Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the unique capability of differentiating into all cell types, leading to the development of an entire organism. As the integrity of ES cells is critical for the developing embryo, these cells have likely evolved mechanisms that detect and respond rapidly to adverse stimuli. Indeed, hES cells have been shown to be highly sensitive to DNA damage, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this rapid death remain unclear. Caspases are critical mediators of apoptosis in mammalian cells, and a key protein that controls their activation is Bax, a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. While the main components of the apoptotic pathway have been identified, exactly how this pathway is regulated in various primary cells remains unclear. Here, we examined the apoptotic pathway in hES cells and report a unique mechanism engaged by hES cells that can prime them to undergo rapid apoptosis inresponse to genotoxic damage.To visualize GFP-tagged Bax, 3-day colonies of hES cells were transfected with 2 mg of hBaxC3-EGFP (Addgene) with FuGENE HD transfection reagent. The process of introducing nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells by nonviral methods is defined as transfection. Using various chemical, lipid or physical methods, this gene transfer technology is a powerful tool to study gene function and protein expression in the context of a cell. Development of reporter gene systems and selection methods for stable maintenance and expression of transferred DNA have greatly expanded the applications for transfection. Assay-based reporter technology, together with the availability of transfection reagents, provides the foundation to study mammalian promoter and enhancer sequences, trans-acting proteins such as transcription factors, mRNA processing, protein:protein interactions, translation and recombination events (Groskreutz and Schenborn, 1997). Transfection is a method that neutralizes or obviates the issue of introducing negatively charged molecules (e.g., phosphate backbones of DNA and RNA) into cells with a negatively charged membrane. Chemicals like calcium phosphate and DEAE-dextran or cationic lipid-based reagents coat the DNA, neutralizing or even creating an overall positive charge to the molecule. This makes it easier for the DNA:transfection reagent complex to cross the membrane, especially for lipids that have a â€Å"fusogenic† component, which enhances fusion with the lipid bilayer. Physical methods like microinjection or electroporation simply punch through the membrane and introduce DNA directly into the cytoplasm. Here we describe the striking observation that healthy undifferentiated hES cells maintain Bax in its preactivated state at the Golgi. This is in contrast to other cell types in which Bax is typically present in an inactive form in the cytosol. Our results also highlight the fact that the apoptotic machinery undergoes dynamic changes even at early stages of differentiation.While undifferentiated hES cells have constitutively active Bax and undergo rapid apoptosis in response to DNA damage, just 2 days of differentiation induced significant changes suchthat Bax was no longer active, and the cells were no longer highly sensitive to DNA damage. This could be manifested with even greater complexity in vivo as cells during early embryogenesis undergo rapid proliferation and differentiation.

Essay: A Visit to the Zoo

A Visit to the Zoo Zoo is a place where all sorts of tame and wild animals are kept. There are birds and beasts which tell us about the flora and fauna of our country as well as foreign countries. It is in this respect a giver of knowledge and information. Delhi zoo is housed in the Purana Kila on the Mathura Road. It has a fine and rare collection of birds and animals from all parts of the world. The zoo is spread over several acres of land. The birds and animals are kept, as far as possible, in their natural surroundings. There is a moat encircling the enclosures of wild animals so that they might not escape.One day I went to the zoo in the company of some of my friends. We bought tickets at the gate, and entered the zoo. First we came upon the enclosure where water fowls were swimming in water. The ducks and drakes were swimming and picking up things thrown to them. We enjoyed their playful antics for some time and moved on. Next we came to the enclosure of the wild animals. There were lions, tigers, and leopards belonging to different countries. The Gir lion of India seemed to be most ferocious. The enclosures smelt of meat, provided to them everyday.In another enclosure were the monkeys. They too, were of several varieties. The ape with a black face seemed to be the most mischievous. He was all the time grinning at the onlookers. The visitors threw parched grams to the monkeys and they seemed to relish it. At a small distance we saw a peacock. It was dancing. I ran to that side. The peacock seemed td be unmindful of the presence of the crowd. Closeby was an enclosure for the deer. It covered a vast area and the deer were roaming about freely- Near to the enclosure we saw a buffalo-like animal.It was the rhino munching some maize plants. It looked dreadful with its sharp horn on the nose. The sight of the rhino at once reminded me of the adventure of Colonel White as given in our text-book of English. On our way back we saw some elephants. They were being u sed for a joy-ride on payment. Lastly, we saw the covered enclosures where birds were flying about. They were of different colours and shapes. Now it was getting dark. The bell rang and we came out. The visit to the zoo added a good deal to our knowledge of birds and beasts.

Immigration issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Immigration issues - Essay Example Julia Preston evaluates the situation that relates to 2014 year and gives the clear statistic concerning this problem. She claims that â€Å"Mexicans remained the single largest nationality among illegal crossers† (Preston, n.p.). The number of illegal migrants is remained to be extremely high and stays for the 229,178 for the last year (Preston, n.p.). People from Mexico migrate to United States for better life and function in USA as cheap workforce. It is relevant to admit the total number of immigrants from Mexico to USA stays for the â€Å"315,943 in the 2014 fiscal year† (Preston, n.p.). To such extend, more than two-thirds of all this these people are Mexicans (Preston, n.p.). Such situation seems to be unpleasant for the authority that deals with the migration problems. However, Preston signifies that the number of immigrants is reduced in 14 percents in comparison with the previous fiscal year (n.p.). In addition, it is significant to mention that some executive actions of USA president have â€Å"allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States and to work without fear of deportation† (Preston, n.p.). He explains such decision as the intention to protect some immigrants and concentrate all forces on â€Å"on criminals and national security threats† (Preston, n.p). Homeland Security claims that 85 percents of all immigrants are considered to be criminals (Preston, n.p). Still, such politics of Mr. Obama have been criticized in Mexico as it is suggested that a huge number of normal families that do not deal with criminal have been deported (Preston, n.p.). It is relevant to suggest that hard situation with border issues is laid historically. People in Mexico have been in search for the livelihoods since the end of nineteenth century (Bowden, n.p.) USA is regarded as a country that is able to suggest a helping hand. The border between USA

Intrest Rate Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intrest Rate Report - Essay Example When interest rates are reduced the cost of capital declines and investors will be more willing to invest and therefore this will increase the level of investment in the organisation. High interest rates also mean that loans are repaid at higher rates, many consumers finance their purchases financed using borrowed funds from banks and for this reason businesses may experience a reduction in their sales level when interest rates are increased, therefore businesses will tend to hold less inventory when interest rates are increased especially when stocks are purchased using borrowed money from financial institutions. A business will finance by equity and by debt, when the cost of debt rises as interest rates increase then the decision by business owners will be to finance through equity. For this reason therefore interest rates will affect the decisions made a business on how to raise capital for expansion purposes. The cost of operating businesses increases when interest rates are increased and the cost of operating businesses will decline when interest rates are lowered. ... Current Yield curve: The yield curve is a curve that depicts the relationship between interest rates and date to maturity of securities. Using data from the US treasury website the yield curve as of 21st January 2009 is as follows: From the above chart that depict the yield curve it is evident that the yield curve is an upward sloping curve. This means that if a business borrows for a period of 7 years then the higher will be the interest paid to the financial lender. Therefore the lower the borrowing period the lower the interest paid. Therefore business will opt to borrow for a short period of time to reduce the cost of capital. On the other hand it is also means that the more an investor or institution holds financial instruments such as bonds then the higher will be the returns. Interest rates and customer demand at big drive auto: An increase in the level of interest rates in the economy will affect the level of sales at big drive auto. This is due to the fact that the cost of borrowed funds rise and consumers are less likely to borrow funds to fianc vehicle purchases. For this reason the sales levels are likely to decline. The other reason why sales levels may decline is the fact that consumers may prefer to save rather than spend, high interest rates means that consumer savings will earn more in the economy and therefore a consumer will prefer to save or even invest in other attractive financial instruments such as stocks and bonds. If interest rates are to be reduced the cost of borrowed funds declines and more consumers are expected to be encouraged to borrow more form financial institutions to finance car purchases, therefore the demand for products at big drive auto will increase when interest rates

Improvement methods Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Improvement methods - Term Paper Example Although lean thinking and mass customization are two commonly used methods of work improvement, they may differ in terms of the amount of improvement, suitability of use and the amount of time and effort spent. Engineers are involved in planning, designing and scheduling of production activities to achieve organizational performance and meet customer specifications at the required standards (Boer, Pedrazzoli, Bettoni & Sorlini, 2013). â€Å"Elimination of defects in standard product designs and manufacturing methods before production is just as important as eliminating defects during production. In fact, to achieve the quality levels, manufacturers must focus on identifying and correcting defects in underlying product designs and production methods, not simply inspect incoming materials or finished goods†(Leon, 2008, P. 61). Furthermore, engineers are involved in the maintenance of machines and setting production layout to eliminate a risk of errors, ensure optimal use of space and timely detection of defects. These engineering activities contribute to the elimination of waste and improve customer satisfaction. Mass customization refers to customer co-design process of products and services, which meet the needs of each individual customer with regard to certain product features (Boer et al., 2013, 7). The principle of mass customization focuses on the production of large quantity of a different variety of products to meet specific needs of each customer. â€Å"With mass customization, the customer expects to receive a product that exactly matches his specifications. According to market research such as by Piller et al., a customer is willing to pay 10% to 15% more than the price of a standard product in order to obtain a customized one. But a customer is definitely not willing to wait a longer time for that product† (Rautenstrauch, Seelmann-Eggebert & Turowski, 2012, 46). Mass customization processes require engineers to meet specific

International Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Finance - Essay Example Every five years EU citizens elect the European Parliament. Other significant EU institutions include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Council, and the European Central Bank. Thereby EU has created one market through a uniform system of regulations which apply in all member countries. As a final stage of economic integration of the EU a monetary union (an optimum currency area) was formed. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) of 17 EU member states who have accepted the euro (â‚ ¬) as their common currency and solitary legal tender, makes the Eurozone, which is officially known as the euro area. Eurozone currently includes Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Other EU member states are expected to fulfil the strict entry requirements to enter the Eurozone while some EU state s namely Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom has chosen to stay outside the Eurozone. European Central Bank carries the responsibility of the monetary policy of the area, whereas other zone/euro related decisions are co-operated through the euro group. Part A and B of this paper will review the case for Eurozone membership in regard of the optimum currency area theory and issues with fixed exchange rate systems respectively. Thereby finally the paper will conclude how the Eurozone membership can be attractive to new applicants. A) Optimum currency area theory in the Eurozone A geographic region which would maximize economic efficiency by the entire region sharing a single currency is known as an optimum currency area (OCA). The earliest mention of the concept was by Abba Lerner (Scitovsky, 1984); although most acknowledged development of the pertaining theory goes to Robert Mundell. Mundell argues that for perfect regional economic integration the said region must be an OCA. Thus he presented two simulations. First was an OCA with fixed expectations: the argument in brief is that uneven shocks are considered to challenge the real economy. These shocks are significant and cannot be organised. Also the international monetary policy (interest rates) cannot be modified for a specific situation of each integral region. Thus a regime with floating exchange rate is considered better than a fixed regime (Mundell, 1961). By this means the properties (Mongelli, 2008) of a successful optimal currency area are reviewed below. Mobility of factors of production including labour. High market integration inside a group of partner countries can lessen the need to modify real factor prices and the nominal exchange rate between countries in reaction to disturbances (Mundell, 1961). The belief that mobility of factors of production enhances both efficiency and welfare was confirmed by the trade theory. Such mobility is likely display its effect in the long-run. The production factors’ mobility is restricted by the speed that direct investment can be generated by one country and absorbed by another. Likewise, labour mobility which includes physical capability to travel (workers' rights, visas, etc.), lack of cultural blocks to free movement (such as different languages and

The Workplace Relations Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Workplace Relations Amendment - Essay Example (Parliament of Australia, 2006) The bill has caused strong reactions from numerous stakeholders. A substantial number of employer association affirmed their support for the Bill. However, there are also some trade unions and labor associations that strongly campaigned against the Act. Some of these groups oppose the way the Bill was passed in parliament; they feel that most of them were not adequately informed about it. These arguments were brought forward by opposition members of parliament who argued that members of the Liberal National Coalition did not give the Bill enough time. However, there are intentions to change many parts of the Work Choices legislation as asserted by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He represents the Labor party which may have won the election due to this issue. Numerous opposition parliamentarians were opposed to the legislation. This affected the way the matter was handled in parliament. These opposition members; who represented the Labor party, claimed that there were inadequate copies of the Bill. Consequently, they took part in numerous campaigns against the Bill on the day it was introduced. Matters became more heated when parliamentarians were required to question the Bill; Labor party members were seen interrupting remarks made by proponents of the Bill and a substantial number had to be removed from the House. ... This was quite a hurried arrangement. As if that was not enough, the Bill was passed exactly a month after it had been introduced. Minister at that time argued that the hurried response was to avoid introduction of the legislation during an election year. However, this undermined the need for consensus. In order for pieces of legislation to gain acceptance by the public, they need to be thoroughly scrutinized. When this is not done effectively, some problems may arise in the future especially during implementation. The role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) The AIRC has been in charge of unfair dismissals and terminations too. However, the enactment of the Work Choices legislation has reduced their efforts in this regard. For example, employees who wish to make a claim to the Commission about unfair dismissals are expected to do so within a period of twenty one days fork the time their employment was terminated. This means that employees are placed at a disadvantage because twenty one days are not enough. In light of this, the legislation places more power in the hands of the employer rather than the employee since most of them may not be bale to meet this new deadline. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission is expected to approve extensions of claim periods. However, it has been shown that most of the time, these extensions are rarely granted. Part of the reason for this could be that there is a fee for application and most employees may not be able to afford this. Another reason for this observation could be the long procedures that employees have to pass through before they are granted extensions. The Work Relations Amendment has created long procedures;

Immigration in United States, From the view point of The Jungle Research Paper

Immigration in United States, From the view point of The Jungle - Research Paper Example These were the changes that had been induced by the rise of the metropolis, the development of a national economy and, to a crucial extent, by the industrial revolution –which has been viewed by highly educated people (including Sinclair) as the feverish mechanization of human life - arousing deep tensions and turbulences in the sociopolitical culture of the American society around 1890s. Sinclair’s readers may ask whether the transformations in the culture of the Lithuanian immigrants, who occupy the central themes of the novel, will suffice the cultural transformations of the US society. But while asking the question, one has to bear in mind the fact that the novel presents a particular aspect of American society in which the society’s socio-political-cultural variables of social transformations allow other cultures to be assimilated and to be fused with its own cultural traits in order to produce another which is more global and tolerant in nature. Consequentl y, the traits of the socio-political-cultural-economic transformation of the Lithuanian immigrants’ culture and their assimilations into the mainstream US culture serve as the prototype of the cultural changes of the US society around the first half of the 1960s. ... Then finally, they are forced to adapt themselves and their culture to the changed circumstances. These adaptations necessarily yield into new cultural forms that are capable of surviving in the hostile environment of industrialization. The attempts of the Lithuanians to preserve their native values, norms and traits of culture are evident throughout the whole novel. But in the beginning of the novel, the marital culture and other cultural values that are observed in an exuberant environment are livelier than in any other part of the novel. These wedding customs of the Lithuanians have had to go through the inevitable transformations and have to adapt themselves to the changed circumstances of life in Chicago. Throughout the first six chapters, the Lithuanian marital customs such as the matchmaker episode, wedding ceremony, wedding feast, very often accompanied by music, wedding songs, dances etc seem to exist in more or less modified forms. As Suk Bong Suh says, â€Å"Lithuanians s eem to have preserved much of these traditional wedding customs in America, though in somewhat modified form. Among others, the detailed descriptions of the wedding feast, veselija, show graphically to what extent they tried to preserve their old customs in a new environment† (Suh 11). Being the part of the agrarian society norms, the Lithuanian wedding tradition includes serving abundant foods and drinks during the marriage ceremony. As Sinclair remarks, â€Å"It was one of the laws of the veselija that no one goes hungry, and, while a rule made in the forests of Lithuania is hard to apply in the stockyards district of Chicago, with its quarter of a million inhabitants, still they did their best,

Infomatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Infomatics - Essay Example Caregiver, educator, and advocacy roles of a nurse identify need for computer competency towards knowledge development. As a caregiver and an educator, a nurse must develop knowledge that can then be conveyed to the audience for intended purposes and computer applications such as online searches from databases and libraries and communication applications aid these. Caregiver role requires greater competence for applications such as evidence-based research and evidence-based practice that the dynamic nursing environment necessitates. Competence into computer-based applications for data collection, analysis, and interpretation are necessary (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2011) and are my areas of weakness. Undergraduate and graduate students are competent in basic computer skills and have positive attitude towards informatics but parity in competencies between the two levels suggests need better skills at the higher levels (Choi & Martins, 2013) that can be inferred to needs at longer experien ce as mine. Nursing informatics competency is also necessary for improving effectiveness of self-care and for developing strategies for better self-care approaches (Knight & Shea, 2014), and this identifies need for improving my competency level. Use of research software for the application is the greatest weakness. Some software use commands for customization of worksheets to accommodate specific data sets, such as creation of headings for data sets. This remains my challenge and without it, input data lack meaning, and may rely on memory for an understanding. Similarly, specific commands or steps for executing in-built commands are necessary for conducting data analysis using statistical software and I lack the required competence. Results from my PATCH assessment identify my ability to realize the needs through learning to use computer and associated applications. My confidence in learning computer use for professional and creativity tasks, and my