Biochemistry Prac Report Essay Example for Free

Biochemistry Prac Report Essay Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) plays an important role in the anaerobic fermentation of yeast. This reports aims to analyse the kinetic parameters of ADH through spectrophotometry of ADH-catalysed reaction where ethanol is used as a substrate. The Lineweaver-Burk and the Eadie-Hofstee plots are used to linearly transform the hyperbolic form of the Michaelis-Menton equation and to calculate the accurate values of the kinetic parameters under consideration. This results obtained from these plots and equation help tp determine the importance of Km values of enzymes and various factors affecting it such as pH, temperature, presence of metalloenzymes. A brief discussion about the poor substrate specificity of ADH towards ethylene glycol and methods to prevent the occurrence of acidosis in human being due to the presence of ethylene glycol is also presented. INTRODUCTION Dehydrogenases enzymes oxidize a substrate by transferring hydrogen to an acceptor. (Branden et al. , 1975). Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH- EC 1. 1. 1. 1) belongs to this group and catalyses many enzyme reactions (Sund and Theorell, 1963). Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast) has three isoenzymes of ADH namely YADH-1, YADH-2 and YADH-3. YADH-1, which is important for fermentation, consists of four identical subunits, each containing a co-enzyme binding site and a bound zinc atom (Leskovac et al. 2002). Anaerobic conversion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves conversion of pyruvate (formed during glycolysis) into ethanal (acetaldehyde) in the presence of enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase (first step) and then reduction of acetaldehyde in the presence of ADH using co-enzyme NADH into ethanol, carbon dioxide and NAD+ (second step). The second step is reversible and these post-glycolysis reactions take place in the cytosol (Petro, 2005). The above-mentioned reactions were the basis of this practical where the kinetics of ADH was closely monitored by spectrophotometric analysis. NADH has an absorption maximum at 340nm while the oxidized form has no absorption at this wavelength. A backwards reaction was carried out and an expected increase in absorbance of the solution was observed as at 340 nm as NADH was reformed (Suzuki et al. 2000). The role of kinetic parameters, maximal velocity (Vmax) and the Michaelis constant (Km) of ADH were also investigated. The isoezyme YADH-2, which differs from YADH 1 at position 294 (methionine inYADH-1, leucine in YADH-2) is responsible for promoting the backward reaction by oxidizing ethanol to acetaldehyde. The higher activity of YADH-2 can be attributed to tighter binding of the longer chain alcohols and more rapid hydrogen transfer (Gould and Plapp, 1990). This background helps to define a hypothesis for this practical.

Rwanda: Mamdamis Argument and Suggestion for Reform :: essays research papers

â€Å"Hegel once said that how humans are distinguished from animals is the fact that they are willing to give life for a reason higher than life. He should have added that humans, unlike animals, are also willing to take life for a reason they consider higher than life† (Mamdani, 2001, 196). Why was America under terrorist attack on 9/11? Why was Hitler obeyed? Why did hundreds of thousands of ordinary Hutu kill hundreds of thousands of ordinary Tutsi in an attempted genocide that lasted 100 days? To answer these questions it is important to distinguish between who are the subordinate and superordinate groups involved. In order for an oppressed group to have complete political freedom, the oppressor must be exterminated. Mamdami attempts to explain why the genocide of 1994 occurred by comparing people who identified as either Hutu or Tutsi and how historical, geographical, and political components made these identities. A colonial term for genocide is â€Å"ethnic cleansing†, making the world new again so change can occur (Mamdani 12). HISTORY: To understand the Rwandan genocide, it is crucial to look at the historical events that lead up to 1994. The Hutu and Twa were the original inhabitants till the 1300’s when Tutsis’ migrated into Rwanda. By the 1600’s the king of Rwanda was Tutsi. In 1916, Belgian forces occupied Rwanda and Tutsi kings become indirect rulers. By 1957, Hutus’ develop political parties and in 1959 the Hutu’s force the Tutsi king and thousands of other Tutsis out of the country. A Hutu president comes to power in 1962 and in 1963, about 20,000 Tutsis are killed. Tutsi forces invade Rwanda from Uganda in 1990. Hutu Rwandan president attempts a peace treaty signing monitored by the UN in 1993 to share the power. In 1994 the Hutu president is killed by an unknown group and the genocide begins against the Tutsi lasting 100 days. Eight-hundred thousand Tutsis are murdered. (BBC.com) Of course, this is only a brief historical breakdown written from a eurocentric standpoint, but it does help explain the political identities of the opposing groups within Rwanda. The main motivators that drove Hutu groups to kill their Tutsi neighbors were, a.) The Hutu who killed were entitled to that Tutsi person’s property and material goods.

Psychopathy Essay

There have been many studies linking conduct disorder to antisocial personality disorder and sometimes to psychopathy as well. Conduct disorder appears in children and adolescents and involves behavior that violates rights of others and/or societal norms or rules. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the individual’s behavior must include actions such as aggression to people or animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, serious violations of rules, as well as a clinically significant impairment in the adolescent’s social, academic, or occupational functioning. The DSM-IV states that in order for a child or adolescent to be found to be presenting Conduct Disorder he or she must present with three or more of the above listed behaviors in the past twelve months, including at least one in the past six months (McCaullum, pp. 6-12, 2001). Those who present with antisocial personality disorder may or may not present with psychopathy. There are two main assessment devices used to evaluate the level of psychopathy that a person exhibits. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was developed by Robert Hare in 1980 and revised in 1991 (Blair et al, 2005). The Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) is another device used to assess psychopathy in adults (Frick & Hare, 2001a). Both of these assessments consist of twenty behavioral items, scored from zero to two, that are used to measure whether or not a person possesses certain traits that, when combined, are common to those of people diagnosed with psychopathy. There have been many research studies conducted over the years concerning the validity and effectiveness of the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised. One such study was aimed at assessing whether or not the level of psychopathy of an individual, as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised, was correlated to that individual’s probability of violent recidivism (Tengstrom, Grann, Langstrom, & Kullgren, 2000). The study had a sample size of 202 male violent offenders presenting with schizophrenia that ranged in ages from 16 to 67. The base rate for each individual’s Psychopathy Checklist- Revised score was 26 and the base rate for reconvictions during follow-up was 21% (Tengstrom, Grann, Langstrom, & Kullgren, 2000). Overall, his study showed a positive relationship between score on the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised and the level of violent recidivism. The implications of this research study show that the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised can be used as a tool to gauge the likelihood of reconvictions concerning violent crimes, at least when discussing male violent offenders that present with schizophrenia. Another study, conducted by Walters and colleagues (2003), strived to determine whether the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised or the Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form (LCSF) compared to each other when assessing levels of disciplinary adjustment and recidivism. Although the results of the study showed that the two tests were similar in results, the Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form only took about ten minutes to complete while the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised takes between two and three hours (Walters et al, 2003). Therefore, it was concluded in the study that if there was a high risk of offender recidivism or disciplinary maladjustment, the Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form would possibly be a better choice due to the cost-effectiveness of the inventory. Due to the abundance of characteristics tested for in the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised, there have been many studies to assess which of those have a greater effect than others when discussing propensity to commit violent offenses. According to Blair and associates (2002), one of the specific symptoms presented in individuals with psychopathy is a reduced level of empathic response. There has been a positive relationship found between high levels of antisocial behavior and low levels of empathetic response. This supports the reason that both the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and the Antisocial Process Screening Device for children include the lower levels of empathetic response to victims in their criteria of psychopathy (Blair et al, 2005). One of the most common methods in which this theory has been tested is by measuring the level of skin conductance in individuals while presenting them with images of people in distress. Both children with psychopathic tendencies and adults with psychopathy present reduced autonomic responsiveness (Blair et al, 1997). This study shows that while those not presenting with psychopathy show high levels of autonomic responsiveness through sweating due to empathy felt by viewing the disturbing images, those that present with psychopathy or psychopathic tendencies do not. According to a study conducted by Blair and Coles (2000), individuals presenting with psychopathic tendencies or psychopathy tend to have a reduced ability to name both fearful facial expressions and fearful vocal affect (Stevens et al, 2001). An interesting fact coinciding with this finding is that while both children with psychopathic tendencies as well as adults with psychopathy present with this lowered empathetic response to fear and sadness, they do not show impairment in responding to expressions of happiness, anger, or surprise (Blair et al, 2005). Another factor associated with psychopathic tendencies or psychopathy is a partially inhibited ability to make the distinction between moral and conventional transgressions. A moral transgression is explained by Turiel (1983) as one that is defined by its consequences pertaining to the rights and well-being of individuals, such as hurting a person. A conventional transgression is assessed by its consequences for the social order (Turiel, 1983). A person that is not presenting with psychopathy will not present with an inability to distinguish between moral and conventional transgressions. They tend to reference the victim in a moral or conventional transgression situation more frequently when explaining their reason as to why they believed the transgression to be wrong. In the case of those presenting with psychopathic tendencies, psychopathy, as well as some other antisocial disorders, individuals make less references to the victims included in the situation and also seem to have a more difficult time distinguishing between moral and conventional transgressions discussed in the situation (Blair et al 1995a). The second of the two previously mentioned deficiencies in the ability to distinguish between moral and conventional transgressions is even more prevalent when the rules banning the specific transgressions are removed from the scenario. Thus, if there is no law or rule prohibiting the act or transgression, children with psychopathic tendencies, adults with psychopathy, as well as other antisocial populations will show a decreased ability to distinguish between the two types of transgressions (Nucci & Herman, 1982). Another area that is studied in order to search for differences in populations that present with psychopathy is that of gender and ethnicity. In a study by McCoy and Edens (2006), researchers looked to test the theory that stated that individuals of African descent are more likely to present with psychopathy. The study included 945 Black and White youths who were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist- Youth Version. There was a lack of results showing any significant difference between Caucasians and those of African descent. However, there was an unexplained heterogeneity among the individual races. The researchers from this study advised that more research should be conducted in this area of study in order to attempt to discover the reason for this similarity within the individual races. Another study, this one conducted by Kosson, Smith, and Newman (1990), used a combination of three separate research projects in order to come to a conclusion. The first study was aimed at examining the internal structure of the Psychopathy Checklist and and its scores in relation to several constructs relevant to psychopathy. This first study found that there were differences between Whites and Blacks in the distribution of psychopathy scores. It also noted a difference between the two groups in the relation of psychopathy to measures of impulsivity. The second study was focused on assessing patterns of passive avoidance manifestations as compared to the results in a study conducted by Newman and Kosson (1986). It found that the levels of passive avoidance manifestations were similar, but not identical, in the two groups. The third and final study consisted of assessing the levels of criminal charges received by both psychopaths and non-psychopaths. This portion of the study was particularly interesting in that it found that psychopaths do, in fact, receive more criminal charges than do non-psychopaths (Kosson, Smith, & Newman, 1990).

Manufacturing Industry and Fair Trade in Australia

The question that is being studied here is of unemployment, and this is clearly not being lost because of imports. The calculations have been made by the Australian Center for Industrial Relations Research and Teaching, and they say facts about the net changes in the rate of employment between 1988 and 1998 in a number of industrial sectors. It can be seen that there is a clear decline in employment in eight sectors of industry during this decade. There was a net loss of about 250,000 jobs and more than sixty percent of the loss was in areas where there was no competition. This concerned employers like Commonwealth Bank, SECV, State Rail NSW, AMP, and the federal public services. (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) Compared to this, the total number of people employed in sector of textiles, clothing and footwear manufacture in Australia has been 80. 2 thousand as per the figures available for 1998. (Manufacturing employment) The important areas of job loss have been in the manufacture of different products with low import threats, and where the imports come from high wage countries. The exception is in the case of textile, clothing and footwear — TCF. In the case of these products, the imports are from medium wage countries and that import is 36. 0 percent of the total market for these goods in Australia. The largest import is from China, and they are now selling 20 percent of all TCF goods in Australia. (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) This has been confirmed at meetings of the productivity commission regarding the future of industry in the city of Melbourne and the state of Victoria. In the public hearing, they have also confirmed that if the recommendations of the commission are implemented then there would be another loss of 30,000 jobs. An industrialist, Brian Rush had this to say about the textile industry – â€Å"Commodity sewing, as such, in Australia has a real struggle in front of it. Our all-up labor rates in Bendigo, with all the add-ons, are about $28 an hour. You go to China and it's less than 50 cents an hour†. (Textile jobs under threat. 2003) It is not that the government is not aware of the situation in the country and has already allocated $575 million for the textile, clothing and footwear sector under the Strategic Investment Program as stated by the minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources. His statement said â€Å"Australia's $9 billion textile, clothing and footwear manufacturing industries can now apply for investment and R&D assistance under the package which has been closely and extensively negotiated with industry players†. (Australia: Textile, clothing & footwear sector investments worth AU $575mn approved, 2005) But this does not seem to have helped the workers as in one case, the workers sacked by National Textiles on January 21st are still on a 24 hour picket outside their factory and that is located about 170 kilometers north of Sydney. There are 342 workers and the claimed dues are on account of entitlements which are not paid consisting of leave on a yearly basis, sick leave, long service, redundancy payments and superannuation. (Sacked Australian textile workers picket for $11 million in unpaid entitlements) Regarding TCF, the economists at Reserve Bank have stated that about one third of the jobs lost in clothing are due to low wages and that is a total of 28,000 jobs. For footwear this amounts to 6,000 jobs lost. Well this seems to support that fair trade is the main reason for the lost jobs but they have also stated â€Å"Despite this large import effect, productivity improvements accounted for about two-thirds of the fall in employment in this sector† (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) This can be seen from a comparison of the figures of 1994 and 1999 where in the case of machinery and equipment the productivity has risen by 23. 2 percent and the job losses have been only 3. 9 percent reduction. In the TCF sector, the increase in productivity has been 15. 1 percent and the job losses are 15. 3 percent. (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) When one looks at the total employment figures the picture becomes even clearer with a reduction between 1974 and 1999 with a total reduction in textiles clothing and footwear by 53 percent, whereas in transport equipment and machinery the reduction was by 39 percent and in metallic products by 29 percent. Thus it is clear that employment is on the way down with a total reduction by 22 percent. This is hurting the workers as 24 percent of the total workers were employed in manufacturing in 1974, but this came down to just 12 percent in 1999. This does not mean that this section of industry has started producing less, and the production has increased, but the gains have not been passed on in terms of additional workers. This is reflected in the fact that the major portion of Australia's workers is now engaged in the service sector – 82 percent of them. (Productivity Commission: Move to scrap tariffs sooner rather than later) To some extent the mismatching of the Australian government timing of cutting the protection of the textile, clothing and footwear sector with the change of the global TCF industry to get into a new form of organization, the commodity chain is also responsible. Due to this change, some Australian TCF manufacturers could not continue business any longer, while the others followed a number of strategies to remain in business, and these including a change of the labor required. This has led to losses in jobs determined by age, gender and ethnicity in the skilled and semi-skilled levels of production. This has been replaced by jobs in design, marketing and management. The jobs in the factories of Australia have to the Pacific Rim. (Trade and inequality: Australia's textile, clothing, and footwear industries, 1986-1996) As an example one can see that in December, there was a reduction by the Sara Lee clothing factory of 200 workers in the factories of Sydney, Wollongong and Kempsey. The number was half of the total employees of workers in the organization. This company now plans to get most of the production for the company done at Fiji, where the labor is cheaper. A similar decision was also taken by Levi Strauss, the famous jeans manufacturer. They are now planning to cut down about 60 percent of the workers in Elizabeth, near Adelaide. They amount to 100 workers. (Australian Job Losses) For many of the workers this means social changes and increases unemployment rates in many areas leading to losses in consumer demand for products. For the people there are long term effects on health due to the loss of jobs and finding a job when one is over 50 is not easy. For the company also it is a loss of manufacturing capacity. Productivity Commission: Move to scrap tariffs sooner rather than later) In the meantime, a new breed of employers has come up and these are the employment agencies. They offer high efficiency when placing the employees in a firm. They claim to offer economies of scale due to their being a specialist third party managing the aspects of personnel management like recruitment. This is normally the function of the personnel department. They also lead to lower transaction costs and thus increase efficiencies due to the matching involved. Yet it is not very popular as in 2003 a survey showed that organizations are using hired employees for the purpose of getting workers for immediate requirements. Yet, a survey showed that 42 percent of the firms believe that there are good benefits for the firms using hired employees. The perceived benefits are the reduction of administrative costs, being able to go through a thorough process of recruitment and getting skilled workers. A very small portion of the firms gave their reason as reduction of employee cost due to lower payments. Temporary employment agencies as labor market intermediaries – new ways of working in an open economy) According to a study done by ABS in June 2002, there were 290, 000 employees hired through the employment agencies at that time. This is a 3. 1 percent share of the total employment market. According to them the organizations which had a union with a closed shop had the least chance of using a labor hire agency. This is thus a limiting factor on labor hire agencies. The positive factor for a labor hire agency is an organization with an employee relations manager. These managers are knowledgeable about the different sources from where they can get labor, as also the different types of labor with them. They are more likely to use the agencies when appropriate. Yet organizations hire labor sparingly and along with other flexible forms of labor like part-time labor and casual labor. (The Growth of Labor Hire Employment in Australia) It is wrong to expect the free traders or the fair traders to really have the interests of the workers at heart. One has to realize that the problem in part arises from the present chase for productivity and international competition.

Alice in Wonderland essays

Alice in Wonderland essays Lewis Carrolls works Alices Adventures in Wonderland s is shown a childs ability to survive in a hostile world. By this last statement I am referring to Cohens comment that Wonderland (published in1865) captures the disappointments, fears, and bewilderment that all children encounter in their dealings with authoritarian, pompous and mystifying adults which Wonderland seems to have no deficiency of. Throughout the story Carroll portrays his views on the education of the times. He makes morals and tales of obedience(Brown,May Lee) seem nonsensical by the character of the Duchess and Alices preoccupation with her lessons. The Duchess keeps insisting to Alice that Everythings got a moral, if only you can find it(Wonderland, 70), but with morals like mustard and dogs both bite(Wonderland, 70) you can see this rule is not quite right. The absurdity of such a character(Brown,May Lee) trying to teach Alice anything is a parody of what Carroll thought about the lessons children were being taught. Also Alice refers to her lessons and her education, usually very proud of the learning that she has acquired. It seems, however, that the information that she remembers from her lessons is usually either wrong or completely useless.(Brown, May Lee) All...

Great Quotations About College

Great Quotations About College College quotations can address everything from life as a starving student to the value of an education. Below are some of the most on-the-spot, pithy, and overall great quotations about college. (For full citation information, please see details at the end of the article.) College Quotations A University should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning. Benjamin Disraeli, speech, House of Commons, March 11, 1873 (Oxford)Men may be born free; they cannot be born otherwise, and it is the duty of the university to make the free wise. Adlai Stevenson (Esar)The true University of these days is a collection of books. Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic (Oxford)Our colleges ought to have lit up in us a lasting relish for he better kind of man, a loss of appetite for mediocrities. William James, The Social Value of the College-Bred (Bartlett)A college education doesnt make fools; it merely develops them. (Esar)Universities incline wits to sophistry and affectation. Francis Bacon, Valerius Terminus of the Interpretation of Nature (Oxford)An education is a wonderful thing; no college should be without one. (Esar)College is a refuge from hasty judgment. Robert Frost, quote, July 9, 1961 (Oxford)My whaleship was my Yale College and my Harvard. Herma n Melville, Moby Dick (Bartlett) The use of the university is to make young men as unlike their fathers as possible. Woodrow Wilson (Esar)A Harvard education consists of what you learn at Harvard while you are not studying. James B. Conant, Time (September 29, 1986) (Oxford)Dont join too many gangs. Join few if any. Join the United States and join the family But not much in between unless a college. Robert Frost, Build Soil (Bartlett)Many a man spends the happiest years of his life as a freshman at college. (Esar)D ye think th colledges has much to do with th progress iv th wurruld? asked Mr. Hennesy. D ye think, said Mr. Dooley, tis th mill that makes th wather run? Finley Peter Dunne, On Wall Street (Bartlett)To live for a time close to great minds is the best kind of education. John Buchan, Memory Hold-the-Door (Oxford)Life isnt all beer and skittles, but beer and skittles, or something better of the same sort, must form a good part of every Englishmans education. Thomas Hughes, Tom Browns Schooldays (Bartl ett) Some students go to college to learn to think, but most go to learn what the professors think. (Esar)He who enters a university walks on hallowed ground. James Bryant Conant, Notes on the Harvard Tercentenary (Bartlett)Education begins when your father sends you to college, and is completed when you send your son there. (Esar) Sources: Bartlett, John. Bartletts Familiar Quotations, Fifteenth Edition. Little, Brown, Company. 1980. Esar, Evan. 20,000 Quips Quotes. Barnes Noble, Inc. 1995. The Oxford Essentials Quotations Dictionary, American Edition. Oxford University Press, Inc. 1998.

Market Analysis for Children's Parties Services in the UK Essay

Market Analysis for Children's Parties Services in the UK - Essay Example Daisy enter aments is music based association of services which integrates organizing, recording and creation, publishing music and record label. A family business works with creating children parties making it stress free for her parents. At these parties, everything that the client feel is necessary is provided. These include party suppliers, cakes, children’s costumes, and entertainers. Daisy entertainments market is wide and deals with all kinds of organization ad communities dealing with children. Whether it is a large corporate or community with special needs, daisy entertainment crew is capable of adapting its services to suit the clients needs of he children. The team, which forms Daisy Entertainers, is energetic, in-house talented fun loving, loves children hence reliable and enthusiastic. Daisys entertainment has a unique and simple party planning known as party in a box. Party in a box includes everything the client requires for their child’s party as suggest ed by Daisy entertainments (2005). These include filed party bags, napkins, invitations, table covers foil, cups, plates, banners, party hats and latex balloons. However, all these facilities depend on customer’s choice and are delivered to the door anywhere in the UK. There are also various children themes from which entertainment programs are chosen. They include Disney princess, Hannah Montana, Spiderman, and the night Garden. Daisy’s entertainers provide wide scope of entertainment activities such as puppets, face painting, balloon modeling, magic, plate spinning among other. This organization can over variety of things ranging from fun and lively children entertainers to catering services, birthday cakes, decorations, themed goody bags and set up services. The party is usually planned within the client’s requirements and budget. Daisy entertainment market size is large with wide range of facilities: Children character entertainer; all types of children char acter entertainers are available at daisys entertainment and it is upon the client to make choice. They include games, magic, music, and puppets. The charges for character entertainers are ?195 fro every two hours of fun. Venue setup, decorations, and design: daisys entertainments will set up the venue and design it for only ?200 with decorations included. Catering services: their caterers can deliver fresh party food or the children and present it on party platters. All these are provided for ? 10 per child. They an also provide menu for adults guests at only ?7 per person according to Harbpor, Benton (n.d). Cup cake and other cakes: fabulous cakes for ? 115 only, are provided together with cup cakes, which match your party for only ?2. Bespoke extras: daisy entertainments provide guidance for unique but stressful children party planning and this can be done by conducing them through their contacts. Themed decorations, pinata, tableware, and party bags: all these are available at d aisy entertainments at an affordable amount. Daisy entertainments website provides everything that their customers need in order to make the children parties extremely special. At their website, the customers can also find extras, which make their children’s party more memorable such as, consumes and accessories according to ages.Due to the increasing demand for entertainment in children parties, there has been raising number of entertainment organizations. As a result, daisy entertainme