Professional Sports Essays (780 words) - John Hirschbeck

Professional Sports Due to the greediness of sports figures, professional athletes are not punished in the same manner as other professionals are. It is like they are in a completely different group that uses an entirely different set of morals. Team owners care more about making their money than they do about setting a good example for young kids and making pro sports fun again rather than a business. Three good examples of this greediness are Roberto Alomar, Curtis Joseph, and Dennis Rodman. Team owners and their respective leagues need to do something to turn this situation around before they have murderers and rapists playing sports for millions of dollars a year. Roberto Alomar makes 5.5 million dollars a year due to his stellar defense and five Gold Gloves. He is one of majors' best all-around players and destined for the Hall of Fame, but he has performed one of the most unthinkable acts in all of sports. In a 1996 playoff game, Alomar was up to bat and then Umpire (John Hirschbeck) called Alomar out on strikes. Alomar went back to the dugout where he started to argue the call with Hirschbeck who finally tossed Alomar. Oriole's manager (Davey Johnson) along with Alomar went racing to home plate to argue the ejection. As Alomar was being pushed away by Johnson, he spat at Hirschbeck. Alomar was suspended for five games, which was to be served at the beginning of the 1997 season, so he could continue to play in the playoffs. In my opinion, this act was indefensible and warranted a stiffer penalty than a five-game suspension. Major league umpires threatened to strike during the playoffs due to Alomar's behavior and inadequate punishment. I believe that the league did not suspend Alomar during the playoffs because he is such a high profile player that he brings in enough money for the league that officials felt they could justify their actions. Curtis Joseph is one of the premier goalies in the league a favorite among fans and the media and on his way to getting the Vezina Trophy for the best goaltender in the NHL. He is currently leading the Toronto Maple Leafs in the stanley cup playoffs but in a recent game he lost his concentration and his temper. In a recent playoff game an Ottawa Senators player was bumped into Joseph and the go ahead goal was scored. Joseph stormed out of the net and collided with the ref knocking him to the ice. In the NHL rulebook if a player makes contact with an official they will be suspended and punished by the league. In this case Joseph received no suspension and no fine and the league didn't even review the play. Since it's the playoffs and Curtis is a star player he wasn't punished and didn't even get a minor penalty in game. In a similar play Ottawa Sen's player Andre Roy shoved an official aside in a much less harmful incident but received a three game suspension mainly because he is minor player. Dennis Rodman, the National Basketball Association's bad boy, is notorious for getting in trouble. In a January 15, 1997, game, Rodman lost his balance after going for a rebound. He fell into a row of photographers where he kicked one of the photographers in the groin. The photographer, who doubled over in pain, was removed on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital. Rodman only received an eleven-game suspension, was fined $25,000 by the league, and ordered to get counseling. Compared with millions of dollars in salary he is paid a year for playing basketball that fine is just a slap on the wrist. That fine is less than one percent of his annual salary. Someone who makes $30,000 a year would be fined more for littering. Attorney Fred Wiesman compared Rodman's behavior to that of Major League Baseball player, Albert Belle, when he said, "It's the same bullying, arrogant, obnoxious behavior. This is not the way reasonable people should conduct themselves" All of the situations mentioned prove one point. Professional sports are corrupt and need to have a serious facelift when it comes to punishment. Roberto Alomar should have at least been suspended immediately rather than the owners allowing him to continue playing, lessening the severity of his actions. Curtis Joseph shouldn't get special treatment just because he's an all star and a fan favorite. All players should face the same punishment and follow the rules that are in the rulebook. Lastly Dennis Rodman should be the reason

Free Essays on Why Do We Cry

According to the Webster’s Dictionary, â€Å"cry† means â€Å"to sob or shed tears because of grief, sorrow, pain, or extreme excitement.† Crying starts at childbirth. Although babies don't shed tears when they cry until about two months of age, the first thing a newborn does when it receives its first breathe of air is cry. Crying is a result of emotion. Crying is the human race’s number one form of communication. With crying, everyone from babies to adults can communicate sadness, anger, fear, and even happiness. Why do we cry? This is a question that is difficult to answer in context, but rather simple to explain. Emotions are experienced everyday for a variety of reasons. If a person is happy, then usually they will smile. If a person is sad, they will appear gloomy. People express their emotions to allow the people around them to know how they feel, but only if they want to. For example if something bad happens to you or someone close to you dies for example it is very hard to hide the sadness that you feel, and the normal thing to do is cry. I know some tough people try to hide these emotions, but it is sometimes impossible to do, it is almost like the bodies’ way of dealing with a certain problem, or the bodies’ way of coping with certain situations. According to USA Today, â€Å"We make three kinds of tears: Basal tears for simple eyeball lubrication, reflex tears to wash away irritants (onion fumes, debris specks, or hits to the eye), and emotional tears. Weeping tears contain various hormones that the other tears don't and 20 to 25 percent more protein. We don't know why emotional tears differ but it's interesting that they do. These tears may wash the body clean of wastes.† "...crying is a distress signal," says James Gross, psychology professor at Stanford University. Seeing someone cry often triggers crying. We don't like to cry; it makes us feel bad. Thus, my tears motivate you to stop me from crying so you ... Free Essays on Why Do We Cry Free Essays on Why Do We Cry According to the Webster’s Dictionary, â€Å"cry† means â€Å"to sob or shed tears because of grief, sorrow, pain, or extreme excitement.† Crying starts at childbirth. Although babies don't shed tears when they cry until about two months of age, the first thing a newborn does when it receives its first breathe of air is cry. Crying is a result of emotion. Crying is the human race’s number one form of communication. With crying, everyone from babies to adults can communicate sadness, anger, fear, and even happiness. Why do we cry? This is a question that is difficult to answer in context, but rather simple to explain. Emotions are experienced everyday for a variety of reasons. If a person is happy, then usually they will smile. If a person is sad, they will appear gloomy. People express their emotions to allow the people around them to know how they feel, but only if they want to. For example if something bad happens to you or someone close to you dies for example it is very hard to hide the sadness that you feel, and the normal thing to do is cry. I know some tough people try to hide these emotions, but it is sometimes impossible to do, it is almost like the bodies’ way of dealing with a certain problem, or the bodies’ way of coping with certain situations. According to USA Today, â€Å"We make three kinds of tears: Basal tears for simple eyeball lubrication, reflex tears to wash away irritants (onion fumes, debris specks, or hits to the eye), and emotional tears. Weeping tears contain various hormones that the other tears don't and 20 to 25 percent more protein. We don't know why emotional tears differ but it's interesting that they do. These tears may wash the body clean of wastes.† "...crying is a distress signal," says James Gross, psychology professor at Stanford University. Seeing someone cry often triggers crying. We don't like to cry; it makes us feel bad. Thus, my tears motivate you to stop me from crying so you ...

Bilateral Trade between China and Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bilateral Trade between China and Germany - Essay Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that   Germany’s imports and exports to China have increased by one-third over the last year. Even this year the growth trends remain steady, with bilateral trade experiencing a 28 percent jump from the same time last year. The truth of the matter is that Germany is attractive for the Chinese to invest in and vice-versa. These new trade connections have strengthened the relationship between China and Germany both politically and economically. China is looking to focus more on domestic consumption, which is something that is tempting for German companies to become a part of. On the other side of the coin, China can learn a great deal about German business practices and its advanced technology. This is very important to the Chinese economy because there is a lack of technological know-how among many Chinese manufacturing companies. Reciprocally, Germany can also do with the influx of Chinese investments because of the weakened economy within the European Union.

Contemporary Art and Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary Art and Theory - Essay Example The essay "Contemporary Art and Theory" talks about Theory and Contemporary Art. It should be noted that contemporary art cannot be treated in isolation of the 1960-1970 period apparently due to the fact that this period alone excited much interest than any other art historical period. It was an era characterized by uncompromising critical artistic practices with leading figures like August Rodin, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso featuring very prominently. The period between 1960 to 1970 serves a significant purpose within the context of the discussion here fundamentally for a couple of reasons; it was within this period that the advent of the terms â€Å"postmodernism† and â€Å"modernism† made their debut imprint on the industry. Thus on this premise it can be said that this period served as the birth place of what we have today. In other words, the whole story began right there leading to what we have today. In addition, this period also provides a comprehensive time scale to facilitate the process of classifying the various artistic movements with particular relevance to their significance to our contemporary art. The usage of the term â€Å"concept† is said to have begun in the early 1960s, however the impact of it was heavily felt in the latter period of that decade with the advent of the works of people like Joseph Kossuth that opened the door for it to receive a concretized recognition as a movement. It is not widely now agreed that conceptual art is the precursor of conceptualism in contemporary art.

Does Dr Who tell us about science and technology or the Britain of its Essay

Does Dr Who tell us about science and technology or the Britain of its time Discuss - Essay Example Moreover, the era gave birth to television, which changed many aspects of the British society (Campbell). During these years of technological advancements many other elements were also becoming popular in Britain. People were fascinated with TV shows and greatly appreciated them. One of the most famous TV shows of all times is Doctor Who broadcasted on BBC, the first story of the series began on 23 November 1963 (Hyland). The caste of Doctor Who is fascinating and interesting, the science fiction elements in the series is its major attraction. the first episode of ‘Unearthly Child’, Doctor Who has been at the heart of its viewers (Britton). This paper aims to analyze whether Doctor Who tells us more about science and fiction or Britain of that time. Moreover, the paper will discuss some of the many technological elements from Doctor Who. Thesis Statement: Doctor Who is a science fiction show which was first presented in 1963. The show has presented many technological ele ments which are either inevitably possible or impossible. It has merged science fiction with science fantasy and has grasped what was going on in the British society of that particular time. Background The longest running British science fiction series, Doctor Who first began in 1963. The series is based on about 800 episodes that have been broadcasted periodically, and celebrates its 50 years anniversary. The theme of the series revolves around the science fiction and science fantasy, as some of the critics identify it as science fiction where as some believe it’s a science fiction. Doctor Who portrays some of the most amazing and fascinating adventures for humans. The series incorporates elements of science and technology, through illusions, imaginary narrative, through its unique representation of character and events, like Aliens, Cyber men, Sonic Screwdrivers etc. The entries story of the series focuses on the concept of time travel that allows the characters of the seri es to travel anywhere, even in the past and future. Doctor Who presents advanced science, technology and fiction in a very innovative manner, attracting several viewers around the world. Some believe that the ideas in the series are beyond human imagination, whereas some ideas seemed quite reasonable with the foreseeable science and are believed to be possible. Another chief element, which contributed towards the longevity of the show, is that it has effectively portrayed the fact of technological development and transformation of British society. Doctor Who certainly highlights science and fiction, which has tapped fear and curiosity among the viewers with the help of strong imaginary narratives and comments of the technological issues. The argument Doctor Who is undoubtedly a brilliant piece of science and fiction, but the need is to understand whether the show has actually tried to portray science fiction or science fantasy and whether it has reflected the Britain of that period. The science and technology that has been showed in Doctor Who is certainly beyond ones imagination (Campbell). Doctor Who is a science fiction series and viewers enjoy watching it as it is fun (Mckee). It gives the viewer an escape from their routine life and exhausted schedule so that they can fire up their imagination with some extra imaginary story. Some of the concepts in the serieshave become a part of reality whereas some are

Plasmid Retention and Bacteria Growth in E Coli

Plasmid Retention and Bacteria Growth in E Coli The increasing interest by the industry in recombinant protein production has caused an intensive study in this area during the last years. However, it is well known that there are a number of issues associated with the high expression of a recombinant protein. E. coli is one of the most used organisms for this purpose. In this organism, the most common and challenging problem is the formation of inclusion bodies. Probably, an incorrect folding process provokes that the recombinant protein forms those structures. When the protein forms inclusion bodies, it is insoluble and usually useless. In order to find a proper protocol for the high production of the protein S, we have assessed the expression system which use the BL21*DE3 strain as host and the pCV05 plasmid which contains the protein S sequence fused with the His tag sequence. Growth rate, plasmid loss and recombinant expression level were assessed. We obtained a reasonable production of target protein in the insoluble fraction. Further research is needed to know whether the processing of the His tag is able to make soluble the protein from the inclusion bodies as is described by other researchers. Introduction The increasing interest by the industry in recombinant protein production (RPP), due to the number of applications it can provide, has caused an intensive study in this area in order to improve its protocols. Thus, an improvement would make possible an increment in the target protein yield and the quality production as well as to establish more efficient host and plasmid for each target protein . The most common hosts utilized in RPP are bacteria because of the capacity that they have to express almost any gen and the relative facility to modify and use their plasmids in order to produce the target protein . However, it is widely known the number of problems that these hosts have when they produce a high amount of recombinant protein. Firstly, a frequent problem is the appearance of inclusion bodies which hinder a correct recovery of the target protein produced . Secondly, the host lysis event is the other common problem in RPP in bacteria. This undesirable happening in the production of recombinant proteins can be produced for several reasons. One of them is the high level synthesis of the mRNA and the target protein . Other reasons described are the accumulation of fragments of the recombinant protein because of the proteolysis . Finally, the main cause of the problems related to RPP is the accumulation of incorrectly folded intermediates of the recombinant protein. In E. coli this fact implies general stress responses . In order to find a proper protocol for the protein S (PS) production in E. coli and know more about the RPP process, we conducted an experiment testing post-induction bacteria growth, production of target protein and plasmid retention. In this experiment the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 transformed with the plasmid pCV05 was used to express the PS fused with a C-terminal His tag (6xHis). Materials and Methods The E. coli strain BL21*DE3 transformed with the plasmid pCV05 (a derivative of pET21a plasmid) was utilized to conduct the experiment. This plasmid carries in its sequence the gene of PS fused with a C-terminal extra sequence which encodes a His tag (predicted molecular weight 60 KDa). A flask with 25 mL LB (10 g L-1 tryptone, 5 g L-1 yeast extract, 5 g L-1 NaCl) supplemented with 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin was inoculated with a single colony of E. coli. Subsequently, this flask was incubated during 7 hours (25 °C). The next step was to inoculate the 2.5-L fermenter (ΑG CH-4103 Bottmingen ®), which contained 2 L LB supplemented with 0.5% (w/v) glucose and 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin, with 25 mL from the flask previously inoculated and incubated during 8 hours (25 °C). Immediately before inoculate the fermenter, a sample was taken in order to use it as a blank to measure the OD650nm of the following samples. The culture was grown at 25 °C until an OD650 nm of nearly 0.6 when it was added the inducer of recombinant protein expression (IPTG). The culture was supplemented with 100  µM IPTG. After this step, the culture was grown at 25 °C during 8 hours. The pH was controlled at 7 adding 5% (v/v) HCl and 1 M NH3, and 0.03% (v/v) final concentration of silicone antifoam was added in the fermenter due to prevent foaming during the last hours of the fermentation. During that period of 8 hours, the culture was fed and samples were taken at various times. One sample was picked just before the induction (0h) and the other samples were collected at 1h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h and 7h after the induction in order to check the bacteria growth. Besides, a pellet of bacteria was obtained from those samples collected to check the amount of target protein by a 15% SDS-PAGE gel subsequently stained with 0.2% (w/v) Coomassie Blue using the NEB Prestained Protein Marker, Broad Range (7-175 KDa) ® as a marker. In addition, BugBuster Protein Extraction Reagent ® protocol was cond ucted for additional 0h, 3h, 4h and 8h samples due to separate the insoluble and the soluble protein fractions from the bacteria and assess them by SDS-PAGE as described above. On the other hand, 0h, 3h and 7h samples were plated onto non selective nutrient agar (NA) and later replicated onto NA supplemented with 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin in order to assess the plasmid retention of the bacteria. Results Inducer effect in Bacteria growth It was conducted a measurement of OD650 nm of the culture during the 8h-period of growth. In order to conduct that assessment, samples were collected immediately before the induction (0h) and 1h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h, 7h after the induction with IPTG. After the IPTG induction the culture grew slowly until time 3h. After that time, the growth rate was increased significantly until time 5h. However, at this time the culture presented a decrease in growth until time 7h. The growth dropped specially between time 5h and 6h (Fig. 1). Plasmid retention To assess how the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 retains the pCV05 plasmid after the IPTG induction, samples from the fermenter were collected at time 0h, 3h and 7h post-induction. Serial dilutions of these samples were plated onto non selective NA and subsequently replicated onto NA supplemented with carbenicillin. The relation between the colonies grown on NA plates and the colonies grown in NA supplemented with carbenicillin give the % of plasmid retention. The plasmid retention was hardly altered during the period of 7 hours post-induction assessed. Unexpectedly, according to the results obtained, the plasmid retention 3 hours after the induction is higher than the rate at time 0h. Regarding the time 7h, the plasmid retention percentage is much lower than in time 0h and 3h (Fig. 2). Target protein yield In order to compare the target protein yield during the growth of the culture, samples were collected immediately before the induction (0h) and different times post-induction (1h, 2h, 3h, 4h and 5h). In addition, insoluble and soluble fractions for time 0h, 3h, 4h and 8h were obtained in order to know if the target protein was correctly folded (protein in soluble fraction) or incorrectly folded (insoluble fraction). These samples were assessed in a SDS-PAGE gel. According to the SDS-PAGE profiles, although the PS::His band should be around 60 KDa, in this experiment the target band seems to be below the expected weight (Fig. 3). Regarding the total protein assessment, this band shows a gradual increase in its intensity from time 3h to time 5h post-induction. However, at time 0h, 1h, 2h after induction there was not significant production of the recombinant protein (Fig. 3a). As for the soluble and insoluble fraction samples, the SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a higher intensity of the target protein band in the insoluble fraction than in the soluble fraction of the times 8h, 4h and 3h. At those times, the intensity of the recombinant protein band for insoluble fraction samples is almost impossible to appreciate. The same occurs for the soluble and insoluble fraction samples at time 0h (Fig. 3b). Overall, according to the results of the SDS-PAGE profiles, there was a significant recombinant protein production since the time 3h after the induction with IPTG. On the other hand, it seems to be that there was not a proper target protein folding because the recombinant protein could be found in the insoluble fraction rather than in the soluble fraction. Discussion The main cause of an incorrect folding of the recombinant protein when a high yield is conducted is well known. The accumulation of misfolded protein intermediates causes considerable stress in the host cell . A wide range of different strategies have been conducted in order to solve this problem . It has been described that the use of IPTG-inducible T7 RNA polymerase system in the BL21 strain to produce high concentrations of recombinant protein usually implies a high level of post-induction stress . The solution proposed by some researchers is select mutants which have lower expression rates of the recombinant protein . Other researchers have opted for limiting the concentration of inducer used . Nowadays, the establishment of general protocols and host for the different target proteins is still a challenge. In this experiment, we have assessed the capacity of the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 to produce a high amount of PS fused with a C-terminal His tag as well as the bacteria growth during the process and the plasmid retention. According to the first part of the results, the bacteria growth rate changed during the 7 hours of fermentation. It is described that the high amount of recombinant protein in the cell causes stress response. This stress response implies that the growth rate of the culture turned into a negative rate (the number of cells in the culture decreases) . The data collected from other groups conducting the same experiment shows that this event has happened in 2 groups but the other 3 groups have a different growth pattern (Fig. 4). Technical issues may explain this incongruity between the different results obtained. Regarding the plasmid retention, the data obtained in this experiment suggest that because of the stress suffered by the cells when the recombinant protein levels are higher, the cells tend to have a lower rate of plasmid retention. An explanation may be that the bacteria with the plasmid suffer a higher stress due to the induction by the IPTG, and thus, they have less chance to survive than the bacteria which accidentally do not have the plasmid. Therefore, the bacteria suffer a selective pressure which results in a plasmid loss and it is more obvious after several hours of growth. Analyzing the data obtained by other colleagues, it is supported that there is a relation between the time after the induction and the plasmid retention rates (Table 1). As for the PS::His yield, the data shows that in the BL21*DE3 strain using pCV05 as a plasmid and with the conditions described before, this expression system needs 3 hours to start expressing the recombinant protein. After that time, it seems that the most part of the target protein is in the insoluble fraction. Regarding the total protein samples assessment, the relative amount of target protein produced by the cultures of the all groups was the same (Table 2). However, the recombinant protein is still in the insoluble fraction after the BugBuster Protein Extraction Reagent protocol. Probably, some of the proteins from the insoluble fraction were forming inclusion bodies . It is described that after the expression of the protein removing the His tag makes the recombinant protein more soluble and thus, it is possible to dissolve the inclusion bodies and recover a functional recombinant protein . Furthermore, the His tag allows an easier purification of the protein due to the affinit y of this polypeptide for metal ions . In order to confirm those statements for PS, it would be necessary to conduct purification and a proteolysis process of the His tag in order to assess whether the efficiency of this expression system is cost-effective and the amount of protein obtained is enough. The conclusion of these data is that this expression system for the PS yield could be a good and profitable system whether the His tag added finally allows to recover the recombinant protein from the inclusion bodies. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr Claire Vine, Dr Ian Cadby and Dr Jeff Cole for the excellent support given as well as the rest of the groups which conducted the same experiment because they have contributed to the experiment with very valuable data.

Alcohol and its Effects on Social Behavior Essay -- Drinking Alcohol B

Alcohol and its Effects on Social Behavior The characters in Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Garden of Eden, exhibit an interesting social behavior throughout the story in their frequent consumption of various types of alcoholic beverages. The character David Bourne especially seems to have one or two drinks often before ordering food when out at the French cafà © near their hotel, regardless of the present time of day. The behavior of these characters, by modern society’s standards, places them in a class of heavy social drinkers, but this may not have been Hemingway’s intention at the time when the novel was written. It is most appropriate, therefore, to discuss the specific drinks mentioned in the text independently of the specific situation, but simply in the context of class and society in general. The established historian and literary critic Hippolyte Taine once made the valid observation, â€Å"Alcohol is the literature of the people† (Haine 100). She uses this idea to show the strong correlation between a simple commodity and its profound effects on the people and issues of a larger society. The emergence of frequent alcohol consumption is first seen in the upper classes and royalty because these people not only have the time to devote to this form of leisure, but they possess the money to finance these habits as well (Haine). This image of a luxurious aristocratic lifestyle appeals to all other members of society who, in turn, wish to emulate this behavior themselves. The idea of alcohol use as a fashion is the stimulus that causes its practice to spread throughout all levels of society. The upper class may be where the practice of regular alcohol consumption originates, but the working class is the group of peo... ...Reviews.com Inc. 16 Nov 2002 . This article is a post by someone who has tried the alternate (legal) versions of absinthe and it provides descriptions of the drink and some of its effects. Haine, W. Scott. The World of the Paris Cafà ©: Sociability among the French Working Class, 1789-1914. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. This book is extremely interesting and helpful because it provides insight into how drinking was different for members of each class and the trends in social behavior. Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Domesticating Drink: Women, Men, and Alcohol in America, 1870-1940. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. This book provided a resource on the traditional gender roles of alcohol consumption and the changes that were seen overtime in these positions.