Speech On Environment Essay Example for Free

Speech On Environment Essay Good morning to the Excellencies, my respected teachers and my dear friends. The topic of my speech is Environment. Environment is the surrounding in which we live. It is the source of life. Our whole life is dependent to the environment. It directs our life and determines our proper growth and development. Good or bad quality of social life depends on the quality of our natural environment. The need of human beings for food, water, shelter and other things depends on the environment around us. There is a balanced natural cycle exists between environment and lives of human beings, plants and animals. Human society is playing vital role in degenerating the natural environment which in turn negatively affects the lives on this planet. All the human actions in this modern world directly impact the whole ecosystem. All the actions have brought a big change in this planet which resulted in many environmental problems. Increasing demand of technologies and industries in the modern time impacts the nature. The increasing invention of new technologies has changed the interaction of people with environment which permits more population to grow. The modern technologies have immense power which has altered the whole environment in an unimagined way. The indiscriminate use of environment is the root of ecological crisis. Such continuous increase in the technologies and human behaviour are correspondingly very serious. Such amazing technologies have become the reason of economic growth in 20th century however it had dramatically affected the natural resources. Some of the environmental problems are rapid growth in world population, deteriorating natural resources, diminishing forests and wetlands, erosion of soil and coral reefs, depleting underground water, regular shortage of fresh drinking water, vanishing plants, salinization in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Middle East. Some other issues are loss of biodiversity, rapid extinction of some important animal species, collapse of fisheries, rising air and water pollution, rise in atmospheric temperature, thinning of ozone layer, spoiling rivers, seas and underground resources. Even though science and technology have radically altered the terms of adaptation to the nature, we still need to adapt to the environment. Human society is embedded in an environment. We must not forget that the human being is first and foremost an animal, sharing living space with other animal species in an environment on which they are mutually dependent. It is our responsibility to save our environment and earth and  make the possibility of healthy and happy life here.

Importance of the Internet in Modern Education

Importance of the Internet in Modern Education IMPORTANCE OF INTERNET IN MODERN EDUCATION Things are changing rapidly as the world is progressing. in this modern world people are using advanced machines to do their work. Computer is the most advanced machine that people use to do their work. This particular machine is used in every field of life. Advanced techniques are used with help of computers to diagnose dangerous diseases. Advanced manufacturing techniques are used with the help of computers to manufacture the products. Computers are extensively used in the field of engineering. In past one machine was used to perform only a single task but now-a-days with the help of computers you can perform different tasks at one time. In modern business environment computers have special importance. A huge amount of time is saved due to multitasking. In business terms time is money, so if you are saving time you are saving money as well. Due to multitasking the costs of businesses have reduced. What is the meaning of multitasking? It means that running several programs simultane ously. Since modern computers typically execute instructions several orders of magnitude faster than human perception, it may appear that many programs are running at the same time even though only one is ever executing in any given instant. Multitasking may slow down a computer that is running several programs at one time. Many advanced computers are designed to share their work across many CPUs. This process is called multiprocessing. This technique is generally used in powerful computers such as super computers, mainframe computers and serves. Thus, the entire world is fully dependent on computers. Due to this factor demand of computers has been increased. Computers have changed the way we work, be it any profession. Therefore, it is only but natural the role of computers in education has been given a lot of prominence in the recent years. Computers play a vital role in every field . How Is Distance Learning Different From Online Education? Distance learning institutes are serving a very important cause by enabling the less privileged sectors of the society to pursue higher education of their choice. The Distance learning program has come a long way as a medium of providing education to the professionals as well as the others who could not get chances to avail regular education. For this reason, a skeptical opinion about the prospects of distance learning courses has taken a bright turn. Distance learning is the modern term used for conventional correspondence courses. An off-campus educational program is just like a traditional one except the student will not have to spend as much, if any, time away from their homes to attend classes. This is a great for option for the working people who can not think of quitting their jobs in lieu of studying further. Although some people tend to associate distance learning with online education, a thin line of distinction exists between the two. While all the online degree programs belong to the family of the distance learning program, it is improper to term the distance-learning courses as the online ones. This is because the technology used in both the modes may be different in some cases. An online mode of education can be termed as a system which allows you to complete your bachelor degree or even master degree with the regular updates from the university you have enrolled yourself into. In case of a distance learning program you dont have any option to interact with you mentors or and clear you doubts or queries. In India, benefits of the distance learning program are more than the online education system. India is a developing country, so it not possible for the majority of the citizens to surf internet to complete their higher studies. Distance Learning Courses in India is increasingly becoming popular. The easy access to any of the distance learning courses enables a person to pursue education from any state or university according to his or her preference. As the fees of these courses are lesser than that of the regular courses, distance-learning courses in India have also become popular in the rural areas. There are, at present eleven open universities in India that provide distance education for those who are interested in taking up any of the educational courses in accordance with their wishes. Digital Signs For Education: Technology Continues To Evolve Our Centers Of Education Education is a dynamic process in any society, and experts agree that it takes a wide range of different communication styles to get across to all the different learning styles that exist. As our modern world evolves and becomes more sophisticated, so do our learning institutions. And one way technology is being used to continually adapt to the complicated learning process and make it more efficient than ever is by using digital signs for education. Here are just 5 ways that interactive digital media is being used in our top learning centers. Bulletin Boards Digital platforms are an extremely efficient means for replacing the drab bulletin boards of the past and create a vibrant, attention-getting visual display with video and audio for maximum effect. The bulletin boards were a waste of paper that was always being thrown out and after time even the boards themselves broke down and needed to be wasted. A video wall does not produce this kind of waste and gives information in way that will be noticed and not easily forgotten. Navigation Bigger universities are finding that interactive displays are excellent tools for assisting navigation around new universities for students and visitors alike. Complex mapping systems that plan out your route with a couple touches of the finger and concierge displays delivering essential information provide a great way to communicate with someone who is unsure of where to go and what to do. Less freshmen stumbling around with a dazed look on their face and less wasted time for employees giving directions for the hundredth time in a day. Donor Recognition Many of our top universities survived under the support of generous donors who wanted to give back to society or had a special place in their heart for that particular university. Interactive displays provide creative means of recognizing those contributions in a modern, eye-catching way that does wonders for the image of everyone involved. Donors feel a significant effort has gone into showing appreciation for their efforts and universities show they are embracing modern technology and staying ahead of trends. Posters Part of education involves other ways of communicating with studentssuch as informing about societal issues, advertising necessary services relevant to college students, and simply providing entertainment venues to keep college life exciting and welcoming. This is why you so often see posters plastered across the campus. Digital signs once again take away the need for wasted paper and communicate much more effectively. And instead of tearing down all the old stuff again and again, you can simply enter new data into online software from any comfortable location. Emergency Systems We all wish university life consisted of nothing but learning, growing, and having good times together. Unfortunately, bad things do happen, and certain aspects of modern culture have made tragic universities occurrences all to commonplace. And any venue this size needs an organized emergency system. A network of digital signs can provide that immediately, broadcasting images and announcements all prepared in advance. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Education Online education is to learn via a computer with internet connection. Getting an online education has become tremendous in these days. It provides opportunity to new educational program for students of all ages no matter if you are looking for a diploma or degree program or some specialized certification to supplement your knowledge. People considering online education should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages; here are the major advantages and disadvantages of online education that you must know. One of the major advantages of online education is the convenience. In todays busy lifestyle, most people have no time to have traditional learning to take time off from your schedule to attend regular and routine educational institution. Online education provides access to learn at any time, allows the flexibility to schedule your learning, what you need to have only computer and internet connection at home. Online education is also a great choice for those students with physical handicaps, which may prevent them from travelling to a college or university. Similarly, if you are shy or linguistically-challenged, learning in an online course may be a great option to learn in a class. Besides that, students can learn from anywhere in the world through online education, it benefits students who wish to study in a different country, they can learn different culture and knowledge from different country. In the contrary, one of the major disadvantages of online education is having the discipline of time management. If you cant able to manage time and schedule, online education will not be a suitable method of learning for you. You will probably perform better with the structure of traditional learning. If you are this kind of person, letting yourself to study at your own place and cant concentrate and be aggressive with your own schedule, you are not the right candidate for online education. Another disadvantage is the lack of oral communication. Since online education encourages communication through e-mail or text chatting only, you do not have opportunity to hear questions and discussion from other students. You may be deprived of scope to improve your oral communication skills. Before you pursue your online education, think twice that are you able to communicate well through words and texts? Online education isnt for everyone, it depends on the kind of attitude and personality you are. e-Learning initiatives in India in last few years Arguably, the most talked about Indian e-Learning project is the NPTEL project. NPTEL (National Programme onTechnology Enhanced Learning) was conceived in 1999 and funded by MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource and Development). Under the project, 7 IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and IISc (Indian Institute of Science) Bangalore, worked on the Rs 20.5 crore project from 2003 to 2006, to create 112 video courses and 116 web courses. All these courses are on undergraduate engineering topics, and made to meet most of the requirements of an engineering undergraduate program (at any Indian university). These courses are available to students, working professionals and colleges (both government-aided and private) at virtually no cost or very low cost . Coming to the usage of NPTEL resources, here are some interesting statistics Number of visitors In the initial 10 month period since September 2006, there were 580,000 visitors to the site and of which 160,000 registered . NPTEL site usage now As per Alexa site, 21% of visitors to iitm.ac.in website visit the NPTEL section. The iitm.ac.in website has a rank of 9813 in India. ( http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/nptel.iitm.ac.in) NPTEL video course details from YouTube As per YouTube site, it is YouTube Indias most subscribed channel with 10,148 subscribers and 353,632 views of the channel ( as on 22nd January 2009, http://in.youtube.com/user/nptelhrd) One of the observations is that there is lot of interest (more so during initial launch period), but it is not getting converted into results. The students/ institutions still need to be able to convert this into a usable experience, and improve their learning. Another commercially successful initiative is MBA Programs being conducted for Working Professionals using Satellite Video technology, by institutions like IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Calicut, IIT-Delhi, IIFT, IIT Bombay, XLRI etc. This was done by these instituions using services provided by companies like HughesNet (formerly Hughes Direcway), Reliance Infocom and now NIIT Imperia. The author could not find reliable information on number of students using these programs, but it is estimated at close to 10,000 annually. HughesNet itself has 2000 such centres in India. This is a successful example in the sense that it met the demand for quality education for working professionals in the city where they are located. It has been an economically viable model for the institutes, the technology providers as well as the students. It will do well to enlist what made this a success Premier institutes like IIMs, IITs, XLRI etc provided faculty who take the classes, run the program, ensure quality and institutes provide certificates to students. Institutes spent valuable faculty time and effort in creating and upgrading courseware specifically for these programs during the last 10 years or so. The vendor companies opened centres across India, for students to come in and view lectures and attend classes. Satellite-based video technology is used to beam live lectures from the institute studio to the centres. Learning Management System software is used to supplement this for giving assignments, reading material and collaboration among students and faculty. The companies also set-up studios in partner institutes to enable lecture beaming. And as we see, it was a comprehensive solution encompassing quality content, great technology, and services (marketing, infrastructure etc) to meet student need. Sakshat Portal from MHRD is another well-known e-Learning initiative. Modelled on lines of MIT OCW, it has been designed and developed by IGNOU for Ministry of HRD, as a repository of eBooks, eJournals, Digital Repository and other student-relevant information [4]. Study material is classified into various topics. Another related initiative again from IGNOU is eGyankosh another digital repository for learning resources. It has been developed with the objective of long-term preservation of learning materials. Some of the other lesser known e-Learning initiatives/ projects in India are Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham This initiative launched in 2004 uses satellite technology to connect 4 campuses of Amrita University located in 4 cities of South India. There is a collaboration with US universities also, and the project was expected to expand to 200 universities. It was based on technological support from ISRO [ BITS Pilani It has established a virtual university, with DIT sponsorship. BITS has been one of the pioneers in distance education. BITS has been providing courses for working professionals in distance education mode leveraging technology . Jadavpur University It started a new inter-disciplinary Masters in Multimedia Development course in2000-01 as a distance education course using print material, CD ROM, and web-based learning environment. Technology was provided by CDAC Kolkatta and CMC. Aligarh Muslim University It worked on a project in 2006-07 to take its distance education program online, starting with a few courses which are industry-relevant. Central Institute of English and Foreign Language, Hyderabad It had a project for online learning software set-up and usage in 2006. Many other universities and colleges had had small projects/ initiatives where they bought software, hardware and other technology products, got content development done for e-Learning launch. It included the likes of Hyderabad University, Kerala University, Terna College Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, etc. Remarks Based on the survey results, several suggestions are offered to improve the quality of web-based instruction for the statistical educations. It will be a useful guide for the best role of the internet in statistical education The highest priority needs are the improvement of hardware and network environment. Students need more fluent voice service and image file. The drawback is that we need a huge memory. Integration of library resources, dynamic lecture notes like videos or frequent animation into web-based courses was needed. Encouragement of active student-instructer and student-student interactions. Providing of initial training and continual support to students and instructors. Adoption of professional instructional design strategies. It is better to develop new paradigm of teaching statistics. For example more high technology computer based method, team teaching, problem based learning system etc. Continual monitoring of courses.

Glutamate Transporter Excitatory Amino Acid Experiment

Glutamate Transporter Excitatory Amino Acid Experiment Abstract N-(2-18F-Fluoropropionyl)-L-glutamate(18F-FPGLU) is a potential amino acid tracer for tumor imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). In this study, the  relationship between glutamate transporter excitatory amino acid carrier 1 (EAAC1) expression and 18F-FPGLU uptake in rat C6 glioma cells line and human SPC-A-1 lung adenocarcinoma cells line was investigated. The uptake of 18F-FPGLU in C6 cells increased significantly after induced by ATRA for 24, 48, and 72 h, which was closely related to expression of EAAC1 in C6 cells (R=0.939). Compared with the SPC-A-1(NT) control cells, the uptake of 18F-FPGLU on EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1(shRNA) cells significantly decreased to 64.0%. In the PET imaging of 18F-FPGLU of SPC-A-1 and EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1(shRNA)-bearing mice models, the uptake of 18F-FPGLU in SPC-A-1(shRNA) xenografts was significantly lower than that in SPC-A-1 xenografts, with Tumor/Muscle ratio of 1.67  ± 0.1 vs. 3.01  ± 0.3 at 60 min post-injection. The result s suggest that transport mechanism of 18F-FPGLU in glioma C6 and lung adenocarcinoma SPC-A-1 cells lines mainly involves in glutamate transporter EAAC1, which is an important transporter of 18F-FPGLU in tumor cells and may be a novel hallmark of tumor glutamate metabolism PET imaging. Keywords: N-(2-18F-fluoropropionyl)-L-glutamate; tumor imaging; glutamate transporter; excitatory amino acid carrier 1 Introduction As the most commonly used positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for tumor diagnosis, 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) also has certain false negative and false positive results(Shreve et al. 1999; Fletcher et al. 2008). It has been reported that 18F-FDG negative tumors may use a different metabolic pathway called glutaminolysis(DeBerardinis et al. 2007; Ward et al. 2012). Glutamine and glutamate play key roles in the adapted intermediary metabolism of tumors(Gao et al. 2009; Rajagopalan et al. 2011; Shanware et al. 2011). Several 18F-labeled glutamic acid and 18F-labeled glutamine have been used for metabolic PET imaging of tumor in humans (Baek et al. 2013; Venneti et al. 2015). High uptake of these amino acid tracers in tumor cells is likely related to the increased expression of amino acid transporters. For example, the upregulated system ASC, especially ASCT2 might contributed to the uptake of 18F-labeled (2S,4R)-4-fluoro-L-glutamine(Ploessl et al. 2012), and 18F-fluoro glutamic acid (BAY 85-8050) transport involved in Na+-dependent XAG- and Na+-independent XC- systems with XC- possibly playing a more dominant role, but both of them showed defluorination in vivo(Krasikova et al. 2011). 18F-labeled (4S)-4-(3-[18F]fluoropropyl)-L-glutamate (BAY 94-9392), another derivative of glutamic acid, whose transport was due mostly to upregulation of system XC-, a potential biomarker for tumor oxidative stressà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’can be useful for detecting system XC- activity in vivo and is considered to be a potential tracer for tumor imaging(Koglin et al. 2011). Our recently developed novel N-18F-labeled glutamic acid, N-(2-[18F] fluoropropionyl)-L-glutamate (18F-FPGLU), seemed to be a potential amino acid PET tracer for tumor metabolic imaging, with high tumor-to-background contrast in several tumor-bearing mice models. Preliminary studies showed that 18F-FPGLU was primarily transported through Na+-dependent high-affinity glutamate transporter system XAG-(Hu et al. 2014), but the accurate transport mechanism is unknown. Glutamate transport system includes Na+-dependent excitatory glutamate transporter XAG- system and Na+-independent glutamate transporter XC- system(Avila-Chà ¡vez et al. 1997). System XC- (xCT) is overexpressed on tumor c ells and is a potential biomarker for tumor oxidative stress. As an important member of XAG- system, excitatory amino acid carrier 1 (EAAC1), also called excitatory amino acid transporter 3 (EAAT3), localizes to the post-synaptic structure of neurons and surrounding glial cells as regulator of excitatory neurotransmission, and also exists in peripheral tissues, perhaps as metabolic regulators(Bailey et al. 2011). The expression of EAAC1 was known to be regulated by several mechanisms that modify carrier abundance on the plasma membranes and was markedly induced by all tans-retinoic acid (ATRA) in rat C6 glioma cells, which led to strikingly stimulate amino acid influx(Bianchi et al. 2008). However, EAAC1 transporter may be a potential biomarker for tumor molecular imaging. It has not been reported so far. This study investigated the relationship between EAAC1 expression and 18F-FPGLU uptake in C6 rat glioma cells line and SPC-A-1 human lung adenocarcinoma. The uptake of 18F-FPGLU was assessed in ATRA-treated and untreated C6 cells lines, and also in shRNA-mediated EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1 cells and the non-targeted (NT) control cells in vitro. Further prospective researches of PET imaging of tumor-bearing mice models with C6, SPC-A-1 and EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1(shRNA) xenografts were performed to reveal the correlation between the uptake of 18F-FPGLU and the expression of EAAC1. Materials and methods Materials All reagents, unless otherwise specified, were of analytical grade and commercially available. All chemicals obtained commercially were used without further purification. Inveon small-animal PET/computed tomography (CT) scanner was purchased from Siemens (Germany). Synthesis of 18F-FPGLU The synthesis of 18F-FPGLU from 4-nitrophenyl-2-18F-fluoropropionate (18F-NFP) via a two-step reaction sequence has been described in detail by the earlier paper(Hu et al. 2014). Cell Culture and Animal Models The C6 rat glioma cells, SPC-A-1 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were obtained from Shanghai Institute of Cellular Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China). The cells were cultured in culture flasks containing DMEM medium(for C6 cells) or RPMI 1640 medium (for SPC-A-1) supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% penicillin/streptomycin at 37oC in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 and 95% air. 24 hours before the experiments in vitro, C6 cells lines or SPC-A-1 cell lines were trypsinized and 2105 cells per well were seeded into 24-well plates. All animal experimental studies were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Utilization Committee (IACUU) of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University (approval No.[2013]A-173). All efforts were made to minimize animal suffering, to reduce the number of animals used, and to use alternatives to in vivo techniques, if available. The nude mice were obtained from Laboratory Animal Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University (Guangzhou, China). The C6, SPC-A-1 and EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1(shRNA) tumor models were made using previously described methods(Deng et al. 2011). Tumor cells (2-5-106) were injected subcutaneously and allowed to grow for 1 to 3 weeks. When the tumor reached 6-10 mm (diameter) micro P ET/CT scans were done. C6 induced by ATRA The rat glioma C6 cells were treated by all trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) 12 h after the passage. Culture medium was substituted with fresh medium (containing DMEM medium supplemented with 10% FBS) in the absence or in the present of ATRA at a concentration of 10 ÃŽ ¼M from a 10 mM stock solution in DMSO according to the literature16. After the treatment of ATRA for 24, 48 and 72 h, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were used to monitored the mRNA and protein expression levels of EAAC1 in ATRA treated C6 and non-treated C6 cells. Generation of shRNA-mediated EAAC1 knock-down cells. The method of generation of shRNA-mediated EAAC1 knock-down cells was similar to the literature(Youland et al. 2013). SPC-A-1 human lung adenocarcinoma cells was used for shRNA-mediated EAAC1 knock-down experiment. SPC-A-1 cells were transduced with lentivirus ecoding EAAC1-targeted short hairpin RNAs (shRNA). shRNA sequences were selected from human EAAC1 mRNA NM_004170 and the shRNA fragments were cloned in a lentivirus vector pGLV3 plasmid with the sequence 5-GCATTACCACAGGAGTCTTGG-3. A non-specific targeting (NT) shRNA for control was cloned in the same lenvirus plasmid backbone. Lentiviral packaging was performed with trans-lentiviral packaging mix in 293T cells according to the manufacturers instructions. SPC-A-1 cells were plated on 6-well plates at 2-105 cells per well. After 24 hours, medium was aspirated and replaced with 100 ÃŽ ¼L of virus-containing solution was added to each well and incubated at 37oC for 24 h. Cells were selected with puromycin and monitored for green fl uorescence protein (GFP) expression. The EAAC1 mRNA expression level was monitored by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The EAAC1 protein expression level was quantized by western blotting. qRT-PCR for the expression of EAAC1 Relative expression levels of EAAC1 mRNA in C6 and SPC-A-1 cells were calculated using the fluorescence quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) (Stratagene Mx3000P Real time PCR, Agilent). Total cellular RNA was isolated with the Rneasy mini Kit (TAKARA). 1 ÃŽ ¼g of RNA was synthesized to cDNA in a 20 ÃŽ ¼L reaction system with reverse transcriptase buffer, RT Enzyme Mix and primer MIX (Bestar qPCR RT kit, DBI). Conditions for reverse transcription were 5 min at 65oC, 5 min on ice, then 60 min at 37oC and 10 min at 98oC. Oligodeoxynucleotide primers of EAAC1 gene for PCR amplification was 5-AGTTCAGCAACACTGCCTGT-3 (forward) and (5-GTTGCACCAACGGGTA ACAC-3(reverse). PCR was programmed as follows: 2 min at 94oC, 20 s at 94oC, 20 s at 58oC à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ then 20 s at 72oC à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ for 40 cycles. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was used as a initial control and each sample was amplified in triplicate. The relative expression of EAAC1 mRNA compared with GAPDH was calculated by comparative threshold method (2 -ΔΔCt ). Western blotting for EAAC1 Cells were lysed in a detergent-containing buffer with protease inhibitors for 20 min at 4oC. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase ( GAPDH) was used as a reference protein. After solubilization, cell lysates were collected and centrifuged at 14000 rpm for 10 min. The supernatants were transferred into new tubes, quantification of proteins was performed with Pierce BCA Protein Assay Kit (Thermo) and aliquots of 25 ÃŽ ¼g were loaded on an 10% gel for SDS-PAGE. After electrophoresis, proteins were transferred to polyvinylidene difluorideà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ PVDFà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °membranes (Millipore) . The membranes with EAAC1 or GAPDH were departed at the middle position, and were blocked and incubated with deferent antibody, respectively. Non-specific binding sites were blocked with an incubation in Tris-buffer saline containing 5% of bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 1h at room temperature. Then the blots were exposed to EAAT3 antibody (rabbit monoclonal antiserum, 1:1000, Abcam) or anti-GAPDH rabbit monoclonal antibody(1:3000, Abcam) diluted in blocking solution for at 4oC overnight. After washing, the blots were exposed for1h at room temperature to goat anti-rabbit IgG HRP diluted 1:5000 in blocking solution. Cellular uptake of 18F-FPGLU Cells were plated in 24-well plates (2x105cells/well) and uptake studies were performed at 24 h after the passage. The cellular uptake of 18F-FPGLU studies was similar to the methods described previously(Krasikova et al. 2013). The medium was aspirated and the cells were washed 3 times with 1 mL warm PBS. 18F-FPGLU was dissolved in PBS solution and was added to each well (74-111 KBq/0.2 mL/well). After incubated with 18F-FPGLU at 37oC for 30 min, the radioactive medium was removed and the cells were washed 3 times with ice-cold PBS. Then, the cells were dissolved in 0.5 mL of 1 N NaOH and the activity was measured by ÃŽ ³ counter (GC-1200, USTC Chuangxin Co. Ltd. Zonkia Branch, China). The cell lysate (25ÃŽ ¼L) was used for determination of protein concentration by BCA protein assay. The uptake data are based on the amount of activity added to each well and the total amount of protein in each well. Each experiment was done in triplicate, averaged and was repeated 5 times on different days. The uptake of 18F-FPGLU was assessed on the ATRA-treated or untreated C6 cells, and on EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1(shRNA) cells or SPC-A-1(NT) control cells. The relative uptake ratios were calculated compared to the control cells. Small-animal PET-CT imaging Small-animal PET-CT imaging studies with tumor-bearing mice were carried out using the Inveon small-animal PET/CT scanner (Siemens). 3.7-7.4 MBq of 18F-FPGLU were injected intravenously in conscious animals via the tail vein. The mice were anesthetized with 5% chloral hydrate solution (6 mL/kg) and were kept warm throughout the procedure. Imaging started with a low-dose CT scan, immediately followed by a PET scan. PET images were acquired at 30, 60, 90, 120 min post-injection. For a comparative study, mice were kept fasting for 4 h and were anesthetized with 5% chloral hydrate solution (6 mL/kg) and imaged with 18F-FDG (3.7 MBq) at 60 min after intravenous injection. The images were reconstructed by two-dimensional ordered-subsets expectation maximum (OSEM). For each small-animal PET scan, ROIs were drawn over the tumor and muscle of the thigh on decay-corrected whole-body coronal images using Inevon Research Workplace 4.1 software. The quantification was performed according the meth ods described previously(Hu et al. 2014). Radioactivity concentration within a tumor or other tissue was converted to MBq/g and then divided by the administered activity to obtain an imaging ROI-derived percentage of injected dose per gram of tissue (% ID/g). Then, the ttumor/muscle (T/M) and tumor/brain (T/B) uptake ratios were calculated, respectively. Immunohistochemistry Expression of EAAC1 was assessed by immunohistochemistry on formalin-fixed paraffin embedded rat brain tissues and C6 xenograft samples. Immunohistochemistry experiments were carried out according to the literature(Wang et al. 2013). Normal rat brain tissues and C6 glioma tissues were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin overnight at room temperature. Tissues were then dehydrated, embedded in paraffin, and cut into 3-ÃŽ ¼m sections. After antigen retrieval, tissue sections were subject to immunohistochemical incubated with antibodies against EAAC1(Abcam), DAB was stained before mounted onto microscope slides. Tissues were analyzed with a Nikon E800M microscope. Statistical analyses Data were expressed as mean+/-SD. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS software, version 16.0 (SPSS Inc.), for Windows (Microsoft). Student t test was used to assess differences in the magnitudes of samples from two measurements. A P values of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significant. A scatter plot was drawn with the relative mRNA expression and the relative uptake of 18F-FPGLU in C6 cells treated with ATRA for 24h, 48h, 72h. Spearman correlation analysis and a linear regression analysis was performed between them. Results EAAC1 expression and 18F-FPGLU uptake in C6 cells induced by ATRA The EAAC1 mRNA relative expression levels in ATRA-treated C6 cells assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) are shown by Figure 1A. Compared with the untreated C6 cells, the EAAC1 mRNA relative expression level in ATRA-treated C6 cells treated with ATRA at 10 ÃŽ ¼M for 24, 48 and 72 h was increased to 1.72  ± 0.11à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’3.22  ± 0.22à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’4.0  ± 0.21 times, respectively( Fig. 1A). Meanwhile, the western blotting results also showed that EAAC1 protein expression in ATRA-treated C6 cells was increased gradually(Fig. 1B). Corresponding with the high EAAC1 expression in ATRA-treated C6 cells, 18F-FPGLU uptake was significantly increased to 1.47  ± 0.11à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2.14  ± 0.29à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2.12  ± 0.16 times in C6 cells treated by ATRA for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively(Fig. 1C). There was a high correlation between the relative EAAC1 mRNA expresion and the relative 18F-FPGLU uptake in ATRA treated C6 cells (R = 0.939, Fig. 1D). To summ arize, EAAC1 expression was markedly induced by ATRA in C6 cell lines. As a result, there was more 18F-FPGLU uptake in ATRA-treated C6 cells line which has more EAAC1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels. Figure 1 PET imaging on C6 glioma-bearing mice Small-animal PET-CT scan was performed on C6 glioma-bearing nude mice models 1h post-injection of 18F-FPGLU. PET-CT fusion imaging of the mice models demonstrated that 18F-FPGLU could intensely accumulate in C6 glioma (Fig. 2A). The tumor/brain uptake ratio of 18F-FPGLU on C6 glioma-bearing mice was higher than that of 18F-FDG at 1h post-injection of radiotracers(n = 3, P < 0.05, Fig. 2B). However, the tumor/muscle uptake ratio of 18F-FPGLU in C6 glioma-bearing mice was lower than that of 18F-FDG (n = 3, P < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed that widely diffuse EAAC1 transporter staining was shown in C6 glioma, however there was minimal EAAC1 staining in normal rat brain write matter tissue (Fig. 2C). Figure 2 EAAC1 expression and 18F-FPGLU uptake in EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1 human lung adenocarcinoma cells The influence of EAAC1 expression on 18F-FPGLU uptake was specifically investigated using RNA interference-mediated EAAC1 knock-down SPC-A-1 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Lentivirally delivered shRNA significantly reduced EAAC1 mRNA expression in SPC-A-1(shRNA) cells, as compared to the non-targeted (NT) shRNA control cells (SPC-A-1(NT) cells), EAAC1 shRNA reduced EAAC1 mRNA expression by 72% in SPC-A-1(shRNA) cells (P < 0.01) (Fig. 3A). At the protein expression level, EAAC1 shRNA significantly decreased EAAC1 expression in SPC-A-1(shRNA) cells by 59.6% (P < 0.01) (Fig. 3B). Knock-down of EAAC1 expression was associated with a significantly lower 18F-FPGLU uptake by 36% in SPC-A-1(shRNA) cells (P

The Transmission of Diseases from Livestock :: History Disease Health Medical Essays

The Transmission of Diseases from Livestock The signs at the Philadelphia International Airport are bold and make a clear point. The bright, yellow billboards all but shout: "Keep Foot and Mouth Disease out of America." Soon after seeing these signs upon entrance to the airport, travelers are greeted by customs agents who check documentation and bags to insure that the traveler has not been prone to the disease on his journeys. Any traveler exhibiting the warning signs of an individual who carries the disease is quickly swept away- removed from the general populace in order to prevent possible spreading of the disease. The above precautions may seem extreme. Then again, the precautions may appear normal in a world that has quickly strengthened airport security in response to recent terrorist activities. Neither of these reactions to the security checks would be fully accurate. The security checks preventing free entrance by individuals who have come into contact with animals or areas that house animals abroad are an innovation designed to prevent the most common method for spreading disease. These precautions have been implemented in order to prevent the spread of diseases infecting livestock. Throughout the course of history, diseases have been the greatest killers of humans. In fact, the winners of most wars were simply the ones who proved less susceptible to the germs carried by the enemy (Diamond, p. 197). Diamond correctly points out, then, that diseases have been the largest shaper of history. For instance, what would the world look like now if the Native Americans had carried germs that were far more potent than the Spanish conquistadors? (p. 197) The diseases that have been the great molders of the human experience are very often and quite easily traced back to animals, specifically livestock. Food production was seen relatively early in history of civilization as a better means for providing for a great number of people than the hunter-gatherer model that was once the primary model of existence. The success of food production in maintenance of human life leads to a society which has become dependant on farming, ranching, and other ways of life that produce foods from animals. The increased number of individuals able to be supported by a society supported by agriculture serves as an important factor in the spreading of disease. The most common method for spread of disease is direct transmittance from the animals to the humans.

Anomie Essay -- essays research papers

Although America was a confident and optimistic nation in 1917 before the introduction of the two major World Wars and the Vietnam War, this no longer is the case today. Wars have reshaped American history, politically, economically, socially and culturally. Throughout the course of time religious structures have been falling, events such the Great Depression have caused unemployment, divorce and crime rates have skyrocketed and suicide coupled with violence has gained much popularity and acceptance in the news. Many of the rigorous norms once established and followed have been disintegrating, thus providing an avenue for ever increasing chaos with an apparent state of anomie where there are no clear rules to firmly guide society. Inflations and unemployment in America have been great sources of chaos. The fact that wealth has never been evenly distributed has always caused the rebellion and in some cases retreatism posed by sociologist Robert Merton. Today Bush’s presidency has caused the jobs of many people. About 113,000 workers have been cut from payrolls since September of last year. In numerous occasions Bush has said, â€Å"The slowdown is real and is affecting too many lives. I want the American people to know we're deeply concerned about the unemployment rates and we intend to do something about it.", yet he has not developed any new plan to stop unemployment or at most decrease it. This presidential attitude in turn has led many to reject the story that society c...

Consumers Attitude Toward Apartment in Bangladesh Essay

All the actions have a motivational component that led him towards an action or behavior. A person needs, wants, interests and motives are changing and consumers’ behaviors are directed accordingly. Most of the businesses are on the principle of profit maximization and on the other hand consumers goals are to maximize their utility and satisfaction. As far apartment is concerned developers want their profit maximization and utility and satisfaction from consumers’ point of view. Housing or shelter is a physiological need for every human being. Purpose of the report This report is one of the requirements of our consumer behavior course. Despite this, we tried to evaluate and examine those factors that motivated them to undertake a buying decision and their perception and attitude towards apartment. Objectives of the report Identify and analyze the motivational factors that lead to consumers to buy an apartment, their perception about the apartment and market condition and trend in Real Estate Business. Scope of the report The report is a product of existing practices in the market. We were encouraged to reveal the current participation in the real estate business. In our report we examined the consumer behavior and learning (knowledge & information) towards owning an apartment. For our report we have prepared a questionnaire and asked people living in an apartment and potential buyers as well as people who are willing to rent an apartment. The other side of the coin that is developers is not responsive as far as cost profit and promotions are concerned. They are responsive to reply the questions of segment, target market and potentiality of the industry. Limitation of the report Time was the prime factor that dictates us to lower our sample size. Initially we tried to conduct 25 people (both living in an apartment and potential buyers) and 5 developers but in reality we conducted 15 (both living in an apartment and potential buyers) and three developers. Company’s management was not so much cooperative and provided inadequate information, which had a material, affect. We didn’t find any institution that formally gather information about real estate business and the structure of the industry. We found only BIDC that undertook a research on real estate in 1991. But after searching different newspaper offices we found some secondary information. We didn’t find any journal in our library as far apartment as well as real estate industry is concerned. Consumers were not homogeneous in determining the factors that persuade them to own an apartment. The scatteredness of the consumer poses limitation in comparison between factors influencing and persuading the decision making process. Methodology  At first we tried to gather secondary information and secondary data. But the volume of the secondary information was not adequate as a result we conducted a survey. Regarding the collection of the primary data we have prepared a questionnaire and in some extend we interviewed personally (Depth interview). So we may title our report as a combination of quantitative as well as qualitative research. We attached some news bulletin of real estate that may help to visualize the current position. Our sample is composed of 15 consumers and 5 developers. We covered only Dhaka city and selected area namely Gulshan, Bananni, Dhanmondi and Moghbazar. The variables used in our report are income, price, age, occupation, social status, employment and preferences. We followed finding analysis technique to come to a conclusion, which may or may not support our objectives. Background (inception) of the Industry The concept of apartment is not very old. In Dhaka city, The real estate business, especially apartment projects, started in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Dhaka City, the Ispahani Group was the pioneer in this sector. In the early 1980s with the inception of Eastern Housing LTD, the business started flourishing. The industry growth rate is about 15%. More than 57 real state developers are now operating in this business and it is a booming sector of the economy. From the traditional perspective, people used to live in own house or as rental basis. After the independence, population of Bangladesh had risen very sharply in an alarming population growth rate. Due to this reason the demand of living facilities of huge population became a crucial and challenging problem to optimize the land, which will allow to accommodate a large number of people in relatively small land, the apartment concept had been created to meet the objective. As far Dhaka city is concerned the apartment can provide shelter for the large number of people. This situation welcomed the apartment business to flourish. However, at first the culture and traditional life style became the constraints to adopt this way of living. As time passed people modify their beliefs, attitude and perception. People became interested about the issue while the demand to own an apartment began to rise. Since the late 1980s to now on construction of apartments are increasing. Recently the competition among developers take an intense form that give more bargaining power of buyer over developers. Our report reveals that people are becoming more sensitive about the developers. They are searching for more information about the price, design, features and facilities of the apartment as well as the educational background of the developer. Many factors influence the consumer behavior and family life cycle.

Plain View Doctrine Essay

Plain View Doctrine is in essence a weapon for the law enforcement officers to prove the legality of their search and seizure. (â€Å"Plain View Doctrine†) As a rule, law enforcement officers are bound by the 4th Amendment which requires that before they could conduct a search or arrest they must first secure a valid search warrant or arrest warrant. Any object seized in the absence of a search warrant will be inadmissible in evidence. One of the exceptions however to the search warrant requirement is the Plain View Doctrine. The plain view doctrine gives validity to any search and seizure made by law enforcement officers even in the absence of search warrant. Although this doctrine is widely recognized as an exception to the search warrant requirement under the 4th Amendment, in reality, the law enforcement officer who discovers an illegal contraband in plain view does not really conduct a search. Rather, the law enforcement officer merely seizes what was already in his plain view. In applying the plain view doctrine in this fact pattern, I give a qualified answer. There are two issues in this case whether the marijuana cigarettes which the police officer found near the stolen purse is admissible in evidence under the plain view doctrine and whether the powdery substance the police officer found in the baggies on a patio table is admissible in evidence under the plain view doctrine. In the first scenario, I argue that the marijuana cigarettes found on the ground together with the other contents of the stolen purse is admissible in evidence against its owner. The three requirements of the plain view doctrine are present in this case. Firstly, the police officer discovered the marijuana cigarettes using his sense of sight. Secondly, the officer had the right to be in the place where the item was seen. It must be stressed that the police officer who discovered the marijuana conducted a hot pursuit operation of a fleeing suspect. In the course of the chase, the suspect dropped the stolen purse spilling its contents. Thirdly, the marijuana cigarette was found outside the purse and its discovery was not a result of prying or examination of the police officer. Clearly, the marijuana cigarette is admissible against its owner. On the other hand, I argue that the powdery substance or the illegal drugs found in the baggies on top of the patio table is inadmissible in evidence for violation of the 4th Amendment. In this case, the first and third requirements of the plain view doctrine were complied with. The police officer discovered the illegal contraband using his sense of sight and that the discovery of the illegal drugs was not the result of prying or examination. The illegal drugs were merely inadvertently discovered by the police officer when he entered the yard of the owner. However, the second requirement was not complied with. In this case, the police officer had no right to be in the place where he saw the illegal drugs. It must be stressed that the plain view doctrine applies only when a lawful search is in progress or the officer was otherwise legally present at the place of the seizure. Following a long line of jurisprudence, among the possible reasons why a police officer may be considered to be legally present in a particular place is if a) he is serving a search warrant, b) he was in hot pursuit of a suspect; c) he made the entry through valid consent; d) he made a valid arrest with or without a warrant. The officer was not serving a search warrant since he had none. The officer was not also in hot pursuit of a suspect because when he entered the woman’s house the pursuit operation had ceased. At the time, the suspect was able to escape from him. There was no lawful consent coming from the owner when he entered the premises. At the time of the discovery, the police officer was not making a valid arrest with or without a warrant since there was no person to be arrested in the first place. Thus, I believe that this evidence is inadmissible in court. This is consistent with the ruling of the court in the case of Washington v. Chrisman (455 US 1), where the court ruled that the â€Å"The plain view doctrine, however, does not authorize an officer to enter a dwelling without a warrant to seize contraband merely because the contraband is visible from outside the dwelling†¦ the plain view doctrine applies only after a lawful search is in progress or the officer was otherwise legally present at the place of the seizure. The initial intrusion must be justified by a warrant, by an exception to the warrant requirement, or by other circumstances authorizing his presence. †(455 US 1)