracted killings, gambling, narcotics, and extortion. The focus of this family is nationwide.(E1) The Bannanno and the Luchesse families do not play as an important role in the organized crime melting pot as the Colombo and Gambino families do. (Worsnop 279) Both families combined for about 200 members. The main focus of criminal activity between the families are counterfeiting and pornography. This mostly spreads throughout most of the southwestern portion of the U.S. (Inman E2) Although New York seems to be the place where most Mafia action occurs, many other areas are influenced by the Mafia. Many people think that the Mafia only exists in New York. Astonishing enough New York is ranked nineteen out of twenty-five on the list of most active organized crime cities. Cities like San Jose, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Rockford, Ill., rank within the top ten. (Trimble 30) Some major crimes committed in the smaller cities are credit-card fraud, hijacking, prostitution, and drugs. (30) Some illegal business fronts include Nightclubs, Fast-food outlets, trucking, and garbage collection. (30) In the international Melting Pot of organized crime, has many different cultures. Such groups as the Chinese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, and the Vietnamese Gangs, whom all baseShow MoreRelatedThe Origins Of The American Mafia1711 Words   |  7 Pagessociety has been fascinated with the gangster lifestyle and the American Mafia is no exception to this trend. Mafia themed mo vies such as Scarface and Goodfellas have proven to be timeless classics. However, the American Mafia goes deeper than the media shows. While they do have the same name, the American Mafia is a group of Italian Americans and is not directly affiliated with the original Sicilian Mafia. The American Mafia is a highly organized and complex nationwide criminal network with a membershipRead More Italian Mafia Essay1315 Words   |  6 PagesItalian Mafia The Mafia was first developed in Sicily in feudal times to protect the estates of landlords who were out of town. The word Mafia, derived from the Sicilian word, Mafioso, means family. Today, Mafia is a name which describes a loose association of criminal groups. These groups can be bound together by blood, oath or sworn secrecy. Many people had considered the Sicilian Mafia as the most ruthless mobsters of the twentieth century. By the nineteenth century, the Mafia had becomeRead MoreEssay about Organized Crime1744 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica as well as the social state of its homeland, Europe. Our society is convinced that the so-called Mafia is a family of pure criminals, pimps, and murderers. Whatever the opinion, there is no doubt that the Mafia played a big part in the history of America and the way Americans view crime today. The origins of the secret society known as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century (Mafia History). During the 9th century, the Mafias main purpose was to strengthen themselves against enemiesRead MoreEssay on La Cosa Nostra1240 Words   |  5 PagesCorleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invadedRead More Mafia Essay1422 Words   |  6 Pages The Mafia way of life may seem like a romantic updated version of the western movie played out on the streets of the big cities where the good guys and the wise guys who share the same instincts and values do battle before an enthralled public but it is actually very different. The Mafia is really just a group of uneducated thugs making money by victimizing the public. Initially, the Mafia was setup as a prominent supplier of bootlegged liquor, but it has spread into many different areas of crimeRead More Luciano Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesCrime Syndicate in the early 1930s, which still remains today (Nash 251). Lucky Luciano, the â€Å"true† American gangster, rewrote the rules of the Italian Mafia, under control of old-line Sicilian rule, and created an organization open to all ethnic backgrounds (Dewey). He worked his way from being a struggling messenger for a small gang, to eventually becoming the â€Å"Capo di Tutti Capi†(the Boss of All Bosses), the highest ranking in the Mafia (Dewey). During his reign, Charles Luciano decided that inRead MoreThe Crime Of Organized Crime1649 Words   |  7 PagesWhen I hear the term organized crime, I associate it with â€Å"The Mafia†, â€Å"Scarface†, and â€Å"Cartels†. Organized crime can be defined in a variety of ways. It is an ongoing criminal enterprise that is wisely working to generate profit engaging in illegal activities depending on demand, where its presence is preserve through force, intimidations, and corruption. According to the FBI, organized crime is basically a group of transnational, national, or local alliances of highly centralized enterprises runRead MoreThe Mafia Essay1298 Words   |  6 PagesThe Mafia It exists. You probably won’t see it if you visit Sicily. You probably won’t see any of its effects, either, unless you look very closely. But considering it’s profound influence on Sicilian life, no twentieth-century history book on Sicily would be accurate without mentioning the most famous Sicilian fraternity. â€Å"The word ‘Mafia’ was formally recorded by the prefect of Palermo in 1865, after the unification of Italy (57 Robb).† It wasn’t until 1982 that it was added to the ItalianRead MoreBook Report on The New Ethnic Mob by William Kleinknecht Essay1470 Words   |  6 Pagesreporter for the Newark Star Ledger in New Jersey, and The New Ethnic Mob is Bills first published book. As mafia boss after mafia boss goes to jail there is a new ethnic criminal emerging to the forefront of organized crime. A major player that is likely to leave a lasting impact is the Russian mafia. Many experts say they have even surpassed the Italian mafia in there cleverness. They are involved in sophisticated forging, counterfeit, and credit card schemes that haveRead MoreCriminology995 Words   |  4 PagesTandy When I think about organized crime and its very definition I immediately think of is the Italian Mafia, which has been portrayed in various articles, news casts, and historical culture and let’s not forget the many movies that have been made. This alone does not define what organized crime group are though I’m sure at one time it was the primary indicator for organized crime. Yet today this is not true at all and it would take multiple text books and research to explain it all because these

Tissue Specimen Free Essays

| NO| NAME OF TISSUE / SPECIMEN| NAME OF THE ORGAN SYSTEM| LABEL SPECIMEN| FUNCTION| DESEASE| Type of tissuesection| Staining technique| REFRENCE| MAGNIFICATION| DRAWING / SKETCH| 1| Acute Lymphocyte Leukemia | Cardiovascular System | Blood | Type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of white blood cells| Leukemia | Blood Smear | Hematoxylin| http://swc2. hccs. du/bio/labs| 451Ãâ€"306 pixels| | 2| Atherosclerosis- Coronary Artery | Cardiovascular system | Located in main arteries of heart| Blockage of passage of blood into coronary arteries| Arthrosclerosis blockage of coronary artery/ MI heart attack/ | CL| Giesma| Http://www. We will write a custom essay sample on Tissue Specimen or any similar topic only for you Order Now enome. gov/images| Size: 215Ãâ€"200 pixels| | 3| Cardiac Muscle | Cardiovascular system | Heart/ smooth muscle | Contraction and relaxation of muscle for blood flow | Congestive heart failure| DM| Wrights| http://swc2. ccs. edu/bio/labs| 500Ãâ€"376 pixels| | 4| Cystic Duct| Digestive system| Liver/ gall bladder | join passage of common hepiatic duct | Estrahepalic Bile Duct Cancer (PDQ) / Gallstones| CS| Silver strain| http://med. umich. edu/| 512Ãâ€"512 pixels 117 kb| | 5| Dorsal Root Ganglion- Golgi Aparatus | eukaryotic cells organelle | Cellular Organelle| Distribution of cells chemicals products| Alzheimer’s Disease | DM| Silver Stained| http://anatomyatlas. rg/microscopicantatomy/| 472Ãâ€"269 pixels| | 6| Eosinophila | Cardiovascular system| Blood| Causes are allergic reaction or parasitosis| condition in which the eosinophil count in the peripheral blood exceeds 0. 45? 109/L| Blood Smear| Hematoxylin| http://www. nurs. org. jp/igaku/s4323| 200Ãâ€"200 piels| | 7| F ish Blastodisc Mitosis Section| Reproductive system | Egg| the embryo-forming portion of an egg with discoidal cleavage| Mitosis | Longitudinal Cross section| Giesma| http://www. carolina. om/images/enUS| 251Ãâ€"250 pixels| | 8| Frog Early Cleavage | Reproductive System | Frog egg| During the 3 hour fertilization and pass thru the gray crescent | Mitosis| Representative Sagittal Section| Giesma| https://bio. rutgers. edu/bm-earl. ,html| 215Ãâ€"220 pixels| | 9| Uterus fibroid tumor| Reproductive System | Uterus| Is a benign tumor that originates from the smooth muscle layer of uterus| carcinosarcoma| CS| Wrights| http://www. obgyn. edu. /images| 400Ãâ€"320 pixels| | 10| Goiter – Section| Endocrine System| Enlargement of Thyroid gland| Regulating of body metabolism and calcium balance. | Hyperthyroidism: overproduction of thyroid hormone | LS| Wrights| http://pathweb. uchc. edu| 432Ãâ€"324 pixels| | 11| Human Blood Smear| Cardiovascular System | Blood| Transport of nutrients and other wastes | Leukemia / hemophilia | Blood smear | Hematoxylin| Http://www. aug. edu/biology/1101cspage2| 30Ãâ€"244 pixels| | 12| Human Aurobach’s plexus| Nervous system | Parasimpatetic Nervous System| provides motor innervation to both layers and secretomotor innervation to the mucosa,| Achalasia| CS| Wrights| http://en. ikipedia. org/aurebach’s plexus| 50Ãâ€"215 pixels| | 13| Human Blood Smear (Wrights)| Cardiovascular System| Blood| Transportation of nutrients and wastes| lymphoma,| Blood smear| Wrights| http://download. videohelp. com/visual/med| 367Ãâ€"192 pixels| | 14| Human Brain Astrocytes- Silver Stained| Nervous System | star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord| biochemical support o f endothelial cells that form the blood–brain barrier| Neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson Disease, | LS| Silver Stained | Http://nordiqu. rg/images/IFs| 170Ãâ€"255 pixels| | 15| Human breast carcinoma | Reproductive System| malignant breast neoplasm| Cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts| Breast Cancer | LS| Wrights| http://www. labvision. c/images/ihcimage| 175Ãâ€"175 Pixels| | 16| Human Cardiac Infection – Cross section| Cardiovascular system | Heart | Decrease function of heart developing heart failure and valve dysfunction | Bacterial endocarditis an infection of the heart valves or the heart’s inner lining endocardium| Cross section | Wrights| http://pathmicro. ed. sc. edu| 448Ãâ€"350 pixels | | 17| Human Cardiac muscle – Interacted Discs| Cardiovascular system | Striated Smooth Muscle | Intercalated discs (IDs) are complex adhering structures which connect single cardiac myo cytes| Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy, ARVC| CS| DM| http://www. 1cro. com/Discovery/cardiacmus. gif| 308Ãâ€"153 pixels | | How to cite Tissue Specimen, Essay examples

Facing The Shortage Of Healthcare Workers †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Facing The Shortage Of Healthcare Workers. Answer: Introduction According to the global report of the United Nations World Health Organization, the entire world will be facing the shortage of healthcare workers and the implications will be dangerous for the global society (United Nations, 2017). The Organization estimated that the number of staff shortage would increase up to 12.9 million from the current data of 7.2 million worldwide. While the developed world is estimated to loss its 40% of nursing staff, developing countries will be facing shortage of infrastructures to train and develop trained healthcare staffs to combat the situation. The UN report addressed few of the implications to address this staff shorting innursing profession and determined that remuneration differences, gender disparities and violence are the prime reasons for this situation (United Nations, 2017). The primary aim of this report is to address this important issue and provide a brief idea of this situation in Malaysian context while focusing on the global concern. Further, the reason for this situation, its effects with Malaysian stats and governmental steps to overcome the situation will be discussed. Finally, the report will point out few recommendations that should be implemented to overcome this crisis. Reasons for nursing staffs shortage There are certain factors that accounts for theshortage of nursing staffs in the health care industry. The inability of thenursing schools in increasing the enrollment due to the lack of nursing faculty. Nursing faculty shortage can be due to certain facts like low salary structures of the educators in comparison to the clinicians, Age delayed trajectory of nurses who are obtaining higher levels of education, retirement of a large number of currently employed nurses (McDermid et al., 2012). Acuity in the clinical settings due to the reducing average length of the stay. New technologies are facilitating fast assessment, treatment and discharge (McDermid et al., 2012). Aging population and the ageing work force. A high percentage of the baby boomers will be reaching the retirement age which their intensifying needs of health care (Wang et al., 2012). Again a huge number of nursing workforces have currently reached the retirement age. As stated by the National Council of the State boards of nursing, about 50 % of the RN is older, predicting more shortage of nurses in the near future (McDermid et al., 2012). Work environment and work load is another key reason for shortage of nurse staffing. Due to the increasing cost of the health care, many hospitals have been forced to lessen the staffing and have also implemented compulsory overtime policies in order to cope up with the increased work load and cost (Chan et al., 2013). The overtime policies are mainly to ensure that the nurses would be available to work overtime at the time of rush. Gender discrimination is also one of the reasons for the shortage in nursing. Females are mainly associated with the profession of nursing other than the male as nursing is more like as extension of their major work role. Hence majority of the male are not opting for this job (Chan et al., 2013). Nurses are often falling prey to the violence in hospitals due to public outrage (Algwaiz Alghanim, 2012). Malaysia is facing a shortage of nurses as many colleges that offered nursing training have been closed down. A drop in the loans sanctioned by the National Higher Education fund Corporation (PTPTN) has also contributed to the nursing shortage in Malaysia. Budgets have been cut by the private hospitals and nowadays the students are attracted to more lucrative courses other than nursing (Drake, 2013). Nursing shortage effect on the health care industry The role of a nurse is to helping the patients to address their physical, social, cognitive and emotional and spiritual needs of the patient. The physicians role is only confined to assessing the patient, checking out the vital signs and to decide the treatment regimen, whereas the nurses work alongside the doctors in catering to each and every needs of the patient, from assessing the vital signs to administering of the medicines (Wyte-Lake et al., 2013). Nurses often play roles of a patient advocate in a multidisciplinary team, where they have to take crucial decisions for example in case of terminally ill patients. Hence, shortage of nursing staffs may bring about genuine problems in the growing world of the health care consumers (Chan et al., 2013). The shortage of nurses reflects the fundamental alterations in the demography of the populations, work attitudes and career expectations. Shortage of staffing in nursing had become a prime problem all over the world. Gone are the days with high vacancy rates, but the current shortage of staffing is different. Nurse staffing is mainly measured in one of the two ways: - Nursing hours per patient per day and the nurse to patient ratio (Drake, 2013). Due to the shortage of the nursing staffs, the roistered nurses have to work for long hours under stressful conditions, which ultimately results in fatigue, lack of concentration and job dissatisfaction. This may lead to medical errors, emergency room overcrowding and increasing mortality (Beh Loo, 2012). Nurse staffing in hospitals is a major concern as it can impact on the patient safety and the quality of care. One of the indicators of the quality of care is the nursing sensitive outcomes. A broad amount of evidence based researches have been able to find the association between adverse patients outcomes and low nurse staffing. As stated by McDermid et al., (2012), hospitals having high Registered nurse staffing have had lower rates of adverse patient outcomes such as Pneumonia, Urinary tract infections, shock, upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hospital stay. Malaysian Context and governmental steps As the Malaysian population is gradually heading towards aging, there is a slowdown in the enrollment process in the nursing colleges. As per the leading newspaper MIMS News (2017), there are only 3000 nursing students graduated in the year 2017 and maximum of them headed abroad for better remuneration and work prospect. IN Malaysia, according to the UN report, nurse to individual ratio is 1:200 and in near future, if Malaysia fails to train 130,000 nurses, it will face a tremendous staff shortage by the year 2020. As per the World Health Organizations guidelines, there should be 2.5 nurses assisting a doctor, however in Malaysia, there are 2.10 nurses currently assisting a doctor that determines the staff shortage in Malaysia (Ministry Of Health Malaysia, 2018). To overcome the problem, the Malaysian government is constructing allied health science colleges to increase the ratio of graduating nursing students. Further, the government is focusing on improving the socio-economic status of individuals so that remuneration can be improved (Nursing World, 2017). Recommendations The first issue that the nursing world is facing nowadays is the disparity in remuneration. According to the Forbes (2013), nurses are facing disparities in case of remuneration worldwide and therefore the first thing that need to be fixed for the long as well as short-term effect is the compensation. Increased funding for their education, addressing work place related problems sincerely can rebuild the trust of these professional. The global nursing society should take necessary steps to unite all the nursing organizations and recruit students so that the image of the nursing profession can be enhanced (United nations, 2017). The healthcare organization should value their nurses and provide them with new skill training so that their scope of promotion can be improved. Furthermore, the governments of nations that are facing nursing staff shortage should regulate their policies and regulations so that retention of nursing staff becomes easier (Nursing World, 2017). Conclusion Shortage of nursing staff is the biggest concern of this decade as lack in healthcare and safety in people can lead to severe disease outbreaks. The UN report also indicated towards this concern and determined that if governments did not focus on this aspect, by 20935, it will be one of the biggest issues of the world, as 12.7 million staff shortage will be faced. Therefore, the governments should focus on different reasons that leads to this situation such as remuneration gap, gender disparities, ageing of staff, and decreasing staff values. Further, the governments should implement the proposed recommendations in the service so that the situation can be avoided or solved. References Algwaiz, W. M., Alghanim, S. A. (2012). Violence exposure among health care professionals in Saudi public hospitals. A preliminary investigation. Saudi medical journal, 33(1), 76-82. Beh, L. S., Loo, L. H. (2012). Job stress and coping mechanisms among nursing staff in public health services. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(7), 131. Chan, Z. C., Tam, W. S., Lung, M. K., Wong, W. Y., Chau, C. W. (2013). A systematic literature review of nurse shortage and the intention to leave. Journal of nursing management, 21(4), 605-613. Drake, R. (2013). Nursing workforce planning: insights from seven Malaysian hospitals. British Journal of Nursing, 22(2), 95-100. Forbes. (2013).Are U.S. Doctors Paid Too Much?.Forbes.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018, fromhttps://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/05/28/are-u-s-doctors-paid-too-much/refURL=https://www.google.co.in/referrer=https://www.google.co.in/ McDermid, F., Peters, K., Jackson, D., Daly, J. (2012). Factors contributing to the shortage of nurse faculty: A review of the literature. Nurse Education Today, 32(5), 565-569. MIMS News. (2017).Malaysia to face a nursing shortage by 2020.MIMS News. Retrieved 2018, from https://today.mims.com/malaysia-to-face-a-nursing-shortage-by-2020 Ministry Of Health Malaysia. (2018).Official Portal for Ministry of Health MalaysiaMOH History.Moh.gov.my. Retrieved from https://www.moh.gov.my/english.php/pages/view/532 Nursing World. (2017).The Nursing Shortage: Solutions for the Short and Long Term.Nursingworld.org. Retrieved 5 February 2018, from https://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume62001/No1Jan01/NursingShortageSolutions.html United Nations. (2017).UN News - Global shortage of health workers expected to keep growing, UN agency warns.UN News Service Section. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46467#.WngKVnzhXIV Wang, Y., Chang, Y., Fu, J., Wang, L. (2012). Work-family conflict and burnout among Chinese female nurses: the mediating effect of psychological capital. BMC public health, 12(1), 915 Wyte-Lake, T., Tran, K., Bowman, C. C., Needleman, J., Dobalian, A. (2013). A systematic review of strategies to address the clinical nursing faculty shortage. Journal of Nursing Education, 52(5), 245-252.

An Excerpt from Classic Monologue Oedipus the King

An Excerpt from Classic Monologue Oedipus the King This Greek tragedy by Sophocles is based on the ancient legend of a fallen hero.  The story has several interchangeable names including  Oedipus  Tyrannus, Oedipus Rex, or the classic,  Oedipus the King.  First performed around 429 BC, the plot unfolds as a murder mystery and political thriller that refuses to reveal the truth until the end of the play. The Mythic Tragedy Although it was crafted thousands of years ago, the story of Oedipus Rex still shocks and fascinates readers and audience members alike. In the story, Oedipus rules over the kingdom of Thebes, yet all is not well. Throughout the land, there is famine and plague, and the gods are angry. Oedipus vows to find out the source of the curse. Unfortunately, it turns out that he is the abomination. Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta and unknowingly marries his mother, who he ends up having four children with. In the end, it turns out that Oedipus has also murdered his father. All of this, of course, was unbeknownst to him. When Oedipus discovers the truth of his actions, he is wrought with horror and self-loathing. In this monologue, he has blinded himself after witnessing his wife’s suicide. He now devotes himself to his own punishment and plans to walk the earth as an outcast until the end of his days. What Readers Can Take Away from Oedipus the King The significance of the story surrounds the character development around Oedipus as a tragic hero. The suffering he endures as he goes on his journey in search for the truth is different from his counterparts who have killed themselves, like Antigone and Othello.  The story can also be seen as a narrative around family ideals about a  son who is competing with his father for his mothers attention. The ideals set by Greek society are challenged by the Oedipus character. For example, his personality characteristics such as  stubbornness and anger are not that of the idealized Greek man.  Of course, the theme around fate is central as the gods have willed it toward Oedipus. It is only until he is king of the land that he learns about his dark past. Although he was a model king and citizen, his complexity allows him to be labeled as a tragic hero. An Excerpt of the Classic Monologue from Oedipus the King The following excerpt from Oedipus is reprinted from Greek Dramas. I care not for thy counsel or thy praise;For with what eyes could I have eer beheldMy honoured father in the shades below,Or my unhappy mother, both destroyedBy me? This punishment is worse than death,And so it should be. Sweet had been the sightOf my dear childrenthem I could have wishedTo gaze upon; but I must never seeOr them, or this fair city, or the palaceWhere I was born. Deprived of every blissBy my own lips, which doomed to banishmentThe murderer of Laius, and expelledThe impious wretch, by gods and men accursed:Could I behold them after this? Oh no!Would I could now with equal ease removeMy hearing too, be deaf as well as blind,And from another entrance shut out woe!To want our senses, in the hour of ill,Is comfort to the wretched. O Cithaeron!Why didst thou eer receive me, or received,Why not destroy, that men might never knowWho gave me birth? O Polybus! O Corinth!And thou, long time believed my fathers palace,Oh! what a foul disgrace to human natureDidst thou receive ben eath a princes form!Impious myself, and from an impious race.Where is my splendor now? O Daulian path!The shady forest, and the narrow passWhere three ways meet, who drank a fathers bloodShed by these hands, do you not still rememberThe horrid deed, and what, when here I came,Followed more dreadful? Fatal nuptials, youProduced me, you returned me to the wombThat bare me; thence relations horribleOf fathers, sons, and brothers came; of wives,Sisters, and mothers, sad alliance! allThat man holds impious and detestable.But what in act is vile the modest tongueShould never name. Bury me, hide me, friends,From every eye; destroy me, cast me forthTo the wide oceanlet me perish there:Do anything to shake off hated life.Seize me; approach, my friendsyou need not fear,Polluted though I am, to touch me; noneShall suffer for my crimes but I alone. Source: Greek Dramas. Ed. Bernadotte Perrin. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1904

The literature about the determinants of dividend policy discussed in the previous section is collected from various empirical researches based on different conditions. The WritePass Journal

The literature about the determinants of dividend policy discussed in the previous section is collected from various empirical researches based on different conditions. Introduction The literature about the determinants of dividend policy discussed in the previous section is collected from various empirical researches based on different conditions. IntroductionConclusionRelated Introduction The literature about the determinants of dividend policy discussed in the previous section is collected from various empirical researches based on different conditions. Some of the results are gleaned from surveys by directly asking the managers‘ view towards dividend policy; some are gleaned from statistical analysis by observing the companies‘ financial data; others are just a theoretically deductive process conducted by academicians. Therefore, it is necessary to find out that whether those determinants gained from the empirical literature can work properly in Financial Service industry in UK market. Thus, 9 hypotheses with respect to each of the determinants have been raised. H1: All else equal, dividend policy relies upon firm’s earnings power. This paper expects that more profitable firms should pay more dividends in UK stock market. Firms with high profitability have the capacity to provide large cash flow. Therefore, there is no need to worry whether the fi rms have enough cash flow to payout dividends even if a lot of cash flow is used to finance new investments. Thus, it can be hypothesized that profitability has a positive relationship with dividend payouts. As a proxy, the level of firms‘ profitability can be measured by the return on assets (ROA). H2: All else equal, dividends signals future earnings growth. This paper expects that low dividend payments will predict a high earning growth in UK market. Dividends act as a signaling mechanism under the imperfect market situation, where information asymmetry exists between managers and investors. Managers often process and trade on information about firm‘s future earning fluctuation through dividend payments. Therefore, any change in dividend policy will be interpreted as a change in management‘s expectation of future earnings. Under the circumstance oflimited cash flow, more investment opportunities actually mean high future earnings growth, but in the same time, will reduce the free internal cash flow available for dividend payments. Therefore, it can be hypothesized a negative relationship between dividend payouts and future earnings growth. Annual rate of growth of earnings per share (GROWTH) is commonly used as a proxy for firms‘ earning growth. H3: All else equal, dividend and debt are direct substitutes. This paper expects that the level of risk will be negatively related to dividend payments in UK market. Fir ms with high debt ratios are more likely to pay a lower level of dividends, because they have already pre-committed their cash flows to make debt payments and to avoid borrowing more capital. Thus, high leveraged firms do not have sufficient cash flow to afford high dividend payment, and reflect a negative relationship. Firms‘ leverage ratio (LEV) is used to represent risk in statistical analysis. H4: All else equal, past dividend have influence on current dividend policy. This paper expects a positive relationship between past dividend and dividend payouts in UK market. The signaling function of dividend payments suggests that any change in dividend policy reflects changes in the managers‘ prediction of firms‘ prospects. In addition, both the market and the firms prefer certain degree of continuity in dividend payments. Therefore, past dividend payments is essential in the decision making of future dividends. Lintner‘s partial adjustment model and target pay out ratio present a positive relationship between the two variables. As a proxy for continuity of dividends, past dividend (PD) can be used and a positive relationship can be expected from the result. H5: All else equal, liquidity/ cash flow is the fundamental element in dividend paying. This paper expect dividend payments positively correlated with firms’ cash flow in UKmarket. Sometimes, the concepts of cash flow and profit is two different things. The former is the free cash flow in the companies available for companies operating and investing activities, the later means the current earnings of the firm. The empirical experience tell us that even companies with negative earnings pay dividend to shareholders to maintain a stable dividend payments, and transfer the information of temporary losses to the public. In that case, only the free cash flow of the companies matters when dividends are distributed to shareholders. A poor liquidity position means less generous dividends due to shortage of cash. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that firms with high cash flows have the tendency to allocate more to paying dividends. The variable used is the cash flow per share (CFPS) an d it should have a positive impact on dividend payout ratios. H6: All else equal, larger firms distribute larger dividends. This paper expects that dividend payments will be positively associated with size of the firm in UK market. In the imperfect capital market, where the investors and firms cannot borrow at the same cost, larger firms should have easier access to external funds and can borrow at a cheaper rate than small firms can. In addition, being more competitive than smaller firms are, larger firms should have more investment opportunities, and therefore high future earnings growth can be expected. In that case, managers of large firms are more likely to distribute high dividend payments, and convey their positive expectations of the firms‘ prospect. As a common surrogate for size is logarithm of the firms‘ total market value (MV) and it is expected to be positively correlated to dividend payouts. H7: All else equal, dividend payments operates as an information s ignal. This paper expects that firms with greater investment opportunities will pay lesser dividend in UK market. Asymmetry information provides a new insight into the explanation of dividend puzzle. The unequal information barrier of the insiders and outsiders inevitably highlight the importance of dividend payments acting as a medium to convey information for the two parties. Meanwhile, because of the general tendency for stable dividend payouts, any change in dividend policy is recognized as an information exposure of firms‘ prospects. Therefore, rather than distributing more to shareholders, managers are likely to retain more to satisfy the financial needs required by future investment opportunities. Thus, a common proxy for investment opportunities is the market-to-book ratio (MBV) and it is expected to be negatively associated with dividend payouts. H8: Financial crisis has jeopardized the economy on a worldwide basis. This paper expects that financial distress will infl uence dividend policy in service industry in UK market. Happened in the middle of 2007, financial crisis lasted for almost two years, and has brought great damage to global economy. The major victim of financial crisis is global banks and financial institutions. Other industries will be more or less affected by the influence of financial pressure. In the three years of financial crisis, almost all the industries are confronting the increasing requirements of free cash flow. However, during this period, both banks and financial institutions are extremely lack of funds, and therefore, cannot satisfy the financial requirements of the market. As a response to this serious situation, tougher capital constrains resulted in high costs for borrowing from external sources. Therefore, for companies, financial crisis raised the pre-determined cost of debt, and in turn reduce the amount of cash flow for dividend payments. H9: Different industries have different regulations and laws. This paper expects that different industrial classification will result in different dividend policies in UK market. It is generally accepted that firms adjust their dividend policies to suit the particular circumstances facing the industry in which they operate. Like for instance, firms in high growth industries will enjoy many financing discounts from the regulations, therefore, facing more advantages in investing and financing activities. Thus, it is necessary for them to modify their dividend-based strategies in an attempt to maintain more retained earnings for more new investment opportunities. Nevertheless, firms in mature and saturated industries ought to maintain stable dividend payouts rather than to reserve more retained earnings when investment opportunities are limited in their industrial sector. The expectations of this paper and the previous researchers’ attitudes towards the relationship between divid end policy and its determinants can be summarized in the table 1. Conclusion Proxies Variables Expected Literature indicated relationship PR dividend payout policy ROA profitability Positive Positive GROWTH earnings growth Negative Positive or Negative LEV level of risk Negative Negative PD past dividens Positive Positive CFPS liquidity Positive Positive MV firms size Positive Positive MTBV investment opportunities Negative Negative or no relationship.

Comparison of Ingre's 'Grande Odalisque' and Titan's 'Venus of Urbino' Essay

Comparison of Ingre's 'Grande Odalisque' and Titan's 'Venus of Urbino' - Essay Example The depiction of the female nudity in history of art exists in plenty; as does the archetype from which these nudes got styled. Titian and Ingres were deliberated as some of the most significant artists of their time; accredited with being broad - minded and conservative (Gardner 290). Noting the painters and paintings, they stand as genius on their own considering their individual contributions which are monumental to the corresponding movements. Through identifying these works through their separate form content and context, the two works will be compared and contrasted. It remains easy to describe Ingres as a consistent supporter of the Neo - Classical stylishness from his period in David's studio to the mid19th century. Ingres returned to Neo - Classics after having overruled the lessons of David, his teacher, and after having set the foundation for the emotional Romanticism expressiveness, the new style of young Delacroix and Gericault that Ingres would ultimately defend. Ingres' early Romantic penchants can be seen most legendarily in his work â€Å"La Grande Odalisque† painted in 1814. On Ingres’, Grande Odalisque, a languid nude is outlaid in a sumptuous interior. On its first glance this nude appears to follow in the convention of the Venetian masters, for instance, Venus of Urbino (1538) by Titian. However, upon closer scrutiny, it seems that this is not a classical setting. Instead, Ingres has generated a distant eroticism emphasized by its exotic context. This work is full of sensuality, idealization and mystery. The background seems quite undefined with a purported black portion that makes it more attractive. The different shades of bluish clothing and decorations make the picture more striking to the viewer. The woman’s gaze, like Titan’s Venus, is directed straight towards the spectator and the fan made of peacock feathers in her hand looks as if it has just been used. Odalisque position and size gives a deeper meaning although, it is much more than a naked lady staring at the viewer. She reflects her life as a concubine, on her duties . She is believed to have been part of the sultan’s harem, she was there to satiate the lascivious pleasures of the sultan, despite what she may want or feel. She reflects a woman with deep thoughts, complex feelings and emotions (Lewis 328). In the cognizance of a 19th century French male observer, the sort of individual for whom this picture was made from, the odalisque would have made up not only a harem slave, being itself a fallacy, but a set of desires and fears connected to the long aggression history between Islamic Asia and Christian Europe. Certainly, Ingres' porcelain sexuality is acceptable even to a progressively prudish French culture due to its subject's distance. While the Renaissance painter Titan veiled his eroticism in myths, Ingres covered his piece of desire in a murky exoticism. Some art historians suggest that colonial politics played a role too on the work. France was expanding its African and Eastern possessions, often brutally at this time (Gardner 4 41). The myth of the barbarian served the French who would then claim a moral authoritative. Incidentally, on clear look, anyone can notice something "wrong" with the figure's anatomy. Titian is deliberated to have been an outstanding Venetian painter of the 16th - century, and the former of the Venetian colorist and painterly tradition. He remains one of the significant figures in the Western art history. Tiziano Vercelli got born in the northern Venice, in 1477. He got trained by both Giorgione and Bellini, and after

Internal Analysis on Mr Empanada Restaurant Research Paper

Internal Analysis on Mr Empanada Restaurant - Research Paper Example Its vision as a restaurant is to exceed all the expectations of its clients while also giving back to the company that has supported it. According to its vision, Mr. Empanada will soon make its special delicacies as well known by the American public as hamburgers and pizza (Mr. Empanada). Product/services Identification The main food products created by the Mr. Empanada restaurant are empanadas. Empanadas are actually fried or baked stuffed pastries. They are a Spanish delicacy that has been adopted in many nations due to their delicious taste. It is believed that the Empanada recipe was originally developed in the Middle East but was carried to Spanish Europe by tourists and travelers. Today, Empanadas can be found in almost all nations of the world; with each culture using its preferred stuffing or altering the recipe to suit local tastes. Customer Identification One of the reasons why Mr. Empanada is so successful is because it puts such a high premium on providing the very best f or its customers (Yang and Fu 117). For example, Mr. Empanada often tries to implement the advice that is given in customer reviews when seeking to improve its services. It views customer feedback as a way through which to gauge the popularity of its products and service with its best customers. VALUE CHAIN OF MR. EMPANADA’S RESTAURANT Inbound Logistics Mr. ... Most of its raw vegetables are procured from fixed suppliers. Mr. Empanada also favors the practice of backward integration to ensure that all unnecessary costs are reduced, and also to make sure that it only uses the best quality of products to produce its foodstuffs. It is necessary for the outfit at Armenia Avenue to have distribution networks that can carry food stuffs ready for preparation to each of Mr. Empanada’s six restaurants based in Florida (Mr. Empanada). The restaurant has enormous warehouses from which food supplies are shipped by truck to the different restaurants around Florida. Every franchise of Mr. Empanada is part of a centralized chain management process; with only the Russian branch which handles its own distribution and warehousing operations. In the past, operations at the Mr. Empanada restaurant were tracked. The restaurants managers would keep an inventory on food objects and utensils, among other things. Everything that was needed for the restaurant to operate on various shifts would be ordered for on the day before from the distribution center. However, changes were made which made it easier to follow the business operations. With the introduction of automation, the various requirements of different franchises are noted and recorded by a computer. The normal routine today is that the distribution center at Armenia Avenue ships the needed items to various franchises by following a regular schedule. This has allowed the restaurant to be able to serve more customers faster and more efficiently. It has also allowed the business to benefit from cost cutting through discounts that it gets from regular supplies when it regularly purchases whole sale products (Partridge). Outbound

Socio-Economic Profile of a Switzerland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Socio-Economic Profile of a Switzerland - Essay Example In the paper, Switzerland’s status regarding Market Economy and Productivity, Purchasing Power Parity and Human Development Index are discussed. Religion is an important social variable that often determines the associated risk factors with a certain form of business. The religious stubbornness of the people of a country might put many constraining factors on the business environment of that country. By December 2010 the population of Switzerland was 7.9 million (. According to a publicly funded study the foundation of religious belief in Switzerland is eroding at a fast pace. 32 percent of Swiss populations are Protestant and 31 percent of them are Catholics; 12 percent are of non-Christian religion and 25 percent does not have any religious beliefs. Forty years ago the scenario was lot different when only one percent of the Swiss population was bereft of any religious belief. In the year 2000, the same figure stood at 11 percent. Language is the most important form of person al communication. Since in business communicating with people is most necessary, hence having a clear knowledge of the official languages of a country before setting foot upon its soil is most important from the business point of view. The four official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. The meaning of body language and etiquette along with corporate culture differs from country to country. Knowing the meaning of the same might make a difference regarding success or failure of a business decision. The Swiss value â€Å"cleanliness, honesty, hard work, and material possessions†. The Switzerland motto is â€Å"Unity, yes; Uniformity, no.† The Swiss people are â€Å"proud of their environment and have a long tradition of freedom. They value sobriety, thrift, tolerance, punctuality and a sense of responsibility.†

Introduction to Synchronization

Introduction to Synchronization Synchronization is a mechanism which helps to use shared memory resources in an operating system. In the current world, most of the computers are multi-tasking computers. So these computers can do more than one process at the same time. And the networking technology is has become one of the most modern and developed technologies in the current worlds. So both these computer and network technologies work together in order to achieve common goals. While working together these technologies have to share resources such as memory at the same time. While sharing memory, there can be many problems. To avoid these problems synchronization mechanisms were implemented. Concurrency As it is mentioned above, operating systems share memory in order to achieve common goals. The data can be shared among two processes in one operating system or two operating systems over a network. However there are sometimes that the shared data can be accessed by only one process at a time. As a real life example, shared bathroom can be taken. A shared bathroom can be used by many people but it can be used by only one person at the time. If someone is using the bathroom, others have to wait until that person to come out. Then the one of the waited people can use the bathroom. Another real life example for this is shared streets or junctions. In shared streets, people can use only one direction at one time. If the shared street is used by any direction, people from other direction have to wait till others to stop using the shared street. Otherwise there can be clashes and a lot of problems. Like these, when the operating systems use shared memory, sometimes only one process can acc ess the data at one time. So this is called concurrency. There must be some mechanisms to avoid this concurrency. In the above given two real life examples, the shared bathroom can use a lock in its door to make sure that only one person is using the bathroom at one time. In the shared streets, traffic lights can be used to make sure that only one direction is using the street and avoid the clashes. Like this, locking and synchronizations are the mechanisms that can be used to avoid concurrency in operating systems. Properties of systems with concurrency There are some properties of the systems with concurrency. Those properties are, multiple actors, shared resources and rules for accessing the resources. In the above given two real life examples, the multiple actors are people and vehicles while the shared resources become bathroom and street. The rules for accessing these shared resources are one person at one time for the bathroom and one direction for one time for the shared streets. When talking about these three properties in relating to the operating systems, it can be explained like this. Here, the multiple actors are processes within the operating system or threads in processes. Shared memory, global variables and shared devices can be taken as the examples for the shared resources property while locking and semaphores techniques become the rules for accessing the shared resources in operating systems. These are the three properties of the systems with concurrency and it helps to understand what the concurrency is. Situations with no risk of concurrency In the current computer technology, there are some situations that there is no risk of concurrency but the shared resources are accessed by more than one processes or threads at the same time. Those situations are as follows, No shared memory or communication :- Here, the processes or threads do not have shared memory or communication. So those processes or threads work only with its private memory. Shared memory with read-only access :- Here, the shared memory can be accessed by one or more processes or threads at the same time. But in this situation, the shared memory is only available for processes or threads to read-only. So the shared memory cannot be modified in this situation. Copy-on-Write (COW) :- Here, the shared memory is accessed by one or more processes or threads at the same time and each process or thread has a separate copy of the shared memory. So each process is accessing its own copy of the shared memory and there is no risk of concurrency. Situation with risk of concurrency As well as the situations with no risk of concurrency, there are some situations with risk of concurrency in the current operating systems. Those situations can be explained as follows, Using of shared memory without any synchronization :- Here, if the shared memory is accessed by more than one processes or threads at the same time without and synchronization (without having any separate copy for each process or threads), there is a risk of concurrency. Any modification to the shared memory :- If the shared memory is accessed by more than one processes or threads, and at least one of the processes or threads makes any changes to the shared memory, then there is a risk of concurrency. These are the situations with risk of concurrency. If one of these happens, then there is a risk of concurrency in the system. If a concurrency is happened, then there may be a lot of problems in the system. And the risk of happening the concurrency is known as race condition. Race condition Under this topic, the race conditions is discussed by using an example. Here, an example of a bank account is taken to discuss the race condition. In this example, there are two peoples and a bank account. Execution of the code of this example as follows, account.balance =  £200; int withdraw (account, amount =  £50){ balance = account.balance; balance -= amount; int deposit (account, amount= £100){ balance = account.balance; balance += amount; account.balance = balance; return balance; } account.balance = balance; return balance; } For this example, the two persons are named as person1 and person2. The code executed by the person1 is coloured with blue colour while the code executed by the person2 is coloured with red colour. This is a sketch of the programme but not coded with any programming language. In the very first line, the balance of the account is set to  £200. The rest of the code is explained as follows, Line 1 :- person1 starts executing the code and calls the withdraw() by giving the account and  £50 of amount as the parameters. Line 2 :- person1 reads the balance from the account class and assigns the value of balance variable in account class to his balance variable in his withdraw(). Line 3 :- person1 modifies the value of the balance variable in his withdraw() by subtracting the value of amount. So the value of the balance variable in his withdraw() becomes  £150. Line 4 :- In this line, the person2 starts executing the code by calling his deposit() by parsing account and  £100 of amount as the parameters. Line 5 :- Here, person2 reads the value of the balance variable in account class and assigns it to the balance variable in his deposit(). Here, still the value of balance variable in account class is  £200 as the person1 has not updated the balance in account class. Line 6 :- Person2 modifies the value of the balance variable by adding the value of amount variable to it. So the value of balance variable in deposit() becomes  £300. Line 7 :- person1 updates the value of the balance variable in the account class as  £150. Line 8 :- person 1 returns the value of the balance variable in withdraw() Line 9 :- person2 updates the value of the balance variable in the account class as  £300 Line 10 :- person2 returns the value of the balance variable in his deposit() After executing this code 2 peoples complete their transactions by leaving the final value of the balance variable in account class as  £300 while the real value of the balance variable in account class has to be  £250. So there is clear error in the final output of the process and this is called as the race condition. Manage concurrency Manage Synchronization means, use synchronization mechanism programs to write rues for control concurrency situations. One of these rules are as follows: Atomicity Atomicity allows one threat to access data to manipulate at a single situation. In another way, will allows no other threats to change data while one is running. This will either will lock the threat is in progress of manipulating the record or let other records to be waiting while one record access record. The other rule is conditional synchronization In this explain threats will be in a particular order to access the record. When threats arrives to access record rule will check the order and add to the queue and let wait until the turn of the threat to access the records. All above access methods will be easy to implement when can identify which is the critical part of the process should allow to access at a time. i.e. When Person A accessing account balance person B not allows to access balance at the same time. If extract further as bellow. 1.int withdraw (account, amount) { 2.int balance = account.balance; 3.balance -= amount; 4.account.balance = balance; 5.return balance; 6.} Line 1: will initialize threat and pass external parameter values into the threat withdraw as account and amount in this situation. Line 2: will declare balance variable locally to retrieve stored account balance from the database for threat to process and pass account balance in the account table account.balance. Line 3: will manipulate balance variable value (in this situation, we will deduct since it is withdrawal) from the amount has been pass form external parameter. -= notation for the deduction. Line 4: will update database with new balance value after withdrawal amount deducted from original balance. balance which is a local variable holding the new balance transfer to the account.balance and update record with new balance value. Line 5: will return new balance value to the screen if necessary Line 6: will terminate the process of withdraw by } There will be no concurrent when two threat access lines 1, 5 and 6. But if any threat try to access lines 2, 3 and 4 will be given incorrect information for one of the threats. Therefore from line 2 to 4 is very critical to let access only for one threat at any given time of the process as explain bellow. int withdraw (account, amount) { int balance = account.balance; balance -= amount;Critical Section account.balance = balance; return balance; } This identified sections will call as a critical section in another word, no other threats will allows to access while one threat is using at any given time because data will be manipulate when access line 2, 3 and 4. Critical section Critical section is set of codes access shared resources and there are several ways of developing critical section such as: Locks, Semaphores, Monitors and Messages. In this report will describe locks and semaphores how behave and how priority will work. Locks in synchronization First method of synchronization is locks. Locking is a very primitive system been used. Lock will lock the threat in the critical section while it is processing the record. Mainly lock has two stats Held and Not Held. At the Held state, one threat is in the critical section and at the Not Held state no threats in the critical section and can prioritised threats to have access. Also locks having two operations Acquire and Release. Which threat will request the lock to be held to access critical section and once threat previously use critical section release the lock acquired thread will get a chance and change the state as held. When threat finish it process in the critical section must release the lock to use by the other threats which are waiting in the queue. Figure The above figure has explain how acquire and release will behave at the critical section access, i.e. threats A, B and C request access permission to critical section at the same time by Acquire operation and threat A will grant access with the lock Held state enable. Once threat complete the process will call release operation to change the lock state to Not Held and lock will change state to Held with threat B and so on will be proceed to complete different threat request at the critical section. By using previous example take a look where to use Acquire and Release operations threat. int withdraw (account, amount) { acquire (lock); // Request lock to held to access critical section int balance = account.balance; balance -= amount;Critical Section account.balance = balance; release (lock); // Release lock after complete critical section access return balance; } With further explanation considering previous withdraw and deposit situation Figure 2. Overcome concurrency situation had occurred while both people access same account balance to manipulate the amount. Figure When implement locks use Boolean variable to check is lock held TRUE or FALSE? Acquire operation will keep other threats in the waiting state while lock held values is TRUE. If lock held VALUE is false, will change to TRUE with requested threat. When the threat completed process in critical section will call release operation and change lock held value as FALSE to make lock available for other threats will show in below construct. First create a global Boolean type variable held values TRUE or FALSE to check is lock holding by a threat or not and by default lock will not hold by any threat and value will be FALSE. structure lock { bool held; // initial value FALSE } Construct acquire by requesting a lock to be held and if lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  held value TRUE request threat will wait in the queue for lock to be released. If lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  held is FALSE and by acquire change value of lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  held to TRUE and take the control of the critical section access. void acquire (lock) { while (lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   held) ; // Hold other threats in the wait queue lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   held = TRUE; // Once get the lock, change lock value to TRUE } Construct release operation simply will change the start of lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  held value to false and allows other threat to access critical section for the next process. void release (lock) { lock à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   held = FALSE; // When complete process in the critical section, change lock value to FALSE } Semaphores in synchronization This is the second method of synchronization. This method is a very basic and powerful mechanism but difficult Implementation method and use blocking threats to access critical section instead of locking threats while using critical section. Semaphores has two operations and they are: wait (semaphore) or P() First of all as soon as threat request access permission P() or wait (semaphore) will decrease the counter values which is 1 by default. Then check is counter value become 0 or signal (semaphore) or V() Once a threat complete process in the critical section will call V() or signal (semaphore) and will increase counter value by 1. i.e. if a P() had decrease counter value 0 while it was in critical section and no other threats can access, but second threat has decreased to -1 while requesting permission to access critical section and waited. Also since second threat is still waiting to get permission it goes to sleep mode, hence V() will wake up threat in a sleep to start it process in critical section explains in Figure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Figure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Figure Readers/Writers synchronization This is another powerful method of synchronization. In this method, the data is accessed by two different ways. Those two ways are, readers and writers. Here, the readers only read files and writers update file contents or data. There are four (4) rules while using the readers/writers synchronization methods and they are as follows, If any reader(s) read the file and no writer is pending, the next reader can read the file without waiting. Writers have to wait till the reader(s) finish reading file. After readers finish reading, writer(s) will can start writing. If any writer is writing to the file, acquiring readers have to wait till writer finish writing. If one writer is writing to the file and if both readers and writers are waiting, at this situation priority will be given for writers who are waiting. Therefore readers will wait till all writers to compete writing and then readers will start reading. So readers can read most updated file. Future trends of synchronization In the current situation, locks and semaphores are widely used in order to prevent the concurrency. So it is very important to deal with the codes in critical section as otherwise there will be a lot of problems with the reliability of information systems. However using of systems with the locks are not time efficiency. So in the current situation of the computer technology, there is a trend of implementing lock free systems. According to the previous example of shared street, the shared street has to be controlled by using traffic lights. So on the shared streets, only one direction is allowed at one time. So the other directions are blocked at the same time. But there is a technique that does not need of using any traffic lights on the shared street. Here, fly over technique can be used and avoid blocking the directions. So all the directions on the shared street can be used at once without having any problem. But here, this technique may has some more waiting time as the length of the street can be increased while using fly over technique. Like in this example, lock free systems can be implemented in information systems. Semaphore method can be taken as an example for lock free system. But here as well, the processes have to wait sometimes as in the give example of fly over technique on shared streets. The weakness of this method is that lock free and wait free features cannot be implemented in the same information system. So only one of these methods (lock free or wait free) can be implemented in information system.

Increase in Tuition :: Education Argumentative Papers

Increase in Tuition Dear ISU Cyclone Family Member, Would you like to save yourself $300 to $900 every six months for four years? Maybe go treat yourself to something nice each month or save up and give yourself a big treat at the end of four years? Would you like to see ISU continue with low priced high quality education? These two things will be intangible if you turn and look the other way on this issue. This week Iowa State is hosting the Board of Regents in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. The Board of Regents will be meeting to discuss and vote on an increase in tuition beginning the 2001, fall semester. A 9.9% increase is on the floor. This increase would put a heavy drain on all present and future ISU students financially. It is critical that this 9.9% increase be struck down. The citizens of Iowa should not have to pay another increase. This enormous percentage is too much to ask. The Government Student Body (GSB) has developed a proposal that will increase tuition, but does not increase tuition at such a drastic increase. (See enclosed sheet for more information.) GSB and other Iowa State students and family are asking you to join them at the Board of Regents meetings to express our dissatisfaction in this possible increase. The dates for these meetings are: Wednesday, October 18 And Thursday, October 19 From 9 am to noon The more representation, the better the chance of the 9.9% tuition increase being denied. Come defend and protect yourself from a tuition increase that is extreme, too expensive, and too high. Enclosed is an information sheet on the tuition increase to inform you of what is really going on and why. Sincerely, Jeanine Farnen Tuition Increase Informational Sheet Do you have $300 to $900 extra to give away? The Board of Regents thinks you do! The proposed tuition increase at Iowa State is out on the table. The increase would be 9.9%, or an extra $300 dollars per semester for in-state students, and $900 additional for out of state students (Iowa State Daily-Opinion). For a student getting their undergraduate degree at ISU that is an additional $2400 for in-state students during their four years at Iowa State; and that is an additional $7200 for out of state students during their for years. Last October the regents approved a 4.3% increase in Iowa tuition. Why another increase? The urgent need for the tuition increase is due to a cut in funding to the Regent Universities from the Iowa State Legislature.

Letter From Friends Essay

We arrived at our destination a few days back, you might have heard of it. It’s that ranch near Soledad, I think u worked about 5 mile south of here a few months back. Lennie and me are doing alright, we’re working hard and saving money. Lennie still big stupid and low most probable the way you remember him, you know him. Hr still wants to stroke and pet those stupid rabbits. Cos of that he got us kicked out of weed. All the dumb bastard wanted to do was feel that little girls dress. We had to hide in a ditch for a few hours, but luckily we slicked out at night. We travelled for days looking for work until I found out this one This ranch we’re working at is okay, but I have my worries about some people. My main worry is that tart of a wife Curley has, whenever she around us men she loves flirt. So when Curley see this he goes mad and try to pick a fight like he did with Lennie but Lennie busted his hand, but any way likes to fight over nothing. So we told him if tell the boss what happen we would tell everyone what Lennie had done to his hand. We met lots of people. I have already told you about Curley and his tart of a wife. There’s the boss who is no too pleased with us cos we came late and there’s Slim who everyone respects. There’s also Candy with his dog who is not like everyone cos it’s old and smelly, but especial by a man called Carlson who today killed the dog by shooting it. And there’s that good Negro Crooks who is called Crooks cos he got kicked by horse and it made him cripple. Our bunkhouse is bull crap cos the bed bad. I suppose it better then sleeping on the floor. But the worst thing is that the bottles of insecticides are put in the room. So the room stinks, but it does keep flies away. That fool Curley worries me cos all he want is it fight. He always wants to pick on some for no reason. If it’s not Lennie, it’s me or its some one else he want to pick on. I think if no one stops him or he don’t stop even though Lennie busted his hand. I’ll tell Lennie to kill him, I swear to ya will! Pete do ya remember that dream that we had, it could it could come true cos of that man called. Candy. Me and lennie were talking about the dream and he was listening, then we stared talk about the dream with him. So candy wants to be apart of it. His even got $450 dollars and he said he will put it towards the ranch. So I said ok. It will be so great not having a boss to tell ya to work or out of his ranch. Do ya remember about that promise we made to each other. That one where, if one of us got a ranch the other would work on it. So I’m going to keep my promise and ask you to come work on this ranch if we get it. Lennie wants to say hello. He just reminded. O yea did I tell ya Lennie going to get a puppy of that man, Slim. Write back please. Hope to hear from u soon!

15 Things You Should Never Say at Work

15 Things You Should Never Say at Work Ever wonder what sets successful people apart in the workplace? They always seem to stand head and shoulders above the fray. Part of that is class and style. And part of that is knowing what to say, when to say it, and- more importantly- what not to say. Here’s a list of 15  things  you should  never say  in the workplace.1. Anything that remotely seems like gossipGossip is no good. It takes your focus and energy off doing your best work and can also be seen as petty and vindictive. Keep your eyes on your own desk and life and watch your social capital rise.2. Anything that seems like an excuseIf you can’t do something, don’t offer. And constant apologizing for being late or disrupting meetings? That only draws attention to the fact that you screwed up in the first place. Instead, don’t screw up. Make it a personal policy never to be late.3. â€Å"No†Successful people are a little bit fearless, and a lot ambitious. They may not always make g uarantees, but they don’t immediately say â€Å"no† either. Try, fail, try harder. Fail, fail better. Succeed.4. Complaints about the systemIf you’re bumping up against the work system and it’s curbing your style and your potential, ask yourself first if that particular obstacle is there for good. If it is, put your brain into figuring out how to work around it. If it isn’t, try to change it. Complaints won’t help in either case.5. Complaints about workloadMore work = more achievement = more success. Never complain about how much work you have. Get it done, then ask for more. And do it because it is a joy to do it, and to set yourself apart.6. Personal stuffSuccessful people keep work talk on work. It’s less complicated and more productive. And they can remain a bit of a mystery.7. Anything that makes you seem negativeDon’t be mean to your colleagues. Don’t tease them. Don’t be petty. Don’t engage in gossip . Keep your head above the fray and be nice to your colleagues and underlings. Avoid controversy. Keep your good name squeaky clean.8. Money stuffNever brag about your salary. And don’t show off your fancy toys. Stick to encouraging equal footing among your colleagues, and value talent, productivity, and hard work. Keep talk of money out of your office entirely.9. Your goalsSuccessful people rarely broadcast their goals. It not only adds to the pressure on them to achieve them, it keeps them from unnecessary scrutiny. And when they do succeed, the degree of their accomplishment gets to take people by surprise.10. â€Å"Me, me, me†¦and more about me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ The best way to win people over is not to constantly talk about yourself. Listen and show genuine interest in your coworkers. Win hearts subtly and be genuine. It’s not all about you.11. â€Å"I might just give up†Successful people don’t even consider giving up. They think outside the box and find another way. But if they do consider it, they’d never say it out loud. Not even to themselves. Devote your energy to finding solutions.12. â€Å"I know enough†Successful people never say no to a learning opportunity. And they don’t feel bashful about admitting what they don’t know and allowing someone to teach them. A strong desire to learn is what keeps successful people on top of their personal wave.13. â€Å"I can’t help†Successful people aren’t ashamed to ask for help when they need it. And they always try to help someone out when they are asked for help. This is a great networking strategy as well.14.  Anything just for the sake of kissing up to someonePleasing other people should never be your motive. Be excellent. Be genuine. Win people over with your best qualities, not some idea of what you think they want to hear. And avoid trying to take shortcuts or sweeten up the boss by any other means. That’s transparent and won’t reflect well on you.15. Offensive jokesOffensive comments are wrong, but so are offensive jokes. Something offensive said in jest is still offensive. Don’t be rude. Be sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. And keep control of your emotions; that will keep you above the fray.

Top 4 Skills That Will Make You Eternally Employable

Top 4 Skills That Will Make You Eternally Employable There seem to be four things that set people apart from their peers throughout the course of their careers. Most job success comes from constant development of yourself as an employee and also as a leader. To help yourself along this path, it’s always a good idea first to assess your strengths and career personality. Once you have a good sense of your strengths, you’ll be able to take on greater responsibility, identify and correct your weaknesses, and take the risks that will help you grow in your life and your career. You’ll be able to work to develop the key traits of courage, authenticity, and humility. You’ll learn to be confident, not arrogant. And you’ll find yourself getting rewarded and recognized for the good work you’re doing.There are four core skills that will make you eternally employable:Executing, or  making things happen. Sure, everyone can have great ideas, but do you have the drive and energy to get it done?Influencing, o r reaching a broader audience for yourself and as a team. Do you have the personal skills to reach out and hype people up in order to make a change or complete a project in the best way possible?Relationship Building, or networking and holding your team together. Companies are looking for people who they don’t have to worry about. Are you good in a group? Do you have the ability to assess who is good at what tasks, and then motivate them to get the job done?Strategic Thinking, or looking to the future and always thinking about possibilities. All companies want to grow. If you want to get hired, it’s up to you to prove you have the ideas and creativity to take the current level and kick it up a notch (or two).These four strength categories cover a wide range of smaller strengths, but can be extremely useful in developing your self in your career. Remember, people can and do succeed with two out of four. But great leaders are strong on all four fronts. Try working to bui ld each category up as often as you can and see what a difference it can make in your life and on the job.

The Breakup of the Eurozone is inevitable within the next five years Essay

The Breakup of the Eurozone is inevitable within the next five years. Discuss - Essay Example Countries in the Euro zone are restrained from pursuing their self- interest by mutually respecting each other’s sovereignty and independence rights. However, Euro zone must adhered to EMU operating principles. Good governance must be practice at all transactions to avoid future crisis2. January 1, 1999 saw the official launch of the Economic and Monitory Union (EMU). On that day, eleven European countries joined the EMU and five more followed suit years later. Now, EMU is comprised of sixteen member European countries. The first to join were Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Spain. Greece followed in 2001, then Slovenia in 2007 while Cyprus and Malta joined in 2008. The last to join was Slovakia in 2009. EMU countries adopted Euro as a single currency for transaction purposes. The chief reasons that lead to EMU were mainly to stabilize prices, macroeconomic environment, banking system, financial markets as well as increase trade competitiveness and boost flexibility in the member countries3. Before and after the official launch, different people had different views concerning the sustainability of the Euro Zone especially on areas of viability and desirability. Supporters of EMU claimed that commo n currency has the potential to improve trade, attract more foreign direct investment, stabilize wages and enhance business strategies of member countries. On the contrary, they are opponents who predict that Euro zone is heading for a disaster4. They pegged their arguments on the premise that countries in the Euro Zone are diverse and put individual interest forward at the expense of the EMU. There are benefits and costs associated with Economic and Monitory Union. If costs are more than benefits, EMU may not survive in future and if vice versa, union will endure the test of time. The first advantage is that common currency reduces costs

Updating Computer Operating System Research Paper

Updating Computer Operating System - Research Paper Example Upgrading computer operating system means adding the latest versions of computer programs to run the computer with more speed. It includes updating in software and in hardware of the system. Updating in software system means to install advanced enhancements over old versions, whereas an upgraded hard drive enables the computer system to perform in a better way (Wempen, 2002). It is important for every user to maintain and upgrade the personal computer. Computer upgrading process analysis approach includes the following steps: 1. Arranging: Arrange a back-up for all important records to any other hard disk. It is important because if a problem occurs during the upgrading process, there is a risk of losing some or all data of the computer. Defragmentation of the hard disk is another important task because it helps the computer to read fragmented files more efficiently which are located in different areas. These files can slow down the speed of computer functions (Thompson & Thompson, 2 006 ). In order to install a new operating system, a new folder should be made. Until you are sure that everything is working perfectly on the new operating system preserve your whole data of computer into another windows directory.

JPMorgan Chase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

JPMorgan Chase - Essay Example comparing with the laws existing or the existing banks’ policies and in case of any fraud, they take the financial institutions in court with enough evidence to prosecute. A valid contract has four major elements as explained by (Meiners, Ringleb and Edwards, 2014). The first of these elements is the offer and acceptance by both parties involved in the contract. An offer is made to the consumer who then accepts it. This is followed by intention to create legal relations which are carried out in order to ensure that the contract will be declared legally binding in which case both parties have to fulfill and abide by it. This is conducted with the presence of a witness orally or even with writing. After these two elements comes the considerations where the actual contract terms are discussed and negotiated. These include terms such as payments or any financial obligations involved or even the duration of the contract. Lastly is the signing of the contract and sealing the deal. The signing or completion of the deal through handshake should not be carried out under duress, undue influence or even under false statements which is what the fraudulent banks d o. Each party of the contract is supposed to honor their contract and not intentionally breach it as it will not only invalidate the contract but will destroy the relationship with the contracting party and this is not fair. Intentional tort actions according to (Meiners, Ringleb and Edwards, 2014) are the actions which are done by people will the desire or sole purpose to harm them. These actions are wrongful and are committed by these people consciously. The individual carrying out these wrongful actions that harm are fully aware of the consequences of his or her action as they are purposeful but does not to stop them from happening. On the other hand, negligence tort actions are those actions that are committed through the failure of individuals to be responsible enough and do the correct actions they were

Biochemistry perspective Essay Example for Free

Biochemistry perspective Essay Diabetes is an ailment which is caused due to high amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. The main reason for high glucose levels in blood is due to the inability of body to utilize it properly. Glucose comes from the digestion of sugar and foods rich in carbohydrates that enable the liver to create glucose. The high concentration level of glucose in blood is termed as Hyperglycemia. In 1910, Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer suggested people with diabetes were deficient in a single chemical that was normally produced by the pancreas. He proposed calling this substance insulin. The term is derived from the Latin insula, meaning island, in reference to the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas that produce insulin. (Patlak, 2002) Insulin: An Introduction Insulin is a polypeptide containing 51 amino acids arranged in two chains. The chain A contains 21 amino acids and chain B contains 30 residues. These two chains are cross linked by two sulphur bridges by cysteine residues. Insulin is formed by proteolytic cleavage of its 84 amino acid prescursor Proinsulin. Insulin has a molecular weight of 5808 Da. It has the molecular formula C257H383N65O77S6. Insulin structure varies slightly between species. Its carbohydrate metabolism regulatory function strength in humans also varies. Porcine which is pig insulin is close to humans. The image above is computer-generated image of insulin hexamers. The zinc ions holding it together and the histidine residues are involved in zinc binding. Insulin Action A pharmacological action of insulin includes carbohydrate metabolism, protein metabolism, lipid metabolism and other actions. Insulin increases the use of sugar in the tissue and stimulates transportation of glucose into the cells. Insulin also stimulates protein synthesis and growth. It increases synthesis of messenger RNA and decreases gluconeogenesis. A gluconeogenesis is a formation of glucose from glycogen. It also increases amino acid uptake in the muscle. In adipose tissues, insulin increases fatty acid synthesis, glycerol phosphate synthesis and triglyceride deposition. Other action of insulin includes prevention of ketone boy formation and increases potassium uptake. After the release of insulin from the pancreatic beta cell into the interstitial compartment, it enters the circulation after crossing endothelial barrier. Insulin action effect at the cellular level is achieved by activating and suppressing the activity of enzyme. It can also be achieved by changing the rate of synthesis of enzymes at the level of transcription and translation. Insulin stimulate glucose uptake into fat cells by glucose transporters. Glucose transporters are small vesicles which contain specific protein macromolecules. Insulin increases the rate of fusion of these vesicles with the plasma membrane, and activates the transporters to transfer glucose across the plasma membrane into the cell. Insulin synthesize hoxokinase, an enzyme which phosporylates glucose as soon as it enters the cell. Insulin is an anabolic hormone. It encourages the storage of fats and the synthesis of proteins. Each receptor of insulin contain a pair of alpha subunits, which are located on the outer surface of the membrane, and a pair of beta subunits which crosses the membrane and stick out at both the outer and inner surfaces. Both alpha and beta subunits are held together by disulphide (S-S) bonds to form an aggregate. In humans, the insulin receptor gene is located on chromosome 19. Insulin binds to the receptor at a specific site on the alpha subunit. This causes increased phosphorylation of the receptor by ATP, mostly tyrosine residues of the intracellular portion of the beta subunit. Increased phophorylation of these tyrosine residues activates the beta subunit to function as a kinase enzyme. Some intracellular effects of insulin that occur after insulin-receptor binding may be mediate through nucleotide regulatory proteins (G proteins) a family of proteins associated with the inner surface of the plasma membrane. Cyclic AMP also has some intracellular effects of insulin. The major function of insulin is to counter the concerted action of a number of hyperglycemia-generating hormones and to maintain low blood glucose levels. Because there are numerous hyperglycemic hormones, untreated disorders associated with insulin generally lead to severe hyperglycemia and shortened life span. In addition to its role in regulating glucose metabolism, insulin stimulates lipogenesis, diminishes lipolysis, and increases amino acid transport into cells. Insulin also modulates transcription, altering the cell content of numerous mRNAs. It stimulates growth, DNA synthesis, and cell replication, effects that it holds in common with the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and relaxin. Specific protease activity cleaves the center third of the molecule, which dissociates as C peptide, leaving the amino terminal B peptide disulfide bonded to the carboxy terminal A peptide. Insulin secretion from beta cells is principally regulated by plasma glucose levels. Increased uptake of glucose by pancreatic b-cells leads to a concomitant increase in metabolism. The increase in metabolism leads to an elevation in the ATP/ADP ratio. This in turn leads to an inhibition of an ATP-sensitive K+ channel. The net result is a depolarization of the cell leading to Ca2+ influx and insulin secretion. In fact, the role of K+ channels in insulin secretion presents a viable therapeutic target for treating hyperglycemia due to insulin insufficiency. Insulin, secreted by the beta-cells of the pancreas, is directly infused via the portal vein to the liver, where it exerts profound metabolic effects. These effects are the response of the activation of the insulin receptor which belongs to the class of cell surface receptors that exhibit intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity as shown in the figure. Insulin produces its action through specific insulin receptors which consist of two subunits ? and ?. Insulin receptor complex then initiates a chain of biochemical reaction involving cAMP, protein phosphorylase, protein kinase, phosphatase and lipase. A diabetic condition result when receptor of insulin is desensitization. Therefore, Insulin is used medically in diabetes mellitus. Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus depend on insulin (commonly injected subcutaneously) for their survival because they make no hormone. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have either low insulin production or insulin resistance or both. Therefore, they require insulin administration when other medications become inadequate in controlling blood glucose levels. Actions of insulin-insulin receptor interactions at the level of IRS1 and activation of the kinase cascade leading to altered activities of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase. The insulin receptor is a heterotetramer of 2 extra cellular alpha-subunits disulfide bonded to 2 transmembrane beta-subunits. With respect to hepatic glucose homeostasis, the effects of insulin receptor activation are specific phosphorylation events that lead to an increase in the storage of glucose with a concomitant decrease in hepatic glucose release to the circulation. Only those responses at the level of glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase are represented. This image shows Insulin-insulin receptor actions on glycogen homeostasis showing the role of protein targeting glycogen, PTG in complex formations involving many of the enzymes and substrates together. Also diagrammed is response of insulin at the level of glucose transport into cells via GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane. GS/GP kinase = glycogen synthase: glycogen phosphorylase kinase. PPI = protein phosphatase inhibitor. Arrows denote either direction of flow or positive effects, T lines represent inhibitory effects. In most nonhepatic tissues, insulin increases glucose uptake by increasing the number of plasma membrane glucose transporters: GLUTs. Glucose transporters are in a continuous state of turnover. Increases in the plasma membrane content of transporters stem from an increase in the rate of recruitment of new transporters into the plasma membrane, deriving from a special pool of preformed transporters localized in the cytoplasm. GLUT1 is present in most tissues, GLUT2 is found in liver and pancreatic b-cells, GLUT3 is in the brain and GLUT4 is found in heart, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. In liver glucose uptake is dramatically increased because of increased activity of the enzymes glucokinase, phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1), and pyruvate kinase (PK), the key regulatory enzymes of glycolysis. Lack of Insulin Usually the inefficiency and lack of insulin are bracketed together, as both situations result in diabetes. There are two types of diabetes, diabetes insipidus and diabetes melitus, which is by far, the most common. Diabetes mellitus in turn has two types: Type 1, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM Type 1 is characterized by decreased productions of insulin so must be treated with insulin. It is most often found in children and adolescents. Type 2, also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes melitus, NIDDM Type 2 is caused by either decreased insulin production or abnormal cell sensitivity to the insulin that is present. It may be treated with diet alone, with oral hypoglycemic agents, or with insulin. It is more commonly diagnosed in adults. (Perspective Press, 240-43) Insulin does not cure diabetes. It is merely a treatment for the diabetes. Over time, many complications can occur in diabetic patients taking insulin. Some of these are coronary heart diseases, peripheral vascular diabetes, eye disorders, renal failure, and limb amputations. Because of reduced circulation and nerve damage, diabetic patients are essentially prone to developing foot ulcers, a major cause of amputations. They are able to feel foot infections, which allow it to grow and cause permanent damage. Proper foot care is essential and includes avoiding injuries oral restricting circulations, cleaning wounds, controlling infections, relieving weight from the ulcer area, and improving circulation. A new genetically engineered drug, becaplermin, promotes the healing process in diabetic foot ulcer. Lack of insulin or ineffectiveness of it may trigger some response from the body. The predominant tissue responding to signals that indicates fluctuating blood glucose levels is the liver. One of the most important functions of the liver is to produce glucose for circulation. Both elevated and reduced levels of blood glucose trigger hormonal responses to initiate pathways designed to restore glucose homeostasis. Low blood glucose triggers release of glucagon from pancreatic Alpha-cells. High blood glucose triggers release of insulin from pancreatic Beta-cells. In elderly people pancreas either fails or does not secrete right amount of insulin. In this patient insulin per injection becomes drug of choice when oral antidiabetics have failed. Insulin was also used to induce shocks in schizophrenics. Insulin secretion is controlled by concentrations circulating glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, various hormones and neuron-transmitter agents. In the fasting state, when glucose concentrations are low, insulin secretion is minimal. As glucose concentrations rise after the utilizing carbohydrates meal the raised glucose concentration stimulates insulin secretion. Insulin resistance develops over time. Therefore, doses have to be increased. This occurs because of the development of insulin antibodies in the blood. This also can be somewhat corrected by changing the type of insulin injection and by giving cortiscosteroids which are immunity suppressant drugs. Yet, it also produces negative effect by increasing blood sugar and this is why they are not used. Types of Insulin There are many types of insulin and many salt forms of it. It can be derived synthetically of from different animal sources such as beef and pork. There is now genetically engineered human insulin available. Different insulin differs in the onset of action and the duration of action. Some are mixed together to achieve a desired effect such as a quick onset but a longer duration of action. The most common mixtures is regular insulin with NPH insulin (70units NPH and 30 units regular insulin per milliliter) The different categories of insulin’s are: 1. Short-acting insulin types: regular insulin (crystalline zinc insulin), semilente insulin (prompt insulin zinc suspension), insulin lipsor; 2. Intermediate acting insulin types: NPH (isophane insulin suspension) and linte insulin (insulin zinc suspension); 3. Long-acting insulin types: PZI (protamine zinc insulin suspension) and ultralente insulin (extended insulin zinc suspension). Administration Insulin is injection instead of giving orally because it is destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract. Also, the molecule is too large to be absorbed by the intestinal membrane. Therefore, injection of soluble crystalline insulin is given by subcutaneous injection which is quickly absorbed. Peak effects of insulin are achieved quickly and also excreted quickly within a few hours. However some insulin such as simelente is absorbed slowly. The peak is reached slowly and is sustained. This type of insulin excretion is also very slow and sometimes partly destroyed by insulinase enzyme in the liver. Controlling glucose level with insulin injections is a complex task since: a) Glucose concentrations fluctuate based on food ingestion. b) Cell sensitivity to insulin changes. Exercise increases sensitivity while stress, pregnancy, and some drug decrease insulin sensitivity. As a result some diabetic patients take multiple injections for a short-acting insulin preparation to produce peaks in insulin concentrations and a long acting formulation to establish a baseline concentration. Variable rate infusion pumps are also used. Patients who use insulin need to be instructed on the rotation method of taking their medication. Insulin is absorbed more rapidly with administration in the arm or thigh, especially with exercise. The abdomen is used for more consistent absorption. Glucose levels should be checked as per physician orders. All insulin must be checked for expiration date and clarity of the solution. Insulin should not be given if it appears cloudy. Vials should not be shaken but rotated in between the hands to mix contents. If regular insulin is to be mixed with NPH or lente insulin, the regular insulin should be drawn into the syringe first. Unopened vials should be stored in the refrigerator, and freezing should be avoided. The vial in use can be stored at room temperature. Vials should not be put in glove compartments, suitcase, or trunks. Humulin is a new type of insulin and is often the patients preference because it can be taken orally. It is imperative that the physician be called if any adverse reactions to the medications are observed. (Jahangir Moini, P 150-154) Undesirable Effects Insulin The main undesirable effect of insulin is hypoglycemia. This is common, and can cause brain damage. Intensive insulin therapy results in a threefold increase in severe hypoglycemia. The treatment of hypoglycemic is to take a sweet drink or snack, or, if the patient is unconscious, to give intravenous glucose (50% w/v solution) or intramuscular glucagon. Rebound hypergly (Somogyi effect) can follow excessive insulin administration. This results from the release of the insulin-opposing or counter-regulatory hormones in response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia. This can cause hypercemia before breakfast following an unrecognized hypoglycemic attack during sleep in the early hours of the morning. It is essential to recognize this possibility to avoid the mistake of increasing (rather than reducing) the dose of insulin in this situation. Allergy to insulin is unusual but may take the form of local or systemic reactions. Severe insulin resistance as a consequence of antibody formation is rare. A high tire of circulating anti-insulin antibodies is more likely to occur with bovine than with porcine insulin. Note, however, that virtually all patients treated with animal insulin have antibodies against the hormone, albeit usually flow. Human insulin is less immunogenic than animal insulin but may still evoke an antibody response, since the source of the hormone is not the only determinant of immunogenicity; insulin undergo physical changes before and after injection which can increase their potential for provoking an immune response. (HP Rang et al, 200-270) References 1. Patlak M. 2002. New weapons to combat an ancient disease: treating diabetes. Available on http://www. fasebj. org/cgi/content/full/16/14/1853e 2. Perspective Press. 2003. The Pharmacy Technician 1st edition: Morton Publishers. P 240- 243. 3. Jahangir Moini. 2005. Comprehensive Exam Review for the Pharmacy Technician: Thomson Delmar. P 150-154 4. H. P. Rang, M. Maureen Dale, James M. Ritter, Philip Moore. 2001. â€Å"Pharmacology†: Churchill Livingstone. P 200-270