How to improve students’ Performance Essay

The success of any educational system is crowned by the success of the students in their academic performance. Every classroom layout and school structure should therefore be created to provide the most intrinsic way with which the learners can be motivated toward the learning process which consequently implies their good performance. Many schools and learning institutions have captured the interest of the student success as the central point which therefore provides a future benchmark for a continued strong portfolio in the academic context in the community. An important process which can provide a stepping stone towards students’ success is that of classroom organization which implies that the learning needs of every student are catered for within the dimensions of their placement within the classroom setup. Majority of the learning and classroom organization involves various assessment methods with which students can be evaluated of the learning and academic achievement levels. Tutors are required that they collect various information that can be extracted from the assessment methods and consequently analyze it which they can therefore use to create the most lucrative methods of advice and strategies that align with the demands and needs of their academic achievement (http://www. rmcdenver. com/useguide/assessme/reflect. htm). The foremost precept which can be employed in evaluating the level of success by a student is a cordial evaluation and interpretation between whatever content that a student could have mastered and that which has not in order to intuitively evaluate the area of concern which needs improvement. The choice of re-teaching a certain area of concern that has already been taught to students requires an evaluation on the number of students that have mastered the section or those that have not mastered the same. In the event of a large number having successively mastered such an area of concern, the remaining small group can be grouped in some group works and consequently accessed in terms of re-teaching or offering them with assignments. The general theory of learning provides that success or failure of a student in the learning process depends on the statutory context of the materials and resources that are offered to him/her as learning aids and the effort that the teacher applies in instilling educational competence and learning to the students. From this description, we can internalize two important aspects that underlie the primary basics towards the academic success of the student. First, is the level and content of the educational resources that are provided for the student in the learning process. Secondly, is the degree and scope of efforts and teacher commitment towards the teaching process in the classroom. From these two premises, we can delineate that students should be offered with the most adequate and promissory facilities and resources that provide them with a hub of fountain learning environment. Either, the efforts and the level of teacher commitment is of necessity important in leveraging a promising success in the student achievement in the learning process (http://www. rmcdenver. com/useguide/assessme/reflect. htm). As an important component, it goes without saying that the role of each participant in the learning context of the student is one such an important aspect that provides a likelihood of parametric concern in the students’ success. In this context, various key role players including the teachers, parents, the student themselves and the school boards are all fundamental in laying foundations and framework with which the student success can be supported. Therefore, each should play their respective roles in the most resilient manner which consequently provides an ideal environment for the student’s success.

Image of Nursing Essay

Every nurse should be concerned with the overall image of nursing. Nursing is considered to be the most trusted, honest and ethical profession. The media and the public will continually critique how nurses perform in and out of the clinical setting. Nursing protocols and guidelines have shaped nurses into professionals who have a great deal of knowledge and experience in their particular field. The image of nursing has changed a lot over the years and each nurse has a personal responsibility to maintain a positive overall image (Gambrell, 2004). Nurses should ask themselves how to confront and address the negative images of nursing. We need to be aware of how our appearance affects the delivery of healthcare. Tattoos, piercings and scrubs are very influential in the eyes of the patient and their families. Popular TV shows also portray nurses in a certain way that could cause common misconceptions. In recent years more males have been entering the nursing field and are taking on more duties as role models and mentors who are admired and respected (Hoeve, 2013). Nurses should incorporate communication, collaboration, critical thinking and clinical judgment into every aspect of their job. These qualities should begin in school and will hopefully remain with the nurse for the entirety of their career. Every single nurse is ultimately responsible for how the profession of nursing is  viewed. The â€Å"image† of nursing is very subjective and therefore, no absolute definition exits. The majority of a nurse’s work is invisible to all except the patients, their families and the organizations they work for. We’re always being watched and a positive attitude can go a long way in the eyes of the patients and their families. Nurses traditionally don’t have a strong relationship with the media. They tend to focus more on human-interest stories rather than professional abilities. By publicly sharing aspects of our jobs we are then able to enhance the public’s image of nursing. The image of nursing will successfully be enhanced because we will be seen as professionals who care for each other and support one another’s professional growth . I believe that every nurse, from new grads to clinical nurse 4’s, is absolutely responsible for the overall image of nursing. Public opinion shapes political agendas. Because public opinion is often based on inaccurate images, nurses must participate in the public arena to shape our image (Gambrell, 2004). Nurses are not given due recognition for the skills they have by the majority of the public. The essence of nursing is not always clear and nurses still suffer from many stereotypes including gender. The media often depict nurses working at the patient’s bedside and performing repetitive and routine tasks, mostly as the doctor’s handmaiden. The public image of nurses does not always match their professional image; nurses are not depicted as autonomous professionals and the public is not aware that nowadays nursing is to a great extent a theory-based and scholarly profession (Hoeve, 2013). As nurses, we should always strive to uphold a positive public image, self-concept and professional identity. The self-concept of nurses and their professional identity are determined by many factors, including public image, work environment, work values, education and culture. A negative public image may challenge nurses to look for successful strategies to improve their self-concept and to show their invaluable contribution to the healthcare system. I’m very proud to be in this field. References Gambrell, M. (2004). Improving Our Image a Nurse at a Time. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(10), 510-511. Hoeve, Y. T., Jansen, G., & Roodbol, P. (2013). The nursing profession: public image, self-concept and professional identity. A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 295-309.

Architecture and Programming model of 8086

Architecture and Programming model of 8086 Intel 8086 is a 16 bit integer processor. It has a 16-bit Data bus and a 20-bit Address bus. Since 20-bit address lines are available that provide up to 1MB of storage. It consists of a powerful instruction set which makes it possible to carry out different operations easily.It supports 2 modes of operation, Maximum (multiple processors can be used) and Minimum (Single processor is used).Architecture of 8086 The internal architecture of 8086 is divided into 2 units, Bus Interface Unit (BIU) and Execution Unit (EU).A diagram of the architecture is shown below.Bus Interface Unit (BIU)BIU takes care of all data and address transfers on the buses for the EU like sending addresses, fetching instructions from the memory, reading data from ports, writing data into the memory ports and lastly it also generates the memory addresses. The EU and the BIU are connected by the Internal Bus.The BIU has the following functional parts: Instruction Queue- the BIU uses the concept of pipelining. This means while the current instruction is being executed the BIU gets up to 6 bytes of the next instruction (prefetching) and stores them in the instruction queue. Once execution is complete, the instruction queue is ready to provide the next instruction set which is simply read and executed. This results in increased execution speed. Instruction Pointer- It is a 16-bit register used to hold the address of the next instruction to be executed. Segment Register BIU has 4 segment buses, i.e. CS, DS, SS ES. It holds the addresses of instructions and data in memory, which are used by the processor to access memory locations. CS It stands for Code Segment. It is used for addressing a memory location in the code segment of the memory, where the executable program is stored. DS It stands for Data Segment. It consists of data used by the program and is accessed in the data segment by an offset address or the content of other register that holds the offset address. SS It stands for Stack Segment. It handles memory to store data and addresses during execution. ES It stands for Extra Segment. ES is additional data segment, which is used by the string to hold the extra destination data. Execution Unit (EU)EU gives instructions to BIU stating from where to fetch data, decode it and finally execute it. Its function is to control operations on data using the instruction decoder and ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit). The data on which the operations are performed is brought in using the BIU.The EU has the following functional parts: ALU- It handles all arithmetic and logic operations, like +, -, Ãâ€", /, OR, AND NOT. Flag Register- It is a 16-bit register that behaves like a flip-flop, i.e. it changes its status according to the result stored in the accumulator. It has 9 flags and they are divided into 2 groups Conditional Flags and Control Flags. Conditional Flags It represents the result of the last arithmetic or logic instruction executed. These flags are listed below: Carry Flag- This flag is set to ‘1’ when an addition causes a carry or a subtraction causes a borrow. Auxiliary Flag- This flag is set to ‘1’ when an addition causes a carry while moving from a lower nibble to the upper nibble in BCD addition. Parity Flag- This flag is set to ‘1’ if the low order 8 bits of the result contain an even number of ‘1’s. Zero Flag- This flag is set to 1 when the result of arithmetic or logical operation is zero. Sign Flag- This flag holds the sign of the result, i.e. when the result of the operation is negative, then the sign flag is set to 1 else set to 0. Overflow Flag- This is set to ‘1’ if the result is out of range or when the system capacity has exceeded. Conditional Flags These control the operations of the EU and can also be used by the user. These flags are listed below: Trap flag It is used for single step control and allows the user to execute one instruction at a time for debugging. If it is set, then the program can be run in a single step mode. Interrupt flag It is an interrupt enable/disable flag, i.e. used to allow/prohibit the interruption of a program. It is set to 1 for interrupt enabled condition and set to 0 for interrupt disabled condition. Direction flag It is used in string operation. As the name suggests when it is set then string bytes are accessed from the higher memory address to the lower memory address and vice-a-versa. General purpose register- There are 8 general purpose registers, i.e., AH, AL, BH, BL, CH, CL, DH, and DL. These registers can be used individually to store 8-bit data and can be used in pairs to store 16-bit data. The valid register pairs are AH and AL, BH and BL, CH and CL, and DH and DL. It is referred to the AX, BX, CX, and DX respectively. Their functionalities are listed below: AX register- It is also known as accumulator register. It is used to store operands for arithmetic operations. BX register- It is used as a base register. It is used to store the starting base address of the memory area within the data segment. CX register- It is referred to as counter. It is used in loop instruction to store the loop counter. DX register- This register is used to hold I/O port address for I/O instruction. Stack Pointer Register- It is a 16-bit register which holds the address from the start of the segment to the memory location, where a word was most recently stored on the stack.

American Franchisers in China Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Franchisers in China - Case Study Example Foreign franchisers invested in Europe, Asia, South America and some parts of Africa. In Asia, China has the biggest market and starting businesses in this country is very strategic. However, the political, social, and cultural conditions in China are not the same with the United States. This paper tries to analyze the different strategies that the KFC franchisers took to make KFC one of the most successful franchises in China today. This paper also mentions the problems the managements encountered and the measure they took to remedy those. It also analyzes how successful KFC franchises are in China that they reached a total of 2,200 KFC branches4 in China alone. Johan Olsson cites several reasons why an international business strategy such as joint venture is recommended for China: (1) solves many logistic problems such as access to good quality chicken and other supplies, (2) eases the access to the Chinese market, (3) shares risk with local entity, and (4) serves a sign of commitment to the host government increasing goodwill.5 Pei Liang and Sun Zhixian examine which of the three (3) business strategies: (1) direct franchising, (2) master franchising, and (3) joint ventures is effective in the Chinese market. For direct franchising, the success of this strategy relies on establishing a good relationship between foreign investors like the Americans and local partners in China. Local partners know and understand much about the political, economic, and social conditions of the country. They are also in "much better position(s) to negotiate with government agencies as well as required suppliers."6 The authors also add that direct franchising for American franchisers will be difficult without local partners in a culturally-different state like China.7 Olsson adds that franchising is not suitable for China because of the strict foreign investment laws. For master franchising, the main problem that exists why this strategy has lower success rate compared to joint venture is the availability of a qualified master franchisee. Liang and Zhixian describe a master franchisee to have not only an abundant capital but also "a favorable social relationship as well as the entrepreneurial skills and the ability to communicate easily with a franchisor." If the master franchisee fails to maintain "franchise quality or reverse engineer and duplicates the franchisor system, he franchisor could, as a practical matter, face considerable difficulties in enforcing the terms of the master franchising agreement or terminating the relationship."8 For the master franchising to work in China, the master franchisee must possess the qualities of leadership and a lot of public relation skills. For Liang and Zhixian, they recommend the joint venture as the best choice for starting a business in China. They also mention that choosing a good and qualified local partner is the critical point for the success of any foreign business in China. Working with unqualified local partners may incur more management costs than management benefits because it weakens the performance of the business.9 Olsson supports these arguments by saying that "a potential partner with sufficient contacts [and] networks with government agency officials may smoothen the process of setting-up operations in the nation."10 Olsson also adds that joint ventures produce

The rationale of a reduction in incarceration in the United States Essay - 1

The rationale of a reduction in incarceration in the United States - Essay Example Some of these men and women have families who depended on them and once they are put in jails, it means that their source of income have been lost (Arditti, 2012). Such a move leaves that family in poverty as they can no longer cater for their basic needs. In order to make the ends meet, such a family may turn to crime as the only alternative. In this way, incarceration end up creating more problems rather than providing a solution. Reducing incarceration should not be based on the manner of health. This is because, if prisoners can be well checked in matters pertain to their health, both mental and physical illness cannot be witnessed in prisons. Law enforces must also put into consideration the way offenders have been brought up by their parents before determining the incarceration period. Some parents neglect their children forcing them to turn to crime. Therefore, such children need to be considered and their term be reduced. In addition, there is also a need for counseling of such

Educational Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Educational Change - Assignment Example Every person has one or more disabilities. It might be physical or psychological disability. One of the main reasons of learning disabilities is the lack of concentration. Student's thoughts divert very easily. They could not keep up their concentration level up to the mark. Short-term memory is also one of the reasons. Some of them were unable to remember previous days lessons or unable to grasp features of learned lessons quickly. Due to the above-mentioned reasons teachers should be responsible towards the students. The best way to teach is to give students a way in which they grasp easily. Here comes the usage of technology where graphical user interface systems can be used to make students understand the subjects easily. They should employ different teaching methods so that students could easily grasp the subject. Student oriented and student concentric activities should be encouraged. Assessing student's abilities and disabilities is the major factor and teachers should strive to identify these issues. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses one can easily work on these issues. Self-confidence plays an important role in everyone's lives. It is the deciding factor that decides a winner and a loser. Like in any other department catering department also needs to work on the above-mentioned reasons so that most of the students were benefited. The classes were conducted as per the schedule. Eight students a day attend the classes on different days of a week. Each batch of the students has to attend classes 4 days a week. Classes had been classified into theory and practical. During these 4 days 3 hours of practical lessons and 1 hour of theory lessons would be conducted.More number of hours was allotted to practical lessons because students could gain hands on experience with the tools and the methods that would be employed during the course process. Theory lessons were also as important as practical lessons. In theory classes discussions would be held, future plans could be discussed and many other things could be employed. COMPLEXITY Students attending these classes may suffer from learning disabilities. The onus is on lecturers or on the teaching staff. They should shoulder the responsibility of improving student's abilities and make them believe in themselves.For example in catering care should be taken about following health standards. The students should be taught about the basic heath, safety and hygiene rules. The teaching staffs have to ensure that every student follows the safety standards prescribed by the health department. Negligence regarding health and standards should be treated severely. If violated counselling of students should be conducted. All the safety measures should be up to date and checks has to be done on safety equipment. Since kitchen is not a safe place first aid and emergency telephone numbers should be kept in an easily accessible place.In theory classes teachers should employ different methods of teaching so that students can grasp easily. There should a constant interaction betwe en student and teacher. This kind of interaction eases the tension in the classroom and student feels at home and shows signs of interest in the subject. PRACTICALITY Manufacturing and maintenance industry has been flourishing in the Internet era. These computers along with the

NIMSAD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

NIMSAD - Essay Example Planning, analysis, and designing prior to implementation are very important. The process technology tools or the methodology framework are developed to help organizations explore the procedure, organize work tasks, control and monitor progress and manage technical quality (Pressman). The selection of a proper process modeling tool is necessary. If the process is weak, the end product will undoubtedly suffer, because when the planning and analysis is not done accurately, there remain some discrepancies in the end product. But an obsessive over- reliance on process is very dodgy too. The selection of an appropriate methodology gives a better end product, better developing process, and a much standardized process which can help in attaining the user requirements. The outcome of all the methodologies is not same. Some are product-oriented; others are more concerned about the user requirements. Some are for small projects while others are for organizational projects. The selection of the design methodology is done with respect to the users’ requirements, time scale, cost, and human resource. The methodologies are classified on different factors. Some methodologies focus on process orientation and functional decomposition such as STRADIS and YSM. Other methodologies like IE emphasize on analysis of data. Classification of methodologies is also done on the geographical location such as SSADM and MERISE. Methodology like ETHICS focuses on the socio-technical issues (Jayaratna, 1994). Different frameworks are used to evaluate design methodology. Frameworks are a systematic way to assess methodologies. It summarizes the methodologies and raise points that user himself has to solve accordingly, and then select the methodology. There are many frameworks which evaluate the methodologies but this essay will be presenting NIMSAD; this framework will

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

Lynching - Essay Example And on that same day, residents claim that one of the thieves was captured and was set on fire resulting to the act of public lynching. Residents did this brutal act of public lynching because police didn’t give them enough protection and that the residents claimed justice into their own hands. Residents claim that the police in their community are corrupt and would not protect them if there was no corresponding amount of money involved. The residents protested and didn’t report to their work the following day. They have invited the police in their town to have a meeting and to settle the issue between the police and the community. During the meeting the residents demanded that the police protection in their community should be improved, that the stolen goods should be returned to its owners once the thief that was set on fire discharges out of the hospital, that the police stationed in their community are changed and that the robbers named â€Å"banda† will be e victed in Villa Pagador. After the burning on one of the robbers, the residents were labeled by the police and the media as savages. The residents had a furious reaction to this because they were the ones who were robbed and that they only took justice in their own hands because there was no way they could depend on the police as stated above, and now they are the ones being projected as dreadful people. Residents claim that the police in their community are being paid by the â€Å"banda† to give way on the robbery operations, that’s why the residents wanted to change the set of police in their community. These are the driving forces that lie behind the quest for visibility on the part of Villa Pagador residents. The residents in Villa Pagador are trying to achieve legitimate police protection and to change their image as savages. That’s why they showed there way of protesting through public lynching

Medical Law & Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medical Law & Ethics - Essay Example There are proponents of a universal healthcare insurance plan for all Americans. In this policy, everyone will be entitled to government-controlled health insurance regardless of their financial background (WHO, 2010). I believe that everyone in the US is entitled to equal rights and this includes equal access to medical services. This means that no one should be turned away from a hospital just because they are not properly insured, or because their insurance is not enough to cover medical expenses. Yet there are over 50 million American citizens who cannot afford basic health insurance (Bardes, Shelley and Schmidt, 2008). It is true that not all Americans are well endowed in terms of material wealth. Therefore there are many out there who cannot afford health insurance. I think the introduction of a universal system of health insurance would help lessen the burden of medical costs for many people in America who deserve the same medical care as those who have the means of paying hefty health insurance cover money. I do not think that there is anyone out there who is wiling to part with his or her hard earned cash paying for someone else’s health insurance. However, if this universal health insurance is adopted, someone has to bear the cost. It is a known fact, however, that the money needed for an ambitious project such as a universal healthcare plan will come from the Americans themselves (Bardes, Shelley and Schmidt, 2008). I do not think that this is as bad as people think it is. In any case, this is a classic case of Americans helping their fellow Americans. In my opinion the government is doing a great job in pushing for a universal health insurance system. I believe that the federal government is very capable of running a well organized health insurance system for all Americans. It is about time we started thinking about out fellow Americans who cannot

Darko Suvins Metamorphoses of Science Fiction Essay Example for Free

Darko Suvins Metamorphoses of Science Fiction Essay

The four factors

The four factors Track 11 The four factors that influence natural selection are genetic variation, overproduction of offspring, struggle for existence, differential survival and reproduction. Natural selection says that the organism most fit for living in its environment, will be most likely to survive and reproduce passing on those good traits to their offspring. Eventually, there will only be organisms that have those good traits. People with one sickle cell gene will survive the disease and grow up to reproduce children with the gene. Just one person had the original mutation and that has caused most of Africa to now have that gene because that gene makes them more fit to survive in their environment. 3. 1. Data Table 2. Explain how the color of moths increases or decreases their chances of survival depending on the environment. In a sooty forest, the darker moths blended in more and were harder to spot by predators which gave them a higher chance of survival. In the lichen forest, the lighter moths blended in more giving them a higher chance of survival. 500 light colored moths and 500 dark colored moths are released into a polluted forest. After 2 days the moths were recaptured, make a prediction about the number of each type of moth that would be captured. About 7% of the dark moths will be captured and about 93% of the light moths will be captured. How has the striking change in coloration come about? (Include an explanation of how the dark moth appeared and how the proportion of dark moths changed from 0.0005% to more than 90% in polluted forests.) The dark coloration was an accidental genetic mutation but in that environment, it was more fit to survive so over time, there were much more dark colored moths. What underlying law of nature has produced this change? (Use Darwins theory of evolution and apply it to what you have learned in this investigation.) Natural selection produced this change. Fitness is not necessarily the fastest or the strongest, it is the best suited for the particular environment. In that sense, survival of the fittest is an accurate statement. The brown beetle may not be faster or stronger than the green beetle but it produces more offspring and in this case, that makes it more fit. If the green beetles tasted bad to predators then eventually, there would be no brown beetles left because the green beetles would have an advantage. They would be more fit for their environment which would give individual green beetles a better chance of surviving and reproducing than individual brown beetles. When a group of bacteria is attacked by an antibiotic, there may be an individual bacteria that has a genetic mutation allowing it to survive the attack. Since that individual survives, it can divide and all of its offspring will have that same genetic mutation. Eventually all of the bacteria will be immune to the antibiotic. Microevolution happens on a small scale with individual populations. Macroevolution happens on a large scale creating many different species from one original. Organisms that reproduce through asexual means create offspring that have exact copies of their own DNA. Their offspring are perfect clones of the mothers. Sexual reproduction is time consuming, and mothers only get to contribute half of their genes. This makes asexual reproduction look better but in reality it isnt. Asexually reproducing species stopped evolving when they became asexual because there is no genetic mutation or variation (offspring are clones of parents). This leaves them susceptible to things like diseases. Since they cant evolve, their species cant become immune to diseases, which causes their species to become extinct.

Essay --

A merger is the combining of two separate firms to merge into one firm. Usually when two firms merge, the smaller firm will merge into the larger firm. Only the acquiring company retains its identity. There are An acquisition refers to the purchase of a company’s assets or the controlling shares of a company by the acquiring company. Types of mergers: Horizontal merger: This is a merger between two firms in the same line of business. These firms are always competitors. Vertical merger: This is a merger that exists when an entity merges with one of its suppliers forming a buyer seller relationship. For example, a merger between a company that produces furniture with a company that produces wood. Conglomerate merger: This is a merger that exists between unrelated firms from different industries. Both firms carry out different activities and are not competitors. For example, a brewing firm merging with a clothing industry. Process of mergers and acquisitions. Process of mergers and acquisition is very important because the process can greatly affect the benefits that a company would gain through mergers and acquisitions. The process is divided into different phrases. Phase 1 This is the business valuation stage. In this stage, the acquiring party should assess the situation of the their firm and its future capabilities. Will the company be able to maintain its market share, the return on capital or there core competencies? If not, then a merger and acquisition would be necessary. In this stage, the business should be valued and analyze whether a merger will help improve the firm’s valuation or whether the firm should use internal growth instead. The business should access the roles, it expects the merger to perform, and ... ...e firms merged to increase their market share. Hp was stronger on the consumer side compared to Compaq while, Compaq was stronger on the computer (pc) business and the commercial side if the companies merged, each would concentrate on their strengths and this would increase their market share. Why they failed. Hp had begun to miss its long-term goals and its estimates in the growth of both the pc markets and the business were very optimistic. The management failed to achieve what the merger had to offer and this caused the price of the stock to fall. Hp found it hard to overcome the problems that were associated with the strategic integration because hp had only been concentrating on its operational integration. Recommendations Hp should critically analyze their strategic integration and come up with solutions to the integration problems faced. Essay -- A merger is the combining of two separate firms to merge into one firm. Usually when two firms merge, the smaller firm will merge into the larger firm. Only the acquiring company retains its identity. There are An acquisition refers to the purchase of a company’s assets or the controlling shares of a company by the acquiring company. Types of mergers: Horizontal merger: This is a merger between two firms in the same line of business. These firms are always competitors. Vertical merger: This is a merger that exists when an entity merges with one of its suppliers forming a buyer seller relationship. For example, a merger between a company that produces furniture with a company that produces wood. Conglomerate merger: This is a merger that exists between unrelated firms from different industries. Both firms carry out different activities and are not competitors. For example, a brewing firm merging with a clothing industry. Process of mergers and acquisitions. Process of mergers and acquisition is very important because the process can greatly affect the benefits that a company would gain through mergers and acquisitions. The process is divided into different phrases. Phase 1 This is the business valuation stage. In this stage, the acquiring party should assess the situation of the their firm and its future capabilities. Will the company be able to maintain its market share, the return on capital or there core competencies? If not, then a merger and acquisition would be necessary. In this stage, the business should be valued and analyze whether a merger will help improve the firm’s valuation or whether the firm should use internal growth instead. The business should access the roles, it expects the merger to perform, and ... ...e firms merged to increase their market share. Hp was stronger on the consumer side compared to Compaq while, Compaq was stronger on the computer (pc) business and the commercial side if the companies merged, each would concentrate on their strengths and this would increase their market share. Why they failed. Hp had begun to miss its long-term goals and its estimates in the growth of both the pc markets and the business were very optimistic. The management failed to achieve what the merger had to offer and this caused the price of the stock to fall. Hp found it hard to overcome the problems that were associated with the strategic integration because hp had only been concentrating on its operational integration. Recommendations Hp should critically analyze their strategic integration and come up with solutions to the integration problems faced.

Essay --

Over the years, scientists have wondered whether the Earth is the only space body that is capable of sustaining life. There is evidence to support both theories, but we still don't know for sure that we are not the only kind of life out there. There are different space bodies that are most important to have life in them; some of these places are Mars, Europa, Titan, Enceladus, and Ganymede and Calysto. One of the main reasons why scientists strongly believe that there is a good chance of life in Mars is because there is sufficient facts to imply that it had running water on its surface millions of years ago. There’s also evidence that ice and water existed on this planet. This evidence supports scientists who believe that life existed at some point on Mars. This data was discovered when the images taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured some characteristics of the planet's surface. Scientists believe it was created by the melting ice. Also in May 2009, images of an unmanned spaceship showed what it seemed to look like drops on the surface that appeared to be built during the time of the mission of the spacecraft on Mars. Another place that has scientists believes life is a moon of Jupiter, Europa. Some o f them believe that there is a giant, active salty ocean beneath its surface. This indicates that there is significant activity underneath that frozen surface. Another sign of life in Europe includes formations that looked like icebergs emerging from its surface, suggesting that oceans once covered the planet before it froze. The third space body where scientists think there is life is on one of Saturn's moons, called Enceladus. There are images taken by the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn, proved that there are ice ... ...anisms found on Earth, there too. While there are many reasons to believethat there islife on other planets, however, there are some reasons that explain how extraterrestrial lifewould not be even possible. One of these arguments holds that extraterrestrial life should be very rare due to the time it takes for life to evolve is much longer than that of the existence of a star. Other reasons are that some planets in our solar system are eitherwaytoo hot orway too cold for life, and in some of them rains different kind chemicals, therefore, is potentially unlikely to life to exist on these space bodies. From my own point of view, I believe that there might be life on other planets. It may or may not be intelligent life, but life nonetheless. With evidence of water ice in the space bodies mentioned above there is a good chance that there could be life in those places.

The Radical Period of The French Revolution Essay -- European Europe H

The Radical Period of The French Revolution By the end of 1971, Europe was preparing to witness the end of a seemingly triumphant revolution in France. The country was restructuring its government in a forceful and bloodless manner, while the tyrant King Louis the XVI agreed to the demands of the masses (albeit without much choice). However, due to the fanatical aspirations of men such as Danton, Marat and Robespierre,it would be only a matter of months before the moderate stage of social and political reform was transformed into a radical phase of barbaric and violent force. In their quest for freedom, equality and fraternity, the leaders of the Jacobins inadvertently turned the revolution into an oligarchic dictatorship that threatened to destroy all that was achieved in the previous two years of insurrection. The revolution took a sharp turn on August 9th, 1792. The Municipal government was overthrown in Paris and a Commune was established by the leaders of the radical forces. During this time there were continual food riots erupting in every area of the country and, with the threat of war against Austria and Prussia looming, it was vital that order was to be maintained during such tumultuous times. Although the constitution was already enshrined and the citizens had their freedom and liberties, there was still plenty of public dissent and disapproval as to whether or not these laws would help create a new government and prevent the country from breaking apart. The people had come this far and were not prepared to watch their efforts lead to failure or the restoration of an absolute monarch. As a result, the radical forces were able to gain the support of the citizens in declaring that the ... ...) who allegedly opposed the will of the Jacobins, and therefore opposed the will of the republic. Robespierre never intended to justify his ends through such violent means. 1793 marked a year that could have been prevented, a period that should never have befallen the liberated citizens of France. Mirabeau warned that the destruction of the Monarchy would plunge the country into anarchy and his words rang true. France was not prepared for such social and political upheaval, and the resulting shift towards a republic would change the country forever. The Jacobins discarded their holy bible, the constitution, in order to ensure the security and stability of the country. Not only did their hasty actions backfire, but the tens of thousands of lives that perished during their reign symbolized the radical stage of the revolution in all its bloody glory.

The Collection of Intelligence Information in the Current World

â€Å"So much information is now available on the Internet (even if some of it is inaccurate) that intelligence collection in the traditional sense is now no longer necessary†. Do you agree? What kinds of information might or might not be available? As a decision-maker would you agree to give up intelligence sources? Introduction Governments â€Å"run â€Å" on information. They need to be constantly aware of what is occurring around them, and how this could affect their interests, in order to take the right decisions at the right time.However not all the information they need is publicly available, which is why intelligence agencies were created with the objective of collecting, analysing and using confidential information, obtained secretly, to advise decision-makers. The collection process takes place after certain tasks have been assigned by the decision-makers, and consists of acquiring the necessary information which will then be treated at a later stage of the intelli gence cycle.Traditionally, the collecting process of such agencies comes from either human intelligence, meaning information directly transmitted from a trustworthy person to an intelligence officer, or technical intelligence, which uses technology and machines to obtain this information. Today, however, the collection process of all information-seeking organizations has been transformed with the Internet. It is the largest, fastest-expanding source of information worldwide, where anybody on any point of the globe can post or have access to information.The impact of the Internet on Intelligence agencies is undoubtable, and it has become a major component of open-source intelligence (OSINT, the process of acquiring information from public sources to be treated and put in use for intelligence purposes). It provides information which is cheaper, more accessible, more timely and easier to disseminate in a shorter time. This has lead some people to believe that: â€Å"So much informatio n is now available on the Internet (even if some of it is inaccurate) that intelligence collection in the traditional sense is now no onger necessary†. Has the Internet revolutionized the information collection process to the point of making the traditional methods obsolete? In this paper, I will defend the view that it has not, thus disagreeing with the statement above[1]. I will discuss that information available on the Internet is no replacement to information collected in the traditional sense, both theoretically (I) and in practice (II), even though it is a useful instrument which can also be used to guide decision-makers (III).I) The theoretical distinction between information available on the Internet and traditional intelligence collection In 2005, General Michael Hayden, from the US Open Source Centre, stated that â€Å"just because information is stolen, it does not make it better†[2]. This is true, however, what if the information was â€Å"stolen† bec ause it was not available anywhere else? One must not confuse the terms information and intelligence. Information is made up of the facts agencies seek; intelligence is the process of acquiring and making use of confidential information which responds to the government's interests.Of course, if this information was available on the Internet, no rational organization would prefer to spend more money, more resources and a greater effort on high-risk operations, which is what information collection implies in the intelligence domain. The problem is that the information intelligence agencies seek is voluntarily hidden by the entity that controls it, which is why it is confidential, and for obvious reasons not posted on the Internet. Moreover, the more people that have a piece of information, the harder it is to have control over it, which incites organizations detaining information to keep it to themselves.By definition, intelligence information is therefore unavailable elsewhere. Conse quently, the information on the Internet has a different content to information coming from intelligence, hence it cannot replace it. Furthermore, the definition of intelligence does not only regard the content of the information, it also concerns how the information is collected. According to David Chuter’s definition, intelligence means that the entity from which information is obtained does not want you to have it, and does not realize you have acquired it.On the contrary, the person posting information on the Internet wants you to have access to it and is aware anybody could acquire it. [3] Therefore, in both aspects of the definition of intelligence, there is a clear distinction between information coming from intelligence and from the Internet, and because of their difference in nature, one cannot replace the other. However, in practice, this theoretical distinction is blurred due to the fact that anybody can post on the Internet, including holders of confidential infor mation.They could, for example, want to harm the person or organization they work for by making such information public through the Internet. II) In practice, the Internet is no replacement to traditional information collection The Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1988, General Alfred Gray Jr. , said that â€Å"most of the intelligence which needs to be known could be obtained via open-source information†[4], which the Internet is a major source of. Undoubtedly, with the huge amount of information available on the Internet, this must be true.There are examples of confidential information been publicly made available through the internet, such as the major Wikileaks information release on confidential subjects- the war in Afghanistan and in Iraq, amongst others. We could then ask ourselves: what if confidential information has been canalized through the Internet and we no longer need intelligence to retrieve it? The information intelligence agencies search for must be importa nt and useful, or it would be irrelevant to the governments that need it. This means it must go through numerous filters and a high discrimination process.The Internet, while it may provide useful facts, has such an enormous amount of information that it impedes this selection process from being efficient. John McLaughlin, a former deputy CIA director, says â€Å"In the Cold War, we struggled to get data. Today, the problem is that there is too much data–more than we can handle. â€Å"[5] This can result in an information overload, meaning huge amounts of time and effort to be used to scan the information and select which is actually important. The difficulties in collecting information from the Internet go further than the quantitative issue.Because the information available on the Internet is what the person publishing it wants others to see, it can be dangerous because depending on this person's interests the information could be contradictory, misleading or even false, hampering the whole intelligence cycle. To avoid this, and as with any information collection, the source must be considered trustworthy, and this is always a difficult matter. On the Internet it is even more so: information is often anonymous, and meta-data (such as the circumstances surrounding the piece of information or the motivations of the person providing it) is extremely limited.Just like Jorge Luis Borges illustrates in his short story The Library of Babel, if one cannot tell what is true from what is false, the information is useless. Consequently, further sources are needed to prove the truthfulness of information and avoid being mislead. This means returning to traditional intelligence collection methods, in which case the Internet cannot be considered a source of information in itself. It can be seen, however, as inspiration for a further investigation.Moreover, the immensity of information available on the Internet incites certain types of behaviour in the information collectors, linked to their subjectiveness, that are also counter-productive for information collection. Political pressure is a potential source of error because it encourages agents to search in a certain direction, which the Internet, with its near-infinite information, is sure to justify. Firstly, it must be noted that not all information an agency looks for is necessarily available, however, the large amounts of information available on the Internet encourage people to believe such information exists.Secondly, misleading sources can exaggerate and create non-existent threats, which is sometimes what intelligence agencies are looking for in order to justify their utility. Thirdly, it is part of human behaviour to struggle to admit you are wrong, especially after investing effort in trying to prove the opposite. Once again, of all the information available on the Internet, that which proves you are in the right direction is likely to be picked, and the rest avoided, encouraging wish-fulfilment behaviour and confirmation bias.With these practical issues concerning information collected from the Internet, it can therefore be considered dangerous for it to be considered a source of information in itself. Nevertheless, it should not altogether be denied a role in information collection. The usefulness of the Internet and its place in the decision-making process If not a trustworthy source by itself, the Internet certainly contributes to a better information collection. Firstly, it directly facilitates the collection of open-source information which is then used for intelligence purposes.Such is the case, for example, with radio or television broadcasts which are now available online. In this example, it means monitors no longer have to be near the broadcast source, nor is complex equipment needed (antennas†¦ ) to obtain these broadcasts. [6] The Internet has an incredible logistical advantage, providing cheaper sources in real time all around the globe. O pen-source information is useful in providing complementary information to the confidential one. It helps determine the context and the circumstances in which the information is transmitted; it serves to â€Å"fill in the gaps†.This is essential, seen as a piece of information taken out of context makes no sense or cannot be used efficiently. Intelligence failures often come from an inability to understand â€Å"the bigger picture† or the general context of a given situation. For example, during the Vietnam war, the strategic concept of the conflict was misunderstood: the US believed it was mainly a Soviet-Chinese supported conflict and ignored the major influence of Vietnamese communists and nationalists. Moreover, information coming from he Internet is in real-time, so it can help those who collect the information assimilate new situations which arise from social or economic change for instance, and to do so quickly. It is therefore important source of collateral inf ormation, which enhances traditional information collection and enables it to be understood and interpreted. From a decision-maker's point of view, most confidential information is not available on the Internet (despite some examples which today are still very limited), which signifies traditional intelligence sources of information can by no means be given up on.The Internet is however an essential tool which must be integrated in the collection process, and in the other stages of the intelligence cycle, in order for the information provided to be pertinent. It can also serve as inspiration for further investigation, as long as its potential dangers are understood, for it is easy for decision-makers, who are under political power, to get carried away by misleading available on the Internet. Conclusion In summary, on one hand, most of the information available on the Internet is not the one which interests intelligence services because they seek mainly confidential information.On th e other hand, some of the information on the Internet hampers information collection because it can be misleading, contradictory, or even false and can lead to counter-productive behaviour from the intelligence agents. Consequently, the information available is not always the one intelligence services are looking for. In addition, there is a theoretical distinction linked to the fact information coming from intelligence must be unavailable elsewhere, which means information from the Internet cannot replace traditional intelligence.This does not imply the Internet should be avoided by intelligence services, on the contrary, it can provide essential information in complement to that obtained by intelligence services. It simply means the dangers of the Internet should be kept in the mind of decision-makers who must find the balance between these two sources of information. ———————– [1] Only the collection stage of the intelligence cycle will be discussed concerning the impact of the Internet, as this is what the statement points to. [2]http://www. usnews. om/news/national/articles/2008/09/12/spy-agencies-turn-to-newspapers-npr-and-wikipedia-for-information. [3]According to this definition, open-source intelligence is not a actually a source of intelligence, the concept open-source information in use for intelligence purposes is therefore more appropriate. [4]†Global Intelligence Challenges in the 1990's†, American Intelligence Journal (Winter 1989–1990) [5] http://www. usnews. com/usnews/news/articles/061103/3dni. analysts. htm [6]https://www. cia. gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol48no3/article05. html

Meaningful Use Essay

In 2009 the HITECH Act was enacted with the purpose to improve health for Americans; however satisfying the requirements of the Act potentially reduces the quality of the care given to the patient due to the increased burdens placed on providers. Providers must purchase Electronic Health Record (EHR) Technology and comply with Meaningful Use (1). Initially providers are compensated for participating in Meaningful Use, however, the ultimate end result is providers are penalized if the 15 Core Measures for which they attest to are not met. Although the stimulus money can provide a gain in the beginning, what happens when the stimulus money is gone? Will the technology be able to support itself? There are costs for maintenance and upgrades of software for technology. For a large institution, such as Washington University, this could cost millions of dollars. Technology costs and reporting of Meaningful Use may outweigh the professed value (1). Health Information Technology (HIT) is used today for a variety of reasons. It is used by an individual to seek relevant information about themselves, family members, and friends. Additionally, it may be used to access health services, schedule appointments, and refill medications. One may also use HIT to communicate with their provider via a patient portal (PP), seek out information on a chronic condition, or utilize a patient health record (2). Stage 1 of The Meaningful Use rule, or Meaningless Use rule as many named it, is the only stage that is currently enacted and contains three objectives. Only one objective is patient-facing. This objective requires the patient to be supplied with an electronic copy of their health information, which may include diagnostic test results, problem list, medication list, and allergies (2). The issue with this objective is that if there is a collaborative hospital/provider practice such as Barnes Hospital and Washington University they each have patient portals. If a patient has a radiology test performed and the results are not readily available at the end of the office visit the information may be in the hospital system. Using the hospital’s portal, the patient can access information that has yet to be reviewed by the provider allowing for confusion and anxiety on the part of the patient. Another objective is â€Å"use of EHR technology to identify patient-specific education resources and provide those to the patient as appropriate. † (2) Elements from the first objective can be used for this measure and can target a patient’s specific problems. This has found to be very challenging in Orthopedic Surgery as this is a specialized practice and this measure is focused on educating patients on disease prevention, such as heart disease and diabetes control. The last objective for Stage 1 is sending reminders to patients for preventive and follow-up care and providing patients with timely electronic access to their health information. Once again, this has been a challenge to the specialty practices as they are limited on what preventive reminders they can offer. The providers feel as though they are providing reminders to patients solely to fulfill government requirements. One would ask if the government is dictating how providers treat patients. As a professional working in this medical field, I would attest to this being the case. Another issue faced with technology and the EHR is that they provide access to patient data; however, providers’ face difficulties with using them to support delivery and coordination of care. (3) The HITECH Act envisions that providers will exchange patient data through a common platform and protocols. Some states are currently implementing platforms to exchange such data, but are still in the early phases. (3) A big concern with this is that Health Information Technology alone cannot convert our healthcare system and there needs to be some form of financial incentive for coordinating care for patients. Secure messaging via a patient portal is another means of communicating with HIT between a patient and provider. Providers, however, are apprehensive of this means of communication as they feel it will overwhelm them. It is time consuming and adds yet another task consuming their time without compensation (2). Does this hold the provider liable if the patient does not relay the correct information or if there was insufficient information relayed to the provider and treatment of the patient was not appropriate or delayed? In all of the research I read I could not find anything that addresses this issue. One would think this would be a major concern with all providers. Washington University is in the pilot stages of implementing the patient portal and the providers for Orthopedic Surgery have raised concerns of liability issues. Projects are underway for health care plans to compensate providers for secure messaging in hopes to minimize their hesitancy to participate in this form of communications. However, if they do participate will this cause premiums to increase for individuals in those health care plans? If premiums are increased to pay providers, are we truly benefiting the health of the patient? The answer is no. (2) Providers are currently reimbursed on a fee-for-service scale. In our Orthopedic Surgery practice some providers see on an average of 45-50 patients a day. This can potentially make it difficult for the provider to take the appropriate time to listen to each patient’s concerns with the added burdens placed on the providers with current and future Meaningful Use requirements. Adding an EHR to each clinical encounter could potentially further distance the provider from the patient. (3). In class, a comment was made by Dr. DeSchryver concerning a visit with her healthcare provider in which the provider was documenting in the EHR during the visit. This caused her to feel like she was not receiving the attention that she deserved. With the added documentation requirements placed on providers and the limited timeframe allowed to document this will become the norm in provider practices. Providers have 72 hours from the time of the office visit to document Meaningful Use measures. Although HIT can provide tools to help with decision making in regards to diagnosis, management of disease, treatment, and prevention, the current EHR’s do not have a link to support systems to help manage chronic care. Primary care practices must now shift their focus on healthy patients, as well as acute and chronically ill patients. With HIT a provider can effectively report the quality measures, however the current EHR’s cannot identify which patients may need particular services (3). It appears that we do not have the technology required or currently a sufficient number of trained users for a successful implementation of the HITECH Act. We are potentially setting providers up for failure either on a patient satisfaction level or reimbursement level. There needs to be further investigation on clinical care processes, the execution and use of HIT, and restructuring of reimbursement to the providers. The current EHRs need to be able support both coordination of care and outcomes. EHR Vendors need to ensure they can provide accurate data for reporting. Another measure of Meaningful Use is E-Prescribe. The requirements are electronic transmission of prescriptions and maintenance of medication list. If this is done correctly and the EHR system is set up correctly it can improve patient safety, alert prescriber’s of drug-to-drug interactions, provide information on patient non-compliance to medications, and drug formulary information for insurance benefits. (4) A study was conducted with 10 physician practices that installed stand-alone e-prescribe systems to replace previously hand writing prescriptions. This study concluded that e-prescribing will require the provider entering accurate medication history and prescriptions to ensure that their formulary and benefits can be verified. This will also require health plans to ensure that they have a full set of formulary information. Currently pharmacies access this information and it will most likely remain as such. Providers in this study also relied on patients to provide medication history information as the medication history in the e-prescribe system was inaccurate. (4) In a large institution such as Washington University, a patient may see multiple providers from different specialty groups. One challenge we face with medication history is a provider from one department cannot discharge a medication that a provider from another department prescribed, even if the patient stated that they are no longer taking it. We are required to tell the patient to notify that provider, a lot of times the patient will tell us that they no longer see that provider and want us to discharge the medication, which our University policy does not allow. The medication will not be removed from the medication history list and the patient’s record therefore becomes inaccurate. The HITECH Act was enacted to allow patients access to their PHI, communicate with their healthcare provider, maintain their health record, schedule patient appointments, and request prescription refills via a patient portal; however, there are many obstacles that providers and patients face through Stage 1 of Meaningful Use. Technology is one obstacle that is faced with both the patient and provider. There needs to be a sufficient amount of support and resources in the community for patients who do not have the literacy needed to understand how to use patient portals. The government needs to also ensure that providers are trained and have an ample understanding of what is required of them for Meaningful Use. The government also needs to make certain that EHR Vendors are reporting accurate Meaningful Use measures. E-Prescribe and hospital/provider collaboration issues are two other obstacles that need to be addressed as well. There needs to be a network for all of the systems to be able to â€Å"talk to each other† so that patient care is not delayed or potentially at risk. There also needs to be added compensation for coordination of care for providers as this may take away some of the hesitancy that the providers have for the added burden placed on them; however, this should only be done if this does not affect a patient’s healthcare premium. It is in my opinion that the Government was pressured to pass the Healthcare Reform Policy and as a consequence the American people and healthcare providers will suffer as a result either through health or monetary measures

How Does Music Affect Our Lives

How Does Music Affect Our Lives: The Connection between Communication and Music Music is present throughout our lives, from the moment we wake up and hear that song that starts our day off, to that song that reminds us of that relationship we once had with that special someone, or a song that a city uses as its anthem for it’s sports team or a song that a country listens to, that helps comfort them in a time of tragedy and loss. Music helps us communicate and relate to things when we can not find the words to help us express our feelings. When we have had a tragedy in our lives some people turn to alcohol, drugs, or something else to get rid of a terrible memory. After the attacks of September 11th music was used as instrument in rebuilding the lives of the many New Yorkers who had lost loved ones, or had witnessed the horrific events. Bruce Springsteen was one artist that released an album at this time; the album was titled The Rising. This album conveyed the feelings of the citizens of New York City. Some of the tracks were titled, â€Å"Into the Fire†. â€Å"You’re Missing† and â€Å"Lonesome Day† We also had Sir Paul McCartney’s Freedom a song that was used as a memorial for the 9/11 attacks. Another band that helped heal the wounds of 9/11 was U2. Since the beginning they have written songs that reach a wide variety of fans from all over the world. One song that sticks out is, â€Å"Pride (In the Name of Love)† these lyrics talk about many great figures throughout history, including Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. These are some of those lyrics. One man come in the name of love One man come and go One man come, he to justify One man to overthrow In the name of love What more in the name of love In the name of love What more in the name of love One man caught on a barbed wire fence One man he resist One man washed on an empty beach. One man betrayed with a kiss In the name of love What more in the name of love In the na me of love What more in the name of love Early morning, April 4 Shot rings out in the Memphis sky Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride†¦ (U2 The Unforgettable Fire, 1984 Island Records) Music is also used at funerals as a send off into the next life or as a testament to the life of that person. My uncle was murdered in the fall of 2002. Everyone including my grandmother took it hard. They song my cousin chose for her father was Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Music has been there for me when I have no one to talk to. In the book Popular Music and Communication by James Lull there is a paragraph that explains musicians and how they communicate to their fans, â€Å"Popular musicians are loved, even worshiped, not only for their abilities to write songs and perform them publicly, but for their ability to â€Å"speak† to their audiences. Even an artist whose only contact with the audience is through the sale of millions of compact discs and tapes communicates â€Å"personally† with each listener† Pg. 33 of Popular Music and Communication by James Lull Sage Publications, C 1992. Everyone has a soundtrack to their lives and I found the first part of mine in 2000 with an album by a band named Papa Roach. My mother and father are separated; there divorce was based on the fact that my father was abusive towards my mother. The one song I could strongly relate to on that album was a song titled â€Å"Broken Home† I can't seem to fight these feelings I'm caught in the middle of this My wounds are not healing I'm stuck in between my parents I wish I had someone to talk to Someone to I could confide in†¦ Broken home All alone I know my mother loves me But does my father even care If I'm sad or angry You were never ever there When I needed you I hope you regret what you did I think I know the truth Your father did the same to you†¦ (Infest, Papa Roach, April 25, 2000, DreamWorks Records) When I heard this song it really opened my eyes, for the past sixteen years of my life I never knew that my fathers father had left when he was very young, it was a revelation to me, that this man who is my grandfather, that I have only seen a few times in my life, and my father were one in the same. After recently ending a relationship with someone that had truly changed my life I continue to listen to this song from a popular punk rock Band MxPx. The song is about someone giving up on girls and relationships and joining G. S. F. â€Å"Girls Schmirls Foundation† â€Å"You didn't have to be so mean to me I guess now I see how it's gonna be I'm joining GSF, I've made up my mind Forget this thing called love, it's a waste of time Girls ain't no good anymore, anyway! Not for one second have I understood Why they do what they do, why they say what they say Always happens to my friends, it always happens to me It's taken me 19 years to finally see She said â€Å"Can we just be friends? It's just not working out. † Another broken heart that I can do without Girls ain't no good anymore, anyway! Not for one second have I understood Why they do what they do, why they say what they say† Many of my friends say that they can relate to how I feel and the song is a good way for me to get my feelings out and to show that girl she hurt me. Music is also used to help boost morale in teams and fans at sporting events. Once a Spurs fan hears, â€Å"Are You Ready for This? † they automatically begin to get hyped for the preceding game. The same is at football games, especially college football games. When the fans at Texas State hear â€Å"Go Bobcats† they automatically get on there feet and begin to participate in the hand gestures and sing the chorus. The football team, whether win, lose or draw will be on that field singing the Alma Mater. There are those fan jams that are required at any sporting event, such as Queens â€Å"We Will Rock You† and â€Å"We are the Champions† Music is used at these events to get a crowd hyped and the teams pumped and excited that they are playing in front of a large group of people that believe in them. As you can see Music is all around us. It is apart of our lives. It helps us express our feelings towards other people, it helps us to close old wounds made by tragic events, it also give us a reason to cheer and sporting events, but the most important thing music gives us is a voice, a reason, a definition of who we real are. Bibliography 1. McLaughlin, Terence. Music and communication, New York, St. Martin's Press [1971, c1970] 2. Lull, James. Popular music and communication, Newbury Park, Calif. : Sage Publications, c1992. 3. Lynyrd Skynrd. Lynryd Skynrd, MCA Records, c 1973 4. Papa Roach. Infest, DreamWorks Records, c April 25, 2000 5. Paul McCartney. Freedom, Capitol Records, c November 13, 2001 6. U2. The Unforgettable Fire, Island Records, c 1984 7. MxPx GSF, At The Show, Tooth and Nail Records, c. July 27, 1999

Disney vs. Imane Boudlal Essay

Disneyland vs. Imane Boudlal HISTORY Disneyland is very large 160 acre amusement park located in Anaheim CA. Disneyland was created by Walt Disney on July 17, 1955, Walt Disney wanted to create a magical place where parents with children could go to the same place and have just as much fun as their children. Walt Disney had the vision that he wanted Disneyland to be like a fantasy land where dreams could come to life. Disneyland is a 17. 5 million dollar magic kingdom. Even though the park was a very expensive project, â€Å"I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral† said Walt Disney. Since Disney was a very expensive project, Walt Disney had some support from his own television show on ABC; it was called Walt Disney’s Disneyland. The TV series offered sneak peeks about the future Disneyland project before it was even finished. It took a full year of hard work to finish the project. Disneyland is well-known for having a strict employee dress code called â€Å"the Disney look†. This dress code was introduced to new employees in 1955 prior to the amusement park opening. Disneyland also calls their employees â€Å"cast members† in order to keep the magical theme going. The Disney look has changed over time, but yet also remained true to offering wholesome family entertainment in one of the world’s top vacation destination. To work at Disneyland, the potential cast member must first agree and understand the policy prior to being hired.

Journal 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Journal 4 - Essay Example This paper provides insight into the engineering concept of green buildings, by analyzing Lipu, Jamal and Karim’s journal article titled â€Å"An approach towards sustainable energy performance by green building: a review of current features, benefits and barriers.† Just like the title suggests, the article examines how green buildings work towards increasing energy conservation and sustainability. This journal article also outlines characteristics of green buildings, their benefits and the hurdles that engineers encounter when constructing them. A principal point noted from the article is that global warming and potential depletion of resources is a major concern for engineers. This is especially in the construction industry, since buildings make up the greatest percentage of engineering works. According to Lipu, Jamal and Karim (180) construction of buildings consumes more than one-third of global resources. This includes approximately 40 percent energy and 12 percent freshwater usage. In terms of pollution and contribution to global warming, buildings produce about 40 percent of greenhouse gases and the same proportion of landfill waste (Lipu et al. 181). These figures clearly show that it is not only industries and cars that contribute to the problem of rising global temperatures and climate change, but buildings as well. Construction of green buildings and refurbishing old ones to enhance sustainability holds significant potential to save energy, while reducing emission of greenhouse gases. Further, green buildings create a comfortable and healthy indoor setting for building tenants. This is because green buildings provide proper indoor conditions in regard to ventilation, air quality and thermal comfort. By making maximum use of day lighting and natural ventilation, which is supported by many operable windows, green buildings save energy that would otherwise have been used to sustain artificial lighting and air conditioning systems. Further, green

Prostitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

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Cahi-DRB and DQB1 Alleles in Sirohi Goat

Cahi-DRB and DQB1 Alleles in Sirohi Goat Genetic diversity of DRB and DQB genes of caprine MHC class II in Sirohi goat G. R. Gowane, Najif Akram, S.S. Misra, Ved Prakash and Arun Kumar Running Head: CahiDRB and DQB1 alleles in Sirohi goat ABSTRACT Objective of the study was to assess the genetic diversity of the Sirohi goat for DRB and DQB1 loci and to study their association with antibody response induced by the Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccine. A total of 360 Sirohi kids were studied using Single Stranded Confirmation Polymorphism (SSCP) followed by Sequence Based Typing (SBT)-PCR for DRB and DQB1 diversity. C-ELISA was used to assess immune response post PPR vaccination. Study revealed rich diversity of MHC region. A total of 18 DRB and 15 DQB1 alleles were obtained. Allele DRB*0104 and allele DQB1*0101 were most common. All the alleles reported are new. Study revealed variability in DRB and DQB1 region not only at nucleotide but also at amino acid level with high Wu-Kabat index. A total of 16 out of 89 amino acid residue sites had more than 3 amino acid substitutions in DRB. Similarly, 19 out of 86 residue sites in DQB1 had more than 3 amino acid substitutions. Positive evolutionary selection was evident in Sirohi for MHC region. Non-significant association of DRB and DQB1 genotypes with PPRV vaccine response revealed complexity of the phenotype and importance of other factors for vaccine response. Rich diversity of DRB and DQB1 gene reflects the fitness of the population and importance of this locus for future selection programs. Keywords: Cahi-DRB, Cahi-DQB1, Major histocompatibility complex, Vaccine response 1. Introduction Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) of goats is polymorphic. A few of the genes such as Caprine Leukocyte Antigen (Cahi)-DRB and Cahi-DQB1 from this complex are recently being investigated for their polymorphism and further potential association with important diseases of goat. The class II antigens encoded by MHC class II genes bind to processed peptides from extracellular antigens and present them to epitope specific CD4+ T lymphocytes. Cahi-DRB exon 2 is polymorphic so is Cahi-DQB1, due to their importance in antigen binding groove formation and evolutionary importance in antigen capture and presentation. Peptide binding site (PBS) in goat is partly coded by DRB and DQB gene. This PBS has several pockets which are highly variable and accommodate the side chains of the bound peptide. A non-synonymous change in the nucleotide sequence of the MHC DRB or DQB1 gene can substantially substitute the coding amino acid and ultimately bring conformational change in the binding groove so as to affect the efficiency of the protein to present the antigen efficiently for further processing. Several reports exists which link the variability in DRB alleles in cattle, sheep and other mammals to resistance or susceptibility to diseases. Herrmann-Hoesing et al. [1] reported that Ovar-DRB1 alleles contribute as a host genetic factor that control provirus level in sheep. Significant association of DRB1 alleles with susceptibility and resistance to Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) was reported by Larruskain et al. [2] in sheep. However as far as studies on goat are concerned, there are very few caprine DRB and DQB1 sequences in Gene Bank. Similarly, there is a scarcity of research database for allelic association of DRB and DQB alleles with disease resistance or susceptibility in goat. It is for no surprise that even the IPD-MHC database has no space dedicated for goat MHC. Amills et al. [3] assessed the genetic variability in DRB of goat. This was followed by a few report s [4-8] to characterize DRB locus (exon 2 of DRB) in goat. Amills et al. (2004) also characterized DQB1 locus in goat, however not much work [9] has been carried out since then for its genetic polymorphism. Genetic variability in response to vaccination is likely to become an even more significant factor in designing ideal vaccines [10]. The genes identified might also be important for disease resistance traits, and could potentially provide the tools to select good responders opening the doors for potential implications in future selection programme [11,12]. The Peste des petits ruminant (PPR) being the plague of small ruminants pose heavy threat to the rural economy of India. It is caused by a PPR virus (PPRV) of the genus Morbillivirus within the family Paramyxoviridae. India constitutes a great diversity of small ruminants with 135.17 million goat and 65.07 million sheep (19th Livestock census) [13]. In PPRV endemic regions including India, control measures involve regular vaccination with live attenuated PPR virus vaccine of lineage IV, which has high antigenic stability and induce long term immune response [14]. Currently, three live attenuated PPR vaccines (Sungri/96, Arasur/87 and CBE/97 stains) are available in India for prevention of this disease, of which, Sungri/96, developed by ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Mukteswar has undergone extensive field trial [15-17]. It is possible that the vaccine induced protection across individuals is not homogenous, wherein, vaccine gives a complete protection for a proportion of individuals while rest acquire only incomplete (leaky) protection of varying magnitude [18]. Variable vaccine response in the population has been reported for several diseases in humans as well as animals [19-27]. Role of host genetics and other non-genetic factors in variation to vaccine response especially for PPR vaccine has not been studied till today in details. The importance of host genetics in vaccine response studies is important as genetic variability may influence vaccine response and hence confound vaccine efficacy studies. Objective of the present study is to decipher the Cahi-DRB and Cahi-DQB1 polymorphisms in detail using sequence based typing polymerase chain reaction (SBT-PCR) and to associate the variation obtained with PPR vaccine elicited immune response in Sirohi goat kids maintained at the farm condition in semi-arid region of India. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Animals The study population was a flock of purebred Sirohi goats. The flock was located at ICAR-Central Sheep Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar in the semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India at 75025â‚ ¬Ã‚ ²E, 26018â‚ ¬Ã‚ ²N, at an altitude of 320 m above mean sea level. The data for the experiment involved 360 Sirohi goat kids. All the animals under the study belonged to same age group, i.e. weaner with mean age at vaccination 142.43 days (SD = 14.67). All the animals in this flock were kept under semi-intensive management system.   Concentrate mixture was offered ad libitum to suckling kids from 15 days of age till weaning (90 days). After 3 weeks of age till weaning, kids were sent for grazing for 3 h each in morning and evening, but not along with their dams. During the post-weaning period in addition to 8-10 h grazing and dry fodder supplementation, 300 g of concentrate mixture was provided in the evening hours after browsing. The grazing area consisted of forestland with natur al fodder trees like Khejri (Prosopis cineraria), Ardu (Ailanthus spp.), and Neem (Azadirecta indica). Bushes and surface vegetation including the improved pastures of Cenchrus ciliarisis are also available. Due to scarce grazing resources from March to June, the goats were supplemented with hay of Cenchrus, Cowpea, and Dolichos; pala leaves (Zizyphus) and fodder tree lopping. 2.2 Amplification and typing of DRB alleles Whole blood (1 ml) was collected aseptically from the jugular vein of lambs for DNA isolation (GenElute Blood Genomic DNA Kit, SIGMA) according to the manufacturers instructions. Exon 2 of the DRB gene was amplified from genomic DNA using the primers as suggested by Amills et al. [3], where DRB.1: 5-TATCCCGTCTCTGCAGCACATTTC-3 and DRB.2: 5-TCGCCGCTGCACACTGAAACTCTC-3 primers were used for amplifying 285 bp product. The reaction mixture of 50ÃŽÂ ¼l comprised of: 10X Taq Buffer (05ÃŽÂ ¼l), 25mM MgCl2 (03ÃŽÂ ¼l), 10mM dNTP (1ÃŽÂ ¼l), 20 pmol (1ÃŽÂ ¼l) of each primer, Taq DNA Polymerase (1IU), Template (1ÃŽÂ ¼l) and Nuclease Free Water (NFW) to make 50ÃŽÂ ¼l. The thermal profile was optimized for amplification of the DRB exon2 as follows: Initial denaturation (94 °C for 4 min), followed by 35 cycles (denaturation for 94 °C for 60 s, annealing at 66 °C for 60s and extension at 72 °C for 60s) and a final extension at 72 °C for 5 min. A single clear band of 285 bp on agarose gel (2%) was obtained. The amplified products were subjected to Single Stranded Confirmation Polymorphism (SSCP) for determination of the genotypic variation [28]. The samples were then grouped according to various genotypes as obtained on the SSCP gel. The representative samples were then again amplified using the PCR protocol as above and purified PCR products (GenElute„ ¢ Gel Extraction Kit, SIGMA) were sequenced by BigDye (Applied Biosystems, USA) sequencing reaction that exploits di-deoxy chain termination principle. The PCR-Sequence Based Typing (PCR-SBT) was used for further analysis. The homozygous sequences obtained were assigned an allelic name using nomenclature system as suggested by Ballingall and Tassi [29] to suit IPD MHC nomenclature system. The heterozygote samples were re-sequenced after cloning (InsTAclone PCR Cloning Kit, Thermo Fisher) to obtain one allele that was subsequently used to deduce another allele in heterozygous sample. Novel alleles were cloned, sequenced and confir med at least thrice. The amino acids at pocket positions were determined from the nucleotide sequences of the alleles using EditSeq software package V5.0 [30]. Alleles which were derived and not confirmed in SBT-PCR were not named. 2.3 Amplification and typing of DQB1 alleles Exon 2 of the DQB1 gene was amplified from genomic DNA using the primers as described by Amills et al. [31], where DQB-F: 5- CCC CGC AGA GGA TTT CGT G -3 and DQB-R: 5- ACC TCG CCG CTG CCA GGT -3 primers were used for amplifying 280 bp product having 8bp intron1, 270bp exon2 and 2bp intron2. The reaction mixture of 50ÃŽÂ ¼l comprised of: 10X Taq Buffer (05ÃŽÂ ¼l), 25mM MgCl2 (03ÃŽÂ ¼l), 10mM dNTP (1ÃŽÂ ¼l), 20 pmol (1ÃŽÂ ¼l) of each primer, Taq DNA Polymerase (1IU), Template (1ÃŽÂ ¼l) and Nuclease Free Water (NFW) to make 50ÃŽÂ ¼l. The thermal profile was optimized for amplification of the DQB exon2 as follows: Initial denaturation (94 °C for 4 min), followed by 35 cycles (denaturation for 94 °C for 45 s, annealing at 67 °C for 45s and extension at 72 °C for 45s) and a final extension at 72 °C for 5 min. A single clear band of 280 bp on agarose gel (2%) was obtained. The amplified products were subjected to Single Stranded Confirmation Polymorphism (SSCP ) for determination of the genotypic variation [28]. The samples were then grouped according to various genotypes as obtained on the SSCP gel. The PCR-SBT approach was used for analysis. Alleles were named as per requirements of the IPD-MHC database [29], derived alleles were not named. 2.4 PPR Vaccination, Sampling and ELISA for detection of antibody against PPRV vaccine As part of the scheduled vaccination program, the animals were vaccinated (1 ml subcutaneous) with freeze dried live attenuated PPR virus (Sungri 96 strain) vaccine with PPR virus titre †°Ã‚ ¥ 102.5 TCID50 (Raksha-PPR, Indian Immunologicals, India).   Whole blood was collected aseptically by jugular vein puncture from the kids at 28 days post vaccination (28DPV) for serum separation. Serum was collected and stored at ˆ’20- ¦C until testing. The ELISA for further analysis was done as described earlier [27]. 2.6 Statistical Analysis The allelic frequencies, genotypic frequencies, phylogenetic analysis and residue substitution was studied using Microsoft excel package of the MS office (2010) and EditSeq (DNA STAR) software. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using MEGA 4.0, neighbor joining method. To assess the effect of genotype on vaccine response (observed PI values), a General Linear Model (GLM) was used that included Cohort (2 levels), Sex (2 levels), age at vaccination (continuous) as fixed effects along with either DRB or DQB1 genotype. All the above analyses were performed using a statistical package SPSS [32]. 2.7 The dn/ds ratio and Wu Kabat variability index The frequencies of non-synonymous (dn) versus synonymous (ds) substitutions were calculated by the method of Yang and Nielsen [33] with the help of software PAML 4 [34]. The Wu Kabat variability index with respect to amino acids at peptide binding pockets was calculated using the formula given by Wu and Kabat [35]. Index =  Ã‚  Ã‚   The number of different amino acids occurring at a given position  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frequency of the most common amino acid at the position Where, frequency of the common amino acid is obtained as number of times the most common amino acid occurs divided by the total number of protein examined. 3. Results and Discussion 3.1 Genetic variability for DRB Sirohi goat kids (N=360) were typed for DRB exon 2. A total of 18 new alleles were obtained after analysis in the population using SBT-PCR approach (Table 1). Out of the 18 alleles, 12 alleles were confirmed by cloning and sequencing, however 6 were derived using SBT-PCR. All 12 alleles were new and named as per the requirements of the Immuno-Polymorphism Database (IPD) following guidelines [29]. Alleles were Cahi-DRB*0701  Ã‚   (accession no. KX431913), Cahi-DRB*0104  Ã‚   (accession no. KX431914), Cahi-DRB*0402 (accession no. KX431915), Cahi-DRB*0102  Ã‚   (accession no. KX431916), Cahi-DRB*0202  Ã‚   (accession no. KX431917), Cahi-DRB*0501 (accession no. KX431918), Cahi-DRB*0401 (accession no. KX431919), Cahi-DRB*0103 (accession no. KX431920), Cahi-DRB*0203 (accession no. KX431921), Cahi-DRB*0101 (accession no. KX431922), Cahi-DRB*0201 (accession no. KX431923) and Cahi-DRB*0601 (accession no. KX431924). A total of 6 new alleles were derived using PCR-SBT approach, however not given names as per IPD-MHC nomenclature (N7, N11, N13, N16, N17, N18). Allele CahiDRB*0104 had highest frequency 29.72% followed by *0701 allele (22.64%), *0202 (13.89%) and *0102 (11.25%). In congruence with our finding, rich diversity of this region has been reported earlier in different goat breeds worldwide [3-8]. However, most of the studies were carried out using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) PCR, whereas, the current method of SSCP followed by SBT-PCR has more power to detect the genetic variability at DRB in goat. The ratio of non-synonymous (dN) to synonymous (dS) substitution for DRB gene in the Sirohi goat population was 3.24. This ratio was significantly greater than 1 indicating positive evolutionary selection for DRB gene in the present populations. However, the results are read with caution as the evidence is presumed and not absolute, due to lack of evidence for Capra species. It may be impossible to infer the selection pressure from the dN/dS measurement [36]. In another study, 11.1 ratio for dN/dS was recorded in Peptide Binding Region of 12 Chinese indigenous goats for DRB*02 sequences [6]. PBR being polymorphic, its importance is seen here. According to Simmons et al. [37], the long-term evolution, ancient and silent mutations also carried with translated mutations and became maintained in these regions. Pathogen-host interaction is complex, according to the Red Queen hypothesis [38], to be a part of this competition, diversity of MHC is important from hosts perspective. Plotting the phylogenetic tree for allelic relationship at nucleotide level revealed that the diversity was large (Fig 1). Clustering of the alleles revealed that some alleles tended to form closer clusters than others. Fig 2 reveals the amino acid variation between the alleles and it is seen that the population is polymorphic at coding region too, thus providing enough raw material for Sirohi goat population to tackle the pathogen variability. Study found that alleles DRB*0101, *0102, *0103 and *0104 had less than or equal to 4 codon change and hence clubbed together in one family. Derived allele *N18 also formed member of this group due to similarity of amino acid sequence. Similarly, alleles *0201, *0202, and *0203 had less than 4 amino acid differences. Alleles *0401 and *0402 had less than 4 amino acid differences, whereas, alleles *0501, *0601 and *0701 differed by more than 4 amino acid differences from each group. Predicted allele *N7 was related to *0701 due to similarity at amino acid level. Derived alleles *N11, *N13 and *N17 formed a group separate from others, similarly derived allele *N16 formed a different group. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that clustering based on nucleotide similarity and differences remained almost similar to clustering based on amino acid differences. 3.2 Genetic variability for DQB1 Sirohi goat kids (N=339) were typed for DQB1 exon 2. A total of 15 new alleles were obtained after analysis in the population using SBT-PCR approach (Table 1). Out of the 15 alleles, 13 alleles were confirmed by cloning and sequencing, however 2 were derived using SBT-PCR. All 13 alleles were new and named as per the requirements of the IPD [30]. Alleles were CahiDQB1*0101 (Accession number KX431925), CahiDQB1*0201 (Accession number KX431926), CahiDQB1*0301 (Accession number KX431927), CahiDQB1*0302 (Accession number KX431928), CahiDQB1*0103 (Accession number KX431929), CahiDQB1*0501 (Accession number KX431930), CahiDQB1*0104 (Accession number KX431931), CahiDQB1*0701 (Accession number KX431932), CahiDQB1*0801 (Accession number KX431933), CahiDQB1*0102 (Accession number KX431934), CahiDQB1*070101 (Accession number KX431935), CahiDQB1*0502 (Accession number KX431936) andCahiDQB1*0202 (Accession number KX431937). A total of 2 new alleles were derived using PCR-SBT approach, however not given names as per IPD-MHC nomenclature (*N2, *N3). Allele CahiDQB1*0101 had highest frequency 27.22% followed by *070101 allele (13.02%), *N2 (11.69%) and *0201 (11.54%). Very high genetic diversity for this region has also been reported earlier [3, 31]. Similar diversity is also observed in sheep and cattle DQB1 region, however for goat there are very few studies. This study is the first report for DQB1 diversity in any Indian goat breed. To study the evolutionary stability or instability of the DQB1 region in Sirohi goat, the ratio of non-synonymous (dN) to synonymous (dS) substitution for Sirohi goat has been studied. We found that the ratio was 1.08. Yakubu et al. [9] reported a ratio of 2.14 in Nigerian goat breeds.   Results reveal balancing selection in favour of variability at DQB1 in Sirohi goat. Phylogenetic analysis for alleles reported that the diversity at nucleotide level was large (Fig 1). There was a clustering of alleles for their nucleotide substitutions and thus clubbing in one or the other family. Fig 3 reveals the amino acid variation between the alleles and it is seen that the population is polymorphic at coding region. Alleles DQB1*0101, *0102, *0103 and *0104 were in one group as they had less than 4 amino acid changes. Similarly, alleles *0201, *0202, and *0203 had less than 4 amino acid differences. Alleles *0201 and *0202 formed another family, alleles *0301 and *0302 formed separate family, and alleles 0501 and 0502 were clubbed together. It was seen that derived alleles N3 had similarity at amino acid level with allele *0201, indicative of synonymous substitution at nucleotide level.   Alleles *0701 and 070101 were in one family and they did not have a single amino acid substitution. However, they had synonymous differences at nucleotide level that resul ted in the no change at peptide level. Derived allele *N2 was related with *N3, however placed in separate group due to differences at amino acid level. 3.3 Association of DRB and DQB1 genes with PPRV vaccine elicited immune response Results of C-ELISA on sera samples at 28DPV revealed mean PI value of 69.99 ±0.42 (Min 13.32, max 91.60) with minimum PI 35.12 and maximum PI 98.82.  Ã‚   Average   age   at vaccination   was   142.43    ±Ã‚   14.67   days   with   minimum   age   93 days   and maximum   age   164   days.   Variability in the vaccine response was evident in the lambs.   Frequency distribution of Ovar-DRB and DQB1 alleles revealed rich diversity amongst Sirohi goat. A total of 16 DRB genotypes and 16 DQB1 genotypes were observed to be present in the population of Sirohi goat flock. For association analysis, genotypes with >5 occurrences in the population (11 genotypes in DRB and 12 genotypes in DQB1) were only used to avoid biased estimates. Genotypic association analysis was carried out to assess the effect of genotype (Table 2) along with other environmental factors on vaccine response in Sirohi goat sheep. In the DRB group (N=299), Genotype I(DRB*0104-*0104) had highest frequency (30.10%) followed by genotype A(DRB*0701-*0701) 22.07% and genotype M(DRB*0202-*0202) 13.38%. In the DQB1 group (N=298), highest frequency was obtained for genotype E(DQB1*0801-*0801) 20.13%, followed by genotype J(DQB1*0301-*0101) 14.43% and genotype G(DQB1*0502-*0502) 11.41%. In the model that studied the effect of DRB genotype along with other environmental factors such as cohort, sex of the animal and age group, on vaccine response, explained 63.6% variation (R2=0.636). The genotypic association study revealed non-significant (P = 0.606) effect of genotype on 28DPV PI value, whereas significant effect of cohort and age at vaccination. However, ranking of genotypes revealed that the genotype L(DRB*0102-*0102) gave highest response for PPRV vaccination at 28th day (Table 2) followed by genotype J(DRB*0402-*0402) and A(DRB*0701-*0701).   Lowest response was obtained for the genotype E(DRB*0201-*0201) preceded by D(DRB*0101-*N13) and I(DRB*0104-*0104). It was noteworthy that alleles in high ranking genotypes were exclusive to low ranking genotypes. Effect of genotype was non-significant on the vaccine response, however, the trend was visible with increasing rank and declining mean PI for 28DPV (Table 2). The variability within DRB region of Sirohi goat population was calculated using the Wu-Kabat Variability Index (Table 3). The ability of a pocket to anchor a peptide is due to the electrostatic charges of the pocket region and electrostatic charges of the peptide [39]. Out of several amino acid positions in DRB, a total of 16 different amino acid positions were polymorphic with three or more than 3 amino acid differences (residue 6, 21, 32, 35, 37, 52, 61, 62, 65, 66, 68, 69, 72, 73, 76 and 81). The region revealed Wu-Kabat index varying from 2.20 to 6.95. Highest index was observed at residue 6 (6.95%), followed by ÃŽÂ ²65 (6.41%) and ÃŽÂ ²73 (5.94%).   Present results corroborates with the earlier observations in sheep breeds [41, 42], where positive selection at important residues in DRB1 amino acid sequence was observed. In DQB1 group, again the inclusive model could explain 62% of the total variation in the 28DPV vaccine response trait (R2=0.62). The model included sex, age and cohort of the animal along with the DQB1 genotype. The effect of genotype was non-significant (P = 0.868), however, the effect of cohort and age at vaccination were highly significant (PDQB1*0104-*0701) gave highest response for PPRV vaccination at 28th day (Table 2) followed by Genotype E(DQB1*0801-*0801) and I(DQB1*0201-*0201). Lowest response was obtained for the genotype D(DQB1*0101-*N3) preceded by A(DQB1*0101-*0101) and then by F(DQB1*070101-*070101). Alleles in low ranking genotypes and high ranking genotypes were exclusive to each other and hence represent the allelic substitution as an effect for change in the vaccine response. The variability within DQB1 region of Sirohi goat population was calculated using the Wu-Kabat Variability Index (Table 4).Our result suggest a lot of interesting sites in the amino acid structure of the DQB1, where substitution has taken place. The Wu-Kabat index reveal variability starting from 2.67 at ÃŽÂ ²29, ÃŽÂ ²60 to 7.19 at ÃŽÂ ²81. A total of 19 residues in the translated sequence of DQB1 were found to be polymorphic with at least three amino acid substitutions. Similar results were reported by Amills et al. (2004), where many amino acid residues within and outside the pockets were found to be polymorphic in nature. In present study, although a significant association of these substitutions with vaccine response is not observed, but variability of the region is well explored. Many factors influence the vaccine response as a trait in mammals. Role of environmental factors as well as other MHC and non-MHC genes is important, however apart from that the nature of the responding variable is also one of the most important criteria to look for in such analysis. PPR vaccine is a strong antigen and its invasion produces a cascade of reactions responsible for antibody production. In our earlier study [27], 94.92% Sirohi kids were observed to be protected with a single dose of PPRV vaccine. Therefore in spite of having variability within the protected category, the differences between the animals is not much and hence association of minor change in the phenotype vis a vis genotype is not visible.   There are several studies which revealed the effect of QTLs and non-genetic factors in detail showing the role of non-MHC genes and environmental influences on vaccine response [12,26,27,42,]. In goat, only one study [8] could show significant association of DRB gene p olymorphism obtained by PCR-RFLP with Johnes disease. Apart from this there are no studies which reveal association of MHC genotypes with disease resistance or susceptibility in goat. 4. Conclusion The genetic variability of DRB and DQB1 gene in Sirohi goat revealed a very rich diversity of this locus with positive evolutionary trend. Our study provide first description of the evidence of such a strong diversity of MHC in Indian goat breed for DRB and DQB region. Due to complex nature of the phenotype, i.e. vaccine response, and good response to the antigen used, association with studied loci was not observed. Apart from this several factors apart from MHC also affected the outcome of the response. Observed variability within the DRB and DQB1 loci reveals potential of the breed for combating several antigenic attacks and hence importance of the studied region in antigen capture and presentation to T cells. Acknowledgements Authors duly acknowledge Department of Biotechnology (GOI) for project grant to carry out the desired work. Authors are thankful to the Director ICAR-CSWRI for providing facilities for carrying out the work. Authors are also thankful to AICRP on Goat for funding the project on Sirohi goat at ICAR-CSWRI Avikanagar. Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. 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