Gravess Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 36

Gravess Disease - Essay Example This paper outlines that the patient is related to a family with a history on autoimmune diseases. There are many ways to treat Graves’s disease but in this case, Radioiodine has been found to be safe and efficient. It involves use of iodine radioactive isotopes to induce hypothyroidism which is easy and cheap to treat. The second case study showed that, endocrine glands that are likely to cause symptoms portrayed by the patient are adrenal glands, kidney, liver, or ovaries. There are also a number of hormones involved: the first one is androgen that is responsible for growth of hair below the abdomen and on thighs, but at higher concentration cause growth in other body parts such as the face in this case. The second one is Cortisol hormone that control metabolism in the liver and muscle fats that led to fatigue and injury of capillaries walls which explain the abdominal pains. The other involved hormones are aldosterone and steroid hormones. Adrenal diseases are associated wi th adrenal gland problems which may be either primary or secondary. The main different on the two is the impact on the body functions. A primary gland problem exists when only the gland is affected while a Secondary gland problem affect other body organs such as the liver or the heart. Alterations of these hormones are mostly caused by adrenal insufficiency or high blood pressure. As the discussion declares the patient in the third case study could be diagnosed with hyponatremia characterized by the low serum sodium, unconsciousness, and muscle weakness. Low sodium test would be caused by atrial tension from increase of pressure on central nerve stimulating production of atrial natriuretic peptide which hinders reabsorption of Na+ back into the blood stream. However, normality in potassium levels, Cl- levels and HCO3 levels on lab results shows that the patient was undiagnosed for some years.

Oil And Gas Industry Essay Example for Free

Oil And Gas Industry Essay Petroleum in one form or other has always been the most useful natural resource of man. More than four thousand years ago, Herodotus, a Greek historian of 5th century B. C. E and Diodrus Siculus, a historian of Agyrim Sicily in C A 90 B C– C A 30 B C discovered that Babylon were using Asphalt black substance found in Petroleum during the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon. In 1410 AD, native Americans were harvesting the oil for medicinal purposes. It was in 1859, in the quite farm country of North Western Pennsylvania that the drilling of the first most important crucial oil well took place. This well began to be known as the Drake Well after the name of Colonel Edwin Drake, the man who gave the idea of drilling the well for commercial use. This was the first phase of the history of Oil Industry, which gave new lease to our lives. (The Paleontological Research Institution, The History of Oil) Today, the Oil and Gas Industry has touched every sphere of our lives. It is the most depleted and yet the most used natural resource by the economies all around the world. With the increase in new explorations and technological developments, the natural oil and gas production is increasing at the rate of two billion cubic feet a day, and currently Devon Energy is one of the largest and independent oil and gas producers in the United States. Based in Oklahoma City, it is supplying three percent of the gas consumed in North America and producing 600,000 barrels of oil a day. The company is also drilling more than 2000 oil wells every year in North America in an area stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the northernmost reaches of Canada. (O G Next Generation Oil and Gas, 2007) There are many unpredictable reasons, like over all economic growth, continuous development in technology, change in energy prices, change in weather patterns and public policy decisions which led to the changes in the levels of production and in demand and supply. According to Energy Information Administration projections from 2007 to 2030, the total production of domestic liquid embracing crude oil, natural gas plant liquids, refinery processing gains and other refinery inputs, is expected to see a tremendous increase. The reason behind the increase is the growth in refinery processing and other refinery inputs. It is projected that this growth will compensate any predicted reduction in crude oil production after 2017. This increase in the production owes to some extent to the high tech oil recovery methods, the increase in the production in the deep waters in Gulf of Mexico, higher resource assumptions for the Bakken Shale formation in the Williston Basin. (Energy Information Administration, 2007) As per the AEO2007 reference case, the total domestic natural gas production including the supply of supplement natural gas reflects an increase from 18. 3 trillion cubic feet in 2005 to 21. trillion cubic feet in 2022. (Energy Information Administration, 2007) This clearly shows that in-spite of the factors that have led to the increase in the energy prices since 2000, the growing influence of developing countries on world-wide energy requirements, enactment of legislation and regulations in the United States, the rising need for the alternative source of energy and the need for the energy technologies did not hamper the growth of Oil and Gas Industry. United States of America is one of the largest economies in the world with the per capita Gross Domestic Product to be $43,500. The Central Intelligence Agency, 2007). The economy of America depends on the crude oil for fuels to be used in the transportation purpose. Seeing the current economic scenario and increase in the demand for the fuel, the demand for the light oil production all over the world is expected to increase and will reach to the point where supply of the oil will going to be far less than the demand. This will result in the imbalance in the supply and increase in the price of oil and fuel especially for military and strategic purposes. More than 60 per cent of the fuel requirements of United States of America is met by imports and at this current state of affairs, United States of America have to bear the cost at price level of $55/Bbl could be increased twice, from 9. 9 MM Bbl/d to nearly 20 MM Bbls/dby2025. (Online Edition) As the imports will increase, there is every possibility that America could face price shocks, supply disruptions, and fuels shortages. According to the EIA/AEO estimates, the average import price of oil from 2005 to 2020 could make United State Gross Domestic product to reduce by more than $ 1. 1 trillion. The department of Energy and the honorable President of America suggested that the need of the hour is to rely on the domestic sources for the increase in the liquid supplies. (Online Edition) And the best source is the production of Shale Oils; converted into liquid fuels, provide fuel for the transportation of military and civilian purposes. Currently the Oil shale resources can be found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah and hope is on the anvil that with the efforts of the Government, industry and other stakeholders, the oil shale production can reach 2 MM Bbl/D by 2020. The prices of the Crude Oil which have been showing an increase since last two months is expected to reach at the pinnacle of its monthly average price in August. The RAC of crude oil in 2007 is estimated at the rate of 64. 86 per barrel as compared to $ 60. 23 per barrel in 2006 and in 2008 is expected to be 68. 75 per barrel. This increase is due to the tight world oil supply and demand balance. 2007 can witness the increase in the total gas consumption by 4 percent and the LNG imports can go up to 850 bcf, which would be a record in upper scale. This is clear from the fact that despite the increase in the demand of bio-fuels and other non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources and subsequently the construction of new nuclear power plants, the Oil and Gas Industry is expected to supply same 86-percent share of the total U. S. primary energy in 2030, which they were giving in 2005 Year after year, there has been very less growth in retail sales to just 3. 2% year in April whereas there has been increase in the gas stations. Because of the growth of wholesale energy prices to 3. 4 per cent, the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased to 0. % in April. Due to the increase in oil prices and stable demand, there was a trade deficit by $6 billion. (Pod cast Directory, 2007). According to Chicago Fed’s annual Automotive Outlook Symposium, the economic growth in 2007 is seen to be slower than in 2006, with inflation and the unemployment rate increased. The prices of the Energy also increased in the middle months of 2006, but after that they fell, at an average of $60 per barrel in the fourth quarter. This led to the increase in inflation by 1. 9 per cent as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is less than 3. per cent than previous year. (Strauss Engel, 2007) This phrase â€Å"Oil flows the Nation grows† is evidently true when it comes to Oil and Gas. The increase in the price of Oil also increases the over all Consumer Price Index, especially in September 2005, which was 1. 2 per cent, highest in 25 years. The increase in imports of energy increases the trade deficit, on the average the increase in oil prices to 10 per cent leads to 150,000 Americans to lose their jobs, and over and above we have to loose between $80 billion and $160 billion in economic growth. In September 2005, it was estimated that 40 percent increase in gas prices reduced the total domestic consumption by 0. 4 percent and the GDP fell to an estimated 0. 9 percent. In fact even the Consumer spending was reduced. But there is an increase in the profits among the major players in Oil and Industry. Only in the beginning of 2005, the five largest oil companies were making profits of $52. 2 billion, which was less in 2004, only $39. 5 billion. (Democrats Policy Committee, 2005). The study on the impact of Oil Price by An International Energy Agency in 2004 revealed that the repercussions of the high prices on economy will be minimum and this proves to be as High oil prices became most important macro economic variable. It is apparently quite clear that with the new technologies are in the offing, the Oil and gas Industry will strike more. The earnings from the Industry are being invested in new technology, new production, and environmental and product quality improvements to meet the requirements of Generation next. According the Oil Gas Journal estimates, the Industry spends $85. 7 billion in 2005, whereas in 2004 it spend just $80. 7 billion in 2004 and in 2003 $75. 5 billion. (Cavaney, 2006). The threat to the Oil Industry is from the alternative sources of energy like bio fuels and other non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources and subsequently the construction of new nuclear power plants, yet the Oil and Gas Industry is expected to supply same 86-percent share of the total U.  S. primary energy in 2030, which they were giving in 2005. (Energy Information Administration, 2007). As the study above reveals that though the production of oil and gas is on the increase but it is not able to meet the demand and to maintain a balance between the demand and supply, The Government and Energy department is taking initiative to increase in the Shale Oils for liquid fuels.

History of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

History of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Tray Matthews Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity â€Å"Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity,† that’s the motto of the United State Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI was created under the belief of President Theodore Roosevelt and Attorney General Bonaparte claim that â€Å"efficiency and expertise, not political connections, should determine who would best serve the government.† The formation of the FBI is one of the most remarkable things that have transpired through America’s government history. Progressing from the Progressive Era through the Early Years, the New Deal, and both World Wars, Vietnam War, the Watergate Scandal, the Cold War and the transition of FBI Directors to present day. During the 1900’s, our nations constitution was based on the idea of a national government having authority pertaining to issues over the boarders like foreign affairs. So when the Federal Bureau of Investigation was set into place in 1908, the American people were extremely confused. In the past, they were dependent on local cities and counties to fulfill the government responsibly related to them. Now, they have to change their dependency and learn to trust the duty of a new government agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At the beginning of the 1900’s, the Progressive Era was emerging in the United States and lasted around eighteen years. This Era was the starting point of the idea that government intervention was the key to justice in society. Attorney General Bonaparte shared the conjoint Progressive Philosophy beliefs of himself and President Roosevelt to the Department of Justice. They wanted to create a division that would take the Secret Service Detail completely out of the equation. Mostly due to the fact that the Secret Service was going around Attorney General Bonaparte’s back and reporting to they’re own commander. With Bonaparte acting as Attorney General, this act of disobedience frustrated him to the point of passing a law on May 27, 1908, which prevented any Secret Service agents to be involved in or called upon by the Department of Justice to assist in any investigations. Following this law, Attorney General Bonaparte appointed ten former service members and almost a year later, added 34 additional forces to create a new Division to government services. A year after this law was set into place, Attorney General Bonaparte completed his term and set the standard that the ‘chosen 34’ were a permanent addition to the Justice Department. During the early days of the Bureau of Investigation, they dealt with very little crimes. They mostly focused on cases dealing with banking or bankruptcy, fraud or naturalization. When the Bureau of Investigation was first formed, three hundred special agents and three hundred supportive employees were the only people backing it. Two years after the formation of this group, they passed a law, the Mann, prohibiting the transportation of women over state lines for illegal reasons. To keep this illegal transportation from happening, most agents are posted around the boarder of Mexico. When Woodrow Wilson came to power in April 1917, he increased the workload of special agents expanding their caseload to involve espionage and Sabotage Acts. As things in the new unit progressed, they began making great strides to make a name for themselves. By the end of the decade, they had established training posts for incoming/newborn agents, set annual field office inspections, and created the Nation al Division of Identification. January of 1928, Edgar Hoover took over power as the Director of the Bureau of Investigation and changed it for the better. Since Hoover took over power, the Division has grown to six- hundred and fifty employees with four- hundred and forty-one supporting special agents. Division headquarters started popping up all over the United States: New York, Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, San Antonio, Atlanta and Cincinnati. Along with the positive changes, there were some negative aspects. He had to let go of some of the agents if they were not properly qualified; he needed to professionalize the organization. While multiple agents did not understand their release, they were aware of the recently added requirements and knew if they could not make protocol, they could not stay. With Hoover in power, there came many achievements. One of the largest achievements was the merging of the fingerprint cards from the police force along with the Bureau of Investigations existing cards into Washing ton D.C, creating one giant criminal database accessible from either group. Right when the United States began looking upwards, the unthinkable happened. In 1929, the Stock Market crashed and a Great Depression spread all across the states. President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew he needed to do something to make an impact and give hope to the people of American. Roosevelt decreased crime by expanding the federal jurisdiction for the Bureau of Investigation to include the places with a high crime- rate related to the recent shift in income. Due to the positive outcome of the expansion, field offices increased from nine cities to forty-two cities; there were now six- hundred and fifty- four special agents and a huge increase from six- hundred and fifty to one- thousand one- hundred and forty- one new employee supporters. So, after the positive impact the Bureau of Investigations has made, it has to be becoming a crucial part of society, right? They have been responsible for closing multiple important cases: The Lindbergh Kidnapping, John Dillinger, Al Capone, and Bonnie and Clyde. Due to the results of these cases, the agency is now looked at as a premiere law enforcement division. In 1932, when they solved the kidnapping of Lindbergh’s baby, the result caused Congress to pass the Kidnapping Statute. In 1934, with the capturing of Dillinger and crossing of state lines, Congress granted agents with the permit to carry a gun and certified them to make arrests. Like mentioned before, the Bureau of Investigation was becoming a beneficial feature to the government. July 1, 1932 they were formally renamed the ‘United States Bureau of Investigation;’ however, there was an unnerving confusion between the United States Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prohibition, so Congress had the bright idea to combine both divisions. Thus, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had begun. By 1936, there was a threat to the American democratic lifestyle by the fascist European countries; this was the beginning of World War ll. Throughout the beginning of the war, United States, Great Britain and France remained neutral due to the signing of the Neutrality Acts. As fascism was coming around more and communist threats were arriving, the FBI had to jump into protection mode, as this was a threat to the United States National Security. President Roosevelt authorized the involvement of the FBI in 1936, but the real impact came in 1940 when Congress passed the Smith Act, allowing the FBI to investigate anything attempting to overthrow the government. War broke out and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were put in the spotlight; given the ultimate power. There were many concerns coming along with this war, which caused the FBI to be on high alert with threats like overthrowing attempts, espionage and sabotage. The FBI was thrown in at full force grabbing agents that were trained in intelligence as well as defensive protection from all forty-two field offices. Because the United States played neutral in this war , they were called in for intelligence collection. One of the major enemy tactics in war is sabotage and there was plenty of it. In 1942, Germany attempted to sabotage on American soil. The FBI take down granted more ‘trust points’ from the Americans to the FBI. Needing more help, the Bureau added almost thirteen thousand more employees and four thousand more agents. Although the FBI had been a major asset during the war, they had other pressing matters to take care of presiding to discrimination and segregation taking place around the war. Even though Hitler committed suicide, and German surrendered, Congress knew that with Stalin still breathing, the fear that communism would haunt the other countries. The President directed all authorization regarding any part of the investigations that are a threat to national security to be carried out by the FBI, reported to the FBI, and driven by the FBI. Throughout all the postwar years, the Bureau’s rein expanding. They were know able to conduct background searches and were now given access to the Atomic Energy database. The FBI began to extend and assist inner states and local law enforcements decrease the crime in their towns. With all the expansion and additional jurisdiction given to the FBI, it was no surprise when Congress passed new federal laws: civil rights violations and gambling. Along with the additional laws, the FBI was an influential partner in enabling African American rights: to vote, serve on juries, and equal accommodations in public. After Prohibition , most of the mobs took place locally. The involvement of the FBI in these investigations was not prominent because there were no violations within the jurisdiction the Bureau had. By the end of the 19060’s, there were now six thousand seven- hundred and three special agents and nine thousand three hundred twenty supportive employees. The amount of field offices increased from forty- two to fifty- eight. When President Kennedy was assassinated, no federal law could investigate the murder because it was a local crime, so President Johnson demanded the Bureau proceed with an investigation. Due to the tragedy, Congress passed a bill proclaiming that any assassination of a government official was an automatic federal crime and to be dealt with as a federal crime. Congress never decelerated guidelines or protocols for the FBI when conducting national security investigations. FBI Director Edgar Hoover died on May 2, 1972. His successor, appointed by President Nixon, was Patrick Gray. Gray’s first act in office was appointing the first women since the 1920’s as a special agent. A couple months after Gray steps into office, there is a break- in at the Democratic National Headquarters; the FBI was called to assistance quickly, but little did they know their own Director had something to do with it. He immediately removed himself from consideration of being a Director and another was soon appointed, William Ruckelshaus. However, a month later Clarence Kelley, twenty-one year FBI agent, was appointed. After the disaster at the Democratic National Headquarters, Director Kelley’s first act was to regain the trust of the American people in the Federal Bureau and law enforcement in general. He created policy’s that targets the training, the selection of members for both law enforcement and the Bureau, collection of investigation material procedures and prioritizing the criminal database. Another contribution Kelley made was in 1974, he established the Career Review Boards to train and identify potential leaders. Since the Watergate fiasco, the media and Congress have been hounding Kelley trying to figure out if there was a glitch in the self- proclaimed intelligence collection process. On March 10, 1976 the counterintelligence guidelines for FBI foreign investigations went into effect. Created by Attorney General Edward Levi, Congresses suspicion slowly dwindled. â€Å"Quality over Quantity† was the name of Kelley’s new management concept. Each field office priority was directed to the types of cases most that express more concern to a certain territory. Through this new concept, three national priorities were established: organized crime, foreign counterintelligence, and white- collar crime. Due to ex- Director Gray’s stance and hiring women, Director Kelley made more of an effort to higher more women to show diversity and ethnic compassion to the public. By the end of the 1970’s, there were nearly eight thousand special agents, eleven thousand support employees and fifty- nine field offices. At the end of the 1970’s, two interesting things took place. The first, Director Kelley, the most beneficial, improving and innovative Director in the FBI so far resigned. Second, the FBI added laser technology to the Identification Division to detect latent crime scene fingerprints. Former Judge William H. Webster was appointed after Director Kelley’s resignation. Following Kelley’s priorities, Webster added the creation of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, while expanding on the priorities already in place. The press nicknamed 1985 â€Å"the year of the spy† because of the ridiculous amount of espionage cases solved during this time. As time goes on, the jurisdiction of the FBI continues to grow, this time it’s growing to the illegal drug trade route. In 1982, the Attorney General gave the FBI jurisdiction over the DEA. Even though the FBI is expanding rapidly, they still must fulfill duties from when they were a little fish i n a small pond. During the 1980’s, the FBI dealt with multiple cases dealing with fraud. By 1981, there was 10 bank failures and progressed to 282 by 1981. Because of the sudden increase in fraud cases, the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enhancement Act were established. In 1984, the Olympics took Los Angeles. The FBI was put on terrorist and street protection aid right away. There efforts were duly noted and the jurisdiction of the FBI was increased again but this time, it expanded to protecting United States Citizens from outside U.S boundaries. With this increase comes great responsibility. The Bureau was granted the right to arrest terrorists, drug traffickers, and other fugitives without consent of the foreign country. In order to keep up with the new authority, the FBI established the Computer Analysis and Response Team to gain evidence from surrounding computers. May 26, 1987 Judge Webster resigned from the FBI to take over the Director spot at the CIA. Under the acting Director Otto, another national priority was created. The drug protection efforts mentioned during Director Kelley’s triumphing rein was expanded to include drug demand reduction programs. Through these drug programs, the FBI went to multiple local schools sharing their experiences and their thoughts on drugs to educate the youth of America. By 1988, the FBI employed nine thousand six- hundred and sixty- three special agents with the support of thirteen thousand six- hundred and fifty- one employees. The world was stunned when the Berlin Wall collapsed in November 1989. Foreign countries were scrambling to regain control of their policies and security. The FBI reacted immediately by sending three hundred agents to investigate. The new Director established a sixth priority: investigation of violent crimes. However, there was a new concept coming, a concept of federal, state and local police force to take on the violent street gangs- Operation Safe Streets. This was also around the time of the identification break through. DNA technology was booming and here was now genetic crime- scene evidence that could make or break the suspects’ future. Along with the increase in technology, the FBI paid more attention to the steadily but rapidly increasing â€Å"white- collar crimes,† number three on the national priorities list. Along with the heightened attention on how to protect national security, the FBI’s main focus is keeping America out of reach to communism. Two events took place during the 1992- 1993 that affected the FBI policies. The first event was August 1992, the FBI responded to a shooting of a fellow officer, Deputy U.S. Marshal William Degan, while participating in the surveillance of fugitive Randall Weaver. During the course of action trying to detain the shooter, Weaver’s wife was caught in the cross fire and shot by an FBI sniper. Almost a year later, FBI agents were proceeding to end a 51 day standoff, in Texas, with religiously armed sects who had previously taken the lives of four officers who were part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Instead of proceeding in the ending of the standoff, the officers watched as the sects burned down a compound with eight civilians, including three children, whom all died in the blaze. This was center stage for the FBI with the public, the question of the people was, â€Å"How will the FBI respond to crisis in the future?† September 1, 1993 Louis J. Freeh was sworn in as the new Director of the FBI. He had set out with a clear purpose already: respond to the crime problems at home and abroad. To the people around him, this sounded like a good idea, until July 4, 1994 came around. On that day, he announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is opening a legal attachà © in Moscow, the old throne of Russian Communism. Between the next eight years, the FBI mission expanded to the international nature of crimes. The budget grew by more than $1.30 billion, and kept increasing when the Bureau hired five thousand and twenty- nine more agents accompanied by four thousand more supporters. United States Attorney Robert S. Mueller, lll was sworn in as FBI newest Director. He had a specific duty once in office: upgrade technology infrastructure, address records, and enhance the foreign counterintelligence analysis of the damage done by former special agent Robert Hanssen. Within days of this venture, the most horrendous day the United States has ever seen happened, September 11. The FBI partnered with local law enforcement in urge to figure out the cause of this disaster. October 26, President Bush signed the Patriot Act, which basically add new provisions if a terrorist attack were to happen in order to protect the American people. In order to satisfy the change in mission statements, Director Mueller restructured the operations for the Bureau hoping to prevent any further attacks. It strengthened its support to federal, and international law enforcement and created more complex technological structures that take more to crack. As we take a look back through the years, all we can see if improvement and room for more improvement. The FBI stands today to dedicate itself to ensure it carries out its mission: protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats; uphold and enforce criminal laws of the United States and provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state and international partners. Resources Brief History of the FBI. FBI. FBI, 21 May 2010. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. Muller, Robert. â€Å"Testimony.† Federal Bureau of Investigation. May 16, 2013. Accessed October 7, 2014. http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/fbi-budget-request-for-fiscal-year-2014. Shafritz, Jay M., E.W. Russell, Christopher P. Borick. Introducing Public Administration, Eighth Edition. (Boston: Pearson, 2013) â€Å"Today’s FBI Facts and Figures 2013-2014. â€Å"FBI. March 14, 2013. Accessed October 7, 2014.

Hiv: The Search For A Vaccine Essay -- essays research papers fc

In 1985, over 10,000 cases of AIDS were reported worldwide (White and Fenner 1986). Just over a decade later, in 1998, the Global AIDS Policy Coalition estimated that 30.6 million people were infected with HIV worldwide. It has also been projected that by the year 2000, between 40 and 70 million adults will be infected with HIV (New Generation Vaccines 1997). Over 90% of all HIV-1 infected individuals live in developing nations: 50% in Southeast Asia and 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. However, even with all of these alarming statistics and projections, there is hope for the future of humanity. This hope is a potential anti-AIDS vaccine. An anti-AIDS vaccine is the best bet. Among other factors, the large costs associated with therapeutic drugs do not allow many AIDS patients receive them. This is especially true in the developing nations, constituting over 90% of all HIV infections worldwide (Bloom 1995). Before discussing the development of a potential vaccine, it is imperative to briefly discuss characteristics of HIV itself and also the immune system that these vaccines would target. HIV, a retrovirus from the Lentivirus subfamily, contains ssRNA nucleic acid. Some of its other characteristics include: an icosahedron capsid, various enzymes (including reverse transcriptase), and envelope with the glycoproteins gp 120, gp 41, and gp160. The genes of HIV-1 can be placed into 3 general categories: structural, regulatory, and accessory genes. The structural genes include gag, pol, and env. The regulatory genes include tat and rev. The accessory genes are nef, vpr, vpu, and vif (Vaccines 1999). There are two major branches to the immune system in primates: a humoral or adaptive branch and a cell-mediated or innate branch. The cell-mediated immune response operates through MHC I via CD8+ (cytotoxic T cells). Antibodies are not secreted through this branch of the immune system, and the cell-mediated immune response generally targets viruses and other intracellular antigens. The humoral immune response operates through MHC II via CD4+ (helper T cells). The humoral branch secretes antibodies, which generally target extracellular antigens like bacteria and fungi. There are many obstacles in the way of HIV vaccine development. First, since HIV often mutates its surface glycoprotein (gp120), it has many strains, and the immune response cannot target all of the poss... ...type of vaccination could be enhanced in conjunction with subunit vaccines. In conclusion, there has been a great deal of progress in the development of an anti-AIDS vaccine. The research and knowledge for HIV vaccine development has made great strides in the last decade. Since there are many limitations associated with classical vaccine strategies that incorporate attenuated viruses or inactivated viruses, most efforts in the development of an HIV vaccine are utilizing innovative approaches. Many of these innovative vaccines are very promising, such as the subunit vaccines and the recombinant vector vaccines. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before a vaccine will be discovered from which all of humanity can benefit. Works Cited Bloom, Barry R. "A Perspective on HIV Vaccines." Science. 272: 5270. (1995) Kuby, Janis. Immunology. 3rd Ed. W.H. Freeman and Company, 1997. Plotkin, Stanley A. and Orenstein, Walter A. Vaccines. 3rd Ed. W.B. Saunders Company, 1999. White, David O. and Frank J. Fenner. Medical Virology. 3rd Ed. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 1986. "The HIV Vaccine: Situation Analysis." Information for the AIDS Treatment Educator. v. 1, Oct. 1996.

Essay --

Otto Boudet Ms. Ramirez British Literature 1600 4 December 2013 The Mind of Thomas Nashe: An Enigma Thomas Nashe is thought to be one of the world’s first picaresque writers. Although he is a picaresque writer, critics have a hard time characterizing his works due to his incoherent literary structure. Thomas Nashe has been pinned as an enigma of the literary community as his writing often portrays multiple writing styles all at once. â€Å"The Unfortunate Traveller† is the epitome of this. It is categorized as a picaresque novel, but it is a gruesome and violent story. The story is almost a paradox itself. Thomas Nashe, born in 1567, lived in the small town of Lowestroft, Suffolk. Not much is known of his early life, other than that his father was a curate and that he was baptized at his father’s church. He went on to study at the University of St. Johns at Cambridge where he acquired his bachelors degree. Little is known on whether his time at college influenced his works. After his time at college he moved to London, where he was hired by the ecclesiastical authorities to write pamphlets and essays in an attempt to discredit a man know as â€Å"Martin Marprelate† (Kinney Page 1). This alias was used by a man who was writing colloquial speeches regarding the episcopacy of the Anglican Church. Nashe might have not been one of the main contributors to the counterattack against â€Å"Martin Marprelate,† but he was able to extract a sort of writing style from the experience. After his excursion with the Anglican Church, his writing became more spontaneous and unstudied (Donno Page 1). This spontaneous and unstudied style was more prominent in his early works such as â€Å"The Anatomie of Unsertantie" and the preface of Robert Greene’s â€Å"Menapho... ...e Unfortunate Traveller.† What angered the writers the most, was the accuracy of what Thomas Nashe was saying, even if it was in a sarcastic tone. Not only did he anger authors, poets, and pamphleteers, but he also angered the British government. Although his jeers were not directed towards the government, Nashe’s use of the atrocities throughout the country was thoroughly disliked. The government believed that his rendition of the gross actions of England’s people would tarnish its reputation. Thomas Nashe is coined with being one of the world’s first picaresque writers. It is quite ironic how after centuries of debate concerning his eloquent pamphlets and gruesome narratives that he is now categorized under a satirical genre. Although he did incorporate this satire and sarcasm in many of works, it seems unjust to confine him to the one genre.

Faith-Based Social Service Organization Essay

Habitat for Humanity does not give away free homes to anyone. Habitat for Humanity provides housing that families can afford. Every family that receives a home puts in as much work as a volunteer and they contribute 300 to 500 hours of â€Å"sweat equity† on the construction of their home or someone else’s home, as their website states. The website states there are a lot of myths about Habitat for Humanity. People assume families receive completely free homes, when in fact this is not true. A lot of hard work goes into building these homes and all of the future home owners put in an equal amount of hard work. Habitat for Humanity receives many donations for a new home and provides the family with an affordable mortgage. Habitat for Humanity states â€Å"Habitat for Humanity offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 50 percent of the area’s median income. In most cases, prospective Habitat homeowner families make a $500 down payment. † Habitat for Humanity is a Christian based organization, but does not discriminate against religion. Habitat for Humanity provides homes for families of any religion, race, or any other difference. Habitat for Humanity also provides faith in communities and in stows Christian beliefs into families of need. Habitat for Humanity states â€Å"Habitat’s ministry is based on the conviction that to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, we must love and care for one another. Our love must not be words only— it must be true love, which shows itself in action. Habitat provides an opportunity for people to put their faith and love into action. We bring diverse groups of people together to make affordable housing and better communities a reality for everyone. Habitat for Humanity has a strong Christian background; however, they accept anyone that believes in providing help for others. Habitat for Humanity also receives government funding to help families in need of homes. They accept donations from the government, but do not accept donations if it affects their Christian beliefs. Habitat for Humanity states â€Å"Habitat is an independent, nonprofit organization that accep ts some government funds and other resources to help provide houses for those in need. We accept these funds as long as they do not limit our ability to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus Christ. Additionally, our local affiliates insert specific guidelines as needed to avoid becoming dependent on or controlled by government funds. † I found this statement to show how strongly faith-based this organization is. Habitat for Humanity is a very excellent organization and provides people with much more than just a home. They give families faith in their futures and provide a sense of stability for a family. I believe Habitat for Humanity has volunteers who are knowledgeable about the organization’s beliefs. I believe the lucky families also know about Habitat for Humanity’s beliefs and views of Christianity.

Research Methadology

Research Topic Linking enhanced employee performance to the achievement of the company’s goals and objectives so as to generate increased productivity: The case of â€Å"SUBWAY†, Rathbone Place. Submitted by LOKEMAN HOSAIN MOLLAH ID – 0385VLVL0209 MBA-A Submitted to DR. BERNADETTE WARNER Submission date 26 august 2009 Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to take an opportunity to say thanks to Dr. Bernadette Warner who has vast knowledge about business strategy and international business, which is helpful to complete this proposal. Also I would like to say thanks to Mr Hmant Dixit, the operational director of â€Å"SONISH LTD† who helped me a lot to get information about subway and the employees of Subway in Rathbon Place, London. And I would like to give special thanks to Mr. Mamunur Roshed, area Manager,Sonish Ltd and Mr. Arifur Rahaman, Store Manager, Rathbonr Place for their cordial support. Table of contents Introduction Topic area Problem statement Background and purpose of the research Literature review Aims and Objectives of the research Research Questions Research Design and Methodology Sources and acquisition of data Data analysis Timetable About Subway Conclusion 1. Introduction In today’s business become more globalize, and competitive, for this reason it is very essential to find out a ways to make our organizational resources more creative and productive. In many organizations, the most important and exclusive resource is employee and as a result, a lot of time is spent on creating processes and conditions that drive and motivate our employees. And if we can motivate and encourage our employee then their performance will be good which is very important for an organization. Increasing employee performance can achieve maximum business performance, for this reason every individual employee has to work at their optimal level and be focused on the correct tasks. Effective Employee Performance Management (EPM) adoption empowers employees to take responsibility for their own productivity, and allows a business to fully align goals, activities and tasks to support the direction of the company. Employee Performance Management helps organizations improve both the processes and the productivity of managing a workforce. In most service organizations, attrition is critical to consistent performance and success. Employee Performance Management strategies can help your organization make dramatic business performance improvements and yield tremendous benefits beyond cost reductions. 2. Topic area The topic area is to cover the employee performance at Subway to achieve the company’s objectives and productivity This research will conduct correlate the gaps in individual performance and organizational productivity, with the environment that exists in Subway. 3. Problem statement To stay in a global market, organization need to have very high performing, productive, and motivated workforce ( Madhok & Phene , 2001 ) . However , the problem is that organization have not been able to effectively tap into and leverage the full potential of individuals, to enable them to operate at their peak / optimized level of performance. Consequently, most employees are under performing in organizations. The inability of an organization to use the full potential of an employee’s capacity has had a negative impact on the overall productivity and competitiveness organizations in a global market. (Check land, 1999). 4. Background and purpose of the research The purpose of this research is to determine how organization could become more productive, and thus competitive, by enabling their employees to raise their overall level of performance and productivity, and assist employees to operate at high level of capacity by adopting the best practices of top performing employees in the organization. Building on the work on Pratt and Foreman (2000), the author was interest in determining, in a systematic and holistic manner, the impact of any interrelated organizational factors or entities that had a positive or negative impact on individual performance. The present research initiated to address a key organizational issue and leveraged a number of fundamental questions – First, how can organization become capable of sustained high performance? Second, can organizations leverage the full potential of their employees? Third why do most employees in organizations work at 60% of the full capacity? Finally, why most employees about 90% of the total workforce, considered to be typical employees? (Boyett & Conn, 1995). We need a comprehensive approach to a style of management that enables every employee to aspire to excellence. Now only a few employees are excellent. Most employees are performing below their capacity and our piecemeal efforts to improve performance aren’t working. (Boyett & Conn, 1995) 5. Literature review In the literature review will provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature on individual performance, organizational productivity, and connection that may exist between these two. This overview will include a review and analysis of the seminal books and articles as well as many of the most current books and articles on the subject. In a general and broad sense, this review revealed that individual performance and organizational productivity can be affected by five key factors: leadership /management, the nature of the job itself, the environment of the job, personal drivers or factors and the individual’s emotional intelligence. When observed in isolation, each of these factors can have a positive or negative impact on individual performance. However, when combined and observed holistically it quickly becomes apparent to this that the leadership/ management factor can have a positive or negative impact on how the other four factors are shaped . The section that immediately follows will briefly introduce each of these five factors followed by a section that is devoted to exploring these five factors in greater detail. 5. 1Management / Leadership Elements and impact Numerous studies have shown that management and leadership style, practices and approach can have an influence on individual performance and motivation. (Khaliq, 2001) Leader ship has been defined as, the ability to influence or inspire others to do something that needs to be done. It is instilling in each employee a sense of belonging and commitment towards the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization and leaders are the catalysts that stimulate employees to develop their potential to the full. This section will provide Comprehensive review of the role, the significance, and the effect of management and / or leadership practices on individual performance, motivation and their overall development in organizations. A comprehensive review of the current literature includes recent books and articles that deal with this subject . Finally this review will include the various leadership and management styles approaches and characteristics that have a profound impact on individual motivation and performance. (Khaliq, 2001, p. 5) Khaliq (2001), compared the motivational and performance factors of the workforce in the United States to that of the Malay, Chinese and Indian workers employed by the Malaysian companies. He concluded many of the leadership approaches that dealt with the concepts of openness, direct confrontation nd / or challenging the process were in direct opposition to many of eastern cultures values and behaviours. In sense khaliq points out that many ethnic and cultural parameters may also have a significant effect on how individuals are motivated, committed and become productive in organizations. Motivation is closely related to leading nurturing a willingness to achieve the above mentioned vision and mission of the organization. Leaders can motivate their employees by creating an environment wh ere work is seen as enriching and fulfilling, thus encouraging employees to contribute ideas and effort in order to enhance productivity. Khaliq, 2000, p. 2. ) 5. 2 Job specific elements and impact The leadership / management factors and the kind of positive or negative effect it had on performance and organizational productivity. The section that follows will review the significance and impact of the job itself and the type of day to day tasks performed by the individuals on their performance, motivation and energy level and overall organizational productivity. The nature of the job, the daily tasks performed by an employee and the manner in which tasks assigned to the individual can also influence performance. , motivational level and organizational productivity Some jobs have lot of beginnings and endings during the day with the opportunity for employees to win or lose. ( positive or negative consequences ). But unfortunately the prevailing situation is that most jobs are just doing this hour what you did the last hour without any immediate consequence for performance . And few workers are running around complimenting other workers for the good they are doing. That leaves the managers as the only source of positive consequence (positive reinforcement) to employees for performing well any day. ( Fournies , 2000, p. 78) . The degree of motivational potential of any specific job, then, dramatically influenced by how a person views the job he or she is given, including how assignments are organized, structured and managed. Even a high pressure situation, IT professionals report that work is exciting when they are having fun doing it. In some sense, then, highly motivating work assignments should be similar the kind of activities people might chose to do for fun on their own. (Kartz, 1998, p. 1) 5. 3 Environmental elements and impact The stability or volatility of the work environment ( e. g the degree of office conflicts , power place ) can have a negative influence on the individuals anxiety level, performance and their overall motivation to perform well at work. We used to think we could separate the soft stuff from the hard stuff – the soft staffs was our commitment to the work force. The hard stuff – what really mattered. Now we know you can’t get the staff out the door unless your employees are 100 percent committed and free of home life distraction. And the way get them there is simple. You do every thing you can to help them those life issues, so work and family can coexist successfully. ( Mechelen , 1998 , p. 6) . 5. 4 Personal / internal Elements and impact Personal factors or elements are internal and often silent motivational variables that can drive human behavior to act in certain way. For example a cultural or religious motivator (e. . Work being equal) may cause an employee to give it their all, deliver more quality work relative to their peers, and become creative. As second example an employee who is seeking promotion is more likely to work an and communicate better, establish better relationship and work harder compared to another co worker who was just recently promoted. Weiss (1936) points out that individual are driven on the basis of five categories of human needs that he refers to as Murray’s categories. These categories were named after Henry A. Murray). Murray (1938 )named five specific categories of needs self fulfillment (achievement and endurance) , social needs ( affiliation and love) , ego needs ( exhibitionism and independence), safety needs ( avoidance of harm) , and power needs ( control). These needs indicate that many individuals are often motivated by strong desires and factors. Thus we trying to enhance or raise individual performance, manager’s needs to be sensitive to these human needs and understand that individuals are typically goal oriented and strive to concurrently satisfy many internal needs. There fore managers needs to search for internal drivers and try to ensure that they provide appropriate motivators and inceptives that will address these needs. (Murray , 1938) 5. 5 Emotional intelligence elements and impact An individual emotional intelligence can contribute to how he or she performs at work, how the individuals relate to others and the overall productivity of the organization. ( Johnson & Indvik, 1999; mason , 1999;)A person with high emotional intelligence has the ability to understood and relate to people. In fact this skill is now considered to have greater impact on individual and group performance. That traditional measures of intelligence such as IQ. when emotional intelligence is present , there is a increased employee cooperation , increased motivation , increased productivity and increased profits . (Johnson & Indvik ,1999 , p. 1) . People wit well developed emotional skills are also more likely to be content and effective on their lives, mastering the habits of mind that foster their own productivity. People who cannot marshal some control over their emotional life fight inner battles that sabotage their ability for focused work and clear thought. (Goldman, 1994, p36) 6. Aims and Objectives of the research It is expected that this research will have a direct impact on the management community by defining methods of developing top performing employees . This work will address the significant issues of individual performance , organizational productivity , and the link between two. As a long term objective, this research will provides a number solid answer to age old problems of productivity and employee motivation, and establish a set of principles that will be applicable to most work groups in organizations. In the interim, this study intends to provide a report in the form of a process for improvement that can be applied in the field by management. Especially this study has some major benefits. First it will identify and document any common factors that have a positive impact on individual performance. Second, by identifying and documenting the common variables or factors that may exist among low performers in an organizations , it is expected that management can be assisted in identifying areas of deficiency and consequently develop employees to improve low performance, raise morale, and reduce the potential for burnout in their organizations. And also it is expected that the result of this research will be translated into a corporate training program that will enable a typical or average employee to raise his or her performance by adopting the best practices used by the top or star performers in the organization. Finally researcher expectation that the aforementioned concepts and findings will be applicable to the Subway. It is further expected that the findings of this research will be the subject of the future study. 7. Research Questions This study is to address a fundamental question: What are the common factors or best practices used by the top performing employees in organizations? Examples of these common factors were perceived employee- manager working relationships, Leadership or management, top individual motivators or de-motivators, environmental elements and any best known practices. For further clarification this fundamental question can be further broken down into a number of sub questions: Were the identified common factors between high performers the same factors that the low performers were deficient and lacking? From the perspective of individual motivational factors, what would be the management perspective compared to that of the employee perception? Finally are there any discrepancies or gaps between the manager and top performer perceptions or beliefs? 9. Research Design and Methodology Concepts of this research individual performance, organizational productivity and the connection between two. A major objective of this study to explore and discover the common factors that distinguish the top performers in an organization. These factors are: any key perceived employee manager working relationships, top three motivators or de- motivators, and any best practices. The identification of these factors is intended to generate one or more grounded theories to explain why only a small percentage of the employees in an organizations ( e. g. 5 % ) are considered to be more effective or productive performers. Relative to the peers in the same or similar work environment. The study is going to be on a qualitative research approach . It will use an iterative data gathering process, the use of inductive data analysis techniques, and a constant comparative and classification process of data to develop one or more grounded theories that could explain this phenomenon. The design of this research study is interpretive and systematic. It will attempt to uncover fundamental patterns and commonalities (e. g. employee manager working relationship) that exist in the research data. It will attempt to discover the common factors that characterize the top performers, both managers and employees, in organizations. As a systematic study it will compare and contrast the data. To achieve this data will be collected from the high, medium, low, performers. Using techniques: 1. through the use of an elaborate organizational survey. 2. A series of one to one interviews. 3. Personal observation. Each phase the data collection and analysis process will be built upon the learning obtained from the previous stages in an iterative process. To construct the organizational survey literature review and analysis process will undertaken. 4. Finally to generate the grounded theories, the results of the organizational survey, and analysis of the one to one and group interviews. At each stage data will be collected, compared, contrasted, classified and any commonalities that existed will documented. (Glaser & Strauss, 1999) 10. Sources and acquisition of data To begin with, organization Subway, Researcher has been working there since four years as a senior sales assistant. And have a good cooperation with the management and the employee who are willing to anticipate with the interviews. Primary data will be gathered by conducting one to one interviews with key managers or individuals. Before executing such research activities it is ensured that research will be carried out with the permission of the senior management to interview the respective senior members of such organization. More concerns will be shown to select the appropriate senior members for such interviews. Finally, secondary data the possible available reviews, books, articles, suggestions, journals, electronic based information such as internet will be taken in to account for obtaining relevant information for the research, however strong weight will be given to acquire data from reliable source to make sure research content solid track of information. 1. Data analysis The theory construction will be based upon the literature review process, the survey results and feedback received from one to one make to the organization survey. as pointed earlier the desired out come of this study will to develop one or more grounded theories that could explain the top performing ( or low performing ) employee in o rganizations. To achieve this- First, theories will be developed based on the data collected, analyzed and the common pattern identified. The data will take from the literature review process, a comprehensive organizational survey, one to one interviews and observation. And each phase findings will be classified into specific categories: management / leadership, job, environment of the job, individual motivators and emotional intelligence. Second all identifiable performance factors will categorized according to the five major factors identified during the literature review. A matrix consisting of number of variable performance factors and the frequency of each result will construct. Further a set of definitions for each term or variable used in the study will formulate. 12. Timetable ACTIVITIESWEEKS1234567891011121Initializing Appointments 2Literature review 3Follow Up Meetings & Obtaining Information 4Obtaining Historical information 5Critical analysis 6Deriving a Conclusion 7Developing a Draft 8Editing & preparing final Draft 9Final Report Ready 13. About Subway Fred DeLuca founded the SUBWAY ® chain in Connecticut, USA, in 1965. The company has since grown into a multi-billion pound business, with more than 25,000 outlets in over 80 countries. In a world full of â€Å"Super Size It† messages that prompt people to eat too much and eat high fat items, SUBWAY ® bucks the trend with a healthy message – 7 subs with under 6 grams of fat – as a major part of their advertising strategy. 14. Conclusion Optimizing individual performance, raising the bar of organizational productivity, and being able to accomplish organizational objectives. A growing body research indicates that a productive, efficient and healthy learning organization is a necessary and key ingredient for global competition . The present study will be explored, analyzed and documented how an organization could become more productive and competitive by enabling its employees to raise their overall level of work performance. The results of this effort will indented to assist employees to operate at a higher level of their capacity by enabling them to leverage many of the common factors or best practices used by the top performing employees in their organizations. These factors include: perceive good employee manager working relationship, top individual motivating, and any other best practices. This study attempted the best way managers and employees can partner to nature a work environment where they can grow, develop, and maximize their full potential. This study has benefits. It identifies and documents the most common factors that have positive or negative impact on employee performance and productivity. It attempts to capture the attributes and practices of high performing employees in an organization and perform this analysis on low and medium performers as well. In conclusion, this study provided evidence that organizational productivity, effectiveness and creativity flow from flow naturally from individual productivity, effectiveness and creativity. (Loehr , 2001) Reference Loehr , J . (2001 , January ) , The making of a corporate athlete , Harvard Business Review , 79 , Issue 1 , 120 , 9p , 1 . Glaser , B . & Strauss , A . (1999) , The discovery of grounded theory : Strategies for Qualitative research , Chicago ; Aldline . Madhok , A . & Phene , A . 2001) , The Co evolution Advantage : Strategic management theory and the electic paradigm , International Journal of the Economics of Business , 8 , No, 2, 243 – 256. Boyett , J . H . & Conn , H . P . (1995) , Maximum performance management : how to manage and compensate people to meet world competition, Glenbridge Publishing : Lakewood , Colorado. Checkland , P . (1999) , Systems thinking , systems practice . john Wiley & Sons , Ltd : New York , NY. Pratt , M . G & Foreman , P . O . (20 00) , Classifying managerial response to multiple organizational identities . The Academy of management Review . MississippiState. Khaliq , A . (2001) , Corporate leadership and workplace motivation in Malaysia. International Journal of Commerce & Management . 11 . 1, 82 (Fournies , 2000) . Fournies , F . F . (2000) , Coaching for improvement work performance , McGraw-Hill: New York , NY . Katz , R . ( 1998) , Motivation leads to innovation – IT professionals who are excited about their jobs will be more creative and productive , Information Week , September , 14 , 1998 , n. 700, 294 (1). Mechelen , R. V. 1998, spring) , Work/life programs as management programs , The public manager : The new bureaucrat , 27 , n 1 , 31 (4) . Murray , H . A , (1938) , Exploration in personality : A clinical an expremental study of fifty men of college age , oxford University Press : New York . Johnson , P . R . & Invik , J . (1999) , Organizational benefits of having emotionally intelligent managers and employee , Journal of Workplace Learning , 1999 , 11 , issue 3 , 84 , 5p Goldman , D . (1994) , Emotional Intelligence : Why it can matter more than IQ , Bantam Books : New York , NY . www. subway. com